Of the readings in the
Revised Common Lectionary for 11 January 2014 (Saturday before the First Sunday after Epiphany), I chose to reflect on Psalm 29.
The Voice of the LORDPsalm 29 is a full-throated with praise for the power and majesty of the Lord. Its language is full of metaphor that while well understood at the time can be a bit obscure. Some of the obscurity is due to geography. The mentions of Lebanon, Sirion, and Qadesh become less obscure if one knows that Lebanon and Sirion mark the northern limits of ancient Israel, while Qadesh (specifically Qadesh Barnea) marks the southern limit.
But names alone cannot resolve the difficulty, especially in verse 9. The NIV chooses to substitute its own poetry here to capture the sense of the original:
The voice of the Lord is being compared to a raging thunderstorm is this psalm, but this is not the imagery of the original.
The NASB captures the literal sense better here but it needs explanation for modern readers:
It was commonly believed that the excitement of a thunderstorm would cause ruminants such as deer that were caught out in such storms to give birth if they were near the time to do so. I have no idea whether there is any truth to that, but it does make a degree of sense. Giving birth it a time of vulnerability for a ruminant. A predator who happened upon the birth as it happened would likely be able to make a meal of the fawn before it could gain its legs and maybe of the other as well. A storm would provide cover from predators, so it might well be a preferred time to give birth.
Regardless of whether the reason for the imagery is true or not, the imagery used here is meant to convey that the power of the Lord despite it's fearsomeness is also a protective and nurturing power. I think it's better to footnote the phrase than to "translate" it in a manner that forgoes that association.
