“For to which of the angels did He ever say: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’? And again: ‘I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son’?” (Hebrews 1:5).
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech that asks a question for emphasis or effect. Unlike other types of questions, a rhetorical question is not designed to elicit information. Instead, the answer to a rhetorical question is clearly self-evident.
Our author made use of this literary tool here in Hebrews 1:5 to help direct us to an important conclusion regarding the person and nature of Christ. You see, God never referred to an angel as “My Son” within the Scriptures. However, He did refer to Jesus in that manner on at least two occasions (Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 9:28-36). Thus, God spoke of Christ in a way that He never spoke of an angelic being.
This passage represents one of the initial building blocks in the foundation of our author’s premise: Jesus is supreme over all, including those who inhabit the angelic realm. The author of Hebrews will go on to add additional layers to that foundation as we progress through this chapter and beyond.
Nevertheless, we should recognize the Biblical difference between “the Son of God” and those who are called “the sons of God.” For instance, the Scriptures often use the term “sons of God” in referring to those who come to Him through Christ (see Romans 8:14, Romans 8:19, Romans 9:26, 2 Corinthians 6:18, and Galatians 3:26 for some examples).
In addition, several other Old Testament passages refer to angels as “sons of God” as well (see Genesis 6:2-4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7). But even though angels and humans are sometimes called “sons of God” in a collective sense, there is only one eternal Son of God…
“Though angels have been called ‘sons of God’ in the sense that they are of a direct creation of God, no individual angel has ever been addressed as ‘son of God’ in all of Scripture (Kent, p. 40). By contrast, the preincarnate Christ was often designated as ‘the Angel of the Lord.’ Thus, it becomes important that the readers understand that, though He was the Messenger of the Lord, He was not in any sense an angelic being. He is superior, first, because of the name the Father attributes to Him and, second, because of His position which the author now develops in the next nine verses.” (1)
(1) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2535). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.