Hebrews 1:1

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ¹  in various portions ²  and in various ways ³  to our ancestors ⁴  through the prophets,

Hebrews 1:8

1:8 but of ⁵  the Son he says, ⁶ 

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, ⁷ 

and a righteous scepter ⁸  is the scepter of your kingdom.

Hebrews 2:13

2:13 Again he says, ⁹  “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am, ¹⁰  with ¹¹  the children God has given me.” ¹² 

Hebrews 4:4

4:4 For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works,” ¹³ 

Hebrews 4:10

4:10 For the one who enters God’s ¹⁴  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

Hebrews 6:17

6:17 In the same way ¹⁵  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹⁶  and so he intervened with an oath,

Hebrews 10:7

10:7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am: ¹⁷  I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’” ¹⁸ 

Hebrews 13:20

Benediction and Conclusion

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

[1:1]  ¹ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Or “to.”

[1:8]  ⁶ tn The verb “he says” (λέγει, legei) is implied from the λέγει of v. 7.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Or possibly, “Your throne is God forever and ever.” This translation is quite doubtful, however, since (1) in the context the Son is being contrasted to the angels and is presented as far better than they. The imagery of God being the Son’s throne would seem to be of God being his authority. If so, in what sense could this not be said of the angels? In what sense is the Son thus contrasted with the angels? (2) The μέν…δέ (men…de) construction that connects v. 7 with v. 8 clearly lays out this contrast: “On the one hand, he says of the angels…on the other hand, he says of the Son.” Thus, although it is grammatically possible that θεός (qeos) in v. 8 should be taken as a predicate nominative, the context and the correlative conjunctions are decidedly against it. Hebrews 1:8 is thus a strong affirmation of the deity of Christ.

[1:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “the righteous scepter,” but used generically.

[2:13]  ⁹ tn Grk “and again,” as a continuation of the preceding.

[2:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “behold, I,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[2:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and.”

[2:13]  ¹² sn A quotation from Isa 8:17-18.

[4:4]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ²¹ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ²² tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[10:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “behold,” but this construction often means “here is/there is” (cf. BDAG 468 s.v. ἰδού 2).

[10:7]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 40:6-8 (LXX). The phrase a body you prepared for me (in v. 5) is apparently an interpretive expansion of the HT reading “ears you have dug out for me.”