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 3:13

3:13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception.

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,” ⁵ 

Hebrews 7:3

7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time.

Hebrews 10:11

10:11 And every priest stands day after day ⁶  serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sins.

Hebrews 10:25

10:25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day ⁷  drawing near. ⁸ 

Hebrews 12:10

12:10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness.

[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.”

[4:4]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Gen 2:2.

[10:11]  ⁹ tn Or “daily,” “every day.”

[10:25]  ¹³ sn The day refers to that well-known time of Christ’s coming and judgment in the future; see a similar use of “day” in 1 Cor 3:13.

[10:25]  ¹⁴ tn This paragraph (vv. 19-25) is actually a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments for English idiom. It begins with several subordinate phrases (since we have confidence and a great priest), has three parallel exhortations as its main verbs (let us draw near, hold, and take thought), and concludes with several subordinate phrases related to the final exhortation (not abandoning but encouraging).