1:18 redeemed. To “redeem” means to “ransom” or “buy back,” especially the redemption of a bondservant by a kinsman (Leviticus 25:49). But the first use of the Hebrew word (gaal), thus establishing the primary theme throughout Scripture, speaks of “the Angel which redeemed me from all evil” (Genesis 48:16). This could only have been the one called “the Angel of the Lord” in many Scriptures (e.g., Genesis 16:7), often in fact a theophany, or preincarnate appearance of Christ, who in His incarnate appearance would ultimately become the true Redeemer of the lost world which had been enslaved to Satan and sin. See also such Scriptures as Ephesians 1:7, 11; Hebrews 9:12; and Revelation 5:8-9.

1:18 silver and gold. Money payment was made by a kinsman-redeemer to purchase back an indentured relative (Leviticus 25:48), but silver and gold are “corruptible things”; in fact, the whole world is in “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21), and can only be redeemed by an adequate price paid in incorruptible legal tender. Nothing but the shed blood of Christ can meet such a requirement, purchasing total and eternal redemption (Romans 3:24; Hebrews 9:12).