Chaos Under Control

Water Motifs in the Psalms at the Crossroads of Creation Theology and Environmental Ethics

Abstract

This study examines the water motifs of the Book of Psalms at the intersection of creation theology and contemporary environmental ethics, with particular attention to Jewish interpretive traditions. The analysis focuses on two types of water motif: psalms that dramatize the tension between chaos and order (Psalms 74 and 93), and texts that hymn the praise of creation (primarily Psalm 104). The author demonstrates that water in the Psalms is not merely a poetic image but a theologically charged symbol — simultaneously the embodiment of untamed chaos and the source of life. The analysis draws on Jon D. Levenson's theology of creation, which argues that YHWH does not destroy chaos but holds it in check — the created order is therefore fragile and requires continuous divine sustenance. The rabbinic tradition (Midrash Tehillim, Babylonian Talmud) does not simply preserve these motifs but creatively transforms them: the Leviathan becomes a pet, then a participant in divine praise. The study concludes by applying the Levensonian dynamic to a theological reading of the contemporary ecological crisis: climate catastrophe can be read as the return of chaos, and human responsibility is grounded in the dual role of stewardship and radical amazement.