Hebrews 2:1
Διὰ τοῦτο, δεῖ περισσοτέρως προσέχειν ἡμᾶς τοῖς ἀκουσθεῖσιν, μή‿ ποτε παραρυῶμεν
On account of this,
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Hebrews 2:2
εἰ γὰρ ὁ δι’ ἀγγέλων λαληθεὶς λόγος ἐγένετο βέβαιος, καὶ πᾶσα παράβασις καὶ παρακοὴ ἔλαβεν ἔνδικον μισθαποδοσίαν,
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Hebrews 2:3
πῶς ἡμεῖς ἐκφευξόμεθα τηλικαύτης ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας, ἥτις ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα, λαλεῖσθαι διὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων, εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη,
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Comment”
Hebrews 2:4
συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ Θεοῦ σημείοις τε καὶ τέρασιν, καὶ ποικίλαις δυνάμεσιν, καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μερισμοῖς, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ θέλησιν.
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Hebrews 2:5
Οὐ γὰρ ἀγγέλοις ὑπέταξεν τὴν οἰκουμένην τὴν μέλλουσαν, περὶ ἧς λαλοῦμεν.
For not to angels He subjected the coming world, concerning which we are speaking.
Paraphrase: But to return. We had noted previously that God had made Jesus the “appointed heir of all things.” (Hebrewsrews 1:2) This means that God had given the entire earth over to His Son; everything was made subject to Him. This is why God told Jesus to sit at His right hand (Psalm 110:1) which, as we know, is a place of authority. From this throne (Revelation 3:21), Jesus rules and has complete authority over heaven and earth. (Matthew 28:18) From this throne (Luke 1:32), He came to earth to inaugurate His kingdom and to establish God’s new covenant with His people. This kingdom is the world to come (Hebrewsrews 1:6) for which Israel has been eagerly waiting. Now, it bears repeating that God gave the place of authority in His kingdom to Jesus, not to any of the angels. Even the most powerful and highest angels do not rule the kingdom of God.
Comments:
the coming world is the kingdom of God as begun in the first coming of Jesus and consummated at His second coming. Calvin writes:
To this, the reference is made when the Apostle mentions the world to come, or the future world, for he understands by it the renovated world. To make the thing clearer, let us suppose two worlds, the first the old, corrupted by Adam’s sin; the other, later in time, as renewed by Christ. The state of the first creation has become wholly decayed, and with man has fallen as far as man himself is concerned. Until, then, a new restitution be made by Christ, this Psalm will not be fulfilled. It hence now appears that here the world to come is not that which we hope for after the resurrection, but that which began at the beginning of Christ’s kingdom; but it will no doubt have its full accomplishment in our final redemption. source
Edwards writes (p1138) that the “world” here is:
the renewed state of things brought to pass by Christ, called “the new heavens and new earth,” is here called “the world to come,” although already come in its beginnings. Even as the blessings of Christ’s kingdom and of this new creation are called “good things to come,” ἀγαθά μέλλοντα (Hebrews 9:11 and Hebrews 10:1), though they were already come in their beginnings. Note that the time when Christ came, and offered up himself, and ascended into heaven is called “the end of the world” (Hebrews 9:26), συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων, “the end of ages,” the finishing as it were of the old world. So the kingdom of heaven, the new state of things that followed, is called “the world to come,” the new world, the future or succeeding ages, μέλλοντος αἰῶνος (Hebrews 6:5), and here, οἰκουμένην μέλλουσαν.
Hebrews 2:6
διεμαρτύρατο δέ πού τις, λέγων, Τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν;
but where someone testified saying, “What is man that you might remember him or the son of man that you might care for him?
Paraphrase: That the angels are not in charge of the kingdom of God is taught us in Psalm 8. Recall what the psalmist says in verses 4-6. Here David shows how small and insignificant humans are and yet how great is the dignity that God has bestowed on them. David asks God, “What a trifling thing humans are; just mere mortals! What do You see in them that You pay any attention to them? Why would you even pay them a visit to see how they are getting along? Are they even worth Your time?
Comments:
Angus notes regarding the opening expression:
Someone somewhere testifies. This is not the language of uncertainty nor even of indefiniteness. It is a common formula found in Philo and, as Schœtgenius shows, in Jewish writers, when they quote from what is supposed to be well known to their readers. source
Hebrews 2:7
ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ’ ἀγγέλους· δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτόν,
For a short time, you made him to be lower than the angels. With glory and honor, you crowned him.
Paraphrase: Yet in spite of their insignificance, you still created them with a privilege that is just a little lower than that of the angels themselves. You gave Adam and Eve the marvelous privilege of being in Your very image. For all the time before their fall, they had Your image as a beautiful crown which entitled them to great honor and glory.
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“The Psalm [Psalm 8] stands in the closest connection with the first chapter of Genesis.” source
Hebrews 2:8
πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἐν τῷ γὰρ ὑποτάξαι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα, οὐδὲν ἀφῆκεν αὐτῷ ἀνυπότακτον. νῦν δὲ, οὔπω ὁρῶμεν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ὑποτεταγμένα.
You subjected all things under his feet. For when You subjected all things under him, nothing was left to him unsubjugated. But now, we do not yet see all things being subject to him.
Paraphrase: As a result of this glory and honor and being in Your image, You gave man charge over Your entire creation.” (Genesis 1:28) Now this is the Scripture which teaches us, as I said previously, that it is not angels who will rule God’s kingdom on earth. Note that the text says that God has placed “all things” under his authority. This means that there are no exceptions. As we think about this, however, two questions arise in our minds. First, how does this teaching prove that Jesus is superior to angels which is what we are attempting to prove? (Hebrewsrews 1:4) This text teaches that human beings are ruling over the kingdom of God, not Jesus. Second, is this really what we see happening in our world? Do we not see that sin has made its entrance into the world? Do we not see the movements of the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15) as he tries to thwart the purposes of God in every way possible? Let me carefully explain my answer to both of these questions, and my answer to the second question is also the answer to the first. I agree that with our physical eyes, we do not see our world currently operating under God’s appointed viceregents as taught us in Psalm 8. Sin has made an entrance and does have a great deal of power over the world as we see it now. Now, however, I ask you to see our world with the eyes of faith. What do we see now? or I should say Who do we see?
Comments:
For ?pa?at? and other words like it, see the section in Robertson entitled “Adverbial” Prepositions.
I agree with those who see a case of intentional ambiguity here (Allen’s commentary and deSilva). The pronouns in “under his feet, ” “under him,” and “left to him” are all referring initially to man. The ambiguity comes in, however, because our author will soon transition from understanding the antecedent to be not man, but The Man, called ??s??? in the following verse.
Hebrews 2:9
τὸν δὲ βραχύ τι παρ’ ἀγγέλους, ἠλαττωμένον, βλέπομεν, Ἰησοῦν, διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου, δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφανωμένον, ὅπως χάριτι Θεοῦ ὑπὲρ παντὸς γεύσηται θανάτου.
but the One we see, being made lower than the angels for a limited time, on account of suffering of death, being crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God, on behalf of all, He might taste death.
Paraphrase: We see Jesus, and Jesus is the quintessential man. Yes, Psalm 8 in its first-level reading is about human beings and their dignity as image bearers of God. Ultimately, however, Psalm 8 is pointing to something much higher and greater than any human person. It is referring to the Man, Jesus the Messiah. He is the One to whom God has given all authority in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18; ) He is the One who was temporarily brought into a state of being lower even than the angels (Psalm 8:5) when He was born of the virgin and laid in a manger. He also is the One who God has crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). Why was He given this crown? Because He entered into all the sufferings and pains of His people; even into the pain of death itself. By this suffering, He has made atonement for their sin; and thus God by His infinite grace, can lead them triumphantly into glory.
Comments:
βραχύ can have a locative meaning; i.e a little place or a temporal meaning; i.e. a short time. The meaning here seems to be temporal, so I used the same meaning in v7. It is not entirely clear.
Hebrews 2:10
Ἔπρεπεν γὰρ αὐτῷ, δι’ ὃν τὰ πάντα καὶ δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα, πολλοὺς υἱοὺς εἰς δόξαν ἀγαγόντα, τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν, διὰ παθημάτων τελειῶσαι.
For it was fitting for Him, on account of whom all things are and through whom all things are, leading many sons to glory, to perfect through sufferings the Leader of their salvation.
Paraphrase: This was God’s plan all along. Isn’t He the great Creator who brought everything into existence for His Own glory? Well He is also the One who resolved in eternity past to deliver a people out of Satan’s kingdom and to lead them into His glorious city. From beginning to end, the Father leads His chosen ones to glory. How, you might ask, does He do all this? Well He does this by commissioning His Son to go on His behalf and to deliver them from Satan’s grasp. Now this mission of salvation can only succeed if the one who goes is also willing to suffer. Jesus was the One who agreed to be the propitiatory sacrifice (Leviticus 4; Romans 3:25) for the sin of His guilty people (Hebrews 2:17); and by these sufferings, He earned the right to be their great Leader and Champion. There is a day coming in which He will lead God’s chosen ones in triumphant procession into the heavenly city. (2 Corinthians 2:14) Then the end will come, and Jesus will announce “Mission Accomplished!” and He will turn over the keys of the kingdom to His Father again. (1 Corinthians 15:24-28)
Comments:
ἀγαγόντα and ἀρχηγὸν are both accusative, singular and thus could modify οὗ. The antecedent is God the Father. All the translations make πολλοὺς υἱοὺς the object of τελειῶσαι; and thus, the ἀρχηγὸν is Jesus.
Owen gives ten ways that the Father leads His sons into glory. source
Hebrews 2:11
ὅ τε γὰρ ἁγιάζων, καὶ οἱ ἁγιαζόμενοι, ἐξ ἑνὸς πάντες· δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν, οὐκ ἐπαισχύνεται ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοὺς καλεῖν,
For the One sanctifying and the the ones being sanctified, all are from one, for which cause, He is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Paraphrase: Now both the One, who is doing the saving, and those, who are being saved, share the same human nature. Jesus is the one who takes these children out of Satan’s kingdom, sets them apart for God, purifies them, and makes them meet for the Master’s use. He did this by becoming a human person (Philippians 2:7) and thus was made a little lower than the angels. Now the many sons, who God is leading to glory, are also human persons. Thus, both Savior and saved share the same nature; and as a result of this, Jesus is not at all embarrassed to identify Himself with human persons. By this, He is perfectly positioned to be their Savior and to rescue them from Satan’s dominion. (Hebrewsrews 2:14)
Comments:
ἀδελφοὺς = object complement
If the antecedent of ἑνὸς is God the Father, it’s hard to see how “He is not ashamed to call them brothers” follows from both Savior and saved being “from God.” Stuart also points out (p308) that if Jesus were merely human, then why the need for the comment about being ashamed to call them ἀδελφοὺς?
Hebrews 2:12
λέγων· Ἀπαγγελῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου· ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε.
saying, I will proclaim Your Name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing you.
Paraphrase: This is clear from what we read in Psalm 22. Notice what Jesus here calls those who are worshipping with Him. He says, “I will proclaim Your glorious attributes to all My brothers; in the middle of our public worship services, I will join in singing the songs which praise and exult You.” Now if Jesus calls those worshipping with him “brothers,” then it shows how willing He is to be identified with them.
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