Psalm
68:17
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the
Lord is among
them, as in Sinai, in
the holy place.
a. NLT: Surrounded
by unnumbered thousands of chariots, the Lord came from
Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
b. NIV: The
chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has
come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
c. Young’s Literal
Translation: The chariots of God are myriads, thousands of
changes, The Lord isamong them, in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
d. Amplified
Bible: The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands.
The Lord is among them as He was in Sinai, [so also] in the Holy Place (the
sanctuary in Jerusalem).
e. Septuagint: The
chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of rejoicing ones: the Lord is
among them, in Sina, in the holy place.
f. Stone Edition
Torah/Writings/Prophets [Psalm 68:18]: God’s entourage is twice ten thousand,
thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, at Sinai in holiness.
1. “The chariots of God are twenty thousand…”
a. chariots [7393
* rekeb][Strong: from 7392; a vehicle; by implication, a team; by
extension, cavalry; by analogy a rider, i.e. the upper millstone:--chariot,
(upper) millstone, multitude (from the margin), wagon.]
b. twenty thousand
[7239 * ribbow][Strong: from 7231; or ribbow {rib-bo'} from 7231; a
myriad, i.e. indefinitely, large number:--great things, ten ((eight)-een,
(for)-ty, + sixscore, + threescore, X twenty, (twen)-ty) thousand.]
1). Actually the
chariots of God are innumerable, but here is a Scriptural example of their
presence to help believers.
a). 2 Kings 6:11-17 Therefore the
heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his
servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king
of Israel?
6:12 And one of
his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in
Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy
bedchamber.
6:13 And he said,
Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him,
saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
6:14 Therefore
sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night,
and compassed the city about.
6:15 And when the
servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host
compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto
him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
6:16 And he
answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them.
6:17 And Elisha
prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And
the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold,
the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
2. “…even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.”
a. thousands [505
* ‘eleph][Strong: hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet,
and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand:--thousand.]
b. angels [8136 *
shin’an][Strong: from 8132; change, i.e. repetition:--X angels.]
1). Tehillim/Psalms
Rabbinic Commentary: When God revealed Himself to Israel at Sinai, He was
escorted by twice ten thousand, thousands of Shin’an, which are angels.
2). When anyone
searches the accounts in Exodus, Leviticus or Numbers there is no mention of
angels being present at Sinai. There is only one verse in Deuteronomy that
gives any indication of it.
a). Deuteronomy 33:2
And he said, The LORD came from Sinai,
and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came
with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
3). In the New
Covenant though there is more revelation in at least three New Testament books.
Still there is little explanation.
a). Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
b). Galatians 3:19
Wherefore then serveth the
law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom
the promise was made; and it was ordained
by angels in the hand of a mediator.
c). Acts 7:52, 53 Which
of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them
which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers:
7:53 Who have
received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
4). It is only in
Jewish Rabbinic tradition that we find any deeper explanation of this
mysterious event.
a). Josepheus, a
Jewish historian, writes in his, Histories of the Jews, Book 15, Chapter 5, Section3, “And we for
ourselves, we have learned from God the most excellent of our doctrines, and
the most holy part of our law, by angels or ambassadors;…”
b). In his book, The
Exegetical Imagination- On Jewish Thought and Theology, page 183,
Michael Fishbane writes: “Rabbi Nahman says…Hence when the people of Israel at
Sinai said, na’aseh ve-mishma (“Let
us do and hear”; Exodus 24:7) they achieved a blissful moment of transcendence,
when myriads of angels crowned each and every one with the manifest or exoteric
meaning of Torah, the level of na’aseh
(doing), and with its hidden or esoteric truth, called mishma (hearing).”
5). There are a few
Messianic Jewish sources and Gentile Christian sources that provide good
information of this also.
a). Jewish New
Testament Commentary, David Stern, pp246, 247. “The verse of the Tanakh which
comes closest to stating outright that the
Torah…was delivered by angels is found in Moshe’s [Moses’] final speech before his death: Adonai came from Sinai and
rose from Seir to them; he shone forth from Mount Paran; and he came from the
holy myriads;…at his right hand eshdat lamo (Deuteronomy 33:20. Hebrew eshdat
lamo is taken by some Jewish commentator to mean, “was a fiery law (esh-dat)
for them” The Septuagint translates the passage, “at his right hand were his
angels with him”. Rashi says that the holy myriads” were angels. Strack and
Billerbeck, in their six-volume Commentary of the New Testament from the
Talmoud and Midrash (Munich: C.H. Beck’sche, 1975 reprint of 1926 original, in
German), give several dozen citations from rabbinic literature showing that the
idea of angelic mediation of the Torah was widespread.
b). Alfred
Edersheim was a Messianic Jew. In his book, Bible History, Book 2,
Chapter 10, p. 206, Note #10: “When we read that the law was “received
by the ministration of angels”, we are not to understand by it that God Himself
did not speak all these words, but either to refer it to those “ten thousands”
of angels who were His attendants when He spoke on Sinai,” [Note D.C. The
reference to “ten thousands of angels” is a quote of Deuteronomy 33:2.]
c). Vincent’s
Word Studies has this note about it in Vol. 1, pp 484, 485. “The reference
is most probably to the Jewish tradition that the law was given through the
agency of angels. See Deut. 33:2, Cp. Psalm 68:17. Paul expressly says that the
law was administered by the medium of angels.” Before I look at those verses
that Vincent refers to I want to quote a few Jewish sources for this Jewish
tradition.
d). Albert Barnes
Commentary: And it was ordained by angels - That is, the Law was ordained by
angels. The word ordained here διαταγεὶς diatageis usually means to arrange;
to dispose in order; and is commonly used with reference to the marshalling of
an army. In regard to the sentiment here that the Law was ordained by angels,
see the note at Acts 7:53. The Old Testament makes no mention of the
presence of angels at the giving of the Law, but it was a common opinion among
the Jews that the Law was given by the instrumentality of angels, and arranged
by them; and Paul speaks in accordance with this opinion; compare Hebrews
2:2. The sentiment here is that the Law was prescribed, ordered, or arranged by
the instrumentality of the angels; an opinion, certainly, which none can prove
not to be true. In itself considered, there is no more absurdity in the opinion
that the Law of God should be given by the agency of angels, than there is that
it should be done by the instrumentality of man. In the Septuagint Deuteronomy
33:2 there is an allusion of the same kind. The Hebrew is: "From his
right hand went a fiery law for them." The Septuagint renders this,
"His angels with him on his right hand;" compare Josephus, Ant. xv.
5, 3. That angels were present at the giving of the Law is more than implied,
it is believed, in two passages of the Old Testament. The one is that which is
referred to above, and a part of which the translators of the Septuagint
expressly apply to angels; Deuteronomy 33:2. The Hebrew is, "Yahweh
came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount
Paron, and he came (literally) with ten thousands of holiness;" that is,
with his holy ten thousands, or with his holy myriads מרבבת קדשׁ mēribbot
qodesh. By the holy myriads mentioned here what can be meant but "the
angels"? The word "holy" in the Scriptures is not given to
storms and winds and tempests; and the natural interpretation is, that he was
attended with vast hosts of intelligent beings.
6). My perspective
on this is that a Jewish Rabbinic tradition was included into the canon of the
New Testament and is inspired by God.
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