Hebrews 1:1-2

Hebrews 1:1-2

[1] God,  who at sundry times  and  in divers manners  spake  in time past  unto the fathers  by  the prophets,  [2] in  last  days  spoken  by  his Son,  whom  he hath appointed  heir  of all things,  by  whom  also  he made  the worlds; 

What does Hebrews 1:1-2 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

God gave many revelations of Himself to Old Testament believers, "fathers" being a shorthand way of referring to them (cf. Hebrews 1:2). Ellingworth suggested that the writer may have referred to them as "the" fathers rather than as "our" fathers because some of his readers were Gentiles. [1] Another possibility is that "the" gives more honor than "our." God gave these revelations in many periods of history. He did this by various means and in various ways ("in many portions and in many ways"). Another rendering of this phrase is "different modes ... and ... different occasions." [2] For example, His means included visions, dreams, and face-to-face communication (cf. Numbers 12:6-8). His ways included supernatural interventions into history as well as natural phenomena such as storms, plagues, and other historical events. They also included people, namely, the prophets, through whom He spoke (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). The writer probably used the Greek words polymeros ("portions") and polytropos ("ways") partially for their alliterative value. Moffatt captured this alliteration in English by translating the first part of Hebrews 1:1 : "Many were the forms and fashions in which God spoke ..." [3]
God"s most recent revelation had come through His own Son. [4] The writer was not denying divine revelation to the apostles. He was stressing the culminating character of God"s revelation in Jesus Christ compared with what He had given the Old Testament prophets. His statement establishes the fact of progressive revelation and strongly suggests the cessation of revelation in the apostolic age. [5] God"s final revelation through His Son came first as Jesus conducted His earthly ministry, but it continued after Jesus ascended to heaven and gave further revelation through the apostles (cf. Acts 1:1-2). Man has not taken the initiative to discover God, but God has taken the initiative to reveal Himself to man.
The translators have supplied the word "His" ( Hebrews 1:2 a). Its absence in the Greek text (along with the absence of the definite article "the") stresses the character of "Son" as a vehicle of revelation. [6] God"s own Son is a superior revelation compared to "the prophets" ( Hebrews 1:1). There are seven references to Jesus Christ as the Son in Hebrews ( Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 5:8; Hebrews 6:6; Hebrews 7:28; Hebrews 10:29) plus others in some of the Old Testament passages the writer quoted. [7]