What Does Hebrews 2:12 Mean?
Saying, I will bring back word of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.THE KEY
God’s name is not just a label to announce; it is his nature made known among siblings, in the heart of their shared praise.
THE MEANING
The speaker makes God’s nature known among those called siblings, and praise rises in the middle of the assembly. You meet that nature in a shared space, where knowing God and praising God belong together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that God’s name is only a label spoken in private: it is declared among siblings and praised together.
THE ROOT
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνοματ-
onomat-
Name: the recognized identity, character, or reputation of a person.
The name declared here carries the nature of the one named, not merely a label. It is made known among siblings, where that nature is recognized in praise.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: To name, call, or refer to.
ὀνομάζω
The act of naming makes someone’s identity known, echoing the speaker’s declaration of God’s nature.
onomastos: Named, known, or renowned.
ὀνομαστός
A name can describe how someone is known; here, God is known through the nature declared among the assembly.
ἀδελφοῖς
adelphois
GROWS FROM
ἀδελφ-
adelph-
Sibling; the word is historically connected with δελφύς (delphys), “womb,” carrying the sense of shared kinship.
“brethren” in this verse is adelphois. The name is declared within a family relationship, not to detached onlookers. The speaker stands among those he calls siblings, and praise belongs to that shared kinship.
ALSO GROWS
adelphos: Brother or sibling.
ἀδελφός
This is the singular form behind “brethren,” naming the kinship in which God’s nature is declared.
adelphotēs: Brotherhood or sibling community.
ἀδελφότης
The same word family extends siblinghood into a community, fitting the verse’s praise in the midst of the assembly.
THE PATTERN
God’s name becomes known as his character is disclosed among a people, where recognition gives rise to shared praise.
And the LORD came down in the cloud, and stood with him there, and called upon the nature of the LORD.I will recount your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.I have made your nature visible to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have guarded your word.THE THREAD
I will recount your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.The Hebrew שֵׁם (shem, “name”) in the psalm meets the Greek ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) in Hebrews. In both, the name carries the nature of the one named, declared among siblings and answered with praise.
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