NOTE:
This post has been withdrawn. The post has been published in my book, Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. The approach taken in the book is to compare how different translations have approached difficult texts in the Old Testament. The goal of the book is to invite readers to reread the biblical text in light of the new understanding of the intent of the original writer of the text. You can order the book from Amazon.
Rereading the Biblical Text
Visit my Amazon author’s page to purchase the book (click here).
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
A Note About This Post:
Before “Rereading Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation” was withdrawn for publication, “Rereading Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation” was read by 1120 readers. You can read “Rereading Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation” and other articles on problems in Bible translation by reading my book Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. Below is the content of the book:
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments – Page xi
Abbreviations – Page xii
Introduction – Page xv
SECTION 1 — THE PENTATEUCH
Chapter 1. The Creation of Animals in Genesis 2:19 – Page 3
Chapter 2. The Serpent Was Right (Genesis 3) – Page 7
Chapter 3. The Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15) – Page 11
Chapter 4. Were They Really Giants? (Genesis 6:4) – Page 17
Chapter 5. “As Far as Dan” (Gen 14:14) – Page 20
Chapter 6. Abraham and the Promises of God – Page (Genesis 12:7) – Page 23
Chapter 7. The Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:8) – Page 26
Chapter 8. The Rape of Bilhah (Genesis 35:22) – Page 29
Chapter 9. Miriam, a Leader in Israel (Exodus 15:20) – Page 32
Chapter 10. Azazel (Leviticus 16:8-10) – Page 35
Chapter 11. Understanding Numbers 24:24 – Page 38
SECTION 2 — THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
Chapter 12. The Levite and His Concubine (Judges 19:1–30) – Page 43
Chapter 13. The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 47
Chapter 14. The Fate of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 4750
Chapter 15. The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 54
Chapter 16. Who Went Back to the City? (Ruth 3:15) – Page 59
Chapter 17. Was Ruth Barren? (Ruth 4:13) – Page 59
Chapter 18. King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes (1 Samuel 15:17) – Page 63
Chapter 19. How Old Was Saul? (1 Samuel 13:1) – Page 64
Chapter 20. David and Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4) – Page 67
Chapter 21. David’s Sons Were Priests ((2 Samuel 8:18) – Page 70
Chapter 22. “Him that Pisseth against the Wall” (1 Samuel 25:22) – Page 72
Chapter 23. Whose Cloak Did Ahijah Tear? (1Kinga 11:4–7) – Page 78
Chapter 24. The Challenges of Parenthood (2 Kinga 21:25–26) – Page 82
SECTION 3 — THE WISDOM AND POETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 25. Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 87
Chapter 26. Understanding Psalm 17:14 – Page 90
Chapter 27. Jezebel’s Wedding Song (Psalm 45:1–17) – Page 93
Chapter 28. Psalm 100:3: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 99
Chapter 29. Sons or Children? (Psalm 127:3-5) – Page 103
Chapter 30. Proverbs 29:18 – Page 106
Chapter 31. “Black and Beautiful” or “Black but Beautiful”? (Song of Songs 1:5) – Page 108
SECTION 4 — THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 32. The Use of Gender Inclusive Language (Isaiah 9:1) – Page 115
Chapter 33. “You Have Increased Their Joy” (Isaiah 9:3) – Page 118
Chapter 34. Who Will the Messiah Strike? (Isaiah 11:4) – Page 120
Chapter 35. The Way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3) – Page 122
Chapter 36. “All Their Goodliness” (Isa 40:6) – Page 126
Chapter 37. The Proclaimer of Good News (Isaiah 40:9) – Page 129
Chapter 38. The Problem of Divorce in the Old Testament (Isaiah 50:1) – Page 132
Chapter 39. Beulah Land (Isaiah 62:4) – Page 135
Chapter 40. The Balm of Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22) – Page 138
Chapter 41. The Mother of Seven (Jeremiah 15:9) – Page 142
Chapter 42. The Coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 144
Chapter 43. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 148
Chapter 44. The Knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1) – Page 152
Chapter 45. The Word “Hesed” in the Book of Hosea (Hosea 4:1) – Page 154
Chapter 46. The Word “Justice” in Amos (Amos 5:24) – Page 157
Chapter 47. “What the Lord Requires” (Micah 6:8) – Page 160
Bibliography – Page 165
Index of Subjects – Page 169
Index of Authors – Page 171
Index of Scriptures and Other Ancient Documents – Page 173
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
NOTE: Did you like this post? Do you think other people would like to read this post? Be sure to share this post on Facebook and share a link on Twitter so that others may enjoy reading it too!
I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of this post by leaving a comment below. Be sure to like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to my blog to receive each post by email.
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>Dr. MariottiniI have enjoyed reading your posts. I have a couple of thoughts on your post if you could comment. First, I agree with your translation of elohim as “God”. In my opinion it appears that the psalmist is trying to convey a “ranking”, so to speak, rather than the nature of humankind, by placing humankind below God but above the angels. Should’nt the words “a little lower” speak more of position rather than nature and thus the translation made simpler? Second, I did not realize that the author of Hebrews quoted the Septuagint. I have always thought of the Septuagint as merely another translation from the original text but, would the fact that a NT author quoted it give the translation more credibility? I realize that translation is what the authors read and learned but would the fact that they were inspired by God to write scripture mean in any way that the translation should carry more weight? Also, how often is the Septuagint quoted in the NT.Thanks so much for your work.
LikeLike
>Thank you for your thoughts on this translation of elohim. I would appreciate any comments you might have on 1 Samuel 28:13:The king said to her, “Have no fear; what do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being [elohim] coming up out of the ground.” (NRSV)For elohim:NIV “a spirit”KJV “gods”LXX theos (?)NASB “a divine being”Vulgate deos (?)I don’t know Latin or biblical Greek that well, so perhaps I am misreading the text in those cases. This story about the “bringing up” of Samuel is troubling, and I think the translation of elohim in this verse is extremely problematic. Please offer your thoughts on this one.Thanks again…
LikeLike
>Dear Toni,Thank you for your questions. I agree with you that the idea of rank in included in the mind of the Psalmist. Human beings were created a little lower than God. However, the idea that human beings share in the nature of God is also affirmed by Genesis 1:26-27.As for the Septuagint, it was only a Greek translation from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts. The Septuagint was the Bible used by the early church because most of the early Christians read and spoke Greek. Thus, the Septuagint was quoted by the NT writers often because they were writing their gospels and letters in Greek. There are some problems with the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew text, however, the Septuagint serves as a witness to an older text behind the text of the Old Testament.I hope this explanation will answer your questions. If you have additional questions, feel free to write again.Claude Mariottini
LikeLike
>Dear Cur Deus Homo,This passage is very difficult to interpret and understand. I believe the NRSV comes closer to the intent of the text. Maybe in the near future I will write a post on this passage and give a detail presentation of my views.Thank you for your response to my post.Claude Mariottini
LikeLike
>Dr. Mariottini,Thanks for your excellent article. I have a question about verse 7. The Tanakh Translation renders the second part of the verse as “laying the world at his feet”. All the Christian translations that I can find use some variant of “under his feet”. The difference between seeing the world as a gift from God rather than something to dominate seems important.Thanks again,Joel Copeland
LikeLike
>Dr. Mariottini I have really enjoy how you exegesis Psalm 8:5 however, i think that it is in insult when we tried to compare God with Human being. God is in a class all by himself. What makes God a God is the attributes that he posses which is omnipotent,omniscience, omnipresence, including how infinite and unlimited he is. a little lower then Elohim, that is a Big difference. Elohim is a plural word and I think its meaning is broad. Elohim do means God, god, Angels, Spirit. that’s why I believe that the psalmist was comparing mankind with the angels instead the Almighty God.but I do believe that we share his nature. Please email back thanks
LikeLike