A Chiastic Approach to the Affirmations about the Son in Hebrews 1:1-4 and the Biblical Quotations of Hebrews 1:5-14

Numerous interpreters recognize a link between the affirmations about the Son in Heb 1:1-4 and the series of biblical quotations that follows in 1:5-14, but approaches vary widely. John Meier articulated a particularly significant interpretation in which he argued that the affirmations are paralleled and undergirded consecutively by the biblical citations. Building on Meier’s insights and basic assumptions, I argue instead that the relationship between the affirmations and citations is chiastic, not consecutive. This approach, with the new connections it presents between the affirmations and citations, illuminates several debated phrases in both 1:1-4 and 1:5-14.