Hebrewschapter 1
14 verses · unknown · AD 60 to 69 · The general letters
On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
Introduction
unknown, The general letters, Hebrews Overview.
This chapter opens a sermon written down and sent to believers of Jewish birth who were tired and under pressure to turn back. Its writer never gives his name, and the church has argued over it from the second century on. He knew his Greek Old Testament thoroughly and expected his hearers to know it as well. He begins with no greeting and goes straight to his subject. Listen for how much of the chapter is spoken by God Himself through the Psalms. Listen also for the contrast drawn between those who serve and the One who reigns. It sets the measure for every comparison the sermon makes after it.
Context
- Who
- Hearers who knew the Psalms by heart and held angels in the highest regard
- What
- The opening of the letter, which sets God's word in His Son above the word He spoke through the prophets and then shows the Son greater than the angels.
- Where
- Written to a community of Jewish believers, most likely in or near Rome, for the letter sends greetings from those from Italy at 13:24.
- When
- Most likely in the 60s AD, while the temple in Jerusalem still stood and its sacrifices were still offered.
- Why
- To show wavering believers of Jewish birth that the faith they were tempted to leave for the old worship rests on God's fullest word, spoken in His Son.
Historical context
Angels stood very high in Jewish thinking of this period. The community at Qumran wrote of worshiping alongside angels, other writings had them carrying prayers up and revelations down, and some groups edged toward honoring them outright. Opening a sermon by putting the Son above them was not an obvious move; it was an argument.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The chapter is built almost entirely out of quoted Scripture, seven passages, mostly from the Psalms, strung together. That was a recognized Jewish way of arguing, stacking texts on a single theme, and it assumed hearers who could place each line.
The letter never names its author, and the early church did not agree on one; Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, and Priscilla have all been proposed. What the text does show is a preacher steeped in the Greek Old Testament writing polished Greek for people in danger of drifting.
The closing image is a priest's world: 'he sat down.' There were no chairs in the tabernacle or the temple sanctuary, because a priest's work was never finished. A seated priest meant a completed sacrifice.
Significance
The hearers were considering going back to a faith with an unbroken pedigree, Moses, the angels at Sinai, the temple still smoking. The sermon starts by saying the God who spoke through all of that has now spoken in a Son.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
For people wondering whether they had traded a great heritage for something smaller, the piled-up psalms answer with the highest words Israel had, all applied to one man.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
God Has Spoken at Last in a Son
Hebrews 1:1-2
God spoke to our fathers: On many past occasions, God spoke through the prophets, and in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son. The Son is also named heir of all and maker of the universe, so the one who ends the ages began them.
Hebrews 1:1
“To Noah the quarter of the world to which Messiah should belong was revealed; to Abraham, the nation; to Jacob, the tribe; to David and Isaiah, the family; to Micah, the town of nativity; to Daniel, the exact time; to Malachi, the coming of His forerunner, and His second advent; through Jonah, His burial and resurrection; through Isaiah and Hosea, His resurrection.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Hebrews 1:1
“Both these are opposed to the one entire and perfect Revelation which he has made to us by Jesus Christ. The very number of the prophets showed that they prophesied only "in part." Of old - There were no prophets for a large tract of time before Christ came, that the great Prophet might be the more earnestly expected.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 1:1
“The epistle which is called the Epistle to the Hebrews is not considered his [Paul's], on account of its difference from the others in style and language, but it is reckoned, either according to Tertullian to be the work of Barnabas, or according to others, to be by Luke the Evangelist or Clement afterwards bishop of the church at Rome, who, they say, arranged and adorned the ideas of Paul in his own language, though to be sure, since Paul was writing to Hebrews and was in disrepute among them he may have omitted his name from the salutation on…”
Jerome · written before 420 · De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men), Section 5patristic
in these last days: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the rabbis divided all time into this age and the age to come. The days of the Messiah close the old order and open the final one, which his second coming will complete. The word rendered universe is literally the ages.
Hebrews 1:2
“Last days - The Gospel dispensation, called the last days and the last time, because not to be followed by any other dispensation; or the conclusion of the Jewish Church and state now at their termination. By his Son - It is very remarkable that the pronoun αὑτου, his, is not found in the text; nor is it found in any MS. or version. We should not therefore supply the pronoun as our translators have done; but simply read εν Υἱῳ, By a Son, or In a Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the radiance of God’s glory: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, apaugasma, a shining forth, and the exact representation of His nature, charakter, the mark of a seal. Then He sat down after purifying sins, a sign of priestly work finished and the letter's first hint of its once for all theme.
Hebrews 1:3
“His word is God's word (Heb 11:3). of his power--"The word" is the utterance which comes from His (the Son's) power, and gives expression to it. by himself--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. purged--Greek, "made purification of . . . sins," namely, in His atonement, which graciously covers the guilt of sin.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:3
“Who being the brightness of his glory,.... Or "of glory"; of God the Father, the God of glory, and who is glory itself; so called on account of his glorious nature and perfections and because of the glorious manifestations of them in his works of creation and providence, and in the various dispensations of his grace, and especially in his Son; and because he is the author of all glory, in the creatures, in the whole world, in Christ as man and Mediator, and in his own people.”
Hebrews 1:3
“This is the glory of the person of Christ; the fulness of the Godhead dwells, not typically, but really, in him. (3.) From the glory of the person of Christ he proceeds to mention the glory of his grace; his condescension itself was truly glorious.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Seven Scriptures That Outrank the Angels
Hebrews 1:4-5
as far superior to the angels: The Son became as far superior to the angels as his inherited name is above theirs, the first of the letter's better comparisons. The proof is Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7:14, spoken to the Son alone and first addressed to a king of David's line.
Hebrews 1:4
Whereas the prophets ministered and the law was spoken by angels, the Son too came on earth in order to minister. The apostle was forced to add "become as much superior to angels," wishing to show that just as much as the Son excels a servant is the ministry of the Son better than the ministry of servants. Contrasting the old ministry and the new, the apostle then speaks freely to the Jews, writing and saying, "become as much superior to angels."
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 1.13.55(3)patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:4
“So much better than the angels - Another argument in favor of the Divinity of our Lord.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hebrews 1:4
“Being - By his exaltation, after he had been lower than them, chap. ii, 9. So much higher than the angels - It was extremely proper to observe this, because the Jews gloried in their law, as it was delivered by the ministration of angels. How much more may we glory in the gospel, which was given, not by the ministry of angels, but of the very Son of God!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 13:33 applies today I have become Your Father to the raising of Jesus, and Romans 1:4 ties his declaration to the resurrection. Verse 2 already names him Son and maker of the world, so the day shows a sonship already his.
Hebrews 1:5
“For unto which of the angels ... - The object of this is, to prove that the Son of God, who has spoken to people in these last days, is superior to the angels. As the apostle was writing to those who had been trained in the Jewish religion, and who admitted the authority of the Old Testament, of course he made his appeal to that, and undoubtedly referred for proof to those places which were generally admitted to relate to the Messiah.”
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:5
“The writer of Hebrews builds on his assertions that the particular son of God (Jesus) who was the agent of creation, eternal wisdom, and the essence of God, by comparing him to other supernatural sons of God (angels).”
Hebrews 1:5
“Thou art my Son - God of God, Light of Light. This day have I begotten thee - I have begotten thee from eternity, which, by its unalter able permanency of duration, is one continued, unsuccessive day.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Cross references
Hebrews 1:5
- QuotingPsalms 2:7“I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.”
'Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee' (Son superior to angels, w/ 2Sa 7:14)
Connections2 Samuel 7:14
The words spoken come from Deuteronomy 32:43 as the Greek Septuagint reads it, and a Dead Sea Scrolls fragment of that verse carries them too. Worship, proskuneo, offered to the Son by the angels sets him above every creature.
Hebrews 1:6
"Worship Him all ye gods" ("gods," that is, exalted beings, as angels), refers to God; but it was universally admitted among the Hebrews that God would dwell, in a peculiar sense, in Messiah (so as to be in the Talmud phrase, "capable of being pointed to with the finger"); and so what was said of God was true of, and to be fulfilled in, Messiah.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 1:6
“And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten - This is not a correct translation of the Greek, Ὁταν δε παλιν εισαγαγῃ τον πρωτοτοκον εις την οικουμενην· But when he bringeth again, or the second time, the first-born into the habitable world.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Cross references
Hebrews 1:6
- QuotingDeuteronomy 32:43“Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people.”
'Let all the angels of God worship him'
Psalm 104:4 calls the angels His angels winds, His servants flames of fire, servants described by their work and by elements that change. The Hebrew can mean God makes winds His messengers or makes His messengers like winds, and either way the angels serve.
Hebrews 1:7
“Since the Word knows the tabernacle of Moses to be a figure of the whole creation—I mean the entire system of things visible and invisible—shall we pass the first veil and, stepping beyond the realm of sense, look into the holy place, the intellectual and celestial creation? But not even this can we see in an incorporeal way, though it is incorporeal, since it is called—or is—fire and spirit. For he is said to make his angels spirits and his ministers flames of fire … though perhaps this "making" means preserving by that Word by which they came into existence.”
Gregory of Nazianzus · written before 390 · On Theology, Theological Oration 2(28).31patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 1:7
“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits - He gives to them an inferior name, and assigns to them a more humble office. They are mere ministers, and have not ascribed to them the name of “Son.” They have a name which implies a more humble rank and office - the name “spirit,” and the appellation of a “flame of fire.” They obey his will as the winds and the lightnings do.”
Cross references
Hebrews 1:7
- QuotingPsalms 104:4“He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.”
'Who maketh his angels spirits'
Hebrews 1:8-9
Psalm 45, a royal wedding song, is quoted so that God addresses the Son as God, Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. The parallel in verse 9, God, Your God, has anointed You, keeps the direct address, and the Son is called God and has a God.
Hebrews 1:8
“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever - If this be said of the Son of God, i.e. Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ must be God; and indeed the design of the apostle is to prove this. The words here quoted are taken from Psa 45:6, Psa 45:7, which the ancient Chaldee paraphrast, and the most intelligent rabbins, refer to the Messiah.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:8
“O God - God, in the singular number, is never in scripture used absolutely of any but the supreme God. Thy reign, of which the scepter is the ensign, is full of justice and equity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Hebrews 1:8
“O God--the Greek has the article to mark emphasis (Ps 45:6, 7). for ever . . . righteousness--Everlasting duration and righteousness go together (Ps 45:2; 89:14). a sceptre of righteousness--literally, "a rod of rectitude," or "straightforwardness." The oldest manuscripts prefix "and" (compare Es 4:11).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Hebrews 1:8
- QuotingPsalms 45:6“Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
'Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever' (the Son addressed as God)
ConnectionsPsalms 45:6
The anointing rests on the Son's righteousness: You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You. The oil of joy is a royal anointing, and it sets him above Your companions as king.
Hebrews 1:9
“It is when the Word was made flesh that we say he received the name of Christ Jesus. Since he was anointed with the oil of gladness—that is to say, anointed with the Spirit by God the Father—he is called Christ, or Anointed. That the anointing was of the humanity no right-minded person would doubt. And the renowned Athanasius says to this effect, somewhere in his discourse, on the saving coming of Christ, "God (the Word), as existing before coming to dwell in the flesh, was not man but God with God, being invisible and impassible.”
John Damascene · written before 749 · Orthodox Faith 4.6patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 1:9
“Thou hast loved righteousness - Thou hast been obedient to the Law of God, or holy and upright. Nothing can be more truly adapted to express the character of anyone than this is to describe the Lord Jesus, who was “holy, harmless, undefiled,” who “did no sin, and in whose mouth no guile was found;” but it is with difficulty that this can be applied to Solomon.”
Hebrews 1:10-12
laid the foundations of the earth: Psalm 102:25 to 27, addressed to the eternal Creator, is here applied to the Son. The heavens will all wear out like a garment, while You remain the same, and Your years will never end. The letter returns to this unchanging Son at 13:8.
Hebrews 1:10
“And, Thou, Lord - This is an address to the Son as the Creator, see Heb 1:2; for this is implied in laying the foundation of the earth. The heavens, which are the work of his hands, point out his infinite wisdom and skill.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 1:10
“And--In another passage (Ps 102:25-27) He says. in the beginning--English Version, Ps 102:25, "of old": Hebrew, "before," "aforetime." The Septuagint, "in the beginning" (as in Ge 1:1) answers by contrast to the end implied in "They shall perish," &c. The Greek order here (not in the Septuagint) is, "Thou in the beginning, O Lord," which throws the "Lord" into emphasis.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Hebrews 1:10
- QuotingPsalms 102:25“In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”
'Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth'
They will perish, but You remain: sets the passing heavens and earth against the Son who made them. Scripture uses the same verb for the world of Noah's day, which ended in the flood, at 2 Peter 3:6. 2 Peter 3:12 then speaks of the present heavens ending in fire.
Hebrews 1:11
“The covenant of the possession of the earth was renewed with Noah and his seed on the renovated earth. So it shall be after the perishing by fire (2Pe 3:12, 13). remainest--through (so the Greek) all changes. as . . . a garment-- (Isa 51:6).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Hebrews 1:11
“They shall perish - That is, the heavens and the earth. They shall pass away; or they shall be destroyed. Probably no more is meant by the phrase here, than that important changes will take place in them, or than that they will change their form. Still it is not possible to foresee what changes may yet take place in the heavenly bodies, or to say that the present universe may not at some period be destroyed, and be succeeded by another creation still more magnificent.”
You will roll them up like a robe: follows the Septuagint, the Greek translation of Psalm 102:26, where the Hebrew reads change them. The citation closes on the Son's constancy, You remain the same, and Your years will never end.
Hebrews 1:12
“And they shall be changed - Not destroyed ultimately, or annihilated. They shall be changed and renewed. But thou art the same - These words can be said of no being but God; all others are changeable or perishable, because temporal; only that which is eternal can continue essentially, and, speaking after the manner of men, formally the same. Thy years shall not fail - There is in the Divine duration no circle to be run, no space to be measured, no time to be reckoned. All is eternity - infinite and onward.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:12
“And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,.... In order to lay them aside, and make no use of them in the manner they now are; just as clothes, when they are grown old, or out of fashion, are folded up, and laid aside from use at present, or are put into another form.”
Hebrews 1:12
“The same in nature, therefore in covenant faithfulness to Thy people. shall not fail--Hebrew, "shall not end." Israel, in the Babylonian captivity, in the hundred second Psalm, casts her hopes of deliverance on Messiah, the unchanging covenant God of Israel.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Hebrews 1:13-14
The last citation is Psalm 110:1, Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool, taken up again at 10:12 to 13. The angels are ministering spirits sent to serve, and the chapter ends with the Son enthroned.
Hebrews 1:13
“And that God the Father of all would bring Christ to heaven after He had raised Him from the dead, and would keep Him there until He has subdued His enemies the devils, and until the number of those who are foreknown by Him as good and virtuous is complete, on whose account He has still delayed the consummation-hear what was said by the prophet David. These are his words: "The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”
Justin Martyr · written before 165 · The First Apology, Chapter XLVpatristic
Cross references
Hebrews 1:13
- QuotingPsalms 110:1The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
'Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool'
ConnectionsPsalms 110:1
ministering spirits sent to serve: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the Greek verb as continuous, so angels are sent again and again in every age. Their service is rendered to God for the good of his people, and no believer can command them. John Wesley adds that every rank of angel serves.
Hebrews 1:14
“Ministering spirits, sent forth - Ministering before God, sent forth to men. To attend on them - In numerous offices of protection, care, and kindness. Who - Having patiently continued in welldoing, shall inherit everlasting salvation.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Hebrews 1:14
“But when the comparison is challenged with an angel, I am compelled to maintain that the head over all things is the stronger of the two, to whom the angels are ministers, who is destined to be the judge of angels, if he shall stand fast in the law of God-an obedience which he refused at first.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book IIpatristic
Hebrews 1:14
“Are they not all ministering spirits,.... Servants to God, to Christ, and to his people, and therefore must be inferior to the Son of God. The phrase is Rabbinical; frequent mention is made in Jewish writings (a) of מלאכי השרת, "the angels of ministry", or "the ministering angels"; this is their common appellation with the Jews; and the apostle writing to such, uses a like phrase, well known to them, and appeals to them, if the angels were not such spirits.”
How this psalm is built
The form: A comparison in two parts: the gospel set above the law as God's way of speaking, and the glory of Christ set above the highest creatures, the angels, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The chain of Scriptures | Verses 5 to 13 set seven sayings of the Old Testament one after another. Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 stand at verse 5, the Greek text of Deuteronomy 32:43 with Psalm 97:7 at verse 6, Psalm 104:4 at verse 7, Psalm 45:6 to 7 at verses 8 and 9, Psalm 102:25 to 27 at verses 10 to 12, and Psalm 110:1 at verse 13. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown name each source and note the Greek reading behind verse 6.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, on Hebrews 1:5 to 13. | Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 1:6, Hebrews 1:7, Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 1:10, Hebrews 1:13 |
| The same question at both ends | Verse 5 asks to which of the angels God ever spoke in this way, and verse 13 asks the same question again. The two questions enclose the whole chain, and the answer to both is that God spoke so to no angel. Verse 14 then states what the angels are, servants sent for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews, on Hebrews 1:13, section 79. | Hebrews 1:5, Hebrews 1:13, Hebrews 1:14 |
| Servants set against the Son | Verse 7 speaks about the angels and verse 8 speaks about the Son, and the two sayings are set side by side. The angels are made, and they are made into winds and flames for service. The Son is addressed as God, with a throne that endures forever. John Chrysostom and Theodoret both read the word makes as the mark of the created, which is never said of the Son.Theodoret of Cyrus, Interpretation of Hebrews 1, on Hebrews 1:7 to 8. | Hebrews 1:7, Hebrews 1:8 |
Where the chapter stands in the letter
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
The first four verses state the theme of the whole letter, that God has spoken finally in His Son. Matthew Henry reads verses 1 to 3 as the first comparison, the gospel above the law, and verses 4 to 14 as the second, Christ above the angels (Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 1). The angels matter here for a plain reason. The next chapter says the law itself was spoken through angels, so a Son above the angels brings a word above the law.
Who speaks
The writer speaks in verses 1 to 4 and verse 14, and God speaks in every quoted line between them. Each Old Testament saying is introduced with He says or God said, so the chapter presents Scripture as the voice of God addressing His Son.
The debated reading: made superior
Verse 4 says the Son became superior to the angels, and the fathers asked how One who made the angels could become greater than them. John Chrysostom reads it of the Son in His human nature, since as God He was begotten and never made (Homilies on Hebrews 1, on Hebrews 1:4). Theodoret of Cyrus reads it the same way and adds that as man He was raised above the angels after the resurrection and ascension (Interpretation of Hebrews 1, on Hebrews 1:4).
What the chapter hands forward
Verse 14 calls the saved those who will inherit salvation, and chapter 2 turns at once to warn the hearers not to neglect so great a salvation. Psalm 110:1, quoted at verse 13, returns at 8:1, 10:12 and 12:2, where the Son is seated after His offering.
Keep studying
Studies24
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David on Psalm 110; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.
The form and classifications
Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, on Hebrews 1, the chapter summary; Theodoret of Cyrus, Interpretation of Hebrews 1, on Hebrews 1:1 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews, on Hebrews 1:4, section 45.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown; John Calvin, Commentary on Hebrews; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Owen, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews; John Wesley; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.