Hebrews
1:8,
προς δε τον υιον ο θρονος σου ο θεος εις τον αιωνα [του αιωνος] και
η ραβδος της ευθυτητος ραβδος της βασιλειας αυτου
“But
unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
This is
a quote from Psalms 45:6-7,
כסאך אלהים עולם ועד שׁבט מישׁר שׁבט מלכותך׃
אהבת צדק ותשׂנא רשׁע על־כן משׁחך אלהים אלהיך שׁמן שׂשׂון מחבריך׃
"Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right
sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and
hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows."
We must
examine the quote in the original context in order to understand what the
author of Hebrews meant.
Here,
the word for “God” in the Hebrew in Psalms is Elohim. Since this is the exact word God calls Moses
in Exodus 7:1, this does not necessarily refer to the one true God.
Also,
the larger context in Psalms says that the subject of the text was anointed to
his position by God. The subject of
Psalms 45 is undoubtedly a human being who is given his authority by God. Does this hold true for the way Hebrews
discussed the Son?
Hebrews
1:1-9.
πολυμερως και πολυτροπως παλαι ο θεος λαλησας τοις πατρασιν εν τοις
προφηταις επ εσχατου των ημερων τουτων ελαλησεν ημιν εν υιω
1 God, who at sundry times and in
divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
ον εθηκεν κληρονομον παντων δι ου και
εποιησεν τους αιωνας
2 Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds;
ος ων απαυγασμα της δοξης και χαρακτηρ της
υποστασεως αυτου φερων τε τα παντα τω ρηματι της δυναμεως αυτου καθαρισμον των
αμαρτιων ποιησαμενος εκαθισεν εν δεξια της μεγαλωσυνης εν υψηλοις
3 Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high:
τοσουτω κρειττων γενομενος των αγγελων οσω
διαφορωτερον παρ αυτους κεκληρονομηκεν ονομα
4 Being made so much better than
the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
τινι γαρ ειπεν ποτε των αγγελων υιος μου ει
συ εγω σημερον γεγεννηκα σε και παλιν εγω εσομαι αυτω εις πατερα και αυτος
εσται μοι εις υιον
5 For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again,
I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
οταν δε παλιν εισαγαγη τον πρωτοτοκον εις
την οικουμενην λεγει και προσκυνησατωσαν αυτω παντες αγγελοι θεου
6 And again, when he bringeth in
the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God
worship him.
και προς μεν τους αγγελους λεγει ο ποιων
τους αγγελους αυτου πνευματα και τους λειτουργους αυτου πυρος φλογα
7 And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
προς δε τον υιον ο θρονος σου ο θεος εις τον
αιωνα [του αιωνος] και η ραβδος της ευθυτητος ραβδος της βασιλειας αυτου
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre
of thy kingdom.
ηγαπησας δικαιοσυνην και εμισησας ανομιαν
δια τουτο εχρισεν σε ο θεος ο θεος σου ελαιον αγαλλιασεως παρα τους μετοχους
σου
9 Thou hast loved righteousness,
and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the
oil of gladness above thy fellows.
In the
larger context, you can see that the topic of the text is God giving power to
the Son, and anointing him to his position.
Notice
what it says about Jesus being the Son, “I will be to him a Father, and he
shall be to me a Son”. Compare this to
1 Chronicles
28:6,
ויאמר לי שׁלמה בנך הוא־יבנה ביתי וחצרותי כי־בחרתי בו לי לבן ואני אהיה־לו לאב׃
"And
he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I
have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father."
In addition,
2 Samuel
7:13-14,
הוא יבנה־בית לשׁמי וכננתי את־כסא ממלכתו עד־עולם׃
אני אהיה־לו לאב והוא יהיה־לי לבן אשׁר בהעותו והכחתיו בשׁבט אנשׁים ובנגעי בני
אדם׃
"He
shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom
for ever. I will be his father, and he
shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men,
and with the stripes of the children of men:"
This
passage also provides some insight to the meaning of the phrase, “Son of God,”
in passages like Matthew 16:15-16,
λεγει αυτοις υμεις δε τινα με λεγετε ειναι
αποκριθεις δε σιμων πετρος ειπεν συ ει ο χριστος ο υιος του θεου του
ζωντος
“He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
In
Hebrews, quoted above, it says, “For unto which of the angels said he at any
time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to
him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?”
In this
conversation, in Matthew, we have a Jew speaking to another Jew and it is
recorded in a book written by a Jew.
Therefore, a Jewish understanding of this phrase is imperative. If one looks up the phrase “Son of God” in
the Jewish Encyclopedia, one finds that it refers to a follower or
representative of God. It never implies
deity. You can look this up at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13912-son-of-god.
What did
Paul say about Jesus being the Son of God?
Romans
1:3-4,
περι του υιου αυτου του γενομενου εκ σπερματος δαυιδ κατα σαρκα
του ορισθεντος υιου θεου εν δυναμει κατα πνευμα αγιωσυνης εξ
αναστασεως νεκρων ιησου χριστου του κυριου ημων
"Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"
Luke
20:36,
ουδε γαρ αποθανειν ετι δυνανται ισαγγελοι γαρ εισιν και υιοι εισιν
θεου της αναστασεως υιοι οντες
"for
neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are
sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." (ASV)
