Psalm 89/Diagrams/7-8
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
כִּ֤י מִ֣י בַ֭שַּׁחַק יַעֲרֹ֣ךְ לַיהוָ֑ה
יִדְמֶ֥ה לַ֝יהוָ֗ה בִּבְנֵ֥י אֵלִים׃
אֵ֣ל נַ֭עֲרָץ בְּסוֹד־קְדֹשִׁ֣ים
vv. 7-8 - Preferred
(Preferred, but not confirmed); edit diagram
SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [vv. 7-8]
Fragment
particle: כִּי for
Fragment
ClauseCluster
Clause
Subject
pronoun: מִי who?
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase <gloss="in heaven">
Preposition
preposition: בַ in
Object
noun: שַּׁחַק heaven
article: הַ the <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: יַעֲרֹךְ can compare
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: לַ to
Object
noun: יהוָה YHWH
Clause
Subject
pronoun: מִי who? <status="elided">
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בִּ among
Object
ConstructChain <gloss="the divine beings">
noun: בְנֵי sons
noun: אֵלִים divine beings
Predicate
verb: יִדְמֶה is like
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: לַ to
Object
Apposition
noun: יהוָה YHWH
Nominal <status="alternative">
noun: אֵל a god
Adjectival
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adverbial
adverb: רַבָּה extremely
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סוֹד council
Adjectival <status="alternative">
adjective: רַבָּה great
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
Conjunction
conjunction: וְ and
verb-participle: נוֹרָא fearful
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: עַל above
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סְבִיבָ around
quantifier: כָּל all
suffix-pronoun: יו he
DiscourseUnit [v. 8]
Fragment
Clause
Subject
pronoun: הוּא he <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Nominal
noun: אֵל a god
Adjectival
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סוֹד council
Adjectival <status="alternative">
adjective: רַבָּה great
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
Adverbial <status="alternative">
adverb: רַבָּה extremely
Fragment
Clause
Subject
pronoun: הוּא he <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Complement
adjective: רַבָּה great
Conjunction
conjunction: וְ and
Complement
verb-participle: נוֹרָא fearful
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: עַל above
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
adjective: סְבִיבָי around
quantifier: כָּל all
suffix-pronoun: ו him
DiscourseUnit [vv. 7-8]
Fragment
particle: כִּי for
Fragment
ClauseCluster
Clause
Subject
pronoun: מִי who?
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase <gloss="in heaven">
Preposition
preposition: בַ in
Object
noun: שַּׁחַק heaven
article: הַ the <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: יַעֲרֹךְ can compare
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: לַ to
Object
noun: יהוָה YHWH
Clause
Subject
pronoun: מִי who? <status="elided">
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בִּ among
Object
ConstructChain <gloss="the divine beings">
noun: בְנֵי sons
noun: אֵלִים divine beings
Predicate
verb: יִדְמֶה is like
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: לַ to
Object
Apposition
noun: יהוָה YHWH
Nominal <status="alternative">
noun: אֵל a god
Adjectival
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adverbial
adverb: רַבָּה extremely
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סוֹד council
Adjectival <status="alternative">
adjective: רַבָּה great
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
Conjunction
conjunction: וְ and
verb-participle: נוֹרָא fearful
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: עַל above
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סְבִיבָ around
quantifier: כָּל all
suffix-pronoun: יו he
DiscourseUnit [v. 8]
Fragment
Clause
Subject
pronoun: הוּא he <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Nominal
noun: אֵל a god
Adjectival
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
noun: סוֹד council
Adjectival <status="alternative">
adjective: רַבָּה great
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
Adverbial <status="alternative">
adverb: רַבָּה extremely
Fragment
Clause
Subject
pronoun: הוּא he <status="elided">
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Complement
adjective: רַבָּה great
Conjunction
conjunction: וְ and
Complement
verb-participle: נוֹרָא fearful
Adverbial
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: עַל above
Object
ConstructChain
Nominal
adjective: סְבִיבָי around
quantifier: כָּל all
suffix-pronoun: ו him
{{Diagram/Display | Chapter=89|DiagramID=vv-7-8-None }}
Grammar Notes
Note for v. 8
- Another issue in v. 8 is whether אֵל is in apposition to ליהוה from the previous line, the subject of a new clause, or a vocative. Contrast, for example, the following three translations:
- "Who... is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared..." (ESV) (see the alternative reading in the vv. 7-8 preferred diagram).
- "Who is like the LORD...? ...God is greatly feared" (NIV; cf. LXX) (see vv. 7-8 preferred diagram)
- "Who is like the Lord...? O God (θεὲ), fearsome one..." (cf. Symmachus) (see v. 8 alternative diagram).
- The apposition interpretation (so ESV) seems unlikely, not only because there is an intervening constituent between the two phrases (לַ֝יהוָ֗ה בִּבְנֵ֥י אֵלִֽים׃ אֵ֣ל), but also because לַיהוָה is a prepositional phrase and אֵל is a noun phrase. If אֵל were in apposition to לַיהוָה, then we might have expected לְאֵל. The vocative interpretation is possible, but this would be a very long vocative phrase (all of v. 8), and there is no clear signal in the text that it should be understood as such. By contrast, the third-person references to YHWH in the previous line (לַיהוָה) make it more natural to read v. 8 as a third-person statement about God, rather than a vocative. The NIV interpretation is the most viable syntactically. The only issue with this interpretation is that the divine epithet אֵל reads more naturally as a description the kind of "god" YHWH is (cf. Pss 5:5 ["a god who delights in wickedness"]; 7:12 ["a god who expresses indignation"]; 29:3; 31:6; 42:3, 9; 50:1; 57:3; 94:1; etc.), than as a bare reference to YHWH himself (though see, e.g., Pss 10:12; 16:1; 17:6; 19:2; 78:18; etc.). Thus, a fourth option (here preferred) is to interpret אֵל as a predicate complement with the subject elided: "[He is] a god who is terrifying in the council of holy ones."
Note for v. 8
- There is an issue of text, line division, and grammar in v. 8. Consider the differences among the following translations:
- "a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, // and awesome above all who are around him?" (ESV, cf. NJPS, NIV)
- "a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly, // and more awesome than all who surround him?" (NET)
- "a God feared in the council of the holy ones, // great and awesome above all that are around him?" (NRSV, LUT, ELB, EÜ, ZÜR) (preferred).
- The ESV reads the text as רַבָּה ("greatly)," groups it with the first line (so MT), and interprets it as an adverb (cf. Radak: "they dread a great dread and a great fear" [מערצה רבה ויראה רבה יעריצו]; Hupfeld 1860, 470). This interpretation has a clear parallel in Job 31:34—כִּ֤י אֶֽעֱר֨וֹץ׀ הָ֘מ֤וֹן רַבָּ֗ה, "because I so feared the crowd" (NIV) (so Barthélemy 2005, 618). See also Ps 78:15—וַ֝יַּ֗שְׁקְ כִּתְהֹמ֥וֹת רַבָּֽה, "and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep" (ESV) (see also Ps 62:3).
- The NET also reads the text as רַבָּה ("greatly)" and groups it with the first line, but it interprets it as an adjective modifying "assembly" (סוֹד) (cf. Symmachus: ἐν ὁμιλίᾳ...πολλῇ; Jerome [iuxta Hebr.]: in arcano...nimio [though possibly an adverb]; Ibn Ezra: ורבה תואר לסוד "and 'great' is an adjective modifying 'assembly'").
- The NRSV reads the text as רַב (or רַב הוּא), groups it with the second line, and interprets it as an adjective describing YHWH (cf. LXX: μέγας; Aquila: πλῆθος; Peshitta: ܪܒ; Targum: ורבא). The NRSV's line division follows the Septuagint, which, in turn, probably preserves an ancient Hebrew manuscript division (see also the graphic division in the Babylonian manuscript BL Or 2373). If the division in the Septuagint is secondary, it might have arisen from a scribe placing רבה at the beginning of the following row of his manuscript because he had run out of space at the end of the preceding row. But the Septuagint might preserve the correct division here, and it is possible to follow this division without emending the text. The adjective רַבָּה, instead of being a feminine adjective, could be an Aramaism (= רַבָּא) and thus a masculine adjective. Cf. Ezra 4:10— אָסְנַפַּר֙ רַבָּ֣א וְיַקִּירָ֔א; TAD D.22.49:3—אלהא רבא. Similarly, Aramaic רַבַּת occurs several times in the Psalms (e.g., Pss 65:10; 120:6; 123:4; 129:1). Note also the Aramaism חֲסִין in the very next verse. Thus, we can follow the line division of the Septuagint and arrive at the same interpretation as the Septuagint and the NRSV, but without the need to emend the text.
Lexical Notes
Note for v. 7
- The word שַׁחַק occurs in v. 7 and v. 38, forming a frame around the central section of the psalm (vv. 6-38). The precise referent of the word is not clear. Some Hebrew lexica say that it means "clouds" (e.g., HALOT, BDB, Gesenius 2013; so LXX in v. 7: ἐν νεφέλαις; Jerome in v. 7: in nubibus), but this meaning is difficult to maintain in some of the word's uses (cf. Job 37:21; 2 Sam 22:12; Ps 18:12; Prov 8:28; cf. Walton 2011, 156-9), including here in Ps 89 where the word is singular. In Ps 89, the meaning "sky" or "heaven" makes better sense (so DCH, BDB; LXX in v. 38: ἐν οὐρανῷ; Jerome in v. 38: in caelo). Perhaps שַׁחַק, which occurs only in poetry, is a poetic synonym of שָׁמַיִם (cf. the numerous instances of שׁחק // שׁמים; e.g., Pss 36:6; 57:11; 78:23; 108:5; Job 35:5; 38:37), or maybe it is a hyponym of שָׁמַיִם, referring to a particular part of the sky (cf. Walton 2011, 156-9, who argues that שׁחקים refers to the multi-layered solid dome of the sky, whereas רקיע refers to the expanse between the earth and this solid structure; together the שׁחקים and the רקיע constitute שׁמים). Although the denotation of the word is unclear, it has clear connotations with the divine realm and YHWH's incomparable majesty (unlike שׁמים, it is never used in a purely 'secular' or cosmological sense; the context is always theological). See esp. Deut 33:26—"There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies (שְׁחָקִים) in his majesty" (ESV). Given the word's theological associations, "heaven" is an appropriate English gloss.
Note for v. 7
- "The basic meaning of ערך is 'lay out, arrange, set in order'" (TDOT). The meaning "compare" is an extension of this basic sense (cf. Isa 40:18; Ps 40:6), since people lay out objects beside one another in order to compare them (cf. BDB: "compare [as result of arranging in order]"). Cf. Symmachus: "Who can parallel (ἀντιπαραθήσει) the Lord?"
Phrase-Level
Note for v. 7
- The word שַׁחַק is vocalized as definite (בַשַּׁחַק) in the Masoretic Text (so also in v. 38), because it refers to something unique, i.e., "the sky" or "heaven" (see note on lexical semantics).
Note for v. 7
- The phrase בְּנֵי אֵלִים (lit.: "sons of the gods," so NAB) occurs also in Ps 29:1. It refers here to "heavenly beings" (NIV, ESV, NET, GNT). Cf. the more common Hebrew phrase בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִים (Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) and the Aramaic phrase בַר אֱלָהִין (Dan 3:25). All of these phrases refer to divine beings. Cf. the phrase "the assembly of the sons of the gods (bn . ilm .)" in the Ugaritic Baal Myth (COS I, 258; KTU 1.4, III:14). YHWH's heavenly court consists of lesser divine beings (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps 82). The word "sons" (בְּנֵי) in this phrase does not refer to biological descendants but to members of a class. Compare, for example, the phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ ("humans") in Ps 4:3.
Note for v. 8
- The עַל preposition in v. 8 indicates "superiority" (Mena 2012, 85-87; cf. Pss 95:3; 96:4; 1 Chron 16:25): "awesome above all who are around him" (ESV, cf. NRSV) >> "more awesome than all who surround him" (NIV, cf. NLT, CSB, NET). Alternative interpretation: "held in awe by all around Him" (NJPS, cf. KJV).
Verbal Notes
Note for vv. 7-8
The yiqtol's in vv. 7-19 describe habitual events (⟲⟲⟲). Occasionally, the habitual semantics are explicit in the context (e.g., "always" in v. 17a and "whenever they rise" in v. 10b), but, for the most part, they are implied by the context. These verses constitute a hymn of praise to YHWH, describing who YHWH is and what he characteristically, or habitually, does.
Note for vv. 7-8
The yiqtol's in v. 7 have a modal nuance (ability): "can" (KJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, NET, NJPS, cf. LUT, ZÜR).
Textual Notes
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Add Exegetical Note
v. 8 - Alternative
(Alternative); edit diagram
SimpleGrammar
DiscourseUnit [v. 8 alternative]
Fragment <status="alternative">
Clause
Subject
noun: אֵל God
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Nominal
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
noun: סוֹד council
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
DiscourseUnit [v. 8 alternative]
Fragment <status="alternative">
Clause
Subject
noun: אֵל God
Predicate
verb: is
Complement
Nominal
verb-participle: נַעֲרָץ terrifying
Adjectival
PrepositionalPhrase
Preposition
preposition: בְּ in
Object
ConstructChain
noun: סוֹד council
Nominal
adjective: קְדֹשִׁים holy ones
{{Diagram/Display | Chapter=89|DiagramID=v-8-Alternative }}
Grammar Notes
No Grammar notes to display for this diagram.
Note for v. 8
- Another issue in v. 8 is whether אֵל is in apposition to ליהוה from the previous line, the subject of a new clause, or a vocative. Contrast, for example, the following three translations:
- "Who... is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared..." (ESV) (see the alternative reading in the vv. 7-8 preferred diagram).
- "Who is like the LORD...? ...God is greatly feared" (NIV; cf. LXX) (see vv. 7-8 preferred diagram)
- "Who is like the Lord...? O God (θεὲ), fearsome one..." (cf. Symmachus) (see v. 8 alternative diagram).
- The apposition interpretation (so ESV) seems unlikely, not only because there is an intervening constituent between the two phrases (לַ֝יהוָ֗ה בִּבְנֵ֥י אֵלִֽים׃ אֵ֣ל), but also because לַיהוָה is a prepositional phrase and אֵל is a noun phrase. If אֵל were in apposition to לַיהוָה, then we might have expected לְאֵל. The vocative interpretation is possible, but this would be a very long vocative phrase (all of v. 8), and there is no clear signal in the text that it should be understood as such. By contrast, the third-person references to YHWH in the previous line (לַיהוָה) make it more natural to read v. 8 as a third-person statement about God, rather than a vocative. The NIV interpretation is the most viable syntactically. The only issue with this interpretation is that the divine epithet אֵל reads more naturally as a description the kind of "god" YHWH is (cf. Pss 5:5 ["a god who delights in wickedness"]; 7:12 ["a god who expresses indignation"]; 29:3; 31:6; 42:3, 9; 50:1; 57:3; 94:1; etc.), than as a bare reference to YHWH himself (though see, e.g., Pss 10:12; 16:1; 17:6; 19:2; 78:18; etc.). Thus, a fourth option (here preferred) is to interpret אֵל as a predicate complement with the subject elided: "[He is] a god who is terrifying in the council of holy ones."
Note for v. 8
- There is an issue of text, line division, and grammar in v. 8. Consider the differences among the following translations:
- "a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, // and awesome above all who are around him?" (ESV, cf. NJPS, NIV)
- "a God who is honored in the great angelic assembly, // and more awesome than all who surround him?" (NET)
- "a God feared in the council of the holy ones, // great and awesome above all that are around him?" (NRSV, LUT, ELB, EÜ, ZÜR) (preferred).
- The ESV reads the text as רַבָּה ("greatly)," groups it with the first line (so MT), and interprets it as an adverb (cf. Radak: "they dread a great dread and a great fear" [מערצה רבה ויראה רבה יעריצו]; Hupfeld 1860, 470). This interpretation has a clear parallel in Job 31:34—כִּ֤י אֶֽעֱר֨וֹץ׀ הָ֘מ֤וֹן רַבָּ֗ה, "because I so feared the crowd" (NIV) (so Barthélemy 2005, 618). See also Ps 78:15—וַ֝יַּ֗שְׁקְ כִּתְהֹמ֥וֹת רַבָּֽה, "and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep" (ESV) (see also Ps 62:3).
- The NET also reads the text as רַבָּה ("greatly)" and groups it with the first line, but it interprets it as an adjective modifying "assembly" (סוֹד) (cf. Symmachus: ἐν ὁμιλίᾳ...πολλῇ; Jerome [iuxta Hebr.]: in arcano...nimio [though possibly an adverb]; Ibn Ezra: ורבה תואר לסוד "and 'great' is an adjective modifying 'assembly'").
- The NRSV reads the text as רַב (or רַב הוּא), groups it with the second line, and interprets it as an adjective describing YHWH (cf. LXX: μέγας; Aquila: πλῆθος; Peshitta: ܪܒ; Targum: ורבא). The NRSV's line division follows the Septuagint, which, in turn, probably preserves an ancient Hebrew manuscript division (see also the graphic division in the Babylonian manuscript BL Or 2373). If the division in the Septuagint is secondary, it might have arisen from a scribe placing רבה at the beginning of the following row of his manuscript because he had run out of space at the end of the preceding row. But the Septuagint might preserve the correct division here, and it is possible to follow this division without emending the text. The adjective רַבָּה, instead of being a feminine adjective, could be an Aramaism (= רַבָּא) and thus a masculine adjective. Cf. Ezra 4:10— אָסְנַפַּר֙ רַבָּ֣א וְיַקִּירָ֔א; TAD D.22.49:3—אלהא רבא. Similarly, Aramaic רַבַּת occurs several times in the Psalms (e.g., Pss 65:10; 120:6; 123:4; 129:1). Note also the Aramaism חֲסִין in the very next verse. Thus, we can follow the line division of the Septuagint and arrive at the same interpretation as the Septuagint and the NRSV, but without the need to emend the text.
Lexical Notes
No Lexical notes to display for this diagram.
Phrase-Level
No Phrasal notes to display for this diagram.
Note for v. 8
- The עַל preposition in v. 8 indicates "superiority" (Mena 2012, 85-87; cf. Pss 95:3; 96:4; 1 Chron 16:25): "awesome above all who are around him" (ESV, cf. NRSV) >> "more awesome than all who surround him" (NIV, cf. NLT, CSB, NET). Alternative interpretation: "held in awe by all around Him" (NJPS, cf. KJV).
Verbal Notes
No Verbal notes to display for this diagram.
Note for vv. 7-8
The yiqtol's in vv. 7-19 describe habitual events (⟲⟲⟲). Occasionally, the habitual semantics are explicit in the context (e.g., "always" in v. 17a and "whenever they rise" in v. 10b), but, for the most part, they are implied by the context. These verses constitute a hymn of praise to YHWH, describing who YHWH is and what he characteristically, or habitually, does.
Note for vv. 7-8
The yiqtol's in v. 7 have a modal nuance (ability): "can" (KJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, NET, NJPS, cf. LUT, ZÜR).
Textual Notes
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