Psalms 104:2

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
coverest	עֹֽטֶה 'o.teh-	H5844	to wrap · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
light	א֭וֹר 'or	H216	illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · noun, common feminine singular absolute
garment	כַּשַּׂלְמָ֑ה ka.sal.Mah	H8008	a dress · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
out	נוֹטֶ֥ה no.Teh	H5186	to stretch or spread out · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
heavens	שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם Sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural absolute
curtain	כַּיְרִיעָֽה kay.ri.'Ah	H3407	a hanging (as tremulous) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Isaiah 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a cu…
Isaiah 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like th…
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Zechariah 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, a…
Matthew 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and p…
Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must stir up ourselves to take hold on God in it (Isa 64:7); so David does here. "Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels' work; set about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged and employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!" In these verses, I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper world, of which, though it is one of the things not seen, faith is the evidence. With what reverence and holy awe does he begin his meditation with that acknowledgment: O Lord my God! thou art very great! It is the joy of the saints that he who…

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John Gill on Psalms 104:2

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,.... Referring, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi think, to the light, which was first created; and indeed this was commanded out of darkness by God the Word, or by the essential Word of God. Light is expressive of the nature of God himself, who is light, and in him is no darkness at all, and who dwells in light (h) inaccessible, and so may be said to be clothed with it; which is applicable to Christ as a divine Person, 1 John 1:5. and to whom this term "light" well agrees; Light being one of the names of the Messiah in the Old Testament, Psalm 43:3, and is often given him in the New Testament, as the author of the light of nature, grace, and glory, Jo…

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John Calvin on Psalms 104:1-4

Psalm 104:1-4 1. Bless Jehovah, O my soul! O Jehovah my God! thou art exceeding great; thou hast clothed thyself with praise and glory. 2. Being arrayed [177] with light as with a garment; and spreading out the heavens as a curtain: 3. Laying the beams of his upper rooms [178] in the waters; making the clouds his chariot; and walking upon the wings of the wind; 4. Making the winds his messengers; and his ministers a flaming fire. 1 Bless Jehovah, O my soul! After having exhorted himself to praise God, the Psalmist adds, that there is abundant matter for such an exercise; thus indirectly condemning himself and others of ingratitude, if the praises of God, than which nothing ought to be bett…

The Church Fathers

Stretching out the heaven like a skin. This means that from the beginning God stretched out the heaven, just as when someone opens a scroll and again rolls it back up, as is written elsewhere: "And the heaven shall be rolled up like a scroll."
— Jerome, Homily 30, on Psalm 103

And, therefore, about this one [Jesus Christ] it is rightly said, "He has perfect hands to put on the holy things." For this one is truly he who "put on holy things," not those who were "bad examples" but these that are truly "holy." But if you want to hear about his more lofty garments, take the prophetic words, "Clothed with light as a garment, the abyss as a garment is his clothing." This is the appearance of my great high priest who is declared clothed with the depths of knowledge and the light of wisdom that truly are "holy" garments.
— Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 12:3.3

This is the first heaven, shaped like a vaulted chamber, which was created on the first day along with the earth, and of it Isaiah speaks thus: He that hath established the heaven as a vaulted chamber. But the heaven, which is bound to the first at the middle, is that which was created on the second day, to which Isaiah refers when he says: And having stretched it out as a tent to dwell in. David also says concerning it: Stretching out the heaven as a curtain, and indicating it still more clearly he says: Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters.
— Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 4

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Curtain — (1.) Ten curtains, each twenty-eight cubits long and four wide, made of fine linen, also eleven made of goat’s hair, covered the tabernacle (Ex. 26:1-13; 36:8-17). (2.) The sacred curtain, separating…
Dress — (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah’s dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The…
Birds · God provides for — God provides for
Light · Illustrative of: Glory of God — Illustrative of: Glory of God
Meteorology And Celestial Phenomena · 9:7;26:7,8,11;27:20,21;28:24-27;29:19;36:27-33;37:6-22;38:8-11,22,24-29,31-35,37; — 9:7;26:7,8,11;27:20,21;28:24-27;29:19;36:27-33;37:6-22;38:8-11,22,24-29,31-35,37;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 104:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

John Gill on Psalms 104:2

John Calvin on Psalms 104:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 104:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 104:1-9

John Gill on Psalms 104:2

John Calvin on Psalms 104:1-4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 104:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 104:2-4

Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 104:2