Hebrews 2:2

Hebrews 2:2

For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;

a. NLT: For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. YLT: for if the word being spoken through messengers did become stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience did receive a just recompense,  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible Classic:  For if the message given through angels [the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

1. “For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast,…”

a. For [Strong: 1063. gar gar a primary particle; properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensification; often with other particles):--and, as, because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, seeing, then, therefore, verily, what, why, yet.]

b. if [Strong: 1487. ei i a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.:--forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether.]

c. the [Strong: 3588. [ho] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ho] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, ‘Hē  hē, hai, tas.]

d. word [Strong: 3056. logos log'-os from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.]

d. spoken [Strong: 2980. laleo lal-eh'-o a prolonged form of an otherwise obsolete verb; to talk, i.e. utter words:--preach, say, speak (after), talk, tell, utter.]

e. by [Strong: 1223. dia dee-ah' a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional):--after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) ... fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through(-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general importance.]

g. angels [Strong: 32. aggelos ang'-el-os from aggello (probably derived from 71; compare 34) (to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an "angel"; by implication, a pastor:--angel, messenger.]

h. was [Strong: 1096. ginomai ghin'-om-ahee a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be ("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen, have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass, be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.]

i. steadfast [Strong: 949. bebaios beb'-ah-yos from the base of 939 (through the idea of basality); stable (literally or figuratively):--firm, of force, stedfast, sure.]

1). This part of the verse will require a little bit of indulgence. As to what it says we have another witness that establishes it as fact, in Acts 7:53. “Who have received the law by the disposition of angels,…” And a probable reference to it in Galatians 3:19, that says, “the law…was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” [In Scripture, a word must be established by two or three witnesses. Cp. 2 Corinthians 13:1.] . What are we to make of this? What are Paul and Steven referring to? If we look in Exodus when God gave Israel the law, there is no mention of it.

a). Exodus 20:1, 2 And God spake all these words, saying,

20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

b). It says nothing of angels playing any part in the giving of the law, yet Paul and Stephen both clearly mention it.

2). As I was digging into this, “word spoken by angels” I found in Vincent’s Word Studies, this note about it in Vol. 1, pp 484, 485. “The reference is most probably to the Jewish tradition that the law was given through the agency of angels. See Deut. 33:2, Cp. Psalm 68:17. Paul expressly says that the law was administered by the medium of angels.” Before I look at those verses that Vincent refers to I want to quote a few Jewish sources for this Jewish tradition.

a). Alfred Edersheim was a Messianic Jew. In his book, Bible History, Book 2, Chapter 10, p. 206, Note #10: “When we read that the law was “received by the ministration of angels”, we are not to understand by it that God Himself did not speak all these words, but either to refer it to those “ten thousands” of angels who were His attendants when He spoke on Sinai,” [Note D.C. The reference to “ten thousands of angels” is a quote of Deuteronomy 33:2.] 

b). Josepheus, a Jewish historian, writes in his, Histories of the Jews,  Book 15, Chapter 5, Section 3, “And we for ourselves, we have learned from God the most excellent of our doctrines, and the most holy part of our law, by angels or ambassadors;…”

c). In his book, The Exegetical Imagination- On Jewish Thought and Theology, page 183, Michael Fishbane writes: “Rabbi Nahman says…Hence when the people of Israel at Sinai said, na’aseh ve-mishma (“Let us do and hear”; Exodus 24:7) they achieved a blissful moment of transcendence, when myriads of angels crowned each and every one with the manifest or exoteric meaning of Torah, the level of na’aseh (doing), and with its hidden or esoteric truth, called mishma (hearing).” 

d). Jewish New Testament Commentary, David Stern, pp 246, 247. “The verse of the Tanakh which comes closest to stating outright that the Torah…was delivered by angels  is found in Moshe’s [Moses’] final speech before his death: Adonai came from Sinai and rose from Seir to them; he shone forth from Mount Paran; and he came from the holy myriads;…at his right hand eshdat lamo (Deuteronomy 33:2. Hebrew eshdat lamo is taken by some Jewish commentator to mean, “was a fiery law (esh-dat) for them” The Septuagint translates the passage, “at his right hand were his angels with him”. Rashi says that the holy myriads” were angels. Strack and Billerbeck, in their six-volume Commentary of the New Testament from the Talmoud and Midrash (Munich: C.H. Beck’sche, 1975 reprint of 1926 original, in German), give several dozen citations from rabbinic literature showing that the idea of angelic mediation of the Torah was widespread.

3). The verses cited by Vincent are also cited by other authorities, Deuteronomy 33:2.

a). Deuteronomy 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

b). Deuteronomy 33:2 [Septuagint] And he said, The Lord is come from Sina, and has appeared from Seir to us, and has hasted out of the mount of Pharan, with the ten thousands of Cades; on his right hand were his angels with him.

(1) When the KJV, “from his right hand went a fiery law for them”, is compared beside the Septuagint, “on his right hand were his angels with him”, I guess the conclusion is the angels gave the law? 

c). Deuteronomy 33:2 [NIV] He said: The LORD came forth from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from the slopes.

d). Deuteronomy 33:2 [NASB] And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came from the midst of ten thousands holy ones; At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.

e). Deuteronomy 33:2 [NRSV] He said: The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran. With him were myriads of holy ones; at his right, a host of his own.

f). Deuteronomy 33:2 [Amplified Bible] He said, The Lord came from Sinai and beamed upon us from Sier; He flashed forth from Mount Paran, from among ten thousands of holy ones, a flaming fire, a law, at His right hand.

4). Psalm 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the LORD is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

a). This verse, in agreement with the Deuteronomy passage, places tens of thousands of angels at Sinai. 

(1) Psalm 68:17 [NIV] “The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the LORD has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.”

(2) Psalm 68:17 [NASB] “The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The LORD is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.”

(3) Psalm 68:17 [NRSV] “With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.”

(4) Psalm 68:17 [Amplified Bible] “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands. The Lord is among them, as He was in Sinai, [so also] in the holy place—the sanctuary [in Jerusalem].

 

b). It is clear from these Scriptures that there were angels present at Sinai when God gave the law. Not only that, it is also clear that an oral Jewish tradition was incorporated into the inspired word of God. Wow! Another interesting fact is that this isn’t an isolated example. There are at least three other instances, 1 Corinthians 10:4; 2 Timothy 3:8; and James 5:17, 18.

2. “…and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;”

a. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. every [Strong: 3956. pas pas including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole:--all (manner of, means), alway(-s), any (one), X daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no(-thing), X thoroughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.]

c. transgression [Strong: 3847. parabasis par-ab'-as-is from 3845; violation:--breaking, transgression.]

d. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

e. disobedience [Strong: 3878. parakouo par-ak-oo'-o from 3844 and 191; to mishear, i.e. (by implication) to disobey:--neglect to hear.]

f. received [Strong: 2983. lambano lam-ban'-o a prolonged form of a primary verb, which is use only as an alternate in certain tenses; to take (in very many applications, literally and figuratively (properly objective or active, to get hold of; whereas 1209 is rather subjective or passive, to have offered to one; while 138 is more violent, to seize or remove)):--accept, + be amazed, assay, attain, bring, X when I call, catch, come on (X unto), + forget, have, hold, obtain, receive (X after), take (away, up).]

g. [a] just [Strong: 1738. endikos en'-dee-kos from 1722 and 1349; in the right, i.e. equitable:--just.]

h. recompense of reward [Strong: 3405. misthapodosia mis-thap-od-os-ee'-ah from 3406; requital (good or bad):--recompence of reward.

1). Pink: “The punishment will be graded according to light and opportunity (Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 12:47, 48), according to the nature of the sins committed (John 19:11; Mark 12:38-40; Hebrews 10:29), according to the number of sins committed (Romans 2:6.)”