Hebrews 1:1-4
ΠΟΛΥΜΕΡΩΣ καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ Θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις, ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, 2 ὃν ἔθηκε κληρονόμον πάντων, δι’ οὗ καὶ τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐποίησεν· 3 ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, δι’ ἑαυτοῦ καθαρισμὸν ποιησάμενος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, 4 τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὅσῳ διαφορώτερον παρ’ αὐτοὺς κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα.
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A classicist reading this short pericope may be struck by an echo of the Odyssey in πολυτρόπως and by the Aristotelian ὑπόστασις (pagan philosophy being commissioned to express the theology of the new faith). The language is dense.
The NRSV tr. of verses 1, ‘Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets’ can be tweaked: ‘God, who spoke long ago in manifold and various ways to our forefathers, has in these last (culminating) times spoken to us through His Son.’
[1] ΠΟΛΥΜΕΡΩΣ καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ Θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις: the succession of five π’s is hardly accidental. What the alliteration is meant to suggest is unclear; certainly it is an attention-grabber.
ΠΟΛΥΜΕΡΩΣ: the first of the two πόλυ- (‘multi-‘) compound adverbs; from the adjective πολυμερής, ‘manifold’, which is first attested in Aristotle. So the meaning is ‘in manifold ways’.
πολυτρόπως: the adverbial form of πολύτροπος, a Homeric adjective used notoriously of Odysseus as a man ‘of a many turns’ (τρόποι), ‘versatile in many ways’, e.g. Odyssey 1.1. (On the adjective see G. Nagy (https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/a-sampling-of-comments-on-odyssey-rhapsody-1/.) For educated readers Hebrews’ πολυτρόπως would resound with epic echoes; but the intended meaning is quite prosaic, ‘variously, in many ways’. Whilst God spoke across history in different ways through the prophets, he recently has spoken in a single manner.
τοῖς πατράσιν: ‘to our fathers’, ‘to our forefathers’; omitted by NRSV tr.
ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων: the adj. ἔσχατος, ‘last’ gives us ‘eschatology’. ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου refers to time: ἐσχάτου < τὸ ἔσχατον, ‘peak, culmination, end’. The prep. phrase may mean simply ‘at the end of these days’, i.e. ‘most recently’ in contrast to πάλαι (‘previously’, ‘formerly’).
ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ: the classical vb. λαλέω/ ῶ, which has several meanings, here means ‘speak’ (its only sense in the NT).
ἐν υἱῷ: nouns can occur without a definite article, as here, when expressing a specific person or thing. υἱῷ = ‘His son’, which verges on being a proper noun.
[2-3] ὃν ἔθηκε… δι’ οὗ… ἐποίησεν… ὃς…ἐκάθισε…: the three relative clauses of increasing length and complexity qualify υἱῷ (1). They are not interconnected by conjunctions, creating a disjointed effect. (Strictly speaking, ὃς…ἐκάθισε continues to the end of verse 4.) The relative ὃς (‘who’) at the beginning of the sentence is the equivalent of ‘he’. The string of relatives qualifying a significant noun or name may recall the style of ancient Greek hymns and poetry in general.
[2] δι’ οὗ καὶ τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐποίησεν: αἰών is normally used of time (= ‘lifetime’, ‘age’, ‘epoch’). In the NT the plural αἰῶνες reflects Semitic usage, and has a non-temporal, material meaning, i.e. ‘the sequence of worlds’ including the ‘world to come’. See EDNTG, s.v. αἰών, p. 46.
[3] ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ: the non-classical noun ἀπαύγασμα = ‘radiance’ (LSJ), ‘play of light, splendor’ (M.). * ‘Reflection’ however is favoured by EDNTG, s.v., pp. 117-18, which takes ἀπαύγασμα in the passive sense and close in meaning to χαρακτὴρ (‘imprint, image’).
ὑποστάσεως: ὑπόστασις is a scientific and philosophical term used already by Aristotle, where it can mean ‘real substance’, ‘reality opp. to appearance’ (M.). The author of Hebrews has drawn on a technical term of pagan philosophy.
φέρων τε: the connective particle (conjunction) τε links the participle φέρων (‘bearing’) to ὢν (‘being’). The use of τε on its own to connect two elements is not common in class. prose, and is poetic. Is the author waxing poetic? Or has prose of this period absorbed poetic touches and traits? Perhaps both.
τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ: instrumental dative; ῥῆμα here means ‘word’. ‘Word of His power’ abolishes the disjunction between word and deed, and implies ‘His command’ (which rests on His omnipotence).
ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς: ἐκάθισεν (aor.) < καθίζω, ‘Ι sit’ (intr.). μεγαλωσύνης = ‘greatness, majesty’ (M.). The Son is seated at the right of the majesty (of His Father) on high.
[4] κρείττων: ‘superior, more excellent’; comparative degree of ἀγαθός, ‘good’.
ὅσῳ διαφορώτερον παρ’ αὐτοὺς κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα: διαφορώτερον, comparative degree of διάφορον, ‘different’. ‘More different’ should be taken here as connoting a positive difference, hence ‘more excellent’. παρ’ αὐτοὺς = ‘than them’, ‘in comparison to them’ (i.e. angels).
Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)
1:1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
1:2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.
1:3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
1:4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 