Ketuvim: / Hagiographa / Writings

Tehillim / Psalms Chapter 8

Book 1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,

Book 2 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,

Book 3 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,

Book 4 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101 , 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,

Book 5 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150

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For the choir director; on the Gittit (winepress). A Tehillim of David.

לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ עַֽל־הַגִּתִּ֗ית מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃

Lamenatzeach al-hagitit mizmor le David:

Elohim's glory and Man's honour

8:1 יהוה אדנינו מה־אדיר שׁמך בכל־הארץ אשׁר תנה הודך על־השׁמים׃

ADONAI Adoneinu mah-adir shimcha bekhol-haaretz asher tenah hodkha al-hashamayim:

O ADONAI our Master. How excellent is Your Name in all the earth! Who have set Your glory above the heaven!

8:2  מפי עוללים וינקים יסדת עז למען צורריך להשׁבית אויב ומתנקם׃

Mipi olim veyonkim yisadta oz leman tzorreicha lehashbit oyev umitnakem:

Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of Your adversaries, to still the adversaries and the avenger.

8:3 כי־אראה שׁמיך מעשׂי אצבעתיך ירח וכוכבים אשׁר כוננתה׃

Ki-ereh shameicha masei etzbeoteicha yareach vechochavim asher konanta:

For I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established.

8:4 מה־אנושׁ כי־תזכרנו ובן־אדם כי תפקדנו׃

 Mah-enosh ki-tizkerenu uven-adam ki tifkedenu:

What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

8:5 ותחסרהו מעט מאלהים וכבוד והדר תעטרהו׃

Vatekhasrehu meat meElohim vechavod vehadar teatrehu:

Yet You have made him a little less than Elohim, And You crown him with glory and majesty!

8:6  תמשׁילהו במעשׂי ידיך כל שׁתה תחת־רגליו׃

Tamshilehu bemasei yadeikha kol shata takhat-raglav:

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

8:7  צנה ואלפים כלם וגם בהמות שׂדי׃

Tzoneh vaalafim kulam vegam bahamot sadai:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8:8 צפור שׁמים ודגי הים עבר ארחות ימים׃

Tzipor shamayim udegei hayam over arkhot yamim:

The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.

8:9 יהוה אדנינו מה־אדיר שׁמך בכל־הארץ׃

ADONAI Adoneinu mah-adirshimcha bekhol-haaretz:

O ADONAI  our Master. How excellent is Your Name in all the earth!


Book 1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,

Book 2 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,

Book 3 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,

Book 4 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101 , 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,

Book 5 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150

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A musical instrument This word is found in the titles of Ps. 8, 81, 84. In these places the LXX. render the word by “on the wine-fats.” The word is explained by Gesenius ("Thesaurus," s. v. ) as meaning "striking instrument," but it is now generally held to denote a zither. Rashi, following the Targum, derives the name from "Gath"; it would then mean "fabricated by the people of Gat." He also quotes a Talmudic saying that "Gittith" is an allusion to Edom, which will be trodden down like a wine press and combats this view by arguing that the context of the chapter has nothing to do with Edom. Ibn Ezra explains the name "Gittith" as referring to the fact that the above-mentioned Tehillims were composed for the sake of the descendants of Obed-edom the Gittite, who was a Levite. The interpretation (also found in the Septuagint) that "Gittith" means "to be sung to the tune of the wine-presses".

Though the bulk of the Tehillim describes man and his dominion over the universe, the first and last verses make clear to the reader that the Tehillim was written primarily to exalt the Creator. A little lower than the malachim (v. 5) is literally “a little lower than HaShem” (Heb. Elōhīm, the normal generic word for G_d).

The Septuagint translated the word as “messengers,” however, and this translation is quoted in Hebrews 2:6–8.

The word may be taken in a loose sense, “divine beings,” in which case it could refer to both HaShem and the malachim.

Three interpretations of man’s position are described in verses 5–8:

The second view is preferred since the Psalmist seems to be observing life as it is in the present: When I consider (v. 3).