The Use of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 as an Intertextual Study

The text of Psalm 68:19, quoted by Paul and used as a citation in Ephesus, is categorized by biblical scholars as a crux interpretetum, one of the verses that are difficult to interpret. There are two problems found in Paul's use of the quotation from Psalm 68:19 in his writing in Ephesians 4:8, making this a challenging verse to interpret. First, there is no apparent textual connection between Psalm 68:19 and Ephesians 4:3. Second, the motif and meaning of Paul's use of Psalm 68:19 as a reference in Ephesians 4:8 have not been clearly identified by the author. Among the eight biblical scholars, six different answers have been found, each differing from the others. The approach used to analyze mentioned above. The result of this research is that Paul quotes Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 as the foundation of his kerygma, asserting that his teaching in the context of Ephesians 4 is the same truth as the teaching in Psalm 68:19, which also harmonizes with the context of Numbers 8. The quotation of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 by Paul affirms that what he teaches is the same truth as the Old Testament. God and Jesus Christ are the same Person acting on His people, both giving and receiving among humanity.


INTRODUCTION
Interpreting the Bible is a manifestation of theological discourse and faith formation among Christians.
Appreciating the role of interpretation in the development of tradition and its place in the narrative and epistolary literary era of the New Testament is a crucial task for biblical scholars in the modern age, aimed at understanding and conveying the intended meaning of the Bible to contemporary Christian readers, who are separated by time from the biblical authors.This endeavor demands discipline because the early Christians interpreted the Bible differently from most of us who read their works today.the use of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians is an intertextual approach, which is a method to find solutions to the two issues Donald H. Juel (2023), who specialized in hermeneutics, explains that Paul's writings were inspired by the ancient Hebrew scriptures and influenced by the worldview or framework of Judaism.Therefore, it can be said that the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament in Christian faith, served as a reference in many of his epistolary writings, including when he studied the Book of Ephesians.The abundance of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, the use of Old Testament texts as quotations by New Testament authors, remains a challenge for interpreters due to the hermeneutical difficulties applied.
"By a very conservative estimate, there are quotations from the Old Testament on nearly every page.
Approximately 295 quotations from the Old Testament actually occupy 352 verses in the New Testament, which means that the New Testament uses the Old Testament about every 22 verses.Needless to say, one should not forget the large number of Old Testament allusions, ranging from about 600 to 1,600 and even up to 4,100 verses." Nycole's statement (2010) in her thesis is also echoed by Philip Suciadi Chia in his book "Understanding Old Testament Books in the New Testament" (2020).In general, scholars acknowledge that the sources for the writings of the New Testament authors are the Old Testament texts in both Hebrew and the Septuagint (LXX).Furthermore, he states that there was a previous view that the apostles and New Testament writers used the Hebrew text as their source for quotations (Milton S. Terry, 1976).New Testament authors, including Paul in the Book of Ephesians, often use the Septuagint translation, which sometimes differs from the Hebrew text.Studies have shown that the comparison of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament relies much more on the Septuagint text than the Hebrew text, although there are some quotations that still use the Hebrew text.There are also quotations that vary, drawing from both Hebrew and Greek, reflecting the awareness of both the Hebrew and LXX texts.In this regard, Paul had a good understanding of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek but often chose to quote the version of Scripture known to his recipients, which, in this case, is the LXX.
. Sometimes, the theological nuances of messianic interpretations often pose challenges to those attempting to follow grammatical-historical interpretations, as summarized by Nikolai Kiel (2019).He provides an explanation of the interpretive practices carried out by the patristic fathers when quoting texts.Often, they used Old Testament quotations, be it words, phrases, or sentences, to support specific theological interpretations, showing that they were not afraid to adapt an interpretation without concerning themselves with the grammatical or textual context of the Bible passages used.
The patristic fathers had specific theological agendas in mind and tried to align the Old Testament quotations with the themes found in the New Testament for their purposes.For example, there's a debate between Justin Martyr, representing the Christian side, and a Jew named Trypho regarding Isaiah 7:14.Justin Martyr uses the LXX version of Isaiah 7:14 to support the text from Matthew 1:23, claiming that Isaiah 7:14 contains a messianic prophecy, implying that the Messiah will be born of a virgin.This prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.Notably, the LXX version of Isaiah 7:14 uses the word "parthenos" (virgin) to refer to the mother who would give birth to the Messiah, which aligns with Mary as the virgin who gave birth to Jesus.Trypho's response, still using the LXX text but with alterations made by the Jews, directly refutes the connection between Matthew 1:21 and Isaiah 7:14.According to Trypho's grammatical-historical critique, Isaiah 7:14 does not refer to Christ but to King Hezekiah.Furthermore, another example illustrates how the early Church Fathers used Old Testament texts to support their theological agendas.Athanasius of Alexandria cited Genesis 1:1 to uphold the unity of the Hypostasis of the Word with God and to oppose Arius of Alexandria, who taught that the Word of God was created.Athanasius argued that the phrase "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" referred to Jesus Christ, based on Hebrews 11:3, "By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." From the above examples, there are several dilemmas and difficulties in interpreting Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, which can be attributed to the inability and confusion to understand the interpretive methods applied by New Testament authors when they use texts from the Old Testament as quotations.The focus of this study is the issue in Ephesians 4:8, written by Paul, which is taken from Psalm 68:19 as its reference, where he directly quotes the text with the phrase "That is why it says."Psalm 68:18 (68:19) -You have ascended on high, you have led captive your captives; you have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell there.Ephesians 4:8 -Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."So far, the author has identified several issues with the text in Ephesians 4:8.First, upon careful examination of the context, it is evident that the quote by Paul in Ephesians 4:8 is indeed taken from Psalm 68:19, as indicated in the LAI footnote.
However, when compared, the passage quoted by Paul in Psalm 68:19 is written differently, and it appears to be contradictory to what is stated in Ephesians 4:8.Compare the phrase "he gave gifts to men" in Ephesians 4:8 with the phrase "you have received gifts among men" in Psalm 68:19.Here lies the difference that seems contradictory.
Paul asserts that God gave gifts, while the passage quoted by Paul in Psalm 68:19 states that God received gifts.John Calvin, one of the most prolific biblical interpreters, also acknowledged the challenge of harmonizing the two texts, These questions simply emerge from the text before us.This is remarkable because the direction of Paul's thinking throughout our entire reading is very clear.The ambiguity in Paul's statement, which is somewhat due to the questions in Ephesians 4:10 (Doesn't "He ascended" mean...?), refers to an Old Testament text quoted in Ephesians 4:8.Hoping to gain insight into Paul's intent in quoting Psalm 68:18, we read the original background of that text.But instead of helping, the text becomes more confusing when we realize that Paul quotes it by making significant alterations, clearly to make it fit his own purpose.
From here, Rita Wahyu's comments strengthen the complexity of the issues in Ephesians 4:8 that need to be resolved.The complexity of this passage has led to the assumption that Paul wrote Ephesians 4:8 with a lack of honesty in quoting the Bible verse, making Paul's citation of Psalm 68:19 appear awkward and creating the impression that he quoted the verse in a cavalier manner.Philip Suciadi Chia (2020) in his book also adds to the dilemma regarding the interpretation methods used by New Testament writers, especially Paul.The differences in Old Testament texts quoted as citations in the New Testament occur because the New Testament authors sometimes use Old Testament verses independently of their historical background or contextual events.Therefore, the use and citation of the Old Testament in the New Testament present puzzles and difficulties for modern Christian interpreters because it seems that the New Testament writers did not adhere to the principles of interpretation that are currently applicable, which are based on context and historical background.Hence, it is not surprising if there is an impression that the New Testament applies Old Testament texts regardless of the hermeneutical rules currently in place.
Ephesians 4:8, taken from Psalm 68:19, has the potential to serve as one of the bases for polemics against Christianity and to cast doubt on the consistency and authenticity of the Bible as a book that is free from contradictions.
Second, there appears to be a lack of interconnectedness between Psalm 68:19 and Paul's statement in Ephesians 4:8.
Before John Calvin realized that there was a problem with Paul's quotation, John Wycliffe (2013), without lengthy explanations, also recognized the lack of clarity in the relationship between these two texts.Geoffrey D. Miller (2010), in his journal, elaborates that readers should sharpen their awareness of the connections between texts in different books, both diachronically and synchronically since the Bible is a collection of books written in different conditions and various situations.Second, the motif and meaning of Paul quoting Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 have not yet been discovered.
Hermeneutics is inseparable from how readers understand the text they are reading, just as authors undoubtedly use hermeneutical methods to construct ideas in their writings.Roy B. Zuck (2014) recognizes that one of the main reasons why the Bible is difficult to understand is that it is an ancient book.For example, the Pentateuch, written by Moses, was penned around 1400 BC.The last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation, written by the Apostle John, was composed around AD 90.This means that some of the books in the Bible, from the Pentateuch to Revelation, were written about 3400 years ago, with the most recent book, Revelation, being written 1900 years ago.This already indicates that hermeneutics must strive to bridge several gaps caused by the antiquity of the Bible.Roy B. Zuck categorizes these gaps into five categories as follows: First, the time gap.Due to the vast time gap between the original biblical authors and readers in the 20th century, there is a significant difference.Because 20thcentury readers were not present when the Bible was written, they cannot converse with its authors and original recipients directly.Second, the spatial gap.Many readers of the Bible today live alongside the authors and original recipients of the books in the Bible.Third, the cultural gap.There is a significant difference between how people in the Western world do things and think compared to people in the Eastern world.Therefore, it is important to understand the culture and customs of the people at the time when the Bible was written.Misinterpretation occurs due to ignorance of the customs and culture of that era.Fourth, the linguistic gap.In addition to the above three gaps, this linguistic gap also needs attention.The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, which have differences from the Indonesian language.
For example, Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament manuscripts only write consonants, without vowels.
Vowel letters are not written because the readers already understand the intended meaning of the text.Furthermore, Hebrew and Aramaic are written from right to left, unlike Indonesian, which is written from left to right.Moreover, there is no use of spaces in the writing.Another reason why this language gap becomes a problem is that the original languages of the Bible have idioms that do not necessarily match expressions in the Indonesian language.For example, when Jesus in Matthew 27:11 says, "You have said so," in Greek idiom, the meaning of the phrase is "yes."For those unfamiliar with this Greek idiom, the listener would have difficulty understanding the intended meaning.Fifth, the spiritual gap.It is essential to note that there is a gap between how God does things and how humans do things.The fact that the Bible speaks about God places it in a unique category.God, who is unlimited, cannot be fully understood by the limited, as stated by Ephraim of Syria (2020) that human and God are like a chasm; there is a gap that separates humans and God both in quality and quantity.The Bible talks about God performing miracles and making prophecies about the future.Because God is the divine author of the Bible, it is indeed unique.There is no book like the Bible.
The Bible is not just a human and historically descriptive thought but contains the actions of God as the main actor.
Limited human beings as the recipients of God's message greatly need guidance from the Holy Spirit to understand His Word beyond human limitations.

RESEARCH METHOD
Hermeneutics is a tool for excavating and analyzing texts with the aim of understanding the divine intent conveyed in the Holy Scriptures.In the Scriptures themselves, many Old Testament quotations are scattered throughout with specific purposes.The discipline of searching for the motives, purposes, and teachings found in these Old Testament quotations in the New Testament is called intertextuality.To determine the type of quotation a New Testament author uses when citing the Old Testament, the following criteria should be considered.
First, direct quotations.Direct quotations are easy to recognize in the New Testament.They are readily identifiable as direct quotations because they are explicitly marked as quotations, providing references to the source text, whether that reference is provided directly or Second, allusions.Unlike direct quotations, allusions are Old Testament passages that appear consciously in the New Testament.Allusions do not carry explicit formulation markers like direct quotations, but they can be recognized by detecting segments, themes, characters, historical patterns, and concepts from the Old Testament.Third, echoes.Echoes bear similarities to allusions but are not as intense in their appearance in the New Testament.Christopher A. Betham drew a distinction between allusions and echoes.The key point is that echoes are not as intense and explicit as allusions.Echoes can appear independently without necessarily involving the broader Old Testament context and may emerge in the New Testament without the author's conscious intent.
Betham even referred to echoes as "flashes of thought" because their emergence is not as intense and explicit as allusions (2008).

Quote Analysis: Ephesians 4:8 contains a direct quotation and at the same time implies allusion.
Philip Chia Suciadi, in his book titled "Understanding the Old Testament Books within the New Testament" (2020), discusses the methodology of interpreting Old Testament passages in the New Testament.This methodology has created tension in the world of interpretation.The question arises: when the New Testament authors quote Old Testament passages as citations, are they reconstructing the meaning of the Old Testament separate from its original context for the purposes of the New Testament authors?Philip Chia Suciadi presents one theory to address this tension in interpreting Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, known as "sensus plenior."Sensus plenior is an interpretative approach that aims to explore the possible layers of meaning within the sacred text itself.The goal is to resolve the friction that exists between the intended meaning of Old Testament passages and the New Testament, assuming that the New Testament authors were inspired by God to present the full meaning of the Old Testament.
The New Testament authors do not create a reconstruction of the meaning for the Old Testament passages they cite.Instead, they strive to exegete the meaning of Old Testament passages comprehensively, a meaning that Old Testament authors may have only realized in a literal sense when receiving their revelations during their own time.New Testament authors and Christian readers engage with Old Testament texts within the framework of God's continuous covenant with His people, whether in the Old or New Testament.Philip Chia (2020) continues his explanation of sensus plenior, stating that this approach encourages readers to observe the content of the sacred text with the intention of obtaining a deeper meaning.This allows individuals to grasp a more where David says in Psalm 68:19, "You have ascended on high; you have led captives" with Paul's quotation in Ephesians 4:8, which says, "When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives," in addition to the formulation "that is why it says" as the key phrase that Paul used to indicate his use of Psalm 68:19 as a direct quotation.
Second, Paul used Psalm 68:19 to contain an allusion.The content found in Ephesians 4:8 contains a segment that hints at a broader context, namely the interaction between God and Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, as recorded in the entire context of Numbers 8.There are two indications as to why Paul's quotation from Psalm 68:19 contains an allusion to Numbers 8. First, one of the criteria that validate a quotation as an allusion is the presence of the segments in Numbers 8:11, 18-19, where God asks the Levites to be presented as an offering, and then God gives gifts that are dedicated to the people of Israel, the Levites who have been sanctified and consecrated.This segment of the event, as suggested by Osborne as a citation (2012), is used by Paul as advice to the Ephesian congregation, which contains the kerygma for the Church as the people of God who receive gifts from God (Belinger Jr, 2020).These gifts are then given back to God as an offering.Second, in Psalm 68, within its context, it alludes to the event of Israel's journey from Egypt, and the narrative in Numbers 8 is one part of the story of the Israelites' departure from Egypt.
Therefore, the type of quotation that Paul uses not only contains one Old Testament text in its citation but has two quotations: a direct quotation from Psalm 68:19, indicated by the formulation Paul used in the opening of his quotation, and an allusion to Numbers 8, which contains a segment of the event that serves to explain Paul's concept in Ephesians 4:8.The author will not delve too deeply into Numbers 8 as an allusion in Ephesians 4:8, which also has a connection with Psalm 68:19, as this allusion appears as an affirmative statement of the event that forms the basis of his kerygma, affirming the concept of the abundance of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to the Church as the body of Christ to equip the growth of the Church itself, which has a diverse membership that complements each other in the service of God.Secondly, from an ecclesiological perspective, humans are saved from sin and made to be God's own, not for idleness, but rather, God makes every believer a worker and servant of the Lord who glorifies His name through the gifts that God bestows upon humanity.As Paul stated in his letter to the Galatian Church, in Galatians 2:20, he says that when a person becomes a believer, their life is no longer self-centered, but Christ, who is the head of the Church, becomes the center, controlling the lives of believers.This aligns with Paul's teaching in Romans 14:8 that someone who lives in Christ automatically lives for the benefit of Christ.Jesus Christ himself said in Matthew 20:26, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant," and as the Messiah, He exemplified this by serving His disciples (Matthew 20:8).Those who have been redeemed by Christ from sin cannot escape their responsibility as members of the body of Christ, supporting and encouraging one another in love to grow in their knowledge of Christ together.
Thus, every child of God is equipped with various gifts for the edification of the body of Christ, not for selfish gain.Paul quotes Psalm 68, which alludes to the broader context of Numbers 8, describing the journey of Israel towards the land of Canaan with the purpose of using the Old Testament for truth and events in the New Testament and to convey its fulfillment.Being God's possession, freed from bondage, just as in the Old Testament in Psalm 68, which alludes to Numbers 8, where Israel is liberated from foreign oppression, this event becomes a typology of Christ's action in saving humanity from the death of sin (Ephesians 2:1).
It is not surprising that Paul does not provide an address for where he quotes and alludes to Old Testament texts, as Ephesians 4:8 doesn't just contain Psalm 68:19 but also includes allusions from Psalm 68, the broader context of Numbers 8-10, which forms the pattern of Paul's kerygma and the idea of his teaching.Every believer has responsibilities according to their respective gifts, working for a common purpose, just like the people of Israel as the people of God who had their own specific tasks.The Levites who managed the items of the tabernacle, the other 12 tribes of Israel giving tithes, Moses teaching God's word to the people of Israel, and various other duties to glorify God and serve one another.The same principle is found in the letter to the Ephesians, where the diverse roles of believers, such as preachers of the Gospel, pastors, apostles, prophets, and teachers, all share the same purpose: equipping believers with true knowledge of Christ, glorifying God, and serving one another as the body of Christ (Wolf, 2017).This illustrates the implications of sensus plenior, where the 66 books of the Bible have theological connections to one another.Whether it is Israel or the Church, when they are freed from bondage, the people belonging to God are utilized as instruments for His glory.They are not made idle; rather, God accepts them as gifts and simultaneously makes them gifts.In this explanation, Paul's teaching in Ephesians 4:8 is not entirely new, but what he imparts to the Ephesian congregation is drawn from what the Old Testament scriptures contain, which includes segments of God's actions towards His people and their common purpose, both in the Old and New Testaments, which is to serve God.

CONCLUSION
Based on an exegesis of the use of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8, Paul utilizes Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 as a template of Old Testament truth in the New Testament.This serves as the foundation for his teaching, emphasizing Christ as the God who ascended to heaven, who traversed the heavens, and received believers into His possession.This same God is depicted in the Old Testament and Christ as God, who gives His people as a gift to themselves, so that His people can experience spiritual growth leading them toward Christ Himself.
Ephesians 4:8 drawn from Psalm 68:19.Some accused Paul of using the Scriptures unfairly, labeling those who accused Paul as wicked individuals.Nevertheless, Calvin recognized the difficulty in finding a fully adequate solution and suggested that Paul intentionally altered the text in Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8.Rita Wahyu, the founder of sarapanpagi.org,stated that Paul, being an intellectual as evidenced by his clever articulation in his writings, sometimes produces writings that raise many questions and are challenging to understand (2007).
C.H. Dodd (1952) added that allusions often assume a broader context within the Old Testament book being referenced in the New Testament.Examples of the appearance of Old Testament text allusions in the New Testament include the events of Jesus being sought for death during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7), fulfilling the preamble hymn of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:14-30), Christ's cry on the cross echoing David's suffering (Psalm 22:2), the comparison of Adam's life (Genesis 3) with Christ in Romans 5:12-21, God's promise to Moses for Israel in Egypt and the Exodus used by Paul in Romans 9:4, the covenant with Abraham's descendants (Genesis 21) forming the basis of Paul's teaching about the chosen people.
comprehensive understanding than what the original text meant to its initial authors.Concerning sensus plenior, in this case, we can find a complete meaning derived from the use of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8.Paul employs two types of quotations from Psalm 68:19, which he incorporates into his writings.First, Paul used Psalm 68:19 as a direct quotation.The opening phrase in verse 8 provides a clue that what he was advising the Church in Ephesus to base it on the Old Testament, and that's why Paul used a direct quotation from the Old Testament.However, the content of the sentence he quoted directly does not explicitly reference the Old Testament scripture it comes from.The majority of apparatus and footnotes, such as LAI, NIV, ESV Study Bible, and most commentators, make a parallel note that Paul quoted it directly from Psalm 68:19 because the content of verse 8 and Psalm 68:19 closely resembles each other in terms of sentence structure.Compare the phrase

Firstly
, from a Christological perspective, Paul employs Psalm 68:19 to elucidate the concept of Christ ascending to heaven and offering gifts to His people.The context of Psalm 68 portrays God as a divine being who traverses the heavens and rides the clouds, providing victory and tranquility to His people.In the New Testament, Christ, who ascended to heaven (Acts 1:10-11), is the anti-type or fulfillment of this image.Ten days later, He bestowed the Holy Spirit upon believers (John 20:22, Acts 2), leading His disciples to spontaneously preach the Gospel in various languages during the time of Pentecost in Jerusalem.Drawing from this parallel, Paul highlights Psalm 68:19 as a kerygma, teaching about Christ's ascent to the highest place and His gifting of blessings to His people.Implicitly, Paul conveys the divinity of Christ, affirming that the same God in Numbers and Psalm 68:19 is consistent with the God he teaches about.Just as God in these passages bestows gifts among and to His people, Paul emphasizes that Christ, as God, likewise imparts blessings to His followers.It can be said that Paul's citation of Psalm 68:19 in Ephesians 4:8 is not merely a literal quotation but also intends to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the context between the quoted text and his teaching in Ephesians 4:8.
Psalm 68:19, which includes the context of Numbers 8, becomes a parallel model to Ephesians 4:8, as the starting point for the offering of the people to God actually comes from God as the source of that offering.Paul's citation in Ephesians 4:8 is not an isolated quote detached from the original context of Psalm 68:19 that he quotes.Instead, Paul affirms that his teaching aligns with what is taught in the Old Testament by quoting The textual differences between Psalm 68:19 and Ephesians 4:8 is indeed evident when compared, whether from Psalm 68:19 in the Masoretic Text, the LXX, or the content of Ephesians 4:8, as outlined below.There are two theological perspectives that shed light on why Paul quotes Psalm 68:19 in his writings.