What does God mean when He says Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.
Psalms 45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Psalms 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Who are these gods?

Fairly obvious he is high over all who consider themselves gods. He gave us this planet and made us the gods of this place with the power of life and death over other species. There is only one God but many who think themselves gods. I don't think God ever said there were not spirits and demons behind the gods that men worshiped and Pharaoh and Caesar considered themselves gods, but he has the final say. Even in our own age there was the god-emperor of Japan

It is not about self proclaimed gods,or emperors or kings or any of that because the Lord Jesus said John 10:34 Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law, I said: You are gods?

35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken...

No god emperor of Japan, no Pharaoh,no Caesar but those whom the Word of God came,these are called by God,gods!

Hi I am a Sunday school teacher so, I am going to point out that you did not read before or after these verses that you have taken out of context so hear it goes.
Deuteronomy 10:17- This whole chapter was about the 10 commandments and God was talking to Moses in 10:17. Again read the Whole Chapter not just one verse.
Psalm 45:6&7 (Psalms are a collection of songs written to God) Again read the whole chapter it is a love song written to God.
Psalm 82:6 We are not being called Gods we are being called judges and being asked to judge with righteousness.
If you have these kind of questions get a Strongs Dictionary and it gives you the Hebrew and Greek meaning of the words that are butchered with the English lanquage.

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Originally Posted by AuntSwee

Hi I am a Sunday school teacher so, I am going to point out that you did not read before or after these verses that you have taken out of context so hear it goes.
Deuteronomy 10:17- This whole chapter was about the 10 commandments and God was talking to Moses in 10:17. Again read the Whole Chapter not just one verse.
Psalm 45:6&7 (Psalms are a collection of songs written to God) Again read the whole chapter it is a love song written to God.
Psalm 82:6 We are not being called Gods we are being called judges and being asked to judge with righteousness.
If you have these kind of questions get a Strongs Dictionary and it gives you the Hebrew and Greek meaning of the words that are butchered with the English lanquage.

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I don't have Strong's dictionary so please give me the Greek meaning of the words.

Adam -

In ancient times, the peoples of the land of Mesopotamia, etc. had a belief system which believed in many gods. People interpreted their lives through the lenses of their polytheistic viewpoint. If someone was trying to conceive a child, she would pray to the god of fertility. If someone was concerned for their crops (if they were a farmer), he would pray to the god of sustinence. Presumably, given the vastness of the issues that concern our lives as human beings, we could conceive of a god for an array of issues that we labor over. It seems that in the minds of the ancients, keeping the gods happy was tantamount for ensuring their lives went well. This was an incredibly burdensome way of thinking and no doubt caused great anguish in the hearts and minds of those who subscribed to such a belief system.

With these ideas as the backdrop, for someone in ancient times to hear of a god who was God over all other gods would have been an extremely radical concept. But when God revealed himself in this manner, I believe what he was also saying was that all of the issues that concern you in your life are my business. I have the authority over every area of your life and it is paramount that you see me as such. Because with God, to do otherwise was not see God as God.

This would have been an extremely radical concept for the ancients to have embraced but nonetheless, God was asking them to forsake their old paradigm and embrace him.

Jakester
I see what you mean but what Jesus says is something else in my opinion, because He says ''35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken... '' that is something different than traditions of peoples in Messopotamia. Jesus says that God called gods those to whom the word of God came.

Dt. 10:17

The Israelites were familiar with the many "gods" worshipped by nations around them, and in Egypt. God is here emphasizing that He is the one true God, superior to every other that is called god.

Ps 45:7 is a statement directed to the Son.

Definition of gods in Ps 82:6

430 'elohiym (el-o-heem');

plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:

KJV-- angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.
(Emphasis mine)

John 10:34
Definition of "gods"

430 'elohiym (el-o-heem');

plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:

KJV-- angels, X exceeding, God (gods)- dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

2316 theos (theh'-os);

of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with 3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:

KJV-- X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].
(Emphasis mine)
All definitions from Strong's Hebrew/Greek dictionary

I hope you guys don't mind a Jewish response.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains Deut. 10:17 as follows:

"God your Lord is the ultimate Supreme Being and the highest possible Authority. He is the great, mighty and awesome God, who does not give special consideration or take bribes."

So that is one explanation of the meaning of that verse. It seems to me that the other verse from Psalms 45 is trying to say the same basic thing.

Onkelus (an Aramaic translation/commentary on the Bible) translates it as 'God of Judges'. Midrash Hagadol, Maimonides and Nachmonides all translate it as "God of Angels".

I happen to like Kaplan's explanation best, but that's my opinion.

Regarding Psalms 82:
The Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation of Psalms is as follows:

1 A Psalm of Asaph. G-d standeth in the congregation of G-d; in the midst of the judges He judgeth:
2 'How long will ye judge unjustly, and respect the persons of the wicked? Selah
3 Judge the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They know not, neither do they understand; they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are moved.
6 I said: Ye are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High.
7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.'
8 Arise, O G-d, judge the earth; for Thou shalt possess all nations.

Verse 6 is translated not as "You are gods", but rather as "You are godlike beings". This is referring to all of mankind, which is made in G-d's image. G-d is saying in this entire chapter: Judges, stop judging people unfairly, stop taking bribes, and start doing the correct thing. You are acting like petty dictators and favoring the wicked over the good. Stop acting like little gods. I made you God-like as I made all men God-like, but you are NOT gods, and you will die like every other man and be judged by Me in the end. So do what is right.

The translation, in my opinion, seems consistent and makes sense in context.

Elliot

[QUOTE=ETWolverine;1899636]I hope you guys don't mind a Jewish response.[Quote]

Not at all, ETWolverine. The Psalms, after all, are Jewish poetry and, in my opinion, the most profound and beautiful poetry ever written. Christians have loved the Psalms for two thousand years and they are an essential part of Western literature. Monks, to this day, chant the Psalter daily and cover every Psalm once a year.

In the right respectful and sacred environment, synagogue or church, they are among the most moving words ever conceived.

Your translation works for me.

We should never forget that for some time, the Church was exclusively Jewish.

It was not until the Holy Spirit sent Peter to Cornelius's house that the Jews realized that God had allowed the non-Jews into the Kingdom.

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Originally Posted by ETWolverine

I hope you guys don't mind a Jewish response.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains Deut. 10:17 as follows:

"God your Lord is the ultimate Supreme Being and the highest possible Authority. He is the great, mighty and awesome God, who does not give special consideration or take bribes."

So that is one explanation of the meaning of that verse. It seems to me that the other verse from Psalms 45 is trying to say the same basic thing.

Onkelus (an Aramaic translation/commentary on the Bible) translates it as 'God of Judges'. Midrash Hagadol, Maimonides and Nachmonides all translate it as "God of Angels".

I happen to like Kaplan's explanation best, but that's my opinion.

Regarding Psalms 82:
The Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation of Psalms is as follows:

1 A Psalm of Asaph. G-d standeth in the congregation of G-d; in the midst of the judges He judgeth:
2 'How long will ye judge unjustly, and respect the persons of the wicked? Selah
3 Judge the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They know not, neither do they understand; they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are moved.
6 I said: Ye are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High.
7 Nevertheless ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.'
8 Arise, O G-d, judge the earth; for Thou shalt possess all nations.

Verse 6 is translated not as "You are gods", but rather as "You are godlike beings". This is referring to all of mankind, which is made in G-d's image. G-d is saying in this entire chapter: Judges, stop judging people unfairly, stop taking bribes, and start doing the correct thing. You are acting like petty dictators and favoring the wicked over the good. Stop acting like little gods. I made you God-like as I made all men God-like, but you are NOT gods, and you will die like every other man and be judged by Me in the end. So do what is right.

The translation, in my opinion, seems consistent and makes sense in context.

Elliot

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I think that the same way of thinking that made Onkelus, Midrash Hagadol, Maimonides and Nachmonides translate the way the way they did is also into you my friend because like them you also are afraid to even wright down the word ''God''. Of course you do this because of your respect and your fear to God and I am not saying anything else than that but please understand that this behavior can cause serious misinterpretations.
God never said to never use His name, but He said to not use it for a bad purpose.But people being afraid that they might use it for a bad purpose simply do not pronounce His name or even wright it down.Yes I can see your respect to God but the best way of respecting Him is obeying Him and testifying what He said and did.
So if God says ''you are gods because the word of God came unto you'',then this is the way it should be said and written.
Maimonides was the one that that changed the word ''echad'' to ''yachid'' in the first of all commandments.Echad means united one but yachid means ''only one''.
YHVH ELOHIM(plural for EL which means God) YHVH ECHAD, The Lord your Gods is a united one and Maimonides made it YHVH ELOHIM YHVH YACHID, The Lord your God is only one.
Our fear should not block our eyes to see ourselves the way God sees us!
What does godlike mean?And how exactly are all of us, all humans godlike?Is it because we have hands like God has,or feet,or heads or souls?
If it is so then Judas is also godlike,so is Goliath, so is Jezabel,so is the antichrist because he also will be like us.
But godlike means to have God's will,to have the same will with God,to have the Word of God written all over and all inside U.Someone is godlike if the Word of God came unto him and that's exactly what Jesus said!
Please don't take my response as a word fight, I simply understand it differently.
Your Jewish inheritance is not only helpful but honoured and very respected.
May God bless Israel and remember His promise about His people and gather him that is scattered and may God bless those who bless you!

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Originally Posted by adam7gur

I think that the same way of thinking that made Onkelus, Midrash Hagadol, Maimonides and Nachmonides translate the way the way they did is also into you my friend because like them you also are afraid to even wright down the word ''God''. Of course you do this because of your respect and your fear to God and I am not saying anything alse than that but please understand that this behavior can cause serious misinterpretations.
God never said to never use His name, but He said to not use it for a bad purpose.But people being afraid that they might use it for a bad purpose simply do not pronounce His name or even wright it down.Yes I can see your respect to God but the best way of respecting Him is obeying Him and testifying what He said and did.
So if God says ''you are gods because the word of God came unto you'',then this is the way it should be said and written.
Maimonides was the one that that changed the word ''echad'' to ''yachid'' in the first of all commandments.Echad means united one but yachid means ''only one''.
YHVH ELOHIM(plural for EL which means God) YHVH ECHAD, The Lord your Gods is a united one and Maimonides made it YHVH ELOHIM YHVH YACHID, The Lord your God is only one.
Our fear should not block our eyes to see ourselves the way God sees us!
What does godlike mean?And how exactly are all of us, all humans godlike?Is it because we have hands like God has,or feet,or heads or souls?
If it is so then Judas is also godlike,so is Goliath, so is Jezabel,so is the antichrist because he also will be like us.
But godlike means to have God's will,to have the same will with God,to have the Word of God written all over and all inside you.Someone is godlike if the Word of God came unto him and that's exactly what Jesus said!
Please don't take my response as a word fight, I simply understand it differently.
Your Jewish inheritence is not only helpful but honoured and very respected.
May God bless Israel and remember His promise about His people and gather him that is scattered and may God bless those who bless you!

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I am not going to get into this discussion... first of all because I don't want to be disrespectful, but also because you have no understanding of the Hebrew you think you are quoting. Trying to change your opinions about something you THINK you know would be silly. You are perpetuating canards about the Hebrew language that were debunked hundreds of years ago, yet you continue to perpetuate them in ignorance. So I'm not going to bother trying to change your opinion.

You asked for an explanation for verses of the Bible and Psalms. I gave an explanation that fits both meaning and context. I refuse to turn it into a discussion of the veracity or falacy of Jesus as god or Messiah. That's YOUR baggage, not mine, and I ain't going to carry it.

Elliot

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ETWolverine

I am not going to get into this discussion... first of all because I don't want to be disrespectful, but also because you have no understanding of the Hebrew you think you are quoting. Trying to change your opinions about something you THINK you know would be silly. You are perpetuating canards about the Hebrew language that were debunked hundreds of years ago, yet you continue to perpetuate them in ignorance. So I'm not going to bother trying to change your opinion.

You asked for an explanation for verses of the Bible and Psalms. I gave an explanation that fits both meaning and context. I refuse to turn it into a discussion of the veracity or falacy of Jesus as god or Messiah. That's YOUR baggage, not mine, and I ain't gonna carry it.

Elliot

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I apologize if I scandalized you in any way, that was surely not my intention.
I thank you for your time and bless you again!