Charles Ellicott Commentary Hebrews 1:8

"but of the Son [he saith,] Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." — Hebrews 1:8 (ASV)

Unto.—Rather, of. The connection with Hebrews 1:7 is so close (“Whereas of the angels He says . . . of the Son He says”), that we must not vary the rendering of the preposition. The passage that follows is taken from Psalm 45:6-7. As the words stand in the ordinary Greek text, they agree exactly with the LXX; but certain alterations of reading are required by the best evidence. After the words “for ever and ever,” and must be restored, and in the following clause, the and a must change places. The latter change is of importance only as it affects the former.

If the words were in all other respects cited with perfect exactness, the introduction of and would probably indicate that the writer intended to split up the quotation into two parts, each significant for his purpose. (Compare to Hebrews 2:13.) However, as we note other minor changes, the insertion of the connecting word is probably accidental. A third reading is of much greater importance. At the close of the verse, the two oldest of our Greek MSS. agree in reading “His kingdom:” to this we will return later.

We have every reason to believe that the application of Psalm 45 made here was fully received by the ancient Jews; thus, in the Targum on the Psalm, Hebrews 1:7 is taken as a direct address to the King Messiah. Hence, the readers of this Epistle would at once recognise the argument that the words contain. It is strongly maintained by some that the Psalm (like Psalm 110, see below, on Hebrews 1:13) is altogether prophetic, the promised Messiah alone being in the Psalmist’s thought. There appear to be insuperable objections to this view, from particular expressions used (in the later verses especially), and from the general structure and colouring of the Psalm. It is in every way more probable that the second Psalm (see Note on Hebrews 1:5), rather than Psalm 110, represents the class to which Psalm 45 belongs.

Originally writing in celebration of the marriage of a king of David’s line (we do not know whom, but many of the arguments urged against the possible reference to Solomon have no great weight), the inspired Psalmist uses words that bear their full meaning only when applied to that Son of David whose kingdom will have no end.

The promises made to David (2 Samuel 7) are before the writer’s mind in the first verses of the Psalm. The king appointed by God is His representative to God’s people; his cause is that of truth and righteousness; his dominion will continually advance. It is at this moment that, with the promise of a divine sonship (Psalms 2) in his thought, he suddenly addresses the king as Elohim (Hebrews 1:7), a divine king who receives from God the reward of righteousness (Hebrews 1:8).

There are examples in the Old Testament of the use of Elohim that diminish the difficulty of its application to an earthly king (Psalms 95:3; 1 Samuel 28:13; Exodus 7:1); but it must still be acknowledged that the passage stands alone. This difficulty, however, relates only to the primary application. As the higher and true reference of the words became revealed, all earthly limitations disappeared; the Christian readers of the Psalm recognised in the Messiah of whom it speaks a King who is God.

The reading “His kingdom” has seemed to require a different rendering of the words in the first part of the verse: God is Your throne for ever and ever. This rendering, however, will suit either reading of the Greek, and is equally admissible as a rendering of the Hebrew. Nor is it really inconsistent with the position in which the verse here stands: in contrast with the ministry of angels is set, on this view, not indeed a direct address to the Son as God, but the sovereign rule that the Son receives from God.

The objections raised against it are:

1. Such an expression as “God is Your throne” is contrary to the analogy of Scripture language;
2. The ordinary rendering has the support of almost all ancient authority, Jewish writers and ancient versions being apparently united in its favour.

The former argument is not very strong in light of Psalm 90:1 and similar passages; but the latter is so weighty that we hesitate to accept the change, helpful as it would be in making clear the original and typical reference of Hebrews 1:7.

It should be said that the reading “His kingdom” is not inconsistent with the ordinary translation of the preceding words; for a sudden transition from “Your throne, O God” to “His kingdom” is in full accordance with the usage of Hebrew poetry (Psalms 67:5–6; Psalms 104:4–6, et al.). There are other renderings that would require discussion if we were concerned with the Hebrew text of the Psalm: the two given above are the only possible translations of the Greek.

A sceptre . . .—Rather, the sceptre of uprightness is a sceptre of Your (or, His) kingdom. Righteousness itself (so to speak, the very ideal of righteous government) rules in Your kingdom.