UTN uW Translation Notes:

Hebrews 3 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

3. Example of the wilderness generation (3:1–4:13) * Exhortation: The Son is greater than Moses (3:1–6) * Exhortation: Strive to enter the rest! (3:7–4:11)Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in 3:7b–11, 15, which are quotations from the Old Testament.

Special Concepts in this Chapter

“Today”

The quotation from Psalm 95 includes the word “today.” The author mentions “today” again in 3:13, 15. In both of these verses, he refers to how we always call the current day “today.” So, anything that happens during the time we call “today” must happen every day, since every day is “today.” In this way, the author shows that the quotation from Psalm 95 applies to his audience every day. In these verses, translate “today” with a word or phrase that someone would use for the current day. (See: biblicaltimeday)

Rest

The quotation from Psalm 95 includes the word “rest.” In the context of the Psalm, this “rest” probably refers to the land that God promised to give to the Israelites. However, scholars debate what the author of Hebrews means when he uses the word “rest.” This is important because the author speaks much more about “rest” in chapter 4. There are two major options for what “rest” could mean: (1) “rest” could refer to how people rest, that is, to the state or experience of “resting.” (2) “rest” could refer to the place where people rest. For the author of Hebrews, this place of “rest” is either in heaven or on a renewed earth. Before you choose how to translate “rest,” consider reading Hebrews 4:1–11 so that you can decide what the author means when he uses “rest.” (See: rest)

Important Figures of Speech in this Chapter

The “house” in 3:1–6

In 3:1–6, the author refers to a “house.” In the author’s culture, “house” could refer to a building that people live in, or it could refer to a “household” or a group of related people. In these verses, the author uses both meanings of “house.” In 3:2, 5–6, “house” refers to a group of related people, God’s people. In 3:3–4, “house” refers to a building that people live in. In these verses, the author uses a “house” (the building) as an example to explain more about the “house” (the people). If you do not have a word that could mean both “building” and “people,” you may need to express “house” with two different words. If so, you will need to make sure that your readers know that the author is comparing a building to people, especially in 3:3–4. (See: house)

Rhetorical questions

The author asks several questions in this chapter (See: 3:16–18). He is not asking these questions because he wants the audience to provide him with information. Rather, he is asking these questions because he wants the audience to think about the quotation from Psalm 95. In 3:16–17, the second question in each verse answers the first question. In 3:18, the second half of the question answers the first half of the question. For ways to translate these questions, see the notes on 3:16–18. (See: figs-rquestion)

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in this Chapter

The quotation from Psalm 95

David wrote Psalm 95 many years after the events that the psalm refers to. You can read the story about these events in Num 14:1–38 (See: also the related story in Exodus 17:1–7). In these stories, the Israelites complain and disobey God, and God punishes them. David refers back to these stories to encourage the Israelites, whom he ruled, to act differently. He wanted them to listen to and obey God. The author of Hebrews quotes what David wrote for a similar reason. He wants to encourage his audience to listen to and obey God, and he shows that what David wrote still applies to his audience. Consider reading the Old Testament stories and Psalm 95 before translating this chapter. See the notes for places where the author refers directly to Psalm 95 or to the Old Testament stories. (See: writing-quotations)

What does “for 40 years” modify?

In 3:10, “for 40 years” tells how long the Israelites saw God’s works. However, in 3:17, it refers to the time during which God “was very angry” with the Israelites. This is not a contradiction, because the author knew that the Israelites saw God’s works and that God was very angry with them during the same period of “40 years.” There is no need to harmonize these two verses.