Hebrews Chapter 1 – A Commentary & Explanation (Verse by Verse)
There’s something about Hebrews 1 that always hits me somewhere deep in the chest, like a soft hammer tapping the heart, you know? The moment you start reading, you feel this kinda holy heaviness, a sense that the writer is not warming up slowly but stepping straight into the blazing center of who Jesus really is. And sometimes when I read it late at night with a cup of something warm—tea or maybe coffee, depending how my nerves is behaving that day—there’s this strange scent of old parchment in my imagination, like dusty scrolls and candle-smoke drifting across a quiet ancient room. Maybe that’s just me. But it feels real.
Hebrews 1 is not gentle at first. It’s thunder. But it’s also poetry. And sometimes the Greek words sparkle like cracked jewels when you hold them up to the light long enough. And even some Hebrew words echo from the Old Testament quotations hiding all through the chapter.
Hebrews 1:1 – “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke…”
The Greek starts like this: “Polumerōs kai polutropōs” (πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως).
Those two words feel like the writer is sweeping his hands wide, making circles in the air.
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polumerōs = “in many parts, in many portions”
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polutropōs = “in many ways, in many methods, many fashions”
It’s like God spoke in fragments. Piece by piece. Dream here. Prophecy there. Burning bush on a mountain. A whisper to Samuel in the night that probably smelled like lamp oil and dusty blankets. A vision for Ezekiel that might have been overwhelming to even sit through.
The Hebrew echo behind this is the idea of חֶלֶק (chelek) — “portion.” Prophets received not the whole thing, but their portion, their slice of divine revelation.
And honestly, isn’t that exactly how we humans usually hear God too?
Fragmented. Partially. Soft hints. Someone else’s testimony. A verse that jumps out unexpectedly. A moment in prayer where you feel something, not sure what, but something.
The writer of Hebrews starts by saying: God did speak…
But He didn’t speak fully.
Not yet.
And that tension makes your heart lean forward.
Hebrews 1:2 – “But in these last days He has spoken to us in His Son…”
This is where the chapter begins to breathe fire.
The Greek phrase “ἐν υἱῷ (en huiō)” means literally:
“in Son”
Not “through a Son,” not “through prophets again,” but “in Son” — like God poured His entire voice, being, essence into the Person of Jesus.
There’s something so intimate in that.
God didn’t just send another letter from heaven.
He came Himself wrapped in skin.
The phrase “last days” is “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν” — the eschatos days, the ending of the ages. This doesn’t necessarily mean apocalypse in the Hollywood style but means climax, fulfillment, everything landing at last where it was always meant to go.
The Hebrew shadow behind “Son” is בֵּן (ben) — meaning not only “offspring” but also “heir,” “continuation of the father,” “extension of the father’s identity.” So when Hebrews says God spoke “in Son,” it’s saying:
God spoke in His own perfect reflection, His own heart walking in flesh.
The verse continues:
“…whom He appointed heir of all things…”
Greek: “klēronomon pantōn” — the heir, the inheritor, of everything.
Heir doesn’t mean future recipient. It means rightful owner.
And then:
“…through whom also He made the worlds.”
Greek: “δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας”
The word aiōnas means “ages,” “worlds,” “dimensions of time and space.”
Jesus is not a late arrival.
He is the One through whom all of existence came into being.
The smell of creation—though we never smelled it—feels like something clean and untouched, like the first air after rain. And Jesus was there, in that breath.
Hebrews 1:3 – “Who being the brightness of His glory…”
The Greek is dazzling here:
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“apaugasma” (ἀπαύγασμα) = “radiance, shining forth, the beam from the light itself”
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“charaktēr” (χαρακτήρ) = “exact imprint, stamp, engraving”
Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory, not merely a reflection.
He is the engraving of God’s essence, not a copy.
The Hebrew background of “glory” is כָּבוֹד (kavod) which literally means “weight, heaviness.” Not physical heavy, but glory-heavy — presence that presses on your soul.
Jesus is the heavy presence of God, the brightness that burns from the same source.
The verse also says:
“He upholds all things by the word of His power…”
Greek: “pherōn” (φέρων) = “bearing, carrying continuously,”
like someone holding the universe gently but firmly in His palms.
If you stop and let that sink — even for a second — your breath might snag in your throat a little bit. Because it means you’re held too. Not in a weird poetic cliché way, but literally sustained by Christ’s ongoing will.
Then:
“…when He had by Himself purged our sins…”
Greek: “katharismon” (καθαρισμὸν) = “cleansing, washing clean.”
He “sat down at the right hand of Majesty.”
Sitting down in the ancient world meant finished work.
Priests stood, always working.
Jesus sat, because atonement was complete.
The right hand — “dexia” (δεξιᾷ) — symbol of authority, honor, rule.
Hebrews 1:4 – “Being made so much better than the angels…”
The Greek word for “better” is “kreittōn” (κρείττων) — meaning superior in substance, in nature, not just rank.
Angels in Hebrew are מַלְאָךְ (mal’akh) — “messengers.”
Beautiful, powerful, but still messengers.
Carriers, not creators.
Jesus is greater not because angels are low, but because Jesus is not in their category. He belongs to another order entirely.
Hebrews 1:5 – “For to which of the angels did He ever say…”
Two quotations appear here:
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Psalm 2:7 – “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
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2 Samuel 7:14 – “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son.”
The Greek “gegennēka” (γεγέννηκά) = “I have begotten, brought forth, declared as My Son.”
The Hebrew word “begotten” from Psalm 2 is יְלִדְתִּיךָ (yelidtikha) — “I have birthed you, brought you forth.”
Not created.
Declared.
Revealed.
None of these words were ever spoken to an angel.
Only to Christ.
Hebrews 1:6 – “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”
The Greek “proskynēsatōsan” (προσκυνήσατωσαν) = “let them bow, let them fall in reverence.”
This is from the Greek Septuagint of Deuteronomy 32:43.
And this verse is huge.
Because angels — beings who frightened prophets and made warriors fall trembling — are commanded to worship Jesus.
Worship belongs to God alone.
Therefore: Jesus is God.
Simple. Overwhelming.
Almost too vast to hold in a fragile human brain.
Hebrews 1:7 – “He makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.”
This is from Psalms 104:4.
The Greek uses:
The imagery here is wild and beautiful.
You can almost hear the crackle of fire, the rushing wind, the sound of wings like thin sheets of metal trembling in the sky.
But angels are created forces.
Wind and fire.
Servants, not sovereigns.
Hebrews 1:8–9 – “But to the Son He says: Your throne, O God…”
This one is breathtaking.
From Psalm 45:6–7.
The Father calls the Son “God.”
Greek:
“ho thronos sou ho Theos” — “Your throne, O God.”
The Hebrew original:
כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים (kis’akh Elohim) — “Your throne, O God.”
Same meaning.
Same authority.
Then it describes the scepter — ῥάβδος (rhabdos) — symbol of royal rule.
And the “oil of gladness” — Hebrew שֶׁמֶן שָׂשֹוֹן (shemen sason) — joyful anointing.
Jesus is the anointed King, the divine ruler whose kingdom is righteous and eternal.
Hebrews 1:10–12 – “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth…”
This is from Psalm 102:25–27.
The writer applies it to Jesus.
So Psalm 102, originally addressed to Yahweh, is applied here to Christ.
Greek key words:
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katarchas (κατ᾿ ἀρχάς) = “in the beginning”
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themelious (θεμελίωσας) = “you laid the foundation”
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diamenō (διαμένεις) = “you remain”
And later:
This is cosmic language.
Creation wears out like old clothes.
But Jesus remains unchanging.
The Hebrew from Psalm 102 includes וְאַתָּה־הוּא (ve’atta hu) — “But You, You remain the same,” emphasizing permanence, unchangeability, eternal stability.
It’s comforting somehow.
When your life feels like shifting sand, Christ remains the one unmoved Rock.
Hebrews 1:13 – “Sit at My right hand…”
Quoted from Psalm 110:1.
Greek: “kathou ek dexion mou” — “Sit at My right hand.”
The Hebrew original: שֵׁב לִימִינִי (shev li’mini) — “Sit at My right hand.”
This is the most quoted OT verse in the NT.
The Messiah sits in authority until all enemies are subdued under His feet.
There’s a kind of strange comfort in that image.
Our world feels chaotic, noisy, sometimes violent, and confusing.
But Christ sits calmly beside the Father, ruling, waiting until all evil collapses under His reign.
Hebrews 1:14 – “Are they not all ministering spirits…”
The chapter closes with a summary:
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angels = ministering spirits
Greek: λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα (leitourgika pneumata) — “liturgical, serving winds”
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sent forth to serve those who will inherit salvation.
Angels serve believers.
Jesus is worshiped by angels.
Huge difference.
The Heartbeat of Hebrews 1 — A More Personal Reflection
When you finish the chapter, there’s this lingering feeling like you’ve stood on a mountain in cold wind, and your ears are still ringing from the roaring sky. Hebrews 1 pushes Jesus so high above everything else that you must pause, take a breath, maybe sip something warm, just to settle yourself again.
There’s something comforting about how the writer paints Jesus.
Not distant. Not fragile. But vast and bright and steady.
Sometimes when I sit alone with this chapter, I hear the faintest rustle of pages like wings. Maybe that’s imagination or maybe it's the Spirit working through the text. There’s this gentle taste of ancient wisdom, like the tang of old oil used in temple lamps. Some verses feel like smooth marble; others scratch like sand on stone. But all of it shines with this steady certainty: Jesus is more.
More than angels.
More than prophets.
More than creation.
More than any voice that came before.
And there is this humbling, almost trembling awareness that the One who sustains galaxies knows your name. Mine too. All of us.
The Greek words sometimes feel sharp and precise, like chisel marks on stone tablets. The Hebrew words feel earthy and weighty, like clay jars still warm from the kiln. And Jesus is at the center of it all — the living Word, the final revelation, the radiance of God’s glory.
Sometimes life feels slippery and uncertain, but Hebrews 1 says Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and tomorrow. He doesn’t fray at the edges. He doesn’t fade or change His nature. Everything else wears out like old fabric, but He stays.
Closing Thoughts
I know this was long, maybe longer than some people would prefer, but honestly Hebrews 1 demands that kind of long slow breathing-through. The chapter is like a sunrise—first light breaking and scattering darkness across a quiet valley. It’s also kind of overwhelming, maybe too much for one sitting, but in a strangely beautiful way. And maybe that’s how God intended it.
I hope, really hope, that reading this chapter again—Greek whispers, Hebrew echoes, English words swirling around with imperfect grammar and messy human emotion—helps you see Jesus a little clearer. Or feel Him a little closer. Or at least remember that He’s not small, not fragile, not distant.
He is the radiance.
He is the exact imprint.
He is the One who sits enthroned forever.
And we, somehow, unbelievably, are loved by Him.
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