ANGELS WORSHIP JESUS AS YHWH

Not only did human beings worship Jesus when he was here on earth, but all of God’s angels are required to worship him. According to the book of Hebrews, “And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him’” (Heb. 1:6). This statement is difficult to explain away as meaning something less than worship given to God, for two reasons.

First, angels, not human beings, offer this worship to Jesus. Given the fact that human beings in the ancient Mediterranean world were accustomed to bowing down before dignitaries and powerful leaders, it is possible to rationalize the practice of bowing before Jesus as reflecting that custom. (We have seen, though, that such explanations do not fit at least some of the accounts.) Angels, on the other hand, have no such custom.⁷

Second, the directive for angels to worship Jesus is a quotation from the Old Testament that in its original context refers to the worship of the Lord God himself. We know this to be the case even though it turns out there is uncertainty about which of two texts the book of Hebrews is quoting. While a few scholars⁸ trace the quotation to Psalm 97:7 (96:7 LXX),⁹ a majority now think the quotation derives from some version of Deuteronomy 32:43 known to the author of Hebrews.¹⁰ Here are the texts¹¹:

Psalm 96:7 LXX “Worship him, all his angels” (97:7 English versions). proskynēsate autō pantes hoi angeloi autou

Deut. 32:43 LXX “And let all sons of God worship him. . . . And let all angels of God be strong in him.” kai proskynēsatōsan autō pantes huioi theou kai enischysatōsan autō pantes angeloi theou

Odes 2:43 “And let all the angels of God worship him.” kai proskynēsatōsan autō pantes hoi angeloi theou

Heb. 1:6b “And let all angels of God worship him.” kai proskynēsatōsan autō pantes angeloi theou

Hebrews 1:6b differs only by one word from a line in Deuteronomy 32:43 LXX, which uses huioi (“sons”) instead of angeloi (“angels”). It is possible that the author of Hebrews had a version of the Septuagint that read exactly as he quoted it. It is also possible that he took the word “angels” from the similar line later in Deuteronomy 32:43.

Hebrews 1:6b is also nearly identical (missing only the article hoi, “the”) to the same line from Deuteronomy 32:43 in the Odes (numbered there as 2:43), a liturgical collection of biblical and apocryphal prayers and songs appended to the Psalms.¹² Odes 2 is essentially a Christian Greek edition of Deuteronomy 32. The tendency to treat Deuteronomy 32, known as the Song of Moses, as a psalm may explain why the author of Hebrews would quote from it in a collection of proof texts drawn almost entirely from the Psalms.¹³ Moreover, the author clearly quotes from the Song of Moses later in the book (Heb. 10:30, quoting Deut. 32:35, 36).

Regardless of whether Psalm 97:7 or Deuteronomy 32:43 is the text quoted in Hebrews 1:6, the text refers to the worship of God. In Psalm 97:7–9 the psalmist is shaming those who worship idols and telling the “gods” to worship the Lord who is exalted far above them. The Septuagint substituted “angels” in place of the Hebrew “gods,” reflecting the understanding that pagan religions sometimes wrongly deified angelic beings.

In Deuteronomy 32:34–43 the Lord is claiming that he alone is God (vv. 37, 39; see also vv. 12, 17, 21) and that he will take vengeance on his enemies and rescue his people. The broader theme of the Song of Moses is a warning to Israel not to abandon the Lord for any other god (see the introduction of the song in Deut. 31:24–30). Since both texts in context are speaking of angels giving worship to the Lord God, the writer of Hebrews, in applying this quotation to Jesus, is affirming that God commanded his angels to worship Jesus.

Some Unitarians argue that Hebrews 1:6 means that the angels “had not been expected or required to worship him before his exaltation.”¹⁴ This argument presupposes that “when he brings the firstborn into the world” refers to Christ’s exaltation to heaven following his resurrection. This is not the only possible interpretation. Commentators have understood Hebrews 1:6a to refer to Christ’s second coming, his incarnation, or his exaltation to heaven.¹⁵

In any case, the timing of the directive to worship the Son does not impinge directly on what sort of worship was meant. Assuming for the sake of discussion that God called on the angels to worship the Son at his exaltation to heaven, this would not imply that the Son had been unworthy of such honor previously. In orthodox Christology, the divine, eternal Son had humbled himself to become a man in order to die on the cross (Phil. 2:6–8). It would be perfectly appropriate for the Father, in exalting his Son following that humiliation, to call on all his angels to worship the now resurrected and glorified incarnate Son as part of his exaltation (Phil. 2:9–11).

7. BeDuhn, Truth in Translation, 41–49, takes no notice whatsoever of Hebrews 1:6.

8. E.g., Stephen Motyer, “The Psalm Quotations of Hebrews 1: A Hermeneutic-Free Zone?” Tyndale Bulletin 50, no. 1 (1999): 18–19; Alan C. Mitchell, Hebrews, ed. Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina 13 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007), 48.

9. The chapter and verse numbers for many of the Psalms in the Septuagint (LXX) differ from modern editions. With a few exceptions (Psalms 115–16), the chapter numbers for most of Psalms 11–145 are one less in the LXX, e.g., Psalm 97 is Psalm 96 LXX. The verse numbers are often but not always the same. We will use the standard reference numbers found in modern English Bibles except as noted.

10. See especially Gareth Lee Cockerill, The Epistle to the Hebrews, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 105–8; George H. Guthrie, “Hebrews,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, ed. Beale and Carson, 931–32.

11. Translations ours. On the problem of the text of Deuteronomy 32:43, see pp. 400–401 below.

12. The Odes, sometimes called Biblical Odes, should not be confused with Odes of Solomon, a Christian text dated ca. AD 100. The primary witness to the text of the Odes is Codex Alexandrinus, a Christian Greek Bible from the first half of the fifth century AD. It is quite possible that the reading in Odes 2:43 was influenced by the wording of the quotation in Hebrews 1:6. On the other hand, the practice of associating the Song of Moses with the Psalms predated the fifth-century codex, and therefore it is also possible that the reading reflects a pre-Christian tradition.

13. Of the seven quotations in Hebrews 1, at least five are from the Psalms (Heb. 1:5a quotes 2 Sam. 7:14): Heb. 1:5b = Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:7 = Ps. 104:4 (103:4 LXX); Heb. 1:8–9 = Ps. 45:6–7 (44:7–8 LXX); Heb. 1:10–12 = Ps. 102:25–27 (101:26–28 LXX); Heb. 1:13 = Ps. 110:1 (109:1 LXX).

14. Chandler, The God of Jesus, 460.

15. See Lozano, The Proskynesis of Jesus in the New Testament, 119, for a list of commentators holding these different views.

We should also point out that the New Testament writers not only accord divine honors to Jesus, but they do so often in words that deliberately echo Old Testament language for the giving of such honors exclusively to Yahweh, the Lord, the God of Israel. We are not merely told that Jesus receives worship, but we are told with a quotation from the Old Testament about the worship due to the Lord (Heb. 1:6, citing Deut. 32:43). We are not merely told to fear Christ, but we are told to “fear the Lord,” language that recalls a prominent motif about the fear of God in the Old Testament. (Ibid., Chapter 8: Fear, Faith, Hope, and Love, Part 1: Crown Him with Many Crowns: Jesus’ Divine Honors, pp. 63-164; emphasis mine)

The theory that Jesus Christ is the first, greatest, or chief angel simply does not square with the New Testament writings. In various ways, the New Testament exalts Christ above the angels not as the chief angel but as the divine Lord. Paul taught that all created heavenly beings were created in, through, and for the Son (Col. 1:12–17). This point is developed in great detail in Hebrews 1–2, in which the divine Son is contrasted with the angels in terms of his titles and roles. The question, “To which of the angels did God ever say . . . ?” (Heb. 1:5, 13) is a rhetorical question to which the understood answer is “none.”

The Son is not one of the angels but is instead worshiped by them (Heb. 1:6) and identified as “God” and “Lord” (1:8, 10). The Son had humbled himself by becoming a man and dying for our salvation, but at his resurrection and ascension the now incarnate Son was exalted above all creation including all angels (Phil. 2:5–11; cf. Eph. 1:20–22; Heb. 2:5–9; 1 Peter 3:22; Rev. 5:8–13).⁴²

42. Cf. Hannah, Michael and Christ, 158–61. (Ibid., Chapter 19: Is Jesus Christ an Angel?, p. 375)

By this standard, the evidence for the deity of Christ is quite compelling. The Son is to be honored just as we honor the Father (John 5:23). He is given glory in doxologies modeled on Old Testament doxologies to God (1 Peter 4:11; 2 Peter 3:18). He is the object of worship, expressed in the words of Old Testament references to the worship of YHWH (Heb. 1:6) or in scenes in which all creation worships Christ alongside God in heaven itself (Rev. 5:8–14). He hears and answers prayer for salvation, for the safekeeping of one’s spirit at the moment of death, and for other needs (John 14:14; Acts 7:59–60; Rom. 10:12–13; 2 Cor. 12:8–9). Religious songs are sung in his honor (Eph. 5:19; Rev. 5:9–10). He is the object of religious faith, no less than God (John 14:1; Rom. 10:11). We are to fear or revere him (Eph. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:14–16), serve him (Dan. 7:14; Rev. 22:3), and love him (John 14:15, 21; Eph. 6:24) as we do God…

In this position, Jesus exercises authority over all things (Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:27–28). He is exalted far above everyone and everything in created existence, including all of the angels in God’s heavenly court (Eph. 1:21; 4:10; Phil. 2:9–10; Heb. 1:3–6). Jesus not only sits on God’s throne; it is his throne, too (Rev. 22:1, 3). From this exalted position, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33), receives the spirit of a dying man (Acts 7:59), and receives universal worship (Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:8–14). (Ibid., Conclusion: The Case for the Incarnate Christ, pp. 753, 756; emphasis mine)

Hebrews 1:1–13

As with John 1, we have had many occasions throughout this book to turn to the exposition of the deity of Christ in the opening chapter of the book of Hebrews. The angels of heaven all worship the Son (Heb. 1:6), exemplifying the honors that he shares with God. The writer informs us that the Son is eternal and immutable (vv. 11–12), showing that Jesus shares the attributes of God. A major emphasis in this chapter is on the superiority of Jesus’ name above that of the angels (v. 4); the author quotes Old Testament texts calling Jesus ever more exalted titles: Son (v. 5), firstborn (v. 6), God (v. 8), and Lord (v. 10). Clearly, Jesus shares the names of God. The writer credits the Son with the works of creation and providence as well as salvation (vv. 2–3, 10), illustrating that Jesus shares in the deeds that God does. He also emphasizes that Jesus sits at God’s right hand (vv. 3, 13), indicating that Jesus shares the seat of God’s throne. (Ibid, p. 759; emphasis mine)