when Christ came into the world
This phrase marks the incarnation of Jesus, a pivotal event in Christian theology. The Greek word for "world" is "κόσμος" (kosmos), which can refer to the physical world or the realm of human existence. The incarnation signifies God entering human history in a tangible form, fulfilling prophecies and establishing a new covenant.

He said
The author of Hebrews attributes these words to Christ, indicating His active role in fulfilling God's redemptive plan. This reflects the belief in the pre-existence of Christ, who speaks with divine authority. The use of "He said" underscores the personal and intentional nature of Christ's mission.

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire
This phrase echoes Psalm 40:6, highlighting the inadequacy of the old sacrificial system. The Greek words "θυσία" (thysia) and "προσφορά" (prosphora) refer to different types of offerings, emphasizing that ritual alone cannot satisfy God's requirements. This reflects a shift from external rituals to internal transformation and obedience.

but a body You prepared for Me
The phrase signifies the incarnation, where God provided Jesus with a human body to accomplish His will. The Greek word "σῶμα" (soma) for "body" emphasizes the physical reality of Christ's incarnation. This preparation of a body underscores the necessity of a perfect, sinless sacrifice, which only Jesus could provide. It highlights the divine initiative in salvation history, where God Himself provides the means for redemption through the body of Christ.

He saith.--Christ, in the prophetic word of Scripture. Though not directly mentioned here, He has been the subject of the whole context (Hebrews 9:25-28). The words which follow are a quotation from Psalm 40:6-8, and agree substantially with the LXX., except that in Hebrews 10:7 a word of some importance is omitted (see the Note there). The LXX., again, is on the whole a faithful representation of the Hebrew text: one clause only (the last in this verse) presents difficulty. Particular expressions will be noticed as they occur: the general meaning and application of the psalm must first receive attention. Like Ps. 1. and 51 (with some verses of Psalms 69), Psalms 40 is remarkable for its anticipation of the teaching of the prophets (Isaiah 1:11-17; Jeremiah 7:21; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8; et al.) on one point, the inferior worth of ceremonial observances when contrasted with moral duties. It seems probable that the psalm is David's, as the inscription relates, and that its key-note is to be found in the words of Samuel to Saul (1Samuel 15:22): "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying (literally, hearkening to) the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey (literally, to hear) is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." The first part of the psalm is an expression of thanksgiving to God for deliverance from peril. David has learned the true mode of displaying gratitude, not by offerings of slain animals, but by the sacrifice of the will. So far does the latter excel the former, so truly is the sacrifice of will in accordance with the will of God, that the value of the legal offerings is in comparison as nothing. There is in all this no real slighting of the sacrificial ritual (see Jeremiah 7:21-28), but there is a profound appreciation of the superiority of spiritual service to mere ritual observance. It can hardly be said that this quotation rests on the same principle as those of the first chapter. The psalm is certainly not Messianic, in the sense of being wholly predictive like Psalms 110, or directly typical like Psalms 2. In some respects, indeed, it resembles 2 Samuel 7 (See the Note on Hebrews 1:5.) As there, after words which are quoted in this Epistle in reference to Christ, we read of David's son as committing iniquity and receiving punishment; so in this psalm we read, "Mine iniquities are more than the hairs of mine head." David comes with a new perception of the true will of God, to offer Him the service in which He takes pleasure. And yet not so--for such service as he can offer is itself defective; his sins surround him yet in their results and penalties. Hence, in his understanding and his offering of himself he is a type, whilst his sinfulness and weakness render him but an imperfect type, of Him that was to come. Such passages as these constitute a distinct and very interesting division of Messianic prophecy. We may then thus trace the principle on which the psalm is here applied. Jesus came to His Father with that perfect offering of will and self which was foreshadowed in the best impulses of the best of the men of God, whose inspired utterances the Scriptures record. The words of David, but partially true of himself, are fulfilled in the Son of David. Since, then, these words describe the purpose of the Saviour's life, we can have no difficulty in understanding the introductory words, "when He cometh into the world, He saith;" or the seventh verse, where we read, "Lo, I am come to do Thy will." When David saw the true meaning of the law, he thus came before God; the purpose of Jesus, when He received the body which was the necessary instrument for human obedience, finds its full expression in these words. . . .

(1) Instead of "a body didst thou prepare for me (σῶμα κατηρτίσω μοι)" of the LXX. and the quotation from it, the Hebrew has "mine ears hast thou opened;" literally, "ears hast thou dug for me," meaning probably, "formed the cavity of my ears through which thy Word may penetrate," equivalent to "given me ears to hear," with reference, of course, to spiritual auscultation. If to the Hebrew verb כָרַה be assigned here the sense of piercing, rather than hollowing out, implying an entrance affected through the ears already formed, the general sense remains the same. In either case the word κατηρτίσω may be accounted for, as being a free rendering, intended to give the meaning of the figure. But the substitution of "body" for "ears" is not so easily accounted for. One conjecture is that some transcriber of the Alexandrian translation of the Hebrew had inadvertently joined the last letter of the preceding word, ἠθελησας, to the following word, ωτια, and that the ΤΙ of ΞΩΤΙΑ was then changed into the Μ of ΟΩΜΑ, so as to make sense of the word thus formed. But this is only conjecture. That some copies of the LXX. had ὠτία appears from the fact that the Vulgate, translated from the LXX., reads aures perfecisti mihi, and that some manuscripts of the LXX. still have ὠτία, or ῶτᾳ. Thus there can be little doubt that σῶμα was a wrong rendering of the Hebrew, however originating, which the writer of the Epistle found in the copies of the LXX. which he used. For that he himself altered the word to suit his purpose, and that the alteration got into copies of the LXX. from the Epistle, is highly improbable, considering the general accuracy of his quotations, and his purpose of proving his positions from the sacred documents to which his readers could refer. As to the unimportance of any such variations from the original Hebrew in the quotations of the Epistle from the LXX., as long as the argument is not affected, see what is said under Hebrews 1:7 with respect to the quotation from Psalm 104. In this case the variation certainly does not affect the argument. For though the word σῶμα is certainly taken up again in ver. 10 as applicable to Christ, yet the argument of the passage by no means rests on this word, but on θέλημα. This is indeed a passage (as was observed under Hebrews 9:14) notable for the very fact that the essence of the atonement is in it represented as consisting, not so much in its physical accompaniments as in its being a spiritual act of perfect self-oblation.

(2) The more probable meaning of the phrase translated in the LXX. and the quotation, "it is written of me γεγράπται περὶ ἐμοῦ)" is in the Hebrew," it is prescribed unto me," i.e. "laid on me as a duty;" this being also the sense in which the same words occur in 2 Kings 22:13, "Great is the wrath of the Lord... because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is prescribed to us;" where the LXX. translates, τὰ γεγραμμένα καθ ἡμῶν. The most obvious reference of the Hebrew psalm is to the Book of the Law generally, in which the duty of fulfilling the Divine will is enjoined, rather than to any prophecy, applied by the writer to himself individually. If so, it is not necessary to inquire what prophecy about himself David might have had in view; whether e.g. Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17; or Deuteronomy 17:14, et seq. But the phrase, περὶ ἐμοῦ, does certainly rather suggest a prophecy, and such suggestion is peculiarly appropriate in the application to Christ. Well, then, if here again there is some variation from the original Hebrew text, it is still such as to leave the general argument intact.

Parallel Commentaries ...