When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (ESV)
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
But the LORD’S portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
This is a portion of the Song of Moses, a song God gave to Israel through Moses. The intent of the song was to remind Israel of all that God had done for them. It also looked ahead to Israel’s turning away from God and the consequences of their rejection.
This is an interesting passage, but its primary intent is to show the difference between Israel and the other nations. When God divided up mankind, Israel uniquely belonged to God. They were his people, his allotted heritage.
What makes this passage interesting is the reference to the division of mankind according to the number of the ‘sons of God.’ This has been understood in a few ways, and I make no claim to having any special insight. However, I do have some thoughts on the matter.
Dividing Mankind
The division of mankind would seem to refer back to Genesis 11:1-9, where the sundering of speech caused humanity to scatter. This may also be a reference to Genesis 10 and what is sometimes called the Table of Nations. This is a list of the descendants of Noah. However, this passage suggests that it was more than just a scattering. The borders of the peoples were fixed. This would point to God actually determining where each of the scattered peoples would go (Acts 17:26).
How did God divide up the peoples? This passage states that it was either according to the number of the ‘sons of God’ (as found in the Septuagint and some Dead Sea Scrolls) or the ‘sons of Israel’ (as recorded in the Masoretic text).
If ‘sons of God’ is the correct reading, it would link to the sons of God in Genesis 6 and Job 1-2. There, they seem to be some type of spiritual beings who were subservient to God. And here it would imply that when God divided the nations, one of these ‘sons of God’ was placed in charge of each nation. These could even have become the primary ‘god’ of these nations. But, as mentioned earlier, God claimed Israel for himself. Unlike all the other nations, Israel belonged to the Most High God.
Psalm 82 refers to a heavenly council
Probably, although by no means certain.
Can you provide examples of what is meant here:
If ‘sons of God’ is the correct reading, it would link to the sons of God in Genesis 6 and Job 1-2. There, they seem to be some type of spiritual beings who were subservient to God. And here it would imply that when God divided the nations, one of these ‘sons of God’ was placed in charge of each nation. These could even have become the primary ‘god’ of these nations.
“Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did.+ – 1 Kings 11:30-33 (ESV)
Note at the end of this passage the specified god of three different nations.