82:6 I thought, 1 ‘You are gods;
all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 2
90:16 May your servants see your work! 3
May their sons see your majesty! 4
127:3 Yes, 5 sons 6 are a gift from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
127:4 Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. 7
1 tn Heb “said.”
2 sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).
3 tn Heb “may your work be revealed to your servants.” In this context (note v. 17) the verb form יֵרָאֶה (yera’eh) is best understood as an unshortened jussive (see Gen 1:9; Isa 47:3).
4 tn Heb “and your majesty to their sons.” The verb “be revealed” is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
5 tn or “look.”
6 tn Some prefer to translate this term with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following verses make clear. Daughters are certainly wonderful additions to a family, but in ancient Israelite culture sons were the “arrows” that gave a man security in his old age, for they could defend the family interests at the city gate, where the legal and economic issues of the community were settled.
7 tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.