What Does Psalm 8:9 Mean in the King James?
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
In Hebrew, the name is the nature made known, and its majesty is present across the whole earth.
THE MEANING
The LORD’s name is God’s nature made knowable, and its majesty is present throughout the earth. The verse holds the intimate “our Lord” alongside a scope no single place can contain. Wherever the reader stands, the earth lies within that field of recognition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
God’s nature can be encountered only in specially sacred places; this verse places its majesty across all the earth.
THE ROOT
אַדִּיר
addir
GROWS FROM
אדר
ʾ-d-r
To be great, majestic, or mighty.
English “excellent” can sound like a ranking word; addir carries the force of majesty and might. Its family includes addirim, “mighty ones,” and adderet, a mantle or cloak, linking grandeur with both strength and its visible covering. Joined to shem (שֵׁם, “name” as nature), the verse presents God’s nature as recognizable across the whole earth.
ALSO GROWS
addirim: Mighty ones; nobles.
אַדִּירִים
The same root describes the “mighty waves” in Psalm 93:4, showing that addir carries a force greater than mere approval.
adderet: Mantle or cloak.
אַדֶּרֶת
This related word gives the root’s grandeur a visible form, illuminating how majesty can be expressed as something displayed.
THE PATTERN
God’s nature becomes visible across creation, beyond any one place or generation.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:THE THREAD
The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.“Excellent” in Psalm 8:9 and “mighty” here draw on the same Hebrew root, אדר (ʾ-d-r), expressing majesty and might. The root makes the connection tangible: the LORD’s nature is majestic across the earth, and mightier than the sea’s towering waves.
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