A psalm recalling the Exodus, when sea and Jordan fled and mountains trembled at Hashem's presence — nature itself bearing witness to the wonder of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
When Israel came forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
verse value 2305
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "house·of" (בֵּ֥ית, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Egypt" (מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "when·going·out" (בְּצֵ֣את), "who·speaks·strangely" (לֹעֵֽז). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·a·people" (root עם, 135x in Psalms); "Israel" (root ישראל, 61x in Psalms); "house·of" (root בית, 48x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Egypt', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: בְּצֵ֣את [when·going·out] (493) + יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל [Israel] (541) + מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם [from·Egypt] (420) + בֵּ֥ית [house·of] (412) + יַ֝עֲקֹ֗ב [Jacob] (182) + מֵעַ֥ם [from·a·people] (150) + לֹעֵֽז [who·speaks·strangely] (107) = 2305.
Rashi
"a people of a strange tongue" — With another language, which is not the Holy Tongue. A similar expression is (Isa. 33:19): “A people of a strange tongue you shall not see, a people of speech too obscure, etc.” The “nun” and the “lammed” are interchangeable, like נִשְׁכָּה, chamber, which is [equivalent to] לִשְׁכָּה, in the Book of Ezra (Neh. 13:7).
Ibn Ezra
"Lo'ez" [a foreign tongue] — this is a term from the words of the Sages, of blessed memory, like [in the phrases] 'la'az al baneha' [a rumor concerning her children] or 'lo'azot' [foreign-language speakers].
Radak
"Lo'ez" ("of strange language") — speaking another language, one that is not the Hebrew language. That is to say, they went out from a people whose language they did not understand — even though it is not possible that they did not understand it at all, since they had been among them for so many years, it is possible that some of them did understand it. Those [Israelites] who worked among them [the Egyptians, would have understood some of their speech], but there were among them [Israel] those who did not leave their own place, which was set apart for them, namely the land of Goshen, and they spoke the Hebrew language. And even those [Israelites] who went out among them [the Egyptians], when with the Egyptian, spoke the Egyptian language of necessity; but among themselves they spoke their own language, which is the Hebrew language, and were compelled [only when necessary] to use the other language. And God, may He be blessed, brought them out from that nation which was "lo'ez" (of foreign speech).
Metzudat David
"When [Israel] went out" — At the time Israel went out from Egypt. "The house of Jacob" — The matter is repeated in different words.
Metzudat Zion
"Of strange language" — every language of a people other than the Holy Tongue is called lo'ez; and in the Mishnah they call it 'lo'azot' in the vernacular (Megillah 17).
Malbim
'When ... came forth' (Part II, until 'but our God is in the heavens') — he relates that this individual providence began with Israel from the time they went out of the land of Egypt, for from then Hashem set them apart as His own portion, and they went out from being governed by the constellations (ma'arakhah); and then He worked wonders with them through a miraculous governance, with signs and wonders, until all saw that Hashem watches providentially over the world. On this basis he will [later] protest: even though now we are not worthy of this according to our deeds, why should He not act for the sake of His great name, so that there be no desecration of the Name? 'When Israel went out of Egypt' — then this thing came about, [namely] the miracles, the wonders, and the individual providence. 'The house of Jacob' refers to the common people — this is its distinction from 'Israel,' which refers to the men of stature. 'The house of Jacob' — the common people — 'went out from a people of foreign speech,' for they had been intermingled with them; but the great ones of Israel, such as the tribe of Levi and the elders, were not intermingled with them, and they only went out from the land of Egypt.
Verse structure: 5 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "became" (הָיְתָ֣ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "His·dominions" (מַמְשְׁלוֹתָֽיו, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "to·His·sanctuary" (לְקׇדְשׁ֑וֹ), "His·dominions" (מַמְשְׁלוֹתָֽיו). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "became" (root היה, 97x in Psalms); "Israel" (root ישראל, 61x in Psalms); "to·His·sanctuary" (root קדש, 39x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·His·sanctuary', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: הָיְתָ֣ה [became] (420) + יְהוּדָ֣ה [Judah] (30) + לְקׇדְשׁ֑וֹ [to·His·sanctuary] (440) + יִ֝שְׂרָאֵ֗ל [Israel] (541) + מַמְשְׁלוֹתָֽיו [His·dominions] (832) = 2263.
Rashi
"Judah became His holy nation" — He took Judah as the lot of His portion and His sanctity, and even they sanctified His name when they descended into the sea, as the matter that is stated (above 68: 28): “the princes of Judah pelt them with stones.” Similarly, this verse is explained in the Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 114:8): Judah became His holy people, for Nahshon sprang into the sea and said, “I shall descend first,” and that is what [the Psalmist] says: Judah became His holy people.
Ibn Ezra
"Judah became" [in the feminine] — [the verb] is feminine, as in 'and her treacherous sister Judah saw it' (Jeremiah 3:7). And he mentions Judah because he was mighty among his brothers. "Israel His dominion" — the dominion of the priests, and the congregation of Judah [set apart] to sanctify Him, as in 'a holy nation' (Exodus 19:6).
Radak
"Judah became His sanctuary" — for He took them from an impure nation, and it became a holy nation. "Israel His dominion" — for they were not under the dominion of Egypt, but under His dominion, and it was a dominion and a kingdom in its own right, not under the authority of another, but under the authority of God, blessed be He. And as for his saying "Judah" and "Israel" — from the time of their going out of Egypt, Judah was the head and journeyed first, in accordance with the blessing of Jacob their father. They also said that Judah entered the sea first, for Israel was afraid to enter the sea, and Nachshon, the prince of the tribe of Judah, stood up and leapt into the sea first, and after him his tribe, and after him all of Israel. Therefore it says "Judah became His sanctuary," for he sanctified the name of God, blessed be He, in the midst of all Israel.
Metzudat David
"Became" — At that time Judah became His holy [people], and Israel in their entirety became the people of His dominion.
Malbim
'Became' — meaning, then this thing came to be: 'Judah became His sanctuary' — the fact that Hashem conducted Himself with holiness was caused by Judah, for holiness with respect to Hashem indicates that He rises above the natural governance to conduct Himself in a holy manner according to [people's] deeds; Judah caused this, for they gave their lives for the sanctity of the Name, and so Hashem conducted Himself with them. 'And Israel' caused 'His dominion' — that Hashem displayed His dominion, ruling over nature and performing miracles and wonders — this came about through Israel, for through their deeds 'the sea saw and fled, and the Jordan turned backward.' I have already explained in my commentary on Joshua that in the Jordan the miracle was only on one side, in that they rose up as a single heap, for the waters descending from above downward ceased and were cut off, in accordance with nature — therefore it says 'turned backward.' But at the sea the miracle was on both sides, therefore it says 'fled.'
The sea saw it, and fled; The Jordan turned backward.
verse value 973
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "the·sea" (הַיָּ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Jordan" (הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "and·fled" (וַיָּנֹ֑ס), "turned" (יִסֹּ֥ב). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saw" (root ראה, 100x in Psalms); "the·sea" (root ים, 31x in Psalms); "turned" (root סבב, 21x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·fled', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: הַיָּ֣ם [the·sea] (55) + רָ֭אָה [saw] (206) + וַיָּנֹ֑ס [and·fled] (126) + הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן [the·Jordan] (269) + יִסֹּ֥ב [turned] (72) + לְאָחֽוֹר [backward] (245) = 973.
Rashi
"the Jordan turned backward" — because all the water of Creation split.
Ibn Ezra
"The sea" — for the waters of the sea were split, and the waters of the Jordan stood up as one heap.
Radak
"The sea" — by way of metaphor, for the waters split as if the sea feared and fled before them on their account; and likewise the Jordan turned backward when they crossed the Jordan as well.
Metzudat David
"The sea saw" — [It saw] Israel coming into the midst of the sea; it fled from its place and became dry land. "The Jordan" — In the days of Joshua, the Jordan turned around to flow backward, so as not to travel in its usual course.
The mountains skipped like rams, The hills like young sheep.
verse value 1385
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "skipped" (רָקְד֣וּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "like·sons·of·flock" (כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "skipped" (רָקְד֣וּ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·mountains" (root הר, 43x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'like·rams', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: הֶ֭הָרִים [the·mountains] (260) + רָקְד֣וּ [skipped] (310) + כְאֵילִ֑ים [like·rams] (111) + גְּ֝בָע֗וֹת [hills] (481) + כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן [like·sons·of·flock] (223) = 1385.
Ibn Ezra
"The mountains" — they quaked before the glory of Hashem.
Radak
"The mountains" — plural language, for it is possible that other mountains adjacent to Mount Sinai trembled and quaked. Likewise "the hills" — those adjacent to it; a hill is like a mountain, except that it is not as high as a mountain, and its top is not pointed like a mountain's.
Metzudat David
"The mountains skipped" — At the time of the giving of the Torah, the mountains skipped like rams because of the great trembling.
Metzudat Zion
"Skipped" — leaped.
Malbim
'The mountains' — the great ones — 'skipped like rams,' the great [animals]; 'and the hills,' which are smaller than mountains, skipped 'like young sheep,' the small [animals]. This alludes to Sinai and Mount Hor, and the miracles that were done there.
What ails you, O you sea, that you flee? You Jordan, that you turn backward?
verse value 1672
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Jordan" (הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "you·flee" (תָנ֑וּס), "you·turn" (תִּסֹּ֥ב). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root כי, 216x in Psalms); "the·sea" (root ים, 31x in Psalms); "what·ails·you" (root מה, 25x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·flee', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מַה־לְּךָ֣ [what·ails·you] (95) + הַ֭יָּם [the·sea] (55) + כִּ֣י [that] (30) + תָנ֑וּס [you·flee] (516) + הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן [the·Jordan] (269) + תִּסֹּ֥ב [you·turn] (462) + לְאָחֽוֹר [backward] (245) = 1672.
Ibn Ezra
"What ails you" — as if the poet were asking them, 'Why is this?' And the meaning of "that you flee" is that it turned to dry land, and the waters dried up. And the meaning of "the mountains" is [explained in] 'Who turns the rock into a pool of water' [v. 8]. And in the verse '[the] mountains and all hills' (Psalm 148:9), I will explain the difference that exists between them.
Radak
"What" — the question is asked in order to know the answer, as if one were asking them why [they fled]; and the answer is "from before" the Master — like a servant who trembles and shakes before his master.
Metzudat David
"What ails you, O sea" — As if [the psalmist] asks the sea: "What ails you, that you flee? Why do you, Jordan, turn backward?"
Malbim
(5-6) 'What' — he asks: what is the cause of this, that the sea, the Jordan, and the mountains changed their natural state? And he answers: 'from before the Master' — because the Master Himself descended in His glory to watch over them providentially; therefore 'the earth trembled.' And what was the cause that this Master was revealed? He answers: 'because' He is 'the God of Jacob' — for it is explained elsewhere by me that wherever it says 'the God of Jacob' or 'the God of Israel,' it indicates the bond and closeness that He has with the people of Israel.
You mountains, that you skip like rams; You hills, like young sheep?
verse value 1785
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "the·mountains" (הֶ֭הָרִים, 5 letters) and the longest is "like·sons·of·flock" (כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "you·skip" (תִּרְקְד֣וּ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·mountains" (root הר, 43x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'like·rams', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: הֶ֭הָרִים [the·mountains] (260) + תִּרְקְד֣וּ [you·skip] (710) + כְאֵילִ֑ים [like·rams] (111) + גְּ֝בָע֗וֹת [hills] (481) + כִּבְנֵי־צֹֽאן [like·sons·of·flock] (223) = 1785.
Metzudat David
"You mountains" — What ails you, mountains, that you skip, etc.
Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob;
verse value 1050
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 29 letters. Verse gematria: 1050 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "earth" (אָ֑רֶץ, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·before" (מִלִּפְנֵ֣י, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 210: from·before, from·before. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "tremble" (ח֣וּלִי). The root פנים appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "earth" (root ארץ, 157x in Psalms); "from·before" (root פנים, 131x in Psalms); "Lord" (root אדון, 64x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: מִלִּפְנֵ֣י [from·before] (210) + אָ֭דוֹן [Lord] (61) + ח֣וּלִי [tremble] (54) + אָ֑רֶץ [earth] (291) + מִ֝לִּפְנֵ֗י [from·before] (210) + אֱל֣וֹהַּ [God·of] (42) + יַעֲקֹֽב [Jacob] (182) = 1050.
Rashi
"Who created the earth" — Heb. חולי, Who created the earth. The “yud” is superfluous as מגביהי, משפילי and ההוֹפכי.
Ibn Ezra
"From before" — the yod of 'chuli' ['tremble!'] is extra, and it is an infinitive, like [the form in] 'they were not able to rise' [lo yukhlu kum]. And because the word that follows begins with an aleph, the word 'chuli' shifted its accent to the penultimate syllable — as if it were written 'chol tachul ha'aretz' ['let the earth surely tremble'] — or 'chuli' is an imperative, like 'kumi' ['arise!']. And by this rule, the sense is that you, [O] earth, should tremble. And now he goes on to explain the reason for the skipping of the mountains.
Radak
"From before" — the earth answered and said, "from before the Master," for the earth includes the sea, the Jordan, the mountains, and the hills. "Vecholi" (and tremble) — this is an infinitive; the yod is the pronominal suffix of the first person, and it is accented on the penultimate syllable (mil'el), on account of the word "ha'aretz" (the earth), which is [also] accented on the penultimate syllable (mil'el). He said: "tremble," and "fear," and "dance," and "flee, from before the Master" — and who is this Master? "The God of Jacob" — who acquired him [Jacob/Israel] from the house of bondage by His power, for He is Master over all and does as He wills; and if He wills that the children of Jacob cross through the sea and the Jordan, it is right that [the waters] flee and split before Him, for He is the Master.
Metzudat David
"At the presence of" — As if they answer, saying: "We flee, etc., at the presence of the dread of the Lord, who makes the earth tremble, at the presence of...," etc. The matter is repeated in different words.
Metzudat Zion
"Tremble" — an expression of formation, as in 'when there were no depths, I was brought forth' (Proverbs 8); and the yod is extra.
Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.
verse value 1239
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "the·rock" (הַצּ֣וּר, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·spring·of·water" (לְמַעְיְנוֹ־מָֽיִם, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Psalms. Unique to this verse in Psalms (hapax): "who·turns" (הַהֹפְכִ֣י), "the·rock" (הַצּ֣וּר), "pool·of·water" (אֲגַם־מָ֑יִם). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·rock" (root צור, 28x in Psalms). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'pool·of·water', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: הַהֹפְכִ֣י [who·turns] (120) + הַצּ֣וּר [the·rock] (301) + אֲגַם־מָ֑יִם [pool·of·water] (134) + חַ֝לָּמִ֗ישׁ [flint] (388) + לְמַעְיְנוֹ־מָֽיִם [to·spring·of·water] (296) = 1239.
Rashi
"into a fountain of water" — Heb. למעינו. The “vav” is superfluous, as the “vav” in (above 104:11, 20) “the beasts (חיתו) of the forest.”
Ibn Ezra
"Who turns" — for He dried up the waters of the sea and the Jordan, though water is [by nature] moist, and He brought forth streams — which are moist — from rock, which is [by nature] dry. Also, the vav of 'le-ma'yeno' ['into its fountain'] is extra. And behold, the sense is that Hashem alone does a thing and also its opposite: behold, He split the sea, the Jordan, and the rocks, and reversed their nature.
Radak
"Who turns" — just as He has the power to turn the wet into dry — as He made the sea into dry land — so too He turns the dry rock into wet, and makes it into a pool of water and a spring of water; for He is the Master and Creator of all, and [His creations] do not deviate from His command. Likewise the mountain — even though it is the heaviest and most fixed of created things — when He wills, it becomes light and moves swiftly, and trembles and skips like the ram, so that they may know that He is the Creator of all and that all is in His hand.
Metzudat David
"Who turned" — Who turns the dry rock into a pool of water. "The flint" — The matter is repeated in different words.
Metzudat Zion
"Who turned" — the yod is superfluous. "A pool of water" — this is a place where water collects. "The flint" — this is a hard rock, as in 'and oil out of the flinty rock' (Deuteronomy 32:13). "Into a fountain" — from the language of ma'yan (spring), and the vav is superfluous.
Malbim
'Who turns' — I have already explained above, in chapter 77, on the verse 'The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You, they were in anguish' — that at the time Hashem revealed Himself over the sea to split it, He revealed Himself according to His being the root of the element of water, and thereby the power and nature of the water were nullified before that root. That is why it says that the waters saw You in the form of water, and were thereby in anguish. And so here it says that it was a miracle because He revealed Himself to it in the root of water — to the point that 'even the rock was turned into a pool of water,' by the power of the root of water present with it. Now flint (chalamish) is harder than rock (tzur), and he poetically describes how the hard rock was turned into a pool of water, a moist place; 'and the fountain of the pool was the flint,' which is even harder than the rock — that from the flint came the fountain, into the pool of water that had been made from the rock.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim