Lebanon like a young unicorn?

[kirisutogomen]

Psalm 29:5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Psalm 29:6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

Comments

[ricedog.livejournal.com]

The word that is translated as unicorn was a symbol of Manasseh, a tribe that lived near Mt Hermon ("Sirion"). No one's really sure what the animal actually was. Rhinoceros is a common choice, because it can also be used as symbolism of the unequal importance of Joseph's sons (Manasseh and Ephraim), because it has a large horn and a small horn. And really, a mountain running like a rhinoceros is a great metaphor.

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

OK, but how does Lebanon skip like a baby rhino, and is that a result of God breaking its cedars?

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I always thought it meant that the Lord's voice was so powerful that it broke the trees (like a shockwave), and made the mountains shake (like an earthquake). The verb that's translated here as "skip" can also be translated as "dance" if that helps, and there's another passage somewhere that speaks of mountains dancing, so I think of that as a common image. (Sorry--I can hear the song in my head, but I can't remember the context.)

[ricedog.livejournal.com]

There's a Passover song that also has the mountains as rambunctious animals metaphor, when God talks to Moses on Sinai. You realize Lebanon doesn't refer to the country, but a particular mountain in an area that was prone to earthquakes?

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

Aha! I did not realize that, and it helps a lot. I think I misdirected myself with the reference to the cedars of Lebanon; I thought of the cedar as a symbol for the whole country, as in the Cedar Revolution or the tree on the flag.

Now that I've looked it up on Wikipedia, I find that the last remaining Lebanese cedars are actually all in Mount Lebanon, so my misunderstanding was double.

[ricedog.livejournal.com]

This psalm is also thought to written during a thunderstorm, which have been known to break the cedars.