God Judges the Gods (Ps. 82)
This psalm is unusual because, except for in the opening and closing verses, God is the speaker, not the addressee. The movement from a prophetic oracle (with the opening verse describing the envisaged setting) to a petition makes best sense as a liturgy performed at the temple. The close parallels with the psalms of Yahweh’s kingship imply a liturgical setting similar to theirs. WHO ARE THESE OTHER GODS? ISN'T THERE ONLY ONE? The crux of this psalm lies in determining the identity of the gods (Hb. ʾelōhîm) and addressees of verses 2–7. Are they human judges (Exod. 21:6; 22:8–9, 28) or spiritual beings? WHAT IS AN ASSEMBLY OF EL/GODS? Translation must always involve interpretation, and this is evident in the NIV’s rendering of this psalm. In verse 1 the literal phrase “the assembly of El/God” is translated as “the great assembly,” and “gods” is placed in quotation marks (likewise v. 6), though not indicated in the Hebrew text (Classical Hebrew does not have such punctuation ma