Footnotes

1. Psalm 8:5 This very important verse is difficult and has been the subject of a number of interpretations. A literal rendering of the Hebrew reads: You made him lack—God—a little. This could be paraphrased with Luther: You let him be forsaken by God for a little while. The translation above follows Luther in understanding this as a reference to Jesus’ humiliation. The Greek translation of the Old Testament interprets the Hebrew word elohim, which usually means god, as a reference to godlike beings, namely, the angels: You made him a little lower [or lower for a little while] than the angels. Hebrews 2:7 quotes this translation. In either interpretation the point is the same: Jesus endured humiliation while he was on earth acting as our Savior. The fact that he needed help from the angels is one evidence of this.