The Hebrew word elohim (plural of el)
essentially means “mighty one(s)” and has various applications in the Old Testament.
It can be used in reference to rulers or judges (Ex. 21:6; 22:8), [false] gods (Ex.
18:11), angels (Psa. 8:5; cf. Heb. 2:7, 9), and even the almighty God (Gen.
1:1, 2, 3; etc.).
Psalm 82 uses a play on words as unrighteous
rulers or judges are put on trial in the heavenly court, with God (the Supreme
Judge) judging them. In v. 1 we read, “elohim [God]
stands in the congregation of the el [mighty one], he
judges among the elohim [judges].”1
Most English translations render the final elohim
in this verse “gods,” whereas the NASB renders it “rulers” because contextually
unjust leaders or judges are the ones being indicted. Then in v. 6 God says, “I
said, ‘You are elohim, and all of you are children of the Most High.’” While
human judges are still in view, most English versions translate elohim here as “gods,” probably because of
the way in which Jesus cites the text in John 10:34.
In John 10 Jesus is confronted
by antagonistic Jews, accusing him of blashemy because of his implied claim to
be God’s Son. In vv. 30-39, he does not deny their inference, but neither
does he give in to their devious request to “tell us plainly” (v.
24). Instead,
pointing
out their inconsistency, he simply quotes scripture, viz. Psalm 82:6, which we are reading
in English translation. The original conversation was most likely in Aramaic,
which John has translated into Greek. The word chosen to render the Hebrew elohim of Psalm 82:6 is the Greek theoi (“gods”)2 of John 10:34.
Jesus is not making a
theological statement or trying to enlighten his accusers; he is confounding
them and exposing their hypocricy. The scriptures they regard so highly employ
the same descriptive term for human judges that is used for God, yet they
viciously attack Jesus because of his claim to be the Son of God.3
Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34 use
wordplay that gets lost in English translation. Contextually the “gods” in both
texts are human “judges” standing before God, the Supreme Judge.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 English tranlation
of scripture is the author’s own.
2 Nowhere in
the New Testament is the plural theoi ever applied to God the Father or
Jesus Christ.
3 Jesus’ customary
approach when responding to his enemies was almost always indirect and
ambiguous (cf. John 8:3-9, 21-29; 9:39-41; 10:1-6, 24; 18:19-21, 33-34; 19:9;
also Matt. 12:1-8; 13:10-15; 21:23-27).
Related Posts:
Related articles: Dave Miller, Did Jesus Dodge His Enemies?
Thanks Kevin, I have been pondering this answer from Jesus for a little while. You have probably saved me a few hours of google searching.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree he is confounding his accusers, he is also making important theological and enlightening statements to those who hear and believe: He IS God, and we, to whom the word comes, ARE "gods" and thus the offspring of God.
ReplyDeleteWe are the offspring of God (Acts 17:29) in that he is creator and we (mankind) are made in his image (Gen. 1:26); God is spirit (John 4:24) and we are therefore spiritual beings (1 Cor. 2:11), albeit housed in physical bodies while living on earth (1 Thess. 5:23). However, we are not "gods." The English word "god" refers to a supernatural being believed to be divine. This is not descriptive of the Lord's human creation. A theological argument based solely on the English translation of the biblical text is not a sound argument. As noted in the article, the original statement in Hebrew was quoted in Aramaic, then translated in Greek, which has been translated again in English. The plural theoi in Greek never applies to deity in scripture, only to false gods (Acts 14:11; 1 Cor. 8:5).
ReplyDelete