In one of my newly acquired sources, I found this discussion of the first verse of Hebrews and thought it was ....... well........ just very stimulating!
(1:1) In the Greek text, the order of the words is, “At sundry times and in divers manners God spake.” The Greek places his words at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis. Therefore, the main idea in the writer’s mind here is not that God spake, but
that it was at sundry times and in divers manners that He spake. He is not combating the denial of a revelation, but is preparing the reader for the truth that God has now, after the preliminary revelations, given a final word in the revelation of His Son.
The revelations of First Testament truth were given “at sundry times” (polumeros (πολυμερος)). The word is made up of polus (πολυς) “many,” and meros (μερος) “parts,” the total meaning being “by many portions.” It was given also “in divers manners” (polutropos (πολυτροπος)). The word is made up of polus (πολυς) “many,” and tropos (τροπος) “manner” or “fashion,” thus, “different manners,” or “many ways.”
In the giving of the First Testament truth, God did not speak once for all, but in separate revelations, each of which set forth only a part of His will. One writer was given one, and another, another element of truth. God spoke in different ways. This does not refer to different ways in which He imparted His revelations to the writers, but to the difference of the various revelations in contents and form. He spoke to Israel in one way through Moses, in another, through Isaiah, etc. At the beginning of the revelation, the presentation was elementary. Later it appealed to a more developed spiritual sense. Again, the revelation differed according to the faithfulness or the unfaithfulness of Israel. Clement of Alexandria associates this passage with Ephesians 3:10, “the many-tinted (polupoikilos (πολυποικιλος)) wisdom of God.”
The First Testament revelation was progressive. All could not be revealed at once, and because all could not be understood at once. Thus the revelation was given in many parts. In addition to this, it was given in different modes. It was given in the form of law, prophecy, history, psalm, sign, type, parable. Expositor’s1 says that the people of Israel “were like men listening to a clock striking the hour, always getting nearer the truth but obliged to wait till the whole is heard.”
The words “in times past” are the translation of palai (παλαι). The Greek has two words meaning “old,” archaios (ἀρχαιος), meaning “old in point of time,” and palaios (παλαιος), meaning “old in point of use, worn out, ready to be displaced by something new.” The close association of our word palai (παλαι) to palaios (παλαιος) suggests that the writer had in mind by its use, the fact that while the First Testament revelation was not to be cast aside, yet it was time for a new one to be given, one that would be God’s final word, one that would complete and round out the first one. [Kerry notes - this is a rather typical Christian interpretation, not what the Bible New Testament record says. We Mormons, of course, believe God continues to reveal His Word to those who will receive it]
The translation so far reads “In many parts and in different ways of old.” Now comes the word “God.” It is preceded by the definite article which has several functions here. First of all, it serves notice on the reader, that the God of whom the writer speaks, is the same God whom the Hebrew addressees of the epistle profess to worship. Thus does the writer seek to place himself on common ground with his readers in the very beginning of a treatise which is highly argumentative in character. It is the debater’s technique which concedes all it safely can to an opponent. The other function of the article here is to indicate the particular Person of the Godhead spoken of, God the Father.
The next word “spake,” is a participle in the Greek text, and is associated with the word “spoken” of verse two, which is a finite verb. That is, “God, having spoken, spoke.” Thus, we have the two revelations, that of the First Testament and that of the New, joined together. [Kerry notes - This is another Christian interpretation of which many Jews would truly disagree with. It makes for fascinating discussion to be sure!]
He spoke to Israel “by the prophets.” The preposition is en (ἐν). Used here in the locative case, we would have the locative of sphere. That is, the writers of the First Testament constituted the sphere within which God spoke. He spoke exclusively through them and through no other men, so far as the written revelation is concerned. This preposition is used also in the instrumental case. Then the writers would be looked upon as the instruments in God’s hands by which the First Testament Scriptures were written down.
Archbishop Trench has this to say about the correct meaning of the word “prophet”; “It is almost needless at this day to warn against what was once a very common error, one in which many of the Fathers (Christian) shared,… namely a taking of the pro (προ) in propheteuo (προφετευο) (to prophecy), and prophetes (προφετες) (prophet) as temporal, which it is not any more than in prophasis (προφασις) (a pretext), and finding as the primary meaning of the word, he who declares things before they come to pass. This foretelling or foreannouncing may be, and often is, of the office of the prophet, but is not the essence of that office; [Kerry's emphasis!] and this is as little in sacred as in classical Greek. The prophetes (προφετες) (prophet) is the outspeaker; he who speaks out the counsel of God with the clearness, energy, and authority which spring from the consciousness of speaking in God’s name and having received a direct message from Him to deliver.” Thus, the prophets were the mouthpieces of God. [Kerry notes - B. H. Roberts calls Joseph Smith the "Prophet-Teacher" meaning a prophet expounds as much about the past, as foretells the future. The main office of a prophet is as teacher of God's Word. A revelar, yes, without question, but more importantly a teacher].
John the Baptist said, “I am a voice of One who is crying out in the wilderness” (John 1:23). John did not use the definite article before the word “voice.” He was merely one among many voices which God used in the Old Testament dispensation. But note: the One crying out, giving the message, was God. John was His articulate voice, a mere instrument in His hands.
1 The Expositor’s Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, M.A., LLD
Love it.
And of course it's interesting to note, as you did, that while most Christians would interpret the second verse in Hebrews to mean that there would be an end to revelation, based on a reading of the text and given the knowledge we have it shows that God continues to speak through us through His Son, who speaks to a living prophet.
Posted by: Anthony | June 12, 2009 at 01:13 PM