Psalm 8:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

NIV: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,

NASB: All sheep and oxen, And also the animals of the field,

CSB: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild,

NLT: the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals,

KJV: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

NKJV: All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field,

David mentions animals over which mankind has received dominion. First, he mentions two kinds of farm animals that were common in Israel's agricultural economy: sheep and oxen.

As a shepherd, David was familiar with sheep. He exercised dominion over them by leading them. Shepherds did not drive their sheep from behind, they led them. Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), declared that His sheep—believers—hear His voice and follow him (John 10:27). In Bible times, oxen were used for two purposes: service and sacrifice. Whether yoked for plowing or offered as sacrifices, man had dominion over them.

David also mentions "the beasts of the field" in Psalm 8:7. Generally, undomesticated animals fear human beings (Genesis 9:2). They run from us when we approach them; but they still maintain a wildness. When Jesus rules the planet, He will remove this wildness so that the beasts of the field will be tame. Isaiah 11:6–7 predicts: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together…The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox."

Psalm 8:3–9 parallels Genesis 2:8–15 in which God had provided abundantly for mankind and had given them dominion over all living creatures on the earth. Hebrews 2:5–9 applies this part of Psalm 8 to Jesus. He became a real human being on our behalf, and after His death for our sins, He arose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God. Someday, He will sit upon the throne of David and hold dominion over the whole earth. What Adam lost by sinning, Jesus has restored by suffering (1 Corinthians 15:20–28).

In this psalm David reflects upon God's majesty that is displayed in the creation. The heavens declare God's glory. Against the backdrop of such glory, man seems insignificant, yet God chose man to rule the earth and all its creatures. By giving man this awesome responsibility, God has crowned him with glory and honor. The psalm has a messianic tone, because Jesus Christ became a little lower than the angels by becoming a human being. Someday, when Jesus rules the world, he will restore the dominion Adam lost. All nature, including all mankind, will submit to Jesus' rule. The psalm ends as it began with a declaration of the Lord's majestic name in all the earth.

This psalm is closely related to Genesis 1, which relates the account of God's creation of the heavens and the earth as well as every living thing. God's final creation, according to Genesis 1, was Adam and Eve, the first human beings, whom He created in His own image and placed in authority ''over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth'' (Genesis 1:28). Psalm 144:3 repeats Psalm 8:4, and Hebrews 2:5–9 applies Psalm 8:4–6 to Jesus. First Corinthians 15:45–47 names Adam as the first man, a man of dust, and refers to Jesus as the last Adam, a man from heaven.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.