Hebrews 2: 6 Commentary

1)The writer of Hebrews has mentioned neither the reference nor the author of the O.T.quotation he has used in Heb.2:6-8.See also Heb.4:4;7:17.The readers of this Epistle were well versed with the O.T. quotations & knew the references of these quotations & so the writer didn’t make mention of them.
2)The reference of the O.T.quotation here is Ps.8:4-6.The author of that Psalm is David.He recapitulates the account of creation in Gen.1 in the form of poetry.He sings & praises the majesty & glory of God in creating the moon & the stars & also other creations.They speak of His mighty power of His creation.Read Ps.147:4,5;Is.40:26.At the same time David wonders about the creation of man.
3)Man is formed out of the dust of the ground.He is weak & frail.Read Psalm
103:14-16;146:4;Job 4:19.Man’s body contains all the elements which are in the dust of the ground.But God remembers man & cares for him because of His great love,grace & kindness.
4)As David looked at the moon & the stars created by God,man seemed to be insignificant & unworthy.But David began to wonder considering the lofty position given to man & the power given to him to rule the rest of the creation.Man was created in the image & the likeness of God.Man is a tripartite being.He has the body,soul & spirit.He has the faculties of mind,emotion & will.He has the capacity to commune with God.He was made to be different from other living creatures.He was the crown of creation.
5)Man & son of man are synonyms in Hebrew poetry.Jesus applied the title of
“Son of man” to Himself on many occasions.Some of them are:Matt.8:20;16:23;
18:11;24:27,30,39;25:13;Mark 2:10;8:38;9:31;10:45;13:26;Luke 6:5;7:34;9:26;
12:10;17:24,30;18:31;19:10;21:36;22:69;John 1:51;5:27;6:27,53;13:31.
6)David might have made general reference to humanity wondering at the privileges given to man when God created him.But the writer of Hebrews used this quotation,(making use of the term “Son of man”)& applied to Jesus Christ to show that He is superior to angels as Son of man.In chapter 1,he showed that Jesus Christ is better than angels as “Son of God.” Now he is continuing the discussion of the superiority of Jesus Christ after a small break.
7)It is significant to note that the quotation of Psalm 8:4-6 is preceded by the familiar quotation of Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 1:13.Psalm 110:1 can be tied with Psalm 8:6.There is not any other quotation in between Heb.1:14 & 2:5..

By Alex (wrote 499 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on: 10/23/2008 01:55 am