Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The author writes to early believers tempted toward older covenant practices, immediately following his declaration in verse 2 that God appointed the Son as heir and creator.

The words — ἀπαύγασμα (apaugasma) translates literally to “radiance,” and χαρακτήρ (charaktēr) means “exact representation” or “imprint.”

The thread — The Son’s role in revealing God appears in Colossians 1:15 as the “image of the invisible God” and in John 14:9 where seeing Jesus equals seeing the Father, while Revelation 4:11 reserves the glory of creation for God alone.

Why it lands — The text states the Son actively upholds creation, completed sin purification, and took the highest seat of authority, requiring the reader to acknowledge His finished work and supreme status without adding human merit.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

ὃςhoswho ὢνōnbeing ἀπαύγασμαapaugasma[the] radiance τῆςtēs<the>δόξηςdoxēsof [His] glory καὶkaiand χαρακτὴρcharaktēr[the] exact expression τῆςtēsof the ὑποστάσεωςhupostaseōssubstance αὐτοῦ,autouof Him,φέρωνpherōnupholding τεtethen τὰta<the>πάνταpantaall things τῷtōby the ῥήματιrhēmatideclaration τῆςtēsof the δυνάμεωςdunameōspower αὐτοῦautouof Him δι᾽di᾽through ἑαυτοῦ,he'autouhimself καθαρισμὸνkatharismon[the] purification τῶνtōn<the>ἁμαρτιῶνhamartiōnof sins ποιησάμενοςpoiēsamenoshaving made ἡμῶνhēmōnof us ἐκάθισενekathisensat down ἐνenat δεξιᾷdexia[the] right hand τῆςtēsof the μεγαλωσύνηςmegalōsunēsMajesty ἐνenon ὑψηλοῖςhupsēloishigh

King James Version

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Cross-references

Colossians 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
John 14:9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Hebrews 10:12 But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:26 Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.