Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <gathas AT globalfreeway.com.au>]

| Yes, God is in view in Exodus 22:8-9.  But some translations and
| commentators take "elohim" to refer to the human judges. The NIV is one. If
| Exodus 22:8 called human judges "gods" in their representative role, then
| Jesus may refer to this precedent in John 10:34. The word of God came to
| judges in response to a request from the citizenry for divine settlement of
| a dispute.

I agree that the judges were representatives God. But the judges themselves 
are not
"gods". Jesus reply in Jn 10 makes far more sense if he is referring to 
divine beings,
because he is making the claim that he himself is divine. If he was merely 
referring to
human judges, then he is simply calling himself a man. I don't think this is 
what the
Gospel is trying to say. On the contrary, it is making the claim that Jesus 
is God.


| [...]
| The psalmist goes on to say that despite their elevated status they will
| die as mere men. The words "like mere men" correspond to the Hebrew
| K.:)ADAM, or "as man." Because of their merely human status, God would
| ultimately have to be the One who judges the earth:
|
| Psa. 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Then what purpose does it serve to say that the "gods" (presuming they are 
men here) would
die like mere men if they were always going to die as mere men? If it was 
always going to
be the case, then why say "like mere men"? No, in the case of Ps 82, the gods 
of the
divine council are condemned to die like mere men because they fail to govern 
the earth
properly. No one expects the gods to die as mere men, so their condmenation 
to die as mere
men is quite telling. This Psalsm calls for an end to henotheism with its 
national deities
each ruling a particular domain, and calls for a new monotheism in which a 
single deity
governs the entire earth. Notice that the scope isn't simply national Israel, 
but
universal. The gods of the nations -- not the judges of Israel -- have failed 
to govern
the world. Therefore God must needs sack this cabinet and assume autocratic 
control
himself.

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