As Revised Standard Version‘s “Now” shows, these verses take up a second point of contrast between Moses and Jesus. Moses is a servant, that is, a house-servant or attendant, not a slave; but Christ is a Son. God often speaks of “my servant Moses,” for example, in Numbers 12.7-8.
God’s house: the Greek has “God’s whole house” here, though probably not in verse 2, where earlier editions of Good News Bible included the word whole. There is little difference of meaning, but it is probably best to follow the Greek in using the more emphatic expression “God’s whole house” in verse 5. “God’s whole house” is also the more exact quotation from Numbers 12. Revised Standard Version translates the Hebrew of Numbers 12.7 as “entrusted with all my house.” Good News Translation fourth edition is almost certainly wrong in omitting “all” before God’s house. The first through third editions of Good News Bible had God’s whole house. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch puts “in his whole house” in quotation marks. If quotation marks are used here, they should also enclose faithful in. On the meaning of faithful, see the discussion on 2.17. The main idea is that of doing reliably the tasks associated with an office or title.
A strictly literal translation of Moses was faithful in God’s house as a servant can be misunderstood, since it would imply that Moses was simply a Levite in the Temple. It may also be necessary in some languages to indicate clearly the fact that Moses was “a servant of God” in the sense of “one who helped God” or “one who served God.” Therefore some restructuring of the first part of verse 5 may be required; for example, “As one who served God in helping God’s people, Moses was to be trusted” or “… Moses was a person whom God could trust.”
And he spoke of the things that God would say in the future is literally “as a witness of things to be spoken.” Good News Translation is certainly right in seeing here one of the writer’s typical indirect references to God, as in 1.1-2; 2.10.
It is less certain that Moses’ “witness” consisted of “speaking” (though this may be suggested by Num 12.2). (The “tent of meeting” in Num 12, RSV, is called in the Greek Bible the “tent of witness.”) The writer more probably means that Moses’ whole work, especially the way in which he showed himself trustworthy as the leader of God’s people, pointed ahead to greater things which God was to say in the future through the Son (Barclay “His function was to point to the things which God was going to say in the future,” Translator’s New Testament “Moses was faithful in all God’s household, and so bore witness to what God would say in the future”; see also Phillips). However, “witness” in the Bible usually involves speaking, and therefore spoke is possible.
One may render he spoke of the things that God would say in the future as “he spoke about what God was going to say later” or even “… many years later.” But, as already noted, it is possible that the reference is to what Moses did, and therefore one may translate “what Moses did pointed to what God was going to say later on.”
Servant is emphasized as the point of the contrast with Son (verse 6): “It was as a servant that Moses was faithful….” The author of Hebrews rearranges the quotation from Numbers 12.7 in order to bring this out, and if possible, translators should follow his example.
Christ is faithful as the Son in charge of God’s house is literally “Christ as Son (is faithful) over his (that is, God’s) house.” Son is the other point of the contrast. Son has no “the” in Greek; as one having the title and status of Son, he is in charge of God’s house, that is, of God’s people, including both Israel and the church (see comments on 1.7). In 1.2 and here, Revised Standard Version has “a Son” or “a son,” but there is no suggestion of any other sons in this passage; 2.10 is the only place where the writer speaks of “sons” of God in the plural.
The phrase as the Son may be made emphatic and indicate significant contrast by placing it at the beginning of verse 6. In many languages it is necessary to indicate the relationship of the Son to God, so one may beging with “But as God’s Son….” Phillips emphasizes Son by expanding: “But Christ was faithful as a loyal son in the household of … his own Father.”
The expression Christ is faithful must be expressed in essentially the same manner as at the beginning of verse 2.
In charge of God’s house, if retained in a relatively literal form, might seem to refer to Christ’s activity as the head of the Temple ritual in his day. This would be quite misleading. Therefore in charge of God’s house must often be expressed as “as one who had responsibility for God’s people” or “as one whose job it was to care for God’s people.” Good News Translation is almost certainly right in taking “his house” to mean God’s house, in the light of verse 4b.
The last sentence contains two textual problems. (a) Some manuscripts, followed by Moffatt, Knox, Phillips, and New American Bible, have “this house” or “that house” instead of “whose house.” “Whose house” is more likely to be what the author wrote, and this text is followed by most translations. (b) Some manuscripts, followed by King James Version, Bijbel in Gewone Taal, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, add “firm to the end” at the end of the verse; Revised Standard Version mentions the longer text in a note. These words were probably copied from 3.14.
Most translations begin a new sentence or even a new paragraph (Moffatt) with verse 6b. Translators must decide whether it is more natural in their language to place such transitional statements at the beginning of a new paragraph or at the end of the previous paragraph.
Note the present tense We are. According to the shorter and better text, the writer is not saying here, as he will say in 3.14, that he and his readers will become partners with Christ if they remain faithful to the end. He is saying that they are God’s house or people if they are now holding with a firm grasp the gifts of courage and confidence.
We are his house is best rendered in many languages as “We are God’s people.” This takes up the meaning of the preceding phrase God’s house.
If we keep up is often expressed as a continuous aspect of a verb; for example, “if we continue to.” In some instances, however, a negative of this may be even stronger; for example, “if we do not diminish in” or “if we do not fail to.”
Courage and confidence are related first to God and then to other people. Courage is first the openness and freedom with which believers approach God in prayer and worship (4.16; 10.19), and next the consequent fearlessness with which they approach even enemies (10.35; Acts 4.13, 29, 31). Perhaps courage expresses fearlessness before other people more strongly than openness to God. Several modern translations and King James Version have “confidence” for the term which Good News Translation translates courage. The two words overlap in meaning. Bible de Jérusalem and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible have “assurance.”
Confidence is related to God by the following words in what we hope for, since the Christian hope is clearly centered in God. However, the word also suggests speaking boldly and confidently to others. Sometimes it means “boasting,” but this can have a negative meaning which is out of the question here. Moffatt and Knox use “proud” or “pride.”
Several translations link not only confidence but also courage with hope; for example, Moffatt has “if we will only hold on, confident and proud of our hope” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Since the meaning of the two terms is so similar, it is quite possible to take hope with them both and omit our before confidence.
In a number of languages courage and confidence are best expressed as verbs rather than as nouns. A more or less literal rendering would be “if we continue to be courageous and trust.”
In a number of languages courage is expressed idiomatically; for example, “to have a hard heart” (in contrast to “having a soft heart,” which would mean “to be fearful”), “to not turn away,” or even “to never say, ‘I surrender.’ ”
In what we hope for may often be expressed as “in what we look forward to with patience.” The essential components of hope are (a) expectancy (b) of something good (c) in the future and (d) patient confidence that what one expects will certainly take place. Sometimes hope may be expressed idiomatically as “what we see in our hearts” or “what our thoughts see in front of us.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .