HEBREWS

YALE
DIVINITY SCHOOL
LIBRARY

Gift of
The Reverend Edward C. Dahl

THE BIBLE FOR HOME AND SCHOOL
SHAILER MATHEWS, General Editor
PROFESSOR OF HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

HEBREWS
EDGAR J. GOODSPEED

THE BIBLE FOR HOME AND SCHOOL
SHAILER MATHEWS, General Editor

VOLUMES IN PREPARATION
GENESIS By Professor H. G. Mitchell
I SAMUEL By Professor L. W. Batten
PSALMS By Reverend J. P. Peters
ISAIAH By Professor John E. McFadyen
AMOS, HOSEA, AND MICAH
By Professor J. M. P. Smith
JOHN By Professor Shailer Mathews
ACTS By Reverend George H. Gilbert
ROMANS By Professor E. I. Bosworth
GALATIANS By Professor B. W. Bacon
EPHESIANS AND COLOSSIANS
By Reverend Gross Alexander
HEBREWS By Professor E. J. Goodspeed

rtf£ B/flL£ FOR HOME AND SCHOOL

THE
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

BY

EDGAR J. GOODSPEED
assistant professor of biblical and patristic
greek in the university of chicago

Nffo g0rft
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1908
All rights reserved
Vfllp DiuiAiru ! ihrarv

Copyright, 1908,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

First printed elsewhere. Published October, 1908.

Korinooto ^reas
J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

TO MY BROTHER
CHARLES TEN BROEKE GOODSPEED

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The Bible for Home and School is intended to place
the results of the best modern biblical scholarship at the
disposal of the general reader. It does not seek to dupli
cate other commentaries to which the student must turn.
Its chief characteristics are (a) its rigid exclusion of all
processes, both critical and exegetical, from its notes ;
ip) its presupposition and its use of the assured results
of historical investigation and criticism wherever such
results throw light on the biblical text ; (V) its running
analysis both in text and comment ; (d) its brief explana
tory notes adapted to the rapid reader ; (e) its thorough
but brief Introductions ; (/) its use of the Revised Version
of 1 88 1, supplemented with all important renderings in
other versions.
Biblical science has progressed rapidly during the past
few years, but the reader still lacks a brief, comprehensive
commentary that shall extend to him in usable form mate
rial now at the disposition of the student. It is hoped
that in this series the needs of intelligent Sunday School
teachers have been met, as well as those of clergymen
and lay readers, and that in scope, purpose, and loyalty
to the Scriptures as a foundation of Christian thought and
life, its volumes will stimulate the intelligent use of the
Bible in the home and the school. SHAILER MATHEWS.

CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction  i
I. Text  i
II. Canonicity  2
III. Authorship  5
IV. Persons Addressed  13
V. Occasion and Purpose  17
VI. Date and Place of Composition . . . ig
VII. Style and Language  25
VIII. Analysis of the Epistle .... 27
IX. Bibliography  29
Text and Commentary  31
Note : Melchizedek in Philo  124
Index  125

THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
By EDGAR J. GOODSPEED

XI

INTRODUCTION

I. Text

The text of the Epistle to the Hebrews is preserved in
practical completeness in three ancient uncial manuscripts :
Sinaiticus of the fourth century, Alexandrinus of the fifth,
and Claromontanus of the sixth. Three other early uncials
contain considerable parts of it: Vaticanus of the fourth
century, Ephraemi Rescriptus of the fifth, and the newly
discovered Oxyrhynchus papyrus (657), which belongs
to the early part of the fourth century, and takes rank with
Vaticanus in the antiquity and excellence of its text. Vati
canus preserves the text of Hebrews 1 : 1-9: 14; the Oxy
rhynchus papyrus contains Heb. 2 : 14-5 : 5 ; 10 : 8-1 1 : 13 ;
11:28-12:17. The latter thus importantly supplements
the ancient and excellent text of Vaticanus. To these
must now be added the valuable, though fragmentary
manuscript of the Pauline epistles and Hebrews brought
to America in 1907 by Charles L. Freer, Esq. This is an
uncial, belonging to the fifth or sixth century, and has
Hebrews following second Thessalonians, after the manner
of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.
The textual transmission of Hebrews is further instruc
tive in that it was anciently copied as belonging with the
epistles of Paul, standing after the nine longer epistles of
Marcion's canon and before the Pastorals and Philemon ;
or in other words, between Second Thessalonians and First
Timothy. The significance of this position given the epistle
by its fourth-century copyist will demand consideration in
another connection.
Ancient and excellent as the manuscripts attesting the

INTRODUCTION

text of the epistle are, there remain in the text a few read
ings of great difficulty, which some commentators are dis
posed to interpret as primitive errors in transcription, and
upon which we can only await further light.
II. Canonicity
The acceptance of Hebrews as canonical scripture was
nearly everywhere contingent upon the admission of its
Pauline authorship. Churches which held it to be the
work of Paul naturally included it with his letters among
their sacred books. Yet without canvassing the problem
of its authorship in detail, its gradual rise to a place in the
canon of scripture may be outlined.
The first man to undertake to shape a New Testament
over against the Old, was the schismatic Marcion of Pon-
tus, a.d. 144. His New Testament, meagre as it was,
was yet structurally complete, containing a gospel, that of
Luke, on the one hand, and on the other, a group of apos
tolic epistles, the first ten of the apostle Paul. When the
church came, more than a generation later, to construct the
New Testament, it did not abandon these fundamental
lines, but rather developed them into fulness.
Of this second £tage in the development of the canon,
the ancient Roman list, called after its discoverer the Mura-
torian, is, with all its obscurities, perhaps the clearest wit
ness, representing the Roman canon of the last quarter
of the second century. It enumerates thirteen letters of
Paul, but has no mention of Hebrews, unless it be meant
by the "forged epistle to the Alexandrians," which is named
only to be repudiated. In the Old Latin version of the
New Testament, supposed to have originated about this
time, Hebrews seems to have been wanting.
Irenasus' failure to use or mention Hebrews in his work
against heresies has often been noted. Eusebius indeed
says (H.E. 5 : 26) that he used it in a work now lost, but
does not state whether he deemed it canonical; while

INTRODUCTION

Photius quotes Stephen Gobar, of the sixth century, as
saying that neither Irefiaeus nor Hippolytus accepted it
as Paul's. Although Bishop of Lyons, Irena^us was in
close touch with Rome, and his testimony is seen to accord
in time, place, and substance with the Muratorian. At
the end of the second century Hebrews was not accepted
at Rome as canonical or as a work of Paul. Of its rating
in Africa the silence of the Old Latin has given us an im
portant hint, to which the explicit testimony of Tertullian
must be added. Tertullian quotes Hebrews and assigns
it confidently to Barnabas, expressly distinguishing it
from works of apostolic authority, when it would have
been very much to his purpose to include it among such.
Africa as well as Rome thus omits Hebrews from its canon
in the year 200.
This attitude of the Roman and African churches seems
to have undergone little alteration in the third century.
Gaius of Rome and Cyprian of Carthage do not appear to
have included Hebrews among Paul's epistles. Indeed,
no Latin writer is known to have accepted Hebrews as
Paul's, before Hilary (died 368 a.d.).
This failure on the part of the western church to accept
Hebrews as Paul's or as belonging to the canon, is impor
tant for two reasons: first, because the New Testament
canon pretty certainly originated in the west, that is, at
Rome; second, because Hebrews was probably written
to Roman Christians, and was certainly known in Rome
by 95 a.d., since Clement of Rome is strongly influenced
by it. The Roman church thus knew the epistle from the
earliest times, but steadily refused to accept it as Paul's,
or to admit it into the apostolic canon. It would seem
that the Roman church, if any, must have known who
wrote the epistle, and the meaning of its attitude will de
mand explanation under a later topic.
To the position of the Roman church, that of the Alex
andrian presents the strongest contrast. Clement of Alex
andria held Hebrews to be the work of Paul (H.E. 6 : 14),
3

INTRODUCTION

and appealed to the authority of the "blessed presbyter,"
probably meaning Pantaenus, as an earlier sponsor for
its Pauline authorship and apostolic character. To this
opinion Origen somewhat dubiously subscribed (H.E.
6 : 25) ; at all events he constantly quotes Hebrews as Paul's.
and once at least professes himself ready to prove it his,
although elsewhere he adopts a different tone. The ver
dict of Alexandria naturally carried great weight. Diony-
sius, Theognostus, and Peter Martyr maintained it at
Alexandria in the third century; Methodius of Tyre prob
ably accepted it; it gradually pervaded the east, and ulti
mately influenced even the west to accept Hebrews as
Pauline, apostolic, and canonical.
We have reached the time of Eusebius, whose situation
in Palestine naturally subjected him to Alexandrian in
fluence. He accepts fourteen epistles of Paul, only paus
ing to note that the Roman church disputes Hebrews as
not having been written by Paul. The canon reached its
present limits with the festal letter of Athanasius (a.d. 367),
in which Hebrews stands triumphant, fortified now by
two centuries of distinguished Alexandrian tradition. Je
rome's feeble protest, "The custom of the Latins does not
receive it among the canonical scriptures as St. Paul's,"
is the last serious expression of Roman disapproval. Isidore
of Seville (died 636), it is true, mentions the doubt felt by
many Latin Christians as to its authorship, but probably
only echoes the language of Eusebius and Jerome.
The century of Eusebius and Athanasius was that of
our earliest manuscripts, and the presence of Hebrews
among the letters of Paul in Vaticanus and Sinaiticus
clearly shows the position the epistle had gained. If, as
Hort somewhat improbably surmised, they were written
in Rome about the middle of the fourth century, their
inclusion of Hebrews among the letters of Paul is an evi
dence of the acquiescence of the Roman Christians in the
established Alexandrian opinion.

INTRODUCTION

III. The Authorship of the Epistle
I. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE AS TO AUTHORSHIP
At Alexandria the opinion prevailed from early times
that Paul wrote Hebrews. Clement of Alexandria held
this view, and professed to derive it from his teacher, Pan
taenus. Origen, indeed, expressed some doubt about it,
but later Alexandrians held to its Pauline authorship, and
eventually influenced the whole eastern church to accept it.
At Rome, where the epistle is first quoted (Clement of
Rome), and to which it was probably written, there is very
little testimony as to its author. The Pauline authorship
claimed for the epistle by the Alexandrians found little
favor there. Novatian, a father of the third century, quotes
Heb. 13 : 15 as from the most holy Barnabas, but this opin
ion is otherwise unattested at Rome. Jerome, indeed,
knew of it, but preferred the Alexandrian view that Paul
was its author, although he was by no means certain of
its truth. At Carthage, Tertullian quotes Hebrews as a
work of Barnabas (De Pudicitia, 20). Cyprian and
other early North African witnesses agree in not referring
Hebrews to Paul, although they are silent about Barnabas.
Augustine, on the other hand, includes it among Paul's
letters, and the Council of Hippo, at which he was present
(a.d. 393), acknowledged it as Paul's. By this time the
Alexandrian opinion, long since prevalent in the east, had
begun to influence the west as well, as Augustine declares.
The ancient testimony of Christian writers as to the
authorship of Hebrews is thus inconsistent and the testi
mony of the epistle itself takes on added importance.
2. INTERNAL EVIDENCE AS TO AUTHORSHIP
A. Direct. The letter does not name its author in an
opening salutation, as most ancient letters do, nor does
his name appear in the course of the letter, as Paul's some-
5

INTRODUCTION

times does (i Thess. 2 : 18; 2 Thess. 3 : 17, etc.). We are
thus thrown back upon the indirect evidence afforded by
the epistle, for the means to criticise the ancient testimonies,
and if possible reach a conclusion.
B. Indirect. Upon examination, the epistle itself yields
a considerable mass of evidence, bearing upon its author.
The writer speaks as a Jew, — the fathers, the prophets,
angels (1:1-4); Moses, the elders (11:2). He makes
free and confident use of the Jewish scriptures, quoting
from them about one hundred times, and using them in
the Septuagint form of text and canon. He refers to the
Psalms as "David" (4:7), and like Paul, shares the Jewish
belief that the old covenant was communicated to men
through angels (2 : 2. Cf. Gal. 3 : 19).
He does not, indeed, argue in the style of rabbinic
Judaism, but rather after the manner of academic, philo
sophic Judaism ; at some points resembling Philo, though
never going to such lengths as he in the allegorizing of the
Old Testament. Thus the tabernacle and its service
are a copy and shadow of heavenly realities (8:5; 9 : 23) ;
Melchizedek possesses an ulterior significance (7 : 1-3),
etc. His knowledge of Judaism does not always seem to be
accurate, for he once speaks as though the high-priest had
daily to offer sacrifices for his own and the people's sins
(7:27; but cf. 9 : 7 and 25, where a different representation
appears). Further, he places the altar of incense within
the Most Holy Place (9:4).
He is plainly a Christian Jew, as every page of his epistle
shows. His Christianity is not of the Judaistic type, how
ever, for he regards Judaism as but the shadow and copy
of the heavenly realities actualized in Christ (9 : 23; 10 : 9).
He shares Paul's conception of the futility of the Law, but
finds beauty and value in it, as prefiguring, however im
perfectly, the new and better covenant (10 : 1). He re
sembles Philo also in that his interest is never in a concrete,
actual, contemporary temple, service, and priesthood, but
6

only in the ideal, statutory Judaism of the tabernacle and
the wilderness.
He is a master of Greek style, finished, periodic, and
antithetical, standing conspicuous among New Testament
writers in this regard. In the wealth and weight of his
theological vocabulary, he seems a fully trained exponent
of the Jewish Alexandrian school. Like his readers, he
is not of those who heard the Lord teach on earth, but has
received the message of salvation through such persons
(2 : 3)-
He shows acquaintance with the epistles of Paul, or at
least with Paul's teaching (2 : 8, 9), with some elements
of which he is in essential sympathy. He is no mere Paul-
inist however, but a Christian thinker of originality and
distinction, exhibiting a type of Christian thought compa
rable in individuality with the Pauline, the Synoptic, and
the Johannine.
He speaks with authority and severity to his readers
(5 : n), with whose virtues and shortcomings he is thor
oughly acquainted (6 : 10). He knows the persecution
through which they have passed (10 : 32, 35-39), as well
as their present perilous position. He hopes to be speedily
reunited with them; that is, at Rome (13: 19). He knows
Timothy, and reports his release from prison, announcing
his purpose to join him and them. He is apparently out
side of Italy when he writes the letter (13: 24).
3. MODERN OPINION
Luther proposed Apollos as the person in the early church
most likely to have written Hebrews, and some scholars
of ability (Bleek, Tholuck, Alford, Kurtz, Farrar) have
accepted his view. Paul has been the chief claimant put
forward in modern as in ancient times, but it is doubtful
whether any scholar of weight at present assigns the epistle
to him. Ullmann, Wieseler, Renan, Ritschl, Weiss, and
McGiffert incline to Barnabas. Luke has been urged by
7

INTRODUCTION

some (Delitzsch), and Mark by others (Lowndes), despite
the contrast presented by the style and substance of their
acknowledged works. Harnack has recently proposed
Prisca, or Prisca and Aquila, presenting a strong array
of considerations. Many scholars pronounce the problem
insoluble, taking refuge in the dictum of Origen, "Who
indeed wrote the epistle God knows."
4. CONCLUSION
If we now seek to test the ancient opinions as to the au
thorship of Hebrews by the internal evidence of the epistle,
the claim of Paul has first to be considered. For this
may be urged, first, the testimony of Pantasnus, Clement,
and later Alexandrians, ultimately accepted by the whole
church, eastern and western. Against it stands the silence
of the Roman church for more than two centuries, broken
only by Novatian's mention of Barnabas. Tested by the
internal evidence of the epistle, the Pauline authorship
is negatived by the un-Pauline anonymity of the epistle,
though this may be an accident; it is condemned by the
dissimilarity to Paul's vocabulary, style, theology, and
method of reasoning, and by the statement, so unlike Paul,
that the writer received the truth from those who heard the
Lord speak.
Clement's theory that Hebrews is a translation, by Luke.
or Clement of Rome, of a Hebrew original by Paul, is con
demned by the unlikeness of the thought and argumenta
tion to Paul's, and of the style to Clement's or Luke's;
still further by the impossibility of explaining in a version
the extraordinary rhetorical finish and vigor of Hebrews,
the markedly, even vitally, Septuagint character of its
quotations from the Old Testament, and the nicety of
its theological terminology, which could hardly be trans
lated into Hebrew or Aramaic, much less have originated
in one of those tongues and survived translation out of it.
Altogether it would be difficult to name a New Testament
8

INTRODUCTION

book less likely to represent translation from a Hebrew
original than Hebrews.
The statement of Tertullian connecting the epistle with
Barnabas has little ancient support indeed, but cannot at
once be decisively set aside. We have no genuine writings
of Joseph called Barnabas with which to compare it, al
though a so-called Epistle of Barnabas and a Gospel of
Barnabas are extant, the former an Alexandrian monu
ment of the second century, the latter a mediaeval (13th
century) or modern (16th century) work of Mohammedan
color. An ancient Gospel of Barnabas, now lost, is named
in the " Decree of Gelasius " and in the Sixty Canonical Books
(Codex Baroccianus). Mention may be made, further, of
the Acts of Barnabas, by Mark, a work of the fourth or
fifth century. A small but fairly complete cycle of literature
— gospel, acts, epistle — thus gathered early about the
name of Barnabas, but unfortunately all of it that has come
down to us is clearly spurious, and thus supplies no valid
criterion by which to test his claim to the authorship of
Hebrews. We can therefore bring against the ascription of Hebrews
to Barnabas no such definite arguments from style, the
ology, and method, as are abundantly supplied in the case
of Paul by a comparison of Hebrews with his acknowl
edged works, but the narrative of Acts and the letters of
Paul contain statements as to Barnabas which afford some
basis of comparison with the internal evidence of the
epistle. These references form a picture of an eloquent Jewish
Christian evangelist of Levitical ancestry, a man of means
and probably education, the first friend and co-worker
of Paul. The Clementine Homilies and Recognitions
contain frequent references to Barnabas as in Rome and
Alexandria, and more than one consideration points to
the west as the probable field of his missionary labor after his
separation from Paul, with whom he evidently had an
understanding as to the direction in which each should
9

INTRODUCTION

work. There are thus no general considerations of weight
to be set against the statement of Tertullian and Novatian.
If we seek to test that statement further by the internal
evidence of the epistle, certain objections to it at once appear.
A. The author is not one of those who heard the Lord
speak, but of those to whom the word had been confirmed
by those who had (2:3). But Barnabas is said by Clement
of Alexandria (Stromateis, 2 : 20) to have been one of the
Seventy, and in this he is followed by Eusebius (H.E.
1 : 12 : 1, probably following Clement, Hypoty poses, 7; cf.
H.E. 2:1:4). Clement's inaccuracy in these matters
is well recognized, however, as in his identification of James
the Lord's brother with James the son of Alphaeus (Clem
ent, Hypoty poses, 7, quoted in H.E. 2:1:4), and his state
ment is by no means decisive. Still it must be reckoned
with, and may be noted as one of the specific notices making
against the Barnabas authorship.
' B. The writer is too ignorant of the temple arrangements
to have been a Levite long resident at Jerusalem, for he
represents the high-priest as daily offering sacrifice for his
own sins and those of the people (7 : 27), and places the
incense-altar in the Most Holy Place, 9 : 4, contrary to
Exodus 30 : 1, 3,6, and Josephus, Antiquities, 3:6:8 (cf.
Luke 1 : n), which locate it definitely in the Holy Place,
outside the veil.
It may be answered that the writer is not at all concerned
with the temple in Jerusalem, but with the tabernacle in
the wilderness. His sources of information as to it were
the books of the Pentateuch, notably Exodus. Residence
in Jerusalem and familiarity with the temple-precincts
have at best but a secondary bearing upon the matter.
Philo 's words, "The most fragrant of all incenses are
offered up twice every day in the fire, being burnt within
the veil, both when the sun rises and sets, before the morn
ing and after the evening sacrifice," 1 might be understood
to locate the incense-altar in the Most Holy Place, and
1 Philo, On A nimals fit for Sacrifice, ch. z.
10

INTRODUCTION

the command to put of the incense "before the testimony
in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee " (Ex.
30 : 36), may have contributed to this confusion. As to the
high-priest's service, there is even less difficulty, for the
writer expresses himself definitely and accurately about
the matter in 9:7, where he says that into the second tab
ernacle the high-priest alone goes, once in the year, not
without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors
of the people. This language shows that the writer is
under no misconception as to the frequency of the high-
priest's service, and it is artificial to ignore this passage
and insist, upon the basis of 7: 27, that the writer did not
know things which as a matter of fact he specifically and
unequivocally asserts in 9 : 7. These points have no bear
ing upon the residence of the writer of Hebrews in Jeru
salem or upon his Levitical descent.
On the other hand, there are points in which Barnabas
admirably satisfies the conditions of the problem. He
was a Jewish Christian, a man of substance and so probably
of education, the broadest Christian in the church at the
time of Paul's conversion, and a man of such zeal and elo
quence as to be called by the apostles the Son of Exhorta
tion. No other figure in early Christian history more
naturally combines liability to Alexandrian influence with
wide-ranging evangeUsm. An associate of Paul, and thus
conversant and sympathetic with his thought, he was yet
not a disciple of Paul, but a Christian teacher of inde
pendent views. Paul's influence he had felt, and with
some at least of his letters he must have been familiar.
Timothy he would have known in early days at Derbe
and Lystra, and perhaps also in later times at Rome, if,
as seems probable, Barnabas found his way thither with
Mark. The writer's interest in Levi and the Levitical
sits well on Barnabas the Levite. The only individual
mention of the patriarch Levi in the New Testament is
found in Hebrews,1 and the word Levitical occurs in no
¦Heb. 7:5, 0; cf. Rev. 7:7.
II

INTRODUCTION

other New Testament book. The writer's point of view
indeed is distinctly Levitic.1
The existence in the early church of a cycle of works
bearing the name of Barnabas (gospel, acts, epistle),
strongly suggests that he did write something, the tradi
tion of which occasioned the ascription of other writings to
him, precisely as happened in the case of Peter, Clement,
and others. More particularly, the spurious Epistle of
Barnabas first appears under that name at Alexandria,
the very place where Hebrews is first ascribed to Paul, —
facts which at once demand to be related. They suggest
that when Hebrews was given to Paul by the Alexandrians,
in the obvious desire to make it apostolic, the tradition
lingered that Barnabas had written an epistle, and this
tradition came at length to be connected with the anony
mous work since known as the Epistle of Barnabas. On
the whole, in spite of the dogmatic negation of some critics,
there is more to be said for Barnabas than for any one else,1
and the only serious ancient testimony on the matter, that
of Tertullian and Novatian, is surely not to be swept aside
without substantial reason. Such a reason may exist in the
apparent lateness of the epistle, but no other valid con
sideration of weight has been adduced.
The silence of the epistle as to its author has been thought
by some significant, even intentional, but this can hardly
be true, since the writer's allusions to his intended visit
to them and to his prospective meeting with Timothy,
show clearly that the epistle was not originally anonymous.
It is altogether more probable that the salutation was early
lost from the beginning of the epistle, either through chance
mutilation common in ancient documents, or through the
quite intelligible feeling that the epistle began more loftily
and worthily without the commonplace names and greetings,
which might seem even to disfigure the majestic introduc
tion. The loss of the salutatory title (e.g. Barnabas to
the Romans, etc.) might be the easier, if, on the one hand,
¦ McGiSert. 12

INTRODUCTION

the church already possessed an apostolic letter to the
Romans, and, on the other, the fame of Barnabas suffered as
time went on and the Acts and the letters of Paul gained
in influence. These, it will be recalled, leave him under
what have seemed to many serious imputations of vacilla
tion (Gal. 2 : 13), and defection from Paul (Acts 15 : 39).
As such a view of Barnabas came to prevail, his connec
tion with an epistle like Hebrews might very naturally
be suffered to fall into oblivion.
The silence of Rome as to the writer of the epistle is
satisfied by the same consideration, quite as naturally as
by the view of Harnack that Prisca was the author, but
was quietly lost sight of, as the church disliked to own a
woman among its greatest teachers.
We cannot indeed establish the authorship of Hebrews
by Barnabas, nor is the view free from grave difficulties,
especially since the epistle falls so late in the first century,
when Barnabas must have been a very old man. Yet
there is, as McGiffert puts it, more to be said for Barnabas
than for any other claimant to the authorship.
IV. The Persons addressed in the Epistle
Since the time of Pantaenus and Irenasus, i.e. the latter
part of the second century, the designation To Hebrews
seems to have been generally attached to the epistle. In
this title fathers and manuscripts unanimously agree.
The epistle itself says nothing directly about its recipients,
the apparent loss of its title having deprived us of the ex
press statement of its destination which presumably accom
panied its opening salutation. Yet there are not a few
indirect touches in the epistle which throw light upon the
circle for which it was written.
The intended readers are clearly Christian believers of
long standing and genuine worth. They are firmly at
tached to the Old Testament, which they probably know
in the Septuagint version, since it is to that that the writer
J3

JIN 1 R.KJD UC11UW

constantly, regularly, and unmistakably appeals. This
evident acceptance of the Old Testament at once suggests
Jewish Christian readers. Yet it by no means establishes
the fact that the epistle was written to such persons, since
Gentile Christians were from the first little if at all behind
Jewish believers in loyalty to scripture, and to Gentile
readers the peculiar use of the Old Testament made by
our writer would have been admirably suited. So zealously,
indeed, did the Gentile believers appropriate the Septuagint
Old Testament that the Jews conceived a distaste for their
own book, and in the second century practically resigned
it to their antagonists and had recourse to a new translation.
Nor is evidence wanting that in the first century Gentile
believers were familiar with the Old Testament and ame
nable to its authority. Clement of Rome in writing to the
Corinthians, soon after the writing of Hebrews, a Gentile
Christian writing to Gentile Christians, makes even larger
use of the Greek Old Testament than does the writer of
the epistle.
The readers of the epistle, like the writer, are not of
those who heard the Lord speak, but have received the
word from others who had (2:3; 4:2). This implies
remoteness of time or place, or both, from the personal
activity of Jesus in Palestine. That a considerable time
has elapsed is further evident from the allusions to the
death of former leaders of the congregation, and to the
length of the Christian experience which lies behind
the readers. Their church has been long established.
The readers are nevertheless taxed with dulness and
immaturity (5 : n ff.). They ought to be teachers, but
are themselves in need of instruction, and that of the simpler
sort. Yet they are not without commendable traits, for
in its infancy their church heroically withstood persecu
tion (10 : 32-35), and they have never been backward in
ministering to the saints, and sharing their burdens (6 : 9-12).
A new persecution is now threatening (10 : 36, 39; 12 : 4),
if not actually afflicting them, against which the writer is in
14

INTRODUCTION

part seeking to fortify them. The danger of apostasy and
the admonition to be steadfast color the whole epistle.
If persecution is attacking the congregation on the one
hand, apathy and indifference are threatening it on the
other. Nor is it easy to recognize in this peril a tendency
to lapse into the Judaism of temple and ceremonial, or
even of scribe and synagogue. It is rather the disposition
of men whose hopes have long been deferred, to turn from
the living God, and sink back into their former heathenism
(3 : 12). To such men the writer would show the grandeur
and worth of Christian faith, the meaning of the life and
death of Christ, the significance of the discipline of suffer
ing, and the necessity of laying firm hold on that unseen
world which alone has abiding reality.
The personal references in the epistle are few but sig
nificant. The writer has been among the readers, and
purposes to return to them at the earliest opportunity (13:
19). They know Timothy (13 : 23), and seem to have an
interest in him, as only Gentile or even Pauline congrega
tions are likely to have had. They of Italy, or rather from
Italy, send greetings to them (13 : 24), which seems most
naturally to mean that Italian Christians, for some reason
out of Italy at the time, wish to be remembered to a con
gregation in Italy.
If we now undertake to combine these touches into the
likeness of some Christian community of the first century,
we must acknowledge that the Jerusalem church is cer
tainly not the one addressed. The commendations and
the condemnations of the epistle alike fail to accord with
what we know of the Jerusalem church in any period of
its brief existence. Nor is it essentially easier to connect
the epistle with some other Palestinian congregation, such
as that at Pella or Jamnia. Indeed, contemporary cere
monial Judaism, with its temple and priests, is utterly
absent from the mind of the writer, whose Judaism is _ not
personal or legalistic, but academic and philosophical.
The failure to take account of this is probably responsible

INTRODUCTION

for that ancient opinion as to the epistle which gave
it its present title, as well as for not a few modern
efforts to connect it with Palestinian or other Jewish
congregations. For the Alexandrian church more may perhaps be said,
since the community that had produced the Septuagint
might with propriety be addressed in the most finished Greek,
and hear the Old Testament quoted in the Alexandrian
version. Here, too, the title To Hebrews appears most at
home, if we are to judge by the analogy of the Gospel accord
ing to the Hebrews, and here the title very probably origi
nated. The Alexandrianism of the epistle, too, is readily
understood in an epistle addressed by one Alexandrian
Christian to others. Yet the clear references to persecu
tion, and the inexorable allusions to Italy and Timothy,
condemn this identification like the others, and recall us
to Italy and to the church at Rome.
The Italian destination of the epistle has of late been
widely accepted, but it has assumed many forms. It has
been held that the epistle is addressed to all the Christian
congregations of Italy, as a sort of circular letter (Von
Soden). Again, it is maintained that so far from being
addressed to all the churches of Italy, it is not written even
to one of them, but to a part of it, — a little house-congre
gation within the Roman church (Harnack, Zahn). For
neither of these positions does there seem to be adequate
evidence. All the hints of the epistle, however, seem to
converge upon the Roman church as that to which it was
addressed. The references to persecution long past (Nero)
and now present (Domitian), to hospitality and liberality
to the saints, to former heroic leaders, to evangelization
by those who had heard the Lord, to Italy and Timothy,
fall in with the Roman destination of the epistle in a way
that leaves little to be desired. The earliest trace of the
epistle in literature is in I Clement. That letter, written
from Rome during Domitian 's persecution, and thus
probably soon after Hebrews, is full of the influence of
16

INTRODUCTION

Hebrews, and thus contributes strongly to confirm the
Roman destination of the epistle.
We cannot indeed establish the Roman destination of
Hebrews, but we may say with confidence that as far as
our knowledge goes, the indirect testimony of the epistle
as to its intended readers fits better upon the Roman church
than upon any other ancient church of which we have
knowledge. V. Occasion and Purpose
The writer's repeated injunctions to his readers to hold
fast throws light upon the purpose of the epistle and
indirectly upon the occasion which prompted it. They
are to hold fast their boldness (3 : 6), and the glorying of
their hope, firm unto the end; their first confidence (3 : 14),
firm unto the end ; their confession (4 : 14) ; the confession
of their hope, that it waver not (10 : 23). They are warned
against falling short of the promised " rest" of God (4 : 1),
and urged to give diligence to enter into that rest (4 : 11).
They are to run with endurance the race set before them
(12 : 1), and not to grow weary and faint in their souls
(12 : 3). They must not refuse him who speaks (12 : 25),
for there is no escape for those who reject the heavenly
warning. They are to beware of falling away from the
living God (3 : 12).
The readers of the epistle are evidently in danger of
giving up their Christian faith, which some of them have
held for a long time. Indeed, there are already about
them lapsed persons, who have thus fallen away (6: 6),
who cannot be renewed again unto repentance. The
writer is persuaded better things of his readers. For the
apostates, however, he reserves his most terrible indict
ment. There remains for them only a certain fearful
expectation of judgment (10 : 27), for they have trodden
under foot the Son of God, and done despite to the spirit
of grace (10 : 29). The terrible and feeling denunciation
of these persons in chapters 6 and 10 makes it clear that
c 17

INTRODUCTION

this is no imaginary class, but a real and present element of
the immediate situation, the existence and possible growth
of which the writer counts a most serious peril to the church.
The writer would hardly present to them with such vivid
ness, and twice in the epistle, the awful consequences of
apostasy, unless there were danger that some of them should
fall into the same deadly sin. The atmosphere of impending
persecution, already detected, is here evident, and with it an
important element in the situation that evoked the epistle.
The peril of apostasy under the stress of persecution is
not all that threatens the congregation. Some of its mem
bers are Christians of some years' standing, old enough to
be teachers, but actually immature (5 : 12). These per
sons need to be aroused to press on unto perfection (6:1).
The readers have indeed shown Christian graces in prac
tical ways, ministering to the saints and the like; it would
seem to be in other matters that their failure lies (6 : 10).
The fact seems to be that the writer is apprehensive that
his readers, or some of them, will fall into indifference as
to Christian faith, not because of stress of persecution, but
through the lapse of time, and the wearing out of their first
enthusiasm. A sense of disappointment at the failure of
the promises to reach fulfilment, too, is reflected in the
writer's picture of the old worthies, who died in faith, with
out having received the promises (11 : 1, 13, 39). The
peril of indifference would grow more and more serious
as time went on and the last individuals of Jesus' own
generation disappeared, without his coming again in the
glorious manner so keenly anticipated through the first
years of the life of the church. For these and other reasons,
sluggishness and indifference were creeping into the church,
and a stirring declaration of the folly and the peril of such
decline was urgently demanded.
The purpose of Hebrews was thus above all things a
practical purpose. The cold and indifferent among those
to whom this Christian leader writes, must be shamed and
startled out of their torpor and neglect, and roused to a
18

INTRODUCTION

new consciousness of the transcendent worth of that which
they still possessed, but were likely to lose. This, and not
their theological instruction, or adjustment to the downfall
of Judaism, is the idea which dominates every part of the
letter, and it is this that explains the fact that admonition
and practical exhortation are so constantly interwoven
with teaching in the epistle. Hebrews is thus to be under
stood not as a treatise upon the relation of Christianity
to Judaism, or upon the supreme worth of Christianity,
but as an impassioned oration, wholly centred upon recall
ing to steadfast devotion to Christ weary and wavering
disciples. With the practical the writer skilfully combines the apolo
getic. In his effort to secure his readers in their Christian
faith, he enters upon a spirited and original defence of
Christianity, which he approaches from the point of view
of philosophical Judaism. It is plain that if the readers can
be convinced of the truth of the writer's claims for Chris
tianity, his practical purpose will be attained, and their
steadfastness will be assured. But from his apologetic
the writer again and again returns to his exhortation, in
which the great motive of the epistle finds most direct ex
pression. The writer well describes it as a "Word of
Exhortation," a hortatory discourse (13 : 22).
VI. Date and Place of Composition
1. DATE
The unquestionable use of the epistle in Clement of
Rome to the Corinthians, a.d. 95, supplies the latest pos
sible date, and places the writing of Hebrews in the first
century. The allusion (13 : 7) to the glorious end met by
the former leaders shows that at least a generation has
passed since the founding of the Christian church,1 and
strongly suggests the Neronian persecution. Yet it has
1 Cf. 2 : 3 and 5 : 12.
J9

INTRODUCTION

been held by Harnack that the expulsion of the Jews in
the time of Claudius, in which of course the Christians
then in Rome were involved, better satisfies the writer's
references to a great conflict of sufferings in the former days
(10 : 32 ff.), since the words "after you were enlightened"
(10 : 32) show that the persecution ensued almost imme
diately upon the founding of the church, or at least fell in
the early days of its history. It is true that the words of
Suetonius, " The Jews who were constantly rioting under
the instigation of Chrestus, he drove from Rome " (Judaeos
impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantes Roma expulit)
(Claudius 25; cf. Acts 18 : 2), imply that Christians were
involved in that expulsion; but no such persecution can
be recognized here as is reflected in 10 : 32-34 and 13 : 7.
Moreover, Dion Cassius expressly says that Claudius did
not expel the Jews, but prohibited their assemblies (Hist.
60 : 6). These three notices practically exhaust our ancient
testimony to this edict of Claudius, and they hardly seem
to accord with the strong language used in Hebrews with
reference to the conflict of former days.
On the other hand, these allusions to former persecution
are in every way fully satisfied by the Neronian persecution
attested by Tacitus (Annals 15: 44), and reflected in Clem
ent of Rome (chh. 5, 6 1). The Neronian persecution of a.d.
64 is thus the earlier limit, before which the letter cannot
have been written.2
Between these dates, a.d. 64 and a.d. 95, all agree
that the writing of Hebrews must fall. Those who hold
the purpose of the letter to have to do with the prospective
destruction of Jerusalem, and the interpretation of that
event for Christian Jews, place the composition of it in
the time of the Jewish war, a.d. 66-70.
Bleek observed the coincidence of this date with the ref
erence to forty years (3 : 17), which, if reckoned from the
¦ Cf. also Dionysius of Corinth, in Eusebius R.E. 2 : 25 : 8.
' The possible influence of Rom. 12 : ig upon the form in which Deut. 32 : 35 is
quoted in Heb. 10 : 30 while not essential to this position, is wholly consistent with it
20

INTRODUCTION

death of Jesus, would bring us to a.d. 68 or 69, but this
somewhat fanciful corroborative has had little weight
with more recent scholars. The chief objection to this
dating of the letter lies in the evident remoteness of the
Neronian persecution, which lies now so far in the past as
to belong to the former days, and even to the infancy of
the church, — "after you were enlightened" (10:32).
Those who maintain the early date of the epistle, however,
hold to the Jerusalem destination of it, and for them the
matter of the Neronian persecution has no connection
with Hebrews. But the impossibility of maintaining the
Jerusalem destination has already been shown.
If the remoteness of the Neronian persecution brings
the date of Hebrews down to a time later than the fall of
Jerusalem, however, the silence of the letter as to the latter
occurrence shows that it too lay well in the past, and brings
the date down still further. For it needs no argument
to show that had that momentous event been of recent
occurrence, some hint of it would almost certainly have
shown itself in the letter. This reticence shows that that
catastrophe with all that attended it is no longer fresh in
men's minds, and thus the lapse of some years, perhaps
a decade, is implied.1 The probable date of the letter is
thus carried into the times of Titus or Domitian.
In the discussion of the destination of Hebrews it has been
shown that an atmosphere of persecution, prospective or
actually present, pervades the letter. The existence of
apostates, the stirring appeal to heroic behavior in former
persecution, the reference to the noble example set by
early leaders in the issue of their life, the imprisonment of
Timothy (13:23) and others (13:3), the discussion of
chastening (12: 5-13), especially the verse that introduces
it (12:4), — all these unite to show that persecution is
hovering over the congregation addressed. For such a
condition in the time of Domitian there is abundant evi
dence in the pages of Clement of Rome, Melito, Tertullian,
» Cf. the use of Mount Zion in a Christian sense, 12 : 22.
21

INTRODUCTION

Lactantius, Eusebius, and later writers.1 Indeed, at no
time in the first century, after Nero's persecution, can the
situation implied in the letter be so well satisfied as in the
" sudden and repeated calamities and reverses," with which
the cruelty and caprice of Domitian visited the Roman
church. There is therefore every probability that Hebrews
was written in the time of Domitian, a.d. 81-96.
It is not easy to determine the date of the epistle more
precisely. The Timothy of 13 : 23 is probably the disciple
of Paul, and the fact that he is still living and apparently
active fits well with this period, but does not help to any
thing more specific. Nicephorus states that he suffered
martyrdom in the time of Domitian (H.E. 3 : n), and this
notice, in so far as it has any worth, accords well with the
date assigned to the letter, since it at least implies that Tim
othy lived until the times of Domitian. In the hints of
persecution already noted there is, however, ground for
placing the date of the letter late in Domitian's reign, for
his early years seem to have been comparatively free from
excesses and atrocities, which broke out after the revolt
of Antoninus Saturninus in a.d. 88. His cruel treatment
of his niece Flavia Domitilla and his cousin T. Flavius
Clemens, generally believed to have been Christians, be
longs to the close of his reign. The exaction of the Jewish
temple tax for the Capitoline Jupiter, or the fiscus, which
was so harshly carried out as to be practically a persecution,
seems likewise to belong to this late time. A passage in
the epitome of Dion Cassius (Hist. 67 : 14) is of importance
here. " Against both of them (Clemens and Domitilla)
a charge of atheism was brought, under which many others
also who were perverts to the practices of the Jews were
condemned. Of these some were put to death and others
had their property confiscated at the very least." 2 The
fact that Domitian's outbreaks against Jews, Christians, and
noble Romans belong for the most part to his last years
¦ Collected in Lightfoot, S. Clement of Rome, I, pp. 104-115.
¦ Cf. Heb. 10 : 32-34.

INTRODUCTION

makes it rather probable that Hebrews was written toward
the close of his reign. If it be true that the Epistle of
Clement of Rome to the Corinthians was in some degree
called forth by Hebrews, Hebrews must have been written
shortly before I Clement, and this date late in Domitian's
reign is rendered still more probable.
2. place
In the matter of the place of the letter's composition a
definite result is even more difficult to obtain. The words
" they of Italy salute you " (13 : 24) point away from Italy,
but in what direction we can only conjecture. Were the
writer a prisoner, as Timothy has lately been, and as
13 : 18, 19, possibly suggest, we might think of Sardinia, to
the quarries of which persons were often sent from Rome.
But it is by no means certain that the writer has been a
prisoner, and were he an exile in the Sardinian quarries,
his prospect of being speedily restored to his readers (13 : 23)
must have been small indeed. The reference to Timothy
would be helpful, if we knew where Timothy had been
imprisoned, for the thought seems to be that Timothy on
his way to Rome will join the writer and they will proceed
to the city together. It is indeed possible that his meaning
is simply that he will meet Timothy when he meets his
readers, in Rome, provided Timothy arrives there before
the writer has left the city again ; but this seems altogether
less natural, and the fact that the writer has news of Tim
othy which he transmits to his readers, shows that he writes
from a point lying between Timothy and them. Eusebius *
and Nicephorus z state that Timothy was the first bishop
of Ephesus, a tradition evidently resting on notices in the
pastoral epistles (1 Tim. 1 : 3, etc.). Yet it is not improb
able that Timothy continued his oversight of the church
at Ephesus, or at least was active in that region, after the
death of Paul. Further, while the persecution experienced
" H.E. 3 : 4 : 6. ¦ Nicephorus, H.E. 3:11.
23

INTRODUCTION

by the Roman Christians in the time of Domitian does not
appear to have been a general, worldwide movement,
there is evidence that it made itself felt in Asia, since Euse
bius makes it responsible for the banishment of the apostle
John to Patmos.1 It is easy to suppose that the imprison
ment of Timothy mentioned in 13 : 23 was a part of the
same movement, and that upon his release he found
himself at Ephesus or in its vicinity. There is at
least nothing improbable in this, and it points to some
place lying between Ephesus and Rome as that at
which Hebrews was written. Philippi and Corinth were
such points, and it is altogether possible that at one of
these the letter was written. Yet in all this we have only
probabilities, and sometimes precarious ones, on which to
build. The Alexandrianism so characteristic of the epistle has
suggested to some that Alexandria was its place of origin.
It is true that the writer's Judaism is of that impersonal
and scholastic type so closely associated with Alexandria,
and this fact must not be lost from view. Yet it would
be a mistake to suppose that type of Judaism confined,
in the first century, to the city of its origin. Evidence is
not wanting that the whole eastern world had felt its influ
ence. Moreover, the references to Italy and Timothy, in
chapter 13, while very difficult of interpretation, are least of
all compatible with an Alexandrian origin for the epistle.
When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans from Corinth,
he seems to have appended to it a long list of greetings to
Christians at Rome, including not a few salutations from
friends of theirs at Corinth, some of them no doubt persons
who had formerly been at Rome. While these verses in
Romans are not free from critical suspicion, they present
a suggestive parallel to the words "they of Italy salute you,"
and remind us that in Corinth especially, Roman Chris
tians were at all times likely to be found.
*H.E. 3:18:1.
24

INTRODUCTION

VII. Style and Language
In contrast with the nervous, rapid, intense, and often
impetuous style of Paul, that of the writer to the Hebrews
exhibits the utmost rhetorical restraint and poise. At
the same time, it is by no means wanting in trenchant and
incisive vigor, and possesses peculiar accuracy and pre
cision. Beyond that of other New Testament writings
the language of Hebrews exhibits finish, dignity, and ele
vation; to a degree indeed that some have thought incon
sistent with a personal or practical character. The Greek
in which it is written is more literary than is that of any
other New Testament book. The vocabulary is notably
large. It is not that of everyday speech, but rather of a
school of theological thought. The classical and Sep-
tuagint elements in it are very considerable. The style
betrays no less art. The sentences are periodic and fitly
proportioned, sometimes exhibiting, as Blass has pointed
out, the Asian rhythms characteristic of prose writers of
the Common Dialect.
In proportion to its length Hebrews shows more abun
dant use of the Old Testament than any other New Testa
ment book except the Apocalypse, which surpasses it in the
number of its literary reminiscences, but not in the bulk of
its Old Testament material. In using it the writer
adheres steadily to the Septuagint; the possible exceptions
are Heb. 10 : 30, where Deut. 32 : 35 is quoted in precisely
the form of Rom. 12 : 19; and Heb. 12 : 12, where the
Hebrew of Isaiah 35 : 3 seems to have influenced him.
Not only the text of the Septuagint, but its canon is reflected
in the epistle; e.g. in chapter 11, where Maccabaean heroes
are included side by side with prophets and martyrs of
the earlier time.
The writer's manner of introducing his quotations from
the Old Testament is worthy of note. The phrase "It is
written," frequent in the Synoptics and the letters of Paul,
2S

INTRODUCTION

and to some extent in John, Acts, and i Peter, does not appear
in Hebrews.1 Still less does the writer refer his quotations
to their sources, as Matthew and Paul often do. Our
only parallel to these in Hebrews is the expression "saying
in David," 4 : 7. Yet his method is not usually that of
tacit reminiscence, like that of the Apocalyptist ; 2 for he
has an introductory phrase for most of his quotations.
This is usually the colorless "He saith " or "He said,"
and, as the subject is unexpressed, it is in each case a ques
tion what subject is to be supplied in thought. Sometimes,
certainly, a human speaker is contemplated (2:6; 7 : 21).
In other instances, Christ is the speaker (2 : 12; 10:5);
in others, the Holy Spirit (3 : 7 ; 10 : 15). In most instances
of express quotation, however, God appears as the speaker
(1 : 5, 13 ; 4:3; 5:5, 6; 7 : 17; 8:5, 8). Not that the
writer assumes God as the speaker of everything said
in the Old Testament, without distinction. On the other
hand, in most cases where he represents God as speaking,
he is following the example of the prophet or psalmist from
whom the words are drawn. Yet such instances as 1 : 6, 8
give color to the opinion that the writer conceives God as
the speaker in all revelation ; indeed, in the first chapter not
a little of his argument seems to depend upon this position.
In all this we miss the explicit scriptural conception and
treatment of the Old Testament so characteristic of the
Synoptic gospels and of Paul, with their oft-repeated "It
is written," and in this important and undeniable trait of
the epistle we seem to recognize something not indeed non-
Jewish, but at all events non-Palestinian.
In conclusion, the precision of these quotations must be
mentioned. The writer is on the whole, and so far as we
can judge, with the imperfect Septuagint texts at our com
mand, singularly faithful to his authorities. This is at
once evident if an extended passage such as 8:8-12 be
compared with its source in the Septuagint of Jeremiah
*,Heb. to: 7 is only an apparent exception.
3 Rev. 15: 3 is only an apparent exception.
26

INTRODUCTION

31 : 31-34. Slight differences of course appear, but hardly
more than now exist between one manuscript of the Septua
gint and another. Indeed, it is not too much to say that
in this matter of the precision of his Old Testament quota
tions, and his practically uniform adherence to a single
text, the Septuagint, the writer to the Hebrews yields to no
other New Testament writer. In this almost scholarly
habit of his is reflected again that quality of precision and
exactness which so strongly characterized his expression
and his thought. VIII. Analysis of the Epistle
It is altogether probable that an address and salutation
originally stood at the beginning of Hebrews, and how it
came to disappear, whether by accident or design, can only
be conjectured. The letter begins immediately with a state
ment of its theme, the completeness and finality of the
revelation in the Son (1 : 1-4). While the letter is peculiarly
difficult to analyze, since instruction and exhortation are
so interwoven through its whole course, its main outlines
may be sketched as follows:
I. Christ, the mediator of the new revelation, superior
to all other mediators (angels, Moses), supreme in the uni
verse, and the fulfiller of man's destiny of universal do
minion, 1 : 1-2 : 18.
1. The Son is shown from scripture to be superior to
angels, 1 : 1-14.
2. The consequent peril of rejecting the salvation offered
by the Son, 2 : 1-4.
3. Man's promised world-dominion realized in Christ,
through his experience of suffering, 2 : 5-18.
II. Christ the Son greater than Moses the Servant, and
his Rest superior to that ushered in by Joshua, 3 : 1-4 : 13.
1. Christ and Moses, 3 : 1-6.
2. Warning against apostasy and unbelief, and conse
quent failure to attain the Rest of God, 3 : 7-4 : 13.
27

INTRODUCTION

III. Christ above Aaron and all earthly high priests,
the final, eternal, sinless, oath-attested high priest, after
the order of Melchizedek, 4 : 14-7 : 28.
1. Exhortation (serving as transition and introduction),
to hold fast, and to approach God with boldness, conscious
of the presence with him of a sympathetic and potent high
priest, 4 : 14-16.
2. Christ a true high priest by his divine appointment
and his human experience, 5 : 1-10.
3. Complaint and rebuke of the readers' backwardness,
coupled with warning and encouragement, 5 : n-6 : 20.
4. The Melchizedek priesthood of Jesus, 7 : 1-28.
IV. Christ's high priestly service, carrying with it the
new covenant, is infinitely better than theirs (which was
but the shadow), in its heavenly sanctuary, its sacrifice
of himself, and its eternal efficacy, 8 : 1-10: 39.
1. The new priesthood implies the new and better cove
nant, 8 : 1-13.
2. The better sanctuary, sacrifice, and ministry, 9 : 1-28.
3. The final and eternal efficacy of Christ's sacrifice,
10 : 1-18.
4. Exhortation to draw near and hold fast, reenforced
by solemn warnings against apostasy, and reminders of
former heroic days, 10 : 19-39.
V. The character of faith, as the faculty of laying firm
hold on the unseen realities, exemplified in all the heroes of
faith, and preeminently in Jesus, set forth with especial
reference to the trials of the readers, which are the dis
cipline of their faith, not its disappointment, 11 : 1-12 : 29.
1. Faith the power through which those of old wrought
their achievements, and gained God's commendation,
11 : 1-40.
2. Exhortation to follow their example, or rather that
of Christ, accepting the tasks and trials of life as the Father's
discipline, 12 : 1-13.
3. Warning against moral failure, with its inexorable
penalty, 12 : 14-17. 28

INTRODUCTION

4. Final contrast of the old revelation, in its material
and repellent aspects, with the new, heavenly, ideal, and
eternal, 12 : 18-29.
VI. General exhortations, personal matters, and fare
well, 13 : 1-25. IX. Bibliography
Introduction
Bacon, B. W. An Introduction to the New Testament. New
Testament Handbooks. New York. The Macmillan Co.
1900. Pp. 140-149.
Julicher, Adolf. An Introduction to the New Testament. New
York. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1904. Pp. 148-174.
Weiss, Bernhard. A Manual of Introduction to the New Testa
ment. New York. The Funk and Wagnalls Co. 1889.
Vol. II, pp. 1-44.
Bleek, Friedrich. Introduction to the New Testament. Edin
burgh. T. and T. Clark. 1870. Vol. II, pp. 92-131.
Commentary
Westcott, B. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Third edition.
New York. The Macmillan Co. 1903.
The most complete commentary in English. Learned and
elaborate, rather than incisive and illuminating.
Peake, A. S. Hebrews. New-Century Bible. New York.
Henry Frowde. 1904.
An able and useful small commentary.
Davidson, A. B. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Handbooks for
Bible Classes. New York. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1886.
Able and suggestive.
Rendaix, Frederic. The Epistle to the Hebrews. London and
New York. Macmillan and Co. 1888.
An original and often felicitous translation, with notes of
moderate value.
Weiss, Bernhard. A Commentary on the New Testament. Vol.
IV, Thessalonians-Revelation. New York and London. Funk
and Wagnalls. 1906.
A running paraphrase of moderate value.
Farrar, F. W. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge. Uni
versity Press. 1902.
Delitzsch, F. Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Edin
burgh. T. and T. Clark. 1868. 2 vols.
29

INTRODUCTION

Vaughan, C. J. The Epistle to the Hebrews. London. Mac
millan and Co. 1891.
Lowrie, S. T. An Explanation of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
New York. Robert Carter and Bros. 1884.
Tholuck, A. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Biblical Cabinet. Edinburgh. Thomas Clark. 1842.
2 vols. Theology
Bruce, A. B. The Epistle to the Hebrews. The First Apology
for Christianity. An Exegetical Study. New York. Charles
Scribner's Sons. 1899.
The keenest and strongest inquiry into the real meaning of
the epistle that has been put forth. The present work is much
indebted to it.
Milligan, George. The Theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
New York. Charles Scribner's Sons. 1899.
Rendall, Frederic. The Theology of the Hebrew Christians.
New York. Macmillan and Co. 1886.
Stevens, G. B. The Theology of the New Testament. Inter
national Theological Library. New York. Charles Scribner's
Sons. 1899. Pp. 483-522.
Beyschlag, W. New Testament Theology. New York. Charles
Scribner's Sons. 1895. Vol. II, pp. 282-346.
Gould, E. P. The Biblical Theology of the New Testament. New
Testament Handbooks. New York. The Macmillan Co.
1900. Pp. 160-173.
Mathews, Shailer. The Messianic Hope in the New Testament.
Chicago. University of Chicago Press. 1905. Pp. 236-243.
Weiss, Bernhard. Biblical Theology of the New Testament.
Edinburgh. T. and T. Clark. 1883. Vol. II, pp. 166-229.

3<>

MORE IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS
AV  Authorized (King James) Version.
Gr  Greek.
LXX  Septuagint.
m  Margin.
SV  Standard American Version.

THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
I. Christ, the Mediator of the New Revelation,
Superior to all other Mediators of Reve
lation (Angels, Moses), Supreme in the
Universe, and the Fulfiller of Man's
Destiny of Universal Dominion,
i : 1-2 : 18
i. The Son is shown from Scripture to be superior to angels, i : 2
1 : 1-14.
1. God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the
prophets by divers portions and in divers manners,
2. hath at °the end of these days spoken unto us in 01 his
Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through
1 Gr. a Son.

A brief opening paragraph of address and salutation has probably
disappeared from the beginning of the epistle.
The Theme of the Epistle: The Finality of the Revelation of
God and Salvation through Jesus Christ, 1 : 1-4.
1. The Greek order emphasizes the partial and diverse character
of the old-time utterances of God through the prophets, by beginning
with the words in many portions and in many ways. The writer
shares with his readers acquaintance with this old-time prophetic
revelation and acceptance of it.
2. The end of these days. An expression derived in part from
the LXX. The writer conceives himself to be living at the end
of an epoch, and awaiting the Messianic Age, cf. Acts 2 : 14-21.
His Son. Better, a Son. The indefiniteness of the word empha
sizes the contrast with the prophets, and throws the emphasis upon
the idea of sonship. The following clauses define this son, as one
ordained heir of all things, through whom the world, conceived as
the sum of the successive ages, was made. As thus heir and medium
31

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

3. whom also he made the 1 worlds; who °being the Efful
gence of his °glory, and °2 the very image of his sub
stance, and "upholding all things °by the word of his
Ps. no:i power, when he had °made purification of sins, °sat
4. down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; hav
ing become by so much better than the °angels, as he
1 Gr. ages. a Or, the impress of his substance

of creation, he, with his revelation, stands immeasurably above the
prophets and theirs.
3. Being. The sense is causal, since he is. Effulgence. Better,
refulgence, reflection. The same rare word is used in Wisdom 7: 26:
For she (Wisdom) is the effulgence of the everlasting light, and the
spotless mirror of the power of God. Glory. That is, his majesty,
his sublime perfection, is reflected in this Son. The very image of
his substance. I.e., the exact stamp cf his nature. The completeness
and exactness of the revelation made through the Son are thus em
phasized. Upholding. The Son is the maintainer of the universe,
as well as its heir and the medium of its creation. By the word of
his power. Better, by his word of power; that is, by his mighty
word, his omnipotent command (Thayer).
Made purification. I.e., cleansed sinners from the guilt of their
sins, by his sacrifice of himself. See 7:26, 27; 9:11, 12, etc. Sat
down. Better, took his seat on high, at the right hand of Majesty.
Majesty is here a way of suggesting God in his sublimity. Cf . the
sitting at the right hand of power, Matt. 26 : 64. The words echo a
representation of the exalted state of the Messiah, found in Ps. 110:1,
and quoted in the earliest gospels. The right hand is the place of
preeminent honor.
4. Angels. The beings through whom, in Jewish belief, the Law
was given to Moses (Gal. 3 : 19), and God's word was revealed to
the prophets. It is as the mediators of the old revelation that they
are mentioned here, in contrast with the Son, the medium of the new.
His station is as much superior to that of the angels as his name of
Son is above theirs. This contrast is continued in the following
verses: he is Son and Firstborn, they are servants and worship him;
he is eternal King, they are created ministers.
In this identification of Jesus, the Saviour of the believer, with the
loftiest conception of Jewish speculative thought, the Messiah, the
Son of God, the writer draws attention away from what they were
likely to consider the lowly origin and humble life of Jesus and his
32

Ps. a : 7

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS I : 6
5. hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For
unto which of the angels said he at any time,
°Thou art my Son,
°This day have I begotten thee ?
and again,
°I will be to him a Father, 2 Sam. 7 :
And he shall be to me a Son ? I4
6. ' And when he again 2 bringeth in the °firstborn into
3 the world he saith, And let all the angels of God wor- ^n^rx''.
 Ps. 97 : 7
1 Or, And again, when he bringeth in " Or, shall have brought in 3 Gr. the
inhabited earth

disgraceful death, which constituted a. serious stumbling-block for
believers of the first centuries. See the careful interpretation of Jesus'
sufferings given by the writer in the second chapter, and the words
of II Clement, ch. i : We ought not to think meanly of our Salvation,
for when we think meanly of him, we expect also to receive
meanly. The Son's preeminence over angels in name, eternal dignity, and
exalted office is shown from scripture, 1 : 5-14.
5. In this and the following verses a series of seven Old Testa
ment passages bearing upon the Messianic Son of David are applied
to Jesus, to show his superiority as Son of God to the angels who are
God's servants. Thou art my Son. Ps. 2 : 7. This is God's
solemn acknowledgment of the anointed of David's house as his
chosen representative. This day have I begotten thee. An in
tensely graphic way of saying, To-day I have acknowledged thee as
begotten by me, that is, as indeed my son. The writer applies these
words to Jesus as the true and consummate anointed (Messiah)
of God. I will be to him a Father. 2 Sam. 7 : 14. The words
were first spoken of Solomon, but were extended in application to the
line of Davidic kings.
6. The words applied in Deut. 32 : 43 in the LXX to God himself,
are here applied to the Son of God, and understood to be spoken of
him when God brings him again into the world, on the occasion of
his triumphant Messianic return. The words of Ps. 97 :7 may
have influenced the language used here. Firstborn. A Messianic
title, expressive not of physical generation, but of moral dignity,
applied by Paul to Jesus, although never precisely as here. Col.
1:15, Rom. 8:29. Cf. Ps. 89:27, where God says of the Messi-
D 33

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS

7. ship him. And of the angels °he saith,
Ps- 104:4 Who maketh0 his angels l winds,
And his ministers a flame of fire:
8. but of the Son he saith,
Ps. 45:6,7 2Thy throne, °0 God, is for ever and ever;
And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of °3thy
kingdom.
9. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
1 Or, spirits ° SVm, Thy throne is God for ever and ever 3 The two oldest Greek
manuscripts read his.

anic king, I also will make him the firstborn. The title here
emphasizes the heirship and preeminence of the Son. The previous
quotations have shown the Messiah's relation to God; he is his Son.
This passage shows his relation to the angels; he commands their
worship. 7. He saith. Here, as in vs. 1, and often in the epistle, God is
conceived to be the speaker in the Old Testament. His angels
winds. This sense, which appears in the LXX and which some
find in the Hebrew itself (Perowne), sets forth the low estate of the
messengers and ministers of God, whom he transforms into winds
and flames, impersonal elements of nature, at his pleasure.
8, 9. The quotation is from Ps. 45 : 6, 7. Its difficulty lies in the
fact that in it the Messianic king, whose marriage is celebrated in
that psalm, is addressed as God. Some would indeed translate, God
is thy throne for ever and ever (Westcott), while others explain that
the Messianic king, as representing God's will and government on
earth, is here, by a bold figure, directly addressed as God. The cen
tral thought of the quotation lies not in this address, but in the last
ing possession of royal dignity — throne, sceptre, anointing — by
God's favor secured through uprightness and righteousness. Thy
kingdom. Better, his (God's) kingdom. The king's upright rule
marks his kingdom as God's. This glowing prophecy and congratu
lation, addressed originally to some Jewish king, is here transferred
to Christ, as the rightful heir of all Messianic hopes and affirma
tions. Thus while the angels are God's humble servants, Jesus as
Christ is possessed of eternal kingly dignity.
34

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS i : 14
10. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning l hast laid the founda- ps. 10a : 35-
tion of the earth, 27
And the heavens are the works of thy hands:
11. They shall perish; but thou continuest:
And they shall all wax old as doth a garment;
12. And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,
As a garment, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same,
And thy years shall not fail.
13. But of which of the angels hath he said at any time,
Sit thou "on my right hand, Ps. no : 1
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet ?
14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do
service for the sake of them that shall inherit salva
tion? " SV didst lay
10-12. Words used of God by some exiled Jew are here applied to
the Son, who as Messianic medium of creation and revelation, shares
in the changeless and eternal nature of God himself. His infinite
superiority to the angels is thus again manifest. The Son's creative
work and eternal nature, already suggested in vss. 2 and 8, are brought
out again in this quotation. The writer understands the Messiah,
conceived in his creative role, to be addressed in the passage, and his
nature, outlasting his own creation, marks him as far above mere
angels. 13. Ps. no, already echoed in vs. 3, supplies the crowning testi
mony to the exalted dignity of the Son. God has seated him at his
own right hand, there to await the consummation of his triumph.
On my right hand. This position associates the Son with God
himself in dignity and authority. No such invitation was ever ad
dressed to angels.
14. So far from sharing the supreme exaltation of the Son, angels
are thus, by the testimony of the Jewish scriptures, serving spirits,
sent on God's errands, for the benefit of the heirs of salvation. Their
true position as compared with the Son, enthroned and eternal, and
even with these heirs of salvation, becomes at once manifest.
35

3 : i EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 
2. The consequent peril of rejecting the salvation offered
by the Son, 2 : 1-4
2. °Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed
to °the things that were heard, °lest haply we drift
2. away from them. For if the word spoken "through
angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
3. how shall we escape, if we neglect 1 so great salvation?
which °having at the first been spoken through the
Lord, °was confirmed unto us by them that heard;
4. °God also bearing witness with them, both by "signs
and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by 2 gifts
of the 3 Holy Ghost, according to his own will.
1 SV so great a etc. 3 Gr. distributions. 3 SV Holy Spirit: and so throughout
this book.
i. Therefore. That is, by reason of this great superiority of the
Son to prophets and angels. The things that were heard. The
Christian teaching. Lest. The readers are in danger of falling
into indifference.
2. The old revelation, though mediated through humbler beings
than the'Son, proved valid, and transgression of it brought invaria
ble penalty. Through angels. The Jewish belief that the law was
communicated to Moses through angels appears also in Gal. 3 : 19 :
The law . . ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.
Cf. Acts 7 : 53. The writer's respect for the old law as the expression
of God's will reappears in this verse.
3. A fortiori, the salvation offered through the Son demands at
tention and respect. Having at the first been spoken. Better,
after beginning to be uttered. Jesus began the proclamation of salva
tion. Was connrmed unto us. The writer does not belong to
those who heard the Lord speak, but, like his readers, received the
word from those who had. In this he is unlike Paul, who conceives
himself to have received his gospel directly from the risen Jesus.
Yet cf. 1 Cor. 11:2, 23.
4. God also bearing witness. Better, While God joined in bear
ing witness (to-it). Signs . . . wonders . . . manifold powers . . .
gifts (better, portions), of Holy Spirit. The extraordinary mani-
36

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 2 : 8
3. Man's promised world-dominion realized in Christ,
through his experience of suffering, 2 : 5-18
5. °For not unto angels did he "subject cl the world to Ps.8:4-6
6. come, whereof we speak. But one hath somewhere
"testified, saying,
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7. Thou madest him °2 a little lower than the angels;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour,
°3 And didst set him over the works of thy hands :
8. Thou didst put all things in subjection under his
feet.
"For in that he subjected "all things unto him, "he
left nothing that is not subject to him. "But now we
1 Gr. the inhabited earth 3 Or, for a little while lower 3 Many authorities omit
And didst . . . hands.

festations which attended the early preaching of salvation through
the apostles and evangelists, cf. i Cor. 12-14.
5. For. I.e., in explanation of God's wonderful testimony to the
apostolic preaching, just described. Subject. I.e., in prospect, in
tention. God has destined the dominion of the world for others
than angels. The world to come. Better, to be. The Messianic
world. 6. Testified. I.e., solemnly affirmed. What is man. The
psalmist's first thought of man is of his insignificance as compared
with God.
7. The psalmist's second thought is of man's lofty position in the
universe; but little below the angels themselves, and crowned with
glory. A little. Better, little. The writer of Hebrews, however,
understands the words to mean for a little while; cf. vs. 9. And
didst set him. Man is potentially master of the created universe,
that is, he has been destined to such mastery by God.
8. Universal dominion is the promised destiny of man. For.
In explanation of the statement of vs. 5. All things. As shown by
the last clause quoted. He left nothing. The world to be must
therefore be subject to man. Paul speaks somewhat similarly in
37

2 :9 EPISTue, iu inn. iiE±>Rn,wa
9. see not yet all things subjected to him. But we be
hold him who hath been made °x a little lower than the
angels, even Jesus, because of "the suffering of death
crowned with glory and honour, "that by the grace
10. of God he should taste death for every man. For
"it became him, "for whom are all things, °and
through whom are all things, 2in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the °3 author of their salvation
11. perfect "through sufferings. "For both "he that sanc-
1 Or, for a little while lower " Or, having brought 3 Or, captain
1 Cor. 15 : 27, in dealing with the same psalm. But now. Man
has not realized his intended destiny of universal dominion.
9. The prophecy finds an unlooked-for fulfilment in Jesus. A
little. Better, for a little. The suffering of death. In the death
of Jesus, which was a stumbling-block to the readers, the writer finds
rather the very ground of his exaltation. This humiliation, endured
on behalf of men, crowns Jesus with the glory and honor spoken of
by the psalmist. That by the grace of God. The purpose under
lying all this is that Jesus should in accordance with God's gracious
will experience death on behalf of all.
10. It became him. I.e., God. For whom . . . and through
whom. I.e., as both final and efficient cause in the universe. Au
thor. Better, leader. Through sufferings. The exaltation of the
Son to his place at God's right hand, through an experience of humili
ation and death, the writer asserts to be a procedure altogether fitting
in God, as the constant guide and goal of the universe. This propo
sition must have been most difficult of acceptance for the readers of
the epistle, to whom the ignominious death of Jesus seemed irrecon
cilable with his exalted Messianic office. The writer finds the key
to the mystery in the evident necessity that the Son should share in
the nature and experiences of the other sons whom God is bringing
unto glory through him as leader.
n. For. In explanation of the application of the name sons to
those saved through Christ, and, more fundamentally, in explanation
of the whole proposition of vs. 10. He that sanctifleth. I.e., the
Son. Of one. I.e., sprung from one parent. The emphasis is upon
the unity of nature existing between the many sons and the Son.
For which cause. Because of this common nature, the Son calls
the many sons his brothers. 38

LXX. Isa. 8 : 18

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 2 : 15
tifieth and they that are sanctified are all "of one:
"for which cause he is not ashamed to call them breth-
12. ren, saying,
I will declare thy name unto my brethren, Ps. 11 ¦. 11
"In the midst of the * congregation will I sing thy
praise.
13. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, isa. 8:17
Behold, I and the children 2 which God hath given me.
14. Since then "the children are sharers in °3 flesh and
blood, he also himself "in like manner "partook of
the same; "that through death he 4 might bring to
nought him that 5 had the power of death, that is,
15. "the devil; and 4 might "deliver "all them who through
1 Or, church 3 SV whom 3 Gr. blood and flesh. * Or, may s Or, hath
12. The words of Ps. 22 are often used by New Testament writers
of Jesus, who himself uttered the opening words of this psalm upon
the cross; Mark 15 : 34. The early Christians interpreted the psalm
Messianically, as here. In the midst of the congregation. I.e.,
publicly. 13. These quotations, Messianically understood by the writer,
further exhibit the Son's participation in the lot of men, first in the
trust in God which he, like them, exercises, and second in his sub
mission, along with those of like origin, to God's will.
14. The children; i.e., Christ's brethren, God's sons, as they
are called above. Flesh and blood. Expressive of man's mortal
nature, which was shared by Christ. In like manner; i.e., with
them. Partook of the same. Shared their mortal life. That
through death. Christ's participation in human nature had this
purpose, that through death he might overthrow the dominion of
evil over men. How he did this the writer shows elsewhere. " Christ
delivers from the fear of death by dying as a sinless one " (Bruce).
The devil. The devil's sway is exercised in the realm of death
(Davidson). 15. Deliver. This participation of Christ in the direst experi
ence of his brethren robs it of its terror, and frees them from the fear
which has hitherto enthralled them to the Lord of Death. All . . .
who. Those who realize, as dying men, their bondage to death and
the fear of it. 39

2 : 16 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
isa. 41:8, 9 t6. For "verily not 1 of angels doth he "take hold, but he
17. taketh hold of "the seed of Abraham. "Wherefore
"it behoved him in all things to be made like
Ps. 32:2a unto "his brethren, that he might 2be a "merciful
and "faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God, "to make propitiation for the sins of "the
18. people. °3 For i in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, "he is able to succour them that are
tempted.

1 SV to angels doth he give help but he giveth help to etc. 3 SV become 3 Or, For
having been himself tempted in that wherein he hath suffered * Or, wherein

16. Verily. Better, of course. Take hold. I.e., help. It is
not to angels, beings with no fear of death, that he extends his aid.
The seed of Abraham; in Paul's sense: If ye are Christ's, then
are ye A braham's seed, Gal. 3:29. Christian believers, heirs of
Abraham's faith, are the objects of the succor which Jesus brings.
17. Wherefore. I.e., because of his purpose to help men. It
behoved him. I.e., he was bound, by the conditions of his task, to
participate throughout in the experience of mankind. His breth
ren. A reminiscence of the quotation in vs. 12. Merciful, i.e., com
passionate. Faithful. Suggesting the Godward aspect of his priestly
task. The writer's distinctive interpretation of Jesus as high priest
is here first introduced. His human experience prepares him to be
a compassionate minister for men. To make propitiation. The
duty of the high priest in Judaism. The people. An Old Testa
ment term for the congregation of Israel, here applied, like " the seed
of Abraham " above, to Christian believers.
18. For in that, etc. Rather, For because he himself has been
tempted in that which he suffered. He is able. Equipped through
his experience of the temptation to shun the suffering met in the
path of duty, to sympathize with those who, like his readers, are
tempted to fall away from their divinely appointed tasks.

40

II. Christ the Son Greater than Moses the
Servant, and his Rest Superior to that
ushered in by Joshua, 3: 1-4: 13
1. Christ and Moses, 3 : 1-6 3 : 3
3. "Wherefore, "holy brethren, partakers of "a heavenly
calling, "consider the "Apostle and "High Priest of
2. "our confession, even Jesus; "who was faithful to "him
that °x appointed him, "as also was Moses in "all 2 his
3. house. "For he "hath been counted worthy of more Num. 12:7
' Gr. made. a That is, God's house. See Num. xii. 7.
1. Wherefore. I.e., in view of the whole argument thus far,
especially the conception of Jesus as a faithful high priest. Holy
brethren recalls the designation of believers as sanctified, 2: 11, and
as Christ's brethren, 2:12. A heavenly calling. A call to the pos
session of heaven. The contrast of the heavenly with the earthly,
so characteristic of the epistle, begins now to appear. Consider.
Better, observe. Apostle. I.e., ambassador, commissioner. The
reference is to the " sending " of Moses, Ex. 3 : 10. High priest.
These titles the writer applies to Jesus, as the highest in the Old
Testament religion. Our confession. The religion that we pro
fess. 2. Who was faithful. Better, as being faithful, i.e., that he was
faithful; already affirmed in general of Jesus in 2 : 17. Him that
appointed. God. The same word " made " is used of appointing
the apostles, Mark 3 : 14. Appointed him. I.e., an apostle. As
also was Moses. The commissioner of our religion does not fall
short of the commissioner of the old even in that faithfulness in which
Moses so excelled. All his house. I.e., God's house. Christ as
well as Moses had to do with all God's house.
3. Jesus not only equals Moses in his faithfulness in his equally
comprehensive task ("in all God's house"); he surpasses him in
dignity, as the creator of the house to which Moses belonged. For.
Introducing the ground of the previous exhortation, consider.
41

3:4 EPIST " _ 1 
glory than Moses, by so much as he that D1 built "the
4. house hath more honour "than the house. "For every
house is 'builded by some one; "but he that 'built
Num. 12:7 5. all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful
in all 2his house as a servant, "for a testimony of
those things which were afterward to be spoken;
6. "but Christ as a son, over 2his house; "whose
house are we, "if we hold fast our boldness and the
glorying of our hope firm unto the end.
1 Or, established 3 That is, God's house. See Num. xii. 7
Hath been counted worthy. And hence enjoys. The emphasis
is upon his state of dignity, not upon the attainment of it. Built.
I.e., built and equipped. The house. In the sense of house and
household, including the servants of it. Than the house. Moses,
as created, is part of God's house, his world, or church. The Son
is of more glory than the whole house, much more than a member
of it. Thus the Son, as creator, stands far above Moses in glory and
honor. 4. For every house. A general remark, suggested by the ex
pression built the house used above. Every house has an immediate
builder, just as the church had in Christ. But he that built. Back
of all builders is God, the ultimate creator of all, who through Christ
made the worlds, 1:2, and the church, 3:3.
5. Moses, with all his faithfulness, was but a servant in the house
in which Christ is the Son. It was as a servant that Moses was
faithful; cf. Num. 12:7. For a testimony. To bear witness to
the things that were to be said, that is, later, by Christ himself. The
witnessing of Moses subordinates him, and the revelation of which
he was the representative, to the loftier revelation to which he as a
servant pointed.
6. But Christ. Sc. was faithful. Christ was faithful in a loftier
and more responsible relation than Moses, presiding as Son and heir
over God's house. Whose house. Or, and we are his house.
Christian believers are preeminently the house of God. In this the
writer's thought of the transient and provisional nature of Judaism
and the superiority of Christianity is again reflected. If we hold
fast. His readers are in danger of loosening their hold upon the
boldness and boasting of their hope. He reminds them that they
must hold their Christian hope steadfast unto the end.
42

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 3 : i°
Warning against apostasy and unbelief, and consequent
failure to attain the Rest of God, 3 : 7-4 : 13
"Wherefore, even as "the Holy Ghost saith,
"To-day, "if ye shall hear his voice, Ps 95: 7-«
"Harden not your hearts, "as in the "provocation,
Like as in the day of the D1 temptation in the wilder
ness,
°2 Wherewith your fathers tempted me "by proving me,
And saw my works "forty years.
"Wherefore I was displeased with "this generation,
And said, They do 3alway "err in their heart:
' SV trial ' SV Where i SV always

The moral failure of the Hebrews due to unbelief, 3: 7-19.
7. Wherefore. I.e., in view of the promise of v. 6. The Holy
Ghost saith. The words of the Old Testament are appropriated by
the writer, as a warning needed by his readers. The LXX form of
it, which is here in general followed, departs from the Hebrew in some
points. To-day. In contrast with the day of temptation in the
wandering long before. If ye shall hear. Hearing God's voice
carries with it the responsibility of heeding it. In the Hebrew, this
clause is a wish: Oh that ye would hear.
8. Harden not your hearts. I.e., into unbelief and indifference.
" Provocation and temptation are translations of the Hebrew Meri-
bah and Massah, proper names in the Psalm, though having this
meaning" (Davidson). For the incidents referred to, see Ex. 17:
1-7; Num. 20:1-13; Deut. 33:8. As. 5c, your fathers did.
Provocation. I.e., of God. Temptation. I.e., the trying of God.
These events fell the one near the beginning, the other toward the
close of the wilderness wandering.
9. Wherewith. Better, where. By proving. I.e., by putting
to the proof. As here quoted, the passage means, Where your fa
thers for forty years tried my works by putting them to the proof, and
saw them. Forty years suggests the unreasonable prolongation of
this incredulous testing; although the fathers saw the works, they
continued to test them. Forty years in both Hebrew and LXX lim
its I was displeased, as in vs. 17.
10. Wherefore. Because of this prolonged incredulity. This.
43

3 : « EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 
But they did not "know "my ways ;
n. clAs I sware in my wrath,
2 They shall not enter into my "rest.
12. "Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in
any one of you an evil heart "of unbelief, "in falling
13. away from "the living God: "but exhort one another
day by day "so long as it is called To-day; "lest any
one of you be "hardened by the "deceitfulness of sin:
14. for we are become "partakers 3 of Christ, if we hold
1 SVm So * Gr. If they shall enter. 3 Or, with
LXX reads that; the generation in the wilderness is meant. Err.
I.e., wander, suggestive of spiritual wanderings akin to their wander
ings in the wilderness. Know. That is, either understand, or learn.
My ways. Ignorance or dislike of which caused their wandering
in heart. That thought is here repeated in negative form.
11. As connects the oath with the anger reflected in it; I was an
gered with this generation . . . even as I sware in my wrath. The
psalmist's reference is to Num. 14: 21-23, 28-35- Rest. Used as
in Deut. 12: 9: The rest and inheritance which Jehovah thy God
giveth thee; i.e., the promised land, and the security anticipated
there. This quotation, 3:7-11, serves as a text for the warnings
and admonitions that follow, 3: 12-4: 13.
12. Take heed. The writer applies the warning of the psalm to
his readers. Many scholars connect this with the Wherefore of vs. 7,
making 7b-i 1 parenthetical. Of unbelief . I.e., an evil, unbelieving
heart. In falling away. Indicative of the content of the previous
expression, i.e., the unbelieving heart will manifest itself in apostasy
from God. The, living God. A favorite designation with the
writer (cf. 9 : 14; 10:31; 12: 22), as with Paul, and strongly suggest
ing that it is a lapse not into Judaism, but paganism, that threatens
the readers.
13. But. In contrast with neglect or indifference. So long as
it is called To-day. I.e., while it is still possible to speak of To-day
— the interval of opportunity. The writer gives the To-day of
the psalmist a Christian sense, viz., the fleeting present age preceding
the Messianic era. Lest any one of you. The clause gives either
the purpose or the content of the exhortation which the writer enjoins.
Hardened. Echoes the Harden not of the psalmist, vs. 8. Deceit-
fulness of sin. The sin of unbelief threatens them in disguise.
14. Partakers of Christ. I.e., either sharers in the Christ or
44

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 3 : 16
fast "the beginning of our confidence firm "unto the
15. end: "while it is said,
To-day, if ye shall hear his voice, Pb- 95 '• 7, 8
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16. "For "who, "when they heard, "did provoke? "nay,
did not all they "that came out of Egypt "by Moses?

partners of the Christ ; the latter meaning is the more probable, in
view of the writer's representation of Christ as leader and brother.
Participation in this partnership is conditioned on steadfast adher
ence to the faith they have professed. The beginning of our con
fidence. The conviction and assurance which we felt at the begin
ning of our experience. Unto the end. The readers of the epistle
are in grave danger of growing cold and weary amid their trials and
disappointments. 15. The first couplet of the quotation is here repeated, with direct
application to the readers addressed. The warning of the psalmist
is now applied directly to them. While it is said. The verse may
be connected with the preceding, We are partners . . . if we hold
fast; as it is said, If ye shall hear his voice to-day, etc.; or it may
be regarded as independent; While it is called to-day, i.e., while the
interval of opportunity still continues, . . . harden not your hearts.
The latter is the more probable, and the verse thus resumes the ex
hortation of vs. 13, leaving vs. 14 a parenthesis. The exhortation
that no one be hardened which the readers are told to give each
other, vs. 13, is here made directly to them in the very words of the
psalm. 16. This and the following verses in a. series of questions point
the lessons of the Israelites' moral failure, and find a parallel between
their condition and that of the readers. For. The writer defends
his bold application of this sinister warning to the believers addressed;
they are not so unlike those Israelites of old who fell victims to un
belief and apostasy. They doubtless thought themselves in no such
dire peril. Who. Just who were these provokers of God, whose
sin and fate have become proverbial? When they heard; better,
although they heard. The readers, too, have heard God's voice.
Did provoke. Referring to the provocation mentioned in the psalm.
Nay, did not all. They were not a few, but a multitude, a whole
generation. The conduct of one's fellows may be no sound criterion
of the will of God. That came out of Egypt. All these apostates
had started for the Promised Land with Moses, just as the readers
have set out for the better country; a suggestion that the Christian
profession once made is no guarantee against subsequent moral

3 : 17 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
17. And with whom was he "displeased "forty years?
Num. 14:29 was it not with them that "sinned, "whose 'carcases
18. fell in the wilderness? And "to whom sware he that
they should not enter into "his rest, but to them that
19. were disobedient? And we see that "they were not
able to enter in because of unbelief.
4. "Let us fear "therefore, lest haply, "a promise being left
1 Gr. limbs; SV bodies
failure. By Moses. These men had at first been believers in
Moses, and had followed him forth from Egypt. A striking parallel
is thus instituted between the Israelites and the readers of the epistle,
yet so skilfully and tactfully as to make offence impossible.
17. The next step in the moral failure of the Israelites; their
provocation incensed God through forty years. The writer is tracing
the steps through which Israel came to be excluded from the Promised
Rest. Displeased. Better, incensed, wroth. Forty years. Here
connected, not as in vs. 9 with saw my works, but as in the Hebrew
and LXX, with I was displeased. Sinned. Herein lay the occasion
of God's wrath and the key to the fate of the Israelites. It was
against them as sinners that his wrath was directed. Whose car
cases fell. Their fate, declared in Num. 14: 29, is mentioned here
in dreadful proximity to the fault which caused it. Dying in misery
and disappointment, their bodies had been left behind unburied in
the desert, all through their sin, which had incensed God against
them. 18. The final step in the history that is being traced; God in his
anger swore that they, as disobedient, should never enter into his
Rest. To whom. The question, like the others, fixes attention on
the persons who incurred God's curse; they were no others than
those _ who disobeyed. His rest. As above, the inheritance, the
Promised Land of security and ease.
19. From this survey the writer concludes that the moral failure
of Israel was due to unbelief. They were not able. Their failure to
reach the promised rest in Canaan was at bottom owing simply to
unbelief, which manifested itself in disobedience and the provoking
of God by continually putting him and his works to the proof.
The rest unattained by the Hebrews awaits believers, who have
need of redoubled diligence to secure it, 4: 1— 13.
1. The lesson and warning are drawn from the fate of Israel.
Let us fear. We dare not be too sure of our inheritance, because
46

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 4 : 3
of entering into "his rest, any one of you "should seem
to have "come short of it. "For indeed we have had
01 good tidings "preached unto us, "even as also they:
but "the word of hearing "did not profit them, because
°2 they were not united by faith with them that heard.
°3 For we °4 which have believed do enter "into that
rest; even "as he hath said,
As I sware in my wrath, Pa. 95 : n
5 They shall not enter into "my rest :

1 Or, a gospel 3 SV, with some ancient authorities, reads it was. 3 Some ancient
authorities read We therefore. * SV who s Gr. If they shall enter.

we have heard a gospel and set out in faith for the better country,
for so did they. Therefore. In view of the similarity of their early
condition to ours. A promise being left. Or, although a promise
is left. The promise, unattained by them, is still valid and open,
but on the old terms and penalties. His rest. The rest as used in
the psalm and in Deut. 12:9 denoted the Promised Land. As here
used, however, it has a larger meaning, viz., salvation conceived as
participation in the eternal rest of God, akin indeed to the rest long
before promised to the Israelites, but far grander. Should seem.
Rather, should be found, i.e., in the forensic sense of being convicted.
Come short. Fallen short of attaining it.
2. For. Introducing the ground of the apprehension just ex
pressed. Good tidings. Better, a gospel. Preached. As the
Israelites had heard his voice, so these believers have heard it in the
gospel. Even as they. The writer does not hesitate to say that
the Israelites had a gospel preached to them. This gospel concerned
the promised rest. The word of hearing. Or, the word which
they heard. Did not profit; to hear was not enough, and is not
enough for us. They were not united. Lit., mingled, blended.
The more probable reading is, it, i.e., the word heard, was not united.
There was no vital appropriation of the word of God which they
heard, and this was due to want of faith, by which alone such appro
priation could be effected. Cf. 3: 19.
3. The affirmation here made about Christian believers is similar
to that made in 3:6, We are God's house. For. The writer sup
ports the claim of vs. 1, that a promise of entering into the Rest of
God is still open and valid. Which have believed. I.e., in Christ.
Into that rest. Christian believers have a share in the ideal rest

4 : 4 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
although "the works were finished from the foundation
4. of the world. "For "he hath said "somewhere of the
Gen. 2:2 seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh
5. day from all his works ; and in this place "again,
ps. 95 : " 0l They shall not enter into my rest.
1 Gr. // they shall enter.
long since promised and still open to possessors of faith. Vss. 3b-io
supply the proof of this proposition. As he hath said. The words
of the psalm, as used here, prove that there is a rest, and that it has
not been attained (Westcott). My rest. The following clause
shows that the rest is here understood in connection with that rest of
God into which he entered when, after creation, he rested from all
the works which he had made, Gen. 2:2. The works. I.e., the
creative activities mentioned in Gen. 2:2 as made and completed.
The completion of the works, ushering in the divine rest, shows
that the rest exists, and the failure of the Israelites to enter it is
not due to any unreadiness on the part of the rest or of God. From
another point of view, " that creation-rest does not exhaust the
idea and promise of rest " (Bruce). This suggests that the offer
of rest to the Israelites, especially as it was not taken advantage
of, did not exhaust God's purpose of giving rest to his people.
The divine purpose of rest-giving transcends not only the first but
the second of these rests as well.
4. For. In support of this view of the divine rest the account of
creation is appealed to. He hath said. God or the Holy Spirit is
thought of by the writer as speaking in scripture, cf. 3: 7; 10: 15.
Somewhere. In Gen. 2 : 2, but the writer does not interrupt his
argument to cite the book, which he doubtless knew as Genesis.
That God has provided a rest and has himself entered into it is es
tablished for his argument by this passage.
5. Again. The writer places beside the passage quoted stating
the establishment of a rest, another which shows that the Israelites
did not enter upon it. The difference between the two rests does not
disturb him, since he conceives the greater to include the less, or
rather both to be but parts in a grander divine purpose of providing
rest for all who will lay hold of it through faith. They shall not
enter. That God swore this in his wrath shows the writer that his
purpose had been that they should enter, and that as they have
failed to meet God's conditions of entrance, the rest provided must
still be awaiting appropriation.
6. The promise of rest, forfeited by the Israelites, holds over, since
48

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 4 : 8
6. Seeing "therefore it remaineth that "some should enter
thereinto, and "they to whom "' the good tidings were
"before ' preached failed to enter in "because of disobe-
7. dience, "he "again "defineth a "certain day, 2 saying "in
David, "after so long a time, "To-day, 3as it hath been
before said,
To-day if ye shall hear his voice, ps. 95 : 7,
Harden not your hearts.
8. For if °4Joshua had given them rest, he would not
1 Or, the gospel was a Or, To-day, saying in David, after so long a time, as it
hath been, etc. 3 SV even as hath been said before. + Gr. Jesus.
God's intention was that men should share that rest with him. There
fore. In view of the two passages just quoted. Some should enter.
The readiness of the rest, and God's purpose that men should share
it, are not to be disappointed; some are to be found to enter the
rest. They to whom. The wilderness-generation of Israelites.
The good tidings were. Better, a gospel was. The writer con
ceives the revelation of Moses to have been a gospel, a welcome
declaration of God's will. Before. In contrast with the genera
tion to which the gospel of Christ was presented. Because of dis
obedience. As shown in 3 : 18.
7. He. God, or the Holy Spirit, speaking in scripture. Again.
This had before been done at the time of the Exodus. Defineth.
Or, appoints. A certain day. With this should be connected
the phrase To-day. Thus : He again appoints u. day, To-day,
saying, etc. In David. The writer, like other ancient readers
of the Old Testament, ascribed the Psalms to David. In the LXX
this psalm has the name of David in its title, but not in the Hebrew.
After so long a time. I.e., as intervened between the Exodus and
the writing of Ps. 95. To-day. The renewal of the invitation to
the rest which is implied in the words of the psalm implies that the
rest is still available.
8. The renewed invitation to the rest shows that the generation
which took possession of Canaan did not fully realize God's purpose
of giving rest to his people. Joshua. The readers might have
rejoined, that while the wilderness generation indeed forfeited the
rest of God, i.e., the inheritance in Canaan, their posterity under
Joshua certainly achieved it. The writer seeks to anticipate this
objection, pointing to God's renewal through the psalmist of the
invitation to share in the rest, as evidence that the rest has never

4 : 9 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
9. have spoken "afterward of another day. "There re
maineth "therefore "a sabbath rest for "the people
10. of God. "For "he that is entered into "his rest hath
Gen. 2: a himself also rested from his works, as God did from
11. his. Let us "therefore "give diligence to enter "into
been fully realized and appropriated by men, as God intended.
Afterward. The psalm, written long after the days of Joshua and
naming To-day as a time for hearing God's voice and accepting his
promised rest, shows that more had been intended by God's earlier
invitations than mere residence in Canaan.
9. The proposition here arrived at by the writer importantly
supports his assertion in vs. 3, We who have believed do enter into
that rest. There remaineth. Since the promise of rest has never
hitherto been thoroughly appropriated or fulfilled. Therefore;
in view of the argument of vss. 3b-8. A sabbath rest. Gk. a
sabbatism; by substituting this word for the one hitherto used for
rest in the epistle, the writer connects the promised rest more dis
tinctly with the rest entered upon by God on the seventh day (Gen.
2:2). Such a sabbath rest as God himself enjoys is in store for the
faithful, obedient, persevering people of God. It is, therefore, not
mere repose after toil and care, but in some degree a participation
in God's blessedness. Under the form of this rest, or sabbath rest,
it must be remembered, the writer is setting forth the Messianic
salvation, the highest good, the goal of existence. The people of
God. In itself this expression may apply to the Jewish people of
old, but as used here its primary application is to Christian believers;
cf. 3:6; 4:3-
10. For. In explanation of the remarkable identification just
made of the rest reserved for the people of God with the sublime
sabbath rest entered upon by God after creation, the writer points
out the inward propriety of this identification. He that. The
reference is not primarily to Christ, but is general; whoever. His
rest. I.e., God's rest. Those who enter into God's rest do so after
a certain creative activity, not wholly unlike that of God himself,
and thus their rest is properly such a sabbath rest as God himself
enjoys. While the writer's argument seems at some points curious
and fanciful, he is here shaping the sublime thought that God's
ideal for man's destiny far transcends all feeble human settings forth.
11. The writer turns from his argument to exhort his readers to
profit by its lessons. The constant practical purpose underlying the
epistle again shows itself. Therefore. In view of the considerations
advanced in vss. 2-10. Give diligence. Be strenuous, exert our
selves. Into that rest. The writer has shown that it is available
5°

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 4 : 12
that rest, that "no man fall 1 after "the same example
12. of disobedience. "For "the word of God is "living,
and active, and "sharper than any two-edged sword,
and piercing even to the dividing of "soul and spirit, of
both "joints and marrow, and "quick to discern the
1 Or, into Gr. in.
for the people of God and that believers do enter it, 4:3, 9. The
great salvation (2:3) has been described as dominion over the world,
2: 5-8, as deliverance from death, 2: 14, 15, and now as participa
tion in the sabbath rest of God, 3:7-4:10. No man. This
individual feeling characterizes many of the writer's warnings, cf.
3:12; 4:1. The same example of disobedience. Following
his general plan of finding types of Christian experience in Hebrew
history, the author urges that the readers, who, like the Israelites,
have heard a gospel, and set out for a better country, must be on their
guard, lest, like them, they glide into unbelief and disobedience, and
finally forfeit the promised rest and incur the wrath of God. The
sin of the Israelites is described as disobedience here as in 3: 18
and 4:6. It is implied that the temptation of the readers of the
epistle is substantially identical with that of the Israelites, viz., to
refuse to recognize God's voice and hand in the world about them
and in their own experience.
12. For. The following vss. enforce the exhortation just given.
The impossibility of deceiving or escaping the word of God is first
emphasized. The word of God. Not in a personal sense, i.e.,
Christ, but in the comprehensive sense of all God's expression of
himself to men, in scripture, in experience, in Christ, and in direct
spiritual appeal. The word of God which the readers hear and
must heed is especially meant. Living, and active. This revela
tion principle, here almost personified, is described as living and
vigorously operative; it is not dead or inert. Sharper. Sharpness
is predicated of the divine word or Logos by Philo, but in a different
sense, that of cutting or carving the universe out of chaos, in creation,
and of dividing material from immaterial, etc. Of soul and spirit.
Not of soul from spirit, but capable of severing both. By soul and
spirit the whole mental being of man is meant. Of joints and
marrow. The piercing word is irresistible; nothing can resist it or
turn it aside; it shears through soul and spirit, as the keen sword
through flesh and bone. The figurative is in this description blended
with the actual, yet in such a way as to heighten the effect. Quick
to discern. Rather, critical, discriminative, judge of. Thoughts
Si

4 : 13 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
13. "thoughts and intents of the heart. And "there is no
creature that is not manifest in his sight : but all things
are naked and "laid open before "the eyes "of him
with whom "we have to do.
and intents. Considerations and conceptions of the heart; others,
the impulses {motives) and reflections.
13. The word has been described as vital, vigorous and searching;
its resistless universal survey is now set forth. There is no creature.
Not a creature is unseen by the word, which having been spoken of
as capable of judging, is now personified. Yet some would under
stand that God is meant throughout the verse. Laid open. Or,
laid bare, i.e., at his mercy. The idea of defencelessness attaches to
this word, which seems to come from the wrestling school. The
eyes. Fresh emphasis upon the all-beholding vision of the word.
Of him. I.e., probably, of the word, although some would under
stand the eyes of God to be meant. We have to do. Gk., we have
the account, reckoning, i.e., we have to reckon. The two verses present
an overwhelming reenforcement of the warning not to fall into Israel's
disobedience.

52

III. Christ above Aaron and all Earthly High
Priests, the Final, Eternal, Sinless, Oath-
attested hlgh priest after the
Order of Melchizedek,
4 : 14-7 : 28
1. Exhortation (serving as transition and introduction), 4:15
to hold fast and to approach God with boldness,
conscious of the presence with him of a sym
pathetic and potent high priest,
4: 14-16
14. "Having "then a "great high priest, who hath "passed
through the heavens, Jesus "the Son of God, let us
15. "hold fast "our confession. "For "we have not a
high priest that "cannot be touched with the feeling
14. Having. I.e., since we have. Then. Or, therefore. The
fearful thought of responsibility to the all-seeing word gives way
to the more hopeful and reassuring reference to the great high priest.
The rigorous and resistless word inspires fear; the great high priest,
hope and love. The writer returns to a conception of Jesus already
twice mentioned, 2: 17; 3:1, but as yet undeveloped in the epistle.
Great distinguishes this high priest from ordinary holders of that
office. Passed through the heavens. And so entered the very
presence of God, as the earthly high priest passed through the veil.
Jesus' passage through the heavens shows his incomparable supe
riority to these Jewish high priests. The Son of God. A title of
dignity already dwelt upon by the writer in contrasting Jesus with
Moses and the angels, 1 : 1-3 : 6. Hold fast. The writer loses no
opportunity to enforce practically the lesson of steadfastness and
faith to which all his argument is directed. Our confession. I.e.,
that which we profess.
15. For. Introducing a ground for this holding fast. We
have not. The writer sets out boldly to meet possible objections,
that Christ, as without sin, or as sublime Son of God, can have no
real sympathy with frail, struggling men. Cannot be touched,
53

4 : 16 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points
1 6. "tempted like as we are, yet "without sin. Let us
therefore "draw near with "boldness unto the "throne
of grace, that we may "receive mercy, and may "find
grace to help us in time of need.
2. Christ a true High Priest by his divine appointment
and his human experience, 5 : 1-10.
5. "For every high priest, "being taken from among men,
is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that
2. he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: "who
can "bear gently with the "ignorant and erring, "for that
etc. Better, cannot have sympathy with our weaknesses. Tempted
like as we are. I.e., tried in like manner. Jesus' full experience
of human trial qualifies him to sympathize with his brethren. With
out sin. His perfect withstanding of the test accredits him as the
perfect high priest.
16. A new exhortation, based upon the character and experience
of the great high priest and our relation to him. Draw near. I.e.,
in worship and petition. Boldness. Confidence, possible through
the presence of the great high priest. Throne of grace. God is
thus indirectly described, with especial emphasis upon his sublime
dignity (the throne) and his benign purpose (of grace). Receive
mercy. I.e., in forgiveness and restoration. Find grace. Spirit
ual strength and encouragement for further tasks are secured in the
consciousness of God's gracious favor.
1. For. This sympathetic, representative quality possessed by
Jesus is necessary to the high priestly function. Being taken.
Better, is taken from among men and is appointed. The high priest
is in a twofold sense representative of the men for whom he minis
ters. The tone of this whole passage strongly suggests that it is
addressed to persons with little acquaintance with high priests and
their duties, and thus accords well with the Roman destination of
the epistle. The model high priest is at once man himself and he
is appointed in men's behalf. He does not appoint himself; he is
taken and is appointed. The writer leaves room for the divine call,
which is the controlling thought in this passage.
2. Who can. Better, and lie can. Bear gently with. Or,
feel gently or leniently towards. Ignorant and erring. For such
S4

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 5 : 5
3. he himself also is "compassed with infirmity; and "by
reason thereof is bound, as for the people, so also for
4. himself, to offer for sins. And "no man taketh the
honour unto himself, but when he is called of God,
5. even "as was Aaron. So "Christ also "glorified not
himself "to be made a high priest, but "he that spake
unto him,
Thou art my Son, P». 2:7
This day have I begotten thee:
only, and not for wilful sinners, does the high priest make atonement.
This Old Testament idea seems to have had strong influence upon
the writer. For that. The high priest's capacity for leniency is
due to his own consciousness of frailty. Compassed with infirmity.
A bold figurative expression, enveloped with weakness.
3. By reason thereof. Better, because of it, i.e., the infirmity.
It is the high priest's own weakness that leads to his offering
for himself as well as for the people for whom he ministers. Cf.
Lev. 16 : n-14.
4. No man taketh. The call of God is necessary to make a man
high priest, as already implied in the passive verbs used in vs. 1. As
was Aaron. Ex. 28 : 1; Num. 18 : 1. The case of Aaron is cited
in illustration of the principle just stated. The writer here develops
the second and more important thought of the paragraph, the divine
call to the high priesthood. In all these references to the high priestly
office it is clear that there is no thought of the hard and ambitious
men who in the first century held that office in Jerusalem; the writer's
interest is rather in the ideal of the office as set forth in the Law.
His indifference to later, almost contemporary, Judaism is shown
in his noble picture of the ideal high priest, so different from the high
priests of the last years of the temple service. Cf. Josephus, Antt.
15 : 2, 3; 20 : 8, 9.
5. Christ. Better, the Christ. Glorified not himself. He
did not arrogate the office to himself, or seek it. To be made. The
infinitive here " defines more closely the content of the action of
the previous verb" (Burton). He that spake unto him. Sc,
did so glorify him. Without naming God as calling him to be high
priest, the writer designates him as the speaker of Ps. 2 : 7, already
quoted in 1 : 5. That acknowledgment of the Messianic Son is now
made to preface the acknowledgment of the Messianic priest, quoted
from Ps. no, from which the words Sit thou at my right hand have
been already quoted, 1 : 13; cf. 1 : 3.
SS

5 : 6 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
6. as he saith also in another place,
Ps. no : 4 Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.
7. "Who in "the days of his flesh, having offered up "pray
ers and supplications with strong crying and tears
unto him that was able "to save him 'from death,
8. and "having been heard for his godly fear, "though he
was a Son, yet "learned obedience by the things which
9. he suffered; and having been "made perfect, he be
came unto all them that "obey him "the 2 author of
1 Or, out of a Gr. cause.
6. This Messianic oracle supplies the text for the central portion
of the epistle, the eternal Melchizedek priesthood of Christ. As
used in the Old Testament it forms part of an address to the Messianic
king, the language of which has already been freely applied by the
writer to Christ.
7. Who. Better, and he, i.e., Christ. The days of his flesh.
I.e., his life upon earth. Prayers and supplications, with strong
crying and tears. The agony in Gethsemane is before the writer's
mind. The tears are not mentioned in the gospel accounts of that
event. To save him from death. Cf. Mk. 14 : 36, Remove this
cup from me. Having been heard. It is implied that his prayer
was in some real sense answered; perhaps in the resurrection from
the dead.
8. Though he was a Son. That is, already a loyal and obe
dient Son. Learned obedience. Came into further and deeper
experience of obedience through the increasing difficulty of obeying,
as his prescribed tasks grew more and more difficult. The high
priesthood to which he was appointed, so far from being an office
to be coveted, was one entered upon only through an arduous dis
cipline of suffering, which taxed even Christ's filial obedience. The
fact that Christ was called of God to the office is thus thrown into
high relief.
9. Made perfect. That is, through this discipline of suffering, as
in a similar connection in 2 : 10. Obey him. Through his own
unflagging obedience to God's call to this priestly service, Jesus is
entitled to the obedience of his followers. The author. Lit., cause.
Eternal salvation. An expression found in Isa. 45 : 17. The
thought here is quite in line with that of 2 : 10.

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 5 : 12
10. "eternal salvation ; "named "of God a high priest isa. 45 : 17
"after the order of Melchizedek. Ps- "° : 4
3. Complaint and Rebuke of the Readers' Backwardness
coupled with Warning and Encouragement,
5 : 1 1-6 : 20.
11. "Of 1whom we have "many things to say, and hard
of "interpretation, "seeing ye "are become dull of
12. "hearing. For "when "by reason of the time ye ought
to be "teachers, ye have need again 2 that some one
1 Or, which a Or, that one leach you which be the rudiments
10. Named. Or, since he is saluted. Of God. The emphasis
continues to rest upon the fact that Jesus was called by God to the
high priestly task. After the order of Melchizedek. And hence
qualified to provide enduring, eternal salvation, whereas the high
priest after Aaron's order could make only a temporary atonement,
which had to be oft-repeated. The Christ has been said in the psalm
to be priest forever, after Melchizedek's order. He who is priest
forever brings eternal salvation.
The spiritual immaturity and sluggishness of the readers, 5: 11-6:3 •
11. Of whom. Better, and about him, i.e., Christ, as Melchize
dek priest, or Melchizedek as a type of Christ. Many things to
say. More exactly, what we have to say is considerable. Interpre
tation; here rather expression. What the writer has to say is hard
to express intelligibly to the readers. Seeing. Rather, Since.
Are become. The writer speaks of them as in their second child
hood, their dotage (Bruce). These are not simply the limitations
of infancy and childhood. Hearing. Lit., ears. By these reproofs
the writer seeks to move the readers to attend closely to his exposi
tion of the priesthood of Christ.
12. When. Better, although. By reason of the time. The
readers have long since been evangelized, and a long Christian ex
perience already lies behind them. Teachers. In view of their
opportunity and experience. This rebuke is evidently addressed
to a church especially privileged and yet slow to come to a realiza
tion of its duty to teach, — a characteristic impossible to harmonize
with Jerusalem as the destination of the letter. Of the first prin
ciples. Lit., of the beginning. The rudiments of the beginning
57

5: 13 EPISTL_ _ .„~ ^^^..^
teach you the rudiments "of the * first principles of
"the oracles of God; and are "become such as have
13. need "of milk, "and not of "solid food. For every one
that partake th of milk is °2 without experience of "the
14. word of righteousness; for he is a "babe. But solid
food is for 3 full-grown men, even those who by reason
of use have their senses "exercised to discern good
and evil.
6. "Wherefore 4 let us °5 cease to speak of the first princi-
1 Gr. beginning. a SVm inexperienced in. 3 Or, perfect * SV leaving the doc
trine of the first principles of Christ, let us s Gr. leave the word of the beginning of
Christ.
means the beginning-rudiments, i.e., the first principles. The usual
rendering is pleonastic. The oracles of God. Ordinarily equiva
lent to the Old Testament scriptures, but here probably to be taken
in the sense of elementary Christian instruction. That the failure
of the readers lies here is further shown by 6:1. Become such as
have need. Better, come to require. Of milk. The food of in
fants, representative of their spiritual and intellectual immaturity.
Cf. 1 Cor. 3 : 2. The writer has spoken of them above as in their
second childhood; here they appear as infants in good earnest.
And. Not part of the text, and so to be omitted. Solid food.
Such as the writer desires to give them. The readers are taxed with
having no stomach for lofty, exacting Christian thought, having
habituated themselves to the simplest, easiest notions only.
13. Without experience. The taking of milk marks one as a
babe, and so of course inexperienced. The word of righteousness.
A general expression, discourse on righteousness, but with especial
reference to Christian teaching. Babe. Not, as in Jesus' teaching,
a synonym for simplicity and receptiveness, but as in Paul, for igno
rance and inexperience.
14. This picture of experienced and discriminating maturity
is designed to rouse the readers to throw off their infantile habit of
mind and rise into the thought and stature of Christian manhood.
Exercised to discern. Cf. the reproof given the disciples by Jesus,
for their unreadiness to practise discernment in the matter of cere
monial cleanness, Mk. 7 : 18.
1. Wherefore. I.e., since it is high time the readers were having
the solid food, for which they are old enough, and for which they
must show themselves mature enough. Cease. Better, leave alone.
58

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6 : 4
pies of "Christ, and "press on unto perfection; not lay
ing again "a foundation of repentance from dead works,
2. and of faith toward God, 2 of the teaching of °3 baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of "resurrection of the
3. dead, and of eternal judgment. And "this will we do,
4. "if God permit. "For as touching those who were once
1 Or, full growth a Some ancient authorities read, even the teaching of.
3 Or, washings
In spite of the unfortunate immaturity of his readers, the writer
declines to take up with them the mere elements of Christian faith.
Christ. Better, the Christ. Press on unto perfection. Rather,
move on toward maturity, i.e., such discourse as becomes the full-
grown. A foundation; the writer shows what he means by the
rudiments of Christian teaching, in the three groups that follow :
repentance and faith, baptism and laying on of hands, resurrection
and judgment. Dead works can hardly refer to former obedience
to Jewish law, but rather suggests former wrong doing, now repented
of. Repentance and faith are often placed together in the New Testa
ment as the basis of Christian life; cf. Mk. 1:15, etc.
2. Baptisms, . . . laying on of hands. The natural sequels of
repentance and faith, since in baptism the convert made profession
of his faith, and through the laying on of hands received the gift of
the Spirit. Cf. Acts 2:38; 8:12, 17, etc. Resurrection . . .
judgment. The believer's outlook, under which he was to live (Da
vidson). These elements constituted the subject of the evangelistic
as distinct from the edifying preaching. The outline comports alto
gether better with Gentile than with Jewish recipients.
3. This will we do. The writer is in these three verses primarily
stating his own present intention of proceeding with a difficult teach
ing, despite their unreadiness for it; but his underlying purpose is
to stimulate his readers to attend and accept it. If God permit.
Taken in connection with what follows, these words suggest the
writer's apprehensiveness that possibly for some of his readers his
admonition may already be too late; they may have fallen away, vs.
6, or at least grown so dull and senile as to be incapable of being
roused to Christian manhood. The words give a touch of added
solemnity to the warning that follows.
The fearful consequences of apostasy, 6:4-8.
4. For. In explanation of the apprehension suggested in the
last words; or, as others hold, of the writer's intention to neglect
mere foundation matters, since any who had given them up would
59

6 : 5 EPIS:

j. j.xjj iiojiiivij w u

"enlightened x and "tasted of "the heavenly gift, and "were
5. made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and 2 tasted "the
good word of God, and the "powers of the age to come,
6. and then "fell away, it is "impossible to renew them again
unto repentance ; °3 seeing they crucify to themselves the
Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Gen. 1 : n, •/. For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft
upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose
8. sake it is also tilled, receive th blessing from God : but if
1 Or, having both tasted of . . . and being made . . . and having tasted etc. a Or,
tasted the word of God that it is good 3 Or, the while
be indifferent to a new presentation of them. Enlightened. Re
ceived illumination; often used of the initial Christian experience;
cf. John 1:9; Eph. 1:18; and Heb. 10:32. Justin Martyr, ca.
150 a.d., connects it with baptism, Apol. 61, which he calls illumi
nation. Tasted of. Better, tasted. The heavenly gift. Forgive
ness of sins, or, possibly, the gift of the Spirit, like the following.
Were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. I.e., had received the
Spirit. The emphasis is here upon the initial experiences of the
Christian, the learning of the first principles of Christ.
5. The good word of God. The gospel, or perhaps the promises
in general. Powers of the age to come. The mighty works every
where represented as attending the early acceptance of the gospel are
probably meant. These are viewed as a foretaste of the state of
things to be enjoyed in the coming Messianic Age.
6. Fell away. A reference to persons belonging to the church
addressed who have actually apostatized is very probable here. The
description of these lapsed persons strongly suggests a time of perse
cution, such as that under Nero or Domitian. Impossible to renew
them. The warning against apostasy is put in the sternest, most
uncompromising form. If, after all the blessed and delightful expe
riences of Christian faith, men fall away, their case is hopeless, and
it is vain to pursue them with the old preaching of first principles.
Seeing they crucify . . . afresh. That is, their renewal is impos
sible because they practically recrucify Jesus, and hold him up to
ridicule and disgrace. Apostasy implies practical assent to the rejec
tion and murder of Jesus.
7, 8. This dreadful sentence upon the lapsed is supported by an
analogy from nature presented in a little parable. Well-watered
land which is fruitful is blessed, but well-watered land which pro-
60

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6 : 10
it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh Gen. 3 : 17,
unto a curse ; "whose end is to be burned. l8
"But, "beloved, we are persuaded "better things
of you, and things that cl accompany salvation, "though
we thus speak : "for God is "not unrighteous "to forget
"your work and the love which ye shewed "toward
his name, in that ye "ministered unto the saints, and

1 Or, are near to: SVm belong to

duces only thorns and thistles is cursed and fit only to be burned
over. Whose end. Better, and its end. While the parable is left
uninterpreted, its application is plain.
Encouragement in view of the readers' good works and God's oath-
attested promises, 6 : 9-20.
9. But. The tone changes to mildness and commendation, and
a more hopeful view of the readers' condition is taken. The writer
will not believe that any of them are near the apostasy he has so
terribly depicted. Beloved. Used in this place only in the epistle,
as though in reaction from the preceding rebuke and menace. Bet
ter things. Than the barrenness and apostasy just described. Ac
company. Better, belong to. Though we thus speak. The writer
feels that in his anxiety to warn the readers most effectively, he has
gone further than he intended, and than their condition justified. He
adopts therefore a conciliatory, almost apologetic tone.
10. For. He is encouraged to this belief by the recollection of
their Christian helpfulness and love, still displayed as of old. Not
unrighteous. A strong way of declaring God's satisfaction in such
work. To forget. Their service of love is such as God delights
to remember, and evidences their salvation. Your work. Spiritu
ally immature as the readers are, they have known hard and faith
ful Christian service. Toward his name. I.e., toward those who
bear his name. Ministered unto the saints. This recalls Paul's
interest in collections for the poor saints in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8 : 4,
etc.), and sufficiently distinguishes the readers from any Palestinian
congregation. The service here commended is probably a larger
work, of Christian helpfulness to brethren in poverty, sickness, prison,
or slavery, in their own district or beyond it. The readers have an
enviable record in this regard. No church of the first century had
greater opportunity for such service than the Roman church, or
responded more nobly to it. Cf. Acts 28 : 15.
61

6 : n EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
u. still do minister. And we desire that each one of
you may shew "the same diligence "unto the 1 fulness
12. of hope "even to the end: that ye be not "sluggish, but
"imitators of them who through "faith and "patience
"inherit "the promises.
13. "For when God "made promise to Abraham, since
he could swear by none greater, "he sware "by him-
Gen. 22 : 17 14. self, saying, Surely "blessing I will bless thee, and
1 Or, full assurance
1 1 . The same diligence : as was shown in their work and love. Unto
the fulness of hope. I.e., to keep their hope of the coming Messi
anic kingdom (Rom. 13 : 11) strong and confident. Even to the
end. Here appears again the writer's underlying fear that they may
tire out and give up the Christian struggle before the return of Christ.
12. Sluggish. It is the inner spirit of hope and faith that the
writer is seeking to quicken. Imitators of them who through
faith. Cf. 13 : 7, Imitate their faith. A notable list of such heroes
is given in ch. 11, and a conspicuous pattern of such faith, Abraham, is
presented in the next verse. Faith. Not, as in 6 : 1, that early faith
which introduces one into the kingdom of God, but that attitude of
trust and dependence which enables one to live in the present enjoy
ment of the heavenly world. In Hebrews " Faith denotes a faculty
of the human mind whereby it can make the future as if it were pres
ent, and the unseen as if it were visible " (Bruce). Patience. I.e.,
in awaiting the fulfilment of the divine promises. Inherit the
promises. This expression has two forces : to witness and enjoy the
ultimate actual fulfilment of a promise, and to have such participation
in constant and certain prospect. The latter is the sense here, and
who . . . inherit the promises may be rendered, who are heirs of the
promises. The promises. Those of the Old Testament, as summed
up in the salvation wrought by Christ and now on its way to full
accomplishment. 13. For. In support of the exhortation to hope, vs. 11, God's
convincing endorsement of the promises is recalled. Made promise
to Abraham. This great leading promise to Abraham is taken as
representative of God's attitude toward the promises in general. He
sware. This attestation of the promises by oath should encourage
hope in them. By himself. Cf. Gen. 22 : 16, By myself have I
sworn, saith Jehovah.
14. Blessing I will bless. A Hebraism meaning I will greatly
62

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 6 : 18
15. "multiplying I will multiply thee. And thus, "having
16. patiently endured, he "obtained the promise. "For
men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of
17. theirs "the oath is final for confirmation. "Wherein
God, "being minded to shew more abundantly unto
the heirs of the promise the "immutability of his
18. "counsel, 01 interposed with an oath: that "by two
immutable things, in which it is impossible for God
to lie, "we may have a strong encouragement, "who
have fled for refuge "to lay hold of the hope set
1 Gr. mediated.

bless. Multiplying, etc. Or, I will greatly multiply. The promise
made to Abraham after his supreme exhibition of faith in the offer
ing of Isaac.
15. Having patiently endured. It is as a pattern of such per
severance in faith that Abraham is introduced here. Obtained the
promise. Abraham, after a life of faith, actually witnessed the be
ginning of the fulfilment of this promise, in the birth of his grand
sons Jacob and Esau. Gen. 21 : 5; 25 : 7, 26.
16. For. In explanation of vs. 13, He could swear by none greater.
The oath is final. The oath puts the statement it confirms beyond
dispute. 17. Wherein. Rather, Therefore. Being minded. Wishing,
desiring. Immutability. Unalterableness. Counsel. Purpose, de
sign of salvation. Interposed. Came between himself and Abra
ham, as it were, in his condescension swearing, like a mere man, by
himself, as God. It is God's condescension that is here emphasized,
as a moral argument for faith in his promises. If he has thus conde
scended in attesting his promises, how certain we may be of their
fulfilment. 18. By two immutable things. God's promise and his oath.
God's moral nature guarantees his promise as unchangeable. His
condescension in deigning to attest his promise with his oath makes
his word no surer, but does add to the grounds of faith by showing
God's deep and exceeding interest in his promise and its acceptance,
since he has been pleased to go to the length of swearing to it. We
may have a strong encouragement. To be connected directly
with to lay hold of the hope set before us. The purpose of
63

6 : 19 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
19. before us; "which we have as "an anchor of the
soul, a hope both "sure and stedfast and "entering
Lev. 16 •. a, 20. into that which is within "the veil ; "whither "as a fore-
12 runner Jesus • entered for us, having become a high
ps. no : 4 priest "for ever "after the order of "Melchizedek.
this act of condescension was to encourage faith in the promises.
Who have fled for refuge. Used absolutely; We refugees.
Christian believers.
19. Which. Sc. hope. An anchor. Holding the soul safely
and steadily in times of storm, as an anchor holds a ship at its moor
ings. Sure and stedfast. Taken by most interpreters with an
chor, although the connection with hope, as in the text, is quite as
likely. Entering. To connect this, as most interpreters do, with
the anchor seems grotesque, and hence the preceding adjectives sure
and stedfast are probably to be taken with hope, as in the text. The
Christian hope enters into the place within the veil, the Most
Holy place, the very presence of God, i.e., heaven, whither he went
after his resurrection. With this statement the writer recalls the
thought to the sanctuary and the priest who ministers there, last
mentioned in 5 : 10. The veil. The curtain which separated the
Most Holy place from the Holy place, in the tabernacle and in the
temple. In the analogy the Holy place would mean heaven and the
veil all that which separates the spiritual from the sensuous world.
20. Whither. Into the presence of God. As a forerunner.
The bold application of this term to Jesus is a notable element in
this epistle, and carries with it the most important implications,
especially in connection with the presentation of Jesus as high priest,
since it shows that he enters the divine presence not as a substi
tute for his brethren, but as their forerunner. They are themselves
to follow into that very presence. A high priest . . . after . . .
Melchizedek. As in 5 : 10. The writer now returns to the argu
ment there interrupted by his complaint of the dulness and imma
turity of his readers. The retransition from his digression, 5:11-
6 : 20, to his argument is effected with his usual skill, the mention of
the veil and the high priest recalling the thought to the last point
reached in the argument. The remarkable digression, in addition to
its primary purpose, has value as relieving the course of the argu
ment, which otherwise might have seemed to wane in interest
because of its length and difficulty. It must be remembered, however,
that the epistle is written for practical purposes, and the argument
thus exists for the admonition, not the admonition for the argument.
For ever. As in the prophecy, 5 : 6. The high priesthood of
Christ is not temporary, like Aaron's, but is for all time.
64

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7 : 3
4. The Melchizedek Priesthood of Jesus, 7 : 1-28.
7. "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Gen. 14:17-
Most High, who met Abraham returning from the 3C
2. slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also
Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by
"interpretation, "King of righteousness, and then also
3. King of Salem, which is, "King of peace; "without Gen. 14:18
father, without mother, without genealogy, having
The priestly dignity of Melchizedek, 7 : 1-10.
1. For this Melchizedek. The writer resumes at length the dis
cussion of the Melchizedek high priesthood of Christ, which he has al
ready touched uponin2 : 17; 3 : 1; 4 : 14, and entered upon in 5 : 1-10.
These verses present all that is said of Melchizedek in Genesis, in
language drawn from Gen. 14 : 17-20. The only other Old Testa
ment reference to him is Ps. no : 4, which constitutes the text for
this whole discussion. He is not mentioned in the New Testament
except in Hebrews, nor in the Apostolic Fathers. Philo, however,
says something of him, and in a way not wholly unlike that of the
writer. Thus, " God made Melchizedek the king of peace, that is,
of Salem, for that is the interpretation of this name, his own high
priest," etc., On Allegories of the Sacred Laws, ch. 25. See ap
pended Note, p. 125.
2. Interpretation. I.e., translation. King of righteousness.
So the Hebrew name may be translated. King of peace. In seek
ing further to fill in the vague outlines of the figure of this ancient
priest-ldng, the writer translates not only his name but the name of
his city, Salem, perhaps Jerusalem (Ps. 76:2), but more probably
Saleim near Scythopolis (John 3 : 23). Salem may be translated
peaceful. Cf. Philo, " Melchizedek, the king of peace ... a just
king," On Allegories of the Sacred Laws, 25. It is not to Philo, how
ever, but to Ps. 110:4 that the writer is indebted. In translating these
names the writer goes beyond the LXX, which of course simply
transfers them into Greek letters. These suggestions of righteous
ness and peacefulness, as well as the royal dignity of Melchizedek,
cast a certain radiance about his figure very much to the writer's pur
pose. 3. Without father. The utter detachment of the figure of Mel
chizedek, his ancestry being altogether unknown, presents a contrast
to ordinary hereditary priesthoods. The writer here uses the silence
of the Old Testament as argument, as does Philo at times. He
f 6s

7:4 EPISTLE T'U Triii ±irii$REwa
"neither beginning of days nor end of life, but "made
Ps. no: 4 like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually.
4. Now consider "how great this man was, unto whom
Gen. 14 : 20 Abraham, "the patriarch, "gave a tenth out of the
5. chief spoils. And they indeed "of the sons of Levi
that receive the priest's office have commandment to
take tithes of the people according to the law, that is
"of their brethren, though these have come out of the
6. loins of Abraham : but he whose "genealogy is not counted
Gen. 14 : 19 from them hath taken tithes of Abraham, and hath
would have his readers understand that here is a priest of God, so
recognized by the patriarch Abraham, who, as a recognition of his
superiority, paid him tithes out of his spoils, who owes his priesthood
not to his descent but to the worth of his own personality. Neither
beginning of days nor end of life. As no mention is made in his
tory of the birth or death of Melchizedek, he appears, as far as the
narrative goes, as a deathless figure, a priest forever, as the writer
understands the psalmist to mean. Here again the writer argues
from the silence of the Old Testament, but more especially he is
under the influence of the psalmist, whose words (Ps. no : 4) under
lie this whole argument. Made like unto the Son of God. The
hints of royalty, peace, righteousness, originality, and eternity thus
attaching to the figure of Melchizedek, combine to make a figure
like to no one but the Son of God.
4. How great. The greatness of the priest-king Melchizedek is
here dwelt upon, particularly as compared with the Levitic priest
hood, to show the dignity and worth of the non-Aaronic priestly order
to which the psalmist referred the Messiah. The patriarch. Sug
gesting the greatness and dignity of Abraham, as father of tribes
and a hero of old. Gave a tenth. Thus acknowledging the supe
rior priestly dignity of him to whom he gave this tithe. The giving
of the tenth was virtual admission of the priestly office of Melchize
dek. 5. Of the sons of Levi. The Levitic priests who take tithes of
their brethren are introduced by way of contrast with Melchizedek,
to show the superior dignity of his priesthood and to anticipate the
possible objection that the Levitic was the original regular divinely
ordained priesthood. Of their brethren. Men descended, like
themselves, from Abraham.
6. Genealogy is not counted. Though unconnected with the
line of Aaron, Melchizedek received tithes, and from one greater than
66

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7:11
7. "blessed him that hath the promises. But without
8. any dispute "the less is blessed of the better. And
"here "men that die receive tithes; but "there one,
9. of whom it is "witnessed that he liveth. And, "so
to say, "through Abraham even Levi, who receiveth
10. tithes, hath paid tithes; for he was yet in the loins
of his father, when Melchizedek met him.
n. "Now if there was "perfection through the Levitical
priesthood ("for under it hath the people received the
the Levites themselves, Abraham, their ancestor, the friend of God,
the receiver of the promises, from which all Israel's privilege ulti
mately sprang. This point is important for the argument as to the
priesthood of Jesus, who was not of Levitical descent, and might thus
be thought to have no claim to priestly office. As a Melchizedek
priest, however, he is shown to belong to an earlier, nobler order, ac
knowledged as true by the great patriarch himself. Blessed him.
Abraham, great as he was, acknowledged the superiority of Mel
chizedek, not only by paying him tithes, but by accepting his blessing.
7. The less is blessed of the better. Abraham therefore ad
mitted inferiority to Melchizedek in accepting his blessing. The
greatness of Melchizedek is thus established.
8. Here. In the case of the Levitical priesthood. Men that
die. Mortal men, who die and transmit their priestly office to others.
There. In the case of Melchizedek. Witnessed that he liveth.
Not expressly in scripture, but implicitly, in the silence of the Old
Testament as to his death. As in vs. 3, the silence of the Old Testa
ment is treated as prophetically significant. Melchizedek's priest
hood is not resigned to another but remains permanently his.
9. So to say. As if in apology for the suggestion. Through
Abraham even Levi. Abraham is here conceived as an embodi
ment and representative of his posterity, in a way not unnatural to
the "Jewish mind, especially with the imaginative and poetic bent
of the writer. The argument exhibits the Melchizedek priesthood
as superior to the Aaronic in originality, in dignity, and in enduring
quality. The Messianic Priesthood of Melchizedek's order, proclaimed by the
Psalmist, is realized in Jesus, and altogether excels the Aaronic
Priesthood, superseding the Old Law and the Old Covenant, 7 : 11-25.
11. Now if. Continuing the argument by suggesting a condition
contrary to fact. Perfection. In the sense of perfecting, making
perfect. The Levitical priesthood has not fully succeeded in bring-
67

7 : 12 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
Ps. no : 4 law), what further need was there that "another priest
should arise after the order of Melchizedek, and "not
12. be reckoned after the order of Aaron? For the
priesthood "being changed, there is made of necessity
13. "a change also * of the law. For "he of whom these
things are said 2 belongeth to "another tribe, from
which no man hath "given attendance at the altar.
14. For it is evident that our Lord hath "sprung out of
Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake "nothing con-
15. cerning priests. And what we say is "yet more abun-
1 Or, of law a Gr. hath partaken of. See ch. ii. 14.
ing men to God, for the psalmist prophetically proposes another
priesthood. For under it. The Levitical priesthood is recognized
as fundamental in Judaism, and underlying its legal system. An
other priest. The Messianic priest who has been proclaimed by
the psalmist. Not . . . after the order of Aaron. The psalm
ist's words practically supersede the Aaronic priesthood, and for no
other possible reason than that it had proven inadequate to make
perfect. The institution of the new order implies the inadequacy of
the old Aaronic order.
12. Being changed. By the psalmist's words to the Messianic
priest. A change also of the law. Modification of the funda
mental matter in the Law, the priesthood, prepares us for other
changes in it, such as the transference of the priesthood from Levi
to Judah. The writer is comparing Judaism and Christianity in
terms of priesthood. Each is essentially a priesthood, Judaism a
transient Levitical order, of proven inadequacy, Christianity a Mel
chizedek priesthood, enduring and effectual.
13. He of whom. Jesus, of whom, as Messiah, the psalmist
prophetically spoke. Another tribe. Judah, as in vs. 14. Given
attendance. Officiated as priest.
14. Sprung out of Judah. The writer evidently knows of Jesus'
Davidic descent, which is reflected in the earliest Christian belief,
Rom. 1:3; Mark 10 : 47, 48. Nothing concerning priests. A
priest from Judah is, from the point of view of Moses' law, an in
novation. The oracle from Ps. no thus implies and indeed estab
lishes the inadequacy of the old priesthood, and invalidates the Law
at an essential point.
15. Yet more abundantly evident. The superiority of the
68

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7 : 10
dantly evident, if after "the likeness of Melchizedek
16. there ariseth "another priest, who "hath been made,
not "after the law of a carnal commandment, but after
17. "the power of an 1 endless life: for "it is witnessed
of him,
Thou art a priest for ever ps- "<> : 4
After the order of Melchizedek.
18. "For "there is "a disannulling of a foregoing command
ment "because of its weakness and unprofitableness
19. ("for the law made nothing perfect), and "a bringing
1 Gr. indissoluble.
Messianic priesthood is shown by its enduring character, contrasting
with the transient nature of the old. The likeness of Melchizedek.
As described in vss. 1-3. Another priest. Jesus.
16. Hath beenmade. Lit., has become, i.e., become priest. After
the law of a carnal commandment. Better, By law of fleshly, i.e.,
physical, statute. The Levitical priest took office as eldest son of a
priestly father, of proper physical descent from Levi through Aaron,
and free from physical defect. His priesthood was thus liable, like
all things physical, to dissolution, and hence transient. The power
of an endless life. Or, By power of indissoluble life. In this phrase
" power " is in contrast to " law," above, " indissoluble," to " phys
ical," and " life " to " statute." The superiority of the Messianic
priestly appointment is everywhere seen. It is by virtue of the might
of enduring life. He is high priest forever, while the Levitical priest
hood by its very transitoriness is again convicted of inferiority and
inadequacy. 17. It is witnessed. The testimony of the psalm which is at
the bottom of this whole argument, is again quoted, the emphasis
being on the words For ever. The Messianic priest has been declared
priest for ever. His is the enduring and final priesthood.
18. For. In support of this interpretation of the oracle just
quoted. There is. Better, takes place, i.e., in this prophetic utter
ance of the psalmist. A disannulling, etc. Better, An abrogation
of a previous statute, viz., that ordaining an Aaronic priesthood. Be
cause of its weakness, etc. The old priesthood, as maintained
above, failed to perfect men, in bringing them near to God. Cf. vs. 11.
19. For. This parenthesis serves to buttress the bold statement
that the priesthood statute was weak and disadvantageous, by ex-
69

7 : 20 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
in thereupon of "a better hope, through which "we
20. draw nigh unto God. "And inasmuch as it is not
21. without the taking of an oath (for "they indeed have
been made priests without an oath; "but he "with an
oath 1 by him that saith 2 of him,
Ps. uo : 4 The Lord sware and "will not repent himself,
Thou art a priest for ever) ;
22. by so much also hath Jesus become the "surety of "a
23. better 3 covenant. "And they indeed have been made
1 Or, through a Or, unto 3 Or, testament
tending the criticism to the whole law, which the writer views as pro
visional, accommodated, and typical. A bringing in thereupon.
The psalmist's prophecy has two implications : the abrogation of the
old, imperfect statute, and the introduction and substitution of a
new and better hope. A better hope. Than was conferred by
Judaism. This thought of the better hope and covenant dominates
the later part of the epistle. We draw nigh unto God. In this
affirmation is involved the conclusion of the writer's argument for
Christ as priest and forerunner, through whom we obtain access to the
very presence of God. The great salvation is a better hope, through
which we draw near to God. This is the high point of the epistle.
20. And inasmuch. Correlative with By so much, vs. 22. Vs. 21
is parenthetical. That Christ's priesthood and covenant are better
than the old is shown by the fact that they are solemnly oath-at
tested : The Lord hath sworn and he will not repent, Thou art a priest
for ever. The new covenant is superior to the old in this quality of
being oath-attested, and is as far superior as that implies.
21. They indeed. The Levitical priests. But he. The Mes
sianic priest. With an oath. The appointment must be of an
extraordinarily solemn and momentous kind to be so weightily at
tested. The writer thus lays hold of every element in the prophetic
oracle to point the superiority of the Messianic priest over the Leviti
cal. The former is ideal, perfect, eternal, and oath-attested. Will
not repent. The new priesthood is therefore unalterable.
22. Surety. Guarantor. A better covenant. The writer's
verdict of inferiority, passed first upon the old priesthood, has ex
tended to the old Law and now at length to the old covenant. The
covenant for which Jesus is surety is a better one, as his oath-at
tested priesthood shows.
23. A final point of superiority for the Messianic priest; he is
70

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 7 : 26
priests many in number, because that by death they
24. are hiridered from "continuing: "but he, because he
"abideth "for ever, 1hath his priesthood °2 unchangeable.
25. "Wherefore also he is able to save °3 to the uttermost
them that draw near unto God through him, seeing
he "ever liveth to "make intercession for them.
26. For such a high priest "became us, "holy, "guileless,
"undefiled, "separated from sinners, and "made higher

1 Or, hath a priesthood that doth not pass to another a Or, inviolable 3 Gr. com
pletely.

one, not many. And they indeed. The Levitical priests. We
may render, They in numbers have become priests. In Judaism one
priest followed another, and thus the high priesthood was a disjointed
thing, without real unity or continuity. Continuing. That is,
remaining priests.
24. But he. Christ, the Messianic priest. Abideth. Re
mains priest. For ever. As declared in the psalm. Unchange
able. Rather, untransferable. As he continues priest forever, he
never has to give way to a successor, and his priestly office never
passes to another. To the other superiorities of the Messianic priest
must therefore be added the untransferableness of his office.
25. Wherefore. Such a priestly office as has been described,
especially as being eternal and untransferable, enables its possessor
to give the great salvation already spoken of, 2:3. To the utter
most. Utterly, absolutely, in all respects. Here is that completing,
perfecting quality which was wanting in the Levitical system and
the Law. Ever liveth. His eternal existence carries with it con
tinual priestly service. Make intercession. This ever-ready inter
cession constitutes Christ's eternal priestly service, and reveals its
complete and perfect character.
The supreme efficacy and dignity of Christ's priesthood, 7 : 26-28.
26. A triumphant summary of the greatness of the ideal Messi
anic priest. Became us. Our needs demanded such a high priest.
Holy. In his relation to God, i.e., Godly. Guileless. In his rela
tion to men, toward whom he is without offence. Undefiled. And
hence unobjectionable as priest. Separated. Better, removed, i.e.,
in his heavenly exaltation, far from the soiling presence of the sinful.
Made higher. Or, Become higher, with reference to his exaltation
as Son, 1 : 3, to God's right hand, where, in the heavenly sanctuary,
7i

2 :7

7 : 27 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
27. than the heavens; who "needeth not "daily, like those
high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first "for his own sins,
and then "for the sins of the people: for this he did
28. once for all, when he offered up himself. For the law
appointeth men high priests, having infirmity; but
Ps.^uo : 4; the word of the oath, which was after the law, ap
pointeth a Son, perfected for evermore.
his priestly intercession is direct and continual. From every point
of view he proves the perfect, ideal high priest.
27. Needeth not. Since he is holy, guileless, undefiled, and re
moved from sinners to the presence of God. Daily, like those high
priests. It is not strictly true that the Levitical high priest had
daily to offer sacrifice, first for his own sins and then for the people's.
That was the usage of the Day of Atonement, once a year. The
writer here blends that high priestly ministration with the daily
priestly service. For his own sins. The repetition of the old offer
ing was due in part to the imperfection of the priests who offered it;
hence with the disappearance of the imperfection, the repetition, too,
may be expected to vanish. For the sins of the people. Yet it is only
in part that it is due to priestly imperfection, for an offering is made
for the people too. Without a recurring offering, how are their sins
to be atoned for? Such an atonement, the writer replies, he made
once for all, when he offered up himself. In this clause the writer
discloses the inmost heart of Christ's priestly service, his sacrifice
of himself, in his life of devotion on earth, and most signally in his
death on the cross. His ideal priesthood culminates in this tremen
dous fact. For himself he has no need to offer; and for the people
he has made the supreme offering in dying for them.
28. The contrast between the two priesthoods is finally and con
vincingly pointed. On the one hand, the Law, with its appointment
of men; on the other, the oath-attested oracle, ordaining a Son; on
the one hand, beings of infirmity; on the other, one perfected for
evermore, i.e., ideally fitted by character and elevation for priestly
service. In these last elements, the Messianic priesthood has clearly
transcended its Melchizedek prototype.

72

IV. Christ's High Priestly Service, carrying
with it the New Covenant, is infinitely
better than theirs (which was but the
Shadow), in its Heavenly Sanctuary,
its Sacrifice of Himself, and its
Eternal Efficacy, 8 : i-io : 39
1. The New Priesthood implies the New and Better Cove- 8 : 1
nant, 8 : 1-13.
8. l Now 2 in the things which we are saying "the chief
point is this: We have "such a high priest, "who sat Ps.no: 4
down "on the right hand of "the throne of the Majesty
2. "in the heavens, "a minister of 3 the sanctuary, and of
"the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
1 Or, Now to sum up what we are saying: We have etc. a Gr. upon. 3 Or, holy
things i. The chief point. Better, Now to crown what we are saying
(Rendall). Such a high priest. As we needed and as has been
described. Who sat down. Better, And he has taken his seat. In
the heavens should be connected with this clause, not with Majesty.
On the right hand of the throne of the Majesty, cf. i : 3. This
picture of the exalted station of the Messianic priest prepares the
way for the writer's next thought, the immeasurable superiority of
his priestly ministry to that of Aaron.
2. A minister. Better, as minister; to be connected with He
has taken his seat, vs. 1. The true tabernacle. Throughout the
epistle the reference is always to the Tent of Meeting described in
Ex. 25-27, never the Temple of Jerusalem. The true Tent, how
ever, means not the Tent of Meeting, but the heavenly pattern of it
shown to Moses in the Mount, Ex. 25 : 9, 40, and hence described
here as that which the Lord pitched, not man. That is, Christ min
isters in that original, archetypal, heavenly sanctuary, of which the
Tent of Meeting was a rude copy or even shadow (vs. 5).
73

8 : 3 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
3. For "every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts
and sacrifices: wherefore it is necessary that this high
4. priest also "have somewhat to offer. Now if he were
"on earth, he "would not be a priest at all, "seeing there
are those who offer the gifts "according to the law;
5. who serve that which is a "copy and shadow of the
heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when
Ex. 25 : 40 he is about to * make the tabernacle : for, See, saith he,
that thou make all things according to the pattern
6. that was shewed thee in the mount. But now hath he
1 Or, complete
3. Every high priest. Since the presenting of offerings invaria
bly characterizes the high priestly office, the heavenly high priest
must have such a function. Have somewhat to offer. Attention
is recalled to the sacrifice which Christ offers, already briefly suggested
(7 : 276), but not yet fully grasped by the readers, to whom it was
doubtless an altogether novel idea. The high priest of the heavenly
sanctuary must make some offering there; what that offering is the
writer does not here say.
4. It is no earthly offering, however, since he is no earthly priest.
On earth. Whereas the ideal priest ministers in heaven. Would
not be a priest. For he belongs not to the earthly Aaronic order,
but to the heavenly Messianic priesthood. Seeing there are those.
He is not simply another earthly priest, with a similar offering and
ministry; of such there are enough. His sphere and task are differ
ent. According to the law. The legally specified offerings of the
Tent of Meeting are not to be expected from the heavenly priest.
5. Copy and shadow. The real sanctuary and service are in
heaven. Philo has a similar view of heavenly archetypes and earthly
shadow-copies. The basis for this favorite Alexandrian idea was
found in the words of Jehovah, Ex. 25 : 40.
6. Whatever the new ministry is, it may be expected to surpass
the old as much as the new covenant already mentioned surpasses
the old and the attendant promises the promises underlying the old.
The better covenant, with its loftier promises, implies some better
service for the high priest who is its mediator, i.e., establishes it.
Mediator. Christ has been mentioned above as the surety of this
better covenant, 7 : 22. He is now called its mediator, i.e., the agent
of its establishment (Bruce). 74

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 8 : a
obtained a ministry the more excellent, J by how much
also he is the "mediator of a better 2 covenant which
hath been enacted upon better promises. "For if that
first covenant had been faultless, then would no place
have been sought for a second. For 3 finding fault
"with them, "he saith, Jer. 31
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 34
That "I will 4 make a new 2 covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah;
"Not according to the 2 covenant that I made with
their fathers
In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
forth out of the land of Egypt;
"For they continued not in my 2 covenant,
And I "regarded them not, saith the Lord.

1 SV by so much as he is also, etc. a Or, testament
3 SVm Some ancient authorities read, finding fault with it, he saith unto them, etc.
« Gr. accomplish

7. For. Jeremiah's prophecy of a new covenant implies the
failure of the old, just as the psalmist's announcement of the Messianic
priesthood implies the defectiveness and prospective abrogation of
the old priesthood. The writer's bold assertion of the inferiority
of the old covenant is thus supported by the Old Testament itself.
8. With them. The blame did primarily attach to the people,
but involved the covenant as well, since it had failed to keep them
faithful to God. He saith. This oracle, the longest quotation from
the Old Testament found in the New, presents the prophetic picture
of a new dispensation, characterized by spiritual renewal and for
giveness of sin, in place of the Mosaic system of statute and ritual,
with its tendency to sunder true inward righteousness from religion.
The prophecy belongs probably to the time of the siege and capture
of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. I will make. Better, conclude.
9. Not according to. The oracle distinctly states that the new
covenant is to be unlike the old, and in this the writer finds a reflec
tion upon the old. For they continued not. The failure was in
part the people's; in part it was due to the unsuitability of the cove-
75

8 : 10 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
10. For this is the 1 covenant that 2 1 will make with the
house of Israel
After those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws "into their mind,
And on their heart also "will I write them:
And I will be "to them a God,
And they shall be to me a people:
n. And "they shall not teach every man his fellow-
citizen,
And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord :
For all shall know me,
"From the least to the greatest of them.
12. "For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And their sins will I remember no more.
1 Or, testament a Gr. / will covenant.
nant to their needs. Regarded them not. The covenant thus
failed to hold God and his people together.
io. The better promises claimed in vs. 6 constitute the further part
of the prophetic oracle. The first is the inward law. Into their
mind. Inward spiritual law is to take the place of external formal
statute. Will I write them. Of old they were written on the tables
of stone, but in the days to come these fundamental principles of
morality and religion will color the very sources of man's thought
and impulse. To them a God ... to me a people. For the
new covenant is promised just that efficacy which the old had
failed to realize.
n. They shall not teach. The minute and often non-moral
statutes of the old Law were matters of precise technical informa
tion, and might be transgressed in all innocence and righteous in
tention, so that godly minded men had to be painfully taught by
priest and scribe the " Knowledge of Jehovah." All this trivial
and indifferent legislation is, the writer understands, to be done
away. From the least to the greatest. The law of God being
reduced to those great moral terms comprehended in the Decalogue,
unencumbered with the detail of ritual and ceremonial, and implanted
in the heart, will be spontaneously grasped by all righteous-minded
men, however unprivileged or unlettered.
12. The second promise is the forgiveness of sin. For. Intro-
76

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS o : 4
13. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the
first old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth
aged is nigh unto vanishing away.
2. The Better Sanctuary, Sacrifice, and Ministry, 9 : 1-28.
9. Now even the first covenant had ordinances of divine
service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary "of this world.
2. For there was "a tabernacle prepared, "the first, wherein
1 were the "candlestick, and "the table, and 2 the shew-
3. bread; which is called the Holy place. And after
"the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the
4. Holy of holies; having a golden °3 censer, and "the
ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,
1 Or, are a Gr. the setting forth of the loaves. 3 SV altar of incense
ducing the ground of the promise of the inward law just given. Free
dom from the consciousness of sin underlies and promotes knowledge
of God and access to him. God will no longer permit men's sins
to hinder this knowledge and approach.
The Christian sanctuary infinitely excels the old, 9 : 1-10.
1. In preparation for the exposition of the Messianic priest's
ministry, the old priestly ministry is described. The discussion
thus connects itself with the more excellent ministry of 8:6.
Of this world is probably to be taken predicatively with both ordi
nances and sanctuary.
2. A tabernacle. Used in general, of the whole Tent of Meeting.
The first. Used of the first or fore part of the Tent, the Holy place.
The writer speaks of it as the first tent. He proceeds to describe
its furniture, as in Ex. 25, 26, 37, 39, 40. Candlestick. As in
Ex. 25 : 31-40; 37 : 17-24. The table, and the shewbread. As
in Ex. 25 : 23-30; 37 : 10-16. The location of these objects in the
Holy place is in accordance with Ex. 40 : 22-24.
3. The second veil. The veil strictly so called. It is here called
the second veil, because another veil or curtain hung before the Holy
place, and had first to be lifted in entering the Tent.
4. Censer. Better, altar of incense, which played an important
part in the ritual of the Day of Atonement, Ex. 30 : 10; Lev. 16:
18-20. It is true this was placed in the Holy place, according to
77

9 : 5 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
wherein * was a "golden pot holding the manna, and
"Aaron's rod that budded, and "the tables of the cove-
5. nant; and above it "cherubim of glory overshadowing
2 the mercy-seat ; of which things we cannot now speak
6. severally. Now these things having been thus "pre
pared, the priests go in "continually into "the first
7. tabernacle, accomplishing the services; but "into the
second the high priest alone, once in the year, not
without blood, which he "offereth for himself, and for
1 Or, is a Gr. the propitiatory.
Ex. 30:6; 40: 26. But it is incredible that this most important
object should have been omitted by the writer, and no such censer
as the other interpretation demands is known to have formed part
of these furnishings. Philo has a similar understanding as to the
place of the incense altar, and Ex. 40 : 5 certainly gives some color
to his view: Thou shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark
of the testimony. On the other hand, the word having has suggested
that the writer means to point out that the incense altar, though
appertaining to the ritual of the inmost sanctuary, and standing at
the very door of it, was yet cut off from it by the interposed veil.
The ark of the covenant. The contents of the ark are described
in practical agreement with the representation of the Pentateuch.
Golden pot holding the manna. Cf. Ex. 16 : S3, 34- It is called
golden in the LXX, but not in the Hebrew. Aaron's rod that
budded. As in Num. 17 : 10, 11. Like the rabbis, the writer
understands the rod and manna to be within the ark. The tables
of the covenant. Cf. Ex. 25: 16, and 1 Zings 8 : 9.
5. Cherubim. As described in Ex. 25 : 18-22. This detailed
catalogue of furniture and emphasis upon its worth and interest
shows the writer's purpose to represent the old sanctuary at its best,
indeed as being as good as an earthly one could be.
6. Prepared. Or, furnished. Continually. Daily, morning
and evening. The first tabernacle. The Holy place is meant.
7. Into the second. The Most Holy place. Into the first,
only priests might enter, into the second only the high priest, and
he but once a year, and even then not without an offering of blood, — ¦
so far was that old ritual from giving men free and direct access to
the presence of God. Offereth for himself. Evidence of the
imperfection of his ministry, since he had to offer for himself, as the
78

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
8. the 01 errors of the people : the Holy Ghost "this signify
ing, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been
made manifest, while ' as "the first tabernacle "is yet
9. standing; "which is a 3 parable "for the time now pres
ent ; "according to which are offered both gifts and sac
rifices that "cannot, as touching the conscience, make
10. "the worshipper "perfect, being "only ("with meats and
1 Gr. ignorances. aSV om. as. 3 S V figure
Messianic high priest has no need to do. Errors. Strictly, sins
done in ignorance. Cf. Ecclus. 23 : 2, 3.
8. This signifying. The writer finds in this old service, with
its forbidden sanctuary, the divine acknowledgment that free access
to the presence of God is not yet to be had. The way into the sanc
tuary has not yet been revealed. The first tabernacle. Here,
as above, the Holy place, the first chamber of the Tent of Meeting.
Is yet standing. Better, still has standing, i.e., position, status.
The Tent of Meeting with its two compartments, the one fairly
accessible to the priests, the other practically inaccessible, spells
exclusion from the immediate presence of God, just as long as the
outer compartment, backed with the impassable veil, maintains its
present standing, as the furthest point men may freely reach in the
direction of God's presence. It comes, therefore, to appear rather as
a. bar preventing approach, than as an avenue of partial access.
9. Which. The standing is referred to. The old role or posi
tion of the Holy place was a parable, suggestive to the thoughtful
mind of its own imperfect and transient nature. For the time
now present. Better, the time being, the time then present. Trans
late, And this position was a parable for the time being. According
to which. Or, In keeping with which parable. Cannot .
perfect. In keeping with this old position of the outer chamber,
all its service of gifts and offerings was lame and ineffectual, as far
as the important matters of giving men a real sense of reconcilia
tion and nearness to God were concerned. The worshipper. Gk.
Him who ministers, i.e., the priest officiating. Not even he is
made perfect in conscience and spirit by his ministry. Or he is
perhaps thought of as representing the persons for whom he offers
as well as himself. Perfect. The failure of the old service to com
plete or perfect anything is again brought out.
10. The ineffectualness of the old offerings is natural enough in
view of their material character. Only . . . carnal ordinances.
79

n EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, im
posed until "a time of reformation.
n. But Christ having come "a high priest of * the good
things "to come, "through the "greater and more per
fect tabernacle, "not made with hands, that is to say,
12. not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of "goats
and "calves, but through "his own blood, "entered in
"once for all into the holy place, "having obtained
1 Some ancient authorities read the good things that are come.
Gk. ordinances of flesh, i.e., probably, of a material, fleshly kind.
They affected the flesh, perhaps, making it ceremonially clean, but
not the conscience. With meats. Perhaps, Resting on meats, or
Having to do with meats, etc. A time of reformation. The fleshly
character of the old ordinances and service stamped them as pro
visional. By a time of reformation, or setting right, perfecting, the
Messianic time is evidently meant. The poor and trivial character
of the old priestly ministry is thus apparent.
Christ's sacrifice immeasurably better than the old, 9 : 11-22.
11. Christ has made his way into the Sanctuary, and effected
complete and lasting redemption there. A high priest. The work
of Christ is here set forth as nearly as may be in terms of Levitical
practice. To come. Better, that are come. The blessings of the
Gospel are meant. Through the . . . tabernacle. To be con
nected with Entered in, vs. 12. Christ has come as high priest, and
has entered, through the greater tent, into the sanctuary, once for
all. Greater and more perfect. The ideal, heavenly Tent, the
pattern shown to Moses in the mount, of which the old Tent of
Meeting was a rough and shadowy copy. Not made with hands,
. . . not of this creation. It is not a material Tent, but an ideal,
heavenly one.
12. While Aaron entered the sanctuary with the blood of cattle,
the new high priest has offered up his own blood, obviously an im
measurably more precious and acceptable sacrifice. Goats. For
the people, Lev. 16 : 15. Calves. For the high priest, Lev. 16 : 11.
His own blood. That Christ was himself the victim here appears
again. Entered in. The central affirmation of vss. it, 12. This was
the better ministry of the new high priest. Once for all. His
atonement did not have to be annually repeated, as did Aaron's.
Having obtained. Better, And obtained, secured. Eternal
redemption. Not merely the temporary atonement secured by the
80

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 9 : 15
13. "eternal redemption. "For if the blood of "goats and
bulls, and the "ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that
have been defiled, sanctify unto the "cleanness of the
14. flesh: "how much more shall the blood of "Christ,
who "through 'the eternal Spirit offered himself
"without blemish unto God, cleanse °2 your "conscience
15. "from dead works "to serve the living God? And
"for this cause he is the mediator of a new
1 SVm his eternal spirit. a Many ancient authorities read our.

old high priest, but eternally lasting redemption. His service or
ministry is thus final and definitive. It thus surpasses Aaron's in
its place of performance, the heavenly sanctuary; in the attendant
sacrifice, not cattle but Christ himself; in its performance once for
all, not repeatedly; and in its eternal effectiveness.
13. For. The writer elaborates the striking contrast between
the old victims and the new. Goats and bulls. The victims on
the annual Day of Atonement. Ashes of a heifer. As prescribed
in Num. 19 for cases of uncleanness through touching the dead.
The arrangement for cleansing collective Israel from the defilement
of sin and death is covered by these two provisions. Cleanness
of the flesh. These material offerings are effective in the material
realm; they effect external, fleshly cleanness, cleansing the person
rather than the conscience.
14. How much more. The a fortiori argument. Christ.
Better, the Christ. Through the eternal Spirit. Better, through
an eternal spirit. The old victims and offerings lacked the lofty
moral quality that invested the sacrifice of Christ. The spirit of
Christ's offering elevated it above all others, and gave it its enduring
moral value. Without blemish. The word used of Levitical
victims to express physical perfection is applied to Christ, in a moral
sense. Your. Better, Our. Conscience. As the old offerings
cleansed men's persons, the new frees the conscience, the inner life,
from the sense of guilt, and the dominion of sin. From dead works.
As in 6 : 1, sinful acts. To serve. The word implies priestly ser
vice, and recalls the writer's conception of Christ as our forerunner
in the sanctuary of the divine presence. Cleansed by his offering,
we are prepared to minister to God.
15. For this cause. The better ministry just established is
now made to buttress the new covenant announced in 7 : 22; 8:6.
o 81

9 : 16 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
'covenant, that "a death having taken place for the
redemption of the "transgressions that were under
the first * covenant, they "that have been called may
16. "receive the promise of the "eternal inheritance. For
where a C1 testament is, there must of necessity 2be
17. the death of him that made it. For a D1 testament
is of force 3 where there hath been death : i for doth
18. it ever avail while he that made it liveth ? "Wherefore
1 The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament. a Gr. be
brought. 3 Gr. over the dead. + SV for it doth never . . . liveth
A death. That of Christ, to which a new meaning is now given, as
validating a will, in which sense " covenant " is presently used.
Transgressions . . . under the first covenant. Sins committed
while the old, imperfect covenant was still in force, and only super
ficially atoned by its provisions. That have been called. Whether
in former or latter times. Jewish as well as Christian saints are
included in the writer's thought. The eternal nature of Christ's
redemptive work, done through eternal spirit, made it avail for all
these. Receive the promise. That is, the fulfilment of the prom
ise. Eternal inheritance. Cf. 1 : 14; 6:12, 17. The thought
of Christ as leaving a will or testament (covenant), which becomes
operative upon his death, enables the writer to bring his death,
always most difficult of acceptance for early believers, into strikingly-
close and necessary relations with the new covenant. He thus inter
prets the covenant or contract as a testamentary covenant, i.e., a
will, the same Greek word having both forces. The writer thus
passes from a loftier to a lower view of the death of Christ, in his effort
to commend to his readers the great salvation in terms not only of
the new high priest but of the new covenant. For both conceptions,
the death of Christ, so unintelligible and offensive to the early
Christians, is shown to be essential. Christ has died, and his heirs
now enter upon that fellowship with God which he has bequeathed
to them through his will and testament. This does not, however,
exhaust the promised inheritance, the fullest realization of which is
shown elsewhere in the epistle to be still in the future.
16, 17. Testament. In the Greek, the same word as covenant
above. That Christ should die was indispensable to the operative-
ness of his testament. It could not go into force while he still lived.
The thought here is therefore not that we are joint heirs with Christ,
as Paul puts it, Rom. 8:17, but that we are Christ's heirs
82

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 9 : 22
even "the first covenant hath not been dedicated
19. without blood. For when every commandment
"had been spoken by Moses unto all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of the calves
and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop,
and sprinkled both the book itself, and all the people,
20. saying, This is the blood of the 1 covenant which God Ex. 24 :
21. commanded to you-ward. Moreover the tabernacle
and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like
22. manner with the blood. And "according to the law,
"I may almost say, all things are "cleansed with blood,
and apart from "shedding of blood "there is no
remission. 1 The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.
18. Wherefore. The necessity of bloodshedding in the type
now appears. Death is a necessary accompaniment of covenant
making. The first covenant. Here the writer returns to the earlier
and more general sense of the word covenant.
19. Had been spoken. The reference is to the scene in Ex.
24 : 3-8, although the description given there is somewhat modified
in this verse.
20. Ex. 24 : 8b.
21. As another instance of blood-sprinkling, the consecration of
the Tabernacle is mentioned. This is described in Ex. 40 : 9, where
an anointing of the Tabernacle and its furniture, not with blood, but
with oil, is prescribed. This is the most serious discrepancy in the
passage, and seems to be due to a lapse of memory on the writer's
part; but it is worth noting that Josephus records that Moses not
only used oil at the consecration of the Tabernacle, but also sprinkled
it and its vessels with blood, A ntt. 3:8-6. The writer's under
standing is thus that of the best informed Jews of his day.
22. According to the law. This phrase limits both the asser
tions made in this verse. I may almost say. Better, in general.
Cleansed with blood. The blood-sprinkling symbolized cleansing
from sin. Shedding of blood. Better, outpouring of blood. The
emphasis is not upon the slaughtering of the victim, but upon the
subsequent use of its blood. There is no remission. Better, No
remission, or forgiveness, takes place. Not referred to as a Christian
principle, but as the usage of the Mosaic Law.
«3

9 : 23 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
23. It was necessary therefore that the copies of the
things in the heavens should be cleansed with these;
but the heavenly things themselves with better sacri-
24. fices than these. "For Christ entered not into a holy
place "made with hands, like in pattern to "the true;
but "into heaven itself, now to appear "before the face
25. of God "for us: "nor yet that he should "offer himself
often; as the high priest entereth into the holy place
26. year by year "with blood not his own; else must he
often have suffered since the foundation of the world:
but now "once at "the 'x end of the ages hath he been
manifested to "put away sin °2 by the sacrifice of him-
1 Or, consummation a Or, by his sacrifice
Christ's priestly service better than the old, 9 : 23-28.
23. The writer returns to the thought of the ideal, heavenly sanc
tuary of Christ's ministry. If the mere earthly shadow-copies of
that sanctuary and its furniture had to be thus cleansed with the blood
of cattle, how much better and worthier must those offerings be
whereby the heavenly originals are consecrated. The thought of
Christ's sacrificial death here appears as the consecration-offering for
the dedication of that heavenly sanctuary. He is the better sacrifice.
24. For. In explanation of the reference to the heavenly originals.
Made with hands. A material sanctuary on earth. The true.
I.e., the ideal, original sanctuary in heaven. The writer's character
istic contrast between the original and the copy, the ideal and the
material, the heavenly and the earthly, the shadow and the substance,
reappears here. Into heaven itself. Suggestive of the grandeur
of the ministry he performs, and of the immense worth of the sacrifice
fit to be offered there. Before the face of God. Christ's entrance
as high priest into the heavenly sanctuary brings him into the very
presence of God. For us. In intercession, cf. 7 : 25.
25. Nor yet. Sc. did he enter in. Offer himself often. The
solitary sacrifice of Christ, likely to perplex the readers, is shown
to be reasonable, and eternally efficacious. With blood not his
own. As the blood was not his own, but that of some animal, the
repetition of the act was possible.
26. Had Christ's offering been repeated, he must have undergone
repeated deaths; whereas men die but once, vs. 27. Had he offered
repeatedly, it must have been some lesser offering than that which
84

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10 : i
27. self. And inasmuch as it is * appointed unto men once
28. to die, and after this cometh "judgment; so "Christ also,
having been once offered to bear the sins of many,
"shall appear a second time, "apart from sin, to them isa. 53 : 12
that wait for him, unto salvation.
3. The Final and Eternal Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice,
10 : 1-18.
10. For the law having "a shadow of "the good things
to come, not "the very image of the things, °2 they can
never with "the same sacrifices year by year, which they
offer continually, "make perfect "them that draw
1 Gr. laid up for. a SV om. they; some ancient authorities read it can.
he did make. Once. The emphasis is upon the one sacrifice, con
trasted with the many of the old high priesthood. The end of the
ages. As in 1 : 2, the end of these days. Put away. Better, bring
to nought. By the sacrifice of himself. Better, through his sac
rifice. 27. The familiar fact that man dies but once is cited in proof of
the reasonableness of Christ's offering but once, since the sacrifice
was himself. Judgment. That, and not a new existence upon
earth, is the invariable sequel of human life. How absurd then to
think of Christ's offering himself more than once.
28. Christ. Better, The Christ. Shall not indeed again live
the life of man and offer himself to God, but appear a second time,
apart from sin. Cf. 1 : 6. While other men go on from death to
judgment, Christ's future work is to fulfil, to them that wait for him,
the salvation upon which they have entered here.
1. A shadow. A word made emphatic in the Greek by being
put first in the sentence. The law had only a shadow of the full
redemption, not the redemption itself. The good things to come.
The full salvation revealed in the Gospel. The very image.
What appears to the eye fixed on the reality which casts the
shadow. They can never. Rather, Can never. The law can never.
The same sacrifices year by year . . . continually. The repeti
tion of the sacrifices, here strongly emphasized, brings out the fact
that they could not collectively, any more than individually, perfect
8S

io : 2 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
2. nigh. Else would they not have ceased to be offered,
because the worshippers, having been "once cleansed,
3. would have had no more D1 conscience of sins? "But
in those sacrifices there is "a remembrance made of
4. sins year by year. For it is impossible that the blood
5. of bulls and goats should take away sins. "Wherefore
"when he cometh into the world, "he saith,
Ps. 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering "thou wouldest not,
"But a body didst thou prepare for me;
1 SV consciousness.
their offerers. Make perfect. Cf. 7:19, The law perfected nothing.
Them that draw nigh. I.e., to offer sacrifice. Primarily the offici
ating priests, but here probably including those for whom they sacri
ficed. 2. The writer finds in the repetition only an acknowledgment
of inadequacy. If the Levitical sacrifices could have perfected the
worshippers in conscience, they would have completed their work
and ceased to take place. Once cleansed. In reality no cleansing
at all took place, except of certain offences against ritual; moral
transgressions, the only real ones, were unaffected. Conscience.
I.e., Consciousness.
3. But. On the contrary, so far from effecting the blotting out
of sins. A remembrance made . year by year. The annually
recurring sacrifice was but an annual reminder of sins committed,
unattended with any real cleansing virtue.
4. In this downright statement the writer sets forth his view of
Levitical religion. Cf. Hosea's words, quoted by Jesus, I desire
mercy and not sacrifice, Matt. 9 : 13; 12:7; Hos. 6 : 6. The writer
feels the difficulty of assigning a moral effect to a physical act.
5. Wherefore. The efficacy of Christ's sacrifice of himself
and the inefficacy of animal sacrifice explain the Messianic oracle of
Ps. 40 : 6-8. When he cometh into the world. The oracle is
understood by the writer Messianically, as expressing the spirit of
Christ in entering the world, and is used in the free, uncritical, poetic
way characteristic of the writer in dealing with the Old Testament.
He saith. That is, the Messiah. Thou wouldest not. In these
words the psalmist sets aside material sacrifice as of little worth in
the sight of God. But a body. The writer's habit of following
the LXX here gives him a widely different sense from that of the
86

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 10 : 9
6. In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou
"hadst no pleasure:
7. Then said I, Lo, "I am come
(In the roll of the book "it is written of me)
"To do thy will, O God.
8. "Saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not,
neither hadst pleasure therein (the "which are offered
9. according to the law), "then hath he said, Lo, I am
Hebrew, at least as we have it. The Hebrew reads, Mine ears hast
thou opened, and means that instead of sacrifice, obedience to the
voice of God is what he desires. The whole oracle would thus be
a setting aside of all sacrificial ritual, in favor of a life of spiritual
obedience to the will of God. As read in the LXX, however, and
quoted here, the words A body didst thou prepare for me give a differ
ent turn to the whole, which here means, not the discontinuance of
sacrifice and offering) but the substitution for them of another offer
ing, that of the body of the Messiah, which has been prepared for
him and which he gives up to the will of God. The body that is
prepared is that in which the Messiah becomes man and enters the
world, in which too he suffers, and offers to God the only effectual
sacrifice. 6. Hadst no pleasure. The Old Testament itself thus con
demns the Levitical system as incapable of pleasing God.
7. I am come . . to do thy will. I.e., in the body thou hast
prepared for me, I am come to do thy will on earth, and offer myself
as the sacrifice which alone can please thee. It is written of me.
This is the task and duty which God's law has for me. To do thy
will. To offer myself, in accordance with God's will, the only ac
ceptable and effectual sacrifice that can be made to him.
8. The writer proceeds to expound the oracle quoted. Saying
above . . . then hath he said. Better, He (the Messiah)
saith above . . . and then he said. Sacrifices . . . whole burnt
offerings. The clauses of the oracle relating to Levitical sacrifice
are here combined, to present God's unfavorable verdict upon it,
in direct contrast with the Messiah's offering, implied in the words,
Lo, I am come to do thy will, vs. 9. Which are offered according
to the law. These four groups fairly cover Levitical sacrifice. God
thus, through this Messianic oracle, disclaims the old sacrificial
ritual. 9. Then hath he said. The writer points out the prompt re-
87

io : 10 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
come to do thy will. "He taketh away the first, that
io. he may establish the second. cl By which will we
have been sanctified through "the offering of the body
n. of Jesus Christ "once for all. And "every 2 priest
indeed "standeth "day by day ministering and offer
ing "oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which "can
12. "never take away sins: but "he, when he had offered
Ps. no : i

1 Or, In a Some ancient authorities read high priest. 3 Or, sins, forever sat
down etc.
joinder of the Messiah to his own assertion of God's dissatisfaction
with the old sacrifices. It is as though he said: " O G<5d, thou hast
no pleasure in these Levitical offerings, but here am I, ready to do
thy will." It is precisely then, when the divine discontent with
Leviticalism has been most positively stated, that the Messiah offers
himself to the will of God. He taketh away the first. In this
oracle, the writer finds foreshadowed the superseding of the old
order of sacrifice by the new, eternal, only acceptable offering of
Christ. io. By which will. I.e., thy will, mentioned above. In offer
ing himself to the divine will, and doing that will, Christ has wrought
a sanctification in which his brethren now share; they are sanctified
through his once-offered sacrifice. The offering of the body.
Words taken from the oracle just quoted. Once for all. Again
the solitariness of Christ's offering is emphasized.
n. The mean, tedious, and futile character of the old ministry
is concisely put. Every priest. They were many. Standeth.
The posture of the inferior and menial. Day by day ministering.
Tedious repetition of an interminable service. Oftentimes the
same sacrifices. The ritual had to be repeated again and again,
without progress or development, a servile and lifeless task. Can
never take away sins. The climax is reached. All this tedious,
sordid formalism was futile and to no purpose, for it lacked just that
moral quality necessary to affect the sinful heart. Never. No
matter how oft repeated or long continued.
12. Contrast the Messianic priest. He. Christ. One sacri
fice . . . for ever. In contrast with the ever-repeated but never-
effectual sacrifices of the many Levitical priests. Sat down. Took
his seat, in royal state. On the right hand of God. Thus in
supreme contrast to those Jewish priests, forever busied with their
88

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS io : 16
13. right hand of God; 01 from henceforth expecting till
14. his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. For "by
one offering "he hath perfected "for ever them that
15. are "sanctified. And "the Holy Ghost also "beareth
witness to us : for "after he hath said,
16. This is the 2 covenant that 3I will make with them Jer-3» =33,
34
After those days, saith the Lord ;
I will put my laws on their heart,
And upon their mind also will I write them;
then saith he,
1 SV om. from. a Or, testament Gr. I will covenant.
trivial and revolting toil. The words are those of the psalmist,
Ps. no: 1, often before applied by the writer to Jesus, 1:3, 13;
8:1. 13. The verse completes the picture of the sublime exaltation of
the Messianic priest. His work accomplished, he awaits, in serene
dignity, the promised humiliation of his foes. From henceforth.
From the time when he took his seat. Beside such a figure, at once
king and priest, how mean and unworthy those Levite priests appear,
always busy with their petty and futile tasks.
14. By one offering. Where Leviticalism prescribed thousands
and millions, a well-nigh infinite number. He hath perfected.
As all the toil of all the priests of the old religion had failed to do,
for the law perfected nothing, 7 : 19. For ever. His offering is
final and fully adequate. Sanctified. That is, brought into cove
nant relations with God.
15. In support of the affirmation just made, vs. 14, the writer
appeals again to words of Jeremiah, quoted in 8 : 10-12. The Holy
Ghost. As in 9 : 8. Beareth witness to us. I.e., beareth us
witness, attests for us the truth of what has just been said. After
he hath said. No principal affirmation appears in the sentence
unless, as some think, it be the Saith the Lord, of vs. 16. But the real
emphasis of the citation belongs on vs. 17, so that it is probable that
a word of quotation should be supplied at that point, as in the English.
16. A comparison with the same passage as it appears in 8 : 10-12
will show that six clauses of the oracle are omitted at the end of vs.
16, the purpose being to bring the promised oblivion of sin into the
closest connection with the promise of the new covenant with its
inward law, 89

io : 17 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
17. And their sins and their iniquities will I remember
"no more.
18. Now where remission of these is, there is no more
offering for sin.

4. Exhortation to draw near and hold fast, reenforced
by solemn warnings against apostasy, and by
reminders of former heroic days, 10 : 19-39.
19. "Having "therefore, brethren, "boldness to enter
20. into "the holy place "by the blood of Jesus, "by the
way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way,
17. No more. The promise of eternal forgiveness of sin and
iniquity forms an integral part of the promise of the new covenant.
When God writes his law on men's hearts, he will forget their sins
forever. 18. This promise of eternal forgiveness and forgetfulness of sin
shows the needlessness of further sacrifice, and thus confirms the
teaching of the finality and eternal adequacy of Christ's one sacrifice,
about the far-reaching effects of which the writer seems to think his
readers may still have misgivings. Hence his appeal to this oracle,
already once used in the epistle, as showing that under the new cov
enant sins are forgiven forever, and therefore no further offerings
are to be made ; which can only mean that the offering that has been
made has eternally sufficed. Vss. 15-18 thus bring the Old Testa
ment to witness to the statement made in vs. 14, to which they con
stitute a sort of confirmatory appendix.
Exhortation to Christian confidence and steadfastness, 10 : 19-25.
19. Having. Since we have. Therefore. In view of the whole
preceding argument. Boldness to enter. In contrast with the old
prohibition against entering the sanctuary. The holy place. Of
the eternal tabernacle, i.e., the very presence of God. By the blood
of Jesus. To be connected with since we have boldness. The sac
rificial blood of Jesus enabled him to enter there, and as his sacrifice
is forever adequate, and he entered as our forerunner, we have free
access to the divine presence by his blood.
20. By the way. To be connected with to enter, vs. 19. The
sense is, Since by the blood of Jesus we have boldness for the en
trance of the sanctuary, an entrance which he dedicated for us, fresh
and living, through the veil, that is, his flesh. The figure is drawn
90

Num. 12 -. 7

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS io : 24
21. through "the veil, that is to say, his flesh ; "and having
22. "a great priest "over the house of God; "let us draw zech. 6:n;
near with a true heart in D1 fulness of faith, having
"our hearts sprinkled "from an evil 2 conscience, and
23. "our body washed with pure water: let us "hold fast
"the confession of our hope "that it waver not ; for "he
24. is faithful that promised: and let us consider one
Or, full assurance a SV conscience; and having our body washed with pure
water, let us hold fast
from the old Levitical high priest passing within the veil of the Most
Holy place, with the consecrating blood. As his entering in was
dedicated by that blood, Christ's entering, and his followers' after
him, is by his own blood. The veil, that is to say, his flesh. A
poetic touch, forceful and beautiful, but not to be pressed into undue
significance. 21. And having. As above, since we have. A great priest.
The reference now is probably to the intercessory work of the exalted
Christ; cf. 7 : 25. Over the house of God. Cf. 3 : 5, Christ (was
faithful) as a son over his {i.e., God's) house.
22. Let us draw near. The writer returns to his great practical
purpose, to stimulate his readers to lay hold of the great salvation
that is theirs, and avail themselves of that unrestricted fellowship
with God which Jesus has made possible for them. Fulness. Bet
ter, full assurance. Our hearts sprinkled. As the priests were
sprinkled of old, Ex. 29 : 21 ; Lev. 8 : 30. From an evil conscience.
The sprinkling cleanses and thus frees from the sense of sin. Our
body washed. As the priests washed before ministering, Ex. 29 : 4;
30 : 20. The reference here is probably to Christian baptism, poet
ically interpreted as a purification of the Christian priest preliminary
to his ministering to God. Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, and ,
thus cleansed from inward stain, and washed with the waters of bap
tism, and thus outwardly clean, he is ready to minister to God in the
sanctuary into which Jesus has forever opened the way.
23. Hold fast. The writer's most frequent admonition, implying
that his readers are in danger of falling away, through indifference or
persecution. The confession of our hope. Or, the confession of
hope. That it waver not. Lit., unwavering. He . that prom
ised. God. On the promises, cf. 4 : 1; 8:6; 9 : 15.
24. More exactly, Let us observe one another, for, i.e., with a view
to, provocation of love and noble deeds. The idea is not to provoke
91

io : 25 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
25. another to provoke unto love and good works; °not
forsaking 01 the assembling of ourselves together, "as
the custom of some is, but "exhorting one another;
and so much the more, as "ye see the day drawing
nigh.
26. For if we "sin wilfully after that we have received
"the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth "no. more
27. a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation
isa. 36 : 11 0f judgment, and a °2 fierceness of fire which shall
1 SV our own assembling together. a Or, jealousy
one another to love, but by observing others to stimulate one's self
to love and helpfulness.
25. Not forsaking. Or, And let us not for sake. The assembling
of ourselves together. Or, our own assembling together. As the
custom of some is. The reference is probably to the open with
drawal of some members from Christian fellowship, in which the
writer sees grave peril. Exhorting. Or, Let us exhort, encourage.
Ye see the day drawing nigh. It is implied that signs portending
the Lord's return were already to be seen. The day, used by itself
for the Messianic Day of the prophets, the apocalyptists, and the
early Christians, is unusual, but is found in 1 Thess. 5 : 4, and per
haps in Rom. 13 : 12. Early Christians lived in constant expectation
of that day, when Jesus would return to judge the world and estab
lish his kingdom, and these readers perhaps found definite tokens
of its approach in the perils threatening them.
The dreadful penalty of apostasy, 10 : 26-3-1.
26. Sin. That is, go on sinning. The knowledge. Better, the
full knowledge. Full knowledge of the will of God and the great sal
vation imposes a fearful responsibility. No more a sacrifice. The
single sacrifice once offered by Christ admits of no repetition. This
is the solemn corollary of the doctrine of the eternal efficacy of that
one offering. The writer here returns to the tone of warning used
in 2 : 3; 4 : 1; 6 : 4, 8.
27. Fierceness of fire which shall devour. Or, Fiery jealousy
which is to devour. The writer seems to transfer to the sacrifice of
Christ the Old Testament teaching that sacrifice is accepted onlv
for sins of ignorance. For sins committed after coming to the full
knowledge of the truth it cannot avail. Yet it is not impossible that
his meaning here is, that since these apostates repudiate the sacrifice
92

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS io : 32
28. devour the adversaries. A man that hath set at nought
Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of
29. two or three witnesses: "of how much sorer punish
ment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath
trodden under foot "the Son of God, and hath counted
"the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sane- Ex. 24 : 8
tilled, * an "unholy thing, and hath done "despite
30. unto the Spirit of grace ? "For we know him that said,
"Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. Deut.32:35;
31. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a Ps™3":'i4
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32. But call to remembrance the former days, in which,
1 Gr. a common thing.
which Christ has offered, and there is no other to be thought of,
they are defenceless and inexcusable before the wrath of God.
28. Death by stoning was the penalty for the violation of the cove
nant established by Moses. Cf. Deut. 17:2, 6.
29. Of how much sorer punishment. The a fortiori argument,
as in 2 : 2 f . ; 9:13^; 12:25. Death was the penalty under the old
Law; under the new covenant, so much greater in every way, corre
spondingly greater penalties will be imposed. The Son of God. The
apostate tramples upon, i.e., publicly rejects, him whom God has
most highly exalted. The blood of the covenant . . . unholy.
He has treated the sacrificial, consecrating blood of Jesus as a pro
fane and common thing. Despite unto the Spirit. His crowning
act of impiety, in despising that present guiding and sustaining spirit,
which was the gift of grace and the pledge of divine fellowship. Cf.
Mark 3 : 28-30.
30. For. In support of the sorer punishment to be expected, the
writer quotes from the Old Testament texts setting forth God's re
tributive justice. Vengeance belongeth unto me. Quoted in the
form neither of the Hebrew nor of the LXX, but of Rom. 12 : 19,
perhaps through the influence of that epistle, which was pretty cer
tainly known to the writer, but more probably because the text was
current in this Greek form.
31. With this telling sentence the writer takes leave of this dark
theme, leaving his readers to imagine for themselves what doom such
a being may have in store for the apostate.
93

io : 33 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
"after ye were enlightened, ye endured "a great con-
33. flict of sufferings; partly, being made a "gazingstock
both by reproaches and afflictions ; and partly, becoming
34. "partakers with them that were so used. For ye both
had compassion on "them that were in bonds, and
took joyfully the spoiling of your possessions, knowing
1 that 2 ye yourselves have "a better possession and
35. "an abiding one. Cast not away therefore yourbold-
36. ness, which hath great recompense of reward. For
ye have need of 3 patience, that, having done the will
of God, ye may receive the promise.
isa. 26 : 20 37. For yet a very little while,
Hab. 2 : 3, 4 He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
1 Or, that ye have your own selves for a belter possession. a SV with some ancient
authorities reads ye have for yourselves a better possession. 3 SVm stedfastness.
Stirring reminder of former heroism, 10 : 32-39.
32. The writer seeks to rouse his readers to steadfastness and
devotion, by reminding them of their heroic past. After ye were
enlightened. I.e., soon after accepting Christ. A great conflict
of sufferings. The reference is to the persecution under Nero, which
formed an early and terrible chapter in the history of the Roman
church. 33. Gazingstock. Better, a spectacle. Public exposure to abuse
and hardship had been experienced. Partakers. Sharing the dis
grace and distress of their imperilled brethren.
34. Imprisonment and confiscation had not deterred the readers
in those early days of their faith. Them that were in bonds. Gk.
the prisoners. A better possession. Than those which have been
torn from them. An abiding one. This introduces the thought,
later emphasized, that the Christian has an abiding city and inherit
ance, far better than the fleeting property and abode of this world.
35- This former joyful confidence of theirs, which carries with
it such recompense, is not to be abandoned now.
36. Steadfastness and endurance are still necessary, in order to
attain the promised salvation in its fulness.
37. The struggle is not to be of long duration, as the writer as
sures them in language taken from the prophets and somewhat freely
rearranged. This is perhaps explained by the fact that the writer
94

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS io : 39
38. But 'my righteous one shall live by faith:
And if he shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in
him.
39. But "we are not °2of them that shrink back unto per
dition; but "of them that have faith unto "the 3 saving
of the soul.

1 Some ancient authorities read the righteous one. a Gr. of shrinking back .
but of faith. 3 Or, gaining

is not appealing to these as oracles, but is appropriating their familiar
words to express his own thought of the speedy coming of Christ.
The prophecy of Habakkuk, with its emphasis upon faith, as con
trasted with cowardly retreat and apostasy, is skilfully made to serve
as a transition to the great discourse on the heroes of faith.
39. We are not. The affirmation has the force of an exhorta
tion, and more. The writer will not permit himself to think that his
readers are liable to so cowardly and fatal a blunder. Of them that
shrink back. Lit., of withdrawal. Of them that have faith. Lit.,
of faith. The saving of the soul. Preserving of soul, or perhaps
better, obtaining of life, i.e., in the Messianic world.

9S

V. The Character of Faith, as the Faculty of
Laying Firm Hold on the Unseen Realities,
exemplified in all the heroes of faith,
and preeminently in jesus, set forth
with especial reference to the
Trials of the Readers, which
are the Discipline of their
Faith, not its Disappoint
ment, ii : 1-12 : 29.
1. Faith the power through which those of old wrought
their achievements, and gained God's commendation, 1 1 : 1-40.
11. Now faith is l the assurance of things hoped for,
2. 2 the 3 proving of things not seen. For therein the
3. elders had witness borne to them. By faith we "under
stand that the °4 worlds have been framed by "the
word of God, so that what is seen "hath not been made
1 Or, the giving substance to; SV assurance, om. the a SV a conviction 3 Or,
test * Gr. ages.
The nature of faith seen in the experiences of God's first servants,
n : 1-12.
i. Not to be understood as a full definition of faith, but as a help
ful and suggestive characterization of it. Faith is assurance of what
we hope for, conviction (lit., proof) of things that we do not see. The
readers should not be disappointed at not having already realized all
the promises, since this laying hold of the ideal, unseen world is the
very task and province of faith.
2. It was faith that won for the worthies of old the divine com
mendation which the scriptures record.
3. It is faith that enables us to perceive God's relation to the
world. Understand. Better, perceive. Worlds. I.e., the succes
sive ages of the world's development. The word of God. His crea
tive utterance, as set forth in Gen. 1 : 1-31. Hath not been made.
96

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS "=S
4. out of things which 'do appear. "By faith Abel of- Gen. 4:4
fered unto God a "more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
"through which he had "witness borne to him that
he was righteous, 2God bearing witness °3in respect
of his gifts : and "through it "he being dead yet speaketh.
5. "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not Gen. 5:24
see death; and he was not found, because God trans
lated him: for 4 before his translation he "hath had
witness borne to him that he had been "well-pleasing
1 SV om. do. a The Greek text in this clause is somewhat uncertain. 3 Or,
over his gifts 3 SV he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation
he had been etc.
Or, hath not arisen. The thought is, not that the creation was neces
sarily out of nothing, but that faith forbids a merely material inter
pretation of the physical and the. historical world, and convinces us
of God's creative and directive activity.
4. The Old Testament verdict upon Abel was due to his faith,
because of which even death could not silence his voice. By faith.
Just wherein this lay the writer does not definitely say; perhaps in
the fact that Abel's offering was greater, and thus reflected a greater
sense of the worth and demands of the unseen world. More excel
lent. Better, larger, greater, more abundant. Through which.
I.e., either through the sacrifice, or through his faith, shown in the
sacrifice; probably the latter. Witness borne to him that he was
righteous. Not specifically in the Old Testament, but impliedly
there, as Jewish tradition understood; cf. Abel the righteous, Matt.
23: 35> z John 3 : 12. In respect of his gifts. I.e., on the occasion
of, in the case of, his gifts. Cf. Gen. 4: 4. God's approval of Abel's
offering implied his acceptance of Abel himself as righteous.
Through it. Through faith. He being dead yet speaketh. That
is, even when he was dead, Abel still spoke, for God heard his
voice calling to him from the ground, Gen. 4 : 10. This supplies
additional evidence that God accounted him righteous. Cf. Ps. 116 :
15; Luke 18 : 7; Rev. 6 : 9, 10.
5. Enoch, too, through his faith escaped death. By faith. The
Old Testament savs nothing of Enoch's faith, but states that he
pleased God, for so the LXX reads in Gen. 5 : 24, instead of the Heb.
walked with God. His translation is interpreted by the writer to
mean that he was enabled to escape the universal fate of death and
was removed to the presence of God. Hath had witness borne.
h 97

n : 6 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
6. unto God : and without faith it is impossible to be well-
pleasing unto him: "for he that "cometh to God "must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them "that
Gen. 6 : 13- 7. seek after him. "By faith Noah, being warned of God
concerning things not seen as yet, "moved with godly
fear, "prepared an ark to the saving of his house;
"through which "he condemned the world, and "became
heir of "the righteousness which is according to faith.
Gen. 12 : 1 8. "By faith Abraham, when he was called, "obeyed
"to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an
He is thus among the certified or attested ones mentioned in vs. 2.
Well-pleasing. As stated in the LXX, Gen. 5 : 24.
6. In proof that it was the faith of Enoch that made him pleasing
to God, the writer shows that what is said of him positively implies
faith. Without it he could not have pleased God, as he did. For.
In support of the general statement just made. Cometh to God.
Draws near, seeks to approach. Must believe. Else he would not
seek to approach him. Believe (pisteuo) is in the Gr. the verb akin
to the word faith (pistis), and we may render must have faith. That
seek after him. Or, that seek him out, seek him earnestly.
7. The faith and righteousness of Abel and Enoch must be in
ferred from what is said in scripture, but of Noah it is expressly
stated that he was a righteous man, perfect in his generations, Gen.
6:9; cf. 7:1. By faith Noah . . prepared an ark. There was
no visible occasion for the ark when he prepared it, so that his action
was strictly controlled by the consciousness of the unseen. Moved
with godly fear. Or simply, providently. Through which. I.e.,
through which faith. He condemned the world. Noah, by his act
in building the ark, virtually pronounced doom upon the rest of man
kind, since the ark could have no significance apart from the im
pending retributive catastrophe. Became heir. To be connected
with through which faith. Wisd. 10 : 4. The righteousness which
is according to faith. The righteousness, or justification, accord
ing to faith, here ascribed to Noah, strongly suggests Paul's view of
Abraham's justification by faith, Gal. 3 : 6, Rom. 4 : 9, and some
Pauline influence here is very probable. Yet it must not be forgotten
that the writer is arguing from the acknowledged righteousness of
these heroes to their faith, not from their faith to their justification.
8. By faith Abraham . . . obeyed. In this obedience to the
call which came to him, lay Abraham's great exhibition of faith.
Cf. Gen. 12 : 1. To go out. Explanatory of the obedience and what

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS n : n
inheritance ; and he went out, "not knowing whither Gen. 23 : 4
9. he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the land
of promise, as in a land "not his own, D1 dwelling
in tents, "with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
10. "of the same promise : for he looked for the city which
"hath the foundations, whose 2 builder and maker is
11. God. By faith even Sarah herself received power to
conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted
1 Or, having taken up his abode in tents a Or, architect
was involved in it. Not knowing. I.e., although he did not know.
Abraham's great initial act in setting out from home was preemi
nently an act of faith in the unseen.
9. Even after his arrival in the promised land, Abraham still lived
in faith, not realization. Not his own, dwelling in tents. Touches
that emphasize the long discipline of Abraham's faith. With Isaac
and Jacob, the heirs ... of the same promise. His posterity
like himself are sojourners in the land they have expected to possess,
a new trial being thus occasioned to the faith of Abraham. They,
like him, were as yet prospective heirs only, not having entered upon
the possession of the inheritance.
10. What Abraham was looking forward to by faith was not a
mere settlement in Canaan, but that celestial city which has endur
ing foundations, of which God is architect and builder. Cf. n : 16;
12 : 22; 13 : 14. Hath the foundations. In contrast to the shifting
encampment of his nomadic life, Abraham looked forward to a time
when he might in a permanent settlement (having foundations) enjoy
the fellowship of his God.
11. The mention of Sarah among those whose faith is at least
implicitly attested in the Old Testament, presents serious difficulty,
since only her incredulity is mentioned in this connection in Gen
esis. It has therefore been urged that it is still Abraham's faith
that is being illustrated in this, as in the previous vss. and the fol
lowing vs. On this view, even Sarah herself, means in spite of her
unbelief, and we should translate below, since he counted him that
had promised faithful. It is perhaps more natural, however, to un
derstand that Sarah's own faith is intended, and that Sarah, not
Abraham, is the subject of counted him faithful, in which case we
must suppose that the writer understands that, from being at first
sceptical, she came to have faith in the promise of offspring made
to Abraham. Gen. 18:9-15. 99

ii : 12 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
12. him faithful who had promised: "wherefore also "there
sprang "of one, and him "as good as dead, so many
Gen m- 17: oas the stars of heaven m multitude, and as the sand,
which is by the sea shore, innumerable.
13. "These all died * in faith, "not having received "the
promises, but having seen them and greeted them
from afar, and having "confessed that they were
1 chron. 29: 14. strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that
Gen. 23- 4 say sucn things make it manifest that' they are seeking
15. after "a country of their own. And if indeed they
1 Gr. according to.
12. Wherefore. Because of this triumph of faith. There
sprang. More exactly, were begotten. Of one. Abraham. As
good as dead. Lit., Deadened, i.e., incapacitated by age. As the
stars. Gen. 22 : 17. This fulfilment of the promise made to Abra
ham fell of course long after his time, as the writer immediately
indicates, vs. 13.
Their relation to the promises, and its meaning, 11 : 13-16.
13. These all. Not all those thus far mentioned, but Abraham
and his house, — Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. Only to these, among
the worthies thus far named, did the promises of national develop
ment and world-wide blessing in question apply, and the words died
in faith are not so appropriate to Abel and Enoch. Not having re
ceived. In 6 : 15 and 11 : 33 Abraham and others are said to have
attained the promises, not in the sense of realizing their fulfilment,
but of having certain promises made to them by God. The prom
ises. In the sense of what was promised. They had attained the
promises, but not the fulfilment of the promises. What is empha
sized is that Abraham and his immediate descendants lived all their
lives, and even died, without having the divine promises fulfilled to
them. Their whole experience and activity were in the realm of
faith alone, not sight. Confessed that they were strangers. They
understood, and by their behavior acknowledged, that the fulfilment
of the promises was not to be in their time. Cf. Gen. 23 : 4; 47 : 9.
14. A country of their own. Lit., a fatherland. In owning that
they were pilgrims and strangers, they implied a connection with
some other land which was truly their own.
15. This was not Mesopotamia, whence the stock had come, for
they seem never to have thought of returning thither to live.
100

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS n : 18
had been mindful of that country from which they
went out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16. But now "they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly :
"wherefore God is not ashamed of them, "to be called
their God: "for he hath prepared for them "a city.
17. "By faith Abraham, being tried, D1 offered up Isaac: Gen. 22: 1, 2
"yea, he that had "gladly received the promises was
18. offering up his "only begotten son; even he 2 to whom
1 Gr. hath offered up. a Or, of
16. They desire. This is the meaning of their acknowledgment
of being pilgrims and strangers. They are looking to a country other
than Canaan or Mesopotamia, and doubtless better than these, of
which they have laid hold through faith; and this can only be the
heavenly fatherland, to which the writer looks forward as the Mes
sianic consummation. Wherefore. In response to this expression
of faith, God accepts them as indeed his. To be called their God.
As in Ex. 3 : 6, I am the God of . . . Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob. For he hath prepared. Showing that he is not
ashamed of them. A city. The heavenly fatherland.
The workings of faith in the patriarchs, the lawgiver, and the
heroes of the conquest, 11 : 17-31.
17. Abraham's faith had its supreme manifestation when he was
called upon to offer up Isaac. By faith. Abraham's readiness, at
the command of God, to offer up his son, was due to the reality that
the unseen world had for him, and thus attested his faith. Cf . vs. 19.
Being tried. Cf. Gen. 22 : 1, LXX, God tried Abraham. Offered
up. As far as Abraham's intention was concerned, the sacrifice
was consummated, going far enough to establish his obedience, and
so his faith. Yea. The writer repeats the amazing fact, as throwing
Abraham's faith into the highest relief. Gladly received. Or,
welcomed. The readiness of the receiver of the promises to sacrifice
the son in whom those promises centred, constitutes a paradox, which
sets Abraham's faith in the unseen in the clearest, strongest light.
Only begotten. Abraham had other sons, Gen. 16:16; 25:2, of
whom Ishmael at least was older than Isaac. Yet as the one son in
whom the promises were to have their fulfilment, Isaac is called the
only son in Gen. 22 : 2.
18. It was said. Gen. 21 : 12. Shall thy seed be called. Or,
a seed shall bear thy name. It was to Isaac that the promise of a
great and blessing-bringing posterity was definitely attached.

Gen. 21 :

" 19.

20.

21.

Gen. 47

: 31

Gen. so :

25 22.

11 : 19 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
"it was said, In Isaac "shall thy seed be called : account
ing that God is able to raise up, even from the dead;
from whence he did also "in a 1 parable receive him
back. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even
concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when
he 2was a dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph;
and worshipped, leaning "upon the top of his staff.
By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made
mention of the departure of the children of Israel;
1 SV figure ' SV was dying
19. The key to Abraham's strange conduct is found in his perfect
faith in God. He did not doubt that God, who had wonderfully
called Isaac into being, could bring him back again, even from the
dead, and so still fulfil the promises in him. In a parable. Since
Abraham had prepared to slay Isaac, and had thus given him up as
it were to death, he received him back as though from the dead.
20. The deceit practised upon Isaac, by which he was caused to
give the first-born's blessing to the younger son, is not so much
thought of here, as the transference by Isaac to his sons of the prom
ises which he had inherited, and which dealt with the future. His
faith lay in his assurance that the promises made to his house, which
had not been fulfilled to him, would yet find fulfilment in the experi
ence of his posterity.
21. Jacob's faith was shown in his last days on earth, when death
was impending, and the expectation that the promises would be ful
filled to him personally had to be given up, when, instead of losing
his hold upon them, he made them over to his descendants, as a rich
and precious inheritance. So explicit and strong was Jacob's hold
upon the unseen that he could even in anticipation assign not only
to his own sons, but even to each of the sons of Joseph, his especial
part in the fulfilment of the divine promises. Upon the top of his
staff. So the LXX reads, Gen. 47: 31. The Heb. has upon the
head of the bed. From a different incident in the life of Jacob, in
which his faith is shown by his desire to be buried with his fathers
in Canaan, implying his keen sense of identification with them and
participation in the promises made to them. Or, the writer connects
these words with the blessing of Joseph's sons, which immediately
follows, Gen. 48 : 1.
22. Joseph's firm hold on the unseen was shown in his reference

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS II : 26
23. and gave commandment concerning his bones. "By
faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months Ex. 2:2
"by his parents, because they saw he was a goodly
child; and they were not afraid of "the king's com-
24. mandment. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, Ex. 2:11
refused to be called "the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
25. choosing rather to * be evil entreated "with the people
of God, than "to enjoy the pleasures of sin "for a season ;
26. "accounting "the reproach of 2 Christ greater riches than Ps.89: 50, 51
1 SV share ill treatment 3 Or, the Christ
to the promise made to the fathers, and to his command that his
bones be taken to the promised land when the Israelites should go
thither. Gen. 50 : 24, 25.
23. By faith. The faith was that of his parents, who held to
the promise as somehow to be fulfilled, despite the hopeless prospect
of the time. Without this hold on the promise, they would not have
had the courage and spirit to try to save the child. By his parents.
As in the LXX, tliey hid him three months, Ex. 2: 2. The Heb. as
cribes the action to his mother. The king's commandment. Ex.
1: 16, 22.
24. The son of Pharaoh's daughter. Lit., a son of a daughter
of Pharaoh, emphasizing the exalted station declined by Moses. This
refusal is not expressly stated in Exodus, or in Josephus's account of
Moses, Antt. 2: 9 ff., but is implied in Ex. 2: 11, 12, where Moses
takes the part of his Hebrew brethren.
25. This refusal of immediate tangible benefits reflects the greater
value put by Moses upon the unseen realities of divine promise, laid
hold of by faith. By this refusal Moses incurred hardship and hu
miliation. With the people of God. As shown in his protection
of the smitten Hebrew, Ex. 2 : 11, 12. By that act he cast in his
lot with the enslaved Hebrews. His faith was shown in his power
to recognize in these slaves the people of God and heirs of divine
promise. To enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Lit., to
have passing enjoyment of sin. Not so much that public life in Egypt
would have been essentially sinful, but that for Moses it would have
meant apostasy from God to have taken part in it. Moses' example
in this regard has practical value for the readers of the epistle. For
a season. A mere lifetime, in contrast with that eternal future of
which faith lays hold.
26. Accounting. Better, since he accounted. Here lay the reason
103

2 3

11:27 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
the treasures of Egypt: for "he looked unto "the
27. recompense of reward. By faith "he forsook Egypt,
"not fearing the wrath of the king: for he "endured,
Ex. 12:21- 28. "as seeing "him who is invisible. By faith he *kept
the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that
"the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them.
29. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry
1 Or, instituted Gr. hath made.
for his refusal of a life of ease and consequence in Egypt. The
reproach of Christ. Better, of the Christ. Cf. Ps. 89: 50, 51, The re
proach . . . wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thy Christ.
The expression is implied in Rom. 15: 3, where the words of Ps. 69:
9 are applied to Christ. Moses had to encounter such reproach in
his generation as the Christ had, in the highest degree, to endure;
but he recognized it as the burden which must be borne by the cho
sen of God and so worth more than all that Egypt could give. He
looked. Lit., looked away. Moses took the far look. The recom
pense of reward. Perhaps the Messianic age, as in 10:35, a* 'east
the ultimate triumph of God's own.
27. He forsook Egypt. While this is generally understood to refer
to Moses' flight from Egypt, the reference is more probably to the Ex
odus, in which he was the principal actor, and from which fear of the
king did not deter him. Not fearing. Moses' flight from Egypt
after killing the Egyptian was due to his fear of Pharaoh, Ex. 2: 14,
15. At the Exodus, on the other hand, Moses withstood Pharaoh
to his face, and showed the utmost courage. Endured. Or, was
steadfast. Especially appropriate as characterizing Moses' resolute
behavior in his dealings with Pharaoh in connection with the Exo
dus. As seeing. Among Old Testament heroes Moses alone was
said to have beheld God, Ex. 33 : 11; Num. 12:8. Before the Exo
dus, at Horeb, the angel of the Lord had appeared to Moses, and
awakened his faith, Ex. 3 : 2. This firm hold on the invisible world
was thus conspicuously characteristic of Moses. Him who is invisi
ble. Cf. 11 : 1. The heroic achievements of Moses were all reflec
tions of this inward vision of faith.
28. The holding of the first Passover, with the striking of the blood
upon the doorposts, was an expression of faith in God's promise of
deliverance. Cf. Ex. 12. The destroyer. The same word is used
as in Ex. 12 : 23, LXX.
29. The perilous march through the Red Sea, undertaken at Je-
104

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS " ¦ 33
land: "which the Egyptians "assaying to do "were
30. swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell
down, after they had been compassed about for seven
31. days. By faith Rahab the harlot "perished not with
them that were disobedient, having received the spies
32. with peace. And what shall I more say? for the time
will fail me if I tell of "Gideon, Barak, Samson, "Jeph-
33. thah; of "David and Samuel and the prophets: who
through faith "subdued kingdoms, "wrought righteous
ness, "obtained promises, "stopped the mouths of lions,
hovah's command, Ex. 14:15, 16, showed the people's faith in the
promise. Which . . . assaying to do. Lit., making trial of which,
i.e., of the dry land. Were swallowed up. Ex. 14: 28. The fate
of the Egyptians showed the danger which the Hebrews had in their
faith faced and surmounted.
30. The obedience rendered by Joshua and the people to the
divine command to compass Jericho in solemn procession once each
day for seven days, evinced their faith that God would by these
means deliver the city to them. Josh. 6: 1-20.
31. Rahab's acknowledgment of the reality of the Hebrews' claims
and prospects showed her faith in Jehovah, and her estimate of the
unseen world. Perished not. Josh. 6: 17, 23, 25.
The workings of faith in judges, prophets, and saints of later
times, 11 : 32-40.
32. The writer cannot hope to finish the list of those whose heroic
achievements, wrought through the sustaining power of faith in the
unseen, have been recorded in scripture. Gideon . . . Jephthah.
Heroes of the times of the judges. For Gideon cf. Jud. chh.
6-8; Barak, chh. 4, 5; Samson, chh. 13-16; Jephthah, chh. 11,
12. David and Samuel and the prophets. The great figures
of the royal period. The names are not put in the Old Testa
ment order.
33. In a brilliant series of nine clauses, the writer summarizes the
achievements of judges, kings, and prophets. Subdued kingdoms.
Intended especially of the judges. Wrought righteousness. The
work of Samuel is perhaps especially thought of (1 Sam. 12), al
though the prophets, and indeed the whole work of Israel, might be
so interpreted. Obtained promises. Had promises made to them.
The expression does not mean that they had experienced the fulfil
ment of them, at least as yet. David is probably meant, 2 Sam. 7 :
12-16. Stopped the mouths of lions. Referring not so much to
i°5

n : 34 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
34. "quenched the power of fire, "escaped the edge of
the sword, "from weakness were made strong, "waxed
mighty in war, "turned to flight armies of aliens.
35. "Women received their dead by a resurrection: and
others were Q1 tortured, "not accepting 2 their deliver
ance; that they might obtain "a "better resurrection :
36. and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea,
37. moreover of "bonds and imprisonment: "they were
1 Or, beaten to death a Gr. the redemption.
the exploits of Samson and David (Jud. 14:6; 1 Sam. 17:34), as to
the experience of Daniel, Dan. 6: 16-23.
34. Quenched the power of fire. As Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, in the fiery furnace, Dan. 3: 27. Escaped the edge of
the sword. As did Elijah, 1 Kgs. 19:1, 2, and others less conspic
uous. From weakness were made strong. This suggests Samson,
Jud. 16: 28, but is perhaps rather to be connected with the gradual
development of the pious Maccabsans from utter weakness and in
significance into strength and independence. This is favored by the
following clauses, which seem to have especial reference to the Mac-
caba^an struggle. Waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies
of aliens. That the stirring events of the Maccabsan times are
meant is established by the last phrase, armies of aliens, the words
of which are not usual ones, but are frequent in 1 Mace, in just the
senses exhibited here.
35. Women received their dead. As in 1 Kgs. 17: 23; 2 Kgs.
4:36, 37- Tortured. The reference is to 2 Mace. 6: 19, 28, where a
similar word is used. Not accepting their deliverance. Again
referring to 2 Mace. 6:22, 30. A better resurrection. Probably
suggested by 2 Mace. 7:9, 14, the story of the seven martyrs and
their mother. Their endurance of agony and death, in the expecta
tion of resurrection thereafter, evinced their faith in the unseen world.
Better. Than the restoration to earthly life mentioned earlier in the
verse. 36. While it is not necessary to limit the reference of these words
too closely (cf. Jer. 20: 2), they are certainly appropriate to the mar
tyrs just mentioned, in whose story mocking and scourging had a
place, 2 Mace. 7:1, 7, 10. Bonds and imprisonment. Probably
referring to the prophets: Micaiah, 1 Kgs. 22:27; Jeremiah, Jer.
20: 2; 37: 15, 16; 38:6.
37. They were stoned. Referring probably to Zechariah, 2 Chron.
106

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 11:40
stoned, they were "sawn asunder, they "were tempted,
they were "slain with the sword : "they went about "in
sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted,
38. l evil entreated (of whom the world was not worthy),
wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and
39. the holes of the earth. And these all, "having had
"witness borne to them "through their faith, "received
40. not the promise, God having 2 provided some better
1 SV ill-treated 3 Or, foreseen
24: 20, 21. Cf. Lk. 11: 51. Sawn asunder. The fate of Isaiah, ac
cording to Justin Martyr, Dialogue, c. 1 20 ; Tertullian, Scorpiace, c. 8 ;
On Patience, c. 14; Origen, To Africanus, c. 9; and the Ascension
of Isaiah, c. 5. Were tempted. If this be the true reading, as the
best Mss. indicate, the reference must be to the trying of men by
torture, to prevail upon them to apostatize, as, e.g., in the persecu
tions of the Maccabasan time. Slain with the sword. The fate
of Uriah the prophet, Jer. 26: 23, and of Elijah's fellow-prophets,
1 Kgs. 19: 10. They went about. Being driven, that is, from one
hiding place to another. In sheepskins. The same word is used
in the LXX, of Elijah's mantle, 1 Kgs. 19:19. Cf. Zech. 13:4.
In this and the previous clause, Elijah and Elisha are probably be
fore the writer's mind, cf. 1 Kgs. 19: 2, 3; 2 Kgs. 2 : 13; 6 : 13, 31, as
well as the faithful of the Maccaba^an times, 1 Mace. 2:28, 31;
9=33. 42, etc.
38. The contrast is between the worth of these men and their ex
periences, and we may read, Men of whom the world was not worthy
wandering in deserts and mountains, etc. Such were the experiences
of Elijah, Elisha, the Maccabaean heroes, and others, who in the
face of every calamity and hardship, through faith kept their hold
upon the unseen realities. The relative clause belongs with the fol
lowing, not the preceding, phrase.
39. Having had. Better, though they had. Witness borne to
them. In the scriptures. Through their faith. While their faith
is in most cases not specifically mentioned in the Old Testament,
they are commended, and for things that, as the writer has shown,
necessarily involved faith, and thus they may be said to have had
witness borne to them through their faith. Received not the prom
ise. The Messianic promises, conceived as a whole.
40. From the disappointment of these men of old, the writer skil
fully derives encouragement for his readers. Not only is the noble
107

n;40 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
thing concerning us, that apart from us they should
not be made perfect.

2. Exhortation to follow their example, or rather that of
Christ, accepting the tasks and trials of
life as the Father's discipline,
12: 1-13
12. "Therefore let us also, "seeing we are compassed
about with so great "a cloud of witnesses, "lay
aside 1 every weight, "and the sin which 2 doth
so easily beset us, and "let us run with °3 patience
2. the race that is set before us, "looking "unto Jesus
1 Or, all cumbrance SVm all encumbrance a Or, doth closely cling to us Or, is
admired of many 3 SVm stedfastness
example of these worthies, in their hard discipline of faith unrewarded,
to arouse the readers to steadfastness in faith, but the very postpone
ment of fulfilment which they had to endure is shown to involve
especial encouragement for the believers in Christ, who are destined
speedily to share with them the glories of the Messianic day. The
fulfilment of the promise has been postponed to the " last days " in
which the Christians live. Thus while all had the faith and all ulti
mately receive the promise, the Christians are more fortunate in that
they have both faith and that in which all believed, i.e., Christ and
the Messianic revelation.
Jesus the great example, 12:1-4.
1. Therefore. The writer proceeds now to make practical use
of the thought developed in ch. 1 1 . Seeing we are compassed about
with. Or, Since we have encompassing its. A cloud of witnesses.
The figure is drawn from the runners in the stadium. The veterans
of faith look down upon the race that is run by their successors. Hav
ing been borne witness to by God, they here become witnesses
to the value of faith. Lay aside every weight. Stripping off
everything that encumbers the athlete. And the sin which doth
. . . beset us. Better, And close clinging sin. Let us run . . .
the race. The Christian life is described as a race by Paul, 1 Cor.
9 : 24, etc. Patience. Better, endurance.
2. Looking. Better, Looking away. Unto Jesus. The heroes
108

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12 : 4
"the * author and perfecter of our faith, who "for the
joy that was set before him endured "the cross, "de
spising shame, and hath "sat down at the right hand Ps. no : 1
3. of the throne of God. For "consider him that hath
"endured such gainsaying of sinners against 2 them- Num. 16 : 38
selves, that ye "wax not weary, fainting in your souls.
4. Ye have not yet "resisted unto blood, "striving against
1 Or, captain a SV and many authorities, some ancient, read himself.
of old are not the believer's models, for in Christ he has a better pat
tern. Christ alone has completely won the victory of faith. The
Christian runner must fix his eyes upon Jesus. The author and
perfecter of our faith. Better, the leader and perfecter of faith.
Jesus was the leader in the way of faith, and in him faith found its
perfection. The insertion of our distorts the meaning. The follow
ing clause explains Jesus' perfection in faith and leadership. For
the joy. Rather, instead of the joy. Jesus chose to endure a cross,
instead of the experience of joy properly his. Before us lies a con
flict to be gone through with; before him lay an existence of joy.
He turned from it to endure a cross. It is this that exalts him to
leadership in the life of faith, in which he alone has attained perfec
tion. The cross. Better, a cross. Despising shame. The dis
grace of the crucifixion, as of hanging to-day, made the thought of
Christ's death doubly repugnant and difficult for early believers.
Sat down. He has taken his seat at God's right hand. Cf. Ps.
no : 1; Heb. 1 : 3, 13; 8:1; 10 : 12.
3. Consider him. The readers are asked to think upon Christ
and the steadfast endurance displayed by him, in his most trying
experience. Endured such gainsaying of sinners against them
selves. Better, endured such gainsaying at the hands of sinners
against themselves. Though it was to their interest to hear and obey
him, they in their hopeless inconsistency and self-contradiction, re
jected him, and thus refused their own good and sinned against them
selves. The expression sinners against themselves recalls Num. 16 :
38. Wax not weary. The steadfastness of Jesus should inspire
them to endure their lighter sufferings.
4. The readers have not as yet been called upon to endure
what Christ endured. Resisted unto blood. Reached the limit of
hardship in their struggle. Striving against sin. Suggests prima
rily the inner conflict, but is doubtless meant to convey the thought
of outward trial and persecution as well. Their steadfastness must
be equal to martyrdom itself, if need be.
109

12

ia: 5 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
5. sin: and "ye have forgotten "the exhortation, which
reasoneth with you as with sons,
Prov. 3:11, My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the
Lord,
Nor faint when thou art reproved of him;
6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7. xIt is "for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth
with you "as with sons; for what son is there whom
8. his father chasteneth not? But if ye are without
chastening, whereof "all have been made partakers,
9. then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore,
we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we
gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be
in subjection unto the Father of 2 spirits, "and live?
1 Or, Endure unto chastening a Or, our spirits
The discipline of suffering, 12: 5-13.
5. The discipline to be secured through trial must not be forgot
ten. Ye have forgotten. Although by no means in the last ex
tremity of trial, the readers are in danger of apostasy or apathy at
the least, and this shows that they are forgetful of the fundamental
moral significance of trial. The exhortation. Prov. 3 : n, 12.
The scripture is appealed to for warning against giving way under
trial. 6. The discipline of hardship is but another evidence of God's
fatherly interest and training. The emphasis is upon " loveth "
and " son." Cf. vss. 7-10.
7. For chastening. The trying experiences of the readers are
disciplinary, and so to be accepted and even welcomed, as proofs of
God's acceptance of them as his sons. As with sons. The disci
pline of trial is to be expected by sons of God.
8. True sonship to God cannot be thought of apart from such
discipline. Those who are exempt from the experience of it are no
sons of God. All have been made partakers. All true sons of
God, as stated in the scripture, vs. 6.
9. The a fortiori argument. Sons of God may surely be supposed
to accept from him at least such paternal discipline as they respect-

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12 : 13
10. For they 1 verily for a few days chastened us as seemed
good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be
n. partakers of his holiness. All chastening seemeth for
the present to be not joyous, but grievous : yet after
ward it yieldeth "peaceable fruit unto them that have
been exercised thereby, even °the fruit of righteous-
12. ness. Wherefore 2 lift up the hands that hang isa. 35:3
13. down, and the palsied knees; and "make straight ?xx4:a6'
paths for your feet, that "that which is lame "be not
3 turned out of the way, but rather be healed.
1 SV indeed a Gr. make straight. 3 Or, put out of joint
fully accept from often arbitrary earthly fathers. And live. The
lofty reward of this higher sonship, worthily sustained, should recon
cile all to its trying demands.
io. Far above the arbitrary discipline of earthly fathers stands
the divine training, wholly beneficent in motive and effect, and lift
ing men into participation in God's own goodness.
n. The trying situation of the readers is reflected in this con
tinued treatment of the significance of chastening in God's discipline
of men. Peaceable. Or, peaceful. In contrast with the stress of
the time of discipline, the fruits of the experience are peaceful, per
haps with further reference to peace with men and God. The fruit
of righteousness. The discipline filially endured produces, in those
who have been trained by it, righteousness. The words recall Jas.
3: 17, 18.
12. An exhortation, in language suggesting the march through
the desert, and drawn from Isa. 35 : 3, to mutual helpfulness and
renewed endeavor.
13. Make straight paths. Keep the path that leads straight
on, and do not turn to right or left, as you march through the desert.
That which is lame. Or, the limb that is lame. Be not turned
out of the way. Better, Be not put out of joint, as it will be, if left
neglected, by the further march. The discouraged and fainting in
the congregation must be saved from apathy and apostasy by the
watchcare and help of their brethren.

12 : 14 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
3. Warning against moral failure, with its inexorable pen
alty, 12: 14-17
Ps. 34:14 14. "Follow after peace with all men, and the "sancti-
fication without which no man shall "see the Lord :
15. looking carefully Uest there be any man that °2 falleth
Deut.2o:i8 short of the grace of God; lest "any root of bitterness
Lxx springing up trouble you, and thereby the many be
16. defiled; 1 lest there be any "fornicator, or profane
Gen. 25:33 person, as "Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his
17. own birthright. For ye know that even when he after
ward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected
(for he "found no place 3of repentance), though "he
sought it diligently with tears.
1 Or, whether a Or, falleth back from 3 S V for a change of mind in his father
14. Follow after peace. The injunction of Ps. 34 : 14. The
writer seeks to insure the unity and solidarity of the church. The
believers are to be helpful, vs. 13, and harmonious. Cf. Rom. 12:
18. Sanctification. Hallowing, growth toward holiness. Cf. in
vs. 11, that peaceful fruit, righteousness. See the Lord. As in
Matt. 5:8.
15. They are to guard each other from relapse into unbelief.
Falleth short of the grace of God. Through apostasy. Any root
of bitterness. One apostate in the church might prove a poisonous
root, productive later of baneful fruit, in the defilement of the mass
of the community. The figure is drawn from Deut. 29 : 18.
16. The writer cannot too often insist that they must take care
that not one of their number be recreant. Fornicator. Perhaps in
the literal sense, but more probably in the figurative sense of one
who violates the divine covenant, since that interpretation carries
the thought forward without interruption. Esau. As representa
tive of those who hold spiritual things cheap, and lightly exchange
heavenly prospects and divine promises for immediate material ad
vantage. The practical value of this lesson for the readers, under
stress of persecution and in danger of apostasy, would be very great.
17. The case of Esau shows the fatal and irrevocable consequences
of such undervaluing of spiritual things. Cf. Gen. 27 : 38. Found
no place of repentance. Cf. Wisd. 12 : 10. The deed could not be

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12 : 22
4. Final contrast of the old revelation, in its material
and repellent aspects, with the new, heavenly,
ideal, and eternal, 12 : 18-29
18. For ye are not come unto D1 a mount that might Deut. 4 : h,
be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto "black- "
19. ness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a Ex. 19 : 16
trumpet, and the voice of words ; which voice "they Deut. 5 : 33,
that heard 2intreated that no word more should be 25
20. spoken unto them: for they could not endure "that
which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, Ex. 19 : i»,
21. it shall be stoned; "and so fearful was the appearance, I3
22. that Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake: but Deut. 9:19
1 Or, a palpable and kindled fire a SV entreated
undone. It is not implied that Esau remained unforgiven by God,
only that his loss of his inheritance and the accompanying promise
was irrevocable. He sought it. I.e., the blessing. The admoni
tion closes with the awful warning afforded by Esau, against the for
feiture of heavenly prospects for material gratification.
The making of the old covenant, with its dreadful attendants, 12 :
18-21. 18. A mount that might be touched and that burned with
fire. Better, a palpable and kindled fire. The material and fear-
inspiring elements in the old revelation are emphasized. Blackness,
and darkness, etc. The language of Deut. 4:11; 5:22; Ex. 19:
16, 19.
19. The terrors of the theophany were unendurable to the Hebrews.
They that heard intreated. Deut. 5 : 25.
20. That which was enjoined. Ex. 19 : 12, 13.
21. And so fearful was the appearance that Moses said. Bet
ter, And, — so fearful was the appearance, — Moses said. I exceed
ingly fear. The words of Moses on another occasion, Deut. 9 : 19,
are here connected with the giving of the law. The thought of the
whole is to set forth the terrible material manifestations attending
the establishment of the first covenant.
The new covenant, in its heavenly glory and attractiveness, 12 :
22-24. 22. The attendants of the new covenant are neither material nor
1 113

12 : 23 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
"ye are come unto "mount Zion, and unto "the city
of the living God, "the heavenly Jerusalem, 'and
23. to 2 innumerable hosts of angels, to "the general
assembly and church of the "firstborn who are "enrolled
in heaven, and "to God the Judge of all, and to the
24. spirits of "just men made perfect, and to Jesus the
"mediator of a new 3 covenant, and to "the blood of
1 Or, and to innumerable hosts, the general assembly of angels, and the church, etc.
a Gr. myriads of angels 3 Or, testament
repellent. Ye are come. Christian believers have approached and
are in the presence of the noblest heavenly realities. Mount Zion.
The site of the sanctuary in Jerusalem is here used in the sense
of God's heavenly dwelling place. Instead of Mount Sinai,
with its convulsive and portentous tokens of his presence, we ap
proach his very abode in heaven. The city of the living God.
As in 11:10, 16; 13:14. The heavenly Jerusalem. Cf. Gal.
4 : 26; Rev. 21 : 2.
23. The general assembly. Better, a festal assembly. First
born. Whether this is to be understood of the angels, or of believ
ers in Christ, it is very difficult to decide. If of the angels, the trans
lation is, To innumerable hosts of angels, a festal assembly and con
gregation of firstborn ones, who are enrolled in heaven. On the whole,
it is more probably to be understood of Christian believers enrolled
as citizens in this abiding city, and sharing with their brother and
forerunner the honors of firstborn sons. In these brilliantly rhetori
cal passages, carefully graduated analysis must not be demanded of
the writer, as 11:32, e.g., shows. Enrolled. I.e., as citizens. Cf.
Phil. 3 : 20. The promise of a city, 11 : 16, must mean citizenship
in it; but we do not find the angels described as citizens of the heav
enly city, unless it be in this passage. To God the Judge of all.
Or, to a judge, the God of all. The reference is not to an apocalyptic
judgment day to come, but to present realities ; among which must
be recognized a judge, who is the God of all. Just men made per
fect. There seems to be no sufficient reason for limiting this to the
righteous men of the old dispensation. Jesus has completed their
justification and made them perfect, 10 : 14. To him the writer now
passes. 24. In the reference to Jesus and his sacrifice the description
reaches its climax. Mediator. As in 8 : 6; 9 : 15. As the description
of the old covenant ended with a reference to its mediator, Moses, so
now that of the new. The blood of sprinkling. Suggesting the
114

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 12 : 27
sprinkling that speaketh better 01than that of Abel.
25. See that ye refuse not "him that speaketh. For if
they escaped not, "when they refused him that warned
them "on earth, "much more shall not we escape, "who
turn away from him °2that wameth from heaven:
26. "whose voice then shook the earth: but'now "he hath
promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to tremble Hag. 2 : 6
27. not the earth only, but also the heaven. And this
word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those
things that are shaken, as of things that have been
made, that those things which are not shaken may
1 Or, than Abel a Or, that is from heaven
manner of Jesus' mediation, and his significance as priest and sacri
fice for men. Than that of Abel. Abel shed his blood, a first
martyr, as it were, of faith, and a kind of type of Jesus' sacri
fice. Not through his blood, however, were even the men of
old made perfect, but through the blood of Christ, so much more
eloquent. Warning and encouragement, 12 : 25-29.
25. Him that speaketh. God. When they refused ... on
earth. Better, When on earth they refused him that gave instruction,
or revelation. Moses is meant. On earth. The scene of the giv
ing of the old covenant. Much more. The a fortiori argument
again. Who turn away from him. Or, who reject him. That
warneth from heaven. Better, that is from heaven. The reference
seems to be to Christ, from the contrast with Moses, but the follow
ing clause makes it probable that by him that is from heaven God is
meant. It was a fatal thing to refuse Moses. How much more so
to reject God.
26. The old revelation shook the earth, but the new shakes heaven
as well. Whose voice then shook the earth. Ex. 19 : 18, Heb.;
cf. Jud. 5 : 4, 5. He hath promised. Hag. 2 : 6. Haggai's proph
ecy of the future glory of the temple is rearranged so as to emphasize
the shaking of the heaven, by which the writer understands the Mes
sianic catastrophe impending.
27. Since the prophet says once, i.e., once only, this new shaking
is to be final. Only that which is in its nature unshakable can sur
vive it. It will therefore involve the removal of the created, visible,
and material, and leave the ideal, essential universe to abide forever.
"5

12 : 28 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
28. remain. "Wherefore, "receiving "a kingdom "that
cannot be shaken, "let us have 1 grace, "whereby we
may offer service well-pleasing to God with 2 reverence
Deut. 4:24 29. and awe: for our God is a consuming fire.
1 Or, thankfulness a Or, godly fear
28. Wherefore. Since this catastrophe is at hand, and God has
given us a part in his eternal world. Receiving. Or, as receiving,
since we are to receive. A kingdom. Cf. Dan. 7 : 18. That can
not be shaken. Since it is not created but partakes of God's own
eternal nature. Let us have grace. Better, Let us be thankful, give
thanks. Whereby we may offer service. Better, and thereby offer
service; let us through our thankfulness minister to God.
29. This solemn thought, with which the writer concludes his
powerful exhortation based on the comparison of the two revelations,
is drawn from Deut. 4 : 24.

116

VI. General Exhortations, Personal Matters, 13 : 4
and Farewell, 13 : 1-25
13. Let "love of the brethren continue. Forget not to
shew "love unto strangers: for thereby some have
3. "entertained angels unawares. Remember them that
are "in bonds, "as bound with them; them that are
01 evil entreated, as being "yourselves also in the body.
4. Let marriage be had in honour "among all, and let the
bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God
¦ SV ill-treated
Exhortations to brotherly love, hospitality, helpfulness, purity,
13 : 1-4.
1. Love of the brethren. Already exercised among them, as
shown by their ministry to the saints, 6 : io.
2. Love unto strangers. Or simply hospitality. Especially
needful in *. great central capital like Rome, to which Christians
were constantly coming or being brought. For no other city in the
Roman world would this exhortation have been so appropriate and
significant. Yet in time of persecution this duty of hospitality would
be attended with no little peril. Entertained angels unawares.
As did Abraham and Lot, Gen. 18, 19. Hospitality, the entertain
ment of brethren of their own or distant congregations, often brings
with it unexpected blessing.
3. In bonds. A hint of persecution. A few years before Paul
had been a prisoner in Rome, and a few years after, Ignatius was so.
Timothy has just been released from imprisonment elsewhere, vs.
23. As bound with them. Especially fitting if the prisoners are
suffering for their faith. Evil entreated. Perhaps those oppressed
by persecution. Yourselves also in the body. And hence liable
to similar calamity.
4. Chastity is enjoined. Among all. Marriage is to be respected
by the parties to it and by all others as well. Others translate in all
things.

r3 : 5 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
5. will judge. "* Be ye free from the love of money;
content with such things as ye have : for "himself hath
Deut. 31 : 6, said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any
' cs *"5 6. wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say,
Ps-«8:6 "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear:
What shall man do unto me?
7. Remember them that had the rule over you, 2 which
spake unto you "the word of God; and considering
8. "the issue of their 3 life, imitate their faith. Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and 4 for
9. ever. Be not carried away by divers and strange
teachings: for it is good "that the heart be stablished
"by grace ; not by "meats, wherein they that 5 occupied
1 Gr. Let your turn of mind be free. ' SV men that ' Gr. manner of life.
+ Gr. unto the ages. s Gr. walked.
Warnings against covetousness, discontent, and anxiety, 13 : 5, 6.
5. Covetousness is forbidden. Be ye free. Lit., let your char
acter, disposition, he free. On the liberality of the readers and their
former losses, cf. 6 : 10; 10 : 34. Instead of covetousness, the readers
are to practice contentment and trust in God. Himself hath said.
Words found in Deut. 31 : 6, 8 LXX, but in the third person, He
will in no wise fail thee etc. The precise form of the text is found
in Philo, On the Confusion of Tongues, ch. 33. This teaching of
serene reliance upon God recalls the teaching of Jesus, Mt. 6 : 25-34.
6. The Lord is my helper. The quotation is from Ps. 1 18 : 6 LXX.
The example and teaching of their first teachers must not be
forgotten, 13 : 7, 8.
7. Those who first taught the readers Christian faith are no more.
Cf . 2 : 3 ; 4:2. The word of God. Of the first Christian preaching,
as in Acts 4 : 31; 13 : 46. The issue of their life. Perhaps their
martyrdom, at any rate their dying in faith. This lifelong faith is
worthy of all imitation.
False teaching and practices to be avoided, 13:9—12.
9. In the changelessness of Jesus, in whom the first gospel preachers
had had their faith, is good ground for abiding steadfast in their
teachings, instead of taking up with new ones. A lapse into Judaism
would not of course be thus expressed. That the heart be stab
lished. Or, to be stablished in heart. The thought is of stability,
118

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 13 : 12
10. themselves "were not profited. We have an altar,
whereof "they have no right to eat 'which serve the
n. tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood Lev. 16:27
is brought into the holy place 2 by the high priest as an
12. offering for sin, are burned without the camp. Where
fore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people
1 SV that a Gr. through.
steadfastness, in contrast with fickleness and fondness for innova
tion. By grace. Only thus is this stability to be secured. Meats.
The reference is probably not to the clean and unclean foods of
Judaism, still less to Jewish sacrificial meats, which must have
come to an end with the destruction of the temple. The con
nection shows that the matter is one capable of forming the subject
of divers and strange teachings. We are probably to understand
some form of Judaistic Christianity, given to external observance,
perhaps of an ascetic character (cf. the Ebionites), which might
naturally be set forth concretely by the one word meats. Such ex
ternal and formal practices cannot establish the heart, and, as the
writer goes on to show, have no place in the Christian service. Were
not profited. Or, have not profited.
10. The Christian sacrifice is not, like the Jewish, eaten by the
priests, but, like the sin-offerings of the Day of Atonement, is carried
forth without the camp. The language of the verse is allegorical,
not only in part but throughout. They . . . which serve the
tabernacle. Sometimes understood to mean the Jewish priests,
but more probably referring to Christian believers, who are else
where in the letter spoken of as ministering as priests, 9 : 14; 12 : 28,
With the same word as that used here. The Christian service pro
vides no sacrificial meats. The Christian priest has no right to eat
of the Christian sacrifice, which, like that of the Day of Atonement,
is carried outside the camp.
11. The analogue found in the Old Testament for the sacrifice
of Jesus is the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement offered by the
high priest once a year. The bodies of the victims were not eaten
even by the priests, as other sacrifices might be, but were burned
without the camp.
12. So the great solitary offering of himself made by Jesus took
place without the gate, and supplies to his brother priests no sacrificial
meats. The Christian priests, unlike those of old, do not partake
of their sacrifice. The parallel cannot, of course, be pressed; Jesus
was not burned without the camp, as were the Day of Atonement
119

J3 : 13 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
through his own blood, suffered "without the gate.
13. "Let us therefore go forth unto him without the camp,
14. "bearing his reproach. For we have not here an abid
ing city, but we seek after the city which is to come.
Ps. 50:14 15. "Through him 1 then let us offer up "a sacrifice
ul.'sj:"g °^ Pra-ise to God "continually, that is, "the fruit of
1 Some ancient authorities omit then.
victims, nor did they suffer without the camp, as he did without the
gate. As those victims were the preeminent sin-offering of Judaism,
so Jesus . . . suffered . . . that he might sanctify the people through
his own blood. The reference is again to Jesus as the final and eter
nally sufficient sin-offering, who has entered, with his own blood,
into the Most Holy place of the celestial sanctuary, there to make
full atonement for the people. Without the gate. Cf. John 19 :
17, where it appears that Jesus suffered without the city.
The reproach of Jesus is not to be refused, 13 : 13, 14.
13. The thought of Jesus' humiliation and death suggests a
practical though allegorically expressed admonition. Let us go
forth unto him without the camp. The Christian believers are
to renounce the world with its attachments, as really and fully as
if they were to go forth out of it. Bearing his reproach. The
humiliation which he endured they must not refuse in their measure
to share. The readers, in the midst of their experience of persecu
tion, would know but too well the meaning and the truth of this.
14. Not in this world is the Christian's ideal home to be realized.
Like Abraham, he is a stranger and a pilgrim, looking forward to a
promised land, and an enduring city. Cf. 11:10, 16; 12:22; the
heavenly Jerusalem, Rev. 21 : 2.
Thankfulness and beneficence, 13 : 15—17.
15. From the thought of meats offered to idols and pagan sacrifices,
the writer turns to the offerings the Christian may offer. Through
him. Jesus is now thought of, not as the sacrifice, but as the minis
tering high priest, through whom the believer-priests make offering
to God. A sacrifice of praise. Words taken from Lev. 7 : 12
LXX. In superficial, but not real, conflict with the writer's teaching
as to the finality of Jesus' offering of himself. There is yet, he would
say, if you must have offerings, a suitable one; the offering of praise.
The thought is in close connection with that of the ministry of thanks
giving, 12 : 28. Continually. The occasional offering of the old
covenant, the offering of praise, is to be the believer's continual
offering. Cf. Lev. 7:12 LXX. The fruit of lips. Words drawn

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 13 : 18
16. lips which make confession "to his name. But to do
good and to communicate forget not: for with such
17. sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey "them that have
the rule over you, and submit to them: for "they watch
in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account;
"that they may do this with joy, and not with * grief:
for "this were unprofitable for you.
18. Pray for us: "for we are persuaded that we have a
good conscience, desiring to live 2 honestly in all
1 Gr. groaning. a SV honorably

from Hos. 14 : 3 LXX. To his name. I.e., to God. This grateful
acknowledgment to God is to be the Christian priests' offering of
praise. 16. There are other sacrifices, that may still be made, sacrifices
that have primarily to do with one's fellow-men, but are none the
less offerings made to God, and acceptable to him. Christian ser
vice has a man-ward as well as a God-ward side. Practical benefi
cence and generous helpfulness are not to be forgotten. Cf. 13 :
1, 2; 6 : 10.
17. Loyalty and obedience to the leaders of the church, as those
charged with responsibility for the brethren, is enjoined. Them
that have the rule over you. Better, your leaders. The officers
of the congregation are probably meant. Cf. vs. 7, where former
leaders are mentioned. They watch. Suggesting the watchful
ness of a shepherd or a sentinel. This responsible and arduous
service should call forth a ready response in obedience and devotion.
That they may do this with joy, and not with grief. Better,
groaning. Do not thwart their efforts and make their burdens still
heavier by disobedience. This were unprofitable. Disobedience
and wilfulness will not only disappoint their efforts, but bring dis
aster upon you as well.
Personal words, benediction, and salutations, 13 : 18-25.
18. From the leaders of the church the writer passes to himself
and those with him, who seem to be separated from the readers
through no wish of their own, but perhaps by reason of the persecu
tion now threatening, if not actually afflicting, the church. For
we are persuaded. Or, For we believe. The writer can honestly
ask their prayers, since he has lived in all good conscience. If there
is an apologetic hint in these words, it may suggest that the writer
121

13 : 19 EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS
19. things. And I exhort you the more exceedingly to
do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
isa. 63 : n 20. Now "the God of peace, "who brought again "from
the dead "the great shepherd of the sheep clwith the
zech. 9:11 blood of °2 the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus,
isa. 55:3 21. "make you perfect in every good 3 thing to do his will,
"working in 4us that which is well-pleasing in his
sight, through Jesus Christ; "to whom be the glory
5 for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Or, by Gr. in. 3 SV an 3 Many ancient authorities read work. ¦* Many
ancient authorities read you. s Gr. unto the ages of the ages.
has incurred criticism by withdrawing from the scene of danger, as
Cyprian, e.g., afterwards did in the Decian persecution. On the
other hand, he may have been in exile or imprisonment for some time
past. Certainly he is now free, for he declares his intention of coming
to them with Timothy, if he come soon. Perhaps he as well as
Timothy has just been set at liberty, cf. vs. 23.
19. Some obstacles, at all events, still keep the writer from the
readers, and these he hopes by their prayers may be speedily re
moved, so that he may rejoin them.
20. From his request for the readers' prayers for himself, the
writer turns to his own devout wish for them, somewhat in the manner
of Paul, 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Thes. 3:16. The God of peace. As in
1 Thes. 5:23; Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9, etc. Who brought
again. Or, who brought up. The language is largely drawn from
Isa. 63: 11 LXX. From the dead. While a reference to the resur
rection is unmistakable here, the further allusion to the blood of an
everlasting covenant suggests one of the great themes of the epistle, the
entrance of Jesus into the eternal sanctuary with his blood, there to
effect the final atonement. It is this that is emphasized. The . . .
shepherd of the sheep. A Messianic designation, cf. John 10:11,
14; 21:16; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4 (the arch-shepherd). Not simply
the shepherd of the sheep, of Isa. 63 : 1 1 LXX, but the great shep
herd. With the blood of the eternal covenant. Cf. Zech. 9: 11.
The reference is to Jesus' priestly ministry, for which God brought
him up to the eternal sanctuary, his presence. The eternal cove
nant. Better, An eternal covenant. The new, better, final cove
nant of 8:6, etc.
21. Make you perfect. Or, fit you. To be connected with
to do his will. Working in us. The thought is that God will so

EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 13 : 25
22. But I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of
exhortation : for I have written unto you in few words.
23. Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at
liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.
24. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all
the saints. 01 They of Italy salute you.
25. Grace be with you all. Amen.
1 SVm The brethren from, etc.
fit them to do his will, by working in us, through Jesus Christ, his
good pleasure. To whom be the glory. That is, to the God of
peace. Cf. 1 Pet. 5:11. ¦'¦ •< "d 1 I ¦- I »j.l
22. The writer seems to anticipate some possible impatience
with his message on the part of the readers. The passages of stern
rebuke may have recurred to his mind. The brevity of the letter,
he seems to say, must excuse its abruptness or any other defect.
23. The writer is in a position to know more of the circumstances
of Timothy than are the readers. Tradition connects Timothy's
later activity with Ephesus, and it was in that region and at Rome
particularly that believers were at this time persecuted. Save for
these precarious hints, suggesting Asia as the possible scene of Tim
othy's imprisonment and release, nothing can be said of them. Doubt
less it was as a Christian that he had suffered. That the writer
should speak thus of Timothy to a Jewish Christian congregation
seems hardly appropriate or probable. The mention of him serves
rather to connect the writer with the followers of Paul and with his
congregations. Timothy is expected by the writer, who proposes
to proceed with him to the readers, i.e., to Rome. The writer thus
seems to be at some point by way of which Timothy would naturally
journey to Rome, or from which at least Rome is more readily accessi
ble than it is from the point at which Timothy finds himself. That
the writer is outside of Italy is probable from the following verse.
24. Salutations are sent to the leaders and to the members of the
congregation. They of Italy. Lit., They from Italy, suggesting
that Italian brethren absent from Italy are meant, who are taking
this opportunity to send salutations to their brethren at home, from
whom they are separated perhaps by the same stress of persecution
which has driven the writer from Rome.
25. The same concise parting salutation occurs in Tit. 3:15.
Paul's letters usually exhibit a somewhat longer form,, 1 Cor. 16:23;
Gal. 6:18. "3

NOTE
Melchizedek in Philo
Philo understands Melchizedek to represent that right reason
which guides and cheers the aspiring mind, giving it, instead of water,
wine that possesses it " with a divine intoxication, more sober than
sobriety itself." His priesthood is the priesthood of reason, which
has as its inheritance the true God. Philo thus completely spiritu
alizes and allegorizes Melchizedek, as he does Abraham, whom he
understands to represent the soul emigrating (" Hebrew ") from the
realm of the passions. The writer to the Hebrews, on the other
hand, while he does find significance in the meaning of Salem, and
makes use of the silence of scripture, treats Melchizedek and Abra
ham in a much more historical spirit, not allegorizing them, but
setting Melchizedek forth, altogether in the manner of Ps. no, as
a type of non-Aaronic priesthood, underived and unlimited. Here,
as often, the epistle has interesting points of resemblance to Philo,
but exhibits, upon examination, still deeper differences, in spirit,
method, and detail. Cf. Philo, On the Allegories of the Sacred Laws,
chh. 25, 26; On Abraham, ch. 40.

124

INDEX

i. GENERAL INDEX

Aaron, 55, 68.
Aaron's rod, 78.
Abel, 97, 115.
Abraham, 62, 65, 66, 98, 101.
Acts, 9, 13.
Alexandria, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9.
Alexandrian influence, 11, 16.
Alexandrians, Epistle to the, 2.
Altar, Christian, 119.
Altar of incense, 6, 77, 78.
Anchor, 64.
Angels, 32, 33, 117.
Antoninus Saturninus, 22.
Apocalypse, 25, 26.
Apollos, 7.
Apostasy, 15, 17, 18, 44, 59.
Aquila, 8.
Ark of covenant, 78.
Asia, 24, 123.
Asian rhythms, 25.
Athanasius, 4.
Atonement, Day of, 81, 119.
Augustine, 5.
Baptism, 91.
Barak, 105.
Barnabas, 3, 5, 7-13; Acts
9; Epistle of, 9, 12; Gospel
Si-
Bibliography, 29.
Blass, 25.
Bleek, 20.
Blood, offering of, 78.
Blood of Christ, 80, 81, 90.
Blood of sprinkling, 114.

Blood of the covenant, 93.
Bruce, 39, 57, 62, 74.
Burton, 55.
Cain, 97.
Candlestick, 77.
Chastening, no, in.
Christ, Jesus, and Moses, 41; as
brother, 39; blood of, 80, 81, 90;
called to priesthood, 55 ; death of,
15, 21, 38, 39; divine Sonship,
31, 42, 66; exalted, 32, 34, 35, 109;
heavenly ministry, 72; interces
sion of, 71; ministry of, 84;
obedience of, 50 ; offering of, 84,
85, 88, 89, 90; suffering, 38;
temptation, 40. See also High
priesthood.
City, abiding, 99.
City of God, 114.
Claudius, 20.
Clementine Homilies, 9.
Clement of Alexandria, 3, 5, 8, 10.
Clement of Rome, 3, 5, 8, 12, 14, 20,
21.
Clement of Rome to the Corinthians,
of, 14, 19, 23.
of, Clement, Second, 33.
Corinth, 24.
Covenant, 93 ; better, 70, 74, 75.
Covetousness, 118.
Creation, 96.
Cross, 109.
Crucifixion, place of, 120.
Cyprian, 3, 5, 122.
"5

GENERAL INDEX

David, 6, 49, 104.
Davidson, 39, 43.
Dion Cassius, 20, 22.
Dionysius of Alexandria, 4.
Domitian, 16, 21, 22, 24, 60.
Egypt, 104.
Enoch, 97.
Ephesus, 23.
Esau, 102, 113.
Eusebius, 2, 4, 10, 22, 23, 24.
Exodus, 45.
Faith, 62, 96-107, 109.
Faithfulness of Christ, 41.
Firstborn, 33, 114.
First principles of Christ, 59.
Forgiveness of sin, 76, 90.
Freer manuscripts, 1.
Gaius, 3.
Gelasius, 9.
Gentile Christians, 14.
Gethsemane, 56.
Gideon, 105.
Haggai, 115.
Harnack, 8, 13, 16, 20.
Heavenly sanctuary, 90.
Hebrew, 8.
Hebrews, Epistle to, analysis, 27;
authorship, 5 ; canonicity, 2 ; gen
eral character, 19, 25; Greek of ,
7; occasion and purpose, 17, 18;
readers of, 13, 14, 58; theme, 31;
time of writing, 16, 19, 20; title,
13; vocabulary, 25.
Hebrews, Gospei according to the,
16.
High priest, 10, 11, 78, 84.
High priesthood of Christ, 40, 41,
53. 54, 64, 67, 69, 71-74, 80, 91.
Hilary, 3.
Hippo, Council of, 5.
Hippolytus, 3.

Holy Place, 10, 78, 79.
Hort, 4.
Hosea, 86.
House of God, 42.
Incarnation, meaning of, 40.
Incense altar, 6, 77, 78.
Inheritance, 82.
Intercession of Christ, 71.
Irenaeus, 3, 13.
Isaac, 99, iot, 102.
Isaiah, 107.
Isidore of Seville, 4.
Italy, 7, 15, 16, 23, 24, 123.
Jacob, 99, 102.
Jamnia, 15.
Jephthah, 105.
Jeremiah, 75, 106.
Jericho, 105.
Jerome, 4, 5.
Jerusalem, 10, 11, 20, 21; heavenly,
114.
Jesus. See Christ.
Jewish war, 20.
Jews, 14.
John, Gospel of, 26.
Joseph, 102.
Joseph called Barnabas, 9.
Josephus, 10, 83.
Joshua, 49.
Judah, 68.
Judaism, 6, 7, 15, 19, 24, 71.
Judaistic Christianity, 119.
Judgment, 85.
Lactantius, 22.
Levi, 11, 66, 67.
Levite, 10.
Levitical, 9, 11, 67-69, 86-89.
Luke, 7, 8.
Luther, 7.
Maccabaean martyrs, 25, 106, 107.
Maccabaeans, 25.
Manna, 78.
26

GENERAL INDEX

Manuscripts, i, 4.
Marcion, 1, 2.
Mark, 8, 9, n.
Marriage, 117.
Matthew, 26.
McGiffert, 12, 13.
Meats, 118, 119.
Mediator, 74, 75, 81, 114.
Melchizedek, 6, 56, 64, 65, 124.
Melchizedek priesthood, 68, 69.
Melchizedek priesthood of Christ,
56, 57-
Melito, 21.
Messianic age, 31.
Messianic Day, 92.
Messianic interpretation of the Old
Testament, 39.
Messianic priest, 68-71.
Methodius of Tyre, 4.
Micaiah, 106.
Moses, 6, 41, 42, 103, 113.
Most Holy Place, 10, 64.
Mount Zion, 21, 114.
Muratorian, 2, 3.
Nero, 60.
Neronian persecution, 19-22, 94.
New covenant, 82, 114.
Nicephorus, 22, 23.
Noah, 98.
Novatian, 5, 8, 10, 12.
Oath, 63.
Obedience, 121.
Old Latin, 3.
Origen, 4.
Oxyrhynchus, 1.

Palestine, 14; congregations of,
Pantaenus, 4, 5, 8, 13.
Parable, 60, 79.
Passover, 104.
Patmos, 24.
Paul, 2-9, 11-13, 22, 23, 25, 26.
Peace, 112.
Pella, 15.

Penalty, 59, 60, 92, 93.
Persecution, 14, 16, 18, 20.
Peter, 12.
Peter, First Epistle of, 26.
Peter Martyr, 4.
Philippi, 24.
Philo, 6, 10, 51, 65, 124.
Photius, 3.
Practical purpose, 18.
Prisca, 8, 13.
Prisoners, 118.
Promises, 62, 100, 107.
Quotations, 25.
Rahab, 105.
Redemption, 80.
Rendall, 73.
Repentance, 112.
Rest of God, 1 7, 47-49, 50.
Resurrection, 106.
Roman Church, 16, 17, 22, 61.
Romans, Epistie to the, 13.
Rome, 3-5, 7, 9, 16, 23, 24, 123.

Sacrifice ineffectual, 85, 88.
Salutation, 123.
Salvation as deliverance from death,
39 ; as the rest of God, 47, 48 ; as
world dominion, 37.
Samson, 105.
Samuel, 105.
Sanctuary, Christian, 77.
Sarah, 99.
Sardinia, 23.
Septuagint, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 25-27, 87.
Septuagint canon, 25.
Sixty Canonical Books, 9.
16. Son the medium of creation, 31.
Sonship, true, no, 11 1.
Sprinkling of blood, 83.
Suetonius, 20.
Synoptics, 25, 26.
Tabernacle, 10, 77, 83, 119; the
true, 73.
127

GENERAL INDEX

Tacitus, 20.
Temple, 10.
Tertullian, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, 21.
Testament, 82.
Text, x.
Thayer, 32.
Theme of Hebrews, 31.
Theognostus, 4.
Theophany, 113.
Timothy, 7, ii,.i2, 15, 16, 21-23,
122, 123.
Titus, 21.

Veil, 64, 91.
Von Soden, 16.
Warning, 36, 43, 44, 47. 48, 50, 62,
92> "5-
Westcott, 34, 48.
Wisdom, Book of, 32.
Word of God, 51.
Zahn, 16.
Zechariah, 106.
Zion, 21, 114.

128

2. INDEX TO REFERENCES

Genesis i

1-31

i

11, 12

2

2

34

17, 18
4

4

10

5

24

6

13-22

12

I

14

17-20

14 16

19, 20
16

18,
18:
21

10
9-15 5

21

12

22

1, 2

22

16, 17

22

17

23

4

25

2

252526

7
33

2732

38 12

474748

9 31 1

5°

24, 25

5°
Exodus 1

2516, 22

2 : 14, 15
3:23 = 6
3 : 10

96

Exodus 12 : 21-28

104

60

14 : 15, 16

105

48, 50

14: 28

i°5

61

16 : 33, 34

78

97

17 : 1-7
43
97
19 : 12, 13
113
97
19 : 16, 19
113
98
19 : 18
"5
9S
24 : 3-8
83
65
24: 8
83. 93
66
25, 26
77
IOI
25-27
73
117
25 : 9, 4°
73
99
25: 16
78
63
25 : 18-22
78
IOI, 102
25 : 23-3°
77
IOI
25 : 31-40
77
62
25 : 40
74
IOO
28: 1
55
99
29: 4
91
IOI
29 : 21
91
63
3° : 1. 3. 6
10
113
30 : 6
78
63
30 : 20
91
112
3°: 3°
11
IOO
33 : "
104
IOO
37
77
102
37 : 10-16
77
102
37 : 17-24
77
103
39. 4°
77
102
40 : 26
78
I03
Leviticus
7 : 12
120
IO3
8:30
90
103
16 : 2, 12
64
I04
16 : 11, 15
80
I04
16 : 11-14
55
IOI
16 : 27
119
41
Numbers
12 : 7
4i. 42, 91
129
INDriA tu K£,rEREi>v^Eo

Numbers

12 :8

104

Psalms

45 : 6. 7

34

14 : 21-23, 28"

¦35

44

5°: 14
120
14 : 29
46
76 : 2
65
16:38
119
89:27
33
17 : 10, 11
78
89 : 5°. 5i
103,
104
18: 1
55
95 : 7. 8
45
. 49
Deuteronomy 20 : 1-13
43
95 = 7-i 1
43
4 : 11, 12
113
95 : 11
47
. 48
4: 24
116
97 = 7
3J
5 : 22, 23,
25
113
102 : 25-27
35
9: 19
"3
104:4
34
12 : 9
44, 47
no
124
17 : 2, 6
93
no: 1 32,3;
,88,89
,119
29 : 18
112
no : 4 56,
57. 64
65,
31 : 6, 8
118
66, 68,
69, 7c
. 73
32 :35
20,
25, 93
116: 15
97
32 :43
33
118:6
118
33:8
43
135 = 14
93
Joshua
1 :5
118
Proverbs
3 : 11, 12
no
6 : 1-20
i°5
4 : 26
in
6: 17, 23,
25
i°5
Isaiah
8: 17, 18
39
Judges
4, 5
105
26 : n
92
5:4, 5
"5
26 : 20
94
6-8
105
35 = 3
25,
111
11-16
105
41 : 8, 9
40
14 : 6
106
45 = 17
56
1 Samuel
12
105
53: 12
85
17 :34
106
55:3
122
2 Samuel
7 : 12-16
i°5
57:i9
120
7--I4
33
63 : 11
122
1 Kings
8:9
78
Jeremiah
20 : 2
106
17: 23
106
26 : 23
I07
19 : 1, 2
106
31 : 31-34
75
19 ¦• 2, 3
107
3i : 33. 34
89
19 : 10
107
37:i5. 16
106
19: 19
107
38:6
106
22 : 27
106
Daniel
3: 27
106
2 Rings
2 : 13
107
6 : 16-23
106
4 : 36, 37
106
7:18
n6
6 : 13, 31
107
Hosea
6: 6
86
2 Chronicles 24 : 20, 21
107
14:3
121
Psalms
2:7
33.
55. 72
Habakkuk
2 :3. 4
94
8:4-6
37
Haggai
2 :6
H5
22 : 22
39. 4o
Zechariah
6:11
9i
34:i4
112
9: n
122
40 : 6-8
86 1
?°
13 = 4
107
INDEX TO REFERENCES

Maccabees

Maccabees

Wisdom

Ecclesiasticus 23 :
Matthew 5 :
6:

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

Romans

2326 1
3 37
101415

18: 1 :
3 :
10 :
19:

4: 7:
8:
13 :
15 :
18 :
28 :
1 :
4: 8 :
8:

: 28, 31
33. 42
19, 28
22, 30
1, 7, 10
9. 14
264 10
2. 3
82 5-34
13 7
3564 15
1428-3018
47. 48
363411 5i7
923
n, 14
1716
14-21
383i 5312, 17
46 39
2 15
3
9 17
29

12 : 19

107
107106106
106106 32
9S
112 79
112118 8686
97 3259
41 93 58
68 56
39 10
107 976065
122120 122 3i 59
118 36 59
118 1320
6168988233
112
25. 93 13

Romans

13

: 11

62

13

: 12

92

15

: 3

104

15

33

122

16
20
122
1 Corinthians
3
: 2
58
9
•24
108
11
2, 23
36
12-
14
37
15
27
3»
16
23
123
Galatians
2
13
13
3
6
98
3
19
6, 32, 36
3
29
40
4
26
114
6
18
123
Ephesians
1
18
60
Philippians
3
20
114
4
9
122
Colossians
1
15
33
1 Thessalonians 2
18
6
5
4
92
5
23
122
2 Thessalonians
3
16
122
3
17
6
1 Timothy
1
3
23
Titus
3
15
123
James
3
17, 18
111
1 Peter
2
25
122
5
4
122
5
11
I23
1 John
3
12
97
Revelation
6
9, 10
97
7
7
11
IS
3
26
21
2
114, 120
Ascension of Isaiah 5 107
Clement of Alexandria,
Hypotyposes 7 10
Stromateis 2 : 20 10
Clement of Rome I, 5, 6 20
Clement of Rome II, 1 33
INDEX TO REFERENCES

Dion Cassius, Hist. 60 : 6
67 : 14
Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica

2 : 1:4

10

2 : 25 : 8

20

3: 4 = 6

23

3:18:1

24

5:26

2

6 : 14

3

6: 25

4

Josephus, Antiquities 2 : 9

103

3:6:8

10

3:8:6

83

*5 : 2. 3

55

ao : 8, 9

55

Justin Martyr, Apology I, 61 60
Dialogue 120 107
Nicephorus, Historia Ecclesiastica
3 : 11 22, 23
Origen, To Africanus 9 107
Philo, On Abraham 40 124
On Allegories of Sacred Laws
25 65
25, 26 124
On A nimals fit for Sacrifice 2 10
Suetonius, Claudius 25 20

Tacitus, Annals 15 : 44
Tertullian, De Patientia 14
De Pudicitia 20
Scorpiace 8

107 5
107

132

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