Commentary on Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles John Calvin (continued)
Chapter 1
COMMENTARIES
ON THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE HEBREWS CHAPTER 1
Heb 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,
1. Deus olim multifariam multisque modis loquutus patribus per prophetas, 2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
2. Extremis hisce diebus loquutus est nobis per Filium, quem constituit haeredem omnium, per quem etiam secula condidit.
God formerly, etc. This beginning is for the purpose of commending the doctrine taught by Christ; for it shows that we ought not only reverently to receive it, but also to be satisfied with it alone. That we may understand this more clearly, we must observe the contrast between each of the clauses. First, the Son of God is set in opposition to the prophets; then we to the fathers; and, thirdly, the various and manifold modes of speaking which God had adopted as to the fathers, to the last revelation brought to us by Christ. But in this diversity he still sets before us but one God, that no one might think that the Law militates against the Gospel, or that the author of one is not the author of the other. That you may, therefore, understand the full import of this passage, the following arrangement shall be given, ---
God spake Formerly by the Prophets Now by the Son; Then to the Fathers But now to us; Then at various times Now as at the end of the times. This foundation being laid, the agreement between the Law and the Gospel is established; for God, who is ever like himself, and whose word is the same, and whose truth is unchangeable, has spoken as to both in common.
But we must notice the difference between us and the fathers; for God formerly addressed them in a way different from that which he adopts towards
CHAPTER
us now. And first indeed as to them he employed the prophets, but he has appointed his Son to be an ambassador to us. 9 Our condition, then, in this respect, is superior to that of the fathers. Even Moses is to be also classed among the prophets, as he is one of the number of those who are inferior to the Son. In the manner also in which revelation was made, we have an advantage over them. For the diversity as to visions and other means adopted under the Old Testament, was an indication that it was not yet a fixed state of things, as when matters are put completely in order. Hence he says, multifariously and in many ways''. God would have indeed followed the same mode perpetually to the end, had the mode been perfect and complete. It hence follows, that this variety was an evidence of imperfection.
The two words I thus understand: I refer multifariously to a diversity as to times; for the Greek word {πολυμερῶς} which we may render, ``in many parts,'' as the case usually is, when we intend to speak more fully hereafter; but {πολυτροπῶς} points out a diversity, as I think, in the very manner itself. 10 And when he speaks of the last times, he intimates that there is no longer any reason to expect any new revelation; for it was not a word in part that Christ brought, but the final conclusion. It is in this sense that the Apostles take the last times and the last days. And Paul means the same when he says, ``Upon whom the ends of the world are come.'' (1 Corinthians 10:11.) If God then has spoken now for the last time, it is right to advance thus far; so also when you come to Christ, you ought not to go farther: and these two things it is very needful for us to know. For it was a great hindrance to the Jews that they did not consider that God had deferred a fuller revelation to another time; hence, being satisfied with their own Law, they did not hasten forward to the goal. But since Christ has appeared, an opposite evil began to prevail in the world; for men wished to advance beyond Christ. What else indeed is the whole system of Popery but the overleaping of the boundary which the Apostle has fixed? As, then, the Spirit of God in this passage invites all to come as far as Christ, so he forbids them to go beyond the last time which he mentions. In short, the limit of our wisdom is made here to be the Gospel. 11
9The absence of the definite article before {ὑιῷ} is not unusual in the New Testament, it being often omitted before all sorts of nouns. In many instances it is Hebrewism, and so here; for Chrysostom in his comment supplies it, and mentions that {ἐν} here is {διὰ}, which is another Hebrewism. --- Ed.
10Some of the fathers, such as Chrysostom, regarded the two words as meaning the same thing; but there is no reason for this. On the contrary, each word has a distinct meaning; one expresses a variety as to parts or portions, and the other variety as to the mode or manner. The "parts" clearly refer to the different portions of revelation communicated to "holy men" in different ages of the world. Hence the meaning, though not the literal rendering, is given in our version, "at sundry time;" or "often", as by Stuart; or "at many times", as by Doddridge. A more literal version is given by Macknight, "in sundry parts". Most agree as to the second word, that it designates the various modes of communication, — by visions, dreams, interposition of angels, and speaking face to face, as the case was with Moses; see Numbers 12:6-8. And there was another variety in the manner, sometimes in plain language, and at another time in similitudes and parables. — Ed.
11It is said that the MSS, are in favor of {ἐσχάτου} ``in the last of these days.'' Were it not for ``these'', this might be allowed, as the literal rendering of these Hebrew words often used, {{}המים{, באחרית ``at the extremity of the days'', (see Isaiah ;2:2 Hosea ,3:5 etc.) but the sentence, as changed by Griesbach and others, makes no sense, and is inconsistent with the words as elsewhere used by Paul; see 2 Timothy .3:1 A mere