Psalm 8 Academics
How majestic is your name
Psalm 8
Academic Resources
Explore our academic Psalms resources for Psalm 8, including our Layer-by-Layer analysis, select Exegetical Issues, and Overview Videos.
Overview 
- This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 8 as a whole. It covers the message, structure, background and participants of the psalm.
Layer-by-Layer Analysis 
- The heart of our process is our layer-by-layer exegetical analysis, where we unfold the semantics, story behind, discourse, and poetics of each psalm.
Grammar & Semantics
Semantics is the study of how language is used to represent meaning. The goal of semantic analysis is to understand the meaning of words and how they relate to each other in context. Our Semantics analysis consists of the following sub-layers:
- Grammar & Textual Criticism
- Lexical Semantics
- Phrase-Level Semantics
- Verbal Semantics
Story Behind
The Story Behind the Psalm shows how each part of the psalm fits together into a single coherent whole. Here, we analyze the meaning of sentences and larger units of discourse, up to and including the entire psalm. This also include historical background and figurative imagery.
Discourse
Our Discourse Layer moves beyond semantic-level meaning, and analyzes features of the text dependent on the speaker, addressee, and macrosyntax.
Poetics
Exploring the Psalms as poetry is crucial for understanding and experiencing the psalms and thus for faithfully translating them into another language.
Verse-by-Verse Notes 
- Explore the psalm verse-by-verse and section-by-section.
Psalm 8 Exegetical Issues 
- These issues examine the top three tough questions for each psalm, explaining different scholarly interpretations, and offering our perspective.
- The second half of this verse (אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּנָ֥ה ה֝וֹדְךָ֗ עַל־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃) has perplexed interpreters for centuries. The confusion centers around the anomalous form תְּנָה, which has been interpreted either as an imperative or an infinitive, or emended to a variety of other forms.
- The Meaning of Psalm8:3
The text of Ps 8:3 is difficult to understand, and it has been interpreted and translated in a variety of ways. The following points are debated:
- The division of the text (does v. 3a ["from the mouths..."] belong with v. 2b or with v. 3b?)
- The meaning of יסד ("found" or "ordain"?)
- The meaning of עֹז ("stronghold," strength," or "praise"?)
- The identity of YHWH's enemies (forces of chaos at creation or enemies of Israel?)
- The identity of "children and infants" (literal or figurative?)
- The meaning of "mouth" (metonymy for "praise"?)
- In addition to determining the meaning of each of these parts, the interpreter must also wrestle with the meaning of the whole verse and its relation to the rest of the Psalm.
- The Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים at the end of the first line can refer to the singular "God" (=YHWH), to a singular "god/divine-being" (other than YHWH), or to plural "gods/heavenly-beings" (including "angels"). Interpreters, ancient and modern, disagree on which of these is the referent of אֱלֹהִים in Ps 8:6.
