Psalm 29

The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.

Scholars report that there are several possible literal translations: “sons of most high,” “sons of God,” or “sons of gods.” The context suggests these are celestial beings of God’s heavenly kingdom. They’re the good guys.

Some scholars speculate that the songwriter is saying God controls the weather. It’s not the local Canaanite storm god Baal, who was said to speak in thunder and lightning. The prophet Elijah made that case when he challenged the priests of Baal to a contest of calling down fire (lightning) from the sky. God won (1 Kings 18).

Literally “Sirion,” another name for Mount Hermon, on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and Syria.

The Hebrew word for “peace and goodness” is “shalom.” It’s a word that means “wellbeing” in a lot of ways: peace of mind, health, financial security, safety. If it’s part of what makes life good, it’s part of “shalom.”