Hebrews 2:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Hebrews 2:8
Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
But
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
now
νῦνnun
G3568
"now" (as adverb of date · adverb
see
ὁρῶμενhorōmen
G3708
by extension · verb — present active indicative, 1st person plural
yet
οὔπωoupō
G3768
not yet · adverb — negative
things
πάνταpanta
G3956
all · adjective — accusative plural neuter
under
ὑποτάσσωhypotássō
G5293
to subordinate
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
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
John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
1 Corinthians 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put…
Psalms 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Daniel 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an ev…
1 Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
1 Corinthians 15:24-25 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all autho…
Ephesians 1:21-22 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which…
Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hebrews 2:5-9
The apostle, having made this serious application of the doctrine of the personal excellency of Christ above the angels, now returns to that pleasant subject again, and pursues it further (Heb 2:5): For to the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
I. Here the apostle lays down a negative proposition, including a positive one - That the state of the gospel-church, which is here called the world to come, is not subjected to the angels, but under the special care and direction of the Redeemer himself. Neither the state in which the church is at present, nor that more completely restored state at which it shall arrive when the prince of this world is cast out…
(Co1 15:27.)
For in that--that is, "For in that" God saith in the eighth Psalm, "He put the all things (so the Greek, the all things just mentioned) in subjection under him (man), He left nothing . . . As no limitation occurs in the sacred writing, the "all things" must include heavenly, as well as earthly things (compare Co1 3:21-22).
But now--As things now are, we see not yet the all things put under man.
Adam Clarke on Hebrews 2:7
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels - We must again have recourse to the original from which this quotation is made: ותחסרהו מעט מאלהים vattechasserehu meat meelohim. If this be spoken of man as he came out of the hands of his Maker, it places him at the head of all God's works; for literally translated it is: Thou hast made him less than God. And this is proved by his being made in the image and likeness of God, which is spoken of no other creature either in heaven or earth; and it is very likely that in his original creation he stood at the head of all the works of God, and the next to his Maker. This sentiment is well expressed in the following lines, part of a paraphrase on th…
This applies both to common humanity and especially to Christ in the flesh. "At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him." For he said: "He left nothing outside of his control," but they suffered badly and were seized by the Jews who remained in disbelief, so that they would not hesitate about what was said, Paul says: "Do not be troubled. For not yet has all things been subjected to him, not yet has the preaching been scattered, not yet has the proclaimed king openly received power."
For this reason, he now cites it. What is man that you are mindful of him? Since it seemed to oppose his purpose, he indeed shows that Christ is greater than the angels, yet he says that he was made a little lower than the angels. He presents this in order to resolve the objection that seems to arise, and in resolving it, he says that he was made lower because of the passion of death. "For we saw him and he had neither form nor beauty." (Isa. 53:2) Meanwhile, it is granted that this was also said about the Lord, since he served them as well, to comfort them, as it is said: "putting everything in subjection under his feet."
"For," he says, "in that He hath put all things in subjection under Him, He left nothing not put under Him: but now we see not yet all things put under Him." What he means is this: since he had said, "Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool," and it was likely that they would still be grieved, then having inserted a few things after this parenthetically, he added this testimony in confirmation of the former. For that they might not say, How is it that He hath put His enemies under His feet, when we have suffered so much? he sufficiently hinted at it in the former place indeed (for the word "until" showed, not what should take place immediately, but in course of time) but here he followeth it up. For do not suppose (he says) that because they have not yet been made subject, they are not to be made subject: for that they must be made subject, is evident; for, on this account was the prophecy spoken. "For," he says, "in that He hath put all things under Him, He left nothing not put under Him." How then is it that all things have not been put under Him? Because they are hereafter to be put under Him. If then all things must be made subject to Him, but have not yet been made subject, do not grieve, nor trouble thyself. If indeed when the end were come, and all things were made subject, thou wert still suffering these things, with reason wouldst thou repine: "But now we see not yet all things put under Him." The King has not yet clearly conquered. Why then art thou troubled when suffering affliction? the preaching [of the Gospel] hath not yet prevailed over all; it is not yet time that they should be altogether made subject.
Dictionary and topics
Man · DOMINION OF — DOMINION 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).
Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet,.... Good angels, men and devils, all things in heaven, earth, and sea; see 1 Peter 3:22
for in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him; there is no one person or thing that is not subject to Christ; the subjection is the most universal, either voluntary or involuntary; whether they will or not, they are, and must be subject; God has left nothing but what he has put under his power:
but now we see not yet all things put under him; this seems to be an objection, and even a contradiction to what is before said; which may be removed by observing, that though this general subjection is not seen by…
Hebrews 2:5-9
5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
5. Non enim angelis subjecit orbem futurum de quo loquimur:
6. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
6. Testatus est autem quidam alicubi, dicens, Quid est homo quod memor es ejus? aut filius hominis quod visitas eum?
7. Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
7. Minuisti eum paululum ab angelis; gloria et onore coronasti eum, et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum:
8. Thou hast put all th…
You gave them authority over all things (literally You have put all things under his feet): See study note on 2:6-8. • nothing is left out: All things are ultimately subject to Christ and the church, but we have not yet seen the complete expression of this reality—it will be consummated at the end of the age.