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b-hebrew - Elohim -- human or divine in Psalm 82?

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  • From: "George Athas" <gathas AT globalfreeway.com.au>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Elohim -- human or divine in Psalm 82?
  • Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 00:59:49 +1000


| As I understand it, Satan's promise to make them "gods" was as specious as
all
| his other words to Eve in the garden. In the BHS, 'e:LoHiYM can be used of
| human beings, but it nearly always refers to "judges" sitting to judge
cases
| by the Law of Moses. The much discussed 'e:LoHiYM of Psalm 82 are a case in
| point. That Psalm is a call to human judges to dispense right judgment:
not to
| "gods" in some sort of supernatural pantheon on high. They will die like
the
| puny humans that they are (verse 7). Their vain pretension to godlike
status
| was due to the Serpent's deception.

The only humans to be called 'gods' in the Hebrew Bible are Moses (and even
that is just a
simile) and the king to whom Psalm 45 is addressed. Psalm 82 makes much more
sense as a
sitting of the divine court. Note that "Elohim" takes his stand in the
counsel of "El" --
a very direct word meaning "deity". The Psalm ends asking "Elohim" to judge
or govern the
earth in place of the other gods (who are barely worthy of that title) and so
to take
possession of all the nations. That is, the Psalmist asks for the overthrow
of all
national deities who each govern their own national domain because they are
inept, and
instead asks for "Elohim" to take the reigns as a single autocratic ruler who
is able to
restore order. This certainly has repercussions for human judges, but it is
the divine
court which is in view in Psalm 82 -- not the average city gate court.

Best regards,
GEORGE ATHAS
- Anglican Chaplaincy, UNSW;
- Southern Cross College,
Sydney, Australia
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