Bible Connections 32: Weird Passages

Psalm 82:1 says God has taken his place in the divine assembly, and in the midst of the gods he holds judgment. The same Hebrew word, elohim, refers to two different beings in a single verse.
The grammar backs it up. Yahweh's verb is singular; the council's verbs are plural. The text tracks the distinction on purpose.
The usual escape route is to say the gods are human judges. Heiser's response to that reading is worth quoting: if you are thinking what a convoluted strange hermeneutic, I agree with you.
This is the library's flagship case of not domesticating a strange verse - and the most important passage for understanding the divine council worldview.
Scripture links:
- Psalm 82:1 - God stands in the divine assembly and judges among the gods.
- Genesis 6:1-4 - the sons of God and the daughters of men.
- 2 Peter 2:4 - God did not spare angels when they sinned.
When a passage is strange, that is usually the moment to slow down, not to explain it away.