Fragments on the Epistle to the Hebrews · §1 · Gennadius of Constantinople

God's speech to the ancestors and in the Son

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The commentator opens by explaining Hebrews 1:1-2, where the author of Hebrews says God spoke to the ancestors through the prophets but has now spoken in the Son.

So God, he says, spoke to our ancestors in various ways, each suited to its time, through the prophets who belonged to them—to Abraham, Moses, and those who came after. But now that all time was reaching its completion, he has spoken to us in the Son. That is, he first instructed our race through his own servants by laws suited to each generation for acquiring righteousness and the knowledge of God. Then, when the times had been completed, he announced to us in Christ and in the plan accomplished through him the complete grace of these things. By this he means the restoration of our human nature after the cross, through his resurrection, to an incorruptible and sinless state.

Greek

Hebr 1,12 Τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἀβραάμ τε καὶ τὸν Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς καθ' ἑξῆς.

διαφόρως οὖν, φησί, καὶ καταλλήλως ἑκάστῳ καιρῷ τοῖς ἡμετέροις προγόνοις διὰ

τῶν οἰκείων προφητῶν ὁμιλήσας θεός, τοῦ παντὸς ἤδη χρόνου συμπληρουμένου

λελάληκεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, τοῦτ' ἔστι νόμοις 421 πρότερον τὸ γένος ἡμῶν ἑκάστης

γενεᾶς καταλλήλοις πρὸς κτῆσιν δικαιοσύνης τε καὶ θεογνωσίας διὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ

δούλων παιδαγωγήσας, τῶν χρόνων ἤδη συμπληρωθέντων ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ τῇ

κατ' αὐτὸν οἰκονομίᾳ τὴν τούτων ἡμᾶς αὐτοτελῆ χάριν ἐυηγγελίσατο. λέγει δὲ τὴν

μετὰ τὸν σταυρὸν διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸ ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀναμάρτητον

τῆς φύσεως τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀποκατάστασιν.

About this text

A few notes on Hebrews: God speaking in the Son, the Son as the Father's radiance, the first teachings of the faith, and the tabernacle's symbols.

Gennadius of Constantinople (d. 471) was patriarch from 458. This file holds his fragments on the Epistle to the Hebrews, not a full commentary.

God spoke to the ancestors through the prophets, and at the end of the times he has spoken in the Son. The Son is called radiance, as light from the sun, so that no one can say the Father is older than the Son. Though he was Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

The fragments also set out the first teaching of the faith: repentance, faith, baptism, the laying on of hands, the resurrection, and the judgment. The lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence are read as signs of the stars, the earth, and the earth's produce.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 85 (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.