AISBT ReaderPs 82:1–8
Notes · 15 on Ps 82:1–8
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Notes · Ps 82:1–8

God Judges in the Assembly

15 approved team notes on Ps 82:1–8.
Read Ps 82:1–8

Ps 82:1

exegeticalPs 82:1–8
Psalm 82: God judges in the assembly, and the identity of the elohim is open
  • SaysPsalm 82 is a psalm of Asaph in which God stands in the assembly and judges among the elohim; he rebukes injustice, commands justice for the weak, sentences those addressed to die like man and fall like one of the princes, and is asked to arise and judge the earth because he will inherit among the nations. The BSB phrases “divine assembly”, “like mortals”, “like rulers”, and “all the nations are Your inheritance” are not the Hebrew clauses.
  • ImpliesThe elohim of 82:1b and 82:6 are under God’s judgment and sentenced to die, so they are not his equals; Deut 4:35; 32:39 and Isa 45:5 say that the Lord alone is God.
  • UncertainWho the elohim are is open, with no lean: heavenly council beings judged for misrule; human judges as God’s representatives (Exod 21:6; 22:8–9); Israel at Sinai, a minority reading that appeals to John 10:35. Each keeps the sentence of 82:7.
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exegeticalPs 82:1
God stands in the assembly of El and judges among the elohim (Psalm 82:1)
  • SaysPs 82:1 is a psalm of Asaph: God stands in the assembly of El/God and judges in the midst of the elohim. BSB “presides” and “divine assembly” are not literal. In Pss 42–83 elohim names Israel’s God.
  • ImpliesEl names the God who stands there, so the phrase is assembly of God (El); an adjectival divine assembly remains possible; nitsav is a judge’s posture, as in Isa 3:13, with a more general presides as the alternative.
  • UncertainWho the elohim of 82:1b are is open, with no lean: heavenly council beings; human judges (Exod 21:6; 22:8–9); Israel at Sinai (John 10:35). An allusion to other assembly language is also open. The printed text is the Masoretic wording.
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historicalPs 82:1; Ps 82:6–7
God in the divine assembly (82:1)
  • SaysPs 82:1 is headed “A Psalm of Asaph” and says God presides in the assembly (MT עֲדַת־אֵל, “assembly of El/God”; BSB “divine assembly”) and judges among the gods; 1 Chr 16:5 names Asaph as chief of the Levites before the ark; Ps 89:5–7 (MT 89:6–8), 1 Kgs 22:19 and Job 1:6 place the Lord among heavenly beings.
  • ImpliesWhatever the elohim of Ps 82:1b and 82:6 are, God judges them and sentences them to die (82:7), so the psalm does not make them God’s equals (cf. Isa 45:5; Deut 4:35).
  • UncertainThe identity of the elohim of Ps 82:1b and 82:6 (heavenly council beings, human judges or rulers, or Israel at Sinai) is open; no lean, and the background does not fix 82:1 or 82:6.
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languagePs 82:1–8
Ps 82 (LXX 81): συναγωγῇ θεῶν and the Greek rendering
  • SaysSwete prints the unnumbered title Ψαλμὸς τῷ Ἀσάφ and Ps 81:1 as Ὁ θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρίνει.
  • SaysThe Greek has a plural assembly of gods where the Hebrew has singular אֵל, and ἔστη and διακρίνει render נִצָּב and יִשְׁפֹּט.
  • SaysLXX Ps 81:2 has διάψαλμα; 81:6–7 give the gods saying and the death sentence, with δή present in the first hand of Vaticanus (marked as perhaps) and the first hand of Sinaiticus, and omitted in a later corrector of Vaticanus, a later corrector of Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, the Verona Psalter, and the Zurich Psalter; 81:8 has κατακληρονομήσεις.
  • UncertainWhether συναγωγῇ θεῶν reflects a different Hebrew or interprets אֵל is not settled from the Greek alone.
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languagePs 82:1
Ps 82:1: God takes his stand in the assembly of El
  • SaysPs 82:1 (LXX 81:1) opens מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף ("A Psalm of Asaph"), inside verse 1 in MT and BSB, then אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת־אֵל בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט.
  • Saysנִצָּב (Niphal participle) and יִשְׁפֹּט (Qal imperfect) are masculine singular, so the first אֱלֹהִים is the one God; עֲדַת is a feminine construct governing אֵל; the second אֱלֹהִים is plural in form.
  • SaysIn Pss 42–83 אֱלֹהִים is the usual word for Israel's God.
  • ImpliesLean: בַּעֲדַת־אֵל = "in the assembly of God (El)"; main alternative: adjectival "divine, mighty" (BSB "divine assembly").
  • Impliesנִצָּב pictures a judge taking his stand (as in Isa 3:13); main alternative: "is stationed, presides" (BSB "presides").
  • UncertainWho the אֱלֹהִים of 82:1b are (heavenly council, human judges or rulers, Israel at Sinai): no lean.
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VariantPs 82:1–8
Psalm 82 (LXX 81): minor variants and Selah
  • SaysSwete prints the title Ψαλμὸς τῷ Ἀσάφ unnumbered above 81:1, for מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף.
  • Uncertain82:1: בַּעֲדַת־אֵל / Swete ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν: whether the plural reflects another Hebrew wording or interprets אֵל is not settled; no Hebrew witness with another wording is attested, and the MT is printed.
  • Implies82:7: אָכֵן / Swete ὑμεῖς δὲ δὴ (δη B* fort, ℵ*; om. Bc ℵc.a A R T): the Greek renders the particle and makes the subject explicit; no other Hebrew wording is attested.
  • SaysLXX 81:3: A κρινεται; ℵ* πτωχον κ. ορφανον; ℵc.a A R T ορφανω κ. πτωχω.
  • SaysLXX 81:4: R* ανταναιρειτε (Ra εξελ.); +αυτον ℵc.a T (ℵc.b omits); +αυτους A.
  • SaysLXX 81:5: ℵc.a R σαλευθητωσαν.
  • SaysLXX 81:7: R ανθρωπος; T ις for εἷς (τ erased before it); ℵ αρχων.
  • SaysLXX 81:8: κατακληρονομήσεις B ℵc.a; -σης A* T; ℵ* εξολεθρευσεις; +αυτους A margin, queried.
  • Uncertainסֶלָה (82:2) / διάψαλμα (LXX 81:2): meaning not settled.
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Ps 82:2

exegeticalPs 82:2–5
The indictment: unjust judgment, the weak, and shaken foundations (Psalm 82:2–5)
  • Says82:2 rebukes a plural you for judging injustice and showing partiality; 82:3–4 command justice for the weak, fatherless, afflicted, and needy, and rescue from the wicked; selah closes 82:2.
  • UncertainWho do not know or understand in 82:5: a lean is taken toward the judges addressed in 82:2–4, because that you continues in 82:6–7; the oppressed who walk in darkness are the alternative.
  • ImpliesThe shaken foundations picture moral and social order giving way under injustice, not necessarily a physical earthquake.
  • UncertainWhat selah means is open (LXX diapsalma). The courtroom charge does not identify the elohim of 82:1 and 82:6; no lean is taken on that identity.
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historicalPs 82:2–4
Justice for the weak and Israel’s judges (82:2–4)
  • SaysPs 82:2–4 rebukes unjust, partial judging and commands justice for the weak, fatherless, afflicted, oppressed and needy.
  • SaysDeut 10:17–18, 2 Chr 19:6–7 and Isa 3:13–14 apply the same standard to the Lord and to Israel’s judges and leaders; in Exod 21:6 and 22:8–9 (MT 22:7–8) cases come before הָאֱלֹהִים, rendered “the judges” in the BSB.
  • UncertainWhom Ps 82:2–4 addresses (human judges, heavenly beings, or Israel at Sinai) is open; no lean, and the background does not fix 82:1 or 82:6.
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languagePs 82:2–5
Ps 82:2–5: unjust judging, the weak, and the shaken foundations
  • Says82:2 עַד־מָתַי תִּשְׁפְּטוּ־עָוֶל: תִּשְׁפְּטוּ and תִּשְׂאוּ are second masculine plural imperfects; וּפְנֵי רְשָׁעִים תִּשְׂאוּ is the partiality idiom (BSB "show partiality"), denied of God in Deut 10:17.
  • Says82:3–4 give four plural imperatives (שִׁפְטוּ Qal, הַצְדִּיקוּ Hiphil, פַּלְּטוּ Piel, הַצִּילוּ Hiphil) for the weak, fatherless, afflicted, poor and needy, מִיַּד רְשָׁעִים; OSHB parses רָשׁ as a Qal participle.
  • UncertainWho לֹא יָדְעוּ וְלֹא יָבִינוּ: the verbs turn to the third plural; lean: the judges of 82:2–4 (the address resumes in 82:6–7); main alternative: the weak and needy.
  • Impliesיִמּוֹטוּ כָּל־מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ (Niphal) pictures the moral and social order giving way under injustice; main alternative: a shaking of the created order itself.
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Ps 82:6

cross-referencePs 82:6; John 10:34–36
John 10:34 and Ps 82:6: the form of the quotation
  • SaysJohn 10:34 Ἐγὼ εἶπα· Θεοί ἐστε agrees in form with LXX Ps 81:6a and renders MT Ps 82:6a; the match does not show which text was used.
  • SaysJesus calls the psalm “your Law” and says the Scripture cannot be broken; SBLGNT has ὅτι and the Byzantine Textform omits it.
  • ImpliesThe argument is from the lesser to the greater: if Scripture calls them gods, the one the Father sanctified and sent is not blaspheming in calling himself the Son of God.
  • UncertainJohn 10:35 does not settle whether the gods are heavenly beings, human judges, or Israel at Sinai; no lean is taken.
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exegeticalPs 82:6–7
You are gods; you will die like mortals (Psalm 82:6–7)
  • Says82:6 addresses them as gods and, in parallel, as sons of the Most High.
  • UncertainWhether I said is a declaration (lean) or a supposition (alternative), reversed by אָכֵן.
  • Saysאָכֵן is a strong adversative; 82:7 sentences them to die like man and fall like one of the princes, which the BSB glosses more freely.
  • Uncertainכְּאָדָם leans to like mortals, with like Adam named; who the princes are is open, with no lean.
  • UncertainThe elohim may be heavenly council beings, human judges, or Israel at Sinai, on equal terms, with no lean; John 10:34–36 does not decide it, and Christ’s deity is not argued from this text.
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historicalPs 82:6–7; John 10:34–36
John 10 and early Christian readings of 82:6–7
  • SaysIn John 10:34–35 Jesus quotes “I have said you are gods,” calls the psalm “your Law,” and says the Scripture cannot be broken; the Greek of John 10:34 agrees in form with Ps 81:6 LXX and renders MT Ps 82:6 exactly.
  • UncertainThe identity of the elohim of Ps 82:1b and 82:6 (heavenly council beings, human judges or rulers, or Israel at Sinai) is open, and each view appeals to John 10:35; no lean.
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languagePs 82:6–7
Ps 82:6–7: "you are gods," and "like man you will die"
  • Says82:6 אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם וּבְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן כֻּלְּכֶם: אָמַרְתִּי Qal perfect first singular; אַתֶּם and the suffix of כֻּלְּכֶם second masculine plural; בְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן parallel to אֱלֹהִים.
  • Uncertainאֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי: lean "I declared" (overturned by אָכֵן); main alternative "I had thought" (BDB lists this אָכֵן among uses that set the reality against what had been wrongly imagined).
  • Saysאָכֵן is strongly asseverative or adversative ("surely," "but in fact"); תְּמוּתוּן and תִּפֹּלוּ are second masculine plural imperfects.
  • Uncertainכְּאָדָם: lean "like man, like mortals"; main alternative "like Adam" (Gen 3:19); וּכְאַחַד הַשָּׂרִים: human or heavenly princes, no lean.
  • ImpliesWhatever they are, God judges them and sentences them to die, so they are not his equals.
  • UncertainWho the gods of 82:6 are (heavenly council, human judges or rulers, Israel at Sinai): no lean.
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Ps 82:8

exegeticalPs 82:8
Arise, O God, and judge the earth (Psalm 82:8)
  • Says82:8 prays that God arise and judge the earth because he will inherit among all the nations; the BSB noun clause is not the Hebrew clause.
  • Saysנחל and גּוֹיִם in 82:8 and Deut 32:8–9 are a verbal link; the Deut 32 notes do not identify the elohim of this psalm.
  • UncertainWhether 82:8 deliberately reverses the Deut 32:8–9 allotment is open, with no lean.
  • UncertainWhether 82:8 is messianic or eschatological: lean toward God’s universal rule as the plain sense; a later fulfillment is named by reference only.
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languagePs 82:8
Ps 82:8: "Arise, O God," for you will inherit among all the nations
  • Says82:8 קוּמָה אֱלֹהִים שָׁפְטָה הָאָרֶץ with Qal imperatives; the ground כִּי־אַתָּה תִנְחַל בְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִם, תִנְחַל a Qal imperfect second masculine singular ("you will inherit"); the BSB noun clause recasts the verb.
  • SaysThe verb and גּוֹיִם recur in Deut 32:8 (בְּהַנְחֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹיִם), the noun in Deut 32:9 (נַחֲלָתוֹ): shared wording.
  • UncertainWhether 82:8 deliberately answers or reverses Deut 32:8–9: no lean; it depends partly on the reading of Deut 32:8 (printed "sons of God", MT "sons of Israel" named) and on who is judged.
  • UncertainWhether 82:8 is messianic or eschatological: lean the plain sense (God judging the nations, which are his); main alternative a prayer for the final judgment fulfilled in Christ's rule.
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