Saturday, September 25, 2021

Michael Vlach on the use of Psalm 45 in Hebrews 1:8-9

Heb 1:8-9 is a text that is very problematic for many traditional theologies. Here, Psa 45, originally addressed to a Davidic King, is called “God” but, at the same time, he has a God above him, i.e, the Father, even after the ascension and his exaltation. Numerically, there are not just two divine persons, but two Gods, one greater than the other.

 

To see an example of how desperate some Trinitarians are to get around and explain Psa 45 and its use in Heb 1:8-9, consider the following (which does not address the “marriage” theme in Psa 45 and its implications, and God having a God, and other considerations):

 

Hebrews 1:8-9 / Psalm 45:6-7

 

Hebrews 1 extols the superiority of Jesus in several ways. Particularly striking is verses 8-9 where God the Father refers to Jesus as God:

 

But of the Son He says,

“YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IF THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
“YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;

THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU

WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”

 

The writer is quoting, Psalm 45:6-7. But does Psalm 45, in its context, support the claim of Hebrews 1:8-9 that Jesus is God?

 

Psalm 45, a maskil of the sons of Korah, celebrates the marriage of a King: “I address my verses to the King” (v. 2). Some believe the psalm was directed to Solomon or another king in the Davidic line. The psalm does speak of marriage (vv. 10-15) and the King having sons (v. 16).

 

Yet the language of this psalm is very exalted, so much so that it seems to go beyond a mere human king. This King is “fairer than the sons of men” (v. 2a). He is one who possesses “splendor” and “majesty” (vv. 3-4a). His “name” will “be remembered in all generations,” and “the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever” (v. 17). Most striking is 6a which declares, “Your throne O God, is forever and ever.” The Septuagint and most English translations understand this in the vocative sense of the King being called or named, “God.” Guthrie observes that “the punctuation and syntax of the MT [Masoretic Text] support the reading ‘Your throne O God’” (18). The term for “God” is elohim, which is used over 2,300 times for the God of the Bible. Simon Chi-Chung Cheung notes that “Ps 45 takes pains to show that the Israelite king shares many of the attributes, even the title, of the Israelite God”  (19). So the psalm’s exalted language and use of elohim point to this King being divine.

 

The best candidate for Psalm 45 is the divine Messiah. The Targum of Psalm 45:2 says, “Your beauty, O King Messiah.” A divine understanding of the ultimate Davidic King seems to be the case in Psalm 2 where the nations are called to worship God’s King and Son—“Do homage to the Son” (v. 12a; v. 6). With Psalm 110:1, David’s “Lord, “ the Messiah, shares the throne of deity with God the Father. For the King of Psalm 45 to be a divine being is possible. The writer of Hebrews certainly connected Psalm 45:6-7 with Jesus’ deity.

 

So does the writer of Hebrews quote Psalm 45:6-7 contextually? The answer is likely, Yes. A divine Messiah is in view in Psalm 45, and the writer of Hebrews drew upon this truth. This appears to be a case where a NT writer draws upon an OT and that the coming Messiah is divine. (Michael Vlach, The Old in the New: Understanding How the New Testament Authors Quoted the Old Testament [The Woodlands, Tex.: Kress Biblical Resources/Sun Valley, Calif.: The Master’s Seminary Press, 2021], 119-20)