Passage

Hebrews 1.4

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; 3. who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4. having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son? 6. And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Hebrews 1:2-6, ASV)

WEB

2. has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 3. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4. having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they have.

For to which of the angels did he say at any time, “You are my Son. Today I have become your father?” and again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?” 6. When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” (Hebrews 1:2-6, WEB)

KJV

2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6. And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. ^{again: or, when he bringeth again} (Hebrews 1:2-6, KJV)

YLT

2. in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages; 3. who being the brightness of the glory, and the impress of His subsistence, bearing up also the all things by the saying of his might, through himself having made a cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the greatness in the highest,

4. having become so much better than the messengers, as he did inherit a more excellent name than they.

For to which of the messengers said He ever, 'My Son thou art, I to-day have begotten thee?' and again, 'I will be to him for a father, and he shall be to Me for a son?' 6. and when again He may bring in the first-born to the world, He saith, 'And let them bow before him, all messengers of God;' (Hebrews 1:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the author of Hebrews, who does not give his name. Early tradition linked the letter to Paul, but that was disputed already in antiquity; Origen, as quoted by Eusebius, said that who wrote it, God alone knows
Audience: believers, apparently of Jewish background, who had already suffered for their faith (10:32-34) and were being tempted to drift away (2:1)
Location: not stated. "They of Italy salute you" (13:24) links the letter to Italy, either as the place of writing or as the readers' home
Time period: commonly dated before AD 70. The author argues as though the Levitical sacrifices were still being offered (10:1-2), never mentions the Temple's destruction, and speaks of Timothy as recently released (13:23)

Theological reading

"Having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they." The verse closes the long opening sentence (1:1-4) and states the theme the rest of the chapter proves from Scripture: the Son is above every angel.

What "become" refers to. Witness writers point to "having become" (Strong's G1096) as evidence that the Son was not always superior, but rose to his rank as God's first and highest creature. The sentence itself ties the "becoming" to a specific moment. The Son "when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (1:3), and it is in that enthronement that he becomes better than the angels. The same sentence has already said that through him God "made the worlds" (1:2) and that he is "the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance" (1:3). What changes at the exaltation is his position as the one who made purification, not his nature. Hebrews later says he was "made a little lower than the angels" for the suffering of death (2:9); the exaltation reverses that humiliation.

The name. The "more excellent name" (G3686) he "inherited" (G2816) is explained at once: "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son?" (1:5). The name is Son, and the author's question assumes no angel ever held it in this sense. Inheriting fits the opening, where the Son is "heir of all things" (1:2).

"Better," not "greater." The word "better" (G2909, kreitton) is a favourite of Hebrews: a better hope (7:19), a better covenant (7:22), better sacrifices (9:23). It compares the Son's position and ministry with what came before. Jehovah's Witnesses vs the Christian God notes that this is a different word from "greater" in John 14:28, where the Father is greater than the Son who has taken the role of a servant; neither verse turns on a difference in nature. See also Jesus Has a God Therefore Not God Objection Defeater.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G3686 - onoma, onoma, Strong's G3686
G1096 - ginomai, ginomai, Strong's G1096

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Christianity, via Hebrews 1.1-4
Christs Deity, via Hebrews 1.1-4
Doctrine, via Hebrews 1.1-4
Islamic Dilemma, via Hebrews 1.1-12
Logos Christology, via Hebrews 1.1-4
Muslim Objections to the Divinity of Christ, via Hebrews 1.1-4
Tahrif, via Hebrews 1.1-12

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.