Psalm 8/Notes/Phrasal.V. 4.568838

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  • Verse 4 is a dependent temporal clause: When I see...[1] The next verse (v. 5) constitutes the "then" clause: "When I see... [then I think/exclaim] what is mankind...?[2]
  • The phrase your heavens" (שָׁמֶיךָ) refers to "the heavens which you created." The pronominal suffix on שָׁמֶיךָ (your heavens) is unusual (cf. Lev 26:19; Deut 28:23; 33:28; Ps 144:5).[3] Because "your heavens" sounds unnatural in English, translations often have "the heavens" (CEV, GNT, NET, NLT).
  1. ↑ Despite the agreement among the ancient translators that the כִּי in v. 4 is causal (LXX [οτι], Symmachus [γαρ], Peshitta [ܡܛܠ], Targum [מטול], Jerome [enim]), there is virtual unanimity among modern translations and commentators that כי here introduces a temporal clause.
  2. ↑ "In Ps. 8:4, instead of the apodosis I exclaim which we should expect, the exclamation itself follows" (GKC 159dd; cf. IBHS 38.7a).
  3. ↑ There are other striking similarities between Ps 8 and Ps 144. (e.g. compare 144:3 to 8:6).