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1. The Son Superior to Angels

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son Superior to Angels

⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father” Psalm 2:7?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son” 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13?

⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.” Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint)

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.” Psalm 104:4

⁸ But about the Son he says,

   “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
   a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
   therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
   by anointing you with the oil of joy.” Psalm 45:6,7

¹⁰ He also says,

   “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
¹² You will roll them up like a robe;
   like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
   and your years will never end.” Psalm 102:25-27

¹³ To which of the angels did God ever say,

   “Sit at my right hand
   until I make your enemies
   a footstool for your feet” Psalm 110:1?

¹⁴ Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

7. And to the angels, etc. To the angels means of the angels. But the passage quoted seems to have been turned to another meaning from what it appears to have; for as David is there describing the manner in which we see the world to be governed, nothing is more certain than the winds are mentioned, which he says are made messengers by the Lord, for he employs them as his runners; so also, when he purifies the air by lightnings, he shows what quick and swift ministers he has to obey his orders. But this has nothing to do with angels. Some have had recourse to an allegory, as though the Apostle explained the plain, and as they say, the literal sense allegorically of angels. But it seems preferable to me to consider this testimony is brought forward for this purpose, that it might by a similitude be applied to angels, and in this way David compares winds to angels, because they perform offices in this world similar to what the angels do in heaven; for the winds are, as it were, visible spirits. And, doubtless, as Moses, describing the creation of the world, mentioned only those things which are subject to our senses, and yet intended that higher things should be understood; so David in describing the world and nature, represented to us on a tablet what ought to be understood respecting the celestial orders. Hence I think that the argument is one of likeness or similarity, when the Apostle transfers to angels what properly applies to the winds. ²²²² Many have been the explanations of this sentence; but this is the most suitable to the passage as it occurs in Psalm 104:4, and to the design of the Apostle; it is the one adopted by Doddridge, Stuart, and Bloomfield.
The meaning would be thus more apparent, — “Who maketh like his angels the winds, and like his ministers the flaming fire,” that is, the winds are subject to him as the angels are, and also the flaming fire as his ministers or attendants. The particle ב is sometimes omitted in Hebrew. — Ed.