Five-minute study · Day 298 · Hebrews 1
Hebrews 1:3
A word worth stopping on: express image χαρακτήρ charakter
'Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.' The phrase 'express image' translates a single Greek word: charakter. A charakter is the exact impression a die-stamp leaves on a coin. When a minter pressed a heated die into a gold disk, the image that emerged was the charakter: identical, precise, every line of the emperor's face reproduced in metal. Hebrews opens by declaring that the Son bears the charakter of God's very nature the way a Roman denarius bears the face of Caesar. The image is total, exact, and produced by direct contact.
Word study: express image
- Greek
- χαρακτήρ
- Pronounced
- charakter
- Strong's
- G5481
- Definition
- An exact representation, a precise reproduction, the impression made by a stamp or die. From charasso (to engrave, to cut into, to stamp). The mark left when a hard instrument presses into a softer material, producing an exact copy of the original design.
Charakter appears once in the New Testament, here in Hebrews 1:3. BDAG defines it as 'reproduction, representation' and specifically 'an exact representation of something, a reproduction.' The word's etymology traces to charasso (to engrave, to sharpen, to cut grooves). In common Greek usage, charakter referred to the impression left by a seal or die on wax, clay, or metal. The most familiar application was coinage: the charakter on a coin was the image of the ruler, stamped by the die.
Attridge's commentary on Hebrews identifies 1:1-4 as a carefully constructed theological prologue, comparable in function to the prologue of John's Gospel (John 1:1-18). The seven statements about the Son in verses 2b-4 build a complete Christological portrait: (1) appointed heir of all things, (2) through whom God made the worlds, (3) the brightness (apaugasma) of God's glory, (4) the charakter of God's substance (hypostasis), (5) sustaining all things by the word of his power, (6) having made purification for sins, (7) seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Attridge notes that charakter and apaugasma (radiance, brightness) form a complementary pair. Apaugasma describes the Son as the radiance streaming from the glory of God, the way light streams from a light source. Charakter describes the Son as the exact stamp of God's essence, the way an image is pressed into a coin. One metaphor is about light. The other is about pressure. Together they assert that the Son both radiates from and reproduces God's nature. Attridge traces the philosophical background to Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the Wisdom of Solomon (7:26, where Wisdom is described as 'a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty'), and Philo of Alexandria, who used similar language for the Logos.
The word hypostasis (substance, essence, underlying reality) paired with charakter carries metaphysical weight. BDAG defines hypostasis in this context as 'the essential or basic structure/nature of an entity, substantial nature, essence, actual being.' The Son is the charakter of God's hypostasis. Attridge translates the full phrase: 'the exact imprint of God's very being.' The image is forensic in its precision. A charakter on a coin is not an artist's interpretation. It is the direct transfer of the die's design into metal, reproduced in every line, every contour, every detail. The author of Hebrews chose this specific word for a specific Christological claim: when you look at the Son, you see God's nature reproduced with the precision of a die-stamp.
Historical context · The writing of Hebrews, dated approximately AD 60-90 (before the destruction of the Temple if the present-tense sacrificial language is a live reference); the Greco-Roman coinage system; the Hellenistic Jewish philosophical tradition (Wisdom of Solomon, Philo of Alexandria)
Die-Stamps, Imperial Coins, and the Christology of Hebrews 1
Roman coinage was the most widely distributed visual medium in the ancient world. Every coin bore the charakter of the reigning emperor: his profile, his title, and often a propaganda image on the reverse (a military victory, a personified virtue, a temple). The minting process was direct: a bronze or iron die (cuneus) was engraved with the emperor's image, then hammered or pressed onto a heated metal blank (flan). The resulting impression was the charakter. Every citizen who handled a coin held a tiny portrait of the emperor. The denarius Jesus requested in the tribute episode (Mark 12:15-17, 'Whose is this image [eikon] and superscription?') was such a coin.
Attridge places Hebrews in the intellectual world of Hellenistic Judaism. The author (unnamed; Pauline authorship is unlikely based on style and vocabulary) writes elegant, literary Greek and is familiar with both the Septuagint and Greek philosophical categories. The prologue (1:1-4) shows affinities with Philo of Alexandria's Logos theology and with the Wisdom of Solomon's personification of Wisdom. Philo (De Opificio Mundi 25) describes the Logos as the 'image' (eikon) of God, through whom the world was created. The author of Hebrews uses a different word, charakter, which pushes beyond eikon's range. An eikon can be an approximation. A charakter is a direct impression. The precision of the vocabulary is the theological argument.
The seven-fold Christological structure of Hebrews 1:2b-4 has been analyzed extensively. Attridge identifies it as a creedal or hymnic fragment, possibly pre-existing material the author incorporated into his prologue. The movement from cosmic creation (verses 2b-3a) to redemptive purification (verse 3b) to heavenly enthronement (verse 3c-4) covers the full scope of the Son's work: before time, in time, beyond time. The charakter statement sits at the center: the Son who made the worlds and purged sins is the exact imprint of God's being. Attridge notes that this central placement gives the charakter statement structural and theological priority. Everything else the Son does flows from what the Son is: the precise reproduction of God's nature.
The dating of Hebrews is debated. The reference to Timothy (13:23), the mention of Italian believers (13:24), and the use of present-tense language about Temple sacrifices (suggesting the Temple was still standing) have led many scholars to date it before AD 70. Others argue the present-tense sacrificial language describes the Levitical system as described in the Torah, not the functioning Temple. Attridge places it in the second half of the first century without committing to a precise date.
For reflection
Charakter. The exact impression a die-stamp leaves on metal. When a Roman minter pressed the emperor's face into a gold blank, the resulting image was not a painting or a sketch. It was a contact transfer: every line, every contour, pressed directly from the die into the surface. Hebrews opens with this word applied to Jesus. The Son bears the charakter of God's hypostasis, God's underlying essence. Attridge notes that charakter is more precise than eikon (image): an image can be approximate, but a die-stamp impression is exact. You have seen this word at work. Every coin you have ever held bears a charakter of whoever issued it. The face on the coin tells you who authorized it, who backs it, whose authority it carries. When Hebrews says the Son is the charakter of God, it means: look at Jesus and you see God's nature pressed into visible form. No approximation. No artist's rendering. Direct contact. Direct transfer. The face on the coin is the face of the one who minted it.
Charakter: exact impression, die-stamp image. BDAG: reproduction, representation. From charasso (to engrave). Attridge identifies it as more precise than eikon, paired with apaugasma (radiance) in a complementary Christological statement. Hypostasis = underlying essence, substance, actual being.
Sources: BDAG; Attridge, 'Hebrews'