Hebrews 2:16

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
verily	δήπου dḗpou	G1222	a particle of asseveration
took	ἐπιλαμβάνεται, epilambanetai	G1949	to seize (for help · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
on	ἐπιλαμβάνεται. epilambanetai	G1949	to seize (for help · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
angels	ἀγγέλων angelōn	G32	compare G34 (ἀγέλη)) (to bring tidings) · noun — genitive plural masculine
but	ἀλλὰ alla	G235	properly · conjunction
on	ἐπιλαμβάνομαι epilambánomai	G1949	to seize (for help
of	σπέρματος spermatos	G4690	something sown · noun — genitive singular neuter
Abraham	Ἀβραὰμ Abraam	G11	Abraham · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Romans 4:16-25 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the…
Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Romans 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Hebrews 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Hebrews 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Matthew 1:1-17 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 2:14–end

Here the apostle proceeds to assert the incarnation of Christ, as taking upon him not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham; and he shows the reason and design of his so doing. I. The incarnation of Christ is asserted (Heb 2:16): Verily he took not upon him the nature of angels, but he took upon him the seed of Abraham. He took part of flesh and blood. Though as God he pre-existed from all eternity, yet in the fulness of time he took our nature into union with his divine nature, and became really and truly man. He did not lay hold of angels, but he laid hold of the seed of Abraham. The angels fell, and he let them go, and lie under the desert, defilement, and dominion of their sin, w…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 2:16

For verily--Greek, "For as we all know"; "For as you will doubtless grant." Paul probably alludes to Isa 41:8; Jer 31:32, Septuagint, from which all Jews would know well that the fact here stated as to Messiah was what the prophets had led them to expect. took not on him, &c.--rather, "It is not angels that He is helping (the present tense implies duration); but it is the seed of Abraham that He is helping." The verb is literally, to help by taking one by the hand, as in Heb 8:9, "When I took them by the hand," &c. Thus it answers to "succor," Heb 2:18, and "deliver," Heb 2:15. "Not angels," who have no flesh and blood, but "the children," who have "flesh and blood," He takes hold of to he…

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Adam Clarke on Hebrews 2:16

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels - Ου γαρ δηπου αγγελων επιλαμβανεται, αλλα σπερματος Αβρααμ επιλαμβανεται· Moreover, he doth not at all take hold of angels; but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold. This is the marginal reading, and is greatly to be preferred to that in the text Jesus Christ, intending not to redeem angels, but to redeem man, did not assume the angelic nature, but was made man, coming directly by the seed or posterity of Abraham, with whom the original covenant was made, that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; and it is on this account that the apostle mentioned the seed of Abraham, and not the seed of Adam; and it is strange that…

The Church Fathers

It was very wise of the divine apostle to use the proper name instead of a generic name: he did not say, "He takes hold of human seed," but "He takes hold of Abraham's seed," reminding them also of the promise made to Abraham.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF HEBREWS 2

If he had assumed the nature of angels, he would have proved superior to death; but since what he assumed was human, through the passion he paid humankind's debt, while through the resurrection of the body that had suffered he demonstrated his own power.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF HEBREWS 2

That Lord, I say, who in His simple and immaterial Deity, entered our nature, and of the virgin's womb became ineffably incarnate; that Lord, who was partaker of nothing else save the lump of Adam, who was by the serpent tripped up. For the Lord laid not hold of the seed of angels
— Methodius of Olympus, Methodius Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Human Nature Of Christ, The · Was of the seed of: Abraham — Was of the seed of: Abraham
Humility Of Christ, The · Exhibited in his: Taking our nature — Exhibited in his: Taking our nature
Man · Christ: Took on him nature of — Christ: Took on him nature of

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrews 2:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 2:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 2:16

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 2:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hebrews 2:16

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hebrews 2:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hebrews 2:16

Adam Clarke on Hebrews 2:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Hebrews 2:16

John Calvin on Hebrews 2:16–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hebrews 2:16