Personal Reserve
Hebrews 1:1-3
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,…


The Epistle to abruptly, like 1 John, without either greeting from the author, address to the church, or words of introduction. This omission distinguishes these two from every other epistle in the New Testament, and creates of itself a strong presumption that St. Paul was not the author. It is obviously not due to any attempt at concealment; for the tone of personal authority occasionally assumed, and the personal allusions towards the close, show that the author was well known to his readers, and affected no disguise. The character of the Epistle supplies an obvious explanation: the dignity of an oratorical address demanded Some personal reserve; and this dignity is especially conspicuous in the measured rhythm and elaborate antitheses of the opening period.

(F. Rendall, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

WEB: God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,




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