Discovery BoxExodus 22:8-9
Context22:8 If the thief is not caught, 1 then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges 2 to see 3 whether he has laid 4 his hand on his neighbor’s goods. 22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions, 5 whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ 6 the matter of the two of them will come before the judges, 7 and the one whom 8 the judges declare guilty 9 must repay double to his neighbor.
Psalms 32:6
Context32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 10 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 11
Certainly 12 when the surging water 13 rises,
it will not reach them. 14
Psalms 82:1-7
ContextA psalm of Asaph.
82:1 God stands in 16 the assembly of El; 17
in the midst of the gods 18 he renders judgment. 19
82:2 He says, 20 “How long will you make unjust legal decisions
and show favoritism to the wicked? 21 (Selah)
82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! 22
Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!
82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!
Deliver them from the power 23 of the wicked!
82:5 They 24 neither know nor understand.
They stumble 25 around in the dark,
while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 26
82:6 I thought, 27 ‘You are gods;
all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 28
82:7 Yet you will die like mortals; 29
you will fall like all the other rulers.” 30
Psalms 138:1
ContextBy David.
138:1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly 32 I will sing praises to you.
John 10:34-35
Context10:34 Jesus answered, 33 “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 34 10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), 35
[22:8] 2 tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7,8,” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.
[22:8] 3 tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.
[22:8] 4 tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”) – if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.
[22:9] 5 tn Heb “concerning every kind [thing] of trespass.”
[22:9] 6 tn The text simply has “this is it” (הוּא זֶה, hu’ zeh).
[22:9] 8 tn This kind of clause Gesenius calls an independent relative clause – it does not depend on a governing substantive but itself expresses a substantival idea (GKC 445-46 §138.e).
[22:9] 9 tn The verb means “to be guilty” in Qal; in Hiphil it would have a declarative sense, because a causative sense would not possibly fit.
[32:6] 10 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[32:6] 11 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
[32:6] 12 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
[32:6] 13 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
[32:6] 14 tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.
[82:1] 15 sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.
[82:1] 16 tn Or “presides over.”
[82:1] 17 tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.
[82:1] 18 sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).
[82:1] 19 sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).
[82:2] 20 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).
[82:2] 21 tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”
[82:3] 22 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
[82:5] 24 sn Having addressed the defendants, God now speaks to those who are observing the trial, referring to the gods in the third person.
[82:5] 25 tn Heb “walk.” The Hitpael stem indicates iterative action, picturing these ignorant “judges” as stumbling around in the darkness.
[82:5] 26 sn These gods, though responsible for justice, neglect their duty. Their self-imposed ignorance (which the psalmist compares to stumbling around in the dark) results in widespread injustice, which threatens the social order of the world (the meaning of the phrase all the foundations of the earth crumble).
[82:6] 28 sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).
[82:7] 29 tn Heb “men.” The point in the context is mortality, however, not maleness.
[82:7] 30 tn Heb “like one of the rulers.” The comparison does not necessarily imply that they are not rulers. The expression “like one of” can sometimes mean “as one of” (Gen 49:16; Obad 11) or “as any other of” (Judg 16:7, 11).
[138:1] 31 sn Psalm 138. The psalmist vows to thank the Lord for his deliverance and protection.
[138:1] 32 tn The referent of the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is unclear. It refers either to the angelic assembly (see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5) or to the pagan gods (see Pss 82:1, 6; 86:8; 97:7), in which case the psalmist’s praise takes on a polemical tone.
[10:34] 33 tn Grk “answered them.”
[10:34] 34 sn A quotation from Ps 82:6. Technically the Psalms are not part of the OT “law” (which usually referred to the five books of Moses), but occasionally the term “law” was applied to the entire OT, as here. The problem in this verse concerns the meaning of Jesus’ quotation from Ps 82:6. It is important to look at the OT context: The whole line reads “I say, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” Jesus will pick up on the term “sons of the Most High” in 10:36, where he refers to himself as the Son of God. The psalm was understood in rabbinic circles as an attack on unjust judges who, though they have been given the title “gods” because of their quasi-divine function of exercising judgment, are just as mortal as other men. What is the argument here? It is often thought to be as follows: If it was an OT practice to refer to men like the judges as gods, and not blasphemy, why did the Jewish authorities object when this term was applied to Jesus? This really doesn’t seem to fit the context, however, since if that were the case Jesus would not be making any claim for “divinity” for himself over and above any other human being – and therefore he would not be subject to the charge of blasphemy. Rather, this is evidently a case of arguing from the lesser to the greater, a common form of rabbinic argument. The reason the OT judges could be called gods is because they were vehicles of the word of God (cf. 10:35). But granting that premise, Jesus deserves much more than they to be called God. He is the Word incarnate, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world to save the world (10:36). In light of the prologue to the Gospel of John, it seems this interpretation would have been most natural for the author. If it is permissible to call men “gods” because they were the vehicles of the word of God, how much more permissible is it to use the word “God” of him who is the Word of God?
[10:35] 35 sn The parenthetical note And the scripture cannot be broken belongs to Jesus’ words rather than the author’s. Not only does Jesus appeal to the OT to defend himself against the charge of blasphemy, but he also adds that the scripture cannot be “broken.” In this context he does not explain precisely what is meant by “broken,” but it is not too hard to determine. Jesus’ argument depended on the exact word used in the context of Ps 82:6. If any other word for “judge” had been used in the psalm, his argument would have been meaningless. Since the scriptures do use this word in Ps 82:6, the argument is binding, because they cannot be “broken” in the sense of being shown to be in error.
