Nielsen’s Nook

Commentary

[a] Notice the way what follows is here cited. Ancient Near Eastern culture did not have the same concerns about intellectual property rights. They were more concerned about what was said than who said it.

[b] Quoted from Psalm 8:5-10 LXX (8:4-6 in English Bibles).

[c] ἄνθρωπος conceptually this has the scope of “humanity” here and not merely the male gender.

[d] ἐπισκέπτῃ (ἐπισκέπτομαι) “of God’s gracious visitation in bringing salvation” (BAGD, 298). Ruth 1:6 LXX reads, … ὅτι ἐπέσκεπται κύριος τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ἄρτους. … that the Lord had watched over [alt: looked upon favorably] his people to give bread to them (author’s translation). Here the LXX supplies ἐπέσκεπται, perhaps even as a conceptual translation, for the Hebrew פָקַ֤ד.

[e] βραχύ refers generally to time and space as an adjective. The writer of Hebrews has been setting up the contrasts that he will use to demonstrate to his readers the magnitude of Jesus, who has returned humanity to it’s pinnacle in Himself.

[f] πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. Literally, “all things, you subjected beneath his feet.” While the image is not beyond modern readers to grasp, it can obscure the point conceptually. Here the Psalmist being quoted is speaking not of Christ treading down the world; but rather, putting it to rights, restoring the created order with a renewed humanity back in the place of ruling over the earth with glory and honor.