Ephesians 2:21-22

2:21 In him ¹  the whole building, ²  being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:2

2:2 in which ³  you formerly lived ⁴  according to this world’s present path, ⁵  according to the ruler of the kingdom ⁶  of the air, the ruler of ⁷  the spirit ⁸  that is now energizing ⁹  the sons of disobedience, ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 2:20

2:20 because you have been built ¹¹  on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, ¹²  with Christ Jesus himself as ¹³  the cornerstone. ¹⁴ 

Hebrews 3:2-6

3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s ¹⁵  house. ¹⁶  3:3 For he has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! 3:4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 3:5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s ¹⁷  house ¹⁸  as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. 3:6 But Christ ¹⁹  is faithful as a son over God’s ²⁰  house. We are of his house, ²¹  if in fact we hold firmly ²²  to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. ²³ 

Hebrews 3:1

Jesus and Moses

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, ²⁴  partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, ²⁵ 

Hebrews 2:5

Exposition of Psalm 8: Jesus and the Destiny of Humanity

2:5 For he did not put the world to come, ²⁶  about which we are speaking, ²⁷  under the control of angels.

[2:21]  ¹ tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).

[2:21]  ² tc Although several important witnesses (א¹ A C P 6 81 326 1739^c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa Jh oikodomh), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1739* Ï), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”

[2:2]  ³ sn The relative pronoun which is feminine as is sins, indicating that sins is the antecedent.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “walked.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Or possibly “Aeon.”

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “domain, [place of] authority.”

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “of” (but see the note on the word “spirit” later in this verse).

[2:2]  ⁸ sn The ruler of the kingdom of the air is also the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience. Although several translations regard the ruler to be the same as the spirit, this is unlikely since the cases in Greek are different (ruler is accusative and spirit is genitive). To get around this, some have suggested that the genitive for spirit is a genitive of apposition. However, the semantics of the genitive of apposition are against such an interpretation (cf. ExSyn 100).

[2:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “working in.”

[2:2]  ¹⁰ sn Sons of disobedience is a Semitic idiom that means “people characterized by disobedience.” However, it also contains a subtle allusion to vv. 4-10: Some of those sons of disobedience have become sons of God.

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “having been built.”

[2:20]  ¹² sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.

[2:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”

[2:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogwniaio") is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (Ì^13,46vid B vg^ms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ ({olw, “all”) than vice versa. NA²⁷ puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:5]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Num 12:7.

[3:6]  ¹⁹ sn The Greek makes the contrast between v. 5 and v. 6a more emphatic and explicit than is easily done in English.

[3:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:6]  ²¹ tn Grk “whose house we are,” continuing the previous sentence.

[3:6]  ²² tc The reading adopted by the translation is found in Ì^13,46 B sa, while the vast majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï latt) add μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν (mecri telou" bebaian, “secure until the end”). The external evidence for the omission, though minimal, has excellent credentials. Considering the internal factors, B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 595) finds it surprising that the feminine adjective βεβαίαν should modify the neuter noun καύχημα (kauchma, here translated “we take pride”), a fact that suggests that even the form of the word was borrowed from another place. Since the same phrase occurs at Heb 3:14, it is likely that later scribes added it here at Heb 3:6 in anticipation of Heb 3:14. While these words belong at 3:14, they seem foreign to 3:6.

[3:6]  ²³ tn Grk “the pride of our hope.”

[3:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “of our confession.”

[2:5]  ²⁶ sn The phrase the world to come means “the coming inhabited earth,” using the Greek term which describes the world of people and their civilizations.

[2:5]  ²⁷ sn See the previous reference to the world in Heb 1:6.