Tag Archive for: Psalms

Isaiah 52:7-10

Reading

7. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8. Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see
the return of the LORD to Zion.
9. Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10. The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Commentary

The Book of Isaiah is a composite of writings from three distinct periods in Ancient Israel’s history. The writings were compiled from about 700 BCE to about 300 BCE.

Chapters 1-39 are called “First Isaiah” and are the words of a prophet (one who speaks for YHWH – translated as “LORD” in all capital letters in the NRSV) who called for Jerusalem to repent in the 30 years before Jerusalem came under siege by the Assyrians in 701 BCE. “Second Isaiah” is Chapters 40 to 55. In these chapters, a prophet brought hope to the Judeans during the Exile in Babylon (587 to 539 BCE) by telling them they had suffered enough and would return to Jerusalem. “Third Isaiah” is Chapters 56 to 66 in which a prophet gave encouragement to Judeans who had returned to Jerusalem (which was largely destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE) after the Exile had ended.

Today’s reading is central to the message of Second Isaiah. It describes the return of YHWH to Jerusalem and Mount Zion. The “sentinels” (v.8) are the prophets who sing for joy that the Babylonian Exile will end. “Nations” (v.10) is a translation of the Hebrew word “goyim” which is also translatable as the “Gentiles.” In the triumphant return of YHWH to Zion, the Gentiles will also see that YHWH brings salvation.

Hebrews 1:1-12

Reading

1. Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
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.
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,
4. having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
5. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”?
6. Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7. Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.”
8. But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
9. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
10. And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11. they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing;
12. like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.”

Commentary

The Letter to the Hebrews was an anonymous sermon to both Jewish and Gentile Jesus Followers, urging them to maintain their Faith and Hope in the face of hardship. The letter developed many important images such as Jesus the Christ as the High Priest. The author emphasized the continuing importance of Jewish tradition and quoted (and paraphrased) extensively from the Greek LXX translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

In today’s reading, the author identifies the Son with Holy Wisdom that was present at creation (Prov. 8:22) in the words ”through whom he also created the worlds.” (v. 2) The author also anticipates the language of the Gospel According to John – “all things came into being through him [the LOGOS or Word]” (John 1:3).

Because the theology of the Trinity was evolving in the late First Century, the author stops short of identifying the Son with the Father as God, and refers to the Son as “a reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being” (v.3) and as superior to angels (v.4).

The quotations in verses 5 to 12 are purportedly about the Son and are “cherry picked” from the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the Psalms. Verse 5 is a quotation from Psalm 2:7 and from 2 Sam. 7:14, both of which refer to David as God’s son. Verse 6 is a paraphrase of the LXX version of a portion of Deuteronomy 32:43, which says that the “heavens” will worship YHWH when YHWH restores Judea. Verse 7 is a paraphrase of Psalm 104:4. Verses 8 and 9 loosely paraphrase Psalm 45:6-7, a psalm that commemorates a royal wedding, but does not refer to a son. Verses 10 to 12 are based on Psalm 102:25-27, a psalm that is a prayer to YHWH for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple after the Exile. In the Psalm, the quoted verses contrast the permanence of YHWH with the impermanence of heaven and earth.