Deuteronomy 18:15

18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; ¹  you must listen to him.

Deuteronomy 18:19

18:19 I will personally hold responsible ²  anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet ³  speaks in my name.

Acts 3:22-23

3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey ⁴  him in everything he tells you. ⁵  3:23 Every person ⁶  who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed ⁷  from the people.’ ⁸ 

Acts 7:37

7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ⁹  ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 1:1-2

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ¹¹  in various portions ¹²  and in various ways ¹³  to our ancestors ¹⁴  through the prophets, 1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ¹⁵  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 2:1-3

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ¹⁷  proved to be so firm that every violation ¹⁸  or disobedience received its just penalty, 2:3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,

Hebrews 5:9

5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Hebrews 12:25-26

12:25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” ¹⁹ 

[18:15]  ¹ tc The MT expands here on the usual formula by adding “from among you” (cf. Deut 17:15; 18:18; Smr; a number of Greek texts). The expansion seems to be for the purpose of emphasis, i.e., the prophet to come must be not just from Israel but an Israelite by blood.

[18:19]  ² tn Heb “will seek from him”; NAB “I myself will make him answer for it”; NRSV “will hold accountable.”

[18:19]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “hear,” but the idea of “hear and obey” or simply “obey” is frequently contained in the Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw; see L&N 36.14) and the following context (v. 23) makes it clear that failure to “obey” the words of this “prophet like Moses” will result in complete destruction.

[3:22]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. By quoting Deut 18:15 Peter declared that Jesus was the eschatological “prophet like [Moses]” mentioned in that passage, who reveals the plan of God and the way of God.

[3:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “every soul” (here “soul” is an idiom for the whole person).

[3:23]  ⁷ tn Or “will be completely destroyed.” In Acts 3:23 the verb ἐξολεθρεύω (exoleqreuw) is translated “destroy and remove” by L&N 20.35.

[3:23]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 18:19, also Lev 23:29. The OT context of Lev 23:29 discusses what happened when one failed to honor atonement. One ignored the required sacrifice of God at one’s peril.

[7:37]  ⁹ tn Grk “to the sons of Israel.”

[7:37]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Deut 18:15. This quotation sets up Jesus as the “leader-prophet” like Moses (Acts 3:22; Luke 9:35).

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ¹² tn Or “parts.” The idea is that God’s previous revelation came in many parts and was therefore fragmentary or partial (L&N 63.19), in comparison with the final and complete revelation contained in God’s Son. However, some interpret πολυμερῶς (polumerw") in Heb 1:1 to mean “on many different occasions” and would thus translate “many times” (L&N 67.11). This is the option followed by the NIV: “at many times and in various ways.” Finally, this word is also understood to refer to the different manners in which something may be done, and would then be translated “in many different ways” (L&N 89.81). In this last case, the two words πολυμερῶς and πολυτρόπως (polutropw") mutually reinforce one another (“in many and various ways,” NRSV).

[1:1]  ¹³ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

[1:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”

[12:26]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.