Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 2:7

"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:" — Hebrews 2:7 (ASV)

Having asked the rhetorical questions that pinpoint human insignificance, the psalmist goes on to the greatness of human beings. God has given them an outstanding position, one but a little lower than that of the angels. The author follows the LXX here again (the Hebrew can mean “lower than God”). Human dignity, then, is such that human beings are placed in God’s order of creation only a short way below the angels, and this seems to set them above all else in creation, an impression that the rest of the passage confirms. God “crowned him with glory and honor.” “Glory” (GK 1518) denotes brightness or splendor and is used of the splendor of God as well as of the glory of earthly potentates. “Honor” (GK 5507) is frequently linked with “glory,” and the combination stresses the supreme place of humankind in creation.