Psalm 68/Notes/Grammar.vv. 8-9.867080

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Ancient versions and modern translations, on the whole, represent two ways of understanding the phrase זה סיני in v. 9

  • Option 1: Divine Title (apposition)
    • Those that understand זה סיני as a title treat it grammatically as standing in apposition to the preceding אלהים (although notice that this does not reflect the division of the accents).
    • Symmachus (ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου τοῦ Σιναΐ;) and the ESV (God, the One of Sinai) render the זה an independent personal pronoun whereas the majority of other translations gloss the epithet by simply tranlating ‘God of Sinai’ (so GNT; HCSB; NIV; NLT; NVI; BDS; PDV2017; NTV; NET )
  • Option 2: Independent clause with elided verb
    • The LXX and a few modern translations (DELUT, ELBBK) leave the difficulty in their translations, perhaps reflecting that זה סיני is an independent clause with an elided verb. The modern translations make this elision explicit (e.g., ASV ‘Yon Sinai trembled at the presence of God, ’; cf. KJV, NASB1995, RSV, BCC1923; LSG; DHH94I; LBLA; RVR95)