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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] elohim versus aggelous, Psalm 8:6[5] MT verses LXX

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Trevor Peterson <06PETERSON AT cua.edu>
  • Cc: BIblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] elohim versus aggelous, Psalm 8:6[5] MT verses LXX
  • Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 14:14:37 -0700

On 26/09/2003 12:05, Trevor Peterson wrote:

===== Original Message From phil-eng AT ighmail.com =====
Why does elohim occur in MT Psalm 8:6[5], whereas aggelous occurs in LXX
Psalm 8:6[5]?


I suppose the best person to ask would be the translator who came up with the Greek rendering. Since I don't think that person is on this list, I'll take a stab at an answer. The translator probably felt that elohim has a wider range of meaning than can be captured in any one Greek word (as is often the case when translating from any language to any other). A judgment had to be made as to the meaning of elohim in this context, and angelous seemed like the best rendering to go with. I suspect that the translator had in mind the sense of superhuman beings here, rather than human messengers. I'm assuming, of course, that elohim was in the Vorlage.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics



Maybe the LXX translator was correct. In the Psalms 'elohim can refer to heavenly beings (plural), "angels" of some sort e.g. 82:1,6, 97:7, 138:1, to pagan gods (plural) (if that is actually different), and to God (singular). And there is a real difficulty in taking this as a reference to God, YHWH, as YHWH 'adonenu is the second person singular subject here.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/






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