Hebrews 3:4 and κατασκευάσας (Setting and Grammar)

Greek (WH): πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος κατασκευάζεται ὑπό τινος, ὁ δὲ πάντα κατασκευάσας θεός.

Contextual Setting: Why were these words written to the Hebrews? This portion of the letter is making an argument, but quite frankly, Luke T. Johnson relates that the details of the case which the writer is making "become murky" because of how the writer metaphorically employs οἶκος. In one sense, οἶκος here refers to the "people of Israel" (Johnson, Hebrews, 108) but in another sense the word references a literal house as it does in 3:4. But what is the point of the whole line of argument? Johnson writes:

"Hebrews seems to want to affirm two things simultaneously. First, God is the source of all things, so all honor ultimately goes to God; nothing that is not God is anything more than creature. Second, the Son—as we have learned—is not simply another creature 'faithful to the one who made him' (3:2), but is also as Son a participant in the creation of all things ('through whom he created the universe,' 1:2). The impossibility of stating these apparently contradictory propositions in any coherent fashion accounts, I think, for the confused sequence of statements in this section. But the confusion also points to Hebrews’ distinctive understanding of Jesus, which brings together both the 'highest' and the 'lowest' of Christologies, with equal emphasis. As Son of God, Jesus is 'over all the house' as its maker. But as Son, Jesus is also a human being 'faithful to the one who made him.' "

My purpose in writing this entry is not to make a case against the Trinity or Johnson's claim of "high Christology" in Hebrews. I think his remarks are riddled with an admixture of truth and error: he is right about some of the argument contained in Hebrews 3:1-6, but wrong about the status of Jesus Christ presented in the letter to the Hebrews. However, I think it's correct to say that Hebrews 3:4 wants to elevate God (Jehovah) as the source of all things and he does create or make things through the Son; however, the Son is God's creative agent, not the Creator. I believe George W. Buchanan's observations concerning Hebrews 3:4ff are insightful:

"In his efforts to exalt the Son, the author of Hebrews selected Moses and the angels, all of whom had been highly exalted in Samaritan and Jewish circles, and argued that they were inferior in comparison with Jesus" (Buchanan, Hebrews, 59).

On the other hand, Buchanan recognizes that the Son of God has legal authority given to him by the Father, but Christ in not on par with his Father. (See Buchanan, Hebrews, 3-9.) Despite the apparent opacity of Hebrews 3:1-6, Ken Schenck does maintain that the exhortation of Hebrews 3:7-4:13 is a "logical conclusion," given what precedes it. See Schenck, Cosmology and Eschatology, 33. He explains the "rhyme and reason" of Hebrews 3:4ff this way:

"Hebrews argues for the superiority of Christ to Moses in two ways. First, 3:3 uses the analogy of the superiority of a house builder to a house, with Christ as the builder and Moses as the house. Hebrews 3:5 then shifts the metaphor slightly: Moses is a servant in a house where Christ is the son. Hebrews 3:4 subordinates both of these individuals to God as the one who builds everything and who is ultimately the house owner (3:6). Hebrews thus places both Christ and Moses in the same story of salvation, but with Christ as the superior. The logical conclusion the author wished the audience to draw from this superiority is that to reject Christ or the Christian Jewish hope (3:6) would be to reject God’s workings in the same way the wilderness generation did. Indeed, Hebrews insists on more than mere assent to such beliefs. It admonishes the audience to hold fast in ‘boldness’ and ‘boasting’ about this hope (3:6)."

Regardless of the way that one understands Hebrews 3:4 and its literary context, I submit that it's important to read the verse without stripping it from the original context. I will now turn toward the verse's grammar.

Grammar: πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος-The conjunction (γὰρ) grammatically subordinates Hebrews 3:4 to 3:3 and thus provides semantic clarity (David Allen, Hebrews). Allen maintains that 3:4 is not parenthetical but rather transitional since the Greek καί joins 3:4 to 3:5; see also the μέν...δέ construction in 3:5-6.

Paul Ellingworth agrees that the verse is not grammatically parenthetical, but he reasons that it naturally follows Hebrews 3:3b in terms of how the argument is developed. See Ellingworth, Hebrews, 204-205.

κατασκευάζεται ὑπό τινος-Daniel B. Wallace says that the verb here is a gnomic present that makes a proverbial action salient (523-524), that is, the writer of Hebrews represents the action as being timelessly true. The use of the preposition is apparently causal: it occurs with the genitival indefinite pronoun, τινος, so he construction suggests agency (Dana Harris, Hebrews).

ὁ δὲ πάντα κατασκευάσας θεός- this portion of the verse begins logically with the adversative conjunction, δὲ ("but" or "however") that makes a contrast with what precedes (so Allen). The articular aorist participle could be rendered "the one who built" (Allen/Bill Mounce) or "the builder," (NET) which translates the participle substantivally. The NIV takes "God" as the subject whereas others treat θεός as the predicate, a position which David Allen criticizes. On the other hand, Ellingworth submits that the descriptor, ὁ κατασκευάσας (viewed substantivally), strictly/absolutely applies to God but only relatively to Christ (pace Harris). Harris, relying on Wallace, maintains that ὁ κατασκευάσας is the subject in this predicate nominative construction, and the equative verb (i.e., "is") should be mentally supplied.

BDAG on κατασκευάζω in Hebrews 3:4:

"to bring a structure into being, build, construct, erect, create (Phylarchus [III b.c.]: 81 Fgm. 29 Jac. ναούς; Plut., Mor. 189c, Num. 10, 9 οἶκος; Herodian 5, 6, 6; 9; SIG 495, 141 and 145; 1100, 21; 1229, 4; PAmh 64, 2 βαλανεῖον; POxy 892, 8; Philo, Rer. Div. Her. 112 σκηνήν; Jos., Bell. 6, 191, Vi. 65 οἶκος) κιβωτόν construct an ark (κ. is a favorite word for construction of ships: Diod S 1, 92, 2; 11, 62, 2; Palaeph. 29, 4; 31, 9; 1 Macc 15:3) Hb 11:7. Pass. 1 Pt 3:20. οἶκον Hb 3:3f. Of God (Is 40:28; 45:7; ApcEsdr 5:19 p. 30, 19 Tdf. [πάντα διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον]; Philo, Aet. M. 39; 41; Aristob. in Eus., PE 13, 12, 9 [s. beg. of this entry]; Ath., R. 13 p. 63, 21 ζῶον) ὁ πάντα κατασκευάσας the builder of all things Hb 3:4b (cp. Epict. 1, 6, 7). Pf. pass. ptc. as subst. τὸ κατεσκευασμένον what is produced
or supplied Dg 2:2."