Go Out Under the Sky
"When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor."
— Psalm 8:3-5
In that world the night sky was truly black, with no street lamps or city glow, so thousands of stars were visible to the naked eye. Neighbouring peoples worshipped them as gods or read their fate from them. This song strips them of divinity with one picture: finger work, like fine embroidery or a craftsman's job. The sun is not mentioned, so this is a song of the night rather than of noon. The Hebrew word for mankind stresses frailty and mortality. The verb rendered mindful means more than calling something to mind; it means acting for someone's good. Where this translation has angels, the Hebrew has a word that usually means God or heavenly beings. Crowns belonged to kings, and in Babylon it was above all the ruler who was called the image of the gods. Here every human being is crowned. The size of the sky does not make you small, because the one who made it has you in mind.