Psalm 114



Psalm 114 is the 114th psalm of the Book of Psalms. In the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and in its Latin translation in the Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 113 in a slightly different numbering system.

Structure and theme

The Psalm is composed of four stanzas of two lines, which the word Jacob envelops. The two central stanzas evoke with images full of life the miracle of the Red Sea and the passage of the Jordan. God is evoked only at the end of the Psalm, doubtless to arouse the expectation.
The first stanza recalls by the verb that the Hebrew people are born in the exodus. The words sanctuary and domain designate the entire Holy Land, the inheritance of God, not only in the geographical sense but also in a spiritual sense. The miracles that allow Israel to cross the Red Sea and cross the Jordan River are poetically enhanced by the process of hyperbole and by images evoking a life of natural elements, water and mountains. It is a means of manifesting all creation with Israel and actively participating in its march towards the Promised Land.
At eight verses the psalm is comparatively concise.
begins with the Hebrew 'בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִמִּצְרָיִם; בֵּית יַעֲקֹב, מֵעַם לֹעֵז' and in Hebrew is an acrostic Poem. It is also one of the so called Egyptian Hallel prayers, though it is sometimes ascribed to King David.

Uses

Judaism

Since the sixth century, the psalm has been used as a reading at Christian burial services, and also in ministry to those who are dying. It has also been read at Easter Day services, as Israel's deliverance from slavery is seen as a metaphor for deliverance from sin.

[Protestant Christianity]

In the Revised Common Lectionary, the Psalm appears in Year A on the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost.

[Orthodox Christianity]

In Slavic and Greek Orthodox churches, it is sung as an antiphon for the feast of Theophany, for the following Sunday and for Palm Sunday.

Catholic">Roman Catholic Church">Catholic

St. Benedict of Nursia choose this psalm as one of the Psalms sung for the offices of Vespers. Since the early Middle Ages, Psalm 114 has been performed at the office of Vespers on Monday, according to the rule of St. Benedict
In the Liturgy of Hours today, the first part of Psalm 114 is sung or recited on Vespers Sunday. It is the only psalm traditionally chanted using Tonus peregrinus.

In popular culture

Part of the psalm is quoted at the beginning of Dante's Purgatorio.