The Syntax and Participants of Psalm 45:7a

Back to Psalm 45

Introduction

The Masoretic Text of Psalm 45:7a reads as follows:

כִּסְאֲךָ֣ אֱ֭לֹהִים עוֹלָ֣ם וָעֶ֑ד

The Psalms typically characterize the king as a human who, though serving as sub-regent of YHWH, is himself not divine (though see Pss 2, 110). For this reason, many commentators believe this to be the most exegetically problematic verse in Psalm 45, indeed "one of the most celebrated cruces interpretum in the OT."

Since the king is the most probable addressee (see below), many have considered it a theological difficulty to refer to the king as "God," so scholars and translators have sought alternate textual reconstructions or alternate grammatical construals to understand a remarkable reference to a human king. Textual solutions involve the revocalization of כִּסְאֲךָ֣ (your throne) to a piel verb כִּסֵּאֲךָ (he has enthroned you), as seen in the REB:

• God has enthroned you for all eternity (REB)

Syntactic interpretations involve the following:

• Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (ESV)
• Your divine throne is everlasting (JPS)
• Your throne is like God’s throne, eternal (NEB)

The ESV interprets אֱ֭לֹהִים (God) as a vocative. The JPS reads it as an adjectival modifier, while the NEB understands it as a comparable adverbial, with an elided throne. We discuss each of these possibilities in the argument maps below. Finally, if the vocative reading is preferred, one must determine the most plausible addressee, whether that be YHWH or the king.

Argument Maps

Text

Revocalization

Some have proposed the revocalization of כִּסְאֲךָ (your throne) to כִּסֵּאֲךָ (he has enthroned you), a denominative piel verb from the same root כסא, as read in the REB: "God has enthroned you for all eternity."

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[Revocalization of כסאך]: The noun כִּסְאֲךָ (your throne) should be revocalized to a verb (כִּסֵּאֲךָ), a denominative from the root כסא (Dahood 1966, 273 :C:; Craigie 2004, 336–337 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Meaning>: This reading has "manifest good sense" (Dahood 1966, 273 :C:).#dispreferred
 - <Unattested verb>: The verbal root does כסא not occur in the Bible and we we would expect hiphil מלך for the sense of "enthrone."
  + [Hiphil מלך]: See, e.g., 1 Samuel 15:35: "he had made Saul king (הִמְלִ֥יךְ) over Israel" (NIV); 1 Kings 3:7:  "you have made your servant king (הִמְלַ֣כְתָּ)" (NIV).
 - <Ancient versions>: None of the ancient versions reflect such a reading.

Syntax

Elohim as an adjectival modifier

Some translations reflect Elohim as a genitival modifier of the noun phrase כִּסְאֲךָ, "Your throne of God [is] forever and ever," such as the JPS: "Your divine throne is everlasting."

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[Adjectival modifier]: The term ''Elohim'' in v. 7 modifies the noun phrase "your throne" (כִּסְאֲךָ).  #dispreferred
 - <Grammar>: A genitive following a suffixed noun phrase is implausible in Biblical Hebrew grammar (GKC §128d :G:). For the sense "Your divine throne," we would expect כִּסֵא אֱלֹהֶיךָ.
 - <Noun>: Every time אֱלֹהִים appears in the psalms, it is as noun, "God," not an adjective, "divine."

Elohim as an adverbial of comparison

A number of scholars have suggested that Elohim provides an adverbial of comparison, with the elision of throne, such as the NEB: "Your throne is like God’s throne, eternal."

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[Adverbial of comparison]: The term ''elohim'' provides an adverbial of comparison and modifies an elided noun "throne of" (Ibn Ezra :C:; Malbim :C:; Ḥakham 1979, 258 :C:; VanGemeren 2008, 400 :C:; Böhler 2021, 817–818 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <"Divine" throne>: The comparison of a king's reign with that of God's, as his earthly representative is attested elsewhere in the Bible.#dispreferred
  + ["Divine" throne]: See, e.g., 1 Chronicles 28:5: "he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel" (NIV); 1 Chronicles 29:23: "So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David" (NIV). #dispreferred
 - <Missing preposition>: This rendering presupposes an ellipsis not only of כסא (''throne'') but of ככסא (''like the throne'') (Harris 1984, 74 :A:).
  <_ <Haplography>: The initial כ of כֵּאלֹהִים was lost through haplography and the final כ of כִּסְאֲךָ֣ (Weisman 1996, 200 :C:).#dispreferred
   <_ <Manuscripts>: There is no manuscript evidence for anything other than how the MT reads. 
 - <Ancient versions>: None of the ancient versions support such a reading. 

Elohim as a vocative (preferred)

Elohim is often understood as a vocative of direct address, as in the ESV: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever."

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[Vocative]: The term ''elohim'' in v. 7 is a vocative of direct address (Delitzsch 1871, 83 :C:; Murray 1984 :A:; deClaissé-Walford 2014, 419–420 :C:).
 + <Ancient versions>: Most of the ancient versions support the vocative reading.
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever" (NETS); Aquila: "Your throne, God (vocative), is forever and longer" (ὁ θρόνος σου, θεὲ, εἰς αἰῶνα καὶ ἔτι); Jerome (Hebr.): "Your throne, God, is forever and ever"; Targum: "Your throne, O God, is in the heavens for ever and ever" (Stec 2004, 96); cf. Symmachus, Theodotion, Hebrews 1:8.
 + <Syntax>: The vocative is the "obvious syntax of the MT" and "the most likely interpretation of the vocalization in MT" (Craigie 2004, 337 :C:; cf. Allis 1923, 236 :A:).
 + <Other vocatives in Psalm 45>: There are two other vocatives in Ps 45 (vv. 4, 11), which lack the article, just as אֱ֭לֹהִים here (גִּבּ֑וֹר "great one" and בַ֣ת "daughter").
 + <Elohim as vocative in the Psalms>: When "Elohim" is used as a vocative in the Psalms, it never takes the article, just as אֱ֭לֹהִים here.
  + [Elohim as vocative in the Psalms]: See, e.g., Ps 5:11: "Declare them guilty, O God!" (הַֽאֲשִׁימֵ֨ם׀ אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים, NIV); cf. Pss 25:22; 36:8; 42:2; 43:1; 44:2, 5; 48:10, 11; 51:3, 12; 54:3, 4; 55:2, 24; 56:2, 8, 13; 57:2, 6, 8, 12: 58:7; 60:3, 12; 61:2, 6; 63:2; 64:2; 65:2; 67:4, 6; 68:8, 10, 11, 19, 25, 36; 69:2, 6, 14, 30; 70:2, 6; 71:12, 17, 18, 19; 72:1; 74:1, 10, 22; 75:2; 76:10; 77:14, 17; 79:1; 80:4; 82:8; 83:2; 84:10; 86:14; 108:2, 6, 12; 144:9.
 - <Missing lamed preposition>: For עוֹלָם to function as the predicate, it would be לְעֹלָם (Dahood 1966, 273 :C:), since the noun phrase עולם ועד is found nowhere else in the Bible as the predicate of a verbless sentence (functioning as a temporal adverb). #dispreferred 
  <_ <לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד as verbless predicate>: The construction לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד is nowhere used as the predicate of a verbless sentence.
  - <Does not require the lamed preposition>: A preposition is "a more regular construction," but not necessary (Harris 1984, 81 :A:).
   + [עוֹלָם וָעֶד in the Psalms]: Though not a predicate of a verbless clause (though neither does לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד ever function as such), adverbial constructions עוֹלָם וָעֶד are found in Pss 10:16; 21:5; 48:15; 52:10; 104:5.
   + [Adverbial עוֹלָם in the Psalms]: Though not a predicate of a verbless clause, adverbial constructions of עוֹלָם are found in Pss 61:8; 66:7; 89:2, 3, 38; 112:6.
   + <Substantive as predicate>: Noun phrases often stand as an attributive predicate, "either when no corresponding adjective exists ... or when the attribute is intended to receive a certain emphasis" (GKC §141c :G:).
    + [Substantive as predicate]: See, e.g., "Your judgments are justice itself >> absolutely just (צֶ֣דֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶ֑יךָ)" (Ps 119:75); "All of your commands are faithfulness >> absolutely trustworthy (כָּל־מִצְוֺתֶ֥יךָ אֱמוּנָ֑ה)" (Ps 119:86).
   + <Temporal nominal as predicate>: Temporal nominals function as predicates in verbless clauses elsewhere.
    +[Temporal nominal as predicate]: See, e.g., "For we are but of yesterday (כִּֽי־תְמ֣וֹל אֲ֭נַחְנוּ)" (Job 8:9, ESV).

Addressee

If the vocative reading is preferred, to whom, then, is the psalmist directing his speech?

YHWH as addressee

Some have interpreted the addressee in v. 7 to be YHWH.

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[YHWH as addressee]: "Elohim" is a title of direct address to YHWH. #dispreferred
 + <Targum>: Targum Psalms uses an abbreviation of the divine name, rather than the general term for "God," and so directs the entire verse to YHWH (Weisman 1996, 200 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [Targum]: "Your throne, O God (יהוה), is in the heavens for ever and ever" (Stec 2004, 96). #dispreferred
 + <Theological problem>: This reading avoids the unique nature of addressing a human king as "Elohim."#dispreferred 
  <_ <Psalm 45 context>: The psalm as a whole praises the king in remarkably lofty language, reminiscent of descriptions elsewhere of YHWH.
   + [Descriptions of the king]: See v. 3 "your splendor and your majesty," v. 18 "peoples will praise you forever and ever."
 - <The following verse>: The king as the unambiguous addressee of v. 8 contradicts the possibility of YHWH as the addressee in v. 7 (Ibn Ezra :C:). 
 <_ <The addressee in Psalm 45>: YHWH is never directly addressed in Psalm 45.

The king as addressee (preferred)

Some have interpreted the addressee in v. 7 to be the king.

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[The king as addressee]: The term "Elohim" in v. 7 is a vocative of direct address to the reigning monarch (Rashi :C:).
 + <Psalm 45 as ode to the king>: "It makes little sense to take ˒elohim as addressed to God; the poem is addressed to the king and his bride, not to God" (Bratcher and Rayburn 1991, 425 :C:).
  + <Immediate context>: The preceding (v. 6) and following text (v. 8) addresses the king using second person forms.
 - <"Elohim" only used for deities>: The term elohim is used for deities, and the Israelite king was never portrayed as a god. (VanGemeren 2008, 399–400 :C:).#dispreferred
  <_ <Use of "Elohim" in reference to YHWH>: The reference to YHWH as "God, your God" in the near context (v. 8) tempers the use of "Elohim" for the human king, and "may reflect the poet's awareness of an extraordinary use of אֱלֹהִים in v. 7" (Harris 1984, 85 :A:).
  <_<Elohim in reference to Messiah>: Ancient commentary reads the vocative as a reference to a divine king.
   + [Hebrews 1:3, 8a]: "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word ... about the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever.'"
  <_ <Honoring kings as "gods">: The reference to the king as "God" was not uncommon in the Ancient Near East and reflects an early stage of Israelite religion (Gunkel 1911, 103 :C:).
   + <Ancient Near Eastern parallels>: "By virtue of his divine appointment, the king in the ancient Near East stood before his subjects as a representative of the divine realm. An Assyrian official writes to his king, 'The well-known proverb says: "Man is a shadow of god" ... "The king is the perfect likeness of the god." The Egyptian Seti I (ca. 1300 B.C.) addressed the future rulers of Egypt, 'You are like divinities, a king is counted among the gods.' Egyptian texts often referred to the king as 'god.'" (Walton 2009, 358 :C:).
  - <Non-deities>: '"Elohim" can refer to non-deities.
   + <Divine characteristics>: The king is called "Elohim" because he shares divine characteristics such as "splendor and majesty" (vv. 4–5a; cf. Ps 96:9); "love of truth and righteousness" (vv. 5b, 8a; cf. Ps 33:5; 99:4), and justice (v. 7b; cf. Ps 67:4). 
   + <Lexical semantics>: The meaning of the term elohim is "relatively fluid" (Harris 1984, 86 :A:). 
    + [Priests]: "Elohim" was used of priests who functioned as judges in the Israelite temple judicial system; see Exodus 21:6; 22:8–9 (Walton 2009, 358 :C:).
    + [Moses "as God"]: Moses is referred to as "Elohim" in Exodus 4:16; 7:1 (Rashi :C:).
   + [Eschatological Davidic king]: Isaiah 9:5 uses the title אֵל גִּבּוֹר, "mighty God," in reference to the king.
   + [Post-mortem spirit]: Spirits of the dead are also referred to as "Elohim" (see, e.g., 1 Sam 28:13).
   + [Heavenly beings and judges]: Members of the divine council are referred to as "Elohim" (see, e.g., Pss 8:6; 82:1, 6; 97:7.
    + <Relationship, not ontology>: "Deity was fundamentally understood as a relational designation and not an ontological one. To the degree they performed the right functions and roles, the designation “deity” could extend to include the dead, humans, and even cultic objects" (McClellan 2022, 83 :M:).
   + <Psalm 45>: "In the highly poetic language of Psalm 45, the psalm-singer addresses the groom-king with a hyperbolic appellation that reflects the ancient Near Eastern culture" (deClaissé-Walford 2014, 419 :C:), such that "The king of Ps 45 is in many respects addressed in a way in which normally YHWH is addressed" (Blankesteijn 2021, 2 :A:).
    - <Possibility of theological impropriety>: Hyperbole is unlikely, because it would be open to misinterpretation. #dispreferred
     - <Literary genre>: As a royal ode, Psalm 45 has an exuberant style generally; see v. 3 ("most attractive of all people"), v. 5 ("your splendor and your majesty"; see Ps 96:6), and v. 18 ("peoples will praise you forever and ever"). 

Conclusion (A)

The search for syntactic or textual solutions to avoid the vocative address to the king as "Elohim" has largely been driven by theological or semantic presuppositions. Even those who favor other solutions recognize that the vocative reading is the "obvious syntax of [the] MT" and "the most likely interpretation of the vocalization in MT." Further, the surrounding discourse makes it unambiguous that the king is being addressed in this verse. Our preferred interpretation, then, is that Psalm 45:7 contains a unique reference to the king as "Elohim," which fits the profile of Psalm 45 as an ode to the king, whom "people will praise forever" (v. 18). Although the vocative blurs the identity of the Davidic king and YHWH, this is commonplace in the Psalms.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ θεός, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.
  • "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever."
• Aquila: ὁ θρόνος σου, θεὲ, εἰς αἰῶνα καὶ ἔτι
  • "Your throne, God (vocative), is forever and further."
• Symmachus: ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεός αἰῶνος καὶ ἔτι
  • "Your throne, God (nominative), is forever and further."
• Theodotion: ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεός εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος
  • "Your throne, God (nominative), is forever and ever."
• Jerome (Hebr.): thronus tuus Deus in saeculum et in aeternum
  • "Your throne, God, is forever and ever."
• Peshitta: ܟܘܪܣܝܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܠܥܠܡ ܥܠܡܝܢ
  • "The throne of God is forever and ever."
• Targum: כורסי יקרך יהוה קיים לעלמי עלמין
  • "Your throne, O God, is in the heavens for ever and ever."
• Hebrews 1:8: πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν· ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος,
  • But to the Son [he said], "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever."

Modern

Revocalization

• You are God, and you will rule forever as king. FN: Or “God has made you king, and you will rule forever.” (CEV)
• The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever (GNT)
• God has enthroned you for all eternity (REB)

Elohim as modifier

• Your divine throne is everlasting (JPS; cf. CEB)
• The kingdom that God has given you will last forever and ever (GNT)
• Your throne is like God’s throne, eternal (NEB)
• Ton trône est comme le trône de Dieu, établi pour toujours (NFC; cf. PDV)

Elohim as Vocative

• Your throne, O God, is forever and ever (ESV; cf. CJB, CSB, KJV, NABRE, NASB, NET, NIV)
• Dein Thron, Gott, ist immer und ewig (ELB; cf. EÜ, LUT 2017, ZÜR)
• Tu reinado, oh Dios, es eterno (DHH; cf. RVC)
• Ton trône, ô Dieu, est éternel (SG21; cf. NBS, TOB)

Secondary Literature

Allis, O. T. 1923. "Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever," in The Princeton Theological Review 21:2: 236–66.

Blankesteijn, D. 2021. "Singing for a King: The Message of Psalm 45," in Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 21.5: 1-15.

Böhler, Dieter. 2021. Psalmen 1-50. Freiburg, Basel, Wien: Herder Verlag.

Bratcher, Robert G. & Reyburn, William D. 1991. A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies.

Craigie, Peter C. 2004. Psalms 1–50. Nashville, TN: Nelson.

deClaissé-Walford, N. 2014. "Psalm 45." Pages 416–421 in The Book of Psalms (NICOT) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

deClaissé-Walford, N. and Tanner, B. 2014. "Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72," in The Book of Psalms (NICOT) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Delitzsch, Franz. 1871. Biblical Commentary on the Psalms: Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

Dahood, Mitchell. 1966. Psalms I: 1–50. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company.

Ḥakham, Amos. 1979. The Book of Psalms: Books 1-2 (Hebrew; ספר תהלים: ספרים א–ב). Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.

Harris, Murray, J. 1984. "The Translation of Elohim in Psalm 45:7–8", TynBul35:69.

Hoftijzer, Jacob. 1999. "Remarks on Psalm 45:7a," in Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies. Frank Moore Cross Volume: 78-87.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Malbim. Malbim on Psalms.

McClellan, D. 2022. YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach, Ancient Near East Monographs 29. Atlanta, GA: SBL.

Rashi. Rashi on Psalms.

VanGemeren, Willem A. 2008. “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 5. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Walton, John H. 2009. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Weisman, Zeev. 1996. "(Chapter 45)" (Hebrew; פרק מה). Pages 197–202 in Psalms: Volume 1. Olam HaTaNaKh (Hebrew; תהלים א׳ עולם התנ׳׳ך). Tel Aviv: דודזון–עתי.

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