Verses Where the Divine Name Does Not Appear as Part of Direct or Indirect Quotations in the Book of Hebrews

HEBREWS 8:2 “which Jehovah set up”

Kingdom Interlinear: “which | pegged down | the Lord”

REASON(S) FOR RESTORING THE DIVINE NAME: Though most available Greek manuscripts use the Greek term for “the Lord” (ho Kyʹri·os) here, the context and the Hebrew Scripture background of Paul’s line of reasoning make clear that this is a reference to Jehovah God. (See study note on Heb 8:2.) In the surrounding verses, Paul uses Kyʹri·os (Lord) in several quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures. In these verses, Kyʹri·os clearly refers to Jehovah God, and therefore it is appropriate to render it “Jehovah.” (See study notes on Heb 7:21; 8:8, 10, 11.) It is also worth noting that in the papyrus codex known as P⁴⁶ (believed to date from about 200 C.E.), there is no definite article in front of Kyʹri·os. The absence of the article in this early Bible manuscript is significant; it makes Kyʹri·os tantamount to a proper name and may indicate that the definite article was added in later manuscripts.​—See the introduction to Appendix C3.

SUPPORT:

• The reference work Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 1991, (Vol. 2, pp. 329-330) lists Hebrews 8:2 as a verse where Kyʹri·os is possibly “used of Yahweh.”

• A Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Edward Robinson, 1850, (p. 419) lists Hebrews 8:2, 10 as verses where Κύριος (Lord) refers to “God as the Supreme Lord and sovereign of the universe, usually in Sept[uagint] for Heb[rew] יהוה Jehovah.”

• Regarding Hebrews 8:2, one Bible commentary notes: “It is said of this true tabernacle, to mark still further its distinguished excellence: ‘Which the Lord pitched and not man;’ meaning, it is God’s immediate and most important work.”​—The Epistle to the Hebrews, in Greek and English, by Samuel H. Turner, 1852, page 104.

• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, revised and edited by F. W. Danker, 2000, (pp. 576-577) lists Hebrews 8:2 under the definition of “lord” as “a designation of God.” It goes on to say concerning the use of the expression in the Septuagint (LXX): “It freq[uently] replaces the name Yahweh in the MT [Masoretic Text].”

• The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittel, 1965, lists Hebrews 8:2 as an example of when Κύριος refers to God in the New Testament.

• “As at Heb[rews] 7:21; 8:8-11; 10:16, 30; 12:5-6, here too at [Hebrews] 8:2 the Kyrios is JHWH, the God of the fathers, and not Jesus Christ.”​—Lettera agli Ebrei. nuova versione, introduzione e commento, by Cesare Marcheselli-Casale.

SUPPORTING REFERENCES: J^{7, 8, 14-18, 22, 23, 32-34, 36, 38, 40, 41, 43, 46, 52, 65, 66, 69, 89, 95, 96, 100-102, 114, 115, 117, 125, 138, 144-147, 154, 163, 164, 167, 187, 243, 250, 273, 295, 313, 318, 322-324, 327, 331, 347, 350, 353, 356, 359}