Psalms 114:1 a people of a strange tongue With another language, which is not the Holy Tongue. A similar expression is (Isa. 33:19): “A people of a strange tongue you shall not see, a people of speech too obscure, etc.” The “nun” and the “lammed” are interchangeable, like נִשְׁכָּה, chamber, which is [equivalent to] לִשְׁכָּה, in the Book of Ezra (Neh. 13:7).
Psalms 114:2 Judah became His holy nation He took Judah as the lot of His portion and His sanctity, and even they sanctified His name when they descended into the sea, as the matter that is stated (above 68: 28): “the princes of Judah pelt them with stones.” Similarly, this verse is explained in the Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 114:8): Judah became His holy people, for Nahshon sprang into the sea and said, “I shall descend first,” and that is what [the Psalmist] says: Judah became His holy people.
Psalms 114:3 the Jordan turned backward because all the water of Creation split.
Psalms 114:7 Who created the earth Heb. חולי, Who created the earth. The “yud” is superfluous as מגביהי, משפילי and ההוֹפכי.
Psalms 114:8 into a fountain of water Heb. למעינו. The “vav” is superfluous, as the “vav” in (above 104:11, 20) “the beasts (חיתו) of the forest.”</html