Christ’s superiority to the angels (1:1-14) also made him greater than the law, believed to have been mediated through angels (2:2-3). Some second-century Jewish followers of Jesus, eager to affirm Jesus as greater than merely human but reluctant to consider him divine, viewed him as an angel; if any of this work’s audience held this view, the author could respond to such ideas as well.
Verses 1-2: The most stylish Greek authors often sought to imitate older prose models, and employ Attic (classical Athenian) language. Hebrews 1:1-2 includes some of the most sophisticated Greek in the New Testament. The writer may imitate elements of the widely-circulated prologue of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus). The writer uses the rhetorical device called alliteration: verse 1 includes five words (out of 12) beginning with the letter “p.”
Developing Old Testament ideas (for example, Proverbs 8:30), many Jews believed that God created everything through his Wisdom, the closest category Judaism offered to something divine in character yet distinct from the Father. The Old Testament used “last days” for the time of the end (for example, Isaiah 2:2; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:1); Christ has now inaugurated these days.
Verse 3: Hellenistic Jewish teachers viewed Wisdom as God’s exact image, the prototypical stamp by which he imprinted the seal of his image on all creation (just as an image was stamped on coins). Enthronement at the king’s right hand (the highest honor) alludes to Psalm 110:1, which the author will quote explicitly in Hebrews 1:13. “Purification of sins” refers to priestly activity, thus implicitly alluding to Psalm 110:4, which will feature heavily later in Hebrews.
Verse 4: In contrast to Christian and many more mainstream Jewish opinions, some Diaspora Jewish thinkers believed that angels aided in creation. Some Jews also believed they aided in intercession. None is comparable, however, to Jesus’ role.
Verse 5: Angels could be “sons of God” (for example, Job 1:6), but not in the distinctive sense here (THE Son). The Dead Sea Scrolls already linked Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in speculations about the coming Messiah. Such an association was natural in Jewish midrash, which frequently linked texts on the basis of a common key term (here, “Son”). In its original setting, Psalm 2 celebrated the promise to David’s line in 2 Samuel 7, its “begetting” applying to the new king’s coronation (or in Jesus’ case, his exaltation to the Father’s right hand; cf. Acts 13:33). Diaspora Jews sometimes introduced biblical quotations with rhetorical questions; the writer repeats this question at 1:13, using “inclusio,” an ancient framing device that brackets his biblical support in 1:5-13.
Verse 6: The “firstborn” had the greatest inheritance rights of any son (Deuteronomy 21:17); this was the title of the Davidic king in Psalm 89:26-27. The author now cites from Deut 32, a passage that Diaspora Jews used in worship alongside Psalms (and that was often cited in the New Testament). The quotation is from a part of Deuteronomy 32 in the Septuagint that does not appear in our current Hebrew text (but which probably reflects a Hebrew original, since it appears in the version found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Verse 7: Psalm 104:4 could simply claim that God uses winds and fire as his messengers, but by this period most Jewish writers interpreted it to mean that angels were made of fire. Angels are created and subordinate, in contrast to the exalted Son (Hebrews 1:8-13).
Verses 8-9: Although Psalm 45 may originally refer to a royal wedding celebration, part of it appears to address God directly (especially in the Greek version used here). Since Psalm 45:6 (Hebrews 1:8) addresses God the king, the writer can assume that Psalm 45:7 (Hebrews 1:9) continues to address him, while also distinguishing him from the God who anointed him. Thus the writer can affirm Jesus’ deity while distinguishing him from the Father.
Verses 10-12: Ancient writers sometimes separated quotations merely with “and” (or, “and he said”). Because interpreters often linked texts based on a common key word (see comment on 1:5), God’s throne being “forever” in Hebrews 1:8 may provide the link for God’s eternality in Psalm 102:25-27, cited in Hebrews 1:10-12.
Verse 13: Because interpreters could link texts based on a common key term or concept, and the author has spoken of God’s eternal “throne” in 1:8, citing Psalm 110:1 here (regarding seating at God’s right hand; already alluded to Heb 1:3) is natural.
Verse 14: The writer proved that the angels were ministering spirits in 1:7; they serve not only the greatest heir (1:4) but also those inheriting salvation (1:14), fitting the common Jewish notion of guardian angels watching over the righteous.
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