RSV ~ Hebrews 2 Notes

Heb 2:1-18 | ISB Notes

Hebrews 1 established the exaltation of Christ above the angels; Hebrews 2 looks back on the humiliation of Christ when he stooped lower than the angels. There is also a contrast between the angels as mediators of the Old Covenant and the Lord Jesus as the mediator of the New Covenant (2:1-4). Later chapters will show that Christ is superior to other covenant mediators, such as Moses and Joshua (chaps. 3-4), as well as Aaron and the Levitical priests (chaps. 5-7).

Heb 2:1 | ISB Notes

lest we drift: Warnings against falling away and forsaking the Christian faith punctuate the Letter to the Hebrews (3:12-14; 4:1-2; 6:4-12; 10:26-31; 12:15-17).

Heb 2:2 | ISB Notes

declared by angels: Jewish and Christian tradition held that angels delivered the Torah to Moses at Sinai (Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19; Josephus Antiquities 15, 136). For the author, this implies that NT revelation, which came directly from the divine Lord Jesus, is not only superior to OT revelation, but comes with more severe consequences for those who reject it.

• Angelic mediation of the Law is connected with the Greek version of Deut 33:2, where the “flaming fire” burning around Yahweh on Sinai is rendered “angels”.

Heb 2:3 | ISB Notes

attested to us: The apostles of Jesus were the primary witnesses to all that he had said and done (Acts 1:21-22; 10:39). The author of Hebrews was not among this original group, but he was part of a second wave of missionary preachers whose message was derived from them. Many read this as evidence against the tradition of Pauline authorship. The argument is not decisive, however, since Paul was not an eye-and-ear witness to the earthly ministry of Jesus; in fact, his preaching had to be confirmed by the original apostles (Gal 2:1-6) and was partly derived from them in the form of apostolic tradition (1 Cor 11:23; 15:3).

Heb 2:4 | ISB Notes

signs … wonders … miracles: The proclamation of the gospel was sometimes accompanied by dramatic displays of God’s power (Mk 16:17-18; Acts 4:29-30). The list here corresponds to the same three signs that, according to Paul, authenticate a genuine apostle (2 Cor 12:12) (CCC 156).

Heb 2:5 | ISB Notes

subjected the world: The angels are ministers of the created order according to Jewish tradition (e.g., Jubilees 2, 2). Jesus, now enthroned above heaven and earth, is the sovereign Lord of creation, not merely one of its servants (Heb 1:6-14).

• Christ is shown to be Lord by the fact that God has subjected the earth to him. The earth is not subject to angels as to a lord but as to a vice-regent, for the whole of visible creation is administered by angels (St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews 2, 2).

Heb 2:6-8 | ISB Notes

The Greek version of Ps 8:4-6. It differs from most modern translations of the psalm at two points. First, the Hebrew expression normally rendered “little less” is taken in a temporal sense to mean little while. Second, the Hebrew term most often translated “God” or “gods” is read as a reference to angels. Both are legitimate as interpretive translations of the original text.

• The Psalmist marvels that man, so small and frail, was created to share in God’s dominion over the world (Gen 1:28). The Greek version envisions two distinct stages in this human vocation: man is first made in subordination to the angels, yet he is destined to be crowned and elevated over the angels. This vocation is fully realized only in Jesus, who experienced in his human nature both humiliation and subsequent exaltation (Heb 2:8-9). Many scholars detect a contrast between Jesus and Adam, because of whom man never reached the goal for which he was made (cf. Rom 5:12-21).

Heb 2:9 | ISB Notes

taste death: A Semitic expression (Mt 16:28; Jn 18:52).

• Perhaps it recalls how Adam, in choosing to taste the forbidden fruit, subjected the human race to spiritual and biological death (Gen 3:17-19).

for every one: Jesus died on behalf of the entire human family. This was a representative act of consenting to death in filial obedience to the Father (Phil 2:8) and out of fraternal love for us (Eph 5:2) (CCC 624).

Heb 2:10 | ISB Notes

the pioneer: The Greek expression refers to a “forerunner”, who leads the way for others to follow (12:2; Acts 5:31). God, in glorifying his first-born Son, has opened the way for other sons to attain glory as well. make …

perfect through suffering: See word study: Made Perfect at Heb 5:9.

Heb 2:11 | ISB Notes

one origin: Christ and his brethren have one and the same Father and so form one covenant family (Jn 17:11; Rom 8:29).

Heb 2:12-13 | ISB Notes

Three quotations from the OT.

• In the first, the righteous man recounts to his kinsmen how God delivered him from the affliction of his enemies (Ps 22:22). In the second and third, the prophet Isaiah, being warned against fearing earthly threats more than the Lord, resolves to trust in God and to teach his children to do the same (Is 8:17-18). The author of Hebrews puts these oracles on the lips of Jesus, not as a claim that he uttered them during his lifetime, but as a literary device to illustrate how Christ is both a brother (Heb 2:12) and father figure to the children of God (2:13).

Heb 2:14 | ISB Notes

flesh and blood: A Semitic idiom for “human beings” or “human nature”, with some emphasis on man’s weakness and limitations (Mt 16:17; 1 Cor 15:50).

partook of the same: The Son of God assumed our mortal nature in order to die and, through this means, to rob the devil of his claim over our lives (Wis 2:24; 1 Jn 3:8; CCC 635, 2602).

Heb 2:15 | ISB Notes

fear of death: Human nature cowers from pain, privation, and death. This can overpower our desire to love and obey God in the face of suffering. Even Jesus feared death as a man; nevertheless, he gave consent to suffering and death out of a reverential fear of God (5:7). In this respect, he was prefigured by those saints of the OT who preferred persecution and martyrdom to apostasy (11:17-38). Such heroism speaks directly to the original readers, who had already endured hostility for their faith (10:32-39) and were edging closer to shedding their blood (12:4).

Heb 2:16 | ISB Notes

descendants of Abraham: This could be taken in a biological sense, referring to the family of Israel descended from Abraham, or, more likely, in a Christian sense of the family of Jews and Gentiles who together imitate the faith of Abraham (Rom 4:9-13) and inherit the blessings that Yahweh pledged to the patriarch by oath (Gen 22:16-18; Gal 3:6-29). Either way, the point is that Jesus came to rescue, not angels, but fallen men.

Heb 2:17 | ISB Notes

high priest: The first of many passages in Hebrews that expound the priestly ministry of Christ.

The emphasis is on his credentials: as one experienced in human suffering, Jesus is able to show sympathy and mercy to his brothers undergoing their own trials (4:15); as one victorious over temptations, he can give his brothers the grace and help needed to triumph as he did (4:16).

• The description evokes 1 Sam 2:35, where God promised to raise up a “faithful priest” to do his will. The oracle was read as a messianic prophecy in Jewish tradition.

to make expiation: i.e., “to wipe away sin”. For related terms, see note on Rom 3:25 and word study: Expiation at 1 Jn 2:2.