Albert Barnes Commentary Hebrews 2:13

"And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me." — Hebrews 2:13 (ASV)

And again. This means it is said in another place, or language is used of the Messiah elsewhere, indicating the confidence He placed in God. This shows that He shared the feelings of God’s children and regarded Himself as one of them.

I will put my trust in him. This means, "I will confide in God," implying:

1. A sense of dependence on God, and
2. Confidence in Him.

It is with reference to the first idea—dependence—that the apostle seems to use it here, as denoting a condition where the need for divine aid was felt. His object is to show that Christ identified with His people and regarded them as brothers. The purpose of this quotation seems to be to show that He was in a situation that made an expression of dependence appropriate.

He was one with His people and shared their dependence and piety, using language that showed He was identified with them and could share with the tenderest sympathy in all their feelings.

It is not certain from where this passage is quoted. In Psalm 18:3, and the corresponding passage in 2 Samuel 22:3, the Hebrew is, I will trust in him. However, this Psalm has never been regarded by the Jews as having any reference to the Messiah, and it is difficult to see how it could be considered as having any relation to Him.

Most critics, therefore, such as Rosenmuller, Calvin, Koppe, Bloomfield, Stuart, etc., regard the passage as taken from Isaiah 8:17. The reasons for this are:

1. The words are the same in the Septuagint as in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
2. The apostle immediately quotes the next verse as applicable to the Messiah.
3. No other place occurs where the same expression is found.

Isaiah 8:17 reads, I will wait for him, or "I will trust in him"—rendered by the Septuagint pepoiywv esomai ep autw—the same phrase Paul uses. There can be no doubt that Paul meant to quote it here.

The sense in Isaiah is that the prophet had concluded his message to the people. He had been directed to seal up the testimony. He had exhorted the nation to repent, but he had done so in vain. Now, he had nothing left to do but to put his trust in the Lord and commit the whole cause to Him.

Isaiah’s only hope was in God, and he calmly and confidently committed his cause to Him. Paul evidently intends to refer this to the Messiah. The sense, as applied to Christ, is this: "The Messiah, in using this language, expresses Himself as a man. It is human beings who exercise dependence on God. By using this language, He speaks as one who had human nature, expressed the feelings of the pious, showed He was one of them, and regarded them as brothers."

There is not much difficulty in the argument of this passage, nor is it difficult to see that in such language He must speak as a man, or as one having human nature. However, the main difficulty lies in the question of how this and the following verse can be applied to the Messiah.

In the prophecy, these words seem to refer solely to Isaiah and to be expressive of his feelings alone—the feelings of a man who saw little encouragement in his work and who, having done all he could, finally put his sole trust in God. Regarding this difficult and still unsettled question, the reader may consult my introduction to Isaiah, § 7. The following remarks may help to partially remove the difficulty.

1. The passage in Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:1–7) occurs amidst several predictions relating to the Messiah, preceded and followed by passages that undoubtedly had an ultimate reference to Him. (Isaiah 9:1–7 and the notes on those passages.)

2. The language, if used of Isaiah, would express the feelings and condition of the Redeemer just as accurately and fittingly. There was such a remarkable similarity in the circumstances that the same language would express the condition of both. Both had delivered a solemn message to people; both had come to exhort them to turn to God and to put their trust in Him; and both experienced the same result. The nation had disregarded them alike. Now their only hope was to confide in God, and the language used here would express the feelings of both: I will trust in God. "I will put confidence in Him and look to Him."

3. There can be little doubt that, in Paul’s time, this passage was regarded by the Jews as applicable to the Messiah. This is evident because:

   • Paul would not have quoted it as a proof-text unless those to whom he wrote would admit such a reference.
   • In Romans 9:32-33, it is evident that the passage in Isaiah 8:14 is regarded as referring to the Messiah and as being so admitted by the Jews.

   It is true that this may be considered merely an argument ad hominem—or an argument from what was admitted by those with whom he was reasoning, without vouching for the precise accuracy of how the passage was applied. However, that method of argument is admitted elsewhere. Why should we not expect to find the sacred writers reasoning as other people do, and especially as was common in their own times?

   The apostle is showing them that, according to their own Scripture and in accordance with principles they themselves admitted, it was necessary for the Messiah to be a man and a sufferer. He had to be identified with His people and be able to use language that would express that condition. In doing this, it is not remarkable that Paul should apply to Him language that they admitted belonged to Him and that would accurately describe His condition.

4. It is not necessary to suppose that the passage in Isaiah had an original and primary reference to the Messiah. It is evident from the whole passage that it did not. There was a primary reference to Isaiah himself and to his children as emblems of certain truths.

   However, there was still a strong resemblance in certain respects between Isaiah's feelings and condition and those of the Messiah. This resemblance was such that the one would not unsuitably symbolize the other. The resemblance was so strong that the mind—probably of the prophet himself, and of the people—would look forward to the more remote but similar event: the coming and circumstances of the Messiah.

   This resemblance was so strong, and the prophet’s expressions here so much accorded with his declarations elsewhere pertaining to the Messiah, that in the course of time they came to be regarded as relating to Him in a very important sense, and as destined to have their complete fulfillment when He should come.

   As such, they seem to have been used in Paul’s time, and no one can PROVE that the application was improper. Who can demonstrate that God did not intend for those transactions Isaiah referred to, to be designed as symbols of what would occur in the time of the Redeemer? They were certainly symbolical actions—for Isaiah himself expressly said they were (Isaiah 8:18)—and no one can demonstrate that they might not have had an ultimate reference to the Redeemer.

And again. In another verse, or in another declaration; namely, Isaiah 7:18.

Behold I and the children whom God has given me. This is only part of the passage in Isaiah and seems to have been partially quoted because the point of the quotation consisted in the fact that He sustained to them somewhat of the relation of a parent to his children—as having the same nature and being identified with them in interest and feeling. As used by Isaiah, it means that he and his children were "for signs and emblems" to the people of his time—to communicate and confirm God’s will and to be pledges of divine favor and protection. (See the notes on Isaiah 7:18.)

As applied to the Messiah, it means that He sustained such an intimate relation to His people that they could be addressed and regarded as His children. They were of one family, one nature. He became one of them and had the same interest in them that a father has in his sons. He, therefore, had a nature like ours. Although He was exalted above the angels, His relation to humanity was like the most tender and intimate earthly connections, showing that He partook of the same nature as them. The point is that He was a man; that since those who were to be redeemed partook of flesh and blood, He also partook of the same (Hebrews 2:14), and thus identified Himself with them.