ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Hebrews 2.14-15

Book: Hebrews · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

12. saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, In the midst of the congregation will I sing thy praise. 13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me.

14. Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15. and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

  1. For verily not to angels doth he give help, but he giveth help to the seed of Abraham. 17. Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:12-17, ASV)
WEB

12. saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers. Among of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13. Again, “I will put my trust in him.” Again, “Behold, here I am with the children whom God has given me.”

14. Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15. and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

  1. For most certainly, he doesn’t give help to angels, but he gives help to the offspring of Abraham. 17. Therefore he was obligated in all things to be made like his brothers, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:12-17, WEB)
KJV

12. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

14. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

  1. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. took not: Gr. taketh not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold 17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:12-17, KJV)
YLT

12. saying, 'I will declare Thy name to my brethren, in the midst of an assembly I will sing praise to Thee;' and again, 'I will be trusting on Him;' 13. and again, 'Behold I and the children that God did give to me.'

14. Seeing, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself also in like manner did take part of the same, that through death he might destroy him having the power of death, that is, the devil 15. and might deliver those, whoever, with fear of death, throughout all their life, were subjects of bondage,

  1. for, doubtless, of messengers it doth not lay hold, but of seed of Abraham it layeth hold, 17. wherefore it did behove him in all things to be made like to the brethren, that he might become a kind and stedfast chief-priest in the things with God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people, (Hebrews 2:12-17, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: the anonymous author of Hebrews. Pauline authorship was doubted in antiquity and Origen concluded that who wrote it, God knows
  • Audience: Jewish believers under pressure to fall back from Christ into the older covenant observances
  • Location: unknown; the closing greeting from those of Italy (13:24) points in two directions at once
  • Time period: most likely before AD 70, since the sacrificial system is discussed as still operating

Theological reading

That through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Two claims, and the second is the one that reaches ordinary readers.

The mechanism is paradoxical by design. The devil's power is broken through death, the very instrument of that power. Not around it, not in spite of it. The author has just insisted in verse 14 that because the children share flesh and blood, the Son likewise partook of the same, so the defeat requires a genuine humanity capable of genuinely dying. This is the letter's standing pattern: victory arrives through the thing that looked like defeat.

The bondage is fear. Not death itself but the fear of it is what the verse names as the enslaving power, and the enslavement is lifelong. That is an unusually psychological observation for an ancient text, and it identifies the mechanism by which mortality governs behaviour long before it arrives. Everything people do to secure themselves against ending is downstream of it.

The apologetic use is direct. A great deal of human religion, achievement and denial is explicable as management of this fear, and the passage claims the fear is answered by an event rather than by a technique. See Argument from the Fear of Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

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.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

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.