Armenia in comments -- Book: Psalms (tPs) Սաղմոս
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tPs 136:10 Up to this point it is God the absolute in general, the Creator of all things, to the celebration of whose praise they are summoned; and from this point onwards the God of the history of salvation. In Psa 136:13 גּזר (instead of בּקע, Psa 78:13; Exo 14:21; Neh 9:11) of the dividing of the Red Sea is peculiar; גּזרים (Gen 15:17, side by side with בּתרים) are the pieces or parts of a thing that is cut up into pieces. נער is a favourite word taken from Exo 14:27. With reference to the name of the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh (Herodotus also, ii. 111, calls the Pharaoh of the Exodus the son of Sesostris-Rameses Miumun, not Μενόφθας, as he is properly called, but absolutely Φερῶν), vid., on Psa 73:22. After the God to whom the praise is to be ascribed has been introduced with ל by always fresh attributes, the ל before the names of Sihon and of Og is perplexing. The words are taken over, as are the six lines of Psa 136:17-22 in the main, from Psa 135:10-12, with only a slight alteration in the expression. In Psa 136:23 the continued influence of the construction הודוּ ל is at an end. The connection by means of שׁ (cf. Psa 135:8, Psa 135:10) therefore has reference to the preceding "for His goodness endureth for ever." The language here has the stamp of the latest period. It is true זכר with Lamed of the object is used even in the earliest Hebrew, but שׁפל is only authenticated by Ecc 10:6, and פּרק, to break loose = to rescue (the customary Aramaic word for redemption), by Lam 5:8, just as in the closing verse, which recurs to the beginning, "God of heaven" is a name for God belonging to the latest literature, Neh 1:4; Neh 2:4. In Psa 136:23 the praise changes suddenly to that which has been experienced very recently. The attribute in Psa 136:25 (cf. Psa 147:9; Psa 145:15) leads one to look back to a time in which famine befell them together with slavery. Next: Psalms Chapter 137
tPs 136:13
To him which divided the Red sea into parts,.... Into two parts, so that the waters of it stood as a wall on the right and left hand of the Israelites, as they passed through; this was done by means of a strong east wind, Exo 14:21. The Jews have a tradition, which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Arama, make mention of, that the sea was divided into twelve parts, according to the twelve tribes of Israel, and every tribe had a path by itself to walk in; but for this there is no foundation: however, the dividing it into parts was a wonderful work, and a rich display of mercy to Israel; for his mercy endureth for ever; the children of Israel were encompassed about, and in the utmost distress: the rocks were on each side, Pharaoh and his host behind them, the Red sea before them; and so no visible way of escape; but the Lord cut a way for them through the sea, and saved them. The sea is an emblem of this world, which is like a tempestuous troubled sea; where everything is restless, fluctuating, and passing away; where the people of God are tossed with tempests; and where afflictions, like the waves and billows of the sea, come over them one after another; and through which they must pass and enter the kingdom: and God, that wills, orders, and appoints them, sets these proud waves of the sea their bounds, or makes them a calm; and, sooner or later, makes a way through them and out of them, which is owing to his enduring mercy, Co1 10:13. Psalms 136:14