Notes on Ps 101 (LXX ) and Ps 103 (LXX ) in Hebrews 1 in the light of evidence from the dead sea scrolls and Papyrus Bodmer XXIV

Abstract

Ps 102(101) is only quoted explicitly in Heb 1:10–12 in the whole of the corpus of known early Jewish and early Christian literature. It is a complex Psalm, containing an individual‘s lament who grieves for Zion, but ends in a song of praise about the unchangeableness of God. It is especially the LXX that opens up the possibility for a Christological interpretation in Hebrews – principally with its inclusion of kuvrio~ of which the Hebrew equivalent lacks in the Hebrew texts. There are furthermore elements in Ps 102(101):13–21 that were probably taken as references to Christ: His enthronement, the liberation from fear and death, the reference to this “to be written down for a future generation,” and the renewal of Zion. Ps 104(103) was probably used during the Jewish synagogue liturgies on Friday evenings and Sabbath mornings. In the early Christian period, Ps 104(103) was traditionally used on Ascension Day from the earliest days of the Christian Church. It is quoted in Heb 1:7, but is nowhere else quoted or alluded to in the NT. The idea derived from the quotation of Ps 104(103):4, regarding the submission of the spirits (angels) to Christ, is picked up again in the conclusion to the catena of Heb 1. They are merely liturgical spirits in the service of God (Heb 1:14).