Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 74:15

"Thou didst cleave fountain and flood: Thou driedst up mighty rivers." — Psalms 74:15 (ASV)

Thou didst cleave ... —Another meaningful expression for “thou didst cleave the rock, and a fountain came forth.”

Flood. —Better, brook. Hebrew, nâchal.

Mighty rivers. —See margin. Or perhaps, more accurately, rivers of constant flow, that did not dry up in summer like the “brooks.” The same word is used of the sea (Exodus 14:27) to express the return to the regular flow of the tide.

The verb “driest up” is used in Joshua 2:10 for the Red Sea, and in Joshua 4:23 and Joshua 5:1 for the Jordan.