Psalm 8 Translation Challenges
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
These notes are designed to be a quick-reference guide, giving an at-a-glance look at vital information about key words and phrases in this psalm. As such, it does not go into detail about the scholarship behind these conclusions and recommendations. For this level of detail, please see the Psalm 8 Verse-by-Verse notes. Full layer analyses can also be found on the Psalm 8 page of this wiki.
Key Terms & Difficult Words
- A lord (אָדוֹן) is someone (whether human or deity) who exercises authority over a people or place.[1] Kings could be called "lords" (e.g., Gen. 40:1; 1 Kgs 22:17; 1 Chron 12:20), and here in Ps. 8:2 the title assumes YHWH's kingship. Do not confuse this TITLE with God’s actual NAME, which is YHWH--appearing just before in this verse.
- YHWH’s name (שֵׁם) is not only the word by which he is "known, addressed, or referred to," but also "the information generally known about him;"[2] name can signify "the nature or attributes of the person named."[3] Thus, to say that YHWH's name is majestic in all the earth is to say that YHWH is characterized by and known by his majesty which is on display throughout all the earth. See the Venn diagram below to see how our modern English understanding of name compares and contrasts with the ancient Hebrew understanding.
