Pierce examines the quotation of Psalm 2:7 in Hebrews 1, giving particular attention to what is meant by, “the Son was begotten today.” She notes two interpretations of the phrase: “(1) the “day” is the day of Jesus’s enthronement and exaltation or (2) the “day” is eternity—the span of Jesus’s existence” (117). The first option she associates with adoptionist Christology. She positions herself against this view and against scholarship which argues for approaching the text in an unbiased, critical manner (and thus rejects the influence of orthodox theology on interpretation). I share Pierce’s concerns about critical scholarship and adoptionist Christology, but I don’t think view 1 is necessarily linked with either.

Pierce begins setting the quotation of Psalm 2:7 by Hebrews 1:5 in the context of Hebrews 1:3, which she understands, with Athanasius, to reveal the relationship of the Son to the Father. Hinted at here is the idea that Hebrews 1:3 teaches the eternal begotteness of the Son from the Father.

Pierce then turns to modern interpretations of Hebrews 1:5, which serve as a foil for her own approach. She notes that most exegetes today understand locate the speech of Hebrews 1:5 at the exaltation of Christ, noting that the catena of quotations closes with a quotation of Psalm110:1 in Hebrews 1:13. This is a statement at the exaltation of Christ after the resurrection. Pierce takes exception to the conclusion that the “begetting” cannot be eternal begetting if the speech recorded in 1:5 took place at the exaltation.

Pierce observes that Hebrews 1:5 brings together quotations of Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14, which thus places both in a context of “a metaphorical father-son relationship between God and the [Davidic] human king” (122). Pierce then raises a potential problem: “If one or both elements [the statement is timed to the enthronement of a human Davidic king and the nature of the sonship is metaphorical] are intended to carry over into the use of these passages in the New Testament, then Jesus too might be God’s metaphorical offspring who is praised as Son only at his exaltation and not in his preexistence or earthly life” (123).

The problem  with Pierce’s concern can be found in the word “only.” These passages could be about the Davidic sonship of Jesus in his humanity in connection with his enthronement as the Davidic king upon his resurrection and other passages would affirm his divine Sonship and eternal begottenness.

However, Pierce contends that the author of Hebrews was using “prosopological exegesis” by identifying the son in these passages with Jesus. Pierce distances this kind of reading from contextual exegesis of the Old Testament texts, noting, “the author suggests that something is distinct about God’s bestowal of the title son here—it is unfit for a (human) king,” and, “If the author of Hebrews is not using every element of the Old Testament context, and is perhaps even creating some distance between his reading and common readings of Psalm 2, then the assumption that numerous elements of Psalm 2 obviously influence other elements for Hebrews 1 requires further evaluation” (126). Thus, she argues that the sonship in view in the Hebrews context is the divine sonship of the one who is “the exact representation of God’s being,” is “superior to the angels,” can be called “God,” and can be called Lord (=Yhwh).

Once again Pierce makes some valid points. I would agree that someone more than a human king is in view, but I would argue that this conclusion is not at odds with a contextual reading of both Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7—the one being a direct messianic prophecy and the other containing a messianic prophecy. Therefore, I would argue that the author of Hebrews is keeping the OT context in view. Furthermore, while Jesus’s deity is emphasized in Hebrews 1 and 2, so is his humanity. Pointing to verses that highlight the deity do not negate the verses that refer to his humanity.

Having argued that the Hebrews is using Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7 acontextually, Pierce then argues that Hebrews 1:5 should be read as speaking of eternal generation. First, she notes that the speech “You are my son; today I have begotten you” is “reported speech from the past” (127). Though she understands this speech to be “contemporaneous with his appointment,” she distinguishes that from the subsequent “report [of] the Father’s speech” and a still further even of the inheritance of the promise (127-28). Pierce then turns to the word “today,” which seems to complicate this reading. She argues that the other uses of “today” in Hebrews (1:38; 3:7, 13, 15; 4:7-8) points to an eternal today. Thus, she paraphrases the verse: “You are my Son; forever I have begotten you” (130), concluding that this verse “is not just a claim about Jesus reaching an exalted status. It is a declaration of his eternal relationship with the Father that is always in effect” (131).

This interpretation is a false reading for a number of reasons. 1. As noted above, it opts for an acontextual reading of the Old Testament material. 2. It neglects the reality that both divine and human sonship are in view in Hebrews. 3. It neglects the language in verse 4 that relates the session at the Father’s right hand with his “having become as much superior to the angels.” In other words, not only is Pierce reading Hebrews 1:5 apart from the context of Psalm 2, she is also reading apart from the context of the previous verse. 4. The author of Hebrews argues for his use of “today” in chapters 3-4, which he does not do in 1:5. Furthermore, even in chapters 3-4, “today” does not refer to eternity. 5. Acts 13:32-33 specifically says that the statement, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” was fulfilled “by raising Jesus.” In other words, Jesus was “begotten” as the Davidic Son when he was raised and enthroned as such. 6. This reading does not necessitate an adoptionist Christology, as Pierce seems to think. Numerous evangelical scholars affirm this interpretation and explicitly reject adoptionism.

The reality to which eternal generation refers is spoken of when Hebrews says that the Son “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb 1:3), but Hebrews 1:5 is not teaching eternal generation.