Psalm 110:1 and Hebrew Vowels

Psalm 110:1 and Hebrew Vowels December 3, 2016

I thought I would try to clarify the point I was making when the webinar last Friday got interrupted. I don’t at all dispute the interpretation of Psalm 110 as involving Yahweh saying to another distinct figure, whom the author of the Psalm refers to as his lord, that he bestows upon that individual an exalted status, that of being enthroned at God’s right hand. Indeed, I think that this is the strongest way to make the case – by pointing to what the Psalm explicitly says and its inner logic.

What I was trying to advise against was an attempt to make the point hinge primarily on how the Masoretes added vowels to the consonantal text. The Masoretes, in rendering the same consonants in some places as adonai and in others as adoni, may or may not have been indicating pronunciation differences already in existence in their time.

Their understanding that the one who is called “my lord” in Psalm 110:1 is not being referred to as though he were in some sense the one God of Israel is undoubtedly correct. My point is simply that we should base our view on the textual evidence that led them to understand the Psalm in this way, and not merely defer to them as though they were infallible authorities.


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