PS. 2:7 & ETERNAL GENERATION PT. 2
I continue from where I previously left off.
GOD’S CONTINUOUS “TODAY”
In this part I will be focusing on the term used in Psalm 2:7, namely, “today” (semeron):
“So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you (ego semeron gegenneka se)’;” Hebrews 5:5 English Standard Version (ESV)
My purpose is to see if this word can bear the meaning given to it by the early Christians writer who interpreted this in relation to the Son’s being eternally begotten from the Father.
I will attempt to prove that even within the context of the Bible, and more specifically the inspired letter to the Hebrews, the words “today,” “day” etc., are employed not simply for a 24-hour solar day, but to an indefinite period of time that can go back to eternity and extend into the future.
For instance, Hebrews quotes Psalm 95 [94 in the Greek] where God invites believers to enter into his everlasting rest which he calls “today”:
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘TODAY (semeron), if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me and tried Me and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.”’ Be attentive, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, and you depart from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘TODAY (semeron),’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence firmly to the end, while it is said: ‘TODAY (semeron), if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’ For who were they who heard and rebelled? Was it not all of those who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? And with whom was He grieved for forty years? Was it not with those who had sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who disobeyed? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief. Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest remains, let us fear lest any of you should seem to come short of it. For the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the word preached did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed have entered this rest, as He has said, ‘As I have sworn in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.”’ However, His works have been finished since the creation of the world. For He spoke somewhere about the seventh day like this: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.’ And again in the present passage He said, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and they to whom it was first preached did not enter due to unbelief, again He establishes A CERTAIN DAY, ‘TODAY (semeron),’ saying through David, after so long a time, as it has been said: ‘TODAY (semeron), if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have later spoken of another day. Therefore a rest remains for the people of God. For whoever enters His rest will also cease from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter that rest, lest anyone fall by the same pattern of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:7-19; 4:1-11
Here is the Psalm in question:
“O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, and as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me and tried Me, though they had seen My deeds. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ Therefore I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter into My rest.’” Psalm 95:6-11
Hebrews connects this specific day with God’s own Sabbath day of rest which began after the six days of creation, and yet this day remains ongoing:
“God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. So the heavens and the earth, and all their hosts, were finished. On the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He had rested from all His work which He had created and made.” Genesis 1:31; 2:1-3
God’s Sabbath becomes the model for Israel’s sabbath observances:
“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or your sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘You must surely keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who defiles it will surely be put to death. For whoever does any work on it, that person will be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but on the seventh is the Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel must keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’” Exodus 31:12-17
Therefore, the “today” that Hebrews is referencing isn’t a specific day of the week. Rather, this day refers to any and every day that the Gospel is preached and believed on, just as the following reference indicates:
“As workers together with God, we ask you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have listened to you, and in the day (hemera) of salvation I have helped you.’ Look, NOW is the accepted time; look, NOW is THE DAY (hemera) of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2
In other words, the day of rest and everlasting salvation is a day that is continuously ongoing. It refers to an indefinite period of time which, according to Hebrews, began on God’s seventh day of rest and extends into eternity.
Day is also used in reference to the start of creation:
“Indeed BEFORE THE DAY (miyom) was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” Isaiah 43:13 NKJV
The MEV perfectly captures the meaning of the Hebrew:
“Indeed, FROM ETERNITY I am He; there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I act, and who can reverse it?”
As does the Aramaic Targum:
אַף מַעַלְמָא אֲנָא הוּא וְלֵית דְמִן יְדִי מְשֵׁיזֵיב אַעַבְדִינָהּ וְלָא אֲתֵיבִינָהּ:
Yea, from eternity I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will do it, and who shall turn it back? (Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 43:13)
I.e., YHVH God was already existing from before creation since he is eternal by nature:
“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2
“The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved. Your throne is established of old; You are from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2
Therefore, day in Isaiah 43:13 does not refer to a specific moment but to eternity, that YHWH has been existing and will forever exist, having been there from the start of creation:
“Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.” Isaiah 41:4
“Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I called: I am He; I am the First, and I am the Last. My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has spanned the heavens; when I call to them, they stand up together.” Isaiah 48:12-13
In fact, the Greek translation even renders the Hebrew of Isaiah’s text tin reference to YHVH having already been the Lord God from the very beginning, e.g., from before the start of creation:
“ye are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God, even from the beginning (kai ego Kyrios ho Theos, eti ap’ arches); and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: I will work, and who shall turn it back?” Isaiah 43:12-13 Brenton’s LXX
On a related point, Hebrews expressly affirms the immutable character of Jesus:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today (semeron), and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
Note how the term “today” is employed here to denote the unchangeable nature of the Person of the Son.
Earlier, the inspired writer has the Father applying the following Psalm, which describes the eternal, imperishable being of YHVH in contrast to the heavens and the earth that he created and sustains,
“A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto You… But You, O Lord, shall endure forever enthroned and Your reputation to all generations… From before You have laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They shall perish, but You shall endure; indeed, all of them shall wear out like a garment; like a robe You shall change them, and they shall pass away, but You are the same, and Your years shall have no end.” Psalm 102:1, 12, 25-27
And uses it to glorify and praise the Son!
“and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power… ‘They will perish, but You remain; and they all will wear out like a garment; as a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not end.’” Hebrews 1:2b-3a, 10-12
In other words, Jesus is being identified as the immutable, imperishable Creator and Sustainer of creation.
It is obvious that this is referring to the uncreated, divine nature and Person of Christ and not to the human nature that he took and united to himself at a specific point in time (Cf. Heb. 2:9-15).
One can, therefore, legitimately infer from this that the Son’s divine generation is an immutable timeless act, having no beginning or end. This brings me to my next argument.
THE PRE-CREATIONAL BEGETTING OF DAVID’S LORD
The book of Hebrews combines Psalm 2 and 110 (109 in the Greek), and not without good reason. Both Psalms describe the Davidic King and his sovereignty over the kings and the nations. Both warn the nations and their leaders of this coming Ruler’s wrath being unleashed on any one of those that refuse to submit to his dominion. It is, therefore, clear that these specific Psalms have the same Individual and themes in view.
What makes this all the more relevant is that the ancient versions and many Hebrew manuscripts contain a variant reading in v. 3 of Psalm 110, which literally describes God begetting David’s Lord from before the dawn of creation:
“The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit on my right until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ A rod of your power the Lord will send out from Sion. And exercise dominion in the midst of your enemies! With you is rule on a day of your power among the splendors of the holy ones. From the womb, before Morning-star, I brought you forth (egennesa se).” Psalm 109:1-3 (Psalms (and Prayer of Manasses),”, translated by Albert Pietersma, A New English Translation of the Septuagint, published by Oxford University Press in 2009, including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations made in June 2014, p. 603)
“The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I make thy enemies thy footstool. The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot thee (ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.).” Psalm 109:1-3 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA https://drbo.org/cgi-bin/d?b=drl&bk=21&ch=109&l=3-#x)
“LORD JEHOVAH said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies as a stool for your feet.’ LORD JEHOVAH will send the scepter of power to you from Zion and he will rule over your enemies. Your people are glorious in the day of power; in the glories of holiness from the womb, from the first, I have begotten you, Son.” Psalm 110:1-3 Peshitta Holy Bible Translation (PHBT https://biblehub.com/hpbt/psalms/110.htm)
“THE LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD will send forth the sceptre of his power out of Zion, and he will rule over thine enemies. Thy people shall be glorious in the day of thy power; arrayed in the beauty of holiness from the womb, I have begotten thee as a child from the ages.” George Lamsa Bible (LAMSA https://biblehub.com/lamsa/psalms/110.htm)
The womb and the morning-star are obvious references to the creation, as these next texts affirm:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the expanse and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. Then God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees on the earth yielding fruit after their kind with seed in them.’ And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind and trees yielding fruit with seed in them after their kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons, and days, and years. Let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. Then God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. Then God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Genesis 1:1-19
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. Who has determined its measurements, if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? To what are its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7
Therefore, since the King had already been generated or begotten from before the morning or day star had been created, and since the stars and angelic sons of God existed before the earth’s formation, this shows that David’s Lord was already existing as God’s uniquely begotten Son prior to all creation.
Moreover, the following Biblical scholars argue that the Hebrew MSS which contain the word “begotten you” (yelidtika) should be the preferred rendering of the consonantal text of Ps. 110:3, and state that this reading is accepted by many commentators. These scholars further note that this is the same verb used in Psalm 2:7!
For our present purposes, the main focus of interest in Psalm 110 is the notoriously corrupt verse 3b:
bahadre qodesh merechem mishchar laka tal yalduteka
The corresponding Greek (Ps 109:3) reads:
en tais lamprostesin ton hagion
ek gastros pro heosphorou exegennesa se.
The MT points the last word as yaldutheka, “your youth.” The NRSV translates accordingly:
From the womb of the morning,
like dew, your youth will come to you.
MANY Masoretic manuscripts, however, read yelidtika, the reading presupposed by the Greek, and also supported by the Syriac. in view of the consonantal spelling in the MT, and the parallel in psalm 2, this reading should be preferred and is accepted by many commentators.84
By re-pointing the Masoretic text, but making no changes to the consonants we read:
In sacred splendor, from the womb, from dawn,
you have the dew wherewith I have begotten you.85
(Adela Yarbro Collins and John J. Collins, King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature [William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., First Edition, First Printing, 2008], 1. The King as Son of God, pp. 16-17; bold and capital emphasis mine)
Seeing that these early Christian theologians, bishops, apologists etc., had this particular reading in their versions of Psalm 110:3, and seeing how this specific Psalm is directly related to and connected with Psalm 2, it therefore comes as no surprise that they would then interpret the Son’s begetting in light of both these inspired texts. And since Ps. 110:3 speaks of God begetting his Son from the dawn of creation, it would therefore make sense to them to then interpret the “today” of Ps. 2:7 as a timeless act, that has no beginning and no end.
In other words, for these brilliant Christian men the “today” of Ps. 2:7 would be in reference to God’s Day in which past, present and future are all a present reality from his vantage point, since these moments in time for us would all be “today” for him.
Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural citations taken from the Modern English Version (MEV) of the Holy Bible.
FURTHER READING
PSALM 110 IN EARLY CHRISTIAN SOURCES
DAVID’S MULTI-PERSONAL LORD PT. 2
APPEARANCE OF THE TRINITY TO ABRAHAM AND DAVID PT. 3
CHRIST’S ETERNAL GENERATION: IS BEGETTING THE SAME AS BEING CREATED?
CHURCH FATHERS ON ETERNAL GENERATION
THE EARLY CHURCH ON THE ETERNAL BEGETTING OF THE SON
GOD’S ETERNAL WORD AND UNCREATED WISDOM BECOME FLESH!
How the theology of the Psalms proves that Muhammad was a false prophet