Psalms

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Psalm 8

1 For the music director, according to the gittith style; a psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth! You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.⁠ 2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.⁠ 3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, 4 Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?⁠ Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?⁠ 5 You made them a little less than the heavenly beings. You crowned mankind with honor and majesty.⁠ 6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority,⁠ 7 including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals,⁠ 8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that moves through the currents of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!

Texts in conversation

Compare Epic of Gilgamesh VI 182 and Psalm 8:1

Ancient Near East, Babylonian · Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 8 and the Epic of Gilgamesh end with the same words that open them, creating a circular literary structure. In Psalm 8, this framing celebrates the divine name, while in Gilgamesh, the repeated lines mark the close of the hero’s journey.

Passages

Epic of Gilgamesh VI 182

Ancient Near East, Babylonian

176 ‘[...whom] we knew in our fury!’ 177 ‘[...in] the street he has none that defames him, 178 […] … […] way of his […!]’ 179 Gilgameš made merry in his palace. 180 The men were lying down, that were asleep on beds for the night, 181 Enkidu was lying down, seeing a dream. 182 Enkidu arose to reveal the dream, 183 saying to his friend:

2100 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Psalm 8:1

Hebrew Bible

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Gilgamesh tablet XII, as attested by the Sumerian fragments, consists of material which dates from about the end of the third millennium or the beginning of the second millennium B.C. and which therefore existed in literary form already at the time of the commonly accepted date of the composition of the epic. Nevertheless, this tablet is without question a later supplement to the adventures of Gilgamesh. For it will be noted that the concluding passage of Tablet XI returns to the beginning of the epic and closes with almost the same words with which the poem ends, indicating that the wreath of myths and legends is complete. An instructive parallel to this is found in Psalm 8, which closes with exactly the same words with which it opens - "O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth." Others are contained in the sections on the new, postdiluvian world order and the sign of the covenant in Genesis 9:1-7 and 12-17, which close in much the same way in which they begin. It will be recalled that also some of our church hymns, ending with the same stanza with which they begin, exhibit this feature ..."

Alexander Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1973), 15–16.

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

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Epic of Gilgamesh VI 182 and Psalm 8:1

Summary

Passages

Epic of Gilgamesh VI 182

Psalm 8:1

References

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