Psalm 8 Exegetical Issues

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Psalm 8/Exegetical Issues
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Exegetical Issues Video

Introduction to Exegetical Issues

Presented here are the top three Exegetical Issues that any interpreter of the psalm—whether they’re reading the text in Hebrew or looking at a number of translations—are likely to encounter. These issues usually involve textual criticism, grammar, lexical semantics, verbal semantics, and/or phrase-level semantics, though they sometimes involve higher-level layers as well.

Exegetical Issues for Psalm 8

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.