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Psalm 8

How majestic is your name

Overview

Purpose ℹ️: To praise YHWH for his majesty throughout all the earth.

Content ℹ️: 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 ℹ️: Your name is majestic in all the earth! You bestow your glory on the heavens above, and you bestow glory on weak humans below.

Background Ideas

• 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 splendour was especially linked in the ancient world with the royal office" (Eaton 1967:45).
• 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. Daniel 6-7).

Background Situation

Sections

Overview Video

Poetic Features Video

Speech Acts

Emotional Analysis

Participant Analysis

Repeated Roots

Story Behind Roots

Translation Challenges

Translation Challenges are an at-a-glance reference for anyone involved with translating or checking a translation of the psalm. Specific words, phrases, and images that could be difficult to understand or to translate are highlighted, and then briefly discussed. Each note is intended to help the reader understand the meaning of the Hebrew word or phrase in its context, as well as provide a few translation options or suggestions, often pulling from existing translations. Where pertinent, our preferred translation option is given. Download

Translation Helps

Recommended steps for translating the psalms:

To translate poetry accurately and beautifully, a knowledge of both the source language's poetry and the target language's poetry is needed. So, here are the steps we recommend to follow when setting out to translate the psalms:

1. GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE'S POETRY/ARTS. Research and analyze many examples from numerous genres of poetry, storytelling, and music in the target language and culture, and document findings. See our for help.
2. GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOURCE LANGUAGE'S (HEBREW) MEANING AND POETRY. The aim of all our materials is to provide exactly this for the translator, poet/musician/artist, and consultant: an understanding of what the psalm means, as well as its poetics.
3. TRANSLATE THE PSALM IN THE APPROPRIATE LOCAL ART/POETRY GENRE.