LXX Psalm 67.15
evn tw/| diaste,llein to.n evpoura,nion basilei/j evpV auvth/j
cionwqh,sontai evn Selmwn
When the heavenly One scatters kings upon it, they shall be made
snow-white in Selmon. (LXE; Brenton)
In LXX Ps. 67.15, to.n evpoura,nion,
as the translation of the Hebrew yD:¦v;,
is a substantive describing God. The fact that evpoura,nioj is
utilized here as a translation for yD:¦v; does
not indicate that the term loses its basic meaning as a reference to that which
is spatially distinct from the earth. Rather, it is likely that the translator
of this psalm employed the idea of the ‘Heavenly One’ (to.n
evpoura,nion) to communicate the Hebrew Bible’s
description of God as the Almighty (yD:¦v;).
Since LXX Ps. 67.15
is the only place where evpoura,nioj appears
in the Greek Old Testament, this translation for yD:¦v; does
not appear to be common; however, we do find that the expression tou/
qeou/ tou/ ouvranou/ is also employed as a translation for yD:ªv;÷
in LXX Ps. 90.1.59 The usage of to.n evpoura,nion in
Ps. 67.15 and tou/ qeou/ tou/ ouvranou/ in
Ps. 90.1 is highly significant since it strongly suggests that these two
expressions are interchangeable and provides further evidence that it is
mistaken to posit a major distinction in meaning between evpoura,nioj
and ouvrano,j. (M.
Jeff Brannon, The Heavenlies in Ephesians: A Lexical, Exegetical, and
Conceptual Analysis [Library of New Testament Studies 447; London: T&T
Clark, 2011], 59-60)
