the breath (rûaḥ) of God’s nostrils blown upon the waters (Exod. 15:8, 10).7 What Genesis 1:2 identifies as Spirit, Hebrews 1:2, 3 identifies as Son; God is one. Hebrews 1:2b attributes to the Son the creation of the world.8 Then, before the sustaining, directing role of the Son in divine providence is dealt with in Hebrews 1:3b, he is identified as the image and glory of God, “the effulgence of his glory and the very image (charaktēr) of his being” (v. 3a). This description of the likeness of
Page 16