SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:1
¶ Dios, habiendo hablado muchas veces y de muchas maneras en otro tiempo a los padres por los profetas,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hebrew 1:1
Verse 1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners] We can scarcely conceive any thing more dignified than the opening of this epistle; the sentiments are exceedingly elevated, and the language, harmony itself! The infinite God is at once produced to view, not in any of those attributes which are essential to the Divine nature, but in the manifestations of his love to the world, by giving a revelation of his will relative to the salvation of mankind, and thus preparing the way, through a long train of years, for the introduction of that most glorious Being, his own Son. This Son, in the fullness of time, was manifested in the flesh that he might complete all vision and prophecy, supply all that was wanting to perfect the great scheme of revelation for the instruction of the world, and then die to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The description which he gives of this glorious personage is elevated beyond all comparison. Even in his humiliation, his suffering of death excepted, he is infinitely exalted above all the angelic host, is the object of their unceasing adoration, is permanent on his eternal throne at the right hand of the Father, and from him they all receive their commands to minister to those whom he has redeemed by his blood. in short, this first chapter, which may be considered the introduction to the whole epistle is, for importance of subject, dignity of expression, harmony and energy of language, compression and yet distinctness of ideas, equal, if not superior, to any other part of the New Testament. Sundry times] polumerwv, from poluv, many, and perov, a part; giving portions of revelation at different times.
Divers manners] polutropwv, from poluv, many, and tropov, a manner, turn, or form of speech; hence trope, a figure in rhetoric. Lambert Bos supposes these words to refer to that part of music which is denominated harmony, viz. that general consent or union of musical sounds which is made up of different parts; and, understood in this way, it may signify the agreement or harmony of all the Old Testament writers, who with one consent gave testimony to Jesus Christ, and the work of redemption by him. To him gave all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins; Acts x. 43.
But it is better to consider, with Kypke, that the words are rather intended to point out the imperfect state of Divine revelation under the Old Testament; it was not complete, nor can it without the New be considered a sufficiently ample discovery of the Divine will. Under the Old Testament, revelations were made polumerwv kai polutropwv, at various times, by various persons, in various laws and forms of teaching, with various degrees of clearness, under various shadows, types, and figures, and with various modes of revelation, such as by angels, visions, dreams, mental impressions, &c. See Num. xii. 6, 8. But under the New Testament all is done aplwv, simply, by one person, i.e. JESUS, who has fulfilled the prophets, and completed prophecy; who is the way, the truth, and the life; and the founder, mediator, and governor of his own kingdom.
One great object of the apostle is, to put the simplicity of the Christian system in opposition to the complex nature of the Mosaic economy; and also to show that what the law could not do because it was weak through the flesh, Jesus has accomplished by the merit of his death, and the energy of his Spirit.
Maximus Tyrius, Diss. 1, page 7, has a passage where the very words employed by the apostle are found, and evidently used nearly in the same sense: th rov anqrwpou yuch duo organwn ontwn prov sunesin, tou men aplou, on kaloumen noun, tou de poikilou kai polumerouv kai polutropou, av aisqhseiv kaloumen. "The soul of man has two organs of intelligence: one simple, which we call mind; the other diversified, and acting in various modes and various ways, which we term sense." A similar form of expression the same writer employs in Diss. 15, page 1l21: "The city which is governed by the mob, polufwnon te einai kai polumerh kai polupaqh, is full of noise, and is divided by various factions and various passions." The excellence of the Gospel above the law is here set down in three points: 1. God spake unto the faithful under the Old Testament by Moses and the prophets, worthy servants, yet servants; now the Son is much better than a servant, ver. 4. 2. Whereas the body of the Old Testament was long in compiling, being about a thousand years from Moses to Malachi; and God spake unto the fathers by piecemeal, one while raising up one prophet, another while another, now sending them one parcel of prophecy or history, then another; but when Christ came, all was brought to perfection in one age; the apostles and evangelists were alive, some of them, when every part of the New Testament was completely finished. 3.
The Old Testament was delivered by God in divers manners, both in utterance and manifestation; but the delivery of the Gospel was in a more simple manner; for, although there are various penmen, yet the subject is the same, and treated with nearly the same phraseology throughout; James, Jude, and the Apocalypse excepted. See Leigh.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners , etc..] The apostle begins the epistle with an account of the revelation God has made of his mind and will in former times: the author of this revelation is God, not essentially, but personally considered, even God the Father, as distinguished from his Son in the next verse; for the revelation under the Old Testament is divine, as well as that under the New; in this they both agree, in whatsoever else they differ: and this revelation was made at several times, at different seasons, and to different persons; and consisted of a variety of things relating to doctrine and worship, and concerning the Messiah, his person and office; of whom, at different times, there were gradual discoveries made, both before and after the giving of the law, from the beginning of the world, or the giving forth of the first promise, and in the times of the patriarchs, of: Moses, David, Isaiah, and other prophets: and this was delivered in various manners; sometimes by angels; sometimes in a dream; at other times by a vision; and sometimes by Urim and Thummim: and this he spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets ; by Moses, and other succeeding prophets, as David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi, and others; who were sent to the Jewish fathers, the ancestors of the people of the Jews, to whom they prophesied and declared the will of God, as they were moved and inspired by the Holy Ghost: and the apostle suggests, by this way of speaking, that it was a long time since God spake to this people; for prophecy had ceased ever since the times of Malachi, for the space of three hundred years; and this time past includes the whole Old Testament dispensation, from the beginning to the end of it, or of prophecy in it.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-3 - God spake to his ancient people at sundry times, through successiv generations, and in divers manners, as he thought proper; sometimes by personal directions, sometimes by dreams, sometimes by visions sometimes by Divine influences on the minds of the prophets. The gospe revelation is excellent above the former; in that it is a revelatio which God has made by his Son. In beholding the power, wisdom, an goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold the power, wisdom, an goodness of the Father, Joh 14:7; the fulness of the Godhead dwells not typically, or in a figure, but really, in him. When, on the fall of man, the world was breaking to pieces under the wrath and curse of God the Son of God, undertaking the work of redemption, sustained it by his almighty power and goodness. From the glory of the person and office of Christ, we proceed to the glory of his grace. The glory of His perso and nature, gave to his sufferings such merit as was a ful satisfaction to the honour of God, who suffered an infinite injury an affront by the sins of men. We never can be thankful enough that God has in so many ways, and with such increasing clearness, spoken to u fallen sinners concerning salvation. That he should by himself cleans us from our sins is a wonder of love beyond our utmost powers of admiration, gratitude, and praise.
Greek Textus Receptus
πολυμερως 4181 και 2532 πολυτροπως 4187 παλαι 3819 ο 3588 θεος 2316 λαλησας 2980 5660 τοις 3588 πατρασιν 3962 εν 1722 τοις 3588 προφηταις 4396
Vincent's NT Word Studies
1. God. Both stages of the revelation were given by God.
At sundry times (polumerwv). Rend. in many parts. N.T.o . o LXX, but polumerhv Wisd. vii. 22. In the first stage of his revelation, God spake, not at once, giving a complete revelation of his being and will; but in many separate revelations, each of which set forth only a portion of the truth. The truth as a whole never comes to light in the O.T. It appears fragmentarily, in successive acts, as the periods of the Patriarchs, Moses, the Kingdom, etc. One prophet has one, another element of the truth to proclaim.
In divers manners (polutropwv). Rend. in many ways. N.T.o . LXX, 4 Macc. iii. 21. This refers to the difference of the various revelations in contents and form. Not the different ways in which God imparted his revelations to the prophets, but the different ways in which he spoke by the prophets to the fathers: in one way through Moses, in another through Elijah, in others through Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. At the founding of the Old Testament kingdom of God, the character of the revelation was elementary. Later it was of a character to appeal to a more matured spiritual sense, a deeper understanding and a higher conception of the law. The revelation differed according to the faithfulness or unfaithfulness of the covenant-people. Comp. Ephesians 3. 10, the many-tinted wisdom of God, which is associated with this passage by Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 1. 4, 27). "Fitly, therefore, did the apostle call the wisdom of God many-tinted, as showing its power to benefit us in many parts and in many ways."
Spake (lalhsav). See on Matthew 28. 18. Often in the Epistle of the announcement of the divine will by men, as vii. 14; ix. 19: by angels, as ii. 2. by God himself or Christ, as ii. 3; v. 5; xii. 25. In Paul, almost always of men: once of Christ, 2 Cor. xiii. 3: once of the Law, personified, Rom. iii. 9.
In time past (palai) Better, of old. The time of the Old Testament revelation. It indicates a revelation, not only given, but completed in the past.
Unto the fathers (toiv patrasin). Thus absolutely, John vii. 22; Romans ix. 5; xv. 8. More commonly with your or our.
By the prophets (en toiv profhtaiv). Rend. "in the prophets," which does not mean in the collection of prophetic writings, as John vi. 45; Acts xiii. 40, but rather in the prophets themselves as the vessels of divine inspiration. God spake in them and from them. Thus Philo; "The prophet is an interpreter, echoing from within (endoqen) the sayings of God" (De Praemiis et Poenis, 9)
