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Hebrews
1:1-4
(The
Supremacy of God’s Son)
(From The Orthodox Study Bible):
1 God, who at various times and
in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2 has in these last days spoken
to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also
He made the worlds;(1)
3 who being the brightness of
His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the
word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high,(2)
4 having become so much better
than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than
they.(3)
***Verse-by-Verse
Study Notes Provided in This Bible***
(1) Verses 1 and 2: In time past and to
the fathers are contrasted with in these last days and to us.
In Old Testament times God spoke constantly through the Holy Spirit in the Law and
the prophets, leading His people into greater truth. Now He speaks
directly, through His own incarnate Son. The fathers are the leaders of
Israel and representative of all the spiritual ancestors of New Israel.
(2) Verses 2 and 3: Through whom
also He made the worlds and upholding all things by the word of His
power: These two phrases reveal the Son as God acting in the world. The
Lord Jesus Christ is (1) the One who created the universe, together with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, and is therefore (2) the One who sustains the
Creation and has absolute authority over it. It is natural, then, that the Son,
as both God and Man, is heir of all things. If the sons of Abraham hoped
to be heirs of the promised land, the sons of Christ can hope to be heirs of
the whole universe.
The first half of verse 3 is quoted verbatim in the Liturgy
of Early Christian Church Father Saint Basil the Great. The brightness of
His glory expresses the Son’s nature, His origin from and identity of
nature with the Father. He is the Father’s brightness because He is
begotten from the Father beyond time and without change. Thus, the Nicene Creed
speaks of “Light of Light.” As the sun does not exist without radiating light,
so the Father does not exist without His Son.
Thus, the Son reflects His Father’s glory in this world.
The unapproachable light of divinity, the divine energy (see 1 Timothy 6:16; 1
Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:7), is approachable only in the incarnate Christ (see John
12:36). God’s brightness, though it had been experienced at the burning
bush (Exodus 3:2-4), known by Israel (Exodus 10:23; 13:21), and spoken of by
the prophets (Psalms 35:10; 103:2; Isaiah 9:1; 10:17; Habakkuk 3:4), is
especially revealed in Christ’s birth (Luke 1:79; 2:32; John 1:4-9), the
Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2) and the Resurrection.
The express image
of His person (Greek hypostasis) expresses the Son’s Person as being
distinct from the Father. The Son is the perfect and eternal “icon” of the
Father. Thus, the personal distinction of God as Trinity is known only through
Him (see John 14:9). No one knows the Father but through the Son.
Having conquered sin and death, the Son sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high, a reference to the Father, showing
Christ’s exaltation as Man.
(3) Having become so much better than the angels,
with regard to their role in the old covenant, refers to Christ’s human nature,
not to His divine nature. The name inherited is an open declaration that
this Man is the Son of God. In Hebrews this name is “Son”; in
Philippians 2:11 it is “Lord.”
(From The New Analytical King James Study
Bible):
1 God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past [having of old time spoken] unto the
fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last [at the
end of these] days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds(1);
3 Who being the brightness of
his glory, and the express [very] image of his person [substance], and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged [made
purification of] our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 Being made so much better
than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than
they.
(1) In this sentence, the term “worlds” comes from
the original ancient Greek word “aion” (Strong’s G165). Its
original ancient script, spelling, pronunciation, and definitions include: αἰών aiṓn, ahee-ohn';
from the same as G104; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity (also past);
by implication, the
world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or
future):—age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the ,
while the) world
(began, without end). Compare G5550.
(From The Amplified Holy Bible):
1 GOD, HAVING spoken to the
fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate
revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways,
2 has in these last days spoken
[with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature]
His Son [namely Jesus], whom He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things,
through whom also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a
space-time-matter continuum].
3 The Son is the radiance and
only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah(1)
glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact
representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and
maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual
universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its
pre-determined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself
on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and
established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work]
at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority],
4 having become as much
superior to angels, since He has inherited a more excellent and glorious name
than they [that is, Son – the name above all names].(2)
***Verse-by-Verse
Study Notes Provided in This Bible***
(1) Verse 3: The word “Shekinah” does
not appear in Scripture, but has been used by both Christians and Jews to
describe the visible divine Presence of God, in such things as the burning
bush, the cloud and the pillar of fire that led the Hebrews in the wilderness,
and the Presence of God that rested between the cherubim over the mercy seat of
the ark. (See verse 3 of this Scripture in the Complete Jewish Study Bible in
this list of versions).
(2) Verse 4: In Greek “name” occurs
last in this verse to emphasize that Jesus alone bears the name Son. No
angel is superior to the Son.
(From The Complete Jewish Study Bible):
1 In days gone by, God spoke in
many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets.(4)
2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim(1),
he has spoken to us through his Son, to whom he has given ownership of
everything and through whom he created the universe.
3 This Son is the radiance of
the Sh’khinah(2), the very expression of God’s essence,
upholding all that exists by his powerful word; and after he had, through
himself, made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of HaG’dulah
BaM’romim(3).
4 So he has become much better
than angels, and the name God has given him is superior to theirs.(5)
***Footnotes***
(1) In the Jewish language, the term “acharit-hayamim”
is used for “the Latter Days”, or “The End of the Days.”
(2) In the Jewish language, the term “Sh’khinah” is
used for “the Divine Presence”, or “the manifest glory of God present with
people.”
(3) In the Jewish language, the term “Hag’dulah
BaM’romim” is used for “The Greatness on High” a euphemism for Y-H-V-H (or
Yahweh), found in Hebrews 1:3.
***Verse-by-Verse
Study Notes Provided in This Bible***
(4) Verses 1-3: In days gone by, God spoke
in many and varied ways to the Fathers through the prophets: According to
Jewish tradition, Mal’akhi (Malachi) was the last of the Tanakh [Old
Testament] prophets. For the next four centuries, the words of an earlier
prophet rang true: “In those days ADONAI rarely spoke, and visions were
few (1 Samuel 3:1). “But now in the acharit-hayamim,” the Tanakh’s
“latter days”, which the New Testament regards as already come (1 Corinthians
10:11), “he has spoken to us through his Son” (literally, “a son”). God speaks
not to ancestors long dead, but to us in the first century C.E. [A.D.] through
Yeshua [Jesus].
(5) Verse 4: He has become much
better than angels: The Messiah is seen at God’s right hand. Jewish
angelology became very complex during the six centuries prior to Yeshua’s
birth; however, the Messiah does not fit into this order in that he is above
them all, as noted in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Regarding this passage, the rabbis
present a midrash revealing that righteous people are more elevated than even
angels, thus fitting Yeshua.
(From The New American Standard Bible):
1 God, after He spoke long ago
to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken
to us in His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the world.
3 And He is the radiance of His
glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the
word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much better
than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
(From The Knox Bible – The Latin Vulgate):
1 In old days, God spoke to our
fathers in many ways and by many means, through the prophets;
2 now at last in these times he
has spoken to us with a Son to speak for him; a Son, whom he has appointed to
inherit all things, just as it was through him that he created this world of
time;
3 a Son, who is the radiance of
his Father’s splendour, and the full expression of his being(1); all
creation depends, for its support, on his enabling word. Now, making atonement
for our sins, he has taken his place on high, at the right hand of God’s
majesty,
4 superior to the angels in
that measure in which the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
***Study
Note Provided in This Bible***
(1) ‘His being’: the word we find in Greek here is hypostasis,
which the Latins translated by ‘substance’, while the Greek theologians used it
to mean ‘person’.