The First Full Argument (Hebrews 1:5 to 2:18)
Editor’s Note: My approach to our current passage has confused some of you it seems. The verse numbers on each line of text are the numbered verses of the text from the NASB for Hebrews 1:5-2:18. However the references to the Old Testament quotes which appear in capital letters are followed by the Old Testament references indicating their source. I trust that is now clear to you. My intention was to be helpful; not confuse you. The italicised text are the words of the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews by which he develops his argument. The quotes chosen from the Old Testament are capitalised with the Old Testament reference added. This complete text I have laid out for you is the text of the Letter to the Hebrews. I trust that is now clear to you. I have simply made the references to the Old Testament quotes clear to you.
Chapter 1 beginning with verse 5:
5 For to which of the angels did He ever say,
“YOU ARE MY SON,
Psalm 2:7
TODAY I HAVE FATHERED YOU”?
And again,
“I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM
2 Sam 7:14
AND HE WILL BE A SON TO ME”?
6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says,
“AND LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.”
Deut 32:43
7 And regarding the angels He says,
“HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS,
Psalm 104:4
AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE.”
8 But regarding the Son He says,
“YOUR THRONE, GOD, IS FOREVER AND EVER,
Psalm 45:6-7
AND THE SCEPTER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS KINGDOM.
9 YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU
WITH THE OIL OF JOY ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS.”
10 And,
“YOU, LORD, IN THE BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,
Psalm 102:25-27
AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;
11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN;
AND THEY ALL WILL WEAR OUT LIKE A GARMENT,
12 AND LIKE A ROBE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED.
BUT YOU ARE THE SAME,
AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END.”
13 But to which of the angels has He ever said,
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
Psalm 110:1
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES
A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET”?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Chapter 2
2 1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.
5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But someone has testified somewhere, saying,
“WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU THINK OF HIM?
Psalm 8:4-6
OR A SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?
7 YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN ANGELS;
YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR;
8 YOU HAVE PUT EVERYTHING IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the originator of their salvation through sufferings.11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying,
“I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BROTHERS,
Psalm 22:22
IN THE MIDST OF THE ASSEMBLY I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.”
13 And again,
“I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.”
Isaiah 8:17
And again,
“BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.”
Isaiah 8:18
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.16 For clearly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brothers so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
(Hebrews 1:5-2:18)
Additional Editor’s Note: I have also removed for the moment the NASB footnote markers from the text I used in Gem 2031. I have the option of adding them to a later Gem if they prove useful. Yes I know “honor” and “scepter” are spelt wrong for a Commonwealth English text which requires [honour] and [sceptre]. That is because the text has been taken from the New AMERICAN Standard Bible. I have now set the record straight for all of you purists and am now returning to the text of a normal Gem.
Now for the one more piece of advice to turn you into true students of the Word.
I frequently repeat the important things when I am teaching Deeper Bible. Repetition is important to note because repeating the important things is the way we draw attention to them. Your father and mother did that for you when you were young. Others do it for you now you are older – teachers, lecturers, bosses and God. So when it comes to Old Testament quotes in the New Testament in Jesus words or in the material written by New Testament authors another important piece of advice is needed. The portion quoted in the New Testament is only a signpost to the whole passage in the Old Testament. You will notice yet another technique I have used to draw your attention to the important things you ought to remember – Embolding.
When Jesus wanted to communicate something from the Old Testament (TANAKH – the Law, the Prophets and the Writings), He simply quoted a few well chosen words, phrases or complete sentences to remind his Jewish hearers of a passage in the TANAKH (read: Old Testament). Because every Jewish boy and girl had been taught to memorise the text of the Torah initially and then moved on to the other major portions, they were aware of what He was doing. He could offer them a small or larger quote and that would be sufficient to remind them of the whole passage. After all they didn’t have the verse numbers in the text; they weren’t added until 1550 AD. Either a short clipped quote, even just two key words, were enough to highlight that passage. Or giving the passage a generic indicator or “title” was enough for Jesus to point His hearers to what He was thinking about. Something like: as Moses said on the plains of Moab, or as God said on Mt Sinai, or this bit comes from Jacob’s revelation at Bethel. With these pointers the audience now knew the cue or the clue to pick up on.
Let me now spell it out for you. As we seek to understand this passage in Hebrews, we have to realise we need to pay careful attention to the quotes we have been given. I have already told you that the writer of Hebrews was one who was well acquainted with the Old Testament Septuagint text and was a Hellenist, trained in the ways of the Jews. (See The Writer’s Style and Background in Gem 2022). It should be very clear to us when we read Hebrews that the author was familiar with the Old Testament text and the ways and religious ~ cultural practices of Judaism. It follows then that the author is adopting the same approach to the use of Old Testament quotes in the New Testament.
For most modern, Gentile readers of the New Testament, when we see a New Testament quote, our reaction may be at least a recognition of it being from the Old Testament. Some of us may even go so far as to look up the passage to see if it was quoted accurately. “Yes that is correct. That’s quoted right.” We don’t stop to think about the implications if there have been subtle changes made to the text. A word substituted here, a phrase reversed, a word or two added or a word deleted. All such changes give you a clue as to what was in the mind of the writer and their intentions behind the changes made. We need to be more aware than simply checking (if we even go that far) to see if the quote is “right”.
Has my rather long-winded explanation given you food for thought. It is important or I wouldn’t have bothered telling you. I trust now you are ready to tackle the first argument of the author of Hebrews as to ‘why Jesus is better than the angels’.
I have just one more suggestion to add and then I will divulge “the one more little subtlety” I mentioned in the email I sent with the link to the last Gem. Did you pick up on it? Now is your chance to see if you can find it if you didn’t see this challenge first time around. Or if you don’t get the Gems emailed to you along with my added comments.
Recently I responded to a couple of readers who asked how to check the Gem they are reading with any past Gem referred to. I suggest you do what I do when I am perusing past Gems for content or comparing Gems. I open a second or third window in my browser so I have the two Gems side by side. You can open a hot-linked Gem in the same window as the one you are in. Then when you have finished reading or comparing the linked Gem just hit the back arrow on the website and you are back in the Gem you first opened. If you want a long comparison or want to go back and forth comparing two Gems then open a new window and type in the number of the linked Gem in the <Go to Gem Number> slot in the Gem Search column of the new Gem you have opened. Then you have both Gems available for as long as you need them. I do that frequently; I have had up to five Gems open at one time on the website when I am working on something complicated.
Starting with the next Gem, we will begin to work our way through each segment of the writer’s argument, paying careful attention to the quoted source text. This will be good practice and a good case study to show you how to do it for yourself. Along with this process we will address any queries or comments you may have, so feel free to ask your questions or make your comments. I will address any anomalies, textual questions or interpretive issues as they arise.
Did you notice what the one more little subtlety was? The fact that I had included seven quotes at the end of the last Gem. I usually only add four quotes. But in the last Gem I thought it appropriate to add more to make seven quotes. Just to add to the significance of seven in the context of what we had observed in what the author had done in opening chapter of Hebrews. I have learned over the years they are the kind of little touches or cameos that God inspired in the original process of inspiring each writer to record His Word. He is such a creative God and His prophets and writers are too. Observing these little touches makes us realise more about God’s character in a way that reassures us He is always on our side and always has our best interests at heart. He is a fun-loving God and likes to tickle our fancy and titillate our curiosity.
Don’t just read an OT quote in the NT and say, “Oh yeah, Old Testament.” Go look it up in context. Take note of the whole passage.
Ian
Reading the New Testament without seeing the subtle allusions to the Old is like driving blind.
Ian
The single most powerful tool for getting God’s guidance is memorised Scripture and it sure helps for recognising Old Testament quotes too.
Ian
We all get heavier as we get older, because there’s a lot more information in our heads. That’s my reason and I’m sticking to it.
Ian