Rebellious Waters

(3) The Eternal is slow to anger and of great forbearance, But the Eternal does not remit all punishment. [God] travels in whirlwind and storm,With clouds the dust on divine feet. (4) [God] rebukes the sea and dries it up, And makes all rivers fail; Bashan and Carmel languish, And the blossoms of Lebanon wither.

(8) Are You wroth, O Eternal One, with the Rivers? Is Your anger against the Rivers, Your rage against the Sea — That You are driving Your steeds, Your victorious chariot?

(2) Your throne stands firm from of old; from eternity You have existed. (3) The ocean sounds, O Eternal, the ocean sounds its thunder, the ocean sounds its pounding. (4) Above the thunder of the mighty waters, more majestic than the breakers of the sea is the Eternal, majestic on high.

(21) Hear this, O foolish people, Devoid of intelligence, That have eyes but can’t see, That have ears but can’t hear! (22) Should you not revere Me —says God — Should you not tremble before Me, Who set the sand as a boundary to the sea, As a limit for all time, not to be transgressed? Though its waves toss, they cannot prevail; Though they roar, they cannot pass it. (23) Yet this people has a wayward and defiant heart; They have turned aside and gone their way. (24) They have not said to themselves, “Let us revere the Eternal our God, Who gives the rain, The early and late rain in season, Who keeps for our benefit The weeks appointed for harvest.”

(5) God established the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never totter. (6) You made the deep cover it as a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. (7) They fled at Your blast, rushed away at the sound of Your thunder, (8) —mountains rising, valleys sinking— to the place You established for them. (9) You set bounds they must not pass so that they never again cover the earth.

And Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: When the Holy Blessed One created the world, it continued to expand like two balls of a warp, whose cord lengthens as they unravel, until the Holy Blessed One rebuked it and made it stand still, as it is stated: “The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at Divine rebuke” (Job 26:11). And this is what Reish Lakish said: What is that which is written: “I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai]” (Genesis 17:1)? I am the One Who said to the world “enough [dai]”. Similarly, Reish Lakish said: When the Holy Blessed One created the sea, it continued to expand until the Holy Blessed One rebuked it and made it dry, as it is stated: “[God] rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and desiccates all the rivers” (Nahum 1:4).

(1) On the third day all the earth was flat like a plain and the waters covered the surface of all the earth. When the word of the Almighty was uttered, "Let the waters be gathered together" (Gen. 1:9), the mountains and hills arose from the ends of the earth and they were scattered over the surface of all the earth, and valleys were formed over the inner parts of the earth; and the waters were rolled together and gathered into the valleys, as it is said, "And the gathering together of the waters he called seas" (Gen. 1:10). Forthwith the waters became proud and they arose to cover the earth as at first, when the Holy Blessed One rebuked them and subdued them, and placed them beneath the soles of God's feet, and measured them with the hollow of the Divine hand that they should neither decrease nor increase. God made the sand as the boundary of the sea, just like a person who makes a fence for their vineyard. When they rise and see the sand before them they return to their former place, as it is said, "Do you not fear Me? says the Eternal: will you not tremble at my presence, who has placed the sand as a boundary for the sea?" (Jer. 5:22).

(3) Another interpretation: "the rivers of God lifted up" (Psalm 93:3). Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Ben Azai that the waters were rising and reaching up to the throne of glory, as it is said, "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And it also says, "As an eagle awakens its nest, hovering over its young" (Deuteronomy 32:11). And when the word emerged from the mouth of the Almighty, "the waters gathered together" (Genesis 9:10). Mountains and hills rose up from the ends of the earth and spread throughout the land, creating valleys upon valleys in the midst of the earth, and the waters would roll and gather into the valleys, as it is said, "And God called the gathering of the waters 'Seas'" (Genesis 1:10). Immediately, the waters swelled and covered the land, until God rebuked them and pressed them beneath the Divine feet, forming a border for the sea as a human makes a fence around their vineyard. And when the waters rose and saw the sand before them, they receded, as it is said, "

Should you not revere Me —says God... Who set the sand as a boundary to the sea, " (Jeremiah 5:22)...

(22) Blessed be the name of the supreme Sovereign of sovereigns, the Holy Blessed One, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for God's wonders have no limit and Divine greatness is beyond reckoning. It is written “God has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and has put the deeps in storehouses.” (Ps. 33:7) Now what is the meaning of “gathers like a mound?” When the Holy Blessed One, created the world, God said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,” he said [back], “Ruler of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then [the angel] began to weep. [So God] kicked [the angel] to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In Divine power God stilled the sea, and in understanding struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy Blessed One do? God subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and [the sea] accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “God tramples on the heights of the earth."...

(9) Awake, awake, clothe yourself with splendor. O arm of the Eternal One ! Awake as in days of old, As in former ages! It was you that hacked Rahab in pieces, That pierced the Dragon.

(12) By Divine power God stilled the sea; With skill, struck down Rahab.

(8) At Your rebuke they fled (Psalm 104:7). When a person sees that their winepress is filled with grapes, and that their vineyard is ready for cutting, others may ask: “What will you do with these grapes, since the vat is too small to contain them?” What does the person do? Tread down the grapes in the vat and then puts in the new grapes. Then it is able to contain all their grapes. Similarly, though the entire world was submerged under water, the Holy Blessed One declared: Let the dry earth appear (Gen. 1:9). The water thereupon cried out: “Though we fill the entire world, it is cramped for us. Whither shall we go?” What did the Holy Blessed One do? God trampled upon the ocean and slew its prince, as it is said: Godstirreth up the sea with Divine power, and by understanding smites Rahab (Job 26:12). Smites is an expression that indicates slaying, as it is said: And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head, yea, she pierced and struck through his temple (Judg. 5:26). The seas mourn (bohin) to this very day because God slew the prince of the sea, as is said: Hast thou entered into the springs (nibhe) of the sea? (Job 38:16). Why did God slay him? Because a house that can accommodate a hundred living people can contain a thousand dead. That is why the ocean is called the dead sea. Ultimately, however, the Holy Blessed One will heal it, as it is said: When they shall enter into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed (Ezek. 47:8)...