Psalm 8 Overview
How majestic is your name
Psalm 8
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 8
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 8 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 8
Author
Book
- Book 1 of the Psalter (Chapters 1–41)
"How Majestic Is Your Name" This title is a memorable phrase that helps remember the unique character and content of this psalm.
Purpose The Purpose was the psalmist's probable intent or reason for writing this psalm.
To praise YHWH for his majesty throughout all the earth
Content The Content is a concise summary of the whole psalm's content.
Your name is majestic in all the earth! You bestow your glory on the heavens above, and you bestow glory on weak humans below.
Message The Message is the main idea the psalmist probably wanted the audience to remember upon or after hearing the psalm.
YHWH's majesty is manifested in weakness.
Psalm 8 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 8
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- The common practice of kings and lords is to accrue glory for themselves, not to bestow it upon others.
- YHWH gave dominion to (i.e., bestowed glory on) the sun, moon, and stars (Gen 1:16-18; Ps 136:8-9), which are associated with heavenly beings (cf. Job 38:7; Rev 1:20; cf. COS I:181).
- YHWH created humans as his image and gave them universal dominion (cf. Gen 1:26ff).
- YHWH promised to give David's dynasty universal dominion (cf. Pss 2; 72; 89; 110).
- "Portrayal of man in his paradisal splendor was especially linked in the ancient world with the royal office."[1]
- Wild animals are sometimes used to depict the enemies of God's people (e.g., Pss 7:3; 10:9; 17:12; 22:13, 17, 22; 80:14; cf. Dan 6-7).
Background Situation for Psalm 8
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 8
There are 5 participants/characters in Psalm 8:
Profile List
| David |
| "David" (v. 1) |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2, 10) |
| "our lord" (vv. 2, 10) |
| Humanity |
| "nursing children" (v. 3) |
| "mankind" (v. 5) |
| "human being" (v. 5) |
| Enemies |
| "adversaries" (v. 3) |
| "vengeful enemy" (v. 3) |
| Animals |
| "sheep" (v. 8) |
| "goats and cattle" (v. 8) |
| "wild animals" (v. 8) |
| "birds" (v. 9) |
| "fish" (v. 9) |
Profile Notes
- David: David, the 10th century king of Israel and Judah, is named in the superscription (v. 1) as the author of the psalm. The fact that the psalm was written by a king is significant. Behind the psalm's reflection on humanity, there is an implicit reflection on David's kingdom and dynasty. David, the shepherd boy and the youngest of his brothers, was an unlikely candidate for the throne (cf. v. 5). Nevertheless, YHWH exalted him and gave him dominion over his enemies (cf. vv. 6–9).
- YHWH:The psalm is addressed to "YHWH" (vv. 2, 10), the God of Israel and the creator and "Lord" of the world. The entire psalm is addressed to YHWH in the second person. "It is worth stressing that throughout the entire poem, the Creator is addressed directly and intimately: your name, you have established, your heavens, you remember them, and so on."[2]
- Nursing children (עוֹלְלִים וְיֹנְקִים) (v. 3) represent the weakest and most vulnerable part of the human race (cf. 1 Sam 15:3; 22:29; Jer 44:7; Lam 1:16; Joel 2:16). They are an image of Israel and her kings, who were completely dependent on YHWH for help. Their best hope was to cry out to him.
- YHWH's enemies (v. 3) may be either "historical persons and nations (Ps 2:1-3) or mythological beings and disruptive cosmic forces (Pss 74:13; 89:10; 93:3)."[3] Those who argue for the latter think that "the enemy and avenger in v. [3]c are best explained as a reference to the foes that God overcomes in the process of creation."[4] Those who argue that the adversaries are human and historical point to the use of the phrase "your adversaries" (צֹרְרֶיךָ) in Ps 74:4 and "vengeful enemy" (אויב ומתנקם) in Ps 44:17 to refer to Israel's enemies[5] along with the fact that "here, as throughout the psalms, the psalmist is fluidly able to identify personal enemies with those hostile to God."[6] This view is probably correct, and the enemies probably refer to the enemies of God's people.
- Animals: Vv. 8-9 lists three basic categories of animals: (1) land animals, domestic and wild (v. 8), (2) birds (v. 9aα), and (3) fish (v. 9aβb). The list of animals in these verses illustrate the "horizontal vector that moves outward from human society: sheep and oxen → beasts of the field → birds → fish → whatever passes the paths of the seas."[7] There is a subtle connection between the "enemies" whom YHWH defeats (v. 3) and the "animals" which YHWH subjugates under humanity's feet (vv. 8–9). Elsewhere, wild animals are used to depict the enemies of God's people (e.g., Pss 7:3; 10:9; 17:12; 22:13, 17, 22; 68:30; 80:14,[8] and the image of being put "under one's feet" evokes the conquest of enemies (cf. Josh 10:24; Ps 110:1). The point of the connection is not to say that animals are somehow morally on par with YHWH's wicked enemies. It is to say, however, that they represent a force of chaos that must be subdued.