required if we adopt the reading aujtou' for sou .
It is commonly supposed that the force of the quotation lies in the divine title (
oJ qeov"
) which, as it is held, is applied to the Son. It seems however from the whole form of the argument to lie rather in the description which is given of the Son's office and endowment. The angels are subject to constant change, He has a dominion for ever and ever; they work through material powers, Hethe Incarnate Sonfulfils a moral sovereignty and is crowned with unique joy. Nor could the reader forget the later teaching of the Psalm on the Royal Bride and the Royal Race. In whatever way then
oJ qeov"
be taken, the quotation establishes the conclusion which the writer wishes to draw as to the essential difference of the Son and the angels. Indeed it might appear to many that the direct application of the divine Name to the Son would obscure the thought.
eij" to;n aij. tou' aij
.] The phrase
oJ aijw;n tou' aijw'no"
is unique in the N. T. It is not unfrequent in the LXX. version of the Psalms together with
eij" aijw'na
aijw'no" and eij" to;n aijw'na kai; eij" to;n aijw'na tou' aijw'no" for d[,w: : l;/[l] ,
d[,w: : l;/[ d['l; too many commas!.
The phrase
oJ aijw;n tw'n aijwvnwn
occurs in Eph. 3:21,
aijw'ne" aijwvnwn
in Apoc. 14:11, and
oiJ aijw'ne" tw'n aijwvnwn
(
eij" tou;" aij. tw'n aij
.) not unfrequently (Heb. 13:21).
kai; hJ rJavbdo" eujquvthto"
] The
kaiv
, which is not found in the LXX. or the Heb., is probably added by the apostle to mark the two thoughts of the divine eternity of Messiah's kingdom and of the essential uprightness with which it is administered.
The word eujquvth" is found here only in the N.T. It occurs not very
unfrequently in the LXX. for derivatives of rvy , and so Wisd. 9:3 & c. It is not
quoted from Classical writers in a moral sense.
For rJavbdo" compare Apoc. 2:27, 12:5, 19:15. It is used in the LXX. as a
rendering of hF,m , fb,ve , fyBirv' . In classical Greek it is used rarely and only
poetically (Pind. Ol. 9.51) for the rod of authority. Virga justos regit, impios percutit; sed haec virga fortitudo est invicta, aequitas rectissima, inflexibilis disciplina (Atto Verc.).
Heb. 1:9.
hjgavphsa"
...]
Thou lovedst
... The aorist of the LXX. gives a distinct application to the present of the Heb. The Son in His Work on earth fulfilled the ideal of righteousness; and the writer of the Epistle looks back upon that completed work now seen in its glorious issue.
dia; tou'to
...]
For this cause... Therefore
... The words express the ground (because thou lovedst) and not the end (that thou mightest love). Comp. Heb. 2:1; 9:15 (not elsewhere in ep.). For the thought see Heb. 2:9; Phil. 2:9 (
diov
); John 10:17.
e[crisen
] Comp. Luke 4:18 (Is. 61:1); Acts 4:27; 10:38. This unction has been referred (1) to the communication of royal dignity: 1 Sam. 10:1; 16:12 f.; and (2) to the crowning of the sovereign with joy, as at the royal banquet: Is. 61:3; comp. Acts 2:36. The second interpretation is to be preferred. The thought is of the consummation of the royal glory of the Ascended Son of man rather than of the beginning of it. Primasius gives a striking turn to the words: Oleo autem exsultationis seu laetitiae dicit illum unctum quia Christus nunquam peccavit, nunquam tristitiam habuit ex recordatione peccati. Quid