April 9, 2018 - Hebrews 1:3
Effulgence
is giving off blinding, radiant rays of light. Effulgence is brightness taken
to the extreme. You may be dazzled by it, stunned by it, or even OVERCOME BY IT.
Usually used to refer to the sun or some other mega-star, effulgence can also
be used more figuratively.
is giving off blinding, radiant rays of light. Effulgence is brightness taken
to the extreme. You may be dazzled by it, stunned by it, or even OVERCOME BY IT.
Usually used to refer to the sun or some other mega-star, effulgence can also
be used more figuratively.
Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers
Commentary for English Readers
(3)
Who BEING the brightness . . .—Who being the EFFULGENCE of His glory and the
exact image of His substance. The first figure is familiar to us in the words
of the Nicene Creed (themselves derived from this verse and a commentary upon
it), “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.”
Who BEING the brightness . . .—Who being the EFFULGENCE of His glory and the
exact image of His substance. The first figure is familiar to us in the words
of the Nicene Creed (themselves derived from this verse and a commentary upon
it), “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.”
Again
striking parallels to the language present themselves in Philo, who speaks of
the spirit breathed into man at his creation as an “effulgence of the Blessed
and Thrice-blessed Nature”.
In the well-known passage of the Book of Wisdom, “She (Wisdom) is the
effulgence of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God,
and the image of His goodness” (Wisdom Of Solomon 7:26).
striking parallels to the language present themselves in Philo, who speaks of
the spirit breathed into man at his creation as an “effulgence of the Blessed
and Thrice-blessed Nature”.
In the well-known passage of the Book of Wisdom, “She (Wisdom) is the
effulgence of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God,
and the image of His goodness” (Wisdom Of Solomon 7:26).
In
the Old Testament the token of the divine presence is the Shechinah, the “cloud
of glory” (called “the glory” in Romans 9:4; comp. Hebrews 9:5 in this
Epistle); here it is the divine nature itself that is denoted by the “glory.”
Of the relation between this word and that which follows (“substance”) it is
difficult to speak, as the conceptions necessarily transcend human language;
but we may perhaps say (remembering that all such terms are but figurative)
that the latter word is internal and the former external,—the latter the
essence in itself, the former its manifestation. Thus the “Son” in His relation
to “God” is represented here by light beaming forth from light, and by exact
impress—the perfect image produced by stamp or seal. These designations,
relating to the essential nature of the Son, have no limitation to time; the participle
“being” must be understood (comp. Philippians 2:6; John 1:1) of eternal,
continuous existence.
the Old Testament the token of the divine presence is the Shechinah, the “cloud
of glory” (called “the glory” in Romans 9:4; comp. Hebrews 9:5 in this
Epistle); here it is the divine nature itself that is denoted by the “glory.”
Of the relation between this word and that which follows (“substance”) it is
difficult to speak, as the conceptions necessarily transcend human language;
but we may perhaps say (remembering that all such terms are but figurative)
that the latter word is internal and the former external,—the latter the
essence in itself, the former its manifestation. Thus the “Son” in His relation
to “God” is represented here by light beaming forth from light, and by exact
impress—the perfect image produced by stamp or seal. These designations,
relating to the essential nature of the Son, have no limitation to time; the participle
“being” must be understood (comp. Philippians 2:6; John 1:1) of eternal,
continuous existence.
The
word “person” is an unfortunate mistranslation in this place. Most of the
earlier English versions have “substance,” person being first introduced in the
Genevan Testament in deference to Beza.
word “person” is an unfortunate mistranslation in this place. Most of the
earlier English versions have “substance,” person being first introduced in the
Genevan Testament in deference to Beza.
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