The meaning of Psalm 8:6 has long exercised interpreters. Much attention has focused on the meaning of אלהים, with some rendering it as “God” (or “divine”) in reference to the creation of humanity in the imago Dei, and others taking it to mean “angels,” i.e., residents of the celestial realm. The ancient versions witness these two long-held positions: “God” (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotian) vs. “angels” (LXX, Tg. Ps., Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate).
The meaning and context of the Hebrew verb ותחסרהו “you made him lower” (v. 6) warrant further attention. Immediately following the question, “What is man that you are mindful of him?,” this verb stands at the center of the psalm both structurally and thematically (Kraut 2010: 17). The use of the verb “make” in most English translations reflects an effort to render the factitive meaning of the Hebrew Piel stem, which in this instance refers to an action that produces an inferior or lesser status, i.e., “make lower.” A more precise one-word translation of this transitive verb would be “lowered” or “diminished”: “you have diminished him to a status less than Elohim.”
Contextually, the verb ותחסרהו is the first of four verbal statements describing the creation of humanity: ותחסרהו “you diminished him” (6a), תעטרהו “you crown him” (6b), תמשׁילהו “you make him rule” (7a), and שׁתה “you have placed” (7b). There are two notable characteristics regarding the arrangement of these four verbal expressions. First, two perfective forms sandwich two imperfective forms, creating a chiastic structure of verbal semantics: perfective (A), imperfective (B), imperfective (Bʹ), perfective (Aʹ). Most English translations render these four verbs as preterites (e.g., KJV, ESV, NLT, NRSV, JPS, NJPS, NIV), while others distinguish the second and/or third verbs as non-preterite (e.g., RSV “crown” [non-pret.], “hast given dominion” [pret.]; NET “crowned” [pret.], “appoint to rule” [non-pret.]; NASB “crown” [non-pret.], “have rule” [non-pret.]). Second, the word order of the second verbal statement indicates disjunctive syntax: וכבד והדר תעטרהו “But with glory and honor you crown him.” (Briggs once argued the second and third verbs are circumstantial [1906: 66].)
This presentation will argue philologically that Psalm 8 expands the scope of humanity’s role as viceregent of the earth (Gen 1:26–28) by reflecting on its relation to the heavenly realm (cf. Kraus 1988: 183). The disjunctive syntax in v. 6 indicates that even though God gave humanity a diminished status below Elohim, he is nonetheless making humankind to rule “over the works of your hands,” expanded to include the works of God in the heavens by echoing the language of v. 4 (“the heavens, the works of your fingers”). Expanding humanity’s rule to extend to the heavenly realm arguably includes its inhabitants, suggesting that Elohim in this context means “celestial beings,” not “God.” The imperfective verbs furthermore portray humanity’s heavenly exaltation as still in progress, but nonetheless certain since God has already set (שׁתה, perfective) all things (כל) under its feet (v. 7b). The presentation will also comment briefly on the LXX’s use of the temporal modifier βραχύ “briefly, little while” and how it informs the NT author of Hebrews’ reception of this text in his Christological argument.