Page 32 - Hebrews- Student Textbook

"WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM" This is a quote from the Septuagint of Ps. 8:4-6 based
theologically on Gen. 1:26,28. Verses 6, 7, and 8 do not refer to the Messiah ("the Son of Man"), but to
humanity. In the Psalm the term "son of man" is in a parallel relationship with the term "man" and
should not be capitalized. It is a Hebrew idiom for humanity, ben adam, so common in Ezekiel (cf. 2:1;
3:1,3,4,10,17, etc.).

2:7 "YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS" This is the continuation of the quote of
Ps. 8:5-6 from the Septuagint. The question for both translation and interpretation is, how should the
Hebrew term "Elohim" be understood?

1. The Septuagint translated Ps. 8:5 as "angels," as did the Aramaic Targums and Pehsitta, Vulgate,
and KJV translations.

2. The Jewish Publication Society of America translated it as "little less than divine." Several English
translations have "God" (cf. ASV, NASB, RSV, NEB, NRSV, REB, JB, NJB, TEV). The term, when
used in the OT with a SINGULAR VERB, like Gen. 1:1, refers to God. Jesus used it in this sense in
John 10:31-39. It is also used of the "gods" of the pagan nations. It can refer to angels in the
sense of God's heavenly council made up of Himself and angelic servants (cf. 1 Kgs. 22:19; Dan.
7:10).

3. There is even the possibility that it refers to the Judges of Israel (cf. Exod.21:6; 22:8-9,28; Ps.
82:1,6).

In this context the theological point is that Jesus and His followers (cf. 1:14) are superior to the angels.

2:9 "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, Jesus" The author of
Hebrews characteristically uses "Jesus" without any additional description (cf. 2:9; 3:1; 6:20; 7:22; 10:19;
12:2,24; 13:12). It is possible that this is a typological play on Jesus as the new Joshua. The names are
exactly the same. The author of Hebrews uses the Exodus material extensively. As Joshua brought God's
people into the rest of the Promised Land, so too, will Jesus bring them into heaven (i.e., the seventh
day rest).

"by the grace of God" This translation (chariti Theos) is found in all English Bibles and is supported by
the ancient Greek manuscripts (P , א, A, B, C, D). However, a curious reading "apart from God" (chōris
46
Theos), occurs in many later ancient texts. Here Bruce M. Metzger says that this was originally a
32
marginal gloss related to 1 Cor. 15:27, which was misunderstood as a correction to "chariti Theos".
The United Bible Society's A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews by Paul Ellingworth and Eugene A.
Nida offers another opinion, that "apart from God" may allude to Psalm 22, which Jesus used to express
His sense of being all alone on the cross (cf. Mark 15:34) p. 37. This same opinion is given by Myles M.
Bourke in the Jerome Biblical Commentary (p. 385).

There is also a third option (taken from Bart D. Ehrman's, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, Oxford
Press, 1993, pp. 146-150) that scribes intentionally changed "apart from God" for theological reasons,
specifically the theological threat of gnosticism.

32 Bruce M. Metzger, Textual Commentary On The Greek New Testament, (p. 664).
30