Some say that Paul did not quote from the Septuagint, but from the Aramaic Targum which is used by orthodox Jews to interpret the text. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew as “You have taken,” while the Targum translates the Hebrew “You have given.”
In any event, the idea given by these two translations of the Hebrew is that God received or took gifts so that they could then be distributed to men. Since both ideas are in the text, both renderings are correct. Thus, Paul says, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). In other words, Paul quotes this OT passage to show that Christ was victorious over our spiritual enemies, taking from them the spoils of battle and passing on the gifts to believers who in the exercise of these gifts can be victorious over the enemy. Therefore, there are no discrepancies to be found in Paul’s use of this Psalm, since this is precisely what David did when he robbed his enemy of their gifts and gave them to his men.
From:
http://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-solutions/Ephesians_4.8.php
That little website is handy for you eh? Hehe.
The whole basis for what is said above is false. The gifts were not given to God and then "redistributed". One needs to know the context of what those gifts were and what they were used for - which apparently Paul does not - since his basis for quoting the Psalm is to provide a proof of what he calls spiritual gifts.
So what are the gifts and are they "given" or "taken"?
Here's the evidence:
A) The verses up to 68:18 reference both God going before the people in the wilderness (verse 7),
B) The mention of Sinai (verse 8)
C) Kings and Armies being plundered (verse 12)
D) Coming from Sinai and into his sanctuary (verse 17)
In what context does all this take place? In EXODUS - in the escape from the Slavery of Egypt, where the Israelites plundered the Egyptians, fled through the wilderness guided by God, landed at Sinai, given the 10 commandments - and finally - building the Tabernacle.
Operative verses in Exodus that relates to Psalm 68:18 is the following: Exodus 35:4-29 - where all the gifts of materials and skilled labor are used to build the tabernacle.
These are the gifts being talked about - and yes, they are OFFERINGS BY MEN TO GOD.
Your so called Apostle (and the apologist you quote) are obviously clueless as to the context of the Psalm and can therefore confuse between whether God is receiving gifts or giving them. It is the former not the latter and Paul is not only misquoting the Psalm, he seems completely oblivious to the whole story it is referring to!
