Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 1:12
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
12. shalt thou fold them up ] Lit., “Thou shalt roll them up.” This reading ( ) is found in most MSS. and is perhaps an unconscious reminiscence of Isa 34:4 (comp. Rev 6:14); but , D read “thou shalt change them” ( ), as in the original, and in the LXX. ( Cod. Alex.). On this final consummation, and the destruction of the material universe, see Mat 24:35; 2Pe 3:7; Rev 21:1.
thou art the same ] In the Hebrew (literally) “Thou art He.”
thy years shall not fail ] i.e. they shall never come to an end (Heb 13:8; Rev 1:8).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And as a vesture – A garment; literally something thrown around – peribolaion – and denoting properly the outer garment, the cloak or mantle; see notes, Mat 5:40. Shalt thou fold them up. That is, the heavens. They are represented in the Scriptures as an expanse. or something spread out (the Hebrew text of Gen 1:7): as a curtain, or tent Isa 40:22, and as a scroll that might be spread out or rolled up like a book or volume, Isa 34:4; Rev 6:14. Here they are represented as a garment or mantle that might be folded up – language borrowed from folding up and laying aside garments that are no longer fit for use. And they shall be changed. That is, they shall be exchanged for others, or they shall give place to the new heavens and the new earth; 2Pe 3:13. The meaning is, that the present form of the heavens and the earth is not to be permanent, but is to be succeeded by others, or to pass away, but that the Creator is to remain the same. Thou art the same. Thou wilt not change. And thy years shall not fail. Thou wilt exist forever unchanged. What could more clearly prove that he of whom this is spoken is immutable? Yet it is indubitably spoken of the Messiah, and must demonstrate that he is divine. These attributes cannot be conferred on a creature; and nothing can be clearer than that he who penned the Epistle believed that the Son of God was divine.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. And they shall be changed] Not destroyed ultimately, or annihilated. They shall be changed and renewed.
But thou art the same] These words can be said of no being but God; all others are changeable or perishable, because temporal; only that which is eternal can continue essentially, and, speaking after the manner of men, formally the same.
Thy years shall not fail.] There is in the Divine duration no circle to be run, no space to be measured, no time to be reckoned.
All is eternity – infinite and onward.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up: is an upper garment, cloak, or coat, which a man puts on or casts off at his pleasure; when it is of no more use it is folded up and laid by: so the great gospel Minister, God the Son incarnate, shall roll up the natural heavens when useless, and lay them by.
And they shall be changed; by him they shall be altered, and made more glorious by new modelling them, changing of them into a better state, Isa 34:4; 65:17; 66:22; compare 2Pe 3:10-13.
But thou art the same: the identity of this Person is opposed to the changeableness of excellent creatures, and showeth him to be what he is here entitled, Jehovah, Heb 13:8. His assumption of the humanity to his person made no alteration in him, being still the same most excellent person as ever, Mal 3:1,6; 1Co 12:5.
And thy years shall not fail; as the being of God the Son is not measured nor terminated by years or time, so, in respect of his humanity, the years which were the measure of it shall never fail; for being raised from the dead, he shall die no more, but
abideth for ever, Joh 12:34, and ruleth, as foretold, Luk 1:33; 1Pe 4:11. How transcendently excellent is He, who is immutable and eternal, for state and name above angels!
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. vestureGreek, “anenwrapping cloak.”
fold them upSo theSeptuagint, Ps 102:26;but the Hebrew, “change them.” The Spirit, byPaul, treats the Hebrew of the Old Testament, withindependence of handling, presenting the divine truth in variousaspects; sometimes as here sanctioning the Septuagint (compareIsa 34:4; Rev 6:14);sometimes the Hebrew; sometimes varying from both.
changedas one laysaside a garment to put on another.
thou art the same(Isa 46:4; Mal 3:6).The same in nature, therefore in covenant faithfulness to Thy people.
shall not failHebrew,“shall not end.” Israel, in the Babylonian captivity, inthe hundred second Psalm, casts her hopes of deliverance on Messiah,the unchanging covenant God of Israel.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,…. In order to lay them aside, and make no use of them in the manner they now are; just as clothes, when they are grown old, or out of fashion, are folded up, and laid aside from use at present, or are put into another form. In the Hebrew text it is, “as a vesture shalt thou change them”; but the sense is the same, for a garment is changed by folding it, or turning it; agreeably to which Jarchi interprets the Hebrew phrase thus,
“as a man turns his garment to put it off;”
the Vulgate Latin version reads as the Hebrew does, and one of the manuscripts of New College, Oxford.
And they shall be changed; as to their form and use, not as to their being; for a change, and an annihilation, are two things:
but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail; which is expressive of the immutability of Christ, in his nature and perfections, in his person, and offices, in the virtue of his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; and of his duration or continuance, in opposition to the fading and transitory nature of the heavens and earth, and of all outward enjoyments: and this may serve to take off the heart from the one, and set it upon the other; and to strengthen our faith in Christ, and encourage us to expect a continuance of blessings from him; all supplies of grace now, and eternal glory hereafter.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
A mantle (). Old word for covering from , to fling around, as a veil in 1Co 11:15, nowhere else in N.T.
Shalt thou roll up (). Future active of , late form for , in N.T. only here and Re 6:14, to fold together.
As a garment ( ). LXX repeats from 11.
They shall be changed (). Second future passive of , old verb, to change.
Shall not fail ( ). Future active of , to leave out, to fail, used of the sun in Lu 23:45. “Nature is at his mercy, not he at nature’s” (Moffatt).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Vesture [] . Only here and 1Co 11:5. From periballein to throw around : a wrapper, mantle.
Shalt thou fold them up [ ] . Rather, roll them up. A scribal error for ajllaxeiv shalt change. After these words the LXX repeats wJv iJmation as a garment from ver. 11.
Shall not fail [ ] . Shall not be ended. With this exception the verb only in Luke’s Gospel. See Luk 16:9; Luk 22:32; Luk 23:45. Very frequent in LXX
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,” (kai hosei peribolaion helikseis autous) “And as like) a mantle thou wilt roll them up,” fold them, or lay them aside to be dissolved; one has described the visible heaven and earth as God’s vesture, vestment, or robe that has been defiled so badly that he can not always use them to declare his glory, Psa 19:1-2. Both the creation and dissolution of all things are attributed to God the Son, 2Th 1:6-9.
2) “And they shall be changed,” (hos himation kai allagesontai) “And as (similar to) a garment they will be changed,” altered, renovated, restored or made new, even as our mortal bodies shall be made new in the regeneration, the restitution of all things of creation thru the redemption wrought in Christ, Act 3:20; Rev 21:1; 1Co 15:23-28.
3) “But thou art the same,” (su de ho autos ei) “yet, thou art (dost continue to exist) the same,” the unchangeable one, in all holy nature, attributes, and power; Mal 3:6 reads, “I the Lord change not;” neither does his Son change; Heb 13:8 reads, “Jesus Christ the game yesterday, and today, and for ever.”
4) “And thy years shall not fail,” (kai ta ete sou ouk ekleipsousin) “And thy years will not fail,” to exist or continue. His years or time of being is never completed or finished, Rev 1:8; Rev 22:12-13; Isa 9:6-7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(12) And as a vesture . . .Rather (see Heb. 1:10), And as a mantle shalt Thou roll them up; as a garment shall they also be changed. The course of thought is easily traced: as the garment which has grown old is rolled up and changed, so the former heavens and earth shall give place to the new heavens and the new earth.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. As a vesture By a figure of great majesty in this verse God is an infinite Person, and the universe is his immense raiment. As a person takes off, folds up, and throws aside when old, his garments, so God deals with phenomenal things. But, contrastively, the person remains the same, and of God’s person the years shall not fail; they shall roll forever onward.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Heb 1:12 . ] and as a cloak (something flung about one) wilt Thou roll them up, and they shall become changed . In the original: As the vesture dost Thou change them, and they are changed. This sense of the original is rendered by the LXX. according to the reading of the Cod. Vat.: ; whereas the Cod. Alex. presents ; and this is also most probably the reading followed by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews in our passage.
] will know no end .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Ver. 12. But thou art the same ] As in essence, so in will and counsel. Repentance with man is the changing of his will; repentance with God is the willing of a change; Mutatio rei, non Dei, effectus non affectus, facti non consilii.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
vesture. Greek. peribolaion. Onlyhere and 1Co 11:15
fold . . . up = roll . . . up. Greek. helisso. Only here. But see Rev 6:14.
changed. Greek. allaaso. See Act 6:14.
fail. Greek. ekleipo. Only here, and Luk 16:9; Luk 22:32. Verses 10-12 are from Psa 102:25-27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Heb 1:12. , Thou shalt change.-, they shall be changed) Many read for , : but there is the one verb twice in the Hebrew, which the LXX. often translate , never by .[9]- ) , the same, never another (anything different), without old age and change. See Hiller, Onom., p. 71, 262. So 1Sa 2:10 , LXX. .
[9] It must be observed, however, that the marg. of the 2d Ed., differing from the larger Ed., does not assign a greater value to the reading than to . Umwenden, which is read in the Germ. Vers., accords with this. Therefore the latter views of Bengel are not refuted but confirmed by the decision which Ernesti gives, Bibl. th., T. vi., p. 6. But the same learned man, T. v., p. 216, reminds us that and , in the idiom found in Hebraizing Greek, are the same as, Thou shalt abolish, shalt reduce to nothing. Let them so consider who can.-E. B
AB and the oldest MS. of Vulg. Amiat. have D() corrected, f, and Victors Vulg., have .-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
but: Heb 13:8, Exo 3:14, Joh 8:58, Jam 1:17
and thy: Psa 90:4
Reciprocal: Deu 32:39 – even I Job 10:5 – General Job 36:26 – neither Psa 9:7 – But Isa 46:4 – even to your Isa 50:9 – they all Isa 51:6 – the heavens Mic 5:3 – his Mat 5:18 – Till Mat 24:35 – Heaven 2Pe 3:10 – in the which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE UNCHANGEABLENESS OF GOD
Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.
Heb 1:12
As against our feeling that we have made our own fate, that our sins have laid such hold upon us that we are not able to look up, the redeeming entry of God upon His disordered world is above all the manifestation of His invincible and unchanging love, not to be diverted from its purpose, from the triumphant achievement of the will of love, by any failure of man, by any apparent impossibility of raising man from the pit into which he has sunk himself beyond the reach of human hope.
I. This redeeming power of God to recreate good out of evil is not merely an idea; thank God it is an experience. We know in the history of our own souls how God can renew the life, out of the materials in which our own sins and failings have left it to Him to work, can rebuild the story of our hope. We know enough to know with absolute assurance that there is nothing we can have done or left undone which can have carried us beyond the range of the renewing power of His forgiving and recreative love. The broad lesson of the redeeming love of God, which is writ large for us in the Christmas mystery of God coming down into a world of sin, is reflected in our own experience of its truth and confirmed to be the ground of a future and immediate hope.
II. The invincible power of the unchangeable love of God is in this revelation of experience made more abundantly plain when we consider the unchangeableness of Gods love in relation to our sense of a fate that binds us to be what we have always been. For the unchangeableness of the love is shown in its unfailingly progressive manifestation. At each step in the lesson of life and of experience we see that God is the same, because His compassions fail not, they are new every morningthe same love which we have known all along unfolds fresh glories of hope. The unchanging love of God shows itself in a perpetual surprise. Always it achieves something far beyond what we hoped for or desired. The unchanging love of God says always, Behold, I make all things new.
III. The crowning wonder of His Redemption is that in the redemption from sin, whether it be the redemption of the world or of our own individual character, the result which we see wrought out of the materials of our failure and our sin attains a revelation of love so perfect and complete, a progress so unfailing, so unchecked, that we cannot conceive or imagine that it could have been greater or more glorious than it is. We cannot conceive it, and we are right. God cannot change. Nothing can change Him, nothing can defeat Him.
Rev. Wilfrid Richmond.
Illustration
From moods of moral depression we rise to a real and living hope as we come face to face with the master truth of the unchangeableness of the Eternal God. He is the same. For it is not mere unchangeableness with which we are face to face. We misconceive the attributes of God whenever we isolate them from one another. It is the unchangeableness of the invincible and eternal love of God with which we are face to face. This is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of the Creation of God.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Heb 1:12. A vesture is a covering piece, to be folded up or discarded when no longer useful. Changed is from ALLASSO which Thayer defines, “To exchange one thing for another.” This is said with reference to the earth and the other parts of the material universe related to it. They are finally to be discarded and dissolved, and other things will be used in their place. (See 2Pe 3:10-13; Rev 21:1.) Thou art the same. Not that Christ will never change his position in the great plan of God, for He will cease to be the king after the judgment day (1Co 15:24-27). But He will never cease to be (as will the material universe), and in that sense His years shall not fail.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 1:12. As a mantle shalt thou roll them up, as a garment also shall they be changeda quotation from Psalms 102, with the words as a garment added, on the authority of the best MSS. The heavens and the earth are to be lolled up as done with, and they are to be changed for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
12. Thou wilt roll them away like a book, and they shall be changed. Books of olden time were skins of animals inscribed and rolled up like a side of leather. This is a vivid description of the wonderful transformations which Omnipotence will execute in the great and radical revolutions and renovations which await the material worlds in the coming ages.