Psalm 76 1

Psalm 76:1 kjv

In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.

Psalm 76:1 nkjv

To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel.

Psalm 76:1 niv

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song. God is renowned in Judah; in Israel his name is great.

Psalm 76:1 esv

In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.

Psalm 76:1 nlt

God is honored in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.

Psalm 76 verses

Psalm 76 1 Meaning

God’s presence, power, and identity are clearly and experientially recognized among His covenant people, Judah and Israel, specifically through His manifest acts of deliverance and judgment. His character and saving works demonstrate His incomparable greatness.

Psalm 76 1 Context

Psalm 76 is an Asaphic Psalm, designated as a song of victory, likely composed after a significant military deliverance for Jerusalem and Judah. Many scholars connect its historical context to the miraculous defeat of Sennacherib's Assyrian army outside Jerusalem (as recounted in 2 Kgs 19 and Isa 37), where a vast hostile force was destroyed overnight by the Lord. This Psalm extols God as the mighty Judge and Protector who effectively humbles the arrogant enemies of His people. Verse 1 serves as the foundational declaration, establishing that this mighty God is not a distant deity, but is intimately "known" within His covenant nation and His "name" is magnified by His demonstrable acts within their midst, particularly in contrast to the false hopes and powerless gods of other nations. The psalm proceeds to detail how this "known" God crushes His enemies, silencing them, highlighting that Jerusalem is His dwelling place where His power is revealed.

Psalm 76 1 Word analysis

• In Judah (בִּֽיהוּדָה - bi-Yehudah): This specifies the location and community where God is uniquely recognized. Judah was the southern kingdom, the seat of the Davidic dynasty, and home to Jerusalem and the Temple. It indicates a privileged place of divine revelation and intervention.
• God (אֱלֹהִים - Elohim): This is the generic, majestic plural Hebrew term for God, yet in this context, it unequivocally refers to the one true God, the Creator and Sustainer. The use of the plural emphasizes His comprehensive power, sovereignty, and fullness, here localized in His redemptive dealings within Judah.
• is known (נוֹדָע - nodaʿ): This is the Niphal perfect form of the verb יָדַע (yada, "to know"). The Niphal stem is typically reflexive or passive. Here, it implies that God has made Himself known or He is revealed. This isn't knowledge gained by human intellectual pursuit but by divine self-disclosure, specifically through His powerful and unmistakable actions, such as the deliverance referenced in the rest of the psalm. It signifies an experiential and intimate understanding of His character.
• His name (שְׁמוֹ - shemō): In ancient Near Eastern thought and the Bible, a "name" is more than just a label; it represents the character, reputation, authority, and very presence of the individual. For God, "His name" embodies His revealed essence, His attributes (holiness, power, faithfulness, justice), and His covenant promises. To glorify His name is to acknowledge who He is in His full might and majesty.
• is great (גָּדוֹל - gadol): This adjective denotes greatness in scale, power, significance, and honor. It is not merely a statement of size but of supreme eminence, superiority, and majesty. It describes His intrinsic nature as well as His manifested power that brings awe and praise.
• in Israel (בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל - be-Yisrael): Parallel to "in Judah," "Israel" here refers to the entire covenant people of God, often encompassing the remnant of all tribes or the idealized nation. This parallelism signifies that God's unique revelation and the greatness of His name extend across the entirety of His chosen nation, highlighting a widespread and unifying recognition of His sovereign reign and saving acts. It underscores the universal acceptance of God within His own chosen realm.

Psalm 76 1 Bonus section

The affirmation of God being "known" and His "name" being "great" specifically "in Judah" and "in Israel" carries a strong implicit polemic against contemporary polytheistic beliefs. While surrounding nations worshipped numerous deities, the God of Israel actively revealed Himself, not just through abstract doctrines, but through tangible, decisive acts within His own land and among His own people. His actions, such as devastating foreign armies without human intervention (as hinted in Ps 76:3-6), demonstrated His unparalleled power and sovereignty, proving the impotence of any rival gods or human might. This verse asserts the uniqueness and exclusivity of the God of Israel as the true and living God, whose identity and character are irrefutably proven by His interaction with His covenant nation, making Him known and great beyond any other.

Psalm 76 1 Commentary

Psalm 76:1 opens with a powerful declaration affirming God's manifest presence and undeniable might within His covenant community. The statement "In Judah God is known" emphasizes that God has made Himself comprehensible and evident through His intervention, rather than being a distant or hidden deity. This knowing is experiential, forged in the crucible of their history, particularly through divine acts of protection and deliverance. Simultaneously, "His name is great in Israel" proclaims that His very essence, His revealed character and authority, is held in supreme reverence and awe throughout the nation. The synonymous parallelism between "Judah" and "Israel" broadens this acknowledgment across the entirety of God's people. This foundational verse sets the stage for the rest of the psalm, which recounts the mighty display of God's power over hostile forces, validating how He became so powerfully "known" and how His "name" was truly "great" in their eyes. It's a declaration of exclusive covenant relationship, proving God's active, salvific reality for His chosen ones.