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Psalm 45:7 ASV Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Whose fellows are the ones mentioned on both verses?

Hebrews 1:9 ASV Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows

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2 Answers 2

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There are two distinct question here so let me set out the points separately.

Ps 45 - a Bridal Psalm

There is no secret that Ps 45 appears to be a bridal psalm for Solomon when he married the princess of Tyre (V12). However, that does nor prevent, but actually requires, that the author of the psalm recall who is the true king of Israel - the God of heaven as is made abundantly clear in many places. 1 Sam 8:7, 8, 24:6, 2 Sam 19:21, 1 Chron 28:5, 29:23, 2 Chron 9:8, 13:8, Ps 5:2, 44:4.

Thus, in the midst of the psalm about the marriage of Israel's earthly king, there is a reminder, in the form of a messianic prophecy of Christ, that Solomon ruled as a deputy of the true king of Israel, Jesus Christ, as confirmed by Matt 1:1, 20, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30, 15, 21:9, 15, Mark 10:35, Luke 1:32, 33, 18:38, 39, John 1:49, Acts 13:32-37, Heb 1:8. See also Rev 11:15, 19:16. Such a Messiah was prophesied long ago: Ex 15:18, Ps 10:16, 61:7, 68:16, 92:8, 93:5, 146:10, Isa 9:7, 47:7, Lam 5:19, Micah 4:7, etc. Compare Isa 55:3 with Acts 13:34 and John 1:49.

This is further confirmed by Heb 1:9 which quotes Ps 45:7 and applies that prophecy directly to Jesus Christ as God. Thus, it was Jesus Christ who is the one anointed.

Companions/Fellows

There have been at several interpretations of who the companions/fellows were as listed in Ps 45:7 and Heb 1:9

Clearly the immediate context of 'fellows" are the attendants to the bridegroom. But what does this mean in the case of Jesus Christ? We have the following credible options:

  1. Eph 4:8 - “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.” That is, as Jesus triumphantly ascended to heaven to crowned at His resurrection, as per the symbolic description in Rev 5, Jesus took with Him "many captives" as "first fruits" (1 Cor 15:20, 23, Rev 14:4, etc), ie, presumably those who were raised in Matt 27:52, 53.
  2. Other kings of the earth which is why Jesus is called "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Rev 17:14, 19:18)
  3. As a human being (among other things) Jesus was given a name above every name, Eph 2:9-11, and thus was exalted above his fellow humans, because of His supreme sacrifice.

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  1. Companions in Heaven as recorded by the many hymns of praise to Jesus such as in Rev 5:9, 10, 12, 13.
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    The Father!/God annoints the Son/God so the Son/God can be superior above his fellows. Was the Son/God not superior to his fellows before his anointing? If the same is said to Solomon, is Solomon also God? May 28, 2022 at 17:56
  • @AlexBalilo - I have answered that above. See Phil 2:5-11 where Jesus, who was God, humbled Himself, died on the cross and then was exalted above all other names. That is, Jesus was already God but became a man and humbled Himself before resuming His place on the throne of heaven (John 17:5).
    – Dottard
    May 28, 2022 at 21:04
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    @ Dottard. So when Jesus humbled himself did he change from spirit to flesh, from immortal to mortal? If Jesus was already the Son/God from the beginning and humbled himself, were his fellows God too? If he already was God, why did Jesus have to be anointed so he would be superior to his fellows if he already was God from the start. Was there a time when the Son/God was not Almighty? May 28, 2022 at 22:18
  • @AlexBalilo - please! You want me to expound the entire doctrine of eternal theology in a comment? Could I ask that you at least read a good theology text about theologies that differ from your own so that at least you understand what people believe without mounting these farcical straw-man debates?
    – Dottard
    May 28, 2022 at 22:21
  • @AlexBalilo - Very briefly: Jesus was always immortal, almighty God and never ceased to be such. During the incarnation He temporarily took on (in addition to His divine nature) human mortality and became the Son of Man. Please do not complain that you do not understand this position because nobody does but that is the way I read the fact of the Bible.
    – Dottard
    May 28, 2022 at 22:28
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The answer can be found in the context. Let us look at Hebrews first.

Paul begins the chapter with Jehovah God talking about the Son. Verse 8 is the key to identifying whom the psalmist is speaking about.

but of the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom – ASV [bold mine]

Paul is quoting Psalms 45:6

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom. ASV

So the individual that Jehovah God "hath anointed" is Jesus Christ as Paul identifies as "the Son".

Why does the verse in Psalms apply to the king and Hebrews to Jesus Christ?

As with some of the prophetic scriptures about Jesus Christ being the Messiah, the scriptures had an application to the then present time period. The same scripture also had a future prophetic fulfillment in the Messiah.

For example, look at Psalms 69:4

They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: They that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: That which I took not away I have to restore. [ASV]

This verse was written by King David speaking about his situation. This verse also had a future fulfillment with Jesus Christ. (John 15:24, 25)

The same happens with Psalms 45:7 in that Jehovah God is extolling the virtues of the king. Later, Paul applies that verse as having its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

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  • @agarza..Can you please answer who was anointed in Psalm 47:5?, the king/God. May 28, 2022 at 18:38
  • If you mean Ps 47:7, then God is doing the anointed to the king.
    – agarza
    May 28, 2022 at 21:27
  • @agarza.Thank you for your concise reply. I agree to that. I was however expecting that you would expound a little bit more. Exact wording for both verses, yet we get different explanation when it comes to Hebrews 1:9. It was not me who downvoted your answer. I did the opposite. May 28, 2022 at 22:09
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    @AlexBalilo I will try to edit in an explanation when I get a chance. As to the downvote, I assume that the downvote was because the user didn't agree with my answer as opposed to lack of research or lazy writing.
    – agarza
    May 28, 2022 at 23:45
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    @AlexBalilo I hope the additional info I added to my answer helped to clarify more.
    – agarza
    Jun 3, 2022 at 16:44

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