King James Version:
(The Lord speaking is red text)
Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
Complete Jewish Bible:
You cut channels for springs and streams, you dried up rivers that had never failed.
Berean Standard Bible:
You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
American Standard Version:
Thou didst cleave fountain and flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers.
KJV with Strong’s Numbers:
Thou didst cleave{H1234}{H8804)} the fountain{H4599} and the flood{H5158}: thou driedst up{H3001}{H8689)} mighty{H386} rivers{H5104}.
Cross-References (KJV):
Numbers 20:11
- And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts [also].
Isaiah 48:21
- And they thirsted not [when] he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
Exodus 17:5
- And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
Exodus 17:6
- Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Psalms 105:41
- He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places [like] a river.
Joshua 3:13
- And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, [that] the waters of Jordan shall be cut off [from] the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Joshua 3:17
- And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
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Commentary for Psalms 74:15
Psalm 74:15 is part of a lament psalm attributed to Asaph, a temple musician and one of the leaders of King David's choir. This particular psalm is a communal lament, likely composed during the Babylonian exile or in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple in 586 BCE. The themes of the psalm include a remembrance of God's past acts of salvation and deliverance for His people, a plea for God to remember and avenge the current desolation, and a call for God to reassert His sovereignty over creation and against the forces of chaos and enemy nations.
The verse itself, Psalm 74:15, specifically recalls God's power over nature as demonstrated in the ancient past, possibly alluding to the parting of the Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14) and the subsequent drying up of the Jordan River as the Israelites entered the Promised Land (Joshua 3). These acts were seen as monumental displays of divine power, where God miraculously intervened in natural phenomena—splitting seas and stopping river flows—to save and provide for His people.
In the historical context, the reference to God's control over water serves both as a reminder of His might and as a reassurance to the exiled Israelites that the same God who once split rivers can also deliver them from their current plight. The verse thus functions as a source of hope amidst despair, affirming that the God of Israel is capable of transforming chaos into order and can once again act on behalf of His people to restore them to their land and to their place as His chosen nation.
*This commentary is produced by Microsoft/WizardLM-2-8x22B AI model
Strong's Numbers and Definitions:
Note: H = Hebrew (OT), G = Greek (NT)
- Strong's Number: H1234
There are 50 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: בָּקַע
Transliteration: bâqaʻ
Pronunciation: baw-kah'
Description: a primitive root; to cleave; generally, to rend, break, rip or open; make a breach, break forth (into, out, in pieces, through, up), be ready to burst, cleave (asunder), cut out, divide, hatch, rend (asunder), rip up, tear, win. - Strong's Number: H4599
There are 23 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: מַעְיָן
Transliteration: maʻyân
Pronunciation: mah-yawn'
Description: or מַעְיְנוֹ; (Psalm 114:8), or (feminine) מַעְיָנָה; from עַיִן (as a denominative in the sense of a spring); a fountain (also collectively), figuratively, a source (of satisfaction); fountain, spring, well. - Strong's Number: H5158
There are 123 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: נַחַל
Transliteration: nachal
Pronunciation: nakh'-al
Description: or (feminine) נַחְלָה; (Psalm 124:4), or נַחֲלָה; (Ezekiel 47:19; Ezekiel 48:28), from נָחַל in its original sense; a stream, especially a winter torrent; (by implication) a (narrow) valley (in which a brook runs); also a shaft (of a mine); brook, flood, river, stream, valley. - Strong's Number: H3001
There are 67 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: יָבֵשׁ
Transliteration: yâbêsh
Pronunciation: yaw-bashe'
Description: a primitive root; to be ashamed, confused or disappointed; also (as failing) to dry up (as water) or wither (as herbage); be ashamed, clean, be confounded, (make) dry (up), (do) shame(-fully), [idiom] utterly, wither (away). - Strong's Number: H386
There are 87 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: אֵיתָן
Transliteration: ʼêythân
Pronunciation: ay-thawn'
Description: or (shortened) אֵתָן ; from an unused root (meaning to continue); permanence; hence (concrete) permanent; specifically a chieftain; hard, mighty, rough, strength, strong. - Strong's Number: H5104
There are 109 instances of this translation in the Bible
Lemma: נָהָר
Transliteration: nâhâr
Pronunciation: naw-hawr'
Description: from נָהַר; a stream (including the sea; expectation the Nile, Euphrates, etc.); figuratively, prosperity; flood, river.