Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 32:8
Context32:8 When the Most High 1 gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind, 2
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 3
Ezra 9:2
Context9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race 4 has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”
Jeremiah 46:28
Context46:28 I, the Lord, tell 5 you not to be afraid,
you descendants of Jacob, my servant,
for I am with you.
Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure.
I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” 6
Amos 9:9
Context9:9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground. 7
Romans 15:8-10
Context15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised 8 on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. 10 As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” 11 15:10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 12
Ephesians 2:12-14
Context2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, 13 alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, 14 having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 15 2:14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one 16 and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility,
[32:8] 1 tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.
[32:8] 2 tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).
[32:8] 3 tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.
[9:2] 4 tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.
[46:28] 5 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[46:28] 6 tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.
[9:9] 7 tn Heb “like being shaken with a sieve, and a pebble does not fall to the ground.” The meaning of the Hebrew word צְרוֹר (tsÿror), translated “pebble,” is unclear here. In 2 Sam 17:13 it appears to refer to a stone. If it means “pebble,” then the sieve described in v. 6 allows the grain to fall into a basket while retaining the debris and pebbles. However, if one interprets צְרוֹר as a “kernel of grain” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT) then the sieve is constructed to retain the grain and allow the refuse and pebbles to fall to the ground. In either case, the simile supports the last statement in v. 8 by making it clear that God will distinguish between the righteous (the grain) and the wicked (the pebbles) when he judges, and will thereby preserve a remnant in Israel. Only the sinners will be destroyed (v. 10).
[15:8] 8 tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.
[15:8] 9 tn Or “to the patriarchs.”
[15:9] 10 tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.
[15:9] 11 sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.
[15:10] 12 sn A quotation from Deut 32:43.
[2:12] 13 tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”
[2:12] 14 tn Or “covenants of the promise.”
