Reading Notes and Text for Psalm 8

 

Psalm 8 from Rahlfs Septuaginta


8.1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν• ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. 8.2 Κύριε ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, ὡς θαυμαστὸν τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ, ὅτι ἐπήρθη ἡ μεγαλοπρέπειά σου ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν. 8.3 ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου τοῦ καταλῦσαι ἐχθρὸν καὶ ἐκδικητήν. 8.4ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας, ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας.8.5 τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν; 8.6 ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους, δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτόν• 8.7 καὶ κατέστησας αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου, πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ, 8.8 πρόβατα καὶ βόας πάσας, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰ κτήνη τοῦ πεδίου, 8.9 τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύας τῆς θαλάσσης, τὰ διαπορευόμενα τρίβους θαλασσῶν. 8.10 κύριε ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, ὡς θαυμαστὸν τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ.

Notes on the Greek Text (Louis Sorenson)

The notes are in their early vetting stages. Let me know if you find any errors.

Comments by members are followed by their initials.


8.1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος. [Meaning of Phrase | Translation Greek] This phrase is used 55x in the MT Psalms and once in the MT Hab. 3.18. The LXX renders לַמְנַצֵּחַ by εἰς τὸ τέλος, but by by τοῦ νικῆσαι in Habbakkuk. It is rendered in various ways in English translations as "Choirmaster", "Worship", "Completion", "the end of all things", et. al. Other passages where the Hebrew word appears as a participle is 2 Chron 2.1,17; 19.13; infinitive in 1 Chron 15.21; 23.4; 2 Chron 34.12; Ezra 3.8-9. In these passages the word clearly mean "to preside or oversee". In 1 Chron 15.20-21 it means to lead the singing with the accompaniament of instruments.


The first word in Hebrew is לַמְנַצֵּחַ lamnatseäch (the dieresis over the last 'a' indicates it is not part of a diphthong. The word has four syllables.). It is possible the Greek translator mistook this word for לְָנֶצַח (lanetsach, meaning 'forever'. Ancient Hebrew did not indicate vowels; so, the translator could have simply missed the letter 'm'.). Hence: Εἰς τὸ τέλος. (PEB)

Regarding the "superscripts" (that preface each psalm… ) the NIV Bible writes 'many scholars consider the superscripts to have been appended at a later time… and therefore to be of limited historical value.' But another view sees them as written soon after the psalms to which they are attached. The superscripts use technical, musical terms - references to instruments, and special instructions as "for the director of music". But many meanings of the superscripts are lost. NIV adds that the Septuagint often "guesses" at meanings and offers the meaning of line 1 as 'For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.' (MMB)

8.1 ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν. [Meaning of Phrase] NIV According to gittith. (ὑπέρ + gen. = regarding, concerning, on behalf of). In Hebrew, "gath" is both the word for the locality "Gath" from where Goliath came, and 'wine-press'. Some faithul translations of the LXX add the word "instrument" in italics, meaning that word is not in the original LXX, and must refer to some unknown meaning. The phrase is enigmatic, and no conclusion can be made from the Hebrew. The Greek is clear; the translator of the LXX made a choice: ληνός can refer to a winevat in which the grapes are pressed, but it can also refer to a trough, coffin, hollowed part, (pl. nostrils), etc. It is not beyond speculation it could be a technical term for some kind of hollowed instrument.

Diodore of Tarsus, an Alexandrian exegete who believed in τὸ ἱστορικόν τὸ ἀλληγορικόν as practiced in Alexandria, avoided the extended allegorical interpration that many other early Christian authors swallowed in explaining this title.:
"The words of this psalm bear no close relationship to the reference in the title. I mean, evan granting that "on the winepresses" means on the gathering of the fruit (of the vine, presumably), I cannot conceive why on earth he would mention everything else coming under human control--birds, quadrupeds, reptile -- and make a particular point of (44) omitting mention of the fruit at the focus of attention. So let us for our part pass over such pedantic nonsense and treat the real theme of the psalm. (Diodore of Tarsus: Commentary on Psalms 1-51‎ translated by Robert Charles Hill - Brill Academic Publishers)


8.1 ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. [Syntax: Use of the Dative | Translation Greek] In Greek, the dative can show both agency 'written by' David or possession "belonging to" David. While not necessarily the most straightforward Greek rendering, the best 'Greek grammar' explanation is the Dative of Reference (Smyth §1496) or Dative of the Possessor (Smyth §1474).The Hebrew text uses the preposition le + the noun to express posession. The LXX routinely translates מִזְמֹור לְדָוִד as ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυιδ. Coneybeare/Stock do not address the issue. I call it the Dative for Hebrew Construct of Possession; Wallace would call it the Dative of Lamed Auctoris. See Gesenius p. 419-20 §129.1(a) ...this Lamed auctoris is the customary idiom also in the other Semitic dialects".

8.2 ὡς θαυμαστὸν τὸ ὄνομά σου [Syntax: Omission of the verb εἴμἰ] When not needed, and especially in poetry, the verb εἴμι 'to be' is omitted in Greek, Smyth §944. The simple statement would be τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐστιν θαυμαστόν. Here, the predicate adjective θευμαστόν precedes its articular referent, τὸ ὄνομα. Colwell's Canon does not have any reference here, because θαυμαστός is an adjective and not a noun; Colwell's Canon: "A predicate nominative preceding the verb (here omitted) generally will not have the article".

8.2 ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. [Position of πᾶς] Is there any difference between πάσῃ τῇ γῇ and τῇ πάσῃ γῇ? English idiom demands the word "whole" come after the article "the whole world" and "all come before "all the world." See Smyth §1174. In the predicate/usual position, πᾶς means 'all'; in the attributive position (sandwiched between the article and noun) πας means 'the whole'. Here, ἐν πάσῃ is in the usual "predicate" position (=not preceded by the article) It is normal for the article to be omitted after prepositions, but πᾶς never takes the article in the double attributive position i.e. ἡ πάση ἡ γῆ would never occur.
8.2 ἐπήρθη [Morphology:2ndAorist | Semantics:PassiveMeaning] 2nd aorist passive 3s of ἐπαίρω > ἐπι-αἴρω (83x); the iota is only present in the present stem. The active means "to lift up, to raise, to exalt, to excite." The passive means "to be lifted up, to be exalted, roused, or led on" (Lust p. 220).

8.2 μεγαλοπρέπειά [Lexicography] μεγαλοπρέπεια, -ας ἡ (10x) 'magnificence, majesty' >μέγαλος (μέγας) 'great' and the verb πρέπει 'to be fitting'. The word is used 5x in the Psalms: 8.2, 20.6, 28.4, 67.35, 70.8.

8.2 ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν [Syntax:Prepositions:ὑπεράνω] ὑπεράνω adv. (high) above functioning as prep. w. gen. (B-D-F §215, 2; Rob. 646f).

8.2 τῶν οὐρανῶν [Translation-Hebrew> שׁמימ 'heavens'] The Hebrews routinely referred to 'the heavens' in the plural - i.e they perceived multiple levels of 'heaven'. In the New Testament, the rendering is normally in the plural (183x), but is also in the singular many times (92x). In Psalm 8, the plural occurs in 8.2 and 8.4; the singular occurs in 8.9, where it translates the Hebrew plural שָׁמַיִם 'shamayim'.

8.3 θηλαζόντων [Syntax:Participle:Substantival] >θηλάζω 'to nurse'. ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων. Τhe participle (without article) θηλαζόντων is used, substantivally, as a noun 'nursing beings' e.g. 'sucklings' in parallel with νηπίων. τὸ θηλάζοντα represents beings younger than τὸ νηπίον [τέκνον] <<speculation?>>. βρέφος is the term for newborn.

8.3 κατηρτίσω αἶνον [Syntax:] The verb καρτίζω (17x) 'to make good, strengthen, refresh' in the LXX always takes the accusative as the object. The LXX translations of Hebrew עז 'azare rendered by the Greek as (αἶνος 11x), ἁγίασμα, ἁγιωσύνη, ἀντίληψις, βοήθεια, βοηθός, δόξα, δύναμις, ἰσχύς, κραταίωμα, κράτος, and τιμή.

8.3 τοῦ καταλῦσαι ἐχθρὸν καὶ ἐκδικητήν [Syntax:Infinitive:Articular_Genitive] 'to put down enemy and avenger' (NETS). The genitive τοῦ has nothing to do with the preceding σου. τοῦ καταλῦσαι is an example of a genitive articular infinitive used as a purpose clause; it rarely is used as a result clause. This is a fairly common Greek construction; Mozley has an extended discussion on pp. 17-18 and how it is used by translators of the LXX. The Hebrew is an Hiphil infinitive construct preceded by the preposition le, a common way of showing purpose in Hebrew The 33 NT examples occur almost entirely in Matthew, Luke and Acts. See Wallace BBG p.591; BDB §400(5); Smyth §2032.

8.4 ὅτι [Translation Greek: ὅτι] The NETS translates ὅτι as 'because'. But the Hebrew ki can be used for temporal expressions, in the sense of "when" (HALOT under ki, 10). [investigate further; odd usage in 1 Jn 4:?).

Since none of the normal senses for ὅτι seem to fit, I am treating it as a mechanical transference of ὅτι for ki as the explanation of the Greek. DEH

8.4 ὄψομαι [Verbs:IrregularStems:ὁράω] Do not try to derive the word ὄψομαι from the stem ὁράω. ὄψομαι is used when saying "I will see". Smyth lists irregular verbs under section §529, ὁράω is listed under §529.6. 6. ὁράω (ὁρα-, ὀπ-, ϝιδ-) see, fut. ὄψομαι, perf. ἑώρα_κα or ἑόρα_κα, perf. mid. ἑώρα_μαι or ὦμμαι (ὠπ-μαι), ὤφθην, 2 aor. εἶδον (see 2 above). Other verbs for seeing are βλέπω, σκοπέω.

8.4 ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας [Syntax:RelativePronoun:Agreement] ἃ is nom./acc. plural functioning both as the object of εθεμελίωσας and the head of the relative clause. The antecedents are (τὴν) σελήνην καὶ (τοὺς) ἀστέρας, and possibly (τὰ) ἔργα. Here the neuter plural relative pronoun ἃ represents a feminine and masculine plural noun, and possibly a neuter plural. See Smyth §2501 & §2502 on concord of relative pronouns.


8.5 μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ [Morphology:Ambiguance | Syntax:Verbs:CaseOfObject]. The genitive is often used as the object of verbs signifying to remember, remind, forget, care for, and neglect (Smyth §1356).


8.5 ὅτι...ὅτι. [TranslationGreek:ὅτι] ὅτι is translated in both places for כִּי. BDB §456(2): A special use of ὅτι in the New Testament as in the OT is one which corresponds to Hebrew (§480(6)), e.g. H 2:6 OT τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρωπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν; כִּי is consecutive here, but ὅτι seems more likely to have been felt as meaning 'for what reason, why?' (§§299(4); 480(6); or as meaning '(I ask) because' and is found already in pre-classical Greek....


8.5 υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου [Semantics:ExplanationOfPhrase] Coming when I get my commentary.


8.5 ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ.... ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ [Morphology:Ambiguance:IndicativeVsSubjuncive] ὅτι The ending -ῃ can be one of three present tense forms:

  1. Present Middle/Passive Subjunctive 2nd Singular
  2. Present Middle/Passive Indicative 2nd Singular
  3. Present Active Subjunctive 3rd Singular.


We know from the Hebrew and context that the verbs represent the second singular; So how does one decide if the mood is indicative 'that you remember me' or subjunctive 'that you would remember me.' - and would there be any difference? ὅτι can introduce an independent clause - so it could be either. Hebrew has no separate subjunctive mood; in some cases there is a particle to indicate the present of the condition, but in many cases the contingency is noted by context only.


8.6 ἠλάττωσας [Morphology:Verbs:ἐλασσόὠ] ἐλαττόω (fr. ἐλαχύς via ἐλάσσων) fut. ἐλαττώσω LXX; 1 aor. ἠλάττωσα. Pass. ἐλαττωθήσομαι LXX; aor. ἠλαττώθην LXX; pf. ptc. ἠλαττωμένος (28x) > ἐλασσων / ἐλαττων "less", the comparative of μικρός, cf. Smyth §319.6. Lust shows the lemma in both the Ionic/Koine form ἐλάσσω, and the Attic form ἐλάττω. ἐλασσόω takes the object in the accusative in the active, here αὐτόν; in the passive, it takes the genitive of thing and dative of agent. Omicron contract verbs (-οω) change the omicron to omega -ω- before all endings.


8.6 βραχύ τι [Lexicography:βραχύς] Translate as '(only) a little'; 'a little' (NETS). Cf. 2 Sam 16.1.


8.6 παρ' ἀγγέλους [Morphology:Elision] παρ' is elision for παρὰ. The technical term for the dropping of a short vowel (ᾰ,ε,ῐ,ο,ῠ) at the end of a word is elision. Elision affects only unimportant words or syllable, such as particles, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions of two syllables...and the final syllables of nouns, pronouns and verbs, Smyth §70.


8.6 δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ [Syntax:Cases:UseOfDative] δόξῃ =כָבֹוד ; τιμῇ = הָדָר. δόξῃ τιμῇ are "instrumental datives proper" specifically an "instruments of means"; See Smyth §1507.


8.7 κατέστησας αὐτὸν [Lexicography:καθίστημἰ] Aor. Act. Ind. 2S of καθίστημι. The 'new' Koine of καθίστημι is καθιστάνω. The verb is transitive and always takes the accusative as the object. BDAG: to assign someone a position of authority, appoint, put in charge (Hdt. et al.)ⓐ someone over (of) something or someone τινὰ ἐπί τινος, τινὰ ἐπί τινι over something, τινὰ ἐπί τι (Isocr. 12, 132; X., Cyr. 8, 1, 9; Da 3:12 Theod.) Hb 2:7 v.l. (Ps 8:7) [BDAG]



8.7 ὑποκάτω [Lexicography:ChangeOfMeaning] ὑποκάτω is an adverb/improper preposition + genitive. In Attic times it had the meaning 'underneath'; this was leveled to 'under' in Koine times.


8.7 ποδῶν [Morphology:3rdDeclension] πούς, ποδός, ὁ 'foot'. The stem is ποδ-. Cf. Smyth §257.


8.8 βόας πάσας [Syntax:WordOrder:πᾶς] Occassionally, πᾶς will follow the noun: τὰς πόλεις πάσας Mt 9:35; Ac 8:40. οἱ μαθηταὶ πάντες the disciples, one and all Mt 26:56. αἱ θύραι πᾶσαι Ac 16:26a. Cp. Ro 16:16; 1 Cor 7:17; 13:2a; 15:7; 16:20; 1 Th 5:26; 2 Ti 4:21; Rv 8:3. οἱ Ἱεροσολυμῖται πάντες Mk 1:5.—On the position of ἐκεῖνος, ἕνεκα, πᾶς s. Nigel Turner, Vetus Tetstamenta 5, ’55, 208–13. [BDAG].


8.8 ἔτι δὲ καὶ [Lexicography:MultipleWordConjunctions:ἔτι] Lust: "in addition, more." BDAG: "furthermore." LSJ under heading II of degree, with the sense of "But yet even more" This is not one of the glosses that is normally taught for ἔτι. But our word "yet" is used in a similar way -- yet further, yet again. The phrase ἔτι καὶ ἔτι (Barnabus 21:4; Sheperd of Hermas, Parable II.6) "again and again" would be a good phrase to use highlight this usage (I would have guessed ἔτι πάλιν).


8.9 τὰ διαπορευόμενα τρίβους θαλασσῶν . [Syntax:Participle:Articular] διαπροευόμαι is only deponent in LXX/NT literature; it is listed under διαπορεύω in LSJ. It is frequently used of passing from city to city, of itinerant preachers, of Satan in Job 2:2. τὰ διαπορευόμενα (for the Hebrew participle עֹבֵר) is an articular participle best explained as being in apposition to τοὺς ἰχθύας. The Hebrew has the phrase 'the fish of the sea passing-over paths of the seas.' The neuter plual 'τὰ διαπορευόμενα' is a valid use of the neuter participle. An appositive (916) agrees in case (but not gender) with the word it modifies s976. The neuter plural of adjectives and participles (which are considered adjectives) is often used with words denoting a collection, Smyth §1024. See also Participles at Smyth §§2049-2052.