Augustine of Hippo : And then, demonstrating by plain consequence that as at that time the word was spoken by the angels, so now by the Son; "Therefore," he says, "we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" And then, as though you asked, What salvation?—in order to show that he is now speaking of the New Testament, that is, of the word which was spoken not by angels, but by the Lord, he says, "Which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will." — ON THE TRINITY 3.11.22 Oecumenius : "how shall we escape" He says, it is this: If what was spoken by angels in the Old Law proved of no effect, and all who sinned received their due, what excuse shall we have, seeing those who received it and yet were careless? "For if we neglect so great a salvation." Which does not promise earthly goods like the Old Testament, but the kingdom of heaven and adoption as sons. However, it speaks of salvation which has been demonstrated and revealed by Christ, that is, faith in Him. This, however, it called salvation, showing that what was in the old law was not salvific. "It was first spoken by the Lord." Paul then shows that it is worthy of faith. For no one else, he says, was a minister of this, as was Moses in the old covenant, but Christ Himself. "and was delivered to us by those who heard it." They were delivered and believed by those who heard. But who are those who heard? Clearly the divine disciples, the eyewitnesses who became ministers of the word, as Luke also says; for they certainly informed us. (Luke 1:2) Do not take offense; Paul does not say that he himself also heard from Christ, although he did hear. — The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews Symeon the New Theologian : I mean the fleshly and by "air' the spiritual. For if the mind is set free of evil thoughts and passions and through it we gaze upon the freedom which Christ and God gave to us, then we will no longer be bound by and brought down by our former slavery to sin and a fleshly mind. Instead, heeding the voice of the Lord we will watch and pray without ceasing, and we will go from that place and arrive at bliss and the promised good things, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory for ever. Amen — DISCOURSE 5.25 Theodore of Mopsuestia : Paul showed that there is a very great difference between the old covenant and the new covenant, since he speaks about the "word" in the first covenant, but in this covenant he speaks of "salvation." For the first covenant was only a giving of customs and observances, whereas in this covenant there is also the grace of the Spirit and release from sins and the promise of the kingdom of heaven and the promise of immortality. Therefore, he also rightly says, "such a great salvation," showing by the epithet its greatness. In the first covenant it was given "through the angels," but now "through the Lord." And since there were marvels with the former covenant, so that the new covenant might not seem inferior to the old in this respect, he well appended the statement, "while God further testified with signs and wonders and various powers," saying this so that by its increase the fullness of grace might appear beyond that of the law also in this matter. For there the wonders took place only according to the need, but here also many of those outside the faith were healed through us, from even whatsoever diseases happened to afflict them. For such was the abundance of healings among us. Also the dead were raised.… After comparing and contrasting the difference and showing the superiority in a various and manifold manner, he added a greater thing that did not happen to those in the law: "and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed." For that each of the believers should have their own share in the Spirit was a characteristic of those in grace. And well he adds in addition to all these things "according to his own will," that is, the will of God who fully wished once and for all to lavish us greatly so that his grace for us might not be repented of, and that the gifts of grace once given to us might not be changed along with the things of the previous covenant, as some might suspect. — FRAGMENTS ON THE EPISTLE TO THE Hebrews 2.3-4 Theodoret of Cyrus : Again he associated a comparison with the exhortation, showing the extent to which the gospel teaching surpasses the provisions of the law. The ministry of angels was involved in the giving of the law, whereas in this case the Lord in person was the first to propose the saving teaching, and those who were in receipt of the apostolic grace welcomed it. While the law gives us a glimpse of what has to be done, the Lord's teaching is the source of eternal salvation.… He also showed the new covenant to be resplendent with spiritual gifts: of old the inspired authors alone shared in the spiritual bounty, whereas now all the believers enjoy this grace.… While he said this to encourage them to give heed to the divine teaching more zealously, he brought out the difference between the former and the latter under the guise of exhortation. It was very wise of him to say God witnesses to the message through miracles: the demonstration is beyond question, and the reliability of the witness indisputable. — INTERPRETATION OF Hebrews 2