Hebrews 1 is the first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author is anonymous, although the internal reference to "our brother Timothy" causes a traditional attribution to Paul, but this attribution has been disputed since the second century and there is no decisive evidence for the authorship. This chapter contains the introduction about God's final revelation through his son and how the son is superior to angels.
Exordium: God's Final Word through His Son (1:1–4)
The Epistle to the Hebrews attests that God spoke decisively to Israel through the prophets and that he finally and fully revealed his character and will by his son, with the greatness and absolute superiority over the angels, the supernatural beings considered by Israel to be closest to God.
Verses 1–2
While the Old Testament revelation in time past came at many times throughout the history of Israel and in various ways such as 'dreams, visions and angelic messages', the ultimate revelation in these last days of human history came through Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who was with God from the beginning and through whom God made the universe ; the Son is also appointed as the heir of all things to possess and rule over 'all that was created through him'.
Verses 3–4
"The brightness of his glory and the express image of His person": or "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" are revealed by the Son in his person to be what God is really like.
"Sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" is the heavenly enthronement of the Son of God which is the sequel of his atoning work.
The Son's Superiority to Angels (1:5–14)
The reference to the heavenly enthronement of the Son in the previous part is followed by the explanation of his position to the angel world, using Psalm 110:1 as the framework to understand various other Old Testament texts.
Verse 5
is cited because of the prophecy pertaining to the Messiah as Son of David, whereas is quoted as the theological basis from God's special promise to David and his dynasty. Psalm 2:7 is also quoted in and used for exposition in.
Verse 6
Citing.
Verse 7
Citing.
Verses 8–9
Cross references: Hebrews 1:8: Psalm 45:6; Hebrews 1:9: Psalm 45:7; The citation from Psalm 45:6-7 is the fifth explicit quotation in the catena of, and unlike that of the Masoretic Text nor the Septuagint. Other than Psalm 45:1-2, which is quoted and given comments in 4Q171, no verses of Psalm 45 explicitly quoted by any of the Judaism nor New Testament writers, except here. In the early Christian literature, the same quotation from Psalm 45:6-7 are quoted and interpreted christologically by some of the Church Fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Origen, Athanasius, Eusebius and Gregory of Nyssa.
Verse 13
The cited words from were quoted by Jesus and applied to Messiah, which must be greater than angels, because 'the angels do not exercise the authority and rule of the Son'.
