Hebrews 2 is the second chapter of the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The author is anonymous, although the internal reference to "our brother Timothy" ( Hebrews 13:23) causes a traditional attribution to

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, but this attribution has been disputed since the second century and there is no decisive evidence for the authorship. This chapter contains the implications for responding to God's Son, the Son's subjection and glorification, to the believers' benefits.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 46 (175–225; complete) * Papyrus 13 (225-250; extant verses 14–18) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 5-18) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 4–7, 12–14) * Codex Claromontanus (~550) *

Codex Coislinianus Codex Coislinianus designated by Hp or 015 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1022 ( Soden), was named also as ''Codex Euthalianus''. It is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Pauline epistles, dated palaeographically to the 6th century. The t ...

(~550; extant verses 11–16) * Papyrus 116 (6th century; extant verses 9-11) Codex Vaticanus B, 2Thess

Old Testament references

* :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

* :

* a: ;

;

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

* b:

The Implications for Responding to God's Son (2:1–4)

This paragraph, the first of several warning passages, gives the direct practical consequences of the previous chapter, which can be a positive encouragement (''pay more careful attention to what we have heard'' or a negative attitude (''drift away'') as stated in verse 1. The writer and readers were not part of the first generation of Christians when the gospel of salvation was ''first announced by the Lord'' (that is,

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

) and was confirmed ''by those who heard him'' (), but they certainly received it from those who had obtained it from Jesus with the affirmation from God ''by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will'' ().

Verse 1

: ''Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.'' *"Drift away": like people in a boat moving rapidly towards a waterfall; the manner of this drifting away will be explored in latter chapters, but here the disastrous consequences are stressed.

The Subjection and Glorification of the Son (2:5–9)

The text centers on in connection to the ''catena'' or 'chains' of the scriptures in the first chapter.

Verse 5

:''For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.'' *"The world to come": recalling Israel's hope for "a glorious age to come", with the renewal of creation through the establishment of 'new heavens and new earth' (cf. ) which is sometimes specifically associated with the work of the Messiah (cf. ).

Verse 6

:''But someone testified somewhere, saying,'' :''“What is man, that you remember him, or the son of man, that you care for him?''

The Benefits of the Believers (2:10–18)

Verse 12

:''saying:'' ::''“I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."'' *Citing

Psalm 22 Psalm 22 of the Book of Psalms (the hind of the dawn) or My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? is a psalm in the Bible. The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the ...

Verse 17

:''Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.'' *"High Priest": the first time this title is given to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

in this epistle, to be the theme of the next major division ( 3:1–5:10), here is linked closely with the teaching that ''he had to be made like his brothers in every way''.

Verse 18

:''For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.'' NKJV *"He Himself has suffered, being tempted": at the entrance of his public ministry and a little before his death, Jesus was tempted by Satan; also throughout his life he endures poverty, with slight from his own relatives, a general contempt among men, often tempted by the Jews with ensnaring questions, later was deserted by his followers, by his own disciples, even by his God and Father; enduring great pains of body, anguish of mind, then lastly death itself. Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Hebrews 2:18
/ref> *"To aid those who are tempted": that only because he shared human nature, experienced human frailty and ''suffered when he was tempted'', so Jesus is able to provide the appropriate help.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Hebrews 02