For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels - Hebrew 'Elohiym (H430): the abstract idea of Godhead; not God Himself, because Scripture always puts an infinite distance between man and God; but the superhuman, the heavenly, such as are angels. Compare Zechariah 12:8, "The house of David shall be as 'Elohiym, as the angel of the Lord;" 1 Samuel 28:13, "I saw gods ('Elohiym) ascending out of the earth," where 'Elohiym is, supernatural beings. Hengstenberg translates, 'Thou makest him to want little of a divine standing.' He objects to the translation "angels," 'How could man, in respect to the sovereignty over the earth, be compared with angels, who possess no such sovereignty?' But Paul, in Hebrews 2:7, translates it "angels;" and the argument is, Man, through God's layout, originally made but a little lower than angels, who have heavenly thrones assigned to them near God has a universal dominion ultimately awaiting him in Christ, even far above that of angels. See the whole chapter, Hebrews 2:1-18; cf. Hebrews 1:4 etc. 'Elohiym (H430) is applied to judges or rulers Psalms 82:6, as quoted by Christ (John 10:34-35). They are called so as being representatives of God, administering the power delegated to them by Him. Angels are called 'Elohiym similarly, as exercising power under God, and ministering to man benefits from Him. It is noteworthy that the incommunicable name YAHWEH (H3068), Jehovah, never has the possessive pronouns my, our, etc., attached to it, whereas 'Elohiym has frequently-e.g., "my God."