The titles psalms and psalter come from the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot, where they originally referred to. It is likely that god appointed michael to watch and rule over israel. The book of psalms sefer tehillim my jewish learning. Psalms 82 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on. The book of psalms is a record of petitions or laments, thanksgiving, and praise to god by his people. This psalm, like others similarly named, was so entitled either from the name of the man who wrote it, or from the explanation of that same name, so as to refer in meaning to the synagogue, which asaph signifies. It is my understanding that it is talking about corrupt judges. A psalm by asaph 1 god presides in the great assembly. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Psalm 82 kjv god standeth in the congregation of the. Starting your free trial of bible gateway plus is easy. In the psalms, we discover a man set amongst gods beautiful visible creation that we are meant to rule and guide. Psalms 82 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Heres a note from the expositors bible commentary with regard to jesus usage of psalm 82.
What does the bible mean by you are gods ye are gods. I consider psalm 82 as an unusual lament of the community that places its hopes in the judgement of god against those who are charged to help them. The traditional hebrew title is tehillim meaning praises. Commentaries, history books, and more are linked to this page. Lets start with a look at psalm 82, the psalm that jesus quotes in john 10. The book of psalms contains some of the most beautiful poetry ever written, but many people find that these verses describe human problems so well that they make excellent prayers. Aug 14, 2016 working preacher is a ministry brought to you by luther seminary.
In his book jesus the christ, talmage agreed that jesus was referring to divinely appointed judges when he wrote, divinely appointed judges called gods. Beautiful as is the morality of the new testament, it can be hardly denied that its perfection depends in part on the interpretation which we now put on metaphors and allegories. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. The interpretive challenges are real, but the reward for engaging them is substantial. And in this, we see that the apparent contradiction between the bibles claims of monotheism and its apparent evidence of. Psalm 82 king james version kjv 82 god standeth in the congregation of the mighty.
On the contrary, jesus introduced an a fortiori argument from the psalms to strengthen his statement. The working preacher team believes that god uses good biblical preaching to change lives. And just as michael, the angel, ruled over israel, the prince of persia, likewise, an angel, ruled over persia. In the greek septuagint version of the bible, and in its latin translation in the vulgate, this psalm is psalm 81 in a slightly different numbering system. The word we translated meeting is one that the bible uses to describe israel.
You are gods, and all of you are children of the most high. What does the bible mean by you are gods ye are gods in psalm 82. The divine council of the gods, the judgment of the watchers and the inheritance of the nations paperback march 22, 2018. I also notice that jesus did not deny being god one. That is why some bible students think the powerful means israels leaders. The divine council of the gods, the judgment of the watchers and the inheritance of the nations godawa, brian on. No one better interpreted or applied psalm 82 than our lord. To reject this message was to reject the messiah, which, in fact, many did. Psalm 82, english standard version 2016 esv the bible app. Is talmage expressing a different interpretation of psalms 82. This psalm has a great deal in common with the prophets, in that it pronounces judgment on those appointed by god to positions of power, who have shown partiality to the wicked v. Apparently they are influenced by the angelic rebellion and fall. An easyenglish translation with notes about 1200 word vocabulary on psalm 82.
Spurgeons treasury of david to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. It usually refers to the one true god, but it does have other uses. Christs public ministry was surrounded by controversy as he claimed to be messiah himself. Introduction in the days of jesus earthly life the messianic expectation was at its highest pitch. Study the bible online using commentary on psalms 82 and more. As such it has brought comfort, encouragement, and blessing to gods people throughout the ages. God presides in the divine assembly 2 how long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked. The book of psalms, also known as the psalter is a treasure of the church that has held a central role both in the. The fact that many false religions have spread over large portions of the earth like wildfire had some weight with me. Had jesus not meant to convey a claim to deity, he undoubtedly would have protested the action of the jews by declaring that they had misunderstood him. To have understood the message of psalm 82 and our lords application of it would have been to bow the knee to him as the son of god, the promised messiah. Its continual subjects may be gods workings and gods relationships with humankind, but its passions are our own. You are children of the most high god is referring to himslef. God is our creator,he created everything and there is only one god.
The divine council of the gods, the judgment of the. I have said, ye are gods i have given you my name and power to rule your people in my stead. The translated bible text has yet to go through advanced checking. In fact, one of the first collections included in the book was titled the prayers of david son of jesse. In his debate with the jewish religious leaders, christ quoted from psalm 82 to prove his messianic credentials. Read psalms 82 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Psalms 82 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. When it is not in his power to defend himself against him, and get out of his hands, unless a righteous judge will show a regard to him and his cause.
Psalms 82, new english translation net the bible app. First of all, do not let this be your only translation of the book of psalms. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked. Selah 3 defend the cause of the weak and fatherless.
Psalm 82 has also been interpreted in jewish tradition to refer to the judges of israel, evidence for which comes from b, ber. From whence it is necessarily concluded that this book of psalms was looked upon among the jews as part of the divine law, that is, of gods word. From his adversary and oppressor, who is mightier than he, and draws him to the judgment seat. Hence one interpretation of psalm 82, is that god is holding court in the divine council of the elohim gods, and sentencing them for their malpractice after assigning the postdiluvian nations to their liege, after the tower of babel apostasy, in deuteronomy 32. The first book is like genesis, detailing blessing, fall. The book of psalms is among the most popular and widely read of all the books of the hebrew bible.
I have always thought this passage was telling us that we have the potential to become gods. Psalms 82 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. Is talmage expressing a different interpretation of psalms. Some believe that the gods are human judges, and that gods elohim. We have enlisted hundreds of friends biblical scholars, theologians, homileticians and pastors dedicated to the craft of biblical preaching to provide you timely, compelling and trustworthy content. Having issued my caveat, this is, in my opinion, an illuminating and sometimes spiritually profound interpretation. The midrash suggests that psalm 82 was originally given around the time of sinai. Structure the book of psalms is arranged in five books. It is a selection, and the translations are often very free. Youre already logged in with your bible gateway account. Working preacher is a ministry brought to you by luther seminary. Furthermore, i have come to see that psalm 82 has a very awesome word to those of us who live in the 20th century. What does the bible mean by you are gods ye are gods in. Jan 09, 2019 i consider psalm 82 as an unusual lament of the community that places its hopes in the judgement of god against those who are charged to help them.
The divine council of the gods, the judgment of the watchers and the inheritance of the nations. Psalm 82 is the 82nd psalm in the biblical book of psalms, subtitled a psalm of asaph. The author asaph was probably the great singer and musician of david and solomons era 1 chronicles 15. Book 2 psalms 4272 like exodus, this book describes ruin, and rescue by god. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see w. While the torah presents itself as the divine word imparted to the people israel, the 150 poems in the book of psalms represent a range of human voices. Judges are called gods here, because judging is a job that god does, but men have been assigned this responsibility. Psalms 82, new king james version nkjv the bible app.
Aug 18, 20 psalm 82 is the shortest of the psalms i have commented on these four weeks, but it is far and away the most difficult to interpret. Book 1 psalms 141 the five divisions correspond roughly to the five books of moses. Study psalm 82 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. This summary of the book of psalms provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of psalms. Every human emotion is covered in these hymns of aspiration to god. The book of psalms is the place to go when youre hurting. To this the savior referred in his reply to the jews in solomons porch. Psalm 82 not only showed that jesus was israels messiah, it also had a very pointed message to those who had rejected him and were attempting to put him to death. Can someone give me an interpretation of psalms 82. Feb 05, 2008 can someone give me an interpretation of psalms 82. The volume of scholarly literature is enormous, and not simply because scholars like to get published. God is saiding you belong to me,and all of you are the children of the most high. Psalms 82 commentary james burton coffman commentaries. At the bottom of page 501, in the book jesus the christ, talmage gives his opinion.
Psalm 82 is the shortest of the psalms i have commented on these four weeks, but it is far and away the most difficult to interpret. For the interest gained by the passage from our lords use of it to rebut the charge. The next step is to enter your payment information. See the chapter introduction for a full discussion of psalms 82.