Mazmur 2:7

2:7 The king says, ¹  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ² 

‘You are my son! ³  This very day I have become your father!

Kisah Para Rasul 13:33

13:33 that this promise ⁴  God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising ⁵  Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; ⁶  today I have fathered you.’ ⁷ 

Ibrani 1:1-5

Introduction: God Has Spoken Fully and Finally in His Son

1:1 After God spoke long ago ⁸  in various portions ⁹  and in various ways ¹⁰  to our ancestors ¹¹  through the prophets, 1:2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, ¹²  whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. ¹³  1:3 The Son is ¹⁴  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ¹⁵  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ¹⁶  1:4 Thus he became ¹⁷  so far better than the angels as ¹⁸  he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

The Son Is Superior to Angels

1:5 For to which of the angels did God ¹⁹  ever say, “You are my son! Today I have fathered you”? ²⁰  And in another place ²¹  he says, ²²  “I will be his father and he will be my son.” ²³ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ² tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ³ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[13:33]  ⁴ tn Grk “that this”; the referent (the promise mentioned in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:33]  sn This promise refers to the promise of a Savior through the seed (descendants) of David that is proclaimed as fulfilled (Rom 1:1-7).

[13:33]  ⁵ tn Or “by resurrecting.” The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") is taken as instrumental here.

[13:33]  sn By raising (i.e., by resurrection) tells how this promise came to be realized, though again the wordplay also points to his presence in history through this event (see the note on “raised up” in v. 22).

[13:33]  ⁶ sn You are my Son. The key to how the quotation is used is the naming of Jesus as “Son” to the Father. The language is that of kingship, as Ps 2 indicates. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be.

[13:33]  ⁷ tn Grk “I have begotten you.” The traditional translation for γεγέννηκα (gegennhka, “begotten”) is misleading to the modern English reader because it is no longer in common use. Today one speaks of “fathering” a child in much the same way speakers of English formerly spoke of “begetting a child.”

[13:33]  sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Or “spoke formerly.”

[1:1]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn These two phrases are emphasized in Greek by being placed at the beginning of the sentence and by alliteration.

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to the fathers.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

[1:2]  sn The phrase in a son is the fulcrum of Heb 1:1-4. It concludes the contrast of God’s old and new revelation and introduces a series of seven descriptions of the Son. These descriptions show why he is the ultimate revelation of God.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “the ages.” The temporal (ages) came to be used of the spatial (what exists in those time periods). See Heb 11:3 for the same usage.

[1:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

[1:3]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.

[1:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “having become.” This is part of the same sentence that extends from v. 1 through v. 4 in the Greek text.

[1:4]  ¹⁸ tn Most modern English translations attempt to make the comparison somewhat smoother by treating “name” as if it were the subject of the second element: “as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, CEV). However, the Son is the subject of both the first and second elements: “he became so far better”; “he has inherited a name.” The present translation maintains this parallelism even though it results in a somewhat more awkward rendering.

[1:4]  sn This comparison is somewhat awkward to express in English, but it reflects an important element in the argument of Hebrews: the superiority of Jesus Christ.

[1:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “I have begotten you.”

[1:5]  sn A quotation from Ps 2:7.

[1:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “And again,” quoting another OT passage.

[1:5]  ²² tn The words “he says” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to make a complete English sentence. In the Greek text this is a continuation of the previous sentence, but English does not normally employ such long and complex sentences.

[1:5]  ²³ tn Grk “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me.”

[1:5]  sn A quotation from 2 Sam 7:14 (cf. 1 Chr 17:13).