Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 2:7
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
7. a little lower ] The “little” in the original ( mat) means “little in degree;” but is here applied to time “for a little while” as is clear from Heb 2:9. The writer was only acquainted with the LXX. and in Greek the would naturally suggest brevity of time (comp. 1Pe 5:10). Some of the Old Greek translators who took the other meaning rendered .
than the angels ] The original has “than Elohim,” i.e. than God; but the name Elohim has, as we have seen, a much wider and lower range than “Jehovah,” and the rendering “angels” is here found both in the LXX. and the Targum. It must be borne in mind that the writer is only applying the words of the Psalm, and putting them as it were to a fresh use. The Psalm is “a lyric echo of the first chapter of Genesis” “and speaks of man’s exaltation. The author is applying it to man’s lowliness (“ad suum institutum deflectit,” says Calvin, “ ‘ ”). Yet David’s notion, like that of Cicero, is that “Man is a mortal God,” and the writer is only touching on man’s humiliation to illustrate his exaltation of the God-Man. See Perowne on the Psalms (1. 144).
and didst set him over the works of thy hands ] This clause is probably a gloss from the LXX., as it is absent from some of the best MSS. and Versions (e.g. B and the Syriac). The writer omitted it as not bearing on his argument.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels – Margin, A little while inferior to. The Greek may here mean a little inferior in rank, or inferior for a little time. But the probable meaning is, that it refers to inferiority of rank. Such is its obvious sense in Psa 8:1-9, from which this is quoted. The meaning is, that God had made man but little inferior to the angels in rank. He was inferior, but still God had exalted him almost to their rank. Feeble, and weak, and dying as he was, God had exalted him, and had given him a dominion and a rank almost like that of the angels. The wonder of the Psalmist is, that God had given to human nature so much honor – a wonder that is not at all diminished when we think of the honor done to man by his connection with the divine nature in the person of the Lord Jesus. If in contemplating the race as it appears; if when we look at the dominion of man over the lower world, we are amazed that God has bestowed so much honor on our nature, how much more should we wonder that he has honored man by his connection with the divinity. Paul applies this to the Lord Jesus. His object is to show that he is superior to the angels. In doing this he shows that he had a nature given him in itself but little inferior to the angels, and then that that had been exalted to a rank and dominion far above theirs. That such honor should be put on man is what is suited to excite amazement, and well may one continue to ask why it has been done? When we survey the heavens, and contemplate their glories, and think of the exalted rank of other beings, we may well inquire why has such honor been conferred on man?
Thou crownedst him with glory and honor. – That is, with exalted honor. Glory and honor here are nearly synonymous. The meaning is, that elevated honor had been conferred on human nature. A most exalted and extended dominion had been given to man, which showed that God had greatly honored him. This appeared eminently in the person of the Lord Jesus, the exalted Man, to whom this dominion was given in the widest extent.
And didst set him over … – Man has been placed over the other works of God:
(1)By the original appointment Gen 1:26;
(2)Man at large – though fallen, sinful, feeble, dying;
(3)Man, eminently in the person of the Lord Jesus, in whom human nature has received its chief exaltation. This is what is particularly in the eye of the apostle – and the language of the Psalm will accurately express this exaltation.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 2:7
A little lower than the angels
Humiliation the way to exaltation
All the forementioned branches of Christs advancement, which are here and Isa 53:12; Eph Php 2:10, audio sundry other places inferred upon His humiliation, afford unto us sundry considerable observations, as
1.
That working and suffering are the way to glory and honour.
2. That works of service and suffering were requisite for mans redemption and salvation (verse 10).
3. That God was mindful of His Son in His meanest and lowest estate, according to that which is written of the Son in relation to His Father, Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell: neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show Me the path of life, &c. (Psa 16:10-11).
4. That all the members of Christs body have good ground to be confident, that after they have done and endured what God shall call them unto, they shall be recompensed with a crown of glory (1Pe 5:4). Christ therefore is to be looked on, as well advanced as debased; in His exaltation and in His humiliation; in heaven at His Fathers right hand, as well as on the cross, or in the grave; crowned with glory, as well as with thorns (Heb 12:1). Thus will our faith be better settled and more strengthened, as Stephens was, when he saw the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God (Act 7:56). Thus shall we with much patience, contentedness and cheerfulness, do and endure what God by His providence calleth us unto, knowing that if we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with Him (2Ti 2:12). (W. Gouge.)
Christ for a little lime made lower than the angels
It is not material, whether we understand by little, a little measure of inferiority, or little time; for both are true. But the principal thing in these words is, wherein He was made lower than the angels; and that was in this, that He was man and mortal. Man is inferior to an angel as man; and much more as mortal, because the angels never die. Now Christ had the body of a man, and a soul separable from His body till the resurrection; and that was the little time here meant, the time of His mortality. Both might be joined in one divine axiom thus. We see, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that Jesus who for a little time was made lower than the angels. (G. Lawson.)
Dignity of man
Science may prove the insignificance of this globe in the scale of creation, but it cannot prove the insignificance of man. (B. DIsraeli.)
Descent of man
The subject of a conversation at which Carlyle was present, but took no part, was the theory of evolution. At length a pause occurring, Carlyle emphatically and with solemnity observed, Gentlemen, you are well pleased to trace your descent froth a tadpole and an ape but I would say with David, Lord, Thou hast made me but a little lower than the angels. (Leisure Hour.)
Greatness of man
But how is man little? He has competent knowledge of the character of God; he is only a little lower than the angels, and has dominion over all the works of God. He can comprehend the starry heavens; he is Godlike in his original nature; for in the image of God made He him. The sublime truths which God has revealed to man show what estimate God has of mans capacity and responsibility. A finite creature can insult the majesty of heaven as deliberately and intelligently as the archangel; he can annihilate the authority of God in his own soul, and wherever he has influence; if all finite creatures should do this–and there are no creatures who are not finite–there would be no moral universe, no Divine government. (N. Adams.)
Mans greatness
I cannot reach the stars with my hands but I pierce beyond them with my thoughts, and if things go on in the illimitable depths of the skies which would shrivel up the imagination like a dead leaf, I am greater than they, for I ask Why, and look before and after, and draw all things into the tumult of my personal life–the stars in their courses, and the whole past and future of the universe, all thing, as they move in their eternal paths, even as the tiniest pool reflects the sun and the everlasting hills. (Arnold Toynbee.)
Dignity of man
Man would not be the most distinguished being upon the earth if he were not too distinguished for it. (Goethe.)
Mans superiority
Too much stress has been laid upon the proud upright position of man, and a great deal has been said and written concerning the sublime aspect of his countenance, and the Godlike dignity of his carriage. A moments consideration will be sufficient to show that though he looks upwards with ease and facility, he cannot, in this respect, claim any superiority. The eagle, which gazes on the sun with undazzled eye, and makes his pathway among the clouds, yields not in dignity of appearance or power of locomotion to man, who merely walks upon the ground. Can man measure his beauty with the antelope, his speed with the horse, or his strength with the-elephant? It is in virtue of his intellect, of his reason, and not of his bodily form that he ranks above his fellows. It was in mind, not in body, that God made man in His own image. (Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.)
Preparation for man
How in the household are garments quilted and wrought, and curiously embroidered, and the softest things laid aside, and the cradle prepared to greet the little pilgrim of love when it comes from distant regions we know not whence! Now, no cradle for an emperors child was ever prepared with such magnificence as this world has been for man. It is Gods cradle for the race, curiously carved and decorated, flower-strewn and star-curtained. (H. W. Beecher.)
All things in subjection
The rulership of man
I. GOD WAS MINDFUL, OF THE LIMITS IN WHICH MAN WOULD EXERCISE DOMINION. All Gods inanimate creatures serve Him and us by keeping within the limits prescribed for them. The planets have their orbits, the sea its boundary. The limits in which man was to exercise dominion over nature were love and obedience to God. So long as he could say: O Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth and render the service flowing from such a homage, so long could it be said of him: Thou hast put all things under his feet.
II. WHEN MAN STEPPED OUT OF THESE LIMITS, THE WORLD REFUSED TO BE LIMITED BY HIM. Truly, we see not yet, or not now, all things under him. The physician dies of the disease which he studies to cure; the seaman finds his grave in the ocean he has spent his life in learning to rule. Even the body of the Christian is subject to the laws of death and decay.
III. ONE MAN HAS KEPT WITHIN THE LIMITS OF LOVE AND OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER AND GOD, AND NATURE THEREFORE OWNS HIM AS HER LORD, He could say: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and therefore He could move amongst disease without danger of contamination, navigate the sea as its Master, and suspend old laws, or create new ones, at His will. The grave could not hold Him; but, from dominion over this world, He ascended to the throne of the universe, even the right hand of the Majesty on high. How true of Him: Thou hast set Thy glory above the heavens. Lessons:
1. If we would rule, we must be ruled.
2. All may find their way back to their lost limits by the generous love of Christ. He tasted death for every man.
3. Every Christian, in his glorified condition, will have dominion according to his ability to exercise it for his own good, and that of others Mat 26:21). (W. Harris.)
Christ the chief Lord of the world
This agreeth to all men in general, to the faithful in special, whom God hath made kings and lords over all His creatures by Christ But principally it Is to be understood of our Saviour Christ, who is the chief Lord of the world, the King and the Mediator of the Church; He hath all power in heaven and earth. All things, yea, even the devils themselves, are put in subjection under His feet. God hath given Him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should Php 2:9). We also by Him; because, we are members of His body and His brethren, we have an interest to all creatures: all things throughout the wide world are ours. The heaven, the earth, the birds, the beasts, the fishes, the trees, the flowers are ours; death is ours; the very devil himself is our slave and subject; God hath put him under our feet.
1. Here we may behold the dignity of Christians; all things by Jesus Christ are under our dominion. Oh, what a bountiful God is this, that hath given us so large a possession! Let us sound forth His praises lot it, and use His liberality to His glory. As God said to Peter, Arise, kill, and eat; when the sheet full of all kind of creatures was let down to him from heaven; so doth He say to us all, we may freely eat of all creatures whatsoever; but let us not abuse Gods creatures to His dishonour and our destruction. Let us use them soberly, religiously, to make us more cheerful in the service of our God.
2. Let us not stand in a slavish scare of any creature; of the stars, the winds, no, not of the devils themselves; for all are put in subjection under our feet by Jesus Christ that loved us, and hath given us a superiority over all; we shall be conquerors over them all; a singular comfort to the faithful! Satan may tempt and assault us, but God will tread him under our feet.
3. For this dominion let us thank the Lord Jesus Christ. Of ourselves we are worth nothing, stark beggars; in Christ and by Christ we have all that we have. Let us magnify Him for it. (W. Jones, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Thou madest him a little lower than the angels] We must again have recourse to the original from which this quotation is made: vattechasserehu meat meelohim. If this be spoken of man as he came out of the hands of his Maker, it places him at the head of all God’s works; for literally translated it is: Thou hast made him less than God. And this is proved by his being made in the image and likeness of God, which is spoken of no other creature either in heaven or earth; and it is very likely that in his original creation he stood at the head of all the works of God, and the next to his Maker. This sentiment is well expressed in the following lines, part of a paraphrase on this psalm, by the Rev. C. Wesley: –
“Him with glorious majesty
Thy grace vouchsafed to crown:
Transcript of the One in Three,
He in thine image shone.
Foremost of created things,
Head of all thy works he stood;
Nearest the great King of kings,
And little less than God.”
If we take the words as referring to Jesus Christ, then they must be understood as pointing out the time of his humiliation, as in Heb 2:9; and the little lower, , in both verses, must mean for a short time, or a little while, as is very properly inserted among our marginal readings. Adam was originally made higher than the angels, but by sin he is now brought low, and subjected to death; for the angelic nature is not mortal. Thus, taking the words in their common acceptation, man in his present state may be said to be lessened below the angels. Jesus Christ, as the eternal Logos, or God with God, could not die, therefore a body was prepared for him; and thus , for a short while, he was made lower than the angels, that he might be capable of suffering death. And indeed the whole of the passage suits him better than it does any of the children of men, or than even Adam himself in a state of innocence; for it is only under the feet of Jesus that all things are put in subjection, and it was in consequence of his humiliation that he had a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, Php 2:9-11. Therefore he must be infinitely higher than the angels, for they, as well as all the things in heaven, bow in subjection to him.
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour] This was strictly true of Adam in his state of innocence, for he was set over all things in this lower world; all sheep and oxen, the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth over the paths of the seas, Ps 8:7; Ps 8:8. So far all this perfectly applies to Adam; but it is evident the apostle takes all in a much higher sense, that of universal dominion; and hence he says, he left nothing that is not put under him. These verses, collated with the above passage from the Epistle to the Philippians, mutually illustrate each other. And the crowning Christ with glory and honour must refer to his exaltation after his resurrection, in which, as the victorious Messiah, he had all power given to him in heaven and earth. And although we do not yet see all things put under him, for evil men, and evil spirits, are only under the subjection of control, yet we look forward to that time when the whole world shall be bowed to his sway, and when the stone cut out of the mountain without hands shall become great, and fill the whole earth. What was never true of the first Adam, even in his most exalted state, is true of the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ; and to him, and to him alone, it is most evident that the apostle applies these things; and thus he is higher than the angels, who never had nor can have such dominion and consequent glory.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou madest him: Hlattwsav, so diminished, as it supposed the subject to be in a higher condition before: this no man ever was, but the man Christ Jesus: see Phi 2:7,8.
A little lower than the angels: , may refer to his condition, and to the duration of it. He was lower a little in his nature, being a man and servant; in his condition, suffering and dying; yet this was but for a little while, being about thirty-three years in the form of a servant, and three days in the grave, Eph 4:9; so he was lesser than the angels, in the Psalm styled Gods sons, Psa 97:7, to whom he is here compared; though it be a truth he is lesser than God in the human nature.
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour; an allusion to the crowning of kings at their inauguration; so God visibly took him up to heaven, set him down on his right hand on his throne, and conferred on him the highest royal dignity, honour, and glory, though the Hebrews disesteemed him, Eph 1:20,21; 4:9,10; Php 2:9.
And didst set him over the works of thy hands; his institution to his mediatory sovereignty and dominion, as the supreme Lord of all that God made in heaven and in earth, to order, rule, command, and dispose of them as he will, Psa 8:6; compare Phi 2:10,11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. a littlenot as BENGEL,”a little time.”
than the angelsHebrew,“than God,” “Elohim,” that is, theabstract qualities of God, such as angels possess in aninferior form; namely, heavenly, spiritual, incorporeal natures. Man,in his original creation, was set next beneath them. So the manJesus, though Lord of angels, when He emptied Himself of theexternals of His Divinity (see on Php2:6, 7), was in His human nature “a little lower than theangels”; though this is not the primary reference here, but manin general.
crownedst him with glory andhonouras the appointed kingly vicegerent of God over thisearth (Ge 1:1-2:25).
and didst set him over theworks of thy handsomitted in some of the oldest manuscripts;but read by others and by oldest versions: so Ps8:6, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thyhands.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels,…. In the Hebrew text it is, “than Elohim”, which some render, “than God”; but it is rightly rendered by the apostle, “than angels”; and so the Targum, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it. Christ was made a little lower than the angels, through the assumption of the human nature, which is inferior to angels, especially the corporeal part of it, and in this Kimchi makes the lessening to be; and more especially as that was assumed by Christ, with the infirmities of it; and by reason of the straits and indigencies he was brought into in it; besides, he was in it made under the law, which was given by angels, and to some parts of which they are not subject; and sometimes he stood in need of the ministry and support of angels, and had it; particularly he was made lower than they, when he was deprived of the gracious presence of God, and in the time of his sufferings and death; and which seem chiefly to be respected, as appears from Heb 2:9 and the word “little” may not so much intend the degree of his humiliation, as the duration of it; for it may be rendered, “a little while”; in which sense it is used in Ac 5:34 as the Hebrew word is in Ps 37:10 and so may respect the time of his suffering death; and at most the time from his incarnation to his resurrection; for he could not continue long in this low estate, which is matter of joy to us; he could not be held by the cords of death, but must rise, and be exalted above angels, as he is: and he was made so low by God, Jehovah the Father, whose name is excellent in all the earth, Ps 8:1 he preordained him to this low estate; he prepared a body for him, and had a very great hand in his sufferings and death; though neither of these were contrary to his will:
thou crownest him with glory and honour; with that glory he had with the Father before the world was, and which followed upon his sufferings and death; for through them he entered into it, and upon his resurrection had it, and he is ascended on high, where he has the honour to sit at the right hand of God, which none of the angels have; and therefore is now above them, though once for a while below them, and they are now subject to him:
and didst set him over the works of thy hands: over angels, principalities, and powers; over the kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of it, and all things in it, and made him higher than the heavens, and gave him a name above every name.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thou madest him a little lower ( ). First aorist active of old verb from (less), causative verb to lessen, to decrease, to make less, only here, and verse 9 and Joh 3:30 in N.T. is accusative neuter of degree like 2Sa 16:1, “some little,” but of time in Isa 57:17 (for a little while).
Than the angels (‘ ). “Beside angels” like with the accusative of comparison in Heb 1:4; Heb 1:9. The Hebrew here has Elohim which word is applied to judges in Ps 82:1; Ps 82:6 (Joh 10:34f.). Here it is certainly not “God” in our sense. In Ps 29:1 the LXX translates Elohim by (sons of God).
Thou crownedst (). First aorist active indicative of old verb, , to crown, in N.T. only here and 2Ti 2:5 The Psalmist refers to God’s purpose in creating man with such a destiny as mastery over nature. The rest of verse 7 is absent in B.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Thou madest him a little lower than the angels,” (elattosas auton brochu ti par’ angelous) “Thou madest him a little less than angels a little less or lower in the sense that man is a creature, limited in his natural body, by time and space, till he returns to the earth, Gen 3:17-19.
2) “And crownedst him with glory and honor,” (dokse kai time estephanosas auton) “And with honor and glory thou didst crown him;” He was given dominion or jurisdiction over the earth by divine order, from his creation, Gen 1:26-30.
3) “And didst set him over the works of thy hands; as cited above.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7. Thou madest him, etc. A new difficulty now arises as to the explanation of the words. I have already shown that the passage is fitly applicable to the Son of God; but the Apostle seems now to turn the words from that meaning in which David understood them; for a little, βραχύ τι seems to refer to time, as it means a little while, and designates the abasement of Christ’s humiliation; and he confines the glory to the day of resurrection, while David extends it generally to the whole life of man.
To this I answer, that it was not the Apostle’s design to give an exact explanation of the words. For there is nothing improperly done, when verbal allusions are made to embellish a subject in hand, as Paul does in quoting a passage in Rom 10:6, from Moses, “Who shall ascend into heaven,” etc., he does not join the words “heaven and hell” for the purpose of explanation, but as ornaments. The meaning of David is this, — “O Lord, thou hast raised man to such a dignity, that it differs but little from divine or angelic honor; for he is set a ruler over the whole world.” This meaning the Apostle did not intend to overthrow, nor to turn to something else; but he only bids us to consider the abasement of Christ, which appeared for a short time, and then the glory with which he is perpetually crowned; and this he does more by alluding to expressions than by explaining what David understood. (35)
To be mindful and to visit mean the same thing, except that the second is somewhat fuller, for it sets forth the presence of God by the effect.
(35) See Appendix G.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
7. Little lower than the angels Unfallen man belonged to a high order, but the angels were a grade above him.
Set hands A reference to the Genesis history, in which primeval man is exhibited as lord of the lower creation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Heb 2:7 . ] Thus the LXX. translate the Hebrew . The sense of the Hebrew is: “Thou hast made Him only a little lower than God, hast made Him only a little less than God.” The is consequently in the original a note of degree, and the whole former member contains in the original the same thought as the immediately following . The author, however, takes the of the LXX. in the temporal sense: “for a short time” (comp. Heb 2:9 ), and finds in the second member an opposition to the first, in such wise that in the application he refers the statement of the first clause to the humiliation of Christ, that of the second to the exaltation of Christ.
The words following these in the LXX. (as also in the Hebrew): (comp. the critical remarks), have been left out by the author as unsuitable to his presentment. For the statement that God has set the Son of man or the Messiah over the works of creation which proceeded from the hands of God, might appear to contain a contradiction to Heb 1:10 (comp. also Heb 1:2 ), where earth and heaven were designated as works created by the hands of the Son.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Ver. 7. A little lower ] Or, for a little while, Paulisper, viz. Ab utero ad urnam, from the womb to the tomb, from his birth to his burial, from his abasement to his advancement.
And didst set him over the works ] Lions hate apes, but fear men; whereof no other probable reason can be given, but this here in the text; insomuch as the most timorous men dare kick and beat the largest elephants.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 .] Thou madest him a little lower than the angels (Heb., : which is literally, “Thou lettest him be little inferior to God.” “ in Kal betokens ‘to be without,’ ‘to fall short of,’ and has, like all other verbs of abounding and wanting, the thing wanted in the accusative: see Gesen. 135. 3. b. The causative Pihel, ‘to make or let want,’ takes consequently a double accusative, of the person (here ) and of the thing (here ): see Gesen. 136. 1. is usually taken comparative, ‘ in comparison of God :’ according to Hupfeld, it is properly partitive, ‘ of God :’ of the attributes which constitute the essence of God.” De Wette: and thus also Calvin: “Tot decoribus ornatos esse dicit ut eorum conditio divina et clesti gloria non longe sit inferior.” But when De W. goes on, in treating of , to say that some understand it, with the LXX , of time , and refers to Heb 2:6-7 to confirm this, I must venture to doubt, though I find the same very generally assumed (e. g. by Calvin, “Videtur apostolus verba trahere in diversum sensum quam intellexerit David. Nam videtur ad tempus referre ut sit paulisper , et imminutionem intelligit quum exinanitus fuit Christus, et gloriam ad resurrectionis diem restringit, quum David generaliter extendat ad totam hominis vitam.” And then he defends this method of quotation on the ground of there being “nihil incommodi si allusiones in verbis qurat ad ornandam prsentem causam.” Similarly Schlichting, Grotius, Hammond, Limborch, and most of the moderns: and, maintaining the sense of time in the Psalm also , Beza, Gerhard, Calov., Peirce, Michaelis, al.), whether this is so certain after all. The expression is used both in the classics and in Hellenistic Greek, just as much of space and quantity, as of time; as the following examples (besides reff.) will shew, gathered from Wetst., Bleek, and from various indices: Hippocrat. de Natur. Hominum i., : Thucyd. i. 63, : 2Ki 16:1 , : Galen, de Usu Part. xiv., : id. de Facult. Med. Simpl. v., . : ib. vi., , . Also Plato, Legg. x. p. 906 B, . It is used of time in Luk 22:58 ; Act 5:34 ; Act 27:28 ; Isa 57:17 . This being the case, I do not see why it should be at once set down that the LXX or our Writer necessarily referred it to time, either here or in Heb 2:9 ; see below. So also Kuinoel, Heinrichs, Wahl, and Bretschneider. The only point remaining for discussion is , the LXX rendering of , and the meaning understood also by the Chaldee paraphrast. The best Hebrew scholars seem to agree that it represents, not the personal God, but the abstract qualities of Godhead, in which all that is divine, or immediately connected with the Deity, is included. This, as Hupfeld himself confesses, the angels may well be, in so far as they may be called , or . If so, then the rendering of the LXX and our text is, though not exhaustive of the original, yet by no means an inaccurate one. The angelic nature, being the lowest of that which is divine and heavenly, marks well the terminus just beneath which man is set. And it must be remarked, that the stress of the argument here is not on this mention of the angels, but on the assertion of the sovereignty of man. The verb is in frequent classical use: see Palm and Rost’s Lex.: and notice the parallel from Philo in reff.): thou crownedst him with glory and honour (I must remind the reader of what has been said before; that the quotation is adduced here not of the Messiah but of man , and that on this the whole subsequent argument depends. With this view vanish the difficulties which have been raised about the original and the here-intended meaning of this clause. It is, in fact, a further setting forth of the preceding one. Man, who was left not far behind the divine attributes themselves, was also invested with kingly majesty on earth, put into the place of God Himself in sovereignty over the world. That this has only been realized in the man Jesus Christ is not brought out till below, and forms the central point of the argument. Hupfeld remarks, that , here rendered . , is a common expression for the divine majesty, and thence for the kingly, as a reflection of the divine: and the crowning represents the kingly majesty, with which man is adorned as with a kingly crown: Calv., “Decoratum esse honoris insignibus qu non longe a divino fulgore absint”):
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Heb 2:7 . That God has been mindful of man and visited him is apparent in the three particulars now mentioned. is “a little,” either in material, or in space, or in time. In 1Sa 14:29 , . . In Isa 57:17 , of time, . So in N.T., of aterial, Joh 6:7 ; of space, Act 27:28 ; of time Act 5:34 . So in classics, v . Bleek. The original of the psalm points to the translation: “Thou didst make him little lower than the angels” [in the Heb. “than God”]. There seems no reason to depart from this meaning either in this verse or in Heb 2:9 . So Alford and Westcott, but Davidson and Weiss and several others are of opinion that as the words are in Heb 2:9 applied to the Messiah, whose superiority has been so insisted upon, an allusion to His inferiority would be out of place; “and that the phrase should be used of degree in one place and time in another, when the point of the passage lies in the identity of the Son’s history with that of man, is an idea only puerile” (Davidson). But on any rendering the inferiority of Jesus to angels so far as dying goes is granted, and there is no reason why the sense of degree should not be kept in both clauses. frequently conjoined, Rev 21:26 ; 1Ti 1:17 ; Thucyd., iv. 86; Plut., Num. , 51; Lucian Somn. , 13.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
madest . . . lower. Greek. elattoo. Only here, Heb 2:9, and Joh 3:30 (decrease).
a little = for a little while.
the. Omit.
crownedst. Greek. stephanoo. See 2Ti 2:5.
glory. See p. 1511.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7.] Thou madest him a little lower than the angels (Heb., : which is literally, Thou lettest him be little inferior to God. in Kal betokens to be without, to fall short of, and has, like all other verbs of abounding and wanting, the thing wanted in the accusative: see Gesen. 135. 3. b. The causative Pihel, to make or let want, takes consequently a double accusative, of the person (here ) and of the thing (here ): see Gesen. 136. 1. is usually taken comparative, in comparison of God: according to Hupfeld, it is properly partitive, of God: of the attributes which constitute the essence of God. De Wette: and thus also Calvin: Tot decoribus ornatos esse dicit ut eorum conditio divina et clesti gloria non longe sit inferior. But when De W. goes on, in treating of , to say that some understand it, with the LXX, of time, and refers to Heb 2:6-7 to confirm this, I must venture to doubt, though I find the same very generally assumed (e. g. by Calvin,-Videtur apostolus verba trahere in diversum sensum quam intellexerit David. Nam videtur ad tempus referre ut sit paulisper, et imminutionem intelligit quum exinanitus fuit Christus, et gloriam ad resurrectionis diem restringit, quum David generaliter extendat ad totam hominis vitam. And then he defends this method of quotation on the ground of there being nihil incommodi si allusiones in verbis qurat ad ornandam prsentem causam. Similarly Schlichting, Grotius, Hammond, Limborch, and most of the moderns: and, maintaining the sense of time in the Psalm also, Beza, Gerhard, Calov., Peirce, Michaelis, al.), whether this is so certain after all. The expression is used both in the classics and in Hellenistic Greek, just as much of space and quantity, as of time; as the following examples (besides reff.) will shew, gathered from Wetst., Bleek, and from various indices: Hippocrat. de Natur. Hominum i., : Thucyd. i. 63, : 2Ki 16:1, : Galen, de Usu Part. xiv., : id. de Facult. Med. Simpl. v., . : ib. vi., , . Also Plato, Legg. x. p. 906 B, . It is used of time in Luk 22:58; Act 5:34; Act 27:28; Isa 57:17. This being the case, I do not see why it should be at once set down that the LXX or our Writer necessarily referred it to time, either here or in Heb 2:9; see below. So also Kuinoel, Heinrichs, Wahl, and Bretschneider. The only point remaining for discussion is , the LXX rendering of , and the meaning understood also by the Chaldee paraphrast. The best Hebrew scholars seem to agree that it represents, not the personal God, but the abstract qualities of Godhead, in which all that is divine, or immediately connected with the Deity, is included. This, as Hupfeld himself confesses, the angels may well be, in so far as they may be called , or . If so, then the rendering of the LXX and our text is, though not exhaustive of the original, yet by no means an inaccurate one. The angelic nature, being the lowest of that which is divine and heavenly, marks well the terminus just beneath which man is set. And it must be remarked, that the stress of the argument here is not on this mention of the angels, but on the assertion of the sovereignty of man. The verb is in frequent classical use: see Palm and Rosts Lex.: and notice the parallel from Philo in reff.): thou crownedst him with glory and honour (I must remind the reader of what has been said before; that the quotation is adduced here not of the Messiah but of man, and that on this the whole subsequent argument depends. With this view vanish the difficulties which have been raised about the original and the here-intended meaning of this clause. It is, in fact, a further setting forth of the preceding one. Man, who was left not far behind the divine attributes themselves, was also invested with kingly majesty on earth, put into the place of God Himself in sovereignty over the world. That this has only been realized in the man Jesus Christ is not brought out till below, and forms the central point of the argument. Hupfeld remarks, that , here rendered . , is a common expression for the divine majesty, and thence for the kingly, as a reflection of the divine: and the crowning represents the kingly majesty, with which man is adorned as with a kingly crown: Calv., Decoratum esse honoris insignibus qu non longe a divino fulgore absint):
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Heb 2:7. , a very short time) The same word occurs at Luk 22:58.- ) In Psa 8:6, the Hebrew has this meaning: Thou hast made the Son of Man to be a little less than God, that is, than Himself. The beautiful paraphrase of Christopher Corner is as follows: Christ having become man, humbled Himself under the cross, and abased Himself BELOW GOD, when the Divine nature remaining quiescent, and not exerting its power, God Himself and the Lord of Glory was crucified and put to death.-Expos. Psalm, p. 24. This is the force of Mem prefixed, 2Ch 15:16; Isa 52:14. See Nold. Concord. on this particle, 21. Mem following itself, Ecc 4:8. This mode of expression we find in another of Pauls phrases: and ; Php 2:6-7, note. But Paul retains the interpretation of the LXX interpreters as suited to his purpose; for the homonymy[11] of the Hebrew word signifies an invisible nature, and therefore, whether angelic or divine, superior to the human nature; and He, who was made lower than the angels, was certainly made lower than GOD: but He as it were anew supplies the appellation, GOD, in ch. Heb 3:4. For so the apostle is accustomed to use appropriately to his purpose the words of the LXX interpreters, and to bring before the reader anew the force of the Hebrew words, when they are more to his purpose; ch. Heb 10:8, Heb 12:6, notes.
[11] Things differing in nature called by one name by analogy. Append.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
madest: Heb 2:9
a little lower than: or, a little while inferior to
Reciprocal: Exo 3:16 – visited Psa 8:5 – thou Psa 65:11 – crownest Pro 4:9 – a crown Zec 6:13 – bear Mat 17:27 – and take Mar 11:3 – that Joh 5:27 – because Eph 4:9 – the lower 2Ti 2:5 – is he Heb 12:2 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Heb 2:7. Little lower than the angels This same thing is said of Jesus in verse 9, and the sense in which it is said is explained, namely, for the suffering of death. Hence we understand that this inferiority of man to the angels in the present verse refers to the nature of his body, that it is possible for him to die which the angels cannot do (Luk 20:36). Notwithstanding this humble status of man, God did crown him with the glory and honor of being placed over the works of His hands.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 2:7. Thou madest him That Isaiah , 1 st, Man, when first created; a little lower than the angels So the LXX., and all the old Greek translations, as also the Targum, read the clause; but the Hebrew, , is a little lower than God; the word God being probably put by an ellipsis for the angels of God. Man, when first formed, was, it seems, in the scale of creatures next to angels, his soul being spiritual, intelligent, free, and immortal; but, as by his body he was allied to the earth, and to the beasts that perish, he was lower than they. But, 2d, The expression here used, , may be rendered, for a little while, as it is Acts 5:44; And commanded to put the apostles forth, , a little space, or while; and Luk 22:58, , after a little while. Thus translated, the clause is, Thou hast made him, for a little while, lower, or less, than the angels: in which sense the passage may be properly applied to Christ, as it here is by the apostle, whose meaning appears to be, Thou, O God, hast made thy Son, by his incarnation, humiliation, and obedience unto death, for a little while, lower than the angels. For although from Christs birth the angels adored his person as their Lord, yet in the outward condition of his human nature he was made exceedingly beneath their state of glory and excellence, for a little while, a short season. That which renders this sense unquestionable, says Dr. Owen, is the apostles restraining the words precisely thereto, Heb 2:9. It was but for a little while that the person of Christ, in the nature of man, was brought into a condition more indigent than that to which the nature of angels is exposed: neither was he for that season made a little, but very much lower than the angels. And had this been the whole of his state, it could not have been an effect of that inexpressible love which the psalmist so admires. But, seeing it was but for a short season, and that for the blessed ends which the apostle speaks of, nothing could more commend it to us. Thou crownedst him with glory and honour That is, not only man at his first creation, to whom God gave dominion over the creatures, but also, and more especially, Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven. Jesus was covered with the greatest ignominy when he was crucified by the Jews as a deceiver, for calling himself Christ the Son of God. But at his resurrection and subsequent exaltation that ignominy was entirely removed; and his fame, and name, and honour, as the Son of God, were, in the most illustrious manner, restored to him. See Php 2:9-11. And didst set him over the work of thy hands As Ruler and Lord of all; namely, in a lower sense Adam when created, and more eminently Christ when raised from the dead, and set at Gods own right hand. For as he had actual dominion given him upon his ascension into heaven, so the extent of this dominion is the works of Gods hands.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:7 Thou {i} madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with {k} glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
(i) This is the first honour of the citizens of the world to come, that they are beside the angels.
(k) For they will be greatly honoured when they partake of the kingdom. He speaks of the thing that will be, as though it were already, because it is so certain.