Psalms 82:1

A vision of God as the Judge of judges.

God Originally no doubt Jehovah, for which the Elohistic editor has substituted Elôhîm. standeth Or, taketh his stand: solemnly takes His place as president. Cp. Isaiah 3:13 a; Amos 7:7; Amos 9:1.

in the congregation of the mighty I.e., as P.B.V., of princes. But we must rather render, in the assembly of God (El), i.e., not the congregation of Israel, though this is called the congregation of Jehovah(Numbers 27:17; cp. Psalms 74:2), but an assembly summoned and presided over by God in His capacity of Almighty Ruler.

he judgeth&c. In the midst of gods (Elôhîm) will he judge. According to the view adopted above, the judges and authorities of Israel are meant by gods. It might indeed be supposed that the poet intended to represent God as holding His court surrounded by angels, like an earthly king in the midst of his courtiers (cp. 1 Kings 22:19; Job 1:2); and so probably the Syriac translator understood the verse: "God standeth in the assembly of the angels, and in the midst of the angels will He judge." But Elôhîmcan hardly have a different meaning from that which it has in Psalms 82:6, where it clearly refers to the judges who are put on their trial; and the address in Psalms 82:2 would be unintelligible if the persons addressed had not already been mentioned.