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Ephesians

About this book
Chapter 4

1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit,⁠ just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men.”⁠ 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth?⁠ 10 He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. 11 And he himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes.⁠ 15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love. 17 So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn about Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. 25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor because we are members of one another.⁠ 26 Be angry and do not sin;⁠ do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger.⁠ 27 Do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 The one who steals must steal no longer; instead he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. 29 You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it would give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,⁠ by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.⁠ 31 You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk—indeed all malice. 32 Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ephesians 4:8 and Targum Psalm 68:19

New Testament · Targum

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Summary

Ephesians reads Psalm 68 similarly to the Aramaic translation in the Targum by changing God receiving gifts into God giving them. In the Targum, Moses ascends and gives gifts through teaching the Torah. Ephesians may follow a similar Aramaic tradition.

Passages

Ephesians 4:8

New Testament
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he captured captives; he gave gifts to men.” 9 Now what is the meaning of “he ascended,” except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely, the earth?
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ephesians

Targum Psalm 68:19

Targum
18 The chariots of God are two myriads of burning fire, two thousand angels guiding them; the presence of the Lord rests on them, on the mountain of Sinai, in holiness. 19 You ascended to the firmament, O prophet Moses; you captured captives, you taught the words of Torah, you gave gifts to the sons of men, and even the stubborn who are converted turn in repentance, [and] the glorious presence of the Lord God abides upon them. 20 Blessed be the Lord, every day he weighs us down, adding commandments to commandments; the mighty one, who is our redemption and our helper forever. 21 God is for us might and redemption; and from God the Lord death and loss of breath are inflicted on the wicked through suffocation.
200–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Targum Psalms

References

“... It is clear that the text cited and commented on in this passage is a form of Ps 67(68):19, one, however, which is not that of the Hebrew text or of the Septuagint. The Hebrew has a very obscure text in verse 17(18)c: literally “The Lord among them Sinai in the holy (place)” (NRSV: “The Lord came from Sinai into the holy place”), rendered in the Greek as: “The Lord is among them, in Sinai in the holy place.” This is followed by words addressed to an unnamed person: “You ascended on high; you took captivity captive; you received (from the root lqḥ) gifts for men” (with the singular/collective “man,” b-’adam; or “among men”). The ending is rendered more or less literally in the Septuagint: “. . . you have received gifts for (or: among) man (elabes domata en anthrōpō). The text in Ephesians understands the psalm passage as “giving, distributing” rather then “receiving,” probably reading a Hebrew root ḥlq (“divide, distribute”) instead of lqḥ. This is the understanding and rendering of the passage we find in the Targum of Psalms, which is also that of the rabbinic commentary on this book. [...] The unnamed person addressed is Moses. The verse is rendered in Targum Psalms (italics indicate additional paraphrase): “19. You ascended to the firmament, O prophet Moses, you took captives, you taught the words of the Law, you gave them as gifts to the sons of man; even among the rebellious who are converted and repent does the Shekinah of the glory of the LORD God dwell.” [...] Targum Psalms is generally regarded as a late composition. Its language is considered by some as virtually the same as the Targum of Job and Pseudo-Jonathan. It is variously dated from the fourth to the seventh century. The relation of this paraphrase to the Epistle to the Ephesians would be another instance of the continuum in exegetical tradition. ...”
Martin McNamara, Targum and Testament Revisited: Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 234–235.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • Today in my daily reading Psalm 68 came up again, and it stirred up the same frustration I’ve always had. I’ve always wondered, what in the world is Paul getting at in Eph 4:8, and how is he using Psalm 68:18? When you look at the Hebrew and the LXX it reads “received gifts,” not “gave.” That always ...

    Bryan Butler, September 10, 2025

Ephesians 4:8 and Targum Psalm 68:19

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