Psalm 89/Notes/Phrasal.v. 7.706763

From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Jump to: navigation, search
  • 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.