Psalms

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Psalm 82

1 A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.⁠ 2 He says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked?⁠ (Selah)⁠ 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the oppressed and suffering.⁠ 4 Rescue the poor and needy. Deliver them from the power of the wicked.⁠ 5 They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 6 I thought, ‘You are gods; all of you are sons of the Most High.’⁠ 7 Yet you will die like mortals; you will fall like all the other rulers.” 8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth! For you own all the nations.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 82:6 and Targum Psalm 82:6

Hebrew Bible · Targum

Summary

Psalm 82 addresses the patron gods of the nations as the “sons of the Most High,” and warns that they will die like mortals for not ruling justly. The Aramaic Targum avoids this polytheistic language by changing “gods” to “angels.”

Passages

Psalm 82:6

Hebrew Bible

4 Rescue the poor and needy. Deliver them from the power of the wicked. 5 They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 6 I thought, ‘You are gods; all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 7 Yet you will die like mortals; you will fall like all the other rulers.” 8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth! For you own all the nations.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Targum Psalm 82:6

Targum

4 Save the poor and needy, from the hands of the wicked deliver them. 5 They do not know how to do good, and they do not understand the Torah, they walk in darkness; because of this, the pillars of the earth’s foundations shake. 6 I said, “You are reckoned as angels, and all of you are like angels of the height.” 7 But truly you will die like the sons of men; and like one of the leaders you will fall. 8 Arise, O Lord, judge all the inhabitants of the earth; for you will possess all the Gentiles.

200–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Targum Psalms

References

"... In Targum Psalm 82:6 the clause 'you are Gods' is indeed translated with 'behold: you are conceived of as angels.' But this interpretation is a palliation as well, because earlier Psalm 82:6 served as a proof-text for deification, as in a fragment of the War Scroll: 'I am reckoned with the gods and my dwelling is among the holy assembly ... I am reckon(ed] with the gods [and] my glory is with the sons of the King.' These changes in the targumic tradition are comprehensible only if there was a real danger of a literal interpretation ..."

Willem F. Smelik, “On Mystical Transformation of the Righteous into Light in Judaism,” JSJ 26 (1995): 122–144.

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 Psalm 82:6 and Targum Psalm 82:6

Summary

Passages

Psalm 82:6

Targum Psalm 82:6

References

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