John10:34

1

While the Law in a strict sense referred to the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Old Testament, the term “torah” was sometimes used to refer to the entire Old Testament since the law was the highly revered part of the Old Testament. This quote comes from Psalm 82, which I am convinced has to do with human judges who were appointed and given authority to act under God’s authority.

2

The emphasis of this passage continues to be on the power to act, the power to make things happen. In the case of Jesus, that power was demonstrated through things like miracles. The judges Jesus referred to in His quote of Psalm 82 did not perform miracles, they only exercised the authority given them by making judicial decisions.

I believe Jesus taught in Hebrew which was the language used for religious content, and He quoted from the Hebrew Old Testament. There are some that make the case that some of the Gospels, including John, were written originally in Hebrew and translated to Greek soon after that (see my lesson called Language preferences of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament). We only have copies of the Greek version, not the Hebrew version. In those Greek translations, any quote from the Old Testament is rendered according to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. This is one of the verses which would make more sense in Hebrew first, where the word Elohim is used and means “mighty ones” or “Mighty One.” In the Old Testament this term is used of God, of angels and of men who have been given considerable authority, such as judges. My translation and paraphrase follow the Hebrew meaning assumed to be on the lips of Jesus and possibly in the original Hebrew version of this Gospel.