Psalm 8 – Partnership

TEXT

1. For the leader, on the gittith1. A psalm. Of David.

2. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, You, whose splendor is placed above the heavens!
3. From the mouths of infants and sucklings, You have founded strength because of 2-Your foes, to put an end to enemy and avenger-2.
4. When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You set in place -
5. what is man that You have taken note of him, mortal man that You have paid heed to him,
6. that You have made him little less than God, and adorned him with honor and glory?
7. You have made him master over the work of Your hands, all You have laid at his feet:
8. sheep and oxen, all of them, and wild beasts, too;
9. the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever travels along the paths of the seas.
10. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Notes
1. Meaning uncertain
2. Uncertain reference

COMMENTARY

The commentator F. Meltzer waxes ecstatic about Psalm 8. He writes, “This precious jewel in the crown of Hebrew poetry has a unique light and unique tone, and one cannot generalize or categorize it without dulling its special splendor.” His reference is particularly to the psalmist’s ability to integrate thoughts on man’s greatness on earth together with his place vis-à-vis God. Psalm 8 is much more than a well-structured statement, however. Close attention to form reveals a strikingly thoughtful and thought-provoking presentation of the human–divine relationship.

I first explore the poem's structure, go on to the consequent implications, and then add comments on several other aspects of the psalm.

Structure 1: The Enclosure

Enclosure is a common practice in biblical poetry. In this technique, a term appears both at the beginning and at the end of a poem. Often, it highlights a theme or emphasis. On rare occasions, the repetition is of several words, a longer phrase or even of a sentence (Pss. 103, 104: “Let me praise God”; Ps. 118: “Praise the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.”) In Psalm 8, a full sentence is repeated: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.” Many commentators suffice with a note to the effect that this repetition is for emphasis (e.g., Gillingham, p. 200). Others see it as a return to the starting point: “It closes a perfect circle that celebrates the harmony of God’s creation” (Alter, p. 24). However, one must consider whether such a marked repetition is meant to do more than emphasize or repeat. We shall see that this is indeed the case.

Structure 2: The Format

Within the enclosure (as pointed out by Meltzer, among others) there is clear a-b-a1-b1 structure. Point “a-a1” is that God’s glory is on high, in the heavens (verses 2b and 4) and point “b-b1” (verses 3 and 5–10) refers to man’s dominion over the earth (as assigned by God). [Note: Verse 3 is construed here as using “infants and sucklings” as a symbol for “humans,” to which interpretation I return below in “Additional Thoughts.”]

This contrast, emphasized by the repetition (a-b twice) and expansion (each second articulation being longer than the first), is further highlighted by a striking usage: “Hod” (“splendor”) is used for God in verse 2, and “hadar” (“glory”) for man in verse 6. These two terms, near synonyms, appear often in the Bible as a combined phrase (eight times). The separate attribution here to the two parties serves to bind the parties into some sort of unity. They share the task of glorifying God, differing only by way of dividing the territory between them. On earth, man (no matter how unworthy) rules over all creatures and is, in fact, entrusted to fight God’s enemies. It is in the heavens that one finds a direct reflection of the wonder of God. (Note Psalm 115:16 – "The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, but the earth he gave to humankind.")

Combined Structure

As a result, the enclosure, a full verse beginning and end, becomes far more than a device for emphasis, for between verses 2 and 10, much has changed. Initially, we read that God’s name (that term implies “His reputation”) is majestic throughout the “earth.” Given the reference to God, the reader assumes that the term implies (as it does in some Biblical texts) "all" the earth, i.e., all civilization, as opposed to "earth" as half the physical world, the partner of the “heavens." By verse 10, however, the same term “earth” can equally well be understood as referring only to the half, the bailiwick of humans. The sentence has therefore changed. If the LORD’s reputation is indeed great “in all the earth,” it would have to be so due to the acts of these complex humans, who are the actors in that half of creation. Thus the last sentence might then even be read not only as praise of God, but also as praise of man, for if God's name is great, only man could have achieved that!

Whose attention does the poet wish to draw to this partnership—man’s, God’s or both? What does it imply for each? At the end of the poem, God and man find themselves literally in an interesting bind, the result of God’s choice of how he “works” in the world. Does either party, or do both, have to be reminded of this partnership, which grants humans a great deal of responsibility and makes God’s actions on earth often indirect? Further, would one be going too far to hear an implication that it is easier to observe God’s glory above than it is on earth, where it runs through the prism of human intermediaries?

There is also a certain joyful playfulness to the psalm. Even as the poet clarifies that God’s reputation (i.e., His glory on earth) is dependent on human beings, by writing his poem, the psalmist has achieved precisely the situation he describes—the glorification of God through a human being!

The framing verse, in short, neither circles nor repeats. In verse 10, the repeated words convey an additional new thought, with complex implications for all parties. Psalm 8 confronts the reader with questions and challenges.

* * * * * * * *

Additional Thoughts

1. “From the mouths of infants and sucklings” (NJPS), verse 2, is both striking and puzzling. Commentators differ widely on the intent, which is neither clear nor distinct, and even without dealing with far-fetched interpretations (e.g., that the reference is to sucking a goddess’s breast, thus indicating divine or heavenly powers), one notes a wide range of interpretations, of which I cite a few. Dahood takes the phrase to be a reference to the speaker’s inability to articulate coherently before God (i.e., he only can babble, like a baby). A. Cohen contends that a baby’s prattle testifies to the emergent power of speech, which differentiates man from beast. Hacham sees baby prattle as a miracle in and of itself, comparable to the skies and the stars as a testimony to God’s wonder. Radak refers all to the miracle of nursing (this activity of the mouth, not sound), a reflection of the wondrous body that allows us to survive. A number of commentators see this reference as a pre-speech purity, a baby’s uttered syllables seeming to be pure praise to the Almighty (Weiss, citing several critical scholars). Schmidt sensitively pictures one who is awed at the sight of the heavens, but who then hears his child cry, then recalling where one finds the greatest reflection of God’s glory. Any (or all!) of these might be implied.

As above, I suggest that the phrase should also be seen as a reference to humankind. The second half of the verse, though unclear, requires some sort of adult status. I suggest that the poet chose the weakest and earliest developmental stage in order to emphasize the incredible contrast between humans and the role God has assigned them: these frail creatures are to stand up to God’s enemies. This would make the verse parallel to the less picturesque but clearer second section, verse 5, “What is man… and yet…” (Note Song of Songs 8:1 for another reference to a “nurser.” The verse there chooses to recall that moment of infancy to refer to one who is then an adult in order to make a poetic point, not unlike our situation. Note also other metonymy in the Bible – e.g., use of "daughters" for women, as Gen. 30:13; Prov. 31:29.)

One best approaches the variety of possibilities (as so often in poetry) not by seeking a single implication, but rather through an appreciation of the range itself. The phrase is thus ever the more powerful.

2. Many argue that this psalm was meant to be recited at night, given the nighttime references. The day sky (the sun), however, is too bright for direct observation, and it is naturally the night that is the testimony to observed glory. To jump from this reference to a suggestion that the prayer must have been said only at night is simplistic.

3. Weiss finds the exceptional use of “fingers” (verse 4) here (God’s work in heaven is usually attributed to His “hand,” as are the animals later in this psalm) to be a reference to the detail work one notes in the skies. This is the finest, most delicate of weaves, the filigree work of the great Arranger.

4. A subtle word play in Hebrew, not heard in the English, reinforces the man–God relationship here. The word “How” (“How majestic is Your name,” verses 1 and 10, Hebrew “mah”) is identical to “what” (“What is man that You have been mindful of him,” verse 5), possibly a delicate hint to their parallel roles in heaven and on earth.

5. In a recent article ("The Birds and the Babes: The Structure and Meaning of Psalm 8," The Jewish Quarterly Review 100:1, Winter, 2010), Judah Kraut adds two insights. First, in reemphasizing not only the frame but other elements which might indicate a chiastic structure (the strong elements are the terms "heavens" in verses 2 and 9 and "work" in verses 4 and 7), he feels verses 5 and 6 are highlighted as the central concern. As a supportive structure, this could parallel the analysis above. He also proposes that the infants and sucklings of verse 2 are parallel to birds and fish of verse 9: the non-verbal sound of infants parallel to birds' chirping; the sucking motion of sucklings parallel to the way fish move their mouths.


The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com.