Psalms 89:12
in Psalms 89North and south You created; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name.
KJV
The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
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This verse in Psalms 89
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe two extreme parts of the world, the northern and southern poles, whether inhabited or uninhabited, are created by the Lord, to answer some purpose or another; see Job 26:7. Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name; Tabor was a mountain in the western part of Galilee, in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:
This site's exposition
You rule the raging sea
on Psalms 89:9-13
God rules the raging sea and stills its waves, and verse 10 sets the crushing of Rahab beside it. Verses 11 to 13 hand Him the heavens and the earth. Tabor stands west of the Jordan and Hermon north of it, and both shout at His name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Thou hast created the north and the seas." For nothing has any power against Thee, against its Creator. The world indeed may rage through its own malice, and the perversity of its will; does it nevertheless pass over the bound laid down by the Creator, who made all things? Why then do I fear the north wind? Why do I fear the seas? In the north indeed is the devil, who said, "I will sit in the sides of the north; I will be like the Most High;" but Thou hast humbled, as one wounded, the proud one. Thus what Thou hast done in them has more force for Thy dominion, than their own will has for their wickedness. "Thou hast created the north and the seas."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Tabor - The several parts of the land of Canaan, both within Jordan, where mount Tabor is; and without it, where Hermon lies. Rejoice - Shall be fruitful and prosperous, and so give their inhabitants cause to rejoice.
Tabor is commonly supposed to be that high mountain in Galilee on the top of which Christ was transfigured; and then indeed it might be said to rejoice in that voice which was there heard, This is my beloved Son. The power and justice, the mercy and truth, with which he governs the world and rules in the affairs of the children of men,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The north and the south thou hast created them. North and south, opposite poles, agree in this—that Jehovah fashioned them. Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name, that is to say, east and west are equally formed by thee, and therefore give thee praise. Turn to all points of the compass, and behold the Lord is there. The regions of snow and the gardens of the sun are his dominions: both the land of the dawning and the home of the setting sun rejoice to own his sway.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
To illustrate His power and faithfulness examples are cited from history. His control of the sea (the most mighty and unstable object in nature), and of Egypt (Ps 87:4), the first great foe of Israel (subjected to utter helplessness from pride and insolence), are specimens.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The north and the south thou hast created them. North and south, opposite poles, agree in this—that Jehovah fashioned them. Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name, that is to say, east and west are equally formed by thee, and therefore give thee praise. Turn to all points of the compass, and behold the Lord is there. The regions of snow and the gardens of the sun are his dominions: both the land of the dawning and the home of the setting sun rejoice to own his sway. Tabor was on the west of Jordan and Hermon on the east, and it seems natural to consider these two mountains as representatives of the east and west. Keble paraphrases the passage thus:
The north and the south - It is generally supposed that by these four terms all the four quarters of the globe are intended. Tabor, a mountain of Galilee, was on the west of Mount Hermon, which was beyond Jordan, to the east of the source of that river.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The north and the south, thou hast created them - All that there is in the north and in the south - in the northern and the southern sky - the constellations and the stars; and all that there is in the earth - in the regions of cold and of heat - far as they extend in either direction. The word rendered “north” here - צפון tsâphôn - means properly that which is hidden or dark, and was applied to the north, because the ancients regarded it as the seat of gloom and darkness. Hom. Od., ix. 25. The south, on the other hand, was regarded by them as illuminated and made bright by the beams of the sun. The word rendered “south” - ימין yâmı̂yn - means literally the right hand, and was applied to the south because the ancient geographers were supposed to face the east, as now they are supposed to face the north. Compare the notes at Job 23:9. Tabor and Hermon - That is, the west and the east - the former of these mountains being on the western side of Palestine, the other on the eastern, and both of them being objects of beauty and grandeur. The idea is, that God had control of all parts of the universe; that the world in every direction, and in every part, declared his power, and made known his greatness. Shall rejoice in thy name - Or, do rejoice in thee. That is, They, as it were, exult in thee as their God. They are clothed with beauty, as if full of joy; and they acknowledge that all this comes from thee as the great Creator. Compare Psa 65:8, Psa 65:12; Psa 96:11-12.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צָפ֣וֹן | tzafon | [the] north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| וְ֭יָמִין | veyamin | and [the] south | H3225 → | 140 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בְרָאתָ֑ם | veratam | you created them | H1254 → | 55 times |
| תָּב֥וֹר | tavor | Tabor | H8396 → | |
| וְ֝חֶרְמ֗וֹן | vechermon | and Hermon | H2768 → | |
| בְּשִׁמְךָ֥ | beshimkha | at name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃ | yeranenu | they shout for joy | H7442 → | 54 times |
צָפ֣וֹן[the] north
tzafonH6828 →153 times
וְ֭יָמִיןand [the] south
veyaminH3225 →140 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
בְרָאתָ֑םyou created them
veratamH1254 →55 times
תָּב֥וֹרTabor
tavorH8396 →
וְ֝חֶרְמ֗וֹןand Hermon
vechermonH2768 →
בְּשִׁמְךָ֥at name your
beshimkhaH8034 →864 times
יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃they shout for joy
yeranenuH7442 →54 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 133:3It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:8
The LORD will decree a blessing on your barns and on everything to which you put your hand; the LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you.
- Leviticus 25:21
But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years.
- Psalms 42:8
The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.
- Deuteronomy 4:48
extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
- Deuteronomy 28:8
Through
Job 26:7He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.
it leads to
- Job 9:8
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
- Psalms 104:2–5
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Isaiah 40:22
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
- Job 9:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 89; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.