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NASB | John 10:34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 10:34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS [human judges representing God, not divine beings]'? [Ps 82:6] |
Bible Question:
Can anyone explain this? I saw the first part of this in Psalm 82:6 Jesus answered: Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So the Law uses the word gods of those to whom the word for God was addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected. John 8:34 |
Bible Answer: Hi sunam, This is a good question, and an often misunderstood train of thought from the Bible. There is a sort of double quotation, as what Jesus quotes is quoting from another place: Psa 82:6 I, I have said, Gods (elohim) ye are, And sons of the Most High--all of you, First, where did He say “you are gods”? I do not find that direct quotation elsewhere, but one interesting place is: Exodus 22:7-11 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. (8) If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges (elohim), to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods. (9) For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges (elohim); and whom the judges (elohim) shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. In this passage, if I lend you my lawnmower, and you say that someone stole it, we are to come to the “elohim” to see what to do. Some translations render this that we are to come before God, while others say we are to come before judges. Notice, though, in the next verses: (10) If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: (11) Then shall an oath of the LORD (YHWH) be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. An oath decides the matter, taking precedence over what “elohim” say. Now, if we are being told to come before God Himself, then what He says goes, no matter what oath I may take. This only really works if the human judges are being referred to as “elohim”. Interestingly, the Septuagint translates “elohim” here in this passage as “theos”, the Greek word for “God”. But in both Greek and Hebrew, the usage of the word is not exclusive to YHWH, and both theos and elohim are also used to describe that which is not YHWH. So it would appear that at least here, and I think in certain other places, the Hebrew “elohim” is used for people. This is what I believe Jesus was referring to, through David, and expressing to the pharisees that they were being too rigid in their presuppositions. As a side note, in Psalms 8:5, the translation of “elohim” as “messengers” (angels) is backed up by Hebrews 2:7. (Although, there is an interesting twist on that, as we read the Psalm in regard to man, and the passage in Hebrews in regard to Jesus. Man is made a little lower than God, but that is not said of Jesus. – Just a thought!) Another thing that this demonstrates is that translations can tend to interpret instead of just translate. I always recommend the most literal translations available, and suggest comparing whatever translation you happen to prefer to a literal word-for-word interlinear Bible, to insure you are reading exactly what the LORD wrote. Anyway, I hope this helps! Love in Christ, Mark |
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Questions and/or Subjects for John 10:34 | Author | ||
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K80 | ||
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Searching For Truth | ||
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Songbirdca | ||
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jbw | ||
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sunam | ||
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DocTrinsograce | ||
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Tim3:16 | ||
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mark d seyler | ||
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