Psalm 82:6 in Iraneus of Lyons

[Stirling Bartholomew]

Went looking in the early church fathers for a treatment of Psalm 82:6.

»Ἐγὼ εἶπα· Θεοί ἐστε καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες· ὑμεῖς δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνῄσκετε.» Ταῦτα λέγει πρὸς τοὺς μὴ δεξαμένους τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς υἱοθεσίας, ἀλλ' ἀτιμάζοντας τὴν σάρκω- σιν τῆς καθαρᾶς γεννήσεως τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀποστεροῦντας τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῆς εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἀνόδου καὶ ἀχαριστοῦντας τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν σαρκωθέντι Λόγῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ Λόγος ἄνθρωπος καὶ Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα ὁ ἄνθρωπος χωρήσας τὸν Λόγον καὶ τὴν υἱοθεσίαν λαβὼν γένηται υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Sources chrétiennes 211 § 28

“I said, ‘You are gods and all sons of the most high,’ but you will die like
men” [Ps. 82:6]. These things He [God] says to those who did not receive the gift
of adoption, but despise the incarnation, that is, the pure generation of the Word of
God and defraud humanity of the way up (νόδου) to God, and are ungrateful to
the Word of God who became flesh for them. For unto this did the Word [become]
man, and the Son of God [become] the Son of man, so that man, by making room
for the Word, and receiving the adoption might be a son of God. (AH 3.19.1)61

Translation: Jonathan Hoglund [1]

[1] Recapitulation and Salvation in Irenaeus of Lyon. Jonathan Hoglund Wheaton, Illinois August 2010, p. 86.

Postscript: I looked at this on and off for several days before finding Jonathan Hoglund's thesis. His translation confirmed my reading of the text. He has some discussion which is worth considering.

 

[Stirling Bartholomew]

Origen in book 16 of his comment on Matthew cites Psalm 82:6. Found a rare English translation of book 16 by Justin M. Gohl[1].

Τὸ παραπλήσιον δὲ οὐ χαλεπὸν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων καρπῶν ποιῆσαι τοῦ πνεύματος. βούλεται γὰρ εἶναι κρείττονα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὸν προσιόντα τῷ λόγῳ αὑτοῦ ὁ θεὸς [K574] καὶ ἀπαιτεῖ αὐτὸν παράδοξα καὶ (ἵν᾿ οὕτως ὀνομάσω) θεοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώπου ἔργα. διὸ καὶ πᾶσι λέγει οὓς καλεῖ ἐπὶ τὴν μακαριότητα· »ἐγὼ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε καὶ υἱοὶ ὑψίστου πάντες«, μεμφόμενος δὲ τοῖς μὴ βουλομένοις ἀποθεωθῆναι καὶ υἱοῖς ὑψίστου γενέσθαι λέγει· »ὑμεῖς δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνῄσκετε«· κατὰ γὰρ ἑκάστην ἁμαρτίαν, ὅτε ἐσμὲν »σάρκινοι καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον« περιπατοῦντες, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐνεργοῦμεν ἢ τὸ ἀποθνῄσκειν, καὶ φανερὸν ὅτι »εἰ κατὰ σάρκα« ζῶμεν, μέλλομεν »ἀποθνῄσκειν«, ὡς ἐδίδαξεν ὁ ἀπόστολος.

It would not be difficult to give a similar account with respect to the other fruits. For God desires him who would approach his own logos to be better than human nature [K574] and he requires of him incredible works more of God than of man (if I may put it in such a way). Wherefore he says to all whom he calls unto blessedness: “I myself said, ‘You are gods and all sons of the Most High,’” but censuring those who do not wish to be deified and to become sons of the Most High he says, “But you will die as men” (Ps 81.6-7). For in accordance with each sin, when we are “fleshly and” going about “in human fashion” (1 Cor 3.3), we are effecting nothing other than [our own] “dying,” and it is clear that “if” we live “according to the flesh,” we must “die” (Rom 8.13), as the Apostle teaches.

[1] Origen of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew, Book 16
Translation & Notes by Justin M. Gohl (Revised 2020)