Son as being heir. In such language we can see the indication of the truth which is expressed by the statement that the Incarnation is in essence independent of the Fall, though conditioned by it as to its circumstances.
pavntwn
] The purpose of God extended far beyond the hope of Israel;
oujkevti ga;r meri;" kurivou oJ jIakwvb
(Deut. 32:9),
ajlla; pavnte"
(Theophlct.). Non jam portio Domini tantum Jacob et portio ejus Israel, sed omnes omnino nationes (Atto Verc.).
dij ou| kai; ejpoivhsen t. aij.
] This order, which is certainly correct, throws the emphasis on the fact of creation, which answers to the appointment of the Son as heir (
kai; ejpoivhsen
, compare 6:7; 7:25). The creation does indeed involve the consummation of things. The Protevangelium is Gen. 1:26 f.
tou;" aijw'na"
]
the world
, Vulg.
saecula.
The phrase
oiJ aijw'ne"
has been interpreted to mean
(1) Periods of time, and especially this age and the age to come, as though the sense were that God created through the SonWho is supratemporalall time and times.
(2) The successive emanations from the divine Being, as in the Gnostic theologies; or the orders of finite being. Comp. Const. Apost. 8.12 oJ dij aujtou' [ tou' uiJou' ] poihvsa" ta; ceroubi;m kai; ta; serafivm, aijw'nav" te kai; stratiav" ...
(3) The sum of the periods of time including all that is manifested in and through them. This sense appears first in Eccles. 3:11, answering to the
corresponding use of : l;/[ , H6409 which is first found there. The plural : ymlw[ is found with this meaning in later Jewish writers, e.g., : ymlw[ arwb .
Comp. Wisd. 13:9.
There can be little doubt that this is the right sense here (comp. Heb. 11:3 note). The universe may be regarded either in its actual constitution as a whole ( oJ kovsmo" ), or as an order which exists through time developed in successive stages. There are obvious reasons why the latter mode of representation should be adopted here.
The difference between oJ aijwvn the ageone part of the whole development, and oiJ aijw'ne" the agesthe sum of all the parts, is well illustrated by the divine title the King of the ages 1 Tim. 1:17 ( oJ basileu;" tw'n aijwvnwn ; Tobit 13:6, 10; Henoch p. 86 Dillm. oJ b. pavntwn tw'n aij .; Ecclus. 36:22 (19) oJ qeo;" tw'n aijwvnwn ; Henoch p. 83). In this aspect the King of the ages is contrasted with the rulers of this age ( oiJ a[rconte" tou' aijw'no" touvtou 1 Cor. 2:6, 8). Compare pantokravtwr (Apoc. 1:8 & c.) with kosmokravtwr (Eph. 6:12).
The Rabbinic use of : l;/[ , H6409 is very wide. Thus they speak of the
Macrocosm, the universe, as lwdgh : lw[ , and of the Microcosm, man, as
$ wfqh : lw[ .
There is a very fine saying in Aboth iv. R. Jacob said This world is like a vestibule before the world to come: prepare thyself in the vestibule that thou
mayest enter into the festivalchamber ( $ ylqrfl ).
ejp. tou;" aijw'na"
] The order of finite being even when it is regarded under the form of gradual development is spoken of as made by a supra- temporal act. All creation is one act at once.
pavntwn
...
tou;" aijw'na"
]
all things...the world
...all single things regarded