RSV ~ Hebrews 3 Notes

Heb 3:1-5 | ISB Notes

The next section of the letter develops the description of Christ introduced in 2:17, showing him to be a “faithful” (3:1-4) and merciful high priest (4:14-5:10).

Heb 3:1 | ISB Notes

holy brethren: Believers are “holy” because they are sanctified (2:11) and “brethren” because they share in the Sonship of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity (2:14, 17).

a heavenly call: A summons that comes from heaven and leads us to heaven (Phil 3:14).

the apostle: i.e., the One sent by God. This is the only time the NT gives this title to Christ, though the notion that Jesus is the One sent into the world by the Father is expressed in other terms (Mt 10:40; Lk 10:16; Jn 3:17, etc.).

Heb 3:2 | ISB Notes

God’s house: A reference to the People of God (3:6). In Hebrew usage, a father’s family is often called his “house” or “household” (e.g., Num 1:2; Josh 7:14).

Heb 3:3 | ISB Notes

more glory … honor: Just as Jesus was crowned with glory and honor over the angels (2:9), so too he is elevated above Moses, whom Judaism revered as the greatest saint of biblical times, even “equal in glory” to the holy angels (Sir 45:2). In stressing the superiority of Christ to other covenant mediators, the author is preparing to show in later chapters how the New Covenant surpasses the Old (Heb, chaps. 8-10; 2 Cor 3:4-11).

Heb 3:5-6 | ISB Notes

Moses and Jesus are compared.

• The backdrop is Num 12:7, where Moses is honored as the Lord’s “servant”, who is put in charge of his “house”, i.e., the whole covenant people. Jesus is also a father figure over the household of God’s people, not as a servant, however, but as the faithful first-born Son (1:4-6). Some perceive an additional allusion to Nathan’s oracle, where the messianic heir of David is designated the “son” of God and the one who will “build” a “house” for God (2 Sam 7:13-14; 1 Chron 17:13-14).

Heb 3:7-11 | ISB Notes

A citation from Ps 95:7-11.

• The Psalmist reflects on the apostasy of the Exodus generation. The Hebrew version of Ps 95 focuses on the defiance of Israel at Massah and Meribah (Ex 17:1-7), but the Greek version quoted here laments the rebellion at Kadesh, where the Israelites, paralyzed by fear of the Canaanites, refused to seize possession of the Promised Land (Num 14:1-38). For this, the Lord swore an oath of disinheritance that condemned that entire generation (except Joshua and Caleb) to die in the wilderness without setting foot in Canaan. The readers of Hebrews face the same critical decision: like the Exodus generation, they too have experienced the salvation of God and now stand on the threshold of a heavenly inheritance; only by a faith in God that overcomes fear will they enter the eternal rest that awaits them.

Heb 3:14 | ISB Notes

firm to the end: The Letter to the Hebrews is adamant that even true believers can forfeit their salvation by forsaking the Lord (6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:14-17). This warning applies to genuine Christian “brethren”, who can “fall away” from God if they allow their hearts to become “evil” and “unbelieving” (3:12).

Heb 3:15 | ISB Notes

Today, when you hear: The author, alluding to Psalm 95 (quoted in 3:7-11), identifies the voice of God with the gospel message spoken through his Son (1:2; 2:3; 4:2) (CCC 1165).

Heb 3:19 | ISB Notes

because of unbelief: The Exodus generation refused to believe that God could give them a land occupied by fearsome Canaanite warriors (Num 13:25-33). See note on Heb 3:7-11.