Lessons #259 and 260
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Food sacrificed to idol: supernatural beings (1 Cor 8:4-7)
. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
The second proposition is that there is hierarchy in the concept of supernatural beings revealed in the Scripture. This proposition means that there is the supreme being called “God” with the “g” capitalized and there are other lesser supernatural beings called “gods” with the “g” of lower case to differentiate from the supreme being. Most of us Christians are aware of the existence of supernatural beings that we recognize as angels or evil spirits or demons but are not aware that there are supernatural beings called “gods.” This is because we often speak of false gods and so we do not recognize that there are other gods that are not false but are not objects of worship. Hence, our intention in this proposition is to enable each of us to recognize that there are supernatural beings called “gods” that are not false but are not to be worshipped.
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul has indicated that the supreme being that we call God is unique or in a class by Himself as in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 8:4 and that there is no God but one. The Holy Spirit would not have indicated the uniqueness of God unless there are other lesser gods that exist. Therefore, the apostle after asserting that the supreme being that we call God is unique, proceeds to provide an explanation for the reason he states the uniqueness of our God. That the apostle proceeds with an explanation of his declaration of the uniqueness of the supreme being, God, is conveyed with the first word that begins 1 Corinthians 8:5 For.
Our approach in considering what the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle Paul about the supernatural beings called “gods” is first to consider the explanation of the reason for stating that the God we worship is unique. We will follow this by extensive study of what the Scripture tells us about the supernatural beings called “gods” or “lesser gods.” It is because of the concept “lesser gods” that it is necessary for us to give the second proposition that there is hierarchy in the concept of supernatural beings revealed in the Scripture.
The explanation the Holy Spirit gave Apostle Paul for declaring the uniqueness of the God we worship is, as we have stated, that there are other lesser gods that exist. It is this admission of lesser gods that is the concern of 1 Corinthians 8:5. By the way, scholars debate whether verses 5 and 6 are quotations from the Corinthians or assertions from Apostle Paul. As one commentator suggests, it seems best to take it as Paul’s own confession in which he expands on the points made by the Corinthians. That aside, it may not appear that verse 5 is concerned with the admission by the apostle of existence of “lesser gods,” especially if one only read the first part of the sentence For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth. There is a word and a phrase that may give the impression that the apostle’s explanation may imply that the gods are not real in this clause. The word is if that is translated from a Greek word (eiper) that is used as an emphatic marker of condition so means “if indeed, if after all, since.” It is true that the Greek word (ei) associated with our word is translated “if” to express a condition, thought of as real or to denote assumptions relating to what has already happened but our word is used in emphatic manner to denote what is true so that Greek phrase translated For even if may be translated for although to convey that the apostle was not doubting what he stated. He knew the reality of what he stated as he indicated in the last clause of the verse. The point is that the word “if” in the sentence we are considering is not used to express doubt or even for assuming that what is stated is true for the sake of argument but to express in an emphatic way that which is true.
The phrase that may give the impression that “gods” the apostle mentioned are not real is the phrase so-called of the NIV and many English versions or the phrase according to some people of the LB (Living Bible). It is translated from a Greek word (legō) that may mean to express oneself orally or in written form and so may mean “to tell, say” as Apostle Paul used it in indicating his truthfulness regarding his commission as an apostle to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, as recorded in 1 Timothy 2:7:
And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
The word may mean to identify in a specific manner hence may mean “to call, to name” as the word is used in reporting what Peter learned in his vision in which the Lord prepared him to go to preach the gospel to Cornelius and others as we read in Acts 10:28:
He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
When the word is used in translation of a foreign word it may mean “means” as it is used to identify the location of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 27:33:
They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
In this meaning of to identify in a specific manner, the word when used in the passive may mean “to be called” or “so-called” as it is used to describe the Jews by Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:11:
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)—
The clause by those who call themselves “the circumcision” may be translated by the so-called “circumcision” as in the NET. It is in the meaning of to identify in a specific manner that the word is used in our passage, that is, in the sense of to be designated with a common noun that reflects a quality hence “to be called.” So, the clause even if there are so-called gods may be translated as in the NCV Even though there are things called gods. Anyway, the apostle asserted the reality of beings called “gods.”
The supernatural beings called “gods” the apostle stated are in heaven and on earth as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 8:5 whether in heaven or on earth. The word “heaven” is translated from a Greek word (ouranos) that may mean “sky” as in the description of where the disciples of the Lord Jesus were looking as He returned to heaven as per the question of the angels to them recorded in Acts 1:11:
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The word may mean “heaven” as the abode of angels as we gather from the assertion of Apostle Paul regarding the place of residence of angels in Galatians 1:8:
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
The word refers to God’s residence and location of His throne as in the Sermon on the Mount where the Lord Jesus forbade swearing using heaven as stated in Matthew 5:34:
But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
Our word may mean “heaven” as a figurative expression for God as we read in the record of the acknowledgment of the prodigal son about his state in relationship to his father in Luke 15:18:
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
The phrase against heaven refers to God since the prodigal son sinned against God. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:5, the word refers to heaven as the place of abode of God and angels/gods.
The word “earth” in the phrase whether in heaven or on earth is translated from the Greek word (gē) that no doubt means “earth” as habitation of humans and in contrast to heaven, but it has other meanings. The word may mean “region” as it is used to describe the areas that the blind men that were healed by the Lord Jesus broadcasted their healing and about the Lord Jesus as we read in Matthew 9:31:
But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
The word may mean “world” as it is used in the description of the brilliance of the clothes of the Lord Jesus’ appearance in the time of His transfiguration as stated in Mark 9:3:
His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.
The word may mean “country” as it is used in Stephen’s sermon to describe the place of residence of the descendants of Abraham according to Acts 7:6:
God spoke to him in this way: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
Despite the various meaning of the Greek word, it is used in 1 Corinthians 8:5 in the sense of earth in contrast to heaven, as a place of habitation of humans and animals. Anyway, Apostle Paul declared the reality of “lesser gods” by stating the places of their residence.
It is true the apostle used the word “if” and the phrase “so-called” in declaring the existence of lesser gods in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 8:5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth and so to be sure that there could be no doubt of their existence, the apostle states unequivocally of their reality in the last clause of the verse (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”). In this clause the apostle indicates he was not merely speaking of the belief of the Romans, Greeks, and other pagans, in gods such as Isis, Osiris, or Zeus. No! The apostle conveyed the reality of the “lesser gods” in this clause using three words in the Greek. But before we get to them, as we have indicated previously, we will defer the consideration of the Greek word translated “gods” until we have finished examining the other words used in the clause since the Greek word used is one that is used for the true God in verse 6. Nonetheless, we should recognize that the apostle used the word many to describe the gods. The word “many” is translated from a Greek adjective (polys) that pertains to being a large number, hence means “many, a great number of” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that he and his team did not preach the word of God with the sole purpose of making profit, as many do, according to 2 Corinthians 2:17:
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
The word may pertain to being relatively large in quantity or measure and so means “much, extensive” as the apostle used it in relation to the use of wine in his pastoral epistles. So, he used it in the qualifications of a Deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8:
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.
Likewise, the apostle used the word in the instruction Titus was to communicate to older women, as recorded in Titus 2:3:
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:5, it is used with the meaning “many” in the sense of large but indefinite number. What this means is that the gods the apostle mentioned are of a great number or large but indefinite. This means that it is not the intention of the Holy Spirit to give the number of the lesser gods the apostle had in mind.
In any case, the first word that indicates the reality of lesser gods in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:5 as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” is given in the NIV in the phrase as indeed. The expression “as indeed” is translated from a Greek word (hōsper) that is used as somewhat more emphatic markers of similarity between events and states, hence means “just as, just as indeed” as it is used to compare the effect on people the disobedience of Adam and the obedience of Jesus Christ in Romans 5:19:
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:5, it has the meaning of “just as indeed” to convey emphasis. In other words, the apostle was being emphatic that what he stated about the existence of lesser gods is true and should be accepted.
The second word that indicates the reality of lesser gods in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:5 as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” is the word “are.” The word “are” of the NIV is translated from a Greek verb (eimi) that basically means “to be” but with other nuances. For example, it may mean “to stay, reside” in a place as in the instruction given to Joseph of taking the baby Jesus to Egypt and staying there until he hears from the angel that appeared to him in a dream to instruct him to take the child to Egypt, as we read in Matthew 2:13:
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
The word may mean “”to exist” as it is used in the declaration of the existence of God in Hebrews 11:6:
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
It is in this sense of “to exist” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:5. If the word is used for the existence of the true God, then when the apostle used it to describe the lesser gods then that means that they are real.
The third word that indicates the reality of lesser gods in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:5 as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” is the word “lord” that is translated from a Greek word (kyrios) that may mean “owner” in the sense of one who is in charge by virtue of possession. It is in this sense that the word is used to describe a slave girl that was involved in fortune-telling that Apostle Paul healed, as we read in Acts 16:16:
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
Another meaning of our Greek word refers to one who is in a position of authority and so means “lord, master.” It is in this sense that the word is used to describe the fact that Sarah considered Abraham as being of higher position than she, according to 1 Peter 3:6:
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Still another meaning of our Greek word is as a title of respect hence means “sir”, as it is used in Acts 16:30:
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The word may be used to refer to Jesus Christ. It is in this sense that it is used in citation of the OT Scripture in John 1:23:
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Apostle Paul quite often used the word in referring to the Lord Jesus as he used it in his explanation of the order of resurrection as it pertains to believers as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:15:
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
The word may refer to an angel as it is used in Cornelius address to the supernatural being that appeared to him as we read in Acts 10:4:
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 8:5, it is used in the sense of one in a position of authority so may mean “master of world” or “sovereign master of inhabited world.” It is true that the Greek word is used by Apostle Paul to describe Jesus Christ severally in his epistles but because the same word is used in verse 6 to refer to Jesus Christ then the apostle used it in verse 5 probably to describe the many Roman emperors since Caesar was often described as “lord” and the many heroes such as Heracles and Asclepius elevated to divine status also called “lords”. Of course, it is possible that the apostle also thought of angelic beings that are rulers of nations.
The reality of existence of many “lords” in the persons of the emperors gives legitimacy to the existence of the lesser gods because of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 8:5 many “gods” and many “lords”. If there are many lords such as the Roman emperors, then there are beings described as gods. The phrase many “gods” and many “lords” may be understood to describe different beings that is that “gods” are different from “lords.” It could also mean that the gods are also masters of the world in the sense that they rule inhabited earth. It is difficult to be certain what the apostle meant. This notwithstanding, the reality is that the phrase enables us to recognize that the gods the apostle mentioned are real.
Who then are these gods that exist in heaven and on the earth? To answer this question requires extensive consideration of the Greek word translated “gods” in the NT and in the Septuagint since the Greek word translated “god” appears 3,069 times in the Septuagint. The word “gods” in the clause of 1 Corinthians 8:5 as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” is translated from a Greek word (theos) that in the Greco-Roman world primarily refers to a transcendent being who exercises extraordinary control in human affairs or is responsible for bestowal of unusual benefits. Thus, the word means “goddess” as it is used to describe what the Ephesians worshipped prior to Apostle Paul preaching the gospel to them as we read in Acts 19:37:
You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
The word is used to describe Christ in several passages of the Scripture. It is the word used for Christ in Titus 2:13:
while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Likewise, the word is used to describe Christ in Hebrews 1:8:
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
The word is used for the true God of Israel and of Christians as Apostle Paul used it in describing the God he worshipped, as implied in Romans 15:17:
Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
The word is used to describe the first member of the Godhead described as “Father”, as we read in Galatians 1:4:
who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
The word is used to describe the devil as the “god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4:
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Thus, we see that the Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 8:5 for “gods” could refer to the Supreme God, the creator or the devil or the gods as object of worship of pagans. Therefore, to get further understanding of the word “gods” we turn to the Septuagint.
The Septuagint used our Greek word to translate many Hebrew words, but we will only consider those that were more commonly translated with our Greek word. Our Greek word is used 1,900 times to translate in the Septuagint the Hebrew word (ʾělōhîm) that is a generic name for God, the creator, since the word is used at the introduction of creation narrative in Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The Hebrew word is used to describe “gods” that should not be objects of worship by the Israelites as in the Ten Commandments as stated in Exodus 20:3:
“You shall have no other gods before me.
The word is used to describe the appearance of Prophet Samuel to the witch at Endor when Saul consulted her to bring up Samuel for him as we read in 1 Samuel 28:13:
The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
The phrase a spirit is literally gods so the NASB translated it as a divine being while NET translated it as one like a god. Since the reference is to the spirit of Samuel, the translation of the NIV is a good one. The Hebrew word is used to refer to “heavenly beings” although the Septuagint used the Greek word that means “angels” to translate our Hebrew word in Psalm 8:5:
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
The Authorized Version (KJV) followed the Septuagint in using the word “angels” while the NASB used the word “God” to translate the Hebrew word. Our Hebrew word is interchanged with the God of Israel, Yahweh. This, we may note by comparing two parallel passages that describe a fool as one that does not acknowledge the true God of creation. The first is Psalm 14:2:
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
The second is Psalm 53:2:
God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
Clearly these two passages indicate that the God of Israel, Yahweh, is interchanged with our Hebrew word that means God. You see, the first sentence of Psalm 14:2 reads The LORD looks down from heaven while the first sentence of Psalm 53:2 reads God looks down from heaven. Hence, we have established that the two Hebrew words translated God and LORD may be interchanged in some context. Anyway, our Greek word is used in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word that means “God,” “gods or divine beings.”
Our Greek word translated “gods” in 1 Corinthians 8:5 is used 229 times in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word (yhwh) that means “Yahweh.” It is the personal name of Israel’s deity since it is the name by which God identified Himself to Moses, and so to Israel as we read in Exodus 3:14–15:
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
The first use of the Hebrew word in the Hebrew Scripture is Genesis 2:4:
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—
This first usage of the Hebrew word in creation account to describe God (Elohim) mentioned in Genesis 1:1 is probably to indicate that Israel’s God is the creator. The Hebrew word was used in connection with worship, invoked by those who were non-Israelites but represented all mankind before the flood in Genesis 4:26:
Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.
Its usage here is explained by some to have the implication that the Hebrew word conveys that it is Yahweh that is the God for all people and so they should pray and worship Him. The fact that after this usage of the Hebrew word Yahweh to describe God that all human worshipped prior to the flood but later confined only to the God of Israel suggests that something happened in God’s plan so that this name Yahweh was exclusively for Israel to describe the God of creation. Anyway, the point is that our Hebrew word Yahweh is used for the personal name of the God of Israel.
The Greek word translated “gods” in 1 Corinthians 8:5 is used 124 times in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word (ʾēl) that is a general, Semitic appellative for deity. Authorities (see Theological Dictionary of OT 1:242–53) tell us that in Ancient Near East, El is the primordial father of gods and men, sometimes stern, often compassionate, always wise in judgment. According to myths of that time, he is the father of the family of gods and their ruler, creator, ancient one, who because of his extraordinary procreative powers have populated heaven and earth. He is also believed to live in a tent on the mount of assembly in the far north that is the place of cosmic decisions. In the OT Scripture, the Hebrew word is used for the true God of Israel to whom Jacob built an altar in Bethel as we read in Genesis 35:3:
Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.”
The word may mean “god” other than the God of Israel as well as the true God as in Exodus 34:14:
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
The plural form of the Hebrew word refers to “gods” as in Exodus 15:11:
“Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Some of our English versions used the word “mighty” to translate the plural form of our Hebrew word in a passage that indicates that gods are afraid of the leviathan in Job 41:25:
When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.
The phrase the mighty is literally gods as reflected in the NRSV although the NJV used the meaning “divine beings.” Hence, our Hebrew word is used to describe a transcendent being so means “divine one, god, God.”
The Greek word translated “gods” in 1 Corinthians 8:5 is used twenty times in the Septuagint (although nineteen times in books of the Septuagint that is part of our Scripture) to translate a Hebrew word (ʾělôah) that may mean “God” of Israel as it is used in Deuteronomy 32:15:
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.
The Hebrew word may mean “god” other than the God of Israel as in 2 Kings 17:31:
the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
Hence, the Hebrew word means “God, god.”
The Hebrew words we have considered that are translated in the Septuagint with the Greek word translated “gods” in 1 Corinthians 8:5 show that our Greek word refers to divine being or transcendent beings that include the God of Israel, the creator of the universe and gods that are divine being who tremble before the God of Israel. Based on this consideration we can now say that the “gods” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 8:5 are divine beings that are much less in honor or dignity to the God of Israel or the God of Christians so it would be proper to describe these gods as “lesser divine beings” or simply “lesser gods.” In other words, the answer to the question: “Who then are these gods that exist in heaven and on the earth?” is that they are divine beings or supernatural beings created by the supreme God that should not be worshipped. To help further in understanding these “gods” we state facts about them revealed in the Scripture.
A first fact is that these “lesser gods” are infinitely inferior to supreme God so that they are not the object of worship. The fact that these other gods are lesser than the God of creation, Yahweh, is given in the testimony of Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, a priest, because of what he perceived the God of Israel did to the Egyptians and other enemies of Israel in Exodus 18:11:
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”
This is the first occurrence of the word “Lord” and other gods together in the OT Scripture. That aside, the God of Israel, is different from these gods because He did with Israel what no lesser god could do in that He chose Israel as His special people, as we read in Deuteronomy 4:34:
Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
That these lesser gods are not to be worshipped is stated in Exodus 23:13:
“Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
A second fact is that these “lesser gods” are real and not merely figures of imaginations. We will demonstrate that they are real in several ways. These lesser gods must be real for the supreme God to be described “God of gods,” understood as, “the greatest of all gods, the mightiest of all lords” in Deuteronomy 10:17:
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
The same description is given in Psalm 136:2:
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
In both passages, the phrase God of gods is literally God of the gods. The “gods” refer to lesser deities or supernatural beings that are not the supreme God. It would not make sense to state that God is the greatest of all gods if these gods are not real or do not exist. By the way, the word “God” and the word “gods” are translated from the same Hebrew word (ʾělōhîm).
The lesser gods must be real for them to be involved in certain activities. They are commanded to worship the Lord as we read in Psalm 97:7:
All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!
The word “worship” is translated from a Hebrew word (ḥāwāh) that always refers to an action/attitude directed toward a human or divine figure who is recognized (rightly or wrongly) as being in a position of honor or authority so the word means “to bow down, worship.” Therefore, the word requires that a being that is real be involved in it. Here, those commanded to be involved in this activity are described in the phrase all you gods. The Septuagint translated the command as Worship him, all his angels! Consequently, when the human author of Hebrews discussed the superiority of Christ over all created beings, he quoted this passage but used the word “angels” since he was using the Septuagint, as we read in Hebrews 1:6:
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
However, the original Hebrew text did not use the word “angels” but a Hebrew word (ʾělōhîm) that in Psalm 97:7 means “gods” since the worship is directed to God the creator. The point is that unless those addressed as “gods” are real then it would not make sense for them to be commanded to worship God. Another activity attributed to the “lesser gods” is being in the presence of the supreme God witnessing praise or thanksgiving directed towards Him as we read in Psalm 138:1:
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
The psalmist’s praise or thanksgiving directed to the Lord is one that is heartfelt or one that is carried out inwardly, implying that while he was in the Temple in Jerusalem, the psalmist might have not spoken aloud his thanksgiving. Anyway, it does not matter whether his praise or thanksgiving is inwardly or outwardly, the important thing for us is the phrase before the “gods”. The word “gods” has caused problem for some interpreters that they take the Hebrew word (ʾělōhîm) as a reference to what they called “earth-gods,” that is, the powerful ones of the earth or rulers. This could not be since the psalmist was probably in the temple so there is no way for him to be praising God in the presence of rulers of this world. It is better to take the Hebrew word as “gods” as done in many of our English versions. The NJV translated the Hebrew word with the phrase divine beings. It does not matter whether the Hebrew word used is translated “gods” or “divine beings” the problem of what is meant that the psalmist was praising the Lord before “gods” or “divine beings” is the same. In effect, it is not clear what the psalmist meant by praising God before “gods” or “divine beings.” The situation seems to be that the psalmist offered his thanksgiving or praise to the supreme God who was sitting on His throne surrounded by the lesser gods which will parallel a passage we will examine when we consider the next action that causes us to declare that the gods are real created beings. Anyway, since we are out of time let me remind you of the second proposition that we are considering which is that there is hierarchy in the concept of supernatural beings revealed in the Scripture
10/02//20