Hebrews

1:1-4

Introduction, 1:1-2:4

i] God speaks through his Son

Argument

In the opening chapter of Hebrews, our author "shows that Jesus is greater than the prophets and that he has a special relationship to God. He took part in creation and in due course he accomplished the purification of mankind from their sins. He is greater by far than any angel", Morris. In the opening four verses, these facts are set before us and then supported from scripture.

 
Issues

i] Context:

Hebrews presents as a homily / sermon / speech, an example of first century rhetoric. As such it begins with what is known as an exordium, an introduction designed to bring the listener onside, and while doing so, touch on the content of the sermon. The exordium would normally run for a few minutes and in Hebrews it seems to encompass 1:1-2:4. Using high prose, the Rhetor first speaks of God's revelation of his Son, 1:1-4, and then goes on in 1:5-13 with a series of Bible quotations supporting the contention that the Son is superior to angels and their limited role in divine revelation.

The introduction concludes with an appeal / admonition, 2:1-4. This part of the sermon applies the truths revealed in the opening chapter. The angels, through the prophets, revealed divine truth, but Jesus, the Son, the Lord, has revealed a superior revelation of salvation, confirmed "by signs ..... and by gifts of the Holy Spirit." Pity help us if we fail to "pay the most careful attention" to this revelation from Christ, and "drift away" from the salvation that is already ours.

 

ii] Background:

The Rhetor addresses a church facing dangers within and dangers without. This was a church which had faced times of general persecution - troubles from without. Yet, now it is a church facing growing disputes within their fellowship - troubles from within.

We have no idea who wrote the sermon, or where it was written from, but we can be sure that the traditional ascription to Paul the apostle has little merit. As Origen put it, "Who wrote the Epistle God only knows for certain". The best we can ascertain is that he/she is a Greek speaking Jewish believer. As to when the sermon was written, commentators are divided, but given that there is no mention of the destruction of the Temple in AD70, a fact that would strongly support the author's argument that the temple cult is redundant, seems to indicate a date before AD70. The possible allusions to Paul's letters indicate a date after AD60. Hebrews is possibly addressed to a church in Rome; "those from Italy salute you", 13:24 - the first quote from Hebrews is by Clement of Rome in AD95

The designation "The Letter to the Hebrews" is misleading because it is anything but a letter; It is a rhetorical speech / sermon, or as the Rhetor puts it, "a word of exhortation", 13:22 - it was written to be read aloud to an audience with a delivery time of around 50 minutes. As for the audience, they are not all Hebrews, but a mixture of believing Gentiles and Jews, particularly directed at those who are ideologically Jewish.

It seems that some members are drifting from their reliance on Christ's atonement alone for their salvation, sanctification and glorification, and so are looking to elements of the Jewish faith to supplement their Christian beliefs, ie., a CROSS + problem. So, the Rhetor seeks to rekindle their knowledge of Christ, God's Great High Priest, and his all-sufficient sacrifice for lost humanity. He seeks to take them out of their Jewish comfort zone, out of the camp of Israel, and into the camp of the New Israel. The new age has dawned and it is time to realise that the spiritual verities of Old Israel now apply to the New Israel - it's time to look to Rome (Gentile Christianity) rather than Jerusalem. The intricacies of the Temple and synagogue cult sought to purify, but they were but signs of a future reality. Christ has superseded the cult, for he is our Great High Priest, the supreme and final revelation of God to mankind, the one who, through a gift of grace appropriated through faith, saves, sanctifies and glorifies broken humanity.

 

iii] Structure: God speaks through his Son:

God is a communicating God, v1-2a;

The Son's qualifications, v2b-3;

Jesus is the heir of all things;

He is the creative power of God;

He is the manifestation of the divine;

He sustains the universe;

He rules all things in time and space;

The Son is the Father's superior messenger and mediator, v4.

 

For the overall structure of Hebrews, these notes follow the classical rhetorical approach adopted by Watson (Rhetorical) and others. As a piece of literature, Hebrews functions as a "word of exhortation", 13:22.

Exordium: In the classical rhetorical schema, the address begins with an Exordium, serving to introduce the subject matter, 1:1-2:4. This may involve a personal comment to elicit empathy (today a joke!), although this is not present in Hebrews. In Hebrews, the Rhetor uses this introduction to introduce Jesus, and affirm his superiority.

Partitio, the thesis or proposition upon which the address rests, 2:5-9. This is specified in v9, (developed in v10-11) - Jesus' perfect sacrifice saves, sanctifies and glorifies.

Narratio: A narrative section is not always present in deliberative rhetoric like Hebrews. So, there is little agreement among scholars as to whether a narration is present in Hebrews, or if present, its extent, eg., Von Soden, 4:14-6:20; Backhaus, 1:5-4:13; Spicq, 1:5-6:20; Nissila, 1:5-2:18, cf., Koester. These notes opt for 2:10-6:20.

Probatio: Then follows the Probatio, the main argument 7:1-12:29, the all sufficiency of Christ's priestly sacrifice and its necessary complement, faith.

Exordium: The address concludes with an Exordium, exhortations, 13:1-19.

Postscript: Since the address is conveyed as a letter, Hebrews concludes with personal notes, greetings, etc.

 

iv] Interpretation:

The Rhetor opens his argument by making the point that God has actively revealed his mind to humanity from the earliest of days, v1. This revelation is through the prophets, men like Moses, whose message was mediated by angels, v4. He mentions angels because he takes the view that God didn't reveal himself personally to the Old Testament saints, but rather used angelic intermediaries. It is likely that the covenant encapsulates this revelation, particularly as codified in the Law of Moses.

"But in these last days" all things are new because God "has spoken to us by his Son." God personally renews his covenant with humanity through his own Son. Of the Son the Rhetor says, He is: the owner of everything, v2b; the creator of everything, v2c; the evident presence of divine glory, v3a; the exact representation of divine being, v3b; God the Father's agent in sustaining the creation, v3c; the means of human purification from sin, v3d; God the Father's right-hand man in glory, v3e; a being superior to angels, v4. In fact, this prologue to Hebrews virtually "sums up a good part of the kerygma (the apostolic gospel message)", Bruce.

 

v] Homiletics: The truth that sets us free

[illustration] The significance of Christ's birth in Bethlehem is easily dismissed, or at least overlooked. In that birth is encapsulated God's final and complete self-revelation to humanity. Christ is God with us: heard, seen and touched.

I'm pushing past 80 years of age and over those years I have watched my wonderful country Australia move away from the notion of an objective truth that finds its source in the mind of God. We are driven hither and thither by the speculative musings of social commentators empowered by the fads, or fears, of the day. Of course, in the end, all these politically correct truths are like beauty, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Yet, despite our loss of confidence in objective truth, truth has not ceased to be. Commentators may muse, Governments may legislate, but there is one who has come into our world who stands above the musings of humanity, who transcends all truth, the one who is the emperor of our universe. He is the effulgence of divine glory, the image of divine substance, the creator and sustainer of the universe. And rightly so, for in his coming to be with us, and in his dying and rising, he makes us worthy of the new age to come.

So yes, there is truth, a truth that sets us free, and this from a communicating God who in and through the babe of Bethlehem broke into our dark and dying world.

 
Text - 1:1

God speaks through his Son, Lord of the Universe, v1-4: Jesus is the Lord of the universe, and his message to broken humanity has far greater value than the words of God's messengers of old - he has spoken, hear him! Barclay says of the Greek in this passage that the Rhetor "felt that, since he was going to speak of the supreme revelation of God to men, he must clothe his thoughts in the noblest language that it was possible to find." The passage consists of one sentence in the Greek. The subject is "the Son", v2, with the main verb "he sat down", v3. Three attributive relative clauses serve to limit / describe "the Son". The third relative clause is formed by three adverbial participial constructions. The sentence concludes with a consecutive clause. The Greek sentence presents as follows:

 

God having revealed himself through the prophets (via angels),

now, at the end of the age, speaks through his

uiw/ "Son"

o}n "who", possesses all things,

ou| "who", as God's agent, created all things,

o}V, "who (sat down)":

w]n,"being", the very impression / image of God,

ferwn, "sustaining" everything by the power of his word,

poihsamenoV, "having effected" cleansing from sin

ekaqisen, "sat down" at God's ... / he was enthroned,

genomenoV "and as a result" he has .... / he is superior

tosoutw/ "in comparison with" revelation through angels.

 

i] God is a communicating God, v1-2a. The Rhetor establishes both continuity and discontinuity between the old and the new, cf., Hughes. God is a communicating God; he is a God who speaks. Throughout the history of the people of Israel, God has communicated with his people through human messengers, people like Moses and the prophets. Now, at the end of the age, God the Father has spoken through his Son, and given to us a complete and final revelation of his intentions for the human race.

palai adv. "in the past" - long ago. Temporal adverb of past time. Of something completed in the past, here of the many and varied (but partial) sorts of revelation of former times, particularly the Old Testament, prior to the complete revelation in Christ; "formerly".

lalhsaV (lalew) aor. part. "[God] spoke" - [god] having spoken. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "he spoke", v2, "he spoke to us, having spoken long ago to .." Other possibilities exist, eg. concessive, "although God spoke to ....", even temporal, "after God spoke to ..."

toiV patrasin (hr roV) dat. "to our forefathers" - to the fathers, ancestors. Dative of indirect object. Variant "our" is probably not original as it disturbs the alliteration (so Attridge), but is certainly implied. Is the article specifying, or is a general "ancestors", or even just "a previous generation", intended?

en + dat. "through" - in, on, by [the prophets]. Here instrumental, expressing agency; "by the prophets", NRSV, but a local "in the prophets" = "in the writings of the prophets" may be intended (the presence of the article certainly serves to specify). A broad sense is probably intended for the prophets, ie., "the patriarchs", Attridge.

polumerwV kai polutropwV adv. "at many times and in various ways" - in many ways and in various ways. The position of these adverbs of manner is emphatic in the Gk., and the use of alliteration indicates that a single idea is in mind, namely the multiplicity of God's revelation as contrasted with the singularity of God's revelation in the Son, so Ellingworth. None the less, Attridge draws some distinction between the two ("polumerwV suggests that God's speech of old was disjointed, coming in multiple segments or portions, while polutropwV suggests the formal diversity of God's word"); "Many were the forms and fashions in which God spoke to our fathers", Moffatt; "The revelation which was given through them was fragmentary and varied", Barclay.

 
v2a

In the final era of world history, God speaks to humanity through his Son, a far superior revelation. The Rhetor will go on to reveal the radical difference between the two mediators - the Patriarchs through angels, as compared to Jesus.

ep (epi) + gen. "but in" - upon = the time of, during, at. Temporal use of the preposition.

escatou adj. "last" - end. Here the adjective serves as a substantive, "the end of days."

twn hJmerwn gen. "these last days" - of [these] days. The genitive is adjectival, partitive. "Days" plural probably means simply "time", so "in the end time", Ellingworth. The eschatological sense "the end of the age" probably shapes the intended sense. "At the close of these days of ours", Cassirer

elalhsen (lalew) aor. "he has spoken" - he spoke. Aorist indicating completed action such that even God's revelation through the Son is complete (or more specifically his speaking to humanity is complete), although in a "culminative sense", Kistemaker.

hJmin dat. "to us" - to us. Dative of indirect object. To all believers in Christ, "members of the Christian church", Westcott, although a wider sense may be intended, "humanity / broken humanity".

en + dat. "by" - in, by. Instrumental, expressing agency, seems best, so "through", but both locative ("in") and instrumental ("by") may be intended.

uiJw/ (oV) dat. "his son" - son. "Son" is anarthrous, as in 1:5, 3:6, 5:8, 7:28, although an article may be intended because it can be omitted in a prepositional phrase, especially when referring to unique persons, cf., BDF #254/5. Obviously not "a son", as if there were many sons, rather "it highlights the singularity of God's Son", Koester. Westcott argues that the lack of the article "fixes attention upon the nature and not upon the personality of the Mediator of the new revelation." So, "in a son" = "One who is Son". This Son, the Christ, "seated at God's right hand, is superior to all other agents through whom God's word has come", Attridge. "One who is a Son", Moffatt.

 
v2b

ii] The Son's qualifications, v2b-3: The Rhetor now lists the amazing personal qualities of the Son of God, reminding us of his superiority over all other messengers and mediators between God and mankind.

• Jesus is the heir of all things, that is, he inherits all the blessings promised to Israel by the prophets of old, blessings which are now ours through faith in him.

• He is the creative power of God, the pre-existent one through whom the whole universe was created.

• He is the visible and comprehensible manifestation of the divine, the reflection of God's glory and the image of God's person. If we want to know what God is like, all we have to do is look at Jesus.

• He sustains the universe, providentially maintaining the cosmos through his word of power.

• He rules all things in time and space; all powers and authorities are under his royal authority, and this rightly so, for he gave his life for the purification of broken humanity.

 

This statement, concerning Jesus, may form a chiastic structure, cf., Ellingworth:

God has appointed Christ as heir (enthronement)

Through him he created the world (action in the universe)

He reflects God's glory (relation to God)

He bears God's stamp (relation to God)

He upholds the universe (action in the universe)

He sat down at God's right hand (enthronement), confirmed when he made purification for sins.

 

o}n aor. "whom" - [he made = appointed to a position] whom. Accusative direct object of the verb "to make, do". God the Father appoints the Son as the heir of the estate, although the Son does not gain the estate through the Father's death, but rather through his own death. Grammatically, the subject, "God", is replaced in v3 by the "Son", but the passage itself is concerned with the Son's exaltation, pre-existence, relationship with the Father, providential care, [his death] and exaltation.

klhronomon (oV) "heir" - heir. Accusative complement of the direct object "whom" standing in a double accusative construction and asserting a fact about the object. Christ has received what was promised, the "all things" being the "universe" rather than humanity.

pantwn gen. pro. "of all things" - of all. The genitive is adjectival, descriptive, idiomatic / subordination; "over all things."

dia + gen. "through" - through, by means of [whom and = also]. Instrumental, expressing agency.

epoihsen (poiew) aor. "he made" - he created, made. With the force of a pluperfect following "appointed", cf., Ellingworth.

touV aiwnaV (wn wnoV) acc. "the universe" - the ages. Object of the verb "to make". Possibly in time terms, so "ages", but better spatial, "the spheres that comprise the universe", Attridge.

 
v3

The Rhetor has explained how the Father has worked through the Son and now he sets out to describe the Son.

It is argued by some commentators that this verse is sourced from a hymn. This may be the case, although the Rhetor seems quite capable of constructing beautifully balanced clauses. It is interesting how this declaration of the gospel focuses, not on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, but rather his enthronement. This Son of God, who is the appointed heir of all things, who was the agent of creation, and who, having revealed God's being, sustained God's world, and purified God's people, has ascended to take his rightful place of authority at the right hand of the Ancient of Days, ie., he is Lord.

o}V pro. "the Son" - who. Nominative subject of the verb "to sit down", introducing a relative clause standing in apposition to "Son".

w]n (eimi) pres. part. "is" - being. Serving as the first of three participles, namely, "being", "sustaining" and "having made (provided)", the classification of which is disputed. Often taken a adverbial, modifying the verb "to sit down", as such they would provide the ground for the enthronement of Christ, ie., his sitting at the right hand of God / his lordship. The relationship of the three participial constructions to the main verb "he sat down" is also a matter of debate. Lane suggests that the first two are concessive, "the Son, although the radiance of God's glory .... and although sustaining the universe .... yet made purification for sins." Yet, it is more likely that they are temporal, so Kistemaker, Koester. Harris suggests that they "describe the person and work of the Son", so introducing attributive modifiers of o}V, "who" = "he" = the Son; "It is he who radiated forth God glory, who is the precise counterpart of his very being, who sustains all things by his mighty word of command", Cassirer. However we might treat the first two participles, the third is usually taken as temporal; "and after he had effected the cleansing of men from their sins, he took his place at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights of heaven", Barclay.

The tense of a participle is primarily related to aspect, and not time, but it is argued that a present participle expresses action contemporaneous to the main verb, while an aorist participle expresses action prior to the main verb. So, the first two participles, taking a present tense, indicate a contemporaneous state, (present action better than "timeless eternity", Andriessen), namely Christ's enthronement, his exaltation and active providential care. The third participle, being aorist, indicates action prior to Christ's enthronement (expressed in the verb "he sat down", aorist = completed action), and best treated as forming an adverbial clause, temporal, as NIV, "after he had provided".

apaugasma (a) "radiance" - brightness, radiance. Nominative subject of the participle of the verb to-be "being". Referencing the shekinah glory, the divine radiance of God's being.

thV doxhV (a) gen. "of God's glory" - of glory. The genitive is adjectival, probably attributive, limiting "radiance", "a glorious radiance", or descriptive, idiomatic, "a radiance which images the radiance of the divine", as NIV. Jesus displays something of the shekinah glory to humanity.

carakthr (hr hroV) "the exact representation" - [and] mark, character, image (exact reproduction of a particular form or structure*). Nominative subject of the participle "being". As of an image on a coin, expressing the idea that God the Father and the Son are alike and that this likeness (the image of divinity) is evident in Christ. "Describing the essential unity and exact resemblance between God (the Father) and his Son", Ellingworth. "Who is the precise counterpart of his very being", Cassirer.

uJpostasewV (iV ewV) gen. "of [his] being" - of the essence, substance, reality, being [of him]. The genitive is probably adjectival, attributive, limiting "image / representation"; "the Son is .... the essential image of him / God" - "essential being", Ellingworth. The exact sense here is unclear since it is only in later years that the Christian church used the term to define the common being of the three persons of the trinity. Koester suggests two meanings here: a) essential reality - "Jesus is the hidden reality of God .. brought within the realm of human experience"; b) Steadfastness - "God is unwavering in his purposes and his faithfulness."

te "-" - and. The Rhetor uses this conjunction as a variant for kai to express close association between two elements.

ferwn (ferw) pres. part. "sustaining" - carrying, sustaining, upholding, bearing. Adverbial participle modifying the verb "to sit down"; see w]n above. This adverbial participle introduces the second participial clause, "sustaining all things by his powerful word", providing another ground for Christ's enthronement, ie., his sitting down at God's right hand. The actual meaning of the word here is unclear. Ellingworth offers five possibilities:

• "bear" in the sense of "prevent from falling", "sustains", REB;

• "bear along" in the sense of "guide / rule";

• "bear patiently" in the sense of "endure";

• "bear" in the sense of "produce", "create";

• "bear" as in "bearing the sins of the world".

The NIV "sustaining" seems best, ie., the first option. "He holds the universe together", CEV.

ta panta adj. "all things" - everything. The adjective serves as a substantive, accusative object of the participle "sustaining". The created universe. The presence of the article gives the sense "all things in their unity", Westcott, ie., expressing the all-inclusive nature of Christ's sustaining role.

tw/ rJhmati (a atoV) "by [his powerful] word" - in word. Instrumental dative, expressing means, "by".

thV dunamewV (iV ewV) gen. "powerful" - [of power [of him]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "word", "his mighty word", Cassirer.

poihsamenoV (poiew) aor. part. "after he had provided" - having made. Adverbial participle modifying the verb "to sit down", probably temporal, as NIV. This adverbial participle introduces the third participial clause, "having made purification for sins." The clause provides a further ground for Christ's enthronement, ie., his sitting down at God's right hand. Attridge argues it is an addition to the hymn, but source issues are of little importance; content is what matters.

kaqarismon (oV) "purification" - a cleansing, purification. Accusative object of the participle "having made". Note variant "Christ made purification through himself". Certainly a true statement expressing the idea that "Jesus' sacrifice cleanses the sins of humanity as a whole", Ellingworth.

twn aJmartiwn (a) gen. "for sins" - of sins. The genitive is adjectival, possibly verbal, objective, as NIV, although it may be treated as descriptive, idiomatic, limiting kaqarismon, "purification" by indicating what type of purification is intended; a "purification which covers sins." Harris suggests it is adverbial, expressing separation.

ekaqisen (kaqizw) aor. "he sat down" - he sat down. The main verb of the sentence. As in taking his seat / throne at "the right hand" of God, ie., the place of authority and power, cf., Ps.110.1. So, here the word refers to Christ's exaltation and enthronement as Lord.

thV megalwsunhV (h) gen. "of the Majesty" - [at the right hand] of the majesty. The genitive is adjectival, possessive; "at God's right hand." "The (his) Majesty" is an honorific title used for God used in deference to his person, cf., 8:1. The right side is the side of honour.

en "+ dat. "in [heaven]" - on [high]. Local, expressing space; "on high" = "in heaven".

 
v4

iii] The Son is the Father's superior messenger and mediator, v4. The angels, who functioned as mediators of the divine message, were indeed important in revealing God's word to the patriarchs and prophets of old, but none compare with Jesus, the Son of God.

This verse seems to expand on the statement "he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven", noting that the position of the Son is greater than the angels. The superiority of Christ over angels is expanded in chapter 1 through to 2:16 indicating that this verse is both "a conclusion and transition", Grasser.

genomenoV (ginomai) gen. aor. part. "so he became" - having become. The genitive absolute participle is possibly temporal, "while becoming", or consecutive, expressing result, "and as a result he became ..."; "and thus he is superior to the angels", Moffatt, or causal, "for he is as much superior to the angels ...", Barclay. Jesus, having made purification for sins, sat down at God's right hand, and as a result, is superior to the angels, as shown by the name he inherits, namely "My Son / Son of God" (Paul identifies the name as "Lord")

tosoutw/ dat. pro. "as much" - by so much, so great. Possibly an instrumental dative, "by", but more likely dative of degree of difference, cf., Kistemaker. The construction tosoutw/ ....... o{sw/, "so much ..... as", serving to establish a comparison, is a common construction, but only used once more in the NT, namely, Heb.10:25; "being made so much better than the angels as ....", AV.

kreittwn (agaqoV) comp. adj. "superior" - better. Comparative of "good"; "having been made mightier than the angels", Zerwick. The superiority of Christ, as God's messenger, over the many other messengers from God, does not invalidate their message, but "it does indicate that confidence is misplaced if it (that confidence) rests on something other than Christ", Koester. We should also note that the emphasis in Hebrews "is not on the inauguration of Christ's position ("became", "inherited"), but on the fact of its superiority", Attridge.

twn aggelwn (oV) gen. "the angels" - of the angels, messengers. Genitive of comparison, "better than the angels." Only in the opening chapters of Hebrews does our writer focus on angels. From what is known of the intertestamental period in Jewish history, there was intense speculation about the role of angels. In Hebrews, they function as mediators between God and his human messengers (eg., Moses), conveying the covenant to God's people. Our writer is making the point that a new messenger has appeared on the scene who is far superior to the many human messengers of the past, as well as their angelic mediators.

o{sw/ dat. "as" - by as great, how great, as much, how much. The dative is adverbial, serving to establish a comparison, see above. Literally: "as he has inherited a name more excellent than them."

onoma (a atoV) "the name" - a name. "Name" in the sense of personal identity and presumably here that name / identity is "the Son of God", ie., Christ's acclamation name is "my son", Ps.2:7, cf., Lane.

keklhronomhken (klhronomew) perf. "he has inherited" - he has inherited. The perfect expresses the idea that "the inheritance has been, is, and will be in effect", Kistemaker.

diaforwteron (diaforoV) comp. adj. "superior" - more excellent, superior, distinguished. "A more excellent name than they", AV.

para + acc. "to [theirs]" - beside [them]. Zerwick suggests that the preposition is used here to express comparison; "in comparison to / than [theirs]."

 

Hebrews Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

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