Psalm 104

This article is about Psalm 104 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 104 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 105.
Psalm 104
"Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great"
Psalm 104:24 in the West Window of Hook Church
Other name
  • Psalm 103
  • "Benedic anima mea Domino"
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 104
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

Psalm 104 is the 104th psalm of the Book of Psalms,[1] beginning in Hebrew "ברכי נפשי" (barachi nafshi: "bless my soul"); in English in the King James Version: "Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 103. In Latin, it is known as "Benedic anima mea Domino".[2]

Psalm 104 is used as a regular part of Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, including works by John Dowland, Heinrich Schütz, Philip Glass and William Lovelady.

The inaugural occurrence of the term "Hallelujah" within the Old Testament can be identified in Psalm 104, with subsequent instances found in Psalms 105 and 106. Notably, O. Palmer Robertson perceives these Psalms as a cohesive triad, serving as the concluding compositions of Book 4.[3] Hallelujah will also appear in Psalm 113, Psalm 117, Psalm 135 Psalm and Psalms 146 through 150.[4]

The psalm bears a notable resemblance to Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten, written some 400 years earlier in Egypt.[5]

  1. ^ Eckhard von Nordheim, Die Selbstbehauptung Israels in der Welt des Alten Orients: religionsgeschichtlicher Vergleich anhand von Gen 15/22/28, dem Aufenthalt Israels in Ägypten, 2 Sam 7, 1 Kön 19 und Psalm 104, Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht Göttingen, 1992,
  2. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 103 (104) Archived 7 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine medievalist.net
  3. ^ The Flow of the Psalms, O. Palmer Robertson, P&R Publishing, pp 173-174, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62995-133-1
  4. ^ The Flow of the Psalms, O. Palmer Robertson, P&R Publishing, pp 174-176, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62995-133-1
  5. ^ Brown, William P.; Schipper, Bernd U. (2014-03-28), Brown, William P. (ed.), "Egyptian Backgrounds to the Psalms", The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199783335.013.004, ISBN 978-0-19-978333-5, retrieved 2024-07-17