the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Hebrews 1:7
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This is what God said about the angels: "He changes his angels into winds and his servants into flaming fire."
And of the angels he sayth: He maketh his angels spretes and his ministres flammes of fyre.
Of the angels he says, "Who makes his angels winds, And his servants a flame of fire."
And regarding the angels He says, "HE MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."
This is what God said about the angels: "God makes his angels become like winds. He makes his servants become like flames of fire." Psalm 104:4
And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire:
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire."
Of the angels he says, "Who makes his angels winds, And his servants a flame of fire."
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Moreover of the angels He says, "He changes His angels into winds, and His ministering servants into a flame of fire."
But he seith to aungels, He that makith hise aungels spiritis, and hise mynystris flawme of fier.
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire:
Now about the angels He says: "He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire."
And when God speaks about the angels, he says, "I change my angels into wind and my servants into flaming fire."
And concerning the angels He says, "WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERING SERVANTS FLAMES OF FIRE [to do His bidding]."
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame of fire:
And of the angels he says, Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire:
Indeed, when speaking of angels, he says, ". . . who makes his angels winds and his servants fiery flames";
And as to the angels he says, Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire;
Now about the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."[fn][xr]
But concerning the angels, thus hath he spoken: Who hath made his angels spirit, and his ministers a flaming fire.
But of the angels he thus said: Who made his angels a wind, and his ministers a flaming fire.
And of the Angels he saith: Who maketh his Angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Regarding the angels, he says, "He sends his angels like the winds, his servants like flames of fire."
He said this about the angels, "He makes His angels to be winds. He makes His servants a burning fire."
Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."
And of the Angels he saith, He maketh the spirites his messengers, and his ministers a flame of fire.
And of the angels he said thus, Who makes his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.
Even as to the messengers, indeed, he saith - Who maketh his messengers, winds, and his ministers of state, a fiery flame;
And to the angels indeed he saith: He that maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire.
And vnto the Angels he sayth: He maketh his Angels spirites, and his ministers a flambe of fyre.
But about the angels God said, "God makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire."
And about the angels he says:
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
And concerning the angels he says, "The one who makes his angels winds, and his servants a flame of fire,"
And as to the angels, He said, "Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire;" LXX-Psa. 103:4; MT-Psa. 104:4
and unto the messengers, indeed, He saith, `Who is making His messengers spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire;'
And of the angels he sayeth: He maketh his angels spretes, & his mynisters flames of fyre.
and of the angels, he saith, who employs his angels like the winds, and flames of fire as his ministers."
Regarding angels he says, The messengers are winds, the servants are tongues of fire.
And he says of the angels, " He makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire ,"
And of the angels He says:"Who makes His angels spiritsAnd His ministers a flame of fire." Psalms 104:4 ">[fn]
And speaking of angels, he said, "He sends his angels on the winds; his servants are like the flames of fire."
And of the angels He says, "WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE."
And of the angels He says,"Who makes His angels winds,And His ministers flaming fire."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
of: Gr. unto
Who: Hebrews 1:14, 2 Kings 2:11, 2 Kings 6:17, Psalms 104:4, Isaiah 6:2,*Heb: Ezekiel 1:13, Ezekiel 1:14, Daniel 7:10, Zechariah 6:5
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:24 - Cherubims 1 Kings 22:19 - all the host Job 4:15 - a spirit Psalms 103:21 - ministers Isaiah 6:6 - flew Daniel 9:21 - to fly Amos 7:4 - called Matthew 13:41 - The son
Cross-References
And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so.
and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so.
And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.
He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them.
Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,
Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Ver. 7 And of the angels he saith,.... Or "to the angels", as in the following verse, "to the Son", which stands opposed to this; and the words said to them, or of them, are found in Psalms 104:4
who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire: this cannot be understood of the wind and lightning, and of God's making these his messengers and ministers to do his will; for such a sense is not suitable to the scope of the psalm, from whence they are taken, nor to the order of the words in which they stand; for it is not said he makes spirits, or winds, his angels, and flaming fire his ministers, but the reverse; and is contrary to the design of the apostle in citing them, which is to show the superiority of Christ to angels, of whom it is said, that they are made spirits: they are "spirits", created ones, and so differ from God the Creator: they are incorporeal ones, and so differ from men; they are immaterial, and so die not; they are spiritual substances subsisting in themselves: and they are "made" such by God the Father, and by the Son the Lord Jesus Christ, within the six days of the creation, and all at once; for it is not to be supposed that the Lord is daily making them; and this proves the Son to be God, as well as more excellent than the angels; unless this is to be understood of the daily disposal of them in providence, in causing winds, thunder, lightning, and the like. Some choose to supply the word with "as", and read, who maketh his angels as winds; for invisibility, velocity, power, and penetration: "and his ministers as a flame of fire"; and these are the same with the angels, for they are ministers to God; they attend his presence; are ready to perform any service for him; they sing his praise, and are his chariots in which he rides: and they are ministers to Christ; they attended at his incarnation: were solicitous for his preservation, ministered to him in distress, assisted at his resurrection, and accompanied him in his ascension, and will be with him at his second coming: and they are as a flame of fire, so called from their great power, force, and swiftness; and from their burning love, and flaming zeal, hence named seraphim; and because they are sometimes the executioners of God's wrath, and will descend in flaming fire, when Christ shall be revealed from heaven: angels sometimes appear in fiery forms; the chariots and horses of fire, by which Elijah was carried up to heaven, were no other than angels, in such forms: so the Jews x say of the angels,
"all the angels, their horses are horses of fire, and their chariots fire, and their bows fire, and their spears fire, and all their instruments of war fire.''
And they have a notion, that an angel is half water, and half fire y.
x Sepher Jetzirah, p. 16. Ed. Rittangel. y T. Hieros. Roshhashana, fol. 58. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits - He gives to them an inferior name, and assigns to them a more humble office. They are mere ministers, and have not ascribed to them the name of “Son.” They have a name which implies a more humble rank and office - the name “spirit,” and the appellation of a “flame of fire.” They obey his will as the winds and the lightnings do. The “object” of the apostle in this passage is to show that the angels serve God in a ministerial capacity - as the winds do; while the Son is Lord of all. The one serves him passively, as being wholly under his control; the other acts as a Sovereign, as Lord over all, and is addressed and regarded as the equal with God. This quotation is made from Psalms 104:4. The passage “might” be translated, “Who maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire;” that is, “who makes his angels like the winds, or as swift as the winds, and his ministers as rapid, as terrible, and as resistless as the lightning.”
So Doddridge renders it; and so did the late Dr. John P. Wilson (manuscript notes). The passage in the Psalm is susceptible, I think, of another interpretation, and might be regarded as meaning, “who makes the winds his messengers, and the flaming fire his ministers;” and perhaps this is the sense which would most naturally occur to a reader of the Hebrew. The Hebrew, however, will admit of the construction here put upon it, and it cannot be proved that it was the original intention of the passage to show that the angels were the mere servants of God, rapid, quick, and prompt to do his will - like the winds. The Chaldee Paraphrase renders this passage in the Psalm, “Who makes his messengers swift as the wind; his ministers strong like a flame of fire.” Prof. Stuart maintains that the passage in the Psalms cannot mean “who makes the winds his messengers,” but that the intention of the Psalmist is to describe the “invisible” as well as the “visible” majesty of God, and that he refers to the angels as a part of the retinue which goes to make up His glory.
This does not seem to me to be perfectly certain; but still it cannot be demonstrated that Paul has made an improper use of the passage. It is to be presumed that he, who had been trained in the knowledge of the Hebrew language, would have had a better opportunity of knowing its fair construction than we can; and it is morally certain that he would employ the passage “in an argument” as it was commonly understood by those to whom he wrote - that is, to those who were familiar with the Hebrew language and literature. If he has so used the passage; if he has - as no one can disprove - put the fair construction on it, then it is just in point. It proves that the angels are the “attendant servants” of God; employed to grace his train, to do his will, to accompany him as the clouds and winds and lightnings do, and to occupy a subordinate rank in his creation. “Flame of fire.” This probably refers to lightning - which is often the meaning of the phrase. The word “ministers” here, means the same as angels, and the sense of the whole is, that the attending retinue of God, when he manifests himself with great power and glory, is like the winds and the lightning. His angels are like them. They are prompt to do his will - rapid, quick, obedient in his service; they are in all respects subordinate to him, and occupy, as the winds and the lightnings do, the place of servants. They are not addressed in language like what is applied to the Son of God, and they must all be far inferior to him.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Hebrews 1:7. Who maketh his angels spirits — They are so far from being superior to Christ, that they are not called God's sons in any peculiar sense, but his servants, as tempests and lightnings are. In many respects they may have been made inferior even to man as he came out of the hands of his Maker, for he was made in the image and likeness of God; but of the angels, even the highest order of them, this is never spoken. It is very likely that the apostle refers here to the opinions of the Jews relative to the angels. In Pirkey R. Elieser, c. 4, it is said: "The angels which were created the second day, when they minister before God, נעשין של אש become fire." In Shemoth Rabba, s. 25, fol. 123, it is said: "God is named the Lord of hosts, because with his angels he doth whatsoever he wills: when he pleases, he makes them sit down; Judges 6:11: And the angel of the Lord came, and sat under a tree. When he pleases, he causes them to stand; Isaiah 6:2: The seraphim stood. Sometimes he makes them like women; Zechariah 5:9: Behold there came two women, and the wind was in their wings. Sometimes he makes them like men; Genesis 18:2: And, lo, three men stood by him. Sometimes he makes them spirits; Psalms 104:4: Who maketh his angels spirits. Sometimes he makes them fire; ibid. His ministers a flame of fire."
In Yalcut Simeoni, par. 2, fol. 11, it is said: "The angel answered Manoah, I know not in whose image I am made, for God changeth us every hour: sometimes he makes us fire, sometimes spirit, sometimes men, and at other times angels." It is very probable that those who are termed angels are not confined to any specific form or shape, but assume various forms and appearances according to the nature of the work on which they are employed and the will of their sovereign employer. This seems to have been the ancient Jewish doctrine on this subject.
