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Cambridge Bible
for
Schools and Colleges

DrVINTTY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

THE CAMBRIDGE BIBLE
FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
General Editor for the New Testament : —
R. ST JOHN PARRY, D.D.
FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE

THE EPISTLE
TO THE
HEBREWS

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
C. F. CLAY, Manager
LONDON : FETTER'LANE, E.C. 4

NEW YORK ¦ THE MACMILLAN CO.
BOMBAY
CALCUTTA . MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE EPISTLE
TO THE
HEBREWS

In the Revised Version
With Introduction and Note;
by
A. NAIRNE, D.D.
Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE
AT THE UNIVERSITfe«ErM I 92 I

PREFACE
BY THE GENERAL EDITOR
THE General Editor does not hold himself responsible,
except in the most general sense, for the statements,
opinions, and interpretations contained in the several
volumes of this Series. He believes that the value of the
Introduction and the Commentary in each case is largely
dependent on the Editor being free as to his treatment of
the questions which arise, provided that that treatment
is in harmony with the character and scope of the Series.
He has therefore contented himself with offering criti
cisms, urging the consideration of alternative interpreta
tions, and the hke; and as a rule he has left the adoption
of these suggestions to the discretion of the Editor.
Trinity College, Cambridge.
December, 1920.

"3

PREFACE
IN this edition of the Epistle- to the Hebrews the Cam
bridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges has
been adapted for the use of those who do not know Greek.
Of the Introduction Part I (Plan and analysis) remains
unaltered: Part III (Theology of the Epistle) is almost
unaltered: Part II (History of the reception, criticism and
interpretation of the Epistle) has been shortened and
simplified, perhaps less drastically than some might wish :
Parts IV and V (Text and style) have been run together
into a quite simple sketch. In the Commentary the Titles
and Paraphrases of the sections into which the Epistle is
divided remain unaltered: the Notes have been revised,
often rewritten; Greek words have been entirely cut out,
and though the original Greek text is still referred to
pretty constantly all is explained in as plain English as
could be managed. The long Introduction, especially
Part III, and the Paraphrases were intended to lighten
the notes in the Greek edition: Introduction and Para
phrases were to shew what the Epistle meant, its purpose,
its underlying faith ; the Notes were to elucidate particular
points, especially of language, and to make the Para
phrases more intelligible. This general plan still shapes
the English edition. I believe that this will encourage the
student, better than many and long notes would, to pay
attention to the text itself of the Epistle : and I hope it
may prove the more interesting method of study. I have
tried to make the whole book interesting and still, in this

PREFACE vii
new form, to keep it so. I am, of course, far from counting
on success in this endeavour : revision of the earlier book
reveals dulness as well as a myriad of other failures to its
author, who is however glad to be thus allowed to attempt
correction. But I have still aimed at rousing interest : and
for that reason have not been too anxious to be easy. I
have kept in view as my reader an intelligent sixth form
boy. In former days such a boy was reading Thucydides
and Aeschylus: it may be supposed that his modern
studies require no less enthusiasm and diligence. If so,
he will not thank a commentator on the Greek Testament
for treating him as a child. And indeed the signs of these
times do seem to shew that schools and colleges, teachers
and learners, are putting away childish things in their
study of Holy Scripture, and are no longer content to
"get up" a book of the New Testament but desire to
reach the mind and faith of its author, to comprehend
something of the ardour and profundity of the first age.
ALEXANDER NAIRNE.
December, 1920.

CONTENTS
Introduction
I. Plan and analysis of the epistle
II. History of the reception, criticism and
interpretation of the epistle .
III. The theology of the epistle
IV. The style and text of the epistle
Text and Notes .....

xix
xlix cxv

Index ....... 113

INTRODUCTION I
PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE
The aim of this division of the Introduction is to set forth as
plainly as possible the argument and intention of the epistle.
For this purpose three summaries are given: (i) an outline
sketch of the plan, (2) an enlargement of this in detailed
analysis, (3) a very brief rhetorical paraphrase. All three are
coloured by the view adopted in this commentary of the
circumstances out of which the epistle arose. Their proper
place would be at the end of the critical and theological
enquiries which recommend that view. But it may make for
clearness if the results are shortly stated first.
Prelude
The epistle is a word of exhortation (xiii. 22) : to what does
it exhort? To right conduct in an approaching crisis in which
the readers must choose whether or no they will be faithful to
their Lord. Such faithfulness must rest on a right conception
of the Person and work of Christ. Hence Doctrine is inter
woven with Exhortation. But i. — x. 18 is mainly doctrinal,
x. 19 — xiii. mainly practical ; though xi. is intermediate, since
faith partakes of both doctrine and practice, and is the
affection which makes argument convincing. The author
would hardly claim to have absolutely proved his doctrine by
logical process, but he knows that the proof will be completed
for his friends if they will trust their Lord and follow Him where
He is leading them now.
The crisis will include persecution, abandonment of ancient
forms of ritual, of ties of friendship, even of what seem to be
the claims of honour, and if the right choice is made will

x INTRODUCTION I
result in actual entrance upon the complete Christian state,
i.e. entrance into the very presence of God.
Hence it must be shewn that Christ has passed through
suffering and death, and, according to the analogy of the
ancient ritual, has opened the way to the presence of God,
i.e. that. He is the one true Priest who through death has
offered the eternal sacrifice of life; and withal His Person
must be displayed in such a light as to win affection and be
a proper object of devoted faith.
All this is summed up in the concluding Collect, xiii.
20, 21.
[If we may suppose the epistle written from a Jewish
Christian in Italy to his friends (a family rather than a,
church) in Palestine, just before the breaking out of the Jewish
war with Rome, its significance would seem to be particularly
clear. But even though this must be considered unproven,
still it will be necessary to recognise as its background an
approaching crisis of a very severe character in which the
readers will be obliged to make a brave and painful choice.]
Analysis is rendered difficult by the compression of the
writer's thought — the style is severe rather than rhetorical;
by our want of familiarity with the pre-supposed habits of his
readers' minds, which compels a certain amount of filling in;
and by his method of interweaving the divisions of his subj ect,
allowing no visible articulations. The larger divisions are:
i. — iv. Preparatory; v. — x. 18, Priesthood, subdivided into
v. — vii. the High Priest, viii. — x. 18, the Sacrifice ; x. 19 — xiii.
Exhortation, subdivided into two parts by xi., on Faith,
which clinches the preceding argument and introduces the
final Exhortation.
All through the idea rules that Jesus is the Forerunner.
He has entered the presence of God, the heavenly sanctuary;
the readers of the epistle have not yet followed Him thither —
the crisis, their choice, must first be passed : but they are in
an increasingly close relationship to Him as they follow the
argument of the epistle. This is made vivid by three illustra
tions : the ship, vi. 19, 20; the race-course, xii. 1,2; the sacrifice
outside the camp, xiii. 10 — 16.
The ancient Hebrew idea of sacrifice must be kept in mind,

PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE xi
i.e. that the blood sprinkled was a symbol, not of death, but
of life set free by death and thus presented to God.
The quotations from the Old Testament are not made
arbitrarily, but according to the principle that those who
were called Christs (christos, anointed) in the Old Testament,
whether kings, prophets, priests, or even the people of Israel
as a whole, were really Christs, or in The Christ; they
represented God to man and man to God. The eternal Son,
whom the faithful call The Christ or Christ (as a proper
name), took as His inheritance and fulfilled all that was
adumbrated in them. SKETCH
I — IV. Preparatory to the main theme.
i— ii. 4. The Son's inheritance as declared in Old
Testament references to Israel's king and
people and to the world's Creator,
ii. 5-18. and as displayed in the glorified humiliation
of the earthly life of Jesus.
iii.-iv. The unity of man with God through the
Christ, whose office Jesus the Son of God
has inherited, fulfilling its inherent high-
priestly efficacy by His ascension after
suffering.
V — X 18. Doctrinal theme: the Eternal High Priest.
V— VII, The Priest: VIII— X 18, His Sacrifice.
v. 1-10. The Christ-priest satisfies the conditions of
priesthood by His sympathy in suffering
and by His appointment according to the
order of Melchizedek.
v. n-vi. 20. Argument broken by warning and encourage
ment, but brought in again by reference
in vi. 20 to this order of Melchizedek,
vii. which signifies the Priesthood of eternal life.
viii. Its sacrifice belongs to the promised New
Covenant :

xii INTRODUCTION I
ix. is offered once for all in the heavenly sanc
tuary, and by a true outpouring of blood
has been effectual for remission of sins:
x. 1-18. effectual indeed for absolute perfecting of
worshippers, since it is the personal
offering of that free will which is the
meeting-point of spiritual beings.
X 19 — XIII. Exhortation to use the Entrance, thus in
augurated by the High Priest, in the one way — hke His
own — which is at this very time appointed.
x. 19-39. Therefore enter the sanctuary after Jesus,
not shrinking from His own painful way.
You will not, for yours is the lif e of faith :
xi. the reality of which is proved by history.
xii. Endure therefore, even though heaven as
well as earth is to be shaken :
xiii. 1-17. actually overtaking the Forerunner in what
seems on earth to be His ignominious
position outside the camp.
18-25. That you may do just this, the writer (who
has done it) prays.
ANALYSIS I— IV.
i. 1-4. God has spoken in one who is a Son, heir of
all: who being eternal and divine has
become man, offered sacrifice for sins, and
ascended to the right hand of God, taking
His inheritance :
5-14. which is Manhood joined to Godhead; not
the state of the angels, for He has inherited
all that was said in the Old Testament of
anointed men and of God in manifestation.
i. 1-4. Parenthetic exhortation, in which the author
shews that he speaks of Him whom the
faithful call The Lord.

PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE xiii
5~9- The Manhood — its glory in humiliation- — is
displayed by comparison of the promise of
glory for man and the actual life of Jesus
on earth.
1 0-18. This was the fitting way for their Brother
(Old Testament name inherited) to set men
free from fear of death, and so by triumph
over death and by sympathy to become
their High Priest.
iii. 1-5. This manhood, however, is not merely that
of one man among many, as even Moses
was, but corresponds to and fulfils the
manhood of the anointed representatives
of the ancient people (who were called
sons by God) ; as Christ He is head of the
whole house and one with its Founder:
6. which house consists of the faithful.
iii. 7-iv. 13. Exhortation to such faithfulness, which ex
hortation leads through the quotation
from Ps. xcv. to the explanation of three
principles in understanding the Old Testa
ment :
(a) iii. 7-iv. 2. much is there said which has never been
satisfied till these later days ;
(3) iv. 3rio. the description of heavenly things such
as the Rest of God gives the reality
which earthly things suggest;
(y) iv. 11-13. sincerity of conscience is necessary for
the right reading of God's Word.
iv. 14-16. IntothisRestof God Jesus of the Old Testa
ment did not lead the people, but Jesus the
Son of God has passed into it, and stands
therefore confessed the true High Priest:
since the function of the high priest is to
provide access to God for the people whom
he represents, and Jesus has already been
shewn to be the true representative of
man. The section ends with exhortation :
"Let us draw near."
HEBREWS &

xiv INTRODUCTION I
V— X 18.
V— VII „ ,.
v. 1-4. As every high priest must be sympathetic
and duly appointed :
5-6. so the Christ : for the Christ of the Old Testa
ment, the King of Israel, was divinely ad
dressed not only as Son, but also as Priest
for ever after the order of Melchizedek:
7-10 . and the Son of God, who inherited these Old
Testament appellations, sufficiently mani
fested His sympathy by the process of His
suffering.
v. 11-vi. 3. Rebuke; vi. 4 — 8, Warning; 9—12, En
couragement, followed by
vi. 13-20. declaration of the assurance afforded by
God's promise, and of the earnest of its
fulfilment in Jesus' entrance within the
veil.
[Illustration: ship outside harbour; anchor touching
ground; Captain already ashore.]
vii. 1-3 . Melchizedek a representation (as sketched in
the Old Testament) of the eternal High
Priest, the Son of God:
4-10. a greater priest than Aaron:
such as our Lord has exactly shewn
Himself to be,
11-14. inasmuch as, being sprung from another
tribe than Aaron's, namely the royal tribe
of Judah,
15-19. having filled up the ancient sketch by the
power of an indissoluble life,
20-22. and having been appointed by the oath of
God,
23-25. He ever liveth to make priestly intercession .
26-28. This conclusion is confirmed by our sense of
fitness: just such a High Priest were we
needing.

PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE xv
VIII— X 18.
viii. 1-13. After repeating the chief point of the pre
ceding argument — that we have a High
Priest who has entered heaven itself and
God's actual presence (1, 2), the author
goes on to consider that He must offer a
true heavenly sacrifice (3 — 6), and points
out that a new and real Covenant had
been promised, the Covenant in fact of
which the true High Priest is Mediator
(7 — 12), and that this implies the dis
appearance of the Old in the New (13).
ix. 1—5. Description of the old ritual, which
6—10. providednorealaccesstoGod'spresence, and
was to last only till a time of reformation.
11— 14. Description of the new ritual of the true
Sanctuary, Victim, and Priest, in which
eternal redemption and cleansing of con
science has been provided.
15-17. And as the old ritual, according to the
ancient idea of a Covenant,
18—22. involved death by representation:
23-28. so does the new ritual involve suffering,
but through suffering the manifestation
of abiding life.
x. 1-4. The old rule of ritual has a shadow of hope,
and repeats a memorial of sins :
5-10. but Jesus Christ, the sacrificing Priest who
has passed through earthly life to heavenly,
has made a real offering, in which we have
been really consecrated, for it is the
offering of Himself made of His own free
will,
1 1-14. and needing no repetition, for it is complete ;
15-18. and hence the prophetic promise has been
fulfilled ; remission of sins has taken place ;
the only barrier is removed. &2

INTRODUCTION I
X 19— XIII.
x. 19-25 . Enter then by the way, fresh-slain yet living,
the painful way of the flesh of Jesus Christ,
into the true sanctuary, not forsaking the
appointed methods of worship; the con
solations of worship and fellowship are
real to those who recognise the unseen
power which is carrying on the succession
of events to the appointed Day.
26-31. For so it is indeed; we know the truth of
things, and there is no other religion to
take the place of ours; we dare not despise it.
32-34. Nor will you : your former constancy must
be renewed.
35~39- The Day is athand : He comes, as the ancient
warning says; surely the ancient Faith is
ours.
xi. 1-2. And that there is such a power as Faith is
proved
3. by our own intelligent observation of the
course of history,
4-39. and by the witness borne to our forefathers,
who ever looked into the unseen and chose
the braver course,
40. and now wait for us to realise with them the
promise they trusted.
xii. 1-3. And they, witnesses themselves to faith's
reality and power, are watching us as we
strip for our contest.
[Illustration: a race-course ; the readers of the epistle
are stripping to run; at the end of the course they
can see Jesus who has run the race before them,
and whom, as they run, they will approach.]
4-13. Endure chastisement as being yourselves
sons: shrink not even from extreme
suffering.

PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE xvii:
14-17. Li ve at peace with all if you can ; but do not,
for the sake of peace, impair your con
secration, as Esau, for the sake of ease,
sold his birthright.
18-29. For the coming crisis is supreme: at Sinai
Israel could not endure God's voice; but
then matters were transacted in the
shadowy sphere of earth, now for good or
ill you touch the heavenly city : even what
seem heavenly realities are to be shaken
now, but in the very endurance of this
terror we are receiving a Kingdom which
cannot be shaken: for this let us with
grateful hearts do our priestly service to
God who purifies by fire.
xiii. 1-3. Exhortation to love of the brethren: 4,
honour of marriage; 5 — 6, contentment:
7-16^ holding fast to the traditional order of the
society of the faithful by remembering
their deceased rulers (7) ; celebrating the
unchanging sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to
whom they can actually draw near [here
the illustration from the old sacrificial
ritual passes from illustration into fact]
by going out of the ancient camp and
joining in that real, heavenly sacrifice,
which from the view of it presented now
on earth appears less as a sacrifice than
as the off-scouring of a sacrifice;
17. and by obeying their present rulers.
18-19. Exhortation to prayer for the writer,
followed by
20-21. his prayer for them: that they may be
enabled by God who creates peace in the
midst of tumult to make the right choice
in the approaching crisis, — -even as the
writer himself has already made his choice,
and henceforth acquiesces in the divine

xviii INTRODUCTION I
purpose — through Jesus the exalted
Christ, who passed in an exercise of His
will, which is our pattern, through death
to the glory of His High Priesthood.
22-25. Farewell and greetings.
RHETORICAL PARAPHRASE
Son of God, Christ: who is He whom we thus name and who
has inherited such great titles from Israel's heroes?
One who seems far lowlier than they. But His glory
was revealed in humiliation, and His humiliation was
the means of His high-priestly sympathy with men.
For He shared their trials that, priest-like, He might
bring them to God.
Think of Him as High Priest and you will never give Him up.
Hold fast to Him in your approaching trial and you will
know what His priestly salvation really is.
As High Priest: but not in the mechanical line of
Aaron. That shadowy ordinance is fading ineffectually
away before our eyes. Rather as High Priest in that
eternal line of world-wide ancestry and living growth
which the Psalmist symbolically named " after the order
of Melchizedek."
Jesus, our Lord, standing on the Godward side of all
men, and sacrificing His life for love of men, is the
evident fulfiller of all that line of loving priestly life
which has been throughout all history the visible
sacrament of Godhead on earth.
Believe then that He as High Priest has opened the way for
you to the presence of God.
The visible shame of Calvary was the sacrament of
His entrance into the sanctuary of God's presence on
our behalf. It remains for us to make the sacrament our
own and to follow Him.
Remember your courage in former trials. Imitate the
courageous faith of your forefathers. Follow Jesus your

HISTORY OF THE EPISTLE xix
acknowledged Lord in the course He has run before you—
do that hard duty which is now specially set before you.
Break old ties. Go forth to Him outside the camp.
Enter the city of God.
Following Jesus you shall be united with the Christ.-

II
HISTORY OF THE RECEPTION, CRITICISM AND
INTERPRETATION OF THE EPISTLE
In the third century Hebrews seems to have been read at
Alexandria as one of the epistles of S. Paul. That was the
popular use which we know only through the Alexandrine
scholars who criticised it. These scholars perceived that the
epistle could not have been written by S. Paul, but might be
connected more or less closely with his teaching. The loose
ascription to S. Paul as ultimate source which they allowed
spread into a general recognition of its Pauhne authorship in
the East from the fourth century onwards, and by degrees
the Western Church acquiesced.
Yet not whole-heartedly. The primitive tradition in the
West had been clear against Pauhne authorship. In Rome it
had been denied. In Africa Tertullian had quoted the epistle
as Barnabas'. This primitive tradition was obscured from the
fifth century, when S. Jerome advocated the Eastern opinion,
and onward through the middle ages. But it was never quite
forgotten, and at the revival of learning in the sixteenth
century it was still there, ready to be harmonised with
the recovered appreciation of the distinctive subject and
character of the epistle.
In the West, its first home, men knew Hebrews was not
Paul's. In the East the easy habit grew of classing it among
Pauline epistles. Whenever the peculiar message of this
epistle was discerned that easy habit was criticised. There
is the story in brief which must now be set out in some
detail.

xx INTRODUCTION II : HISTORY
§ i. At Alexandria a tradition of Pauline authorship was
criticised by scholars in the second century, but by the fourth
century it prevailed and spread over the East: Clement, Origen,
Athanasius. Eusebius in the sixth book of his Ecclesiastical History
(H. E. vi. 14) quotes from the Hypotyposeis of Clement of
Alexandria (c. 200) : " Paul, as the blessed presbyter used to
say, did not put his name, as apostle, to this letter, since the
Lord, the apostle of Almighty God, had been sent as apostle
to the Hebrews. It was a matter of reverence, and because
this letter lay outside his commission as apostle to the
Gentiles." From H. E. v. 11, vi. 13, it is reasonable to sup
pose that "the blessed presbyter" was Pantaenus, Clement's
predecessor in the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He
used to explain in this way the difficulty presented by the
abrupt opening of the epistle, and the absence of the author's
name and title throughout.
But there were other difficulties to be faced ; and one, the
peculiar style, was felt by Clement. After saying that Paul
wrote in Hebrew and Luke translated, whence comes the
likeness in style to Acts, Clement goes on to explain that
Paul kept back his name because the Hebrews were pre
judiced against him, and so "very cleverly he did not repel
them at first start by putting his name." This "at first
start," makes us think of a converse piece of modern
criticism in Wrede's Das literarisch Rdtsel des Hebrderbriefs,
who, denying Pauline authorship, thinks the conclusion a
later addition by some one who wished to pass the epistle off
as a letter of Paul's. Did Clement mean that the readers
would perceive who was writing to them when they reached
those intimate and affectionate messages? Probably not.
Clement does not appear to have gone beneath the surface
in his criticism and perhaps never felt how near he came to
impugning the good faith of S. Paul.
Pantaenus criticised simply, yet profoundly; Clement
slightly. His successor Origen has the sure touch, far sight
and caution of a real scholar, but is characteristically himself
in the way he uses his scholarship; like Pantaenus, he is

ALEXANDRIA: ORIGEN xxi
carried by his reverence near to the heart of the problem.
Eusebius has preserved two fragments from his Homilies on
the epistle (H. E. vi. 25), to this effect: "In his sermons on
the epistle to the Hebrews Origen thus discusses its author
ship and authority. He says that every one capable of
distinguishing styles would acknowledge Hebrews to be quite
different from the style of S. Paul. S. Paul was as he told the
Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 6) 'rude in speech,' and Hebrews is
what may be called good Greek. On the other hand, anyone
who read S. Paul's epistles diligently would agree that the
theology of this truly wonderful epistle is on the same high
canonical level as S. Paul's." He adds that "if I were to
declare my own opinion I should say that the theology is
Paul's, but the actual composition of the letter has been
entrusted to some one who took notes, like a pupil at his
master's lectures, of Paul's ideas and then wrote them out in
his own way. So then if a church like ours at Alexandria
holds the epistle to be Paul's, let it not be blamed, even
though it connects the document more closely with the
apostle than I. do: for it really was (as I have just shewn)
with reason that an elder generation has handed down the
letter as simply 'Paul's.' But to speak accurately, Paul did
not write the letter himself: who did, God only knows,
though critical enquiry, so far as it has gone as yet, has
suggested Clement, the friend of Paul who afterwards became
bishop of Rome, or Luke the writer of the Gospel and the
Acts, as in some sense the writer of Hebrews."
Origen witnesses to a tradition of Pauline authorship in
the Alexandrine Church without denying or affirming that it
may be found in some other churches. He recognises a
moderate antiquity for this tradition. He is sure himself
that the letter was not composed by S. Paul, but he is also
sure that it is worthy to be ranked with S. Paul's writings as
a primary source of Christian theology. That being so he is
not much interested in the question of authorship; a church
may harmlessly quote the letter as Paul's, and he himself
used to do so, as we learn from his other writings. In all this
he is near to modern criticism. The difference is that he seems
to recognise a closer connexion with S. Paul than most

xxii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
modern critics would allow. This however is the main point.
We find at Alexandria a firm conviction of the canonicity of
Hebrews and of its great value; and a vague tradition of its
Pauhne authorship, which we only hear of because the
competent judges at Alexandria criticised it. On the other
hand, Alexandria accounts for the later general acceptance
of the Pauhne authorship ;-Origen's acquiescence in the habit
of quoting the epistle loosely as S. Paul's encouraged its
continuance, and it spread abroad. And yet perhaps that
encouragement was hardly needed. It was the Alexandrine
recognition of canonicity that influenced the future. Origen
was great enough to distinguish inspiration from reverence
„ for an apostle's name. Others were less bold. And when the
epistle stood firmly established in the Canon of the Eastern
Church Pauline authorship became a necessary inference.
§ 2. There is no primitive evidence for such a tradition in the
East generally : Irenaeus, Eusebius, Versions.
But this came later. Even in the Eastern Church there is
no evidence, outside Alexandria, for any early belief that the
epistle was written by S. Paul. Irenaeus was bishop of Lyons
in Gaul, but he was by birth a Greek of Asia Minor, and may
be considered a witness to the Eastern tradition of the second
century. It seems quite certain that Irenaeus did not
reckon Hebrews among the epistles of S. Paul. Eusebius,
who was bishop of Caesarea, does fall in with the new custom
in the chapter in which he expressly declares what the Canon
of Scripture is, H. E. in. 25 ; for he enters therein, after the
Gospels and Acts, "the epistles of Paul," without considering
it necessary to say how many there are, and he does not
name Hebrews, or any other epistle attributed to S. Paul,
among the disputed books which he presently catalogues.
But in H. E. vi. 13 he does use this very term "disputed,"
of Hebrews together with the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach,
Barnabas, Clement, and Jude, and he was of course aware of
the ancient objections. Moreover in H. E. in. 37, when he is
writing about the epistle of Clement and his mind is thereby
brought to consider frankly the problem of authorship, he
adopts as his own the Alexandrine mediating explanation:

IRENAEUS, EUSEBIUS, ATHANASIUS xxiii
Clement's use of the epistle shews that it was not a new work
in his day; hence it has been decided that it should be in
cluded in the Pauline list; no doubt Paul communicated with
the Hebrews in his native language, Luke or Clement (wh6se
epistle resembles Hebrews in style) interpreted his writing.
Such was the reputable opinion of an ecclesiastical scholar
just before the Council of Nicaea. At that Council Hebrews
was quoted as written by S. Paul, but no discussion of the
Canon of Scripture was held (Westcott, Canon, p. 430). It is
however from this period that Hebrews definitely takes its
place among the Pauline epistles. Athanasius, in his Festal
Letter for the year 367, may be held to have declared the
settled opinion of the Eastern Church. In this letter he gives
a list of the canonical Scriptures, in which, after Acts and the
seven Catholic epistles, he enumerates the fourteen epistles
of S. Paul, placing Hebrews between the two to the Thes
salonians and the Pastorals; these are followed by Philemon,
which concludes the fist. Possibly the form of expression
"that" — not "one" — "to the Hebrews" was intended to
stand as a memorial of superseded doubt.
The Order is interesting. It is familiar to us to-day because
Westcott and Hort have adopted it in their Greek Testament
from the great uncial mss. It was perhaps derived from
Alexandria. If popular Alexandrine usage was the source of
the tradition of Pauline authorship, Alexandria was also the
place where that tradition was restrained by scholarship.
From Alexandria a modified judgement about authorship,
and a modified position in the Pauline list, were promulgated
to the Eastern Church. The order of our English version,
Hebrews last of all, comes to us from the Vulgate. It is
Western, and reflects the never quite forgotten objection to
Pauline authorship in the Latin Church.
The Syriac versions may be appealed to for the liturgical
practice of the Eastern Church oi the Euphrates valley of
which the metropohs was Edessa. The later Syriac Bible, the
Peshitta, contains Hebrews. But the question is, did the
Old Syriac include it ? And that question cannot be answered
for we have the Old Syriac only in the Gospels now. What it
certainly did not contain, any more than the Egyptian

xxiv INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
versions did, was the Apocalypse. S. Jerome wrote to
Dardanus that whereas the use of the Latins (in his day) was
to exclude Hebrews, while the churches of the Greeks
excluded the Apocalypse, he followed the authority of the
ancient writers and accepted both as canonical. We will
consider presently what this testimony precisely signifies.
Meanwhile it is enough to note that he somewhat mis
understood the authority of the ancient writers. Speaking
roughly we might say that the earlier evidence shews
Hebrews received in the East and not in the West, Apocalypse
in the West not in the East; that is, each was suspected in
that region where it was probably composed. But for
Hebrews, at any rate, even this partial acceptance must be
qualified. Only at Alexandria in quite early times does
anything like a tradition of Pauline authorship appear, and
at Alexandria we only know it because it was criticised. Nor
does criticism cease in the East even when the "use"
becomes fixed. Euthalius (c. 460) still has to defend his "use"
against the old obstinate questionings, and it is interesting
to find that one of the arguments in his defence is drawn from
the false reading in x. 34, "my bonds." Satisfaction with the
Pauline claim grows up side by side with the textual and
exegetical blurring of the individual character of the epistle.
§ 3. In Africa Tertullian quotes the epistle as Barnabas' , and
approves it as excluding second repentance.
In the West meanwhile there is no hint of any one reading
Hebrews as S. Paul's. Tertullian at the beginning of the
third century quotes it in the tract de Pudicitia, c. 20. Here
Tertullian names Barnabas as author. He seems to have no
doubt about this, but it is not therefore certain that he
witnesses to the African tradition. Zahn supposes him to
have found the epistle so described in a ms. that came from
some Greek church, and this is the more likely in that the
rendering he gives is very different from any form of the Old
Latin known to us, and appears to be his own. On the whole
it seems probable that there is no more value in the reference
preserved, by Tertullian to Barnabas than in those of
Alexandria to Clement or Luke. Those were the guesses of a

TERTULLIAN: CLEMENT xxv
literary church where style was considered; this was the
-guess of a simpler society which only noticed the subject-
matter and argued that the Levite of the New Testament
was likely to be the author of the epistle which dealt with
priesthood. What Tertullian does prove is that he had no idea of the
epistle being S. Paul's, and that he rather wishes than asserts
its canonical authority. He valued it highly, but only
because it is faithful to what he believed to have been the
primitive apostolic discipline of penitence. He read it and
the rest of the New Testament in what till lately would have
been thought his own masterful way : but, as will presently
appear, one of the latest editors of Hebrews agrees with him
that "no second repentance" is the actual doctrine of the
epistle. The newest rule of interpretation is the same as that
of the African master in the second century.
§ 4. At Rome Clement quotes Hebrews in first century, but says
nothing about authorship. Close connexion of his epistle with
Hebrews throughout, and possible dependence of both on Roman
liturgical use. Clement generalises doctrine of Hebrews.
But not the same as that of the earliest reader known to
us, Clement of Rome, the first " doctor " of the Church, whose
motto was "intense moderation." He puts no straiter limits
to repentance than our Lord does in the Gospels, nor does it
seem to occur to him that such limits are prescribed in this
epistle or in any other part of the New Testament.
For the present however Our business is with Clement as
witness to Rome's early knowledge of the epistle, and in
particular Rome's knowledge that S. Paul was not the author
of it.
The letter sent from the Roman Church to the Corinthian
Church, where quarrels had arisen concerning the ministry,
bears no writer's name. Early tradition tells us that it was
written. by Clement, the third bishop of Rome after the
apostles, the successor, that is, of Linus and Cletus or
Anencletus, and that it was written at the end of the- reign
of Domitian, about 95 a.d. This fits well with the indications
of date afforded by the document itself, which refers to an

xxvi INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
earlier persecution (i.e. Nero's) and to one which was raging
or had but just ceased when it was written. This date cor
responds with Clement's position in the episcopal succession,
and we may safely accept both name and date, in spite of the
critics — some of them acute — who have placed the document
either earlier (in the reign of Nero) or later (in the reign of
Trajan or of Hadrian).
In ch. xxxvi. of this letter Clement writes:
This is the way, beloved, in which we found our salvation, Jesus
Christ the high priest of our offerings, the champion who helps our
infirmity. Through him let us look steadfastly unto the heights
of heaven. Through him we see as in a mirror his pure and sublime
countenance. Through him the eyes of our heart were opened.
Through him our dull and darkened mind springs up into his
marvellous light. Through him the divine Sovereign willed that
we should taste immortal knowledge: Who being the effulgence of
his majesty is by so much greater than angels as he hath inherited
a more excellent name. For it is thus written:
Who maketh his angels winds
And his ministers a flame of fire.
But of his Son thus saith the divine Sovereign :
Thou art my Son,
This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen as thine inheritance,
And the ends of the earth as thy possession.
And again he saith of him :
Sit thou on my right hand.
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
Here are quotations introduced by reminiscences. Such
reminiscences abound in the letter. The writer is soaked in
the language of Hebrews. No wonder the early critics
thought of him as in some sense the author of Hebrews. But
he has not the air of one quoting from himself. Moreover his
thought is often quite different from the thought of Hebrews.
In particular the great ideas of Blood and Sacrifice in
Hebrews appear indeed in Clement but appear transformed.
In Hebrews the Blood is sacrificial: it is the life given to
cleanse and renew life : in Clement (as generally in S. Paul) it
is a metaphor for Christ's redeeming death. In Hebrews

CLEMENT AND EUCHARIST xxvii
except in one place, xiii. 16, sacrifice or offering is used in the
singular of the one supreme sacrifice in which Christ offered
himself and thereby opened the way to the presence of God
and wrought salvation. In Clement these terms are commonly
in the plural; it is the lesser idea of Heb. xiii. 16 which he
adopts; often by the offerings he means the alms and
oblations of the congregation.
Clement is highly eucharistic, liturgical. His letter ends
with a noble litany and thanksgiving in which it is generally
supposed he repeats the customary language of the church's
worship at Rome. Hebrews has provided liturgic language
for the later worship of the church, but besides that it is
difficult to avoid the fancy that Hebrews too depends
considerably on the early, oral, liturgic practice. May it not
be that both these authors wrote from Rome; both draw
consciously or unconsciously some thoughts from the
eucharistic service they knew? If so their coincidences and
differences tend to remind us how one aspect of a mystery is
visible to one mind, another to another — so perhaps with the
Christ of S. John and the earlier evangelists.
However the fancy is not to be pressed; especially with
regard to Clement's witness to Hebrews. Even if some of his
resemblances in word or thought might be due to a common
liturgical influence, enough would still remain to satisfy us
that he had read the epistle. Is it then clear that he knew it
was not S. Paul's ? Taking Clement by himself we cannot say
so. It is not his way to name the authors he uses. He
introduces quotations from the Old Testament with "It is
written," or, more often (in the style of Hebrews), "God
saith," "the scripture saith," "He saith somewhere": no
writer of the New Testament is canonical for him in the same
degree as the Old. He once refers to "the" letter of the
blessed Paul the apostle (xlvii.), but that means the epistle
Paul wrote to the Corinthians whom Clement himself is
addressing; there was a special reason for naming him in that
one place. And in ch. v. Paul is named, and from what
immediately follows we might infer that Clement knew
2 Corinthians and possibly 2 Timothy, as his. But his silence
about the author of the passages he quotes from Hebrews

xxviii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
can prove but little more than his silence about S. Peter Or
S. James when he makes use of the teaching which comes to
us under their names.
§ 5. Clement's witness is continued by the Western denial of
Pauline authorship. Till fourth century Rome and the West do
not waver : Hippolytus, Muratorian Canon, Old Latin Version.
Then Jerome, Augustine, Hilary begin to adopt Eastern
acceptance of Paul as author; yet still witness to contrary
tradition of West, which was never wholly forgotten even in the
Middle Ages: Dante; Erasmus, Estius.
But there is another consideration, in the light of which
that silence does appear more significant. Clement's witness
cannot be separated from the general witness of the Church
in the West which flows on from him as the starting point.
That witness is against the Pauline authorship ; so obstinately
against it that we can hardly escape the conclusion that
Rome knew S. Paul had not written the epistle. Till the
fourth century Tertullian and Gregory of Elvira alone in the
West make any reference to it, and both of them attribute
it to Barnabas. And the silence of Novatian is particularly
eloquent. If in the middle of the third century, when he was
pressing the sterner discipline at Rome, there had been any
idea of the Pauline authorship in the Roman Church, he
would surely have appealed to Heb. vi. 4 — 6. But there is no
reference to Hebrews in either of Novatian's extant books,
nor is he anywhere said to have made such reference!
And, going back to the end of the second century, we find
the Pauline authorship distinctly denied at Rome. Eusebius,
H. E. vi. 20, tells of a certain "very learned man " who wrote
against the Montanists in the time of Zephyrinus, and denied
that the epistle to the Hebrews is one of S. Paul's epistles.
He is checking the licence of opponents in adducing new
Scriptures, and seems to illustrate his argument from this
parallel novelty of attributing Hebrews to the apostle. And
Eusebius adds that this was natural since even down to his
own time there are some in the Roman Church who do not
allow this epistle to be Paul's; that is, Eusebius recognises

HIPPOLYTUS: MURATORIAN CANON xxix
that this " very learned man " was supported by the tradition
of his church in his plain denial.
But who is this " very learned man " ? Eusebius calls him
Gaius, and it is possible that there was a Gaius who was a
Roman presbyter at that time; but it is certain no Gaius
wrote the dialogue of which Eusebius here speaks. He has
however mentioned immediately before Hippolytus "bishop
of some see." Hippolytus did write that very dialogue and
named the orthodox interlocutor Gaius. It was Hippolytus
the "presbyter" or "venerable" bishop of the foreigners at
the port of Rome who denied Hebrews to S. Paul, as Stephen
Gobar and Photius distinctly say in later centuries.
The story of this remarkable person may be read in the
second volume of Lightfoot's S. Clement of Rome, set off with
all the riches of scholarship and all the charm of romance.
Two points only need be touched here. " He linked together
the learning and traditions of the East, the original home of
Christianity, with the marvellous practical energy of the
West, the scene of his own life's labours " : and he was
probably the author of the Muratorian Canon.
The Muratorian Canon is a document which contains a
mutilated list of the books of the New Testament. It was
" discovered and published by Muratori in 1740 from a MS. in
the Ambrosian Library at Milan... Muratori himself attributed
it to Gaius, the contemporary of Hippolytus, who flourished
under Zephyrinus  It is generally allowed that this catalogue
emanated from Rome, as indeed the mention of 'the city'
implies  The general opinion also is that the document was
written in Greek and that we possess only a not very skilful,
though hteral, translation." The whole of Lightfoot's § 6,
pp. 405 — 413, should be read to appreciate his proof that
Hippolytus wrote the Canon in Greek iambics, and that it is
in fact the work included in the list of the saint's writings
which is engraved on the chair of his third century statue,
and is there called "verses on all the Scriptures." The Latin
of the Canon may be found in its full and very corrupt form
in Westcott's Canon of the New Testament, App. C. Souter,
Text and Canon of N.T. pp. 208 — 211., gives it in a corrected
form with textual notes.
HEBREWS C

xxx INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
The testimony of the document is clear to thirteen and
only thirteen epistles of S. Paul. Hebrews is not named at
all. But the ms. is mutilated and Hebrews may have been
mentioned in the lost conclusion. An epistle is mentioned as
"addressed fictitiously in the name of Paul to the Alexan
drines, and bearing upon the heresy of Marcion." It is hardly
possible that this should mean Hebrews. Yet "to the
Alexandrines" does fit curiously its Alexandrine style and
thought. Nor does "bearing upon the heresy of Marcion"
seem an impossible description of a letter which appeals so
much to the Old Testament and treats so deeply the real
manhood of the Lord. If the identification could be upheld
it would witness to a remarkable attempt in early times to
appreciate the individual and original character of the
epistle. However that may be, the mention of Marcion's name
serves to remind us here that the earliest list we have of
S. Paul's epistles comes from Marcion, and Hebrews is not
included therein. As Marcion also omits the Pastorals, it
may be best to refer to this merely in passing. At the same
time it must be remarked that both omissions may be
evidence of great importance. It is becoming more and more
clear that some of Marcion's "readings" are not, as those
who wrote against him supposed, wilful alterations of the
text, but valuable evidence for at least an early text. His list
of the Pauline epistles is conclusive evidence for the sub
stantial truth of the Church's tradition of S. Paul's work and
writings. And his omission of Hebrews and the Pastorals
may indicate that in 150 a.d. these two elements of the final
New Testament Canon were still — though it may be for very
different reasons, and in different degrees — excluded.
The document called the Mommsen Canon agrees with the
Muratorian in omitting Hebrews and limiting the Pauline
epistles to thirteen. This document was found by Theodor
Mommsen in the Phillipps Library at Cheltenham in 1885,
and another copy has been found since then at S. Gall. The
Canon is considered to be African, of date about 360 a.d.
The Latin of the New Testament part may be read in Souter,
p. 212. It adds, with srfaint hint of doubt, 2 and 3 John and

MARCION: OLD LATIN xxxi
2 Peter to the New Testament of Cyprian the third century
bishop of Carthage ; otherwise it agrees with him. This makes
it almost certain that in the earliest state of the Old Latin
version Hebrews was not included ; for that version arose in
Africa where "Latin was the official language and the
language of civilisation" while at Rome "society from top
to bottom was bilingual" and from Paul to Hippolytus
(56 — 230 a.d.) Christian literature was in Greek.
Yet we possess an Old Latin translation of Hebrews. That
is true, but there is reason to suppose that it is either a late
made one, or at least one that was "picked up" at a com
paratively late period and added to the other books. Westcott
says (Canon, p. 266) "The Claromontane text of the Epistle
to the Hebrews represents I believe more completely than
any other manuscript the simplest form of the Vetus Latina ;
but from the very fact that the text of this Epistle exhibits
more marked peculiarities than are found in any of the
Pauhne Epistles, it follows that it occupies a peculiar
position." And this becomes even more evident when we
find interpolated in the ms. between the other Pauline epistles
arid Hebrews a list of New Testament books with the number
of lines filled by each — a "stichometry" — in which the
epistles of S. Paul are enumerated without Hebrews. At the
end of the list Hennas, Acts of Paul, Apocalypse of Peter
are added; and between the Catholic epistles and the
Apocalypse (of John) comes "Barnabas," which seems to
mean what we call "Hebrews," the correspondence in
stichometry pointing to that identification. It seems cleai
that Codex Claromontanus was mainly copied from an earlier
ms. which did not include Hebrews, but when this copy was
made it was desired that Hebrews should be included.
Dr Souter thinks that it was written in Sardinia after the
island had become part of the Byzantine empire in the sixth
century. If so, it might seem that even so late the Latin
Canon in Sardinia was enlarged in deference to Eastern
custom. The peculiar character of the Vulgate translation
may "be mainly due to its being a revision of the Old Latin
which already differed so much from the Old Latin of the
other epistles.

xxxii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
In the fourth century we do indeed find Western doctors,
such as Hilary and Ambrose, quoting the epistle freely as
S. Paul's. This is quite natural. There is a considerable
amount of evidence for the epistle being widely known,
whatever was thought about its authorship, from the earhest
times. Good-hearted students would come of their own
accord to Origen's opinion that the theology of Hebrews was
wonderful and by no means inferior to the received canonical
writings ; then, as with Origen himself, the step to quoting it
as "the apostle's" would be easy.
But that being so the noteworthy point is the reluctance
of the Latin Church to go further. This may be illustrated at
two stages: first in what the two great scholars, Jerome and
Augustine, write when they deliberately consider the question;
secondly in the scruples against breaking with the tradition
against Pauline authorship which persist to a late period.
Full and fair quotation for the mind of Jerome and
Augustine may be found in that treasury of learning which
all subsequent commentators have drawn upon, Bleek's
edition1, or in the excellent adaptation of Bleek's prolego
mena which Alford has made in the fourth volume of his
Greek Testament. S. Jerome's " usual practice is, to cite the
words of the epistle, and ascribe them to St Paul." His
residence in the East might account for that. But when as
a scholar he gives a critical decision he writes differently. He
recognises that the Western church has never allowed the
Pauline authorship. The " new learning " he has found among
the Greeks inclines him to correct the Western use. What he
really witnesses to is an indomitable Church tradition in the
West against the Pauhne authorship and even the canonical
authority of Hebrews: and what he asserts is that this
tradition is of late growth ; the voice of antiquity is for the
canonical authority, and scholars know that this, as well as
the usurping tradition, can be explained by recognising that
the epistle is derived, but not directly, from S. Paul. In other
words he has a fairly large critical apparatus; reads its
evidence with a partial misunderstanding; and leaves to
1 Der Brief an die Hebrder erldutert durch Einleitung, Ueber-
setzung und fortlaufenden Commentar. Berlin, 1828 — 1840.

JEROME: AUGUSTINE: ESTIUS xxxiii
later generations an unmistakable proof that even in his day
the unsophisticated Western churchmen held fast to the
tradition of their fathers that this epistle did not come from
S. Paul.
S. Augustine's feeling may be illustrated by one short
quotation from De civitate Dei, xvi. 22: "on this subject
many great things are written in the epistle entitled ' To the
Hebrews,' an epistle which most people say is the apostle
Paul's, but some deny that." He was less particular as a
scholar than Jerome, more philosophical as a churchman,
and the mere question of authorship troubled him slightly.
Moreover there is evidence that in Africa in his time such
scruples were falling, perhaps more entirely than elsewhere,
into the background. Whereas in the third council of
Carthage a.d. 398 Hebrews was distinguished from or
among the Pauline epistles, in the fifth council of Carthage
a.d. 419 this carefulness had ceased. And from this period
onward in West as in East the fourteen epistles of S. Paul are
regularly recognised.
The distinction between the question of authorship and
canonical authority is important ; it may well account for the
considerable number of Western writers who cite Hebrews
as Paul's from the middle of the fourth century onwards.
Canonical authority admitted, only scholars when directly
dealing with the question of authorship would separate this
from the " corpus " of Pauhne epistles : many would use Paul's
name without scruple. Others, hke Hilary of Poitiers (>J< 366),
would cite the epistle, but would take care not to name Paul
in connexion with it. This is the way most theologians treat
it to-day. And that attitude altered very gradually. The ancient
Roman tradition was too deeply rooted to die out. Even
Dante in the De Monarchia (11. 8) distinguishes "Paul" or
"the apostle" from the author of this epistle, introducing his
one citation from it anonymously. And when in the sixteenth
century the new learning gave fresh substance to the old
doubts, we find writers within the Roman Church frankly
reconsidering opinions which by that time had almost the
prescription of authority. Thus Estius writes in the opening.

xxxiv INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
section of his commentary that in former times catholic
writers', especially among the Latins, did not recognise this
epistle as canonical; that Eusebius classes it among those
Scriptures which were controverted by many; and "finally
in our own day Caietan at the beginning of his commentary
throws doubt upon its authority, and says that a point of
faith cannot be determined from it alone." Estius himself
holds, with others, who are indeed the old Alexandrines, that
the subject and its treatment were supplied by S. Paul, but
the composition was entrusted to another, Clement of Rome
perhaps, more likely the apostle's companion Luke. He
refuses to allow that it is heresy to doubt that S. Paul was the
author. The decision of the Council of Trent, by which the
Epistle to the Hebrews is numbered among the fourteen
epistles of S. Paul, seems only to have settled the question of
its canonicity for him. Erasmus seems to promise more
absolute deference to authority. "If the church defines it
certainly to be Paul's I gladly bring my thoughts into
captivity to the obedience of faith : my own feeling is that it
does not seem to be Paul's, for reasons which I had better not
mention now. And if I did know for certain that it was not
Paul's, it is not worth fighting about." That was before the
council had spoken, and the fairest way of interpreting both
Erasmus and Estius is to suppose that on such a question
the decision of a council was never intended to be an absolute
bar to the exercise of criticism, however it might restrain
promiscuous publication of results or tentative results.
§ 6. And was revived at the Renascence; when also the special
doctrine of Hebrews, so long generalised, began to be recovered:
Limborch and sacrifice, the Arminians.
With Erasmus a new era began in the study of the New
Testament. It is about four hundred years since Erasmus,
publishing his Greek Testament, opened the Gospels and the
apostolic records in their original language to the world.
That gave impulse to a movement already begun. The joy of
the secular renascence had already been to recover the
actual life and thought of Rome and Hellas. A yearning for
the real meaning of antiquity was in men's hearts, and it was

ERASMUS: ANSELM: CALVIN xxxv
in the hearts of Churchmen as well as other scholars. Ad
antiquitatem immo ad ultimam antiquitatem was Lancelot
Andrewes' appeal in the seventeenth century. And we
recognise in the commentators of that time quite a novel
effort to discover what was the immediate and particular
sense of each of the apostolic writers.
Little of this had been attempted before. There is just
a trace of it in the New Testament. At the end of 2 Peter
some characteristics of the Pauline epistles are noticed. This
is worth mentioning here because it has been sometimes
thought that Hebrews is particularly alluded to, which seems
a strange fancy. But from apostohc times till the renascence
there was hardly any recognition of the individual character
of epistles. Menegoz has a chapter1 on the theological
influence of the epistle in the history of dogma. He confines
his attention to the main doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ,
and shews that though the peculiar language of the epistle
was repeated, its peculiar idea was never grasped.
In the period of the Fathers theological interest was in the
Person of Christ. The Incarnation included the whole of
Christ's work of salvation. And so far as His death was
considered separately as the means by which man was
rescued, it was thought of as a ransom — an idea natural to
those days of brigandage ; generally as a ransom paid to the
devil, sometimes as paid to God. And though the Fathers
("apostohc" and later) adopt the term "sacrifice" from
Hebrews, they use it merely as a metaphor for "ransom":
"c'est le triomphe de l'image au detriment de l'idee."
After Anselm "satisfaction" instead of "ransom" be
came- the idea round which thought moved. And still, as
before, the terms of " sacrifice " were adopted from Hebrews,
and still they were used as metaphors ; only now, throughout
the middle ages, as metaphors for "satisfaction."
The reformers accepted this doctrine from the middle
ages, laying stress especially on "substitution," but still
applying the sacrificial language of Hebrews in a merely
metaphorical way. Calvin however took up what Eusebius,
Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine, and Aquinas had said about
1 La thdologie de I'epUre aux HSbreux (Paris, 1894), ch. vn.

xxxvi INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
the threefold office of Christ as Prophet, Priest and King,
and for two centuries the munus triplex Christi figured as an
essential heading in protestant theology.
M6negoz notices the unusual position taken by Abelard in
the middle ages. He taught, and the doctrine is scriptural,
that man was to be reconciled to God rather than God to
man. And he developed this in his own way by declaring
that the reconcilement is effected by the love that was
revealed in the Saviour's death upon the cross; there is the
moving power. Perhaps, though Menegoz does not, we may
connect the line of thought thus opened with what he says of
the Arminians :
However the theology of the epistle was to find in protestantism
a little corner where it might fructify. The Arminians, repelled
alike by the orthodox theory of expiation and by the superficial
rationalism of the Socinians, sought an interpretation of the death
of Christ which might bettei respond to their religious feeling....
Curcellaeus laid stress upon the intercession of Christ in the
presence of the Father, and scarcely considered His death but as
a condition of His resurrection and ascension. The Socinians too
had already brought that side of the redemptive activity of the
Christ into prominence, thus approaching the views of the Epistle
to the Hebrews. But it is Limborch, the great dogmatist of the
Arminians, who entered most resolutely into this order of ideas....
In Limborch the notion of sacrifice obliges Christ to have died for
us, but not to have suffered our punishment. His death is thus
not a substitutive expiation but a sacrificial offering, graciouslv
accepted by God. And as Christ has not only been the victim but
is also the high priest for all eternity, He continues to intercede
in God's presence for the sinners who have recourse to His ministry.
His sacrifice has thus a permanent value.
Once or twice Limborch drops into the more conventional
mode as when he writes "poenam peccatis nostris com-
meritam quasi in se transtulit." But Menegoz (who notices
that sentence) has given a fair description of a commentary
which deserves rather special attention1. Limborch seriously
attempts to realise the individual character of the epistle.
And he ends his prolegomena with this insistence on the
1 Philippi a Limborch Commentarius in A eta Apostolorum et in
Epistolas ad Romanos et ad Hebraeos. Roterodami, 1711.

ARMINIANS: LIMBORCH xxxvii
distinctive value of Hebrews: "So that we ought to value
very highly an epistle without which we would be ignorant
of much which pertains to the distinct understanding of the
priesthood of Christ." It is always the contrast rather than
the likeness between the sacrifice of Christ and the Levitical
sacrifices that he draws out, thus avoiding a style of inter
pretation which even in much later times has hindered the
right use of the epistle. And he approaches the idea of the
living power of the Blood of Christ which was not to be clearly
presented till Westcott wrote.
His preface is significant, in which he lays down with no
little force the principles of historical interpretation as the
indispensable basis of all study, and in particular of the
application of prophecy. The same kind of thing may be
found in Calvin and in nearly all writers since Erasmus. In
Calvin it is expressed with the beautiful lucidity of a French
man who is thoroughly master of a good Latin style. But in
practice Calvin too often allows his scholarly principles to be
wrested by party feeling. In Limborch we enjoy another
atmosphere, not so brilliant but larger, more free. And this
is perhaps what is chiefly to be remarked in the Arminian
commentators generally. They are remonstrants against a
particular form of Augustinian doctrine. They stood for ante-
Nicene Greek theology. They were at home in learned
churches where the Humanities were cared for. In all these
respects they have a natural kinship with the epistle to the
Hebrews, and especially in the last. The Alexandrine
Platonism of the epistle, its good Greek style, its tender
sympathy with the very shadows of the old Law which it
shews to be vanishing away; all this is in the broad sense of
the term "Arminian."
§ 7. The real manhood of Christ: already recognised
.by Nestorius as characteristic of Hebrews.
So again is its interest in the whole of our Lord's earthly
life, the frankness with which it recognises the limitations of
His manhood during "the days of His flesh." And here we
must go back to the fifth century, and notice a writer of that
period who did remarkably appreciate this characteristic of

xxxviii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
Hebrews. He was Nestorius, and some of his teaching was
indeed condemned as running out into heresy. But the
orthodoxy of the sermon on the Epistle to the Hebrews, of
which Dr Bethune Baker1 gives a summary, will hardly be
disputed since, until 1905, it was attributed to S. Chrysostom.
Nestorius here interprets Hebrews in accordance with the
tradition of the school of Antioch; Antioch "which early in
the second century had had as its bishop the Ignatius who
had insisted with such passionate earnestness on the reality
of the human nature and experiences of Jesus, who had made
his appeal above all else to the actual facts of the Gospel
history — at Antioch the historical tradition had never been
allowed to fade.... The theologians of Antioch started from
the manhood... laid stress on all the passages in Scripture
which seemed to emphasize the human consciousness of the
Lord... insisted on the recognition in His Person of a genuine
human element in virtue of which a genuine human experience
was possible. They did not for a moment call in question, or
fail to recognize, the equally genuine Divine element, in
virtue of which Divine experience and power was His. They
did not doubt that the historical Jesus Christ was both God
and man. They took their stand on history, on the primitive
record, on apostolic testimony and interpretation" (Bethune
Baker, pp. 3 f.).
§ 8. Hellenistic philosophical colour : Carpzov's illustrations
from Philo.
Thus did Nestorius in the fifth century re-assert one of the
characteristics of this epistle, its insistence qnjthetrue man--
hood of our Lord. And thus, at tEerevival of learning, did
the Arminians attempt to recover its particular doctrine of
sacrifice. A third peculiarity, its affinity with the philo-
I sophical Judaism of Philo, was brought out in the eighteenth
century by J. B. Carpzov, who collected parallels from Philo
| for almost every verse of the epistle2. No one had treated
the subject with anything like this elaboration before.
1 Nestorius and his teaching. Cambridge, 1908.
2 Sacrae exercitationes in S. Paulli epistolam ad Hebraeos ex
Philone Alexandrino. Helmstadii, 1750.

NESTORIUS: PHILO: AUTHORSHIP xxxix
Henceforth it was impossible to ignore the Hellenistic
idiosyncrasy of author and readers. They might be "Hebrews,"
but they were not "Hebrews" in the narrower sense of
Hebrew-speaking Jews. They belonged at least to the liberal
Judaism of S. Stephen, probably to the philosophic Judaism
of Apollos.
§ 9. Interest in special character of Hebrews provokes search for
suitable author: Luther's conjecture of Apollos, etc. Tradition
only supports Barnabas (besides Paul) and the search is vain.
That no doubt had already struck Luther when he con
jectured Apollos as the author. Possibly Luther, and the
moderns who have accepted his conjecture, read more into
the few hnes in which Apollos is described (Acts xviii. 24 f.)
than is really to be found there. The conjecture is not
supported by tradition. Harnack's idea that Priscilla was
the authoress is a development from Luther's inference.
Barnabas is the only name which can be connected with
anything like a real tradition, and the Barnabas tradition
only emerges for a moment or two and is lost in darkness on
either side. The other names proposed, Luke, Clement,
Apollos, Silas, Philip the deacon, Aristion — one writer has
even suggested S. Peter — are mere conjectures; some of
which are surely impossible. That there should be one
letter in the New Testament which was not written by any
person who happens to be mentioned in the other books, is
quite in accordance with the analogies of literary history.
It may be added, though not as an argument, that our
interest in the apostolic Church and our reverence for its rich
inspiration would be increased thereby. The character,
education and to a large extent the circumstances of the
author may be gathered from the letter itself. The mere
precision of a name would not illuminate the background
very much.
§ 10. Destination more important, but precision difficult; not
Jerusalem. Rome proposed, and (improbably) Gentile readers.
It is otherwise with the question of the destination. If we
could suppose that the epistle was addressed to the Church at

xl INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
Jerusalem some time between the outbreak of the war with
Rome and the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, our interpretation
of the whole argument and of many difficult passages would
be confined to something like certainty. But it would be a
confining. Other passages would take on new difficulties.
Much is said about the tabernacle in Hebrews : there is not a
line which implies that either writer or recipients had ever
seen the temple. There may well have been Hellenistic Jews
at Jerusalem who read Greek and were accustomed to
Alexandrine terms of philosophy. But it is not at Jerusalem
that we should readily look for these, and it is certain that
the epistle would have been quite unsuited to the Church of
Jerusalem as a whole. J.J. Wetstein, in the edition of the
Greek Testament which he published at Amsterdam, 175 1-2,
was the first to argue for Rome as the destination^ Others,
e.g. von Soden1, have combined this view of the destination
with the assertion that there is nothing in the epistle to
confirm the accuracy of the ancient title and that there is
much to prove it addressed to Gentile Christians. This is,
paradoxical though the statement may sound, more agree
able to a superficial reading than to a patient study of the
epistle. The Judaic roots are there, but they are not to be
discovered in the mere obvious allusions to Jewish ritual.
§ 11. Modern criticism would supersede these enquiries by
regarding Hebrews as a late treatise or sermon. So Moffatt,
whose view of doctrinal development may however be modified
by recognition of the "apocalyptic" origin of the Gospel:
Schweitzer ;
However all such disputes may seem to have been super
seded of late. Neither author nor destination matters much.
Nor do the Jewish or Gentile antecedents of the readers.
The epistle was written at a time when the Pauline con
troversy about the Law was forgotten. There is no sharply
cut background. It is a doctrinal treatise, sermon-like; very
interesting as a witness to the comparatively early develop
ment of Christian dogma, but scarcely in touch with the
1 Hand-Commentar. Freiburg, 1899.

MODERN CRITICISM AND APOCALYPTIC xii
vigorous life of those primitive communities who had lately
been making Christian history.
This has been well put by Dr Moffatt in his Introduction to
the Literature of the New Testament and in his earlier book —
so useful and delightful — The historical New Testament. But
there is still something to be said on the other side. This view
of Hebrews is part of a general view of the development of
apostohc Christianity which needs some readjustment in the
light of that " apocalyptic " reading of the primitive gospel,
lately revived by Albert Schweitzer1.
So far as affects the question before us here, the matter
may be summed up as follows. The idea of what may be
called liberal theologians had long been that from an early
Galilean faith in Jesus as the Master, a Pauline, Johannine,
and finally "catholic" faith was gradually developed in the
eternal and divine Son. In such development Hebrews
would come comparatively late. There is nothing unworthy
in such a view. Development of the faith is the counterpart
to revelation through the Holy Spirit. But the difficulty was
to find a link between Galilee and S. Paul. To the apocalyptic
view the link is plain. The background of the synoptic
gospels is formed by those late Jewish apocalypses of which
Daniel and the Enoch literature are the type. Our Lord
entered upon His ministry in Galilee when a world of thoughts
about the coming Kingdom of God was everywhere astir.
These thoughts were vague; spiritual hopes were mingled
with political; yet a great exalted spirit breathed every
where. The kingdom would not be of this world; the. Christ-
king might be in some sense divine. Our Lord accepted the
popular expectations. How far He acquiesced in their
outward form;, in what way He corrected and purified the
idea; how He came to the determination that by His own
death the kingdom must be brought in — these are the
problems of the critical historian. But criticism tends to this
1 In his Von Reimarus zu Wrede, Tubingen, 1906. An English
translation with the title The Quest of the Historical Jesus was
published in 1910, and the best introduction to the subject is
Dr Burkitt's little book, The earliest sources for the life of Jesus,
Constable, 1910.

xiii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
broad result. The synoptic gospels, especially S. Mark, are
good historical documents as they stand; simple souls may
rightly account for the whole course of our Lord's action by
His implicit faith in the Father's guidance; the disciples
believed that He was the destined Christ who would one day
come in divine glory with the kingdom; that belief was
interrupted by the crucifixion, but was confirmed and
deepened by the resurrection; and S. Paul's faith in Christ
Jesus, the exalted Son of God, hidden for a while in heaven,
His original and eternal home, whence in the great day He
would come to gather quick and dead, was simply his
ancient Jewish faith completed by his conviction that Jesus
was the Christ.
Nor was this profound theology revealed only to S. Paul.
It was the faith of the Church he entered after his conversion.
He directed it, perhaps restrained it within the lines of
reasonable truth. The tremendous spiritual impulse, which
was the main source of his inspiration, enabled him to bring
what was weak or uncertain to new and deeper expression.
But though a high Christology may develop its expression, it
will always be a return to primitive faith, and will never
involve of necessity long distance from memories of the past.
There is development of that kind in Hebrews. The first
readers of this epistle evidently had what we call an imperfect
conception of the Person of Christ. Their friend appeals to
the primitive behef in Christ as truly divine. He uses for his
task of persuasion all that has been thought, said or done
before his days, by the household at Jerusalem immediately
after the crucifixion, by S. Paul, by Hellenists like S. Stephen
and Apollos. And now he turns the ancient symbol of the
Kingdom into new language for his Alexandrine friends, just
as Dr DuBose in his exposition of this epistle, High Priesthood
and Sacrifice, tries to turn its phraseology "into current
coin." And he had two important aids. The crisis of the
times — perhaps it really was the storm gathering over
Jerusalem — was a sign that then was to be the promised
Day; in that shaking the Kingdom and the Christ were
coming. And the education of author and readers in
philosophy provided a set of terms in which this translation

BAUR: LAKE: BOUSSET xliii
of the primitive symbol might be shaped with peculiar
fitness; for the pressing difficulty lay in "the scandal of the
cross," the humiliation which characterised the Christian
course, and which could be shewn to run out into eternal
glory by the philosophic principle of sacramental signifi
cance in the realities of life.
§ 12. and by the now more generally recognised earliness of
"catholic" thought and practice : Baur, Lake, Bousset; Graeco-
Roman influence on development.
Schweitzer's two books — for he presently wrote another in
which he shewed S. Paul to be thoroughly imbued with
apocalyptic Judaism — have, it seems, influenced English
thought far more than German. In Germany theold "liberal"
theology held on its way. The details of Baur's criticism have
long been discredited. It is right that much of his principle
should still be recognised as true. His Church History1 is a
stimulating book that should still be read by all who really
care to meditate on the origins of creed and church. Very
briefly his doctrine is that " the fightings without and fears
within" which S. Paul, and doubtless many another of the
early leaders, met patiently and faithfully, vanished in a
gradual reconciliation of half views. Then, as the fit time
came, the more complete idea of Christ's Person, of the
Church, the Ministry, the Sacraments, descended, explained
all, and took possession. "Descended" is the right word.
The process came, as we should say, from God. The suspicion
with which Baur is regarded, arises from his refusal to say
j ust that. However, there is no need to speculate here as to
what Baur's own opinions were about the Christian dogmas.
So far as it goes the doctrine here sketched can only encourage
us to more thoughtful reverence. But it begins in these. days
to be clear that a simpler thread of popular faith was drawn
out continuously from the first, and that this popular faith
was in essentials far more hke the fully-developed faith of
the Church's worship than used to be supposed. On this
point much instruction may be gained from Professor
1 The Church History of the first three Centuries, Tubingen, 1853,
English Translation, Williams and Norgate, 1878.

xhv INTRODUCTION II; HISTORY7
Kirsopp Lake's book, The earlier Epistles of St Paul. And
again and again as we pursue the enquiry we find that, while
there is much truth in Baur's idea of Hebrews and other
epistles belonging to a period of "reconciliation," there is no
good reason for reserving that period to a late date.
The most important in what we may venture to call the
succession of Baur is Dr Wilhelm Bousset, who argues1 that
it was in worship that development of faith most largely took
place. This influence of ritual and of the emotion of common
worship was mainly due to the Church's assimilation of
Asiatic Greek ideas. In Hebrews an almost extreme example
of this ritual spirit is displayed. To reach such a pitch of
interest time was needed, and Hebrews is therefore separated
by a considerable interval from S. Paul. Again it is evident,
even from this passing reference, how much Bousset stimu
lates thought. Worship is still deepening — not of course
without some risk of perverting — faith. This recognition of
the influence of worship implies a strong united Church feeling,
resting on continuous tradition, as the living soil in which
new thoughts and enthusiasms grow into flower. The old
crude idea of a Paul or an auctor ad Hebraeos starting a fresh
line of faith is unnatural. But, with Bousset again, sober
reflection on all we know about these early days puts things
in a different proportion. There is more anxiety in our
author's mind about his friend's loyalty to Christ in some
terrible crisis, than interest in ritual. And the reasons for
placing the epistle at a late date are far weaker than those
for recognising in it a new stage in the expression of ancient
truth.§ 13. Transformation of this early " Catholicism '' in Windisch's
representation of the ultra-dogmatic character of Hebrews.
But, distinct from these descendants of Baur, another
school of theologians has lately arisen in Germany. They
might be called — with perhaps an unfair touch of caricature
— the Literalists. Some of them have come to sacred
1 Kyrios Christos: Geschichte des Christusglaubens von den An-
fangen des Christenthums bis Irenaeus. Gottingen, 1913.

WINDISCH xiv
literature from a previous training in classical languages,
They are abundantly, if not broadly, erudite. They care little
for the dehcacies of language, but press the plain meaning of
passages. To this class belongs Dr Windisch, author of a short
book1 full of matter, with freshly-gathered quotations from
Philo and from the literature of the Graeco-Roman world. In
fact, this handbook by itself supplies pretty well all the
material a reader might desire for inference and discussion.
The author of the epistle is left unnamed . He was a Hellenistic
Jew, with the same Greek background of education as Philo,
but less Greek in character, more apocalyptic. He still
expects the future manifestation, therein resembling with a
difference S. John. The readers were a community, mainly
non- Jewish, which might be anywhere except Jerusalem.
The date 80 a.d. or rather later. The author had nothing to
do with the temple, but mediated Old Testament ritual for
Christians. He was nearer S. Paul than any other New
Testament writer, yet with many notable divergences. He
has something in common with the Synoptists, whom
Windisch (hke Bousset) considers to represent, not quite the
historical Jesus of Nazareth, but the theological belief of the
early Christian family concerning Him. Only this writer is
more infected with Hellenistic ideas, more influenced by the
Septuagint, than the Synoptists were. The main value of his
epistolary sermon is in its doctrine of the exalted Christ, and
especially in the particular aid which the author's figurative
language about His high-priesthood produced (1) for the
further expression of the Church's doctrine of redemption,
(2) for the Church's adoption of the sacred, and especially
the legal, books of the Old Testament.
But Windisch would hardly approve of the word "figura
tive." Though to us the language is figurative, he would take
it as far more literally meant by the author himself. To
Windisch Hebrews has hardly any real sense of the days of
the Lord's flesh, but centres on "The Heavenly Being,
mythically conceived." This literalism appears in an extra
vagant form in a note to v. 7 — the flesh was laid aside in the
1 Der Hebraerbrief erkldrt von Lie. Dr Hans Windisch, Privat-
dozent an der Universitdt Leipzig. Tubingen, 1913.
HEBREWS d

xlvi INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
ascension; our Lord took with Him only the blood. And
again, on x. 28 "the Christian eschatology still knows the
pitiless God of the Old Testament and of Judaism." The
strong, learned excursus will be dealt with later (in. § 20) in
which he almost compels assent to his thesis that "no
second repentance" was the primitive, essential dogma,
weakened in later days.
Yet Windisch's is a valuable commentary. If only for the
illustrative material, so skilfully selected from sources hardly
touched by earlier commentators, but recognised to-day as
highly important for the elucidation of at least a large part
of the New Testament, it will be for years to come all but
indispensable. And the terse, business-like expression is
admirable. What Bengel's Gnomon is for unction, Dr Windisch
is in his dry compression. His book has always been on the
table at which these pages were written.
§ 14. Modern English commentators. Their fine scholarship :
Rendall. Their broad, practical elucidation of the theology of the
epistle: Davidson and Maurice distinguish type from shadow;
Bruce discovers the imperfection of the readers' faith, and the
author's conception of "glory in humiliation " ; that sacramental
idea elaborated by DuBose, who also shews how Christ re-enacts
His sacrifice in men. Westcott 's explanation of the Blood as
indicating life enriched through death.
Of late however more help for the understanding of this
epistle has come from England and from America. English
theologians have generally been strong in that broad
advantage of a classical education which combines "humanity"
with grammar. For such a book as Hebrews that is a specially
desirable qualification in a commentator. Hence we have a
series of editions which are recommended by fine scholarship
— C. J. Vaughan, Macmillan 1891; Farrar, the very interesting
predecessor of this present book in the Cambridge Bible for
Schools and Colleges; Wickham in Methuen's Westminster
Commentaries 1910, a work of finished beauty; and, philo-
logically perhaps the best of all, F. Rendall, Macmillan 1883.
Dr A. B. Davidson contributed a small edition of Hebrews
to Messrs T. and T. Clark's Handbooks for Bible Classes, which

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN BOOKS xlvii
hke all, even his most unpretending work, is firm, simple and
philosophical. His treatment of the theme " Priesthood after
the order of Melchizedek" is particularly valuable. He,
perhaps for the first time, puts the Aaronic priesthood and
the Levitical sacrifices into their true proportionate place,
as merely "shadow"; the author is not concerned with the
comparative worth of the old ritual, but with the absolute
difference in kind of the eternal priesthood which our Lord
fulfilled. F. D. Maurice in his Warburton Lectures for 1845-6,
had wrestled with this problem, recognising that Israelites
had certainly enjoyed a real communion with God; that
nevertheless their institutions, so far forth as these were
institutions, lacked reality; and that though in Christ who is
" a Son " reality has come, there must still be some kind of
institutions in the Christian Church if this reality is not to
fade away again into a vague cloudland. He solves the
problem in the last lecture by distinguishing the "figurative "
from the "sacramental." But he does not present his solution
quite clearly. As in so much of his published work, the deep
significance of these lectures comes home most effectually to
those who have also learned to understand him from his
letters and conversations. Two sayings of his throw much
light on certain seeming inconsistencies in the epistle itself :
" To me it is the pleasantest thing possible to have intercourse
with men. But for shadows I have no respect at all," and
"My paradox about form being more spiritual than spirit,"
Life, 11. p. 299, 1. p. 311.
In 1891 Dr William Milhgan gave in his Baird Lecture1 an
eloquent defence and exposition of the truth, so insisted upon
in Hebrews, that the doctrine of the living and exalted Christ
is the indispensable complement of faith in His atoning death.
A good companion to this book, as a real aid to a hearty
appreciation of the epistle, would be the lately published
Letters of Richard Meux Benson (Mowbray), which are indeed
this Epistle of the Ascension translated into modern life.
Dr William MiUigan's son, Dr George Milhgan, published in
1899 The Theology of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with a critical
introduction (T. and T. Clark), a very useful took. Dr Moffatt's
1 The Ascension and Heavenly Priesthood of our Lord. Macmillan. dz

xlviii INTRODUCTION II: HISTORY
chapter on Hebrews in The Literature of the New Testament
has been already mentioned. The commentary which he is to
contribute to Messrs T. and T. Clark's International Critical
Commentaries is eagerly expected. Meanwhile the small edition
by Professor A. S. Peake in The Century Bible holds a dis
tinguished place among 'recent commentaries. His brief
introduction is commendably sober in conjecture as to
author, date and destination. Yet he leans towards an early
date, and is convinced that " in the argument as a whole we
find decisive proof that the readers were Jewish Christians in
peril of falling back into Judaism."
In a notable book1 Dr Bruce brings the point out clearly,
that the readers of the epistle had not attained to more than
an imperfect apprehension of the faith of the Church, and
that this "first apology for Christianity" was designed to set
the full and generally accepted faith before them. More
important still is his insistence on the teaching of the epistle
about our Lord's true manhood with all its limitations,
especially in what he says in his fourth chapter about our
Lord's glory being in, rather than after, His humiliation; the
exaltation was latent in the humiliation. This opens the way
to recognition of that sacramental principle which, sketched
in Hebrews, was afterwards elaborated in the Fourth Gospel,
and which perhaps alone conserves the reality, without
confusion, of both the Godhead and the Manhood of the
Redeemer. What is meant by the sacramental principle of the Man
hood is even more clearly brought out by Dr Wilham Porcher
DuBose in High Priesthood and Sacrifice ; an exposition of the
Epistle to the Hebrews*. This is the third part of the tetralogy
in which he interprets the four main varieties of New Testa
ment teaching ; the others are The Gospel in the Gospels, The
Gospel according to Saint Paul, and The Reason of Life
(S. John). Few books prove more conclusively than these
that loyalty to the complete catholic faith is no hindrance to
frank originality but the most wholesome stimulus.
1 The Epistle to the Hebrews, the first apology for Christianity ;
an exegetical study. T. and T. Clark, 1899.
2 Longmans, 1908.

WESTCOTT xlix
But the greatest of modern commentaries is Westcott's1.
The Greek text itself is the best that has ever been printed of
this epistle separately. The select apparatus criticus is easy to
use, and the Introduction contains an admirable section on
mss. and versions. Then the skilfully chosen quotations from
the Fathers are most instructive. Each tells, coming in
appropriately. And the continuity of exegetical tradition is
thus displayed, a tradition which justifies the belief that the
author's meaning is always likely to be deeper than our quick
judgement might suppose. Of Westcott's own interpreta
tions this may perhaps be said without impertinence. The
longer they are dwelt upon the more right they are apt to
prove. What may seem at first too subtle turns out to be
sympathetic with the author's habit of thought, and when
the reader disagrees with some passage he is likely to find on
further meditation that his own idea has been included and
transcended in Westcott's more complete perception. The
eminent service however which Dr Westcott has rendered to
the study of Hebrews is this. He has carried out what (as we
saw above) the Arminians attempted, viz. the true explana
tion of the sacrificial language : sacrifice is offering, not loss ;
and "blood" in the phraseology of sacrifice means life not
death, though in supreme sacrifice it does mean life enriched
by death.

Ill
THE THEOLOGY OF THE EPISTLE
§ i. Hebrews was addressed to a little group of Hellenistic-
Jewish friends: is a real letter ; calling upon them to do a hard
duty in a dangerous time, viz. to be loyal to Jesus Christ whom
they worship, but as yet imperfectly, and to break with Judaism.
The particular form which theology takes in any treatise is
determined by the purpose of the writer. That purpose
depends upon the occasion of writing. Hence it is necessary
1 The Epistle to the Hebrews, the Greek text with notes and essays.
Macmillan, ist ed. 1889.

1 INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
to make up our minds, as far as possible, about the date,
circumstances and destination of Hebrews, before attempting
to study the characteristics of its theology. We have seen how
the tendency of the latest criticism is to give up the search
for the author's name, and the name of the place to which he
sent his epistle. There has also been a reaction against the
ancient tradition that the readers had come from Judaism
to Christianity. But that reaction has passed into another
phase; the question, Were the readers Jewish or Gentile? is
no longer considered important, since the epistle belongs to so
late a time that this distinction had already become almost
obsolete in the Church. For Hebrews is generally considered
a late treatise, more like a sermon than a letter. Some trouble
of the day had indeed in part called it forth. But that
impulse is a secondary matter; the dogmatic interest is the
main thing. Yet on the whole Rome is preferred as destina
tion, and it is sometimes thought that the letter was
addressed to a household community, a part of the larger
church in Rome. Whether in Rome or not may be doubtful.
But this idea of the small community is winning acceptance
and is probably right. It is hardly likely that a letter so
polished, so full of technical philosophic language, and so
coloured with actual philosophic thought, should have been
written to any mixed assembly, however small. We had
better conclude that the author wrote to a group of friends
who, like himself, had received an Alexandrine education.
And if so, it must surely have been a Jewish- Alexandrine
education. The title "To Hebrews" may have been but an
early inference from the contents. That inference may have
been drawn from the same misunderstanding as has long
prevailed, and of late has prejudiced the enquiry in a contrary
direction. For, strictly taken, "Hebrews" means Hebrew-
speaking Jews, and that — we can all see now — is just what
the readers of this epistle were not. But they may have been
Hellenists, may have never seen the temple, and yet the case
may be strong for considering them to have been by birth
and training Hellenistic Jews. And the case is strong. The
argument of the epistle as a whole would have much meaning
for Christians who had been Jews, little for others. Much of

URGENT PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE li
its difficulty for us Westerns to-day arises from its taking for
granted Jewish principles of sacrifice which Gentiles even
then would not be familiar with. And there is a personal note.
The Jewish ritual and priesthood are indeed spoken of as a
mere shadow; they are not to the author the "types" which
Christ "fulfilled." But Jewish "Christship" is such a real
type. And even the ritual is given up with a pang; and if the
ancient priesthood was but a shadow, the good priests whom
author and friends had known were very far from shadowy.
Start from ch. v. and see if this be not true ; then read through
the whole letter and see whether the impression be not
confirmed. For surely it is a letter, not a sermon. Though like i John
it begins without a salutation, there is no need to suppose
that no definite address was prefixed. Indeed, when once the
view here proposed is accepted, it becomes tempting to fancy
that "To Hebrews" was originally at the head of the roll, a
playful subtlety like v. 12, xiii. 22, meaning "To you whom
after all I will call Hebrews indeed." And it is a letter called
forth by some very urgent occasion. The exhortations and
warnings with which it is punctuated have echoes in almost
every verse. The writer is throughout urging his friends to
face some particular and hard duty, and in his final blessing,
xiii. 20, 21, he prays that they may be enabled to make the
right choice and do the duty. The ancient text with its
antithesis of "you" and "us" makes this clear. The later
text, conventionahsed for church reading, obscures this ; one
of several instances which explain the tendency, so often
recurring, to allow the remarkable interest of the epistle's
intellectual theology to obscure the practical appeal to the
will which was the supreme interest of the author.
For his theology is developed as reinforcement to his>
appeal. Once Jews of the broader Hellenistic party, his\
friends had become Christians but Christians of a most
imperfect kind. They had joined the Christian Church because J
it offered that " reformation " of Judaism for which they had -
been looking, but they had not apprehended the deepest
significance of this reformation. Jesus of Nazareth was
indeed to them the Christ, but they had not understood all

Iii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
that the Church believed to be involved in that recognition.
They had not properly appreciated the mystery of His
Person, or of the salvation which had been wrought through
His death, or of His "indissoluble life" and His exalted state
and continued authority and power to aid. And now some
great trial was at hand which would test their allegiance.
And in face of this they were in doubt. Was it, they were
asking, worth while to hold to this reformed religion when
there was very strong reason for returning to the simpler
faith of their fathers? See especially v. ii — vi. 8.
The strong reason was above all bound up with honour.
Holding fast to Jesus as Christ might very likely bring loss
of property, imprisonment, even death; see x. 32 — 39, xii. 4.
But that was not the great difficulty. The " sin " which their
friend fears they may commit is a specious one; there is
" deceitf ulness " about it, something that may confuse the
real issue; as yet they have not done the wrong, but it is
already an influence working all about them subtle in
associations, clinging to them like a garment; one strong
effort of will is needed to break free, and if that effort is not
made the catastrophe will be irreparable. See iii. 13, vi. 4 — 6,
x. 10, 23, 26 — 31, xii. 1. But these references are inadequate
by themselves. There is hardly a paragraph in the letter but
illustrates the situation we are imagining, and it is the letter
as a whole, read with this idea in mind, which justifies our
imagination. So read, it culminates at last in the appeal of
xiii. 13 to go forth to Jesus outside the ancient "camp" of
Israel, bearing His shame. The meaning must surely be that
the hour has come when the followers of Jesus the true
Christ must break with traditional Judaism. The earliest
apostolic community had not done so. The apostles had
frequented the temple, observing the Jewish hours of prayer
(Acts iii. 1), and S. Paul's marked reverence for the mother
Church at Jerusalem had been of a piece with his claim that
in standing for Jesus the living Christ he was faithful to the
hope of the fathers (Acts xxvi. 5 — 7). But now that old
alliance must be interrupted.

THE WAR WITH ROME liii
§ 2. The occasion may be the outbreak of the war
with Rome:
To take that bold step, and to take it just at a time when
it would be shameful, as it seemed, to take it, was the hard
duty to which this letter urges the little band of thoughtful
Jewish Christians, its readers. What then was the occasion?
Why was this to be done, and what made the doing so
particularly difficult? All becomes plain if the letter was
written about a.d. 65 or 66 when the zeal of a party had
become a national spirit of self-sacrifice, and the enthusiasm
of the zealots had involved a whole people in war against
Rome. "It was Florus," writes Josephus, "who compelled
us to undertake war with Rome, seeing as we did that it
would be better to perish as a nation than by partial and
repeated persecution. The beginning of the war was in the
second year of the procuratorship of Florus, the twelfth of
Nero's reign," i.e. a.d. 66 (Antiq. xx. 11):
How moving the appeal would be to all Jews, in Palestine
especially, but in all places too whence it was possible for
Jews to travel to Palestine, and rally round the national
standard, and fight for hearth and home, laying aside all
party differences and uniting in the ancient hallowed battle-
cry, "The Lord our God, the Lord, one! " (cf. Deut. vi. 4;
Heb. xiii. 8). And to none would it come with more force
than to these "philosophic liberals," who had toyed with
speculative hopes of a reformed creed, and were now sum
moned to play the man, and throw themselves into the'
stream of life in its intensity and simplicity. They were fairly
well to do (vi. 10, x. 34, xiii. 5), and wherever situated, could
make the journey to Palestine. They seem to have never been
quite at home in the community of Christians they had
joined (x. 25, xiii. 17) ; no doubt early apocalyptic Christianity
was a rude environment for these intellectual people. They
are inclined to weary themselves no more with niceties of
creed ; they will return to the simplicity of the faith of their
childhood, which is at' least enough for men of honour: see
v. 11 — 14.

liv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
§ 3. when the patriotic appeal, so attractive to these imperfect
disciples, was contrary to the faith of Christ.
They were however making a double mistake. The Jewish
rising was not the pure patriotism they imagined, and the
Christian faith was more than a reformed Judaism.
The Jewish rising was not pure patriotism. These Christian
Jews were confronted with the very choice which had been
offered to our Lord when He called for the tribute money and
gave His decision, " Render unto Caesar." That was no clever
shelving of the question; it was a decision which cost Him
life. It was a practical summing up of all He taught about
the kingdom of God. That kingdom was not to be the political
triumph of Judaism, but the universal victory of that true
religion which had been especially entrusted to the Jews;
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The
quotation in Heb. x. 30, "Vengeance is mine," may have been
suggested by Rom. xii. 19, but it has a more concentrated
purpose in Hebrews. When this epistle was written, the
problem was set for the first time which has so often been
forced upon the Church again, how to apply the peaceful
doctrine of the Sermon on the Mount to national politics.
The solution was perhaps more simple then than it has been
on some later occasions, but it was not absolutely simple.
The case for the patriots must have seemed very strong.
Looking back now, we can see that the author was right every
way. Josephus' history of the war shews the evil passions
that tainted the spirit of the heroically fighting Jews. The
issue of the struggle might appear but one more of the
frequent examples of might triumphing and yet not being
right; but the subsequent development of Rabbinism goes
near to prove that the fight was not for the truth, but for a
narrow sectarian religion. And yet even now we may confuse
cause and effect, and then these things were hidden from the
passionate actors in the tragedy.
The author of the epistle saw the right way clearly, and
he saw the way because he had a real apprehension of the
life, work and Person of the Lord. He understood the
supreihe and final worth of the salvation wrought through

THINK OF CHRIST AS PRIEST lv
Him, and knew that even the purest claims of patriotism
could not outweigh devotion to the new faith; no such
conflicting duty could be real duty; to merge the perfect
work of Christ in Judaism could not be right, and on no
other terms might Jewish patriotism be satisfied. To his
friends he could put this in an elementary manner: You have
given allegiance to the Lord Jesus as the Christ; no other plea
of honour can set you free from that allegiance. That plain
prehminary appeal runs through the epistle.
§ 4. Therefore the author would deepen their faith by using
the analogy of priesthood to explain the Person and the work of
Christ. He also knew that, if he could lift the faith of these friends
of his to the level of his own, they would find in the Lord
Jesus Christ such strength as would enable them to make the
hard choice. Hence his letter consists of an intellectual
argument mingling with an emotional appeal. And the
argument takes this form : Think of Him as a priest and I can
make you understand. If it be asked why he threw his
reasoning into that form, no certain answer can be given. No
doubt the letter, like most letters, is the continuation of
earlier conversations; the subject had been discussed before
and this illustration had been used. Philo had used it in his
theologising about the Word of God. It may be that Philo
himself had not been read by these people. But, if not Philo,
the masters of Philo had been theirs, and the divine High
Priest was a conception that might very naturally have arisen
from their Alexandrine education. But it may be there is no
need to search so curiously. Christ the High Priest is an idea
so frequent in the earliest Christian literature that it can
hardly have been derived from this long disputed epistle. The
germs of the idea are already to be found in two books of the
New Testament which in other respects have affinities with
Hebrews, viz. 1 Peter and the Apocalypse, but which again
can hardly have drawn upon Hebrews. The instinct, inference,
or possibly tradition of the Church may well be right, not in
making the Levitical Law the main interest of the epistle,
but at least in recognising in that Law a natural analogy for

lvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
the instruction of Christians who had been brought up under
it. That the analogy is not evidently used in any other book
of the New Testament, and that the two books, just men
tioned, which do approach such use are specially connected
with Jewish Christianity (cf. I Pet. i. i), shews that it is not
quite reasonable to say that all Christians, Jewish and
Gentile alike, knew the Old Testament well, and might as
easily have welcomed the same analogy.
§ 5. He does this on the lines of atonement, mediation, approach
to God. The Jewish ritual affords a starting point for the dis
covery of a truer type.
But this need not be laboured. Let us pass on to consider
how the analogy of priesthood is applied. The whole work of
priesthood may be summed up in four phrases from the
epistle: "to make propitiation" or atonement; "taken from
among men '' ; " in things pertaining to God " or (as the Greek
might be rendered) " on the Godward side " ; and " the way."
The priest "makes atonement" for sins. He does this
because he is a mediator, a man "taken from among men,"
yet standing "on the Godward side" of men. Thus he opens
a "way" by which men cleansed from sin may enter the
presence of God. Seeii. 17 f., v. 1 f., x. 19 — 22. This is all part
of a series of pictorial terms derived from the Levitical ritual,
which forms the starting point for the analogy. But, before
we go further, it is necessary to state plainly that nothing
more than this is derived from the Levitical ritual. After all
the Levitical priest actually effected none of these things.
Nor could they ever be effected by the institutional means
he used however far developed. If the work of Christ is
conceived as a development or fulfilling of something thus
begun, the argument of the epistle becomes unsatisfactory.
It could never convince any one who had not already accepted
the reality of the salvation brought by Him; and even to such
believers it would only be an illustration, helping them to
formulate their belief in a special manner. But the epistle
reiterates the author's repudiation of that purpose. He says
these ancient rites were merely "shadow" and the contrast
drawn between the "shadow" and "the actual type or

LEVITICAL ANALOGY: CHRIST TYPE Ivii
symbol," x. 1, shews that in choosing the term "shadow" he
did not mean to lay stress on its close connexion with the
"reality" that cast its shadow before itself, but on the quite*
unsubstantial fleeting nature of these mechanical (xii. 27),
temporary phases of ritual. The Levitical Law, like the
Philonic philosophy, gave the author a vocabulary, and
started him with an analogy. But he soon passes from
analogy to a much more serious kind of reasoning. When he
uses an image from the old ritual he never elaborates it fully,
nor cares to get the correspondence exact. Forgetting this,
we soon meet with difficulties; first with slight ones, as when
the author is thought to be detected in some antiquarian
inaccuracy; then with great ones, when we force our Lord's
spiritual state into a material mould, and dispute as to when
His priesthood began, or the precise relation of His inter
cession to His sacrifice, or enquire what the altar (xiii. 10) or
the sanctuary stands for.
§ 6. But first he shews our Lord to be heir of
Christship and Sonship :
The epistle opens with a poet's vision of all which is after
wards to be discovered to the readers. The author stands as
it were by the throne of God, and sees the light streaming
from His invisible glory; impressing itself as with a seal on
certain eminences in Israel's history; then taking definite
human form in One who inherits the name of Christ and Son
from those Christ-kings; then this divine Person makes
purification of sins, and returns with His achieved inheritance
to the exalted throne from which He proceeded, and which
He now shares as King and Priest. The readers will have
little doubt from the first who is meant. In ii. 3 a passing
reference to " the Lord " would remove any doubt they might
have felt. The rest of chapter ii. gives another view of the work
of salvation, this time from earth, as it was wrought by Jesus
in His humiliation; and in iii. 1 — 6 the two lines are brought
together, and Jesus is declared to be the Christ who as Christ
is Son of God, and as the fulfiller of all the imperfect Christ-
ship of the past, is Son of God in the supreme sense.

lviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
So far, more has been said about our Lord's Christship than
His priesthood, and this idea is never dropped throughout
*the epistle. But already the priesthood has been implied in
"when he had made purification," i. 3, and expressly
mentioned in ii. 17. Herein we perceive the novelty and the
conservatism of the writer's design. He would interpret the
old tradition, of " Jesus is the Christ," in new terms, " Jesus
is our High Priest." The tradition was quite primitive. It
was first expressed as the Christian creed by S. Peter when
he said, in the region of Caesarea, "Thou art the Christ." It
was re-affirmed, after the shock of the crucifixion, by S. Paul
with the development which that trial to the faith rendered
necessary. Thus in Rom. i. 2 ff . he wrote : " The gospel of God,
which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,
concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David
according to the flesh, who was declared" — or "defined" —
" to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection of the dead."
§ 7. yet inheriting through the humiliation of real
manhood.
This great confession, or profession as our author would
call it, is fully adopted by him. But he retouches it, deepening
some lines, the witness of the Old Testament, and (as S. Paul
himself did in Colossians) the pre-existence of the divine Son ;
and modifying one line, since he thinks of the Lord's "raising"
rather as "ascension" than "resurrection." But in par
ticular he develops the " born of the seed of David according
to the flesh." That is an assertion of the hereditary- honour
of our Lord's manhood. It is asserted in Hebrews also, once
in plain terms, vii. 14, and throughout the epistle wherever
the Christship is treated of. But for the most part our
author lays the stress on another aspect of our Lord's man
hood, that which S. Paul spoke about to the Philippians,
ii. 5 — 11, His humiliation. We can see the reason for this.
The readers of the epistle, with their imperfect appre
hension of the Lord's Godhead, were especially interested in
His earthly ministry, " the days of his flesh," v. 7. If S. Paul's
epistles were the first fruits of the Church's literature, the

VERY MAN lix
synoptic gospels followed them, and we may infer that at
about the time when Hebrews was written the thoughts of
the brethren were being widely turned to the memories of
Jesus of Nazareth. With us too a like revival of interest in
the gospel story has taken place, and we know what one of
the results has been; the limitations of the Lord's manhood
have for a while almost daunted faith. This is a recurring
illustration of what S. Paul says the Jews especially felt in
his day, "the scandal of the cross," i Cor. i. 23. And it is
evident that the friends of this author felt it painfully.
And herein is one of the causes of his choosing the analogy
of priesthood. In his first mention of the priesthood he
insists on real manhood being an indispensable qualification :
" Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be made like unto
his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for
the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted,"
ii. 17 f. He goes on to meet the difficulty full and square. He
insists with all his power that our Lord is really "a man'' —
not merely the representative of men. When speaking of His
earthly ministry, he reiterates the human name "Jesus." In
speaking of His exalted state, he adds "Christ," or in some
other way marks the difference. But he allows no infringe
ment even thus on the very manhood. Even on earth the
Lord was Christ, v. 5 ff., and in (or beyond) the heavens He
is still "Jesus," iv. 14, xii. 23; "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, to-day, yea, and for ever ! " is his cry, xiii. 8. And
he insists on the limitations of His manhood in uncom
promising language. " Though he was a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered " ; He was " made
perfect" only at the last, and only after He was made
perfect did He "become the author of eternal salvation,"
v. 8 f. He was indeed "without sin," but as His making
perfect was quite parallel to the making perfect of other
"just men," xii. 23, so His liability to sin was in all reality
like theirs; "For we have not a high priest that cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath
been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,"

Ix INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
iv.- 15. And in vii. 27 the natural meaning is that our Lord
did once for all and effectually just that which the Levitical
priests did often and ineffectually, i.e. offered sacrifice "first
for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people." This
would indeed be what S. Paul also meant in 2 Cor. v. 21,
"Him who knew no sin God made to be sin on our behalf;
that we might become the. righteousness of God in him."
But the phrasing in Hebrews is very bold; if it is rather
careless than studied, such carelessness is none the less
significant. In no way will the author suffer the real manhood, and
therefore the real humiliation, of the Lord to be explained
away. From chapter ii. it might appear that the Arian
tendency had already shewn itself. Some were inclined to
look upon our Lord as neither quite God nor quite man, but
an angelic Being. He rejects that by shewing that such
Beings are on an entirely different line. According to a
quotation he makes from Ps. civ. (Heb. i. 7) the angels are
not persons in the sense that God and man are persons. They
are what we should call "elemental forces." This was an idea
which found favour in later Judaism, and has been adopted
by Origen and by later theologians of undoubted orthodoxy.
Something like it appears in the Apocalypse, and it is
evident from Heb. xii. 22 that it is not irreverent. The
irreverence lies in a mean estimate of nature. Seen from the
throne of God the lightning and the wind would be, as the
Old Testament habitually describes them, angels.
But the epistle merely glances at all that speculation. The
author is only concerned with the truth pertinent to his
purpose, that the problem of our Lord's Person cannot be
solved, or shelved, by fancying Him a mingled creature,
neither God nor man. He is both; and only in frank recog
nition of His manhood will His Godhead be apprehended.
Accordingly at ii. 5, after a final dismissal of the angelic
theory, the argument proceeds to a vivid picture of the man
Jesus fulfilling the destiny of manhood, as it was described
in the eighth psalm. The general sense of that psalm is that
man for all his feebleness has been exalted by God to high
dominion, and the author of Hebrews says that though as

THE SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE Ixi
yet this exaltation has not been seen in the case of other men
we do see Jesus thus glorified. But he chooses for the picture-
of this "crowning with honour and glory" so unexpected a
moment that many commentators prefer to do violence to
his Greek rather than admit what nevertheless he plainly
states, viz. that the supreme moment of humiliation before
the Lord died was the supreme moment of His glory on earth.
If as is possible he had the passage in Philippians, ii. 5— n,
in mind, he has deliberately substituted "glory in humilia
tion " for S. Paul's " glory after humiliation." In hke manner
the "joy set before him," xii. 2, is parallel to "the contest
set before us " in the preceding verse, and means the joy that
the Lord experienced in His endurance of shameful death.
Glory in humiliation, Godhead discovered in manhood, death
on the cross the entry as High Priest into the very presence
of God with eternal salvation found for men; -this is the
series of inward and outward, eternal and visible, perfection
through limitation, that runs through the epistle: see
especially x. 19 f., where the flesh of the Lord Jesus is the
way He inaugurated into the sanctuary, and xiii. 12, where
the crucifixion which to outward appearance was hke the
off-scouring of a sacrifice — the execution as it seemed of a
criminal — was the priestly entrance of the Saviour of men
into the presence of the Father.
§ 8. In this reality of the Lord's manhood the sacramental
principle appears which governs the whole epistle. The wide-
meaning of Sacrament in early theology; a sign partaking of the
reality symbolised. So in Christ true Godhead is involved in
true manhood; a doctrine opportune for these Alexandrine
readers. This is the sacramental principle. The word Sacrament has
been used in a very sacred but somewhat narrowed sense of
late. In the early Church it was applied to all visible symbols
of the eternal which were not mere signs, but partook of the
reahty which they symbohsed. If it be objected that this is
a perverse usage of the word in modern times, appeal may
be made to the fine essay on " Sacraments " in Lux Mundi by
Francis Paget, late Bishop of Oxford, who shews how the
HEBREWS e

lxii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
two ritual sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion,
ordained by our Lord, were fitted for His purpose because
they were not to be arbitrary observances, but a particular
application of that unity and interfusion of the .visible and
the eternal with which God has ennobled the whole of His
creation. The author of this epistle would agree with that.
There can be little doubt that in his day the two sacraments
were closely bound up with the whole church life. In vi. 4,
x. 32, and not improbably in x. 22, he refers to Baptism, and
it may be that the epistle is coloured throughout by the
phraseology and thought of the eucharistic service. Yet he
gives no direct teaching on these rites, whereas the larger
sacramental idea pervades his letter. Thus he accepts and
transfigures the scandal of the cross. Thus he restates the
mystery of Christ's Person, shewing how the limitations of
His environment, and — a favourite phrase — His " suffering "
were the most fitting means for the interpenetration of His
Godhead into earthly life. And thus, as we shall see, the
doctrine of His High-priesthood becomes, in the really close
reasoning of the epistle, far more than an analogy; it is an
application of the sacramental principle of the unity of all
life. But before we consider that three remarks must be made.
First, sacraments are not fancies which merely stimulate
thought, as when we say, " This clear sky makes me think of
heaven." They are moral realities, as when an officer's
courage evokes a like courage in his men; for there the
appeal is from a visible act to the eternal divine quality of
self-sacrifice which has been implanted in manhood. And it
is more than an appeal; it is the setting free of an invisible
spiritual power — we call it by an appropriate metaphor,
"influence" — which overleaps the boundaries of matter, and
joins the very souls of men in one; and moreover lifts them
into a higher sphere of energy where physical death is made
of no account. So in his doctrine of Christ's Person and
saving work, our author concentrates attention on His
perfect goodness — His earthly life was a manifestation in
this quality above all of eternal life; and on His offering being
of His own blood. His very self, consciously and willingly

THE SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE lxiii
offered, while in chapter x. (the heart of the epistle) he all but
lays aside the sacrificial figures and founds the whole in
"will." Secondly, this may be thought to prove too much. For if
all this be true, where is the difference between our Lord and
other men? The whole creation is sacramental; all men's
lives may be effective symbols of the eternal ; how then is He
unique? It may be answered that " unique " is not a happily
chosen term to describe our Lord's position. Not only in this
epistle, but throughout the New Testament, the divine
supremacy of Christ is represented as uniting Him with men
and so carrying men with Him into God. In the end, says
S. Paul, God shall be all in all, i Cor. xv. 28. In 2 Pet. i. 4
the promise is that men may become partakers of the divine
nature. " As he is so are we also in this world," says S. John,
and, "We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him even as he is," 1 John iv. 17,
iii. 2, and read especially Joh. xvii. 18 — 26. And in Heb. i. 2
the whole significance of the phrase would be spoilt if the
article were added to "Son": all men are sons of God, not
Christ alone.
And yet that "one who is a Son" does not put Him on a
level with other sons. In Him, and in Him alone, the divine
Sonship was always apparent. There is a Christian ideal
which we keep in view but never consistently attain. Because
His disciples perceived that He did always live at the level of
that ideal, they recognised in Him the hght and source of all
life that is life indeed. Hence the primitive confession of His
Christhood, and the later definition of His Godhead. And
yet again that later definition was the discovery, or recovery,
of some still deeper truth which again and again has proved
itself a necessary truth for those who recognise the wonder
and mystery of hfe — of all mortal life running up into
eternities. There are these mysteries about and within us,
and, as churchmen think, nothing can give them sense and
consistency except the centering them in that supreme
mystery of Christ's Person, which is expressed in the sublime
language of the Creed, " Light of light, very God of very God
...who for us men and for our salvation came down from
<*2

lxiv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
heaven" — all this manifested to us in C>ne who lived as a
man among men on earth. This does not separate Him from
us. It brings Him closer than ever, for though there is
something here which passes our understanding, it is neverthe
less the indispensable presupposition to all our understanding
of ourselves and our surroundings. And accordingly the
author of Hebrews begins his epistle by setting forth this
truth more expressly than any writer had done before. He
sets it forth ; then leaves it. The rest of the epistle treats of
the Lord Jesus in the days of His flesh, and of the exalted
state which followed. The mode of treatment makes it seem
at times that Jesus wins through suffering to Godhead. But
that is the view as seen from earth; that is the sacramental
figure. The actual truth of this " perfection " is more recon
dite, more universally of moment. And the declaration of
the Church's tradition in the introductory verses guards and
gives reason to the whole complexity of the freely handled
idea. And thirdly, this sacramental principle was one which the
readers could readily accept. For it is a principle which the
Alexandrine philosophy had learned from Plato. S. Paul,
always quick to take up words and thoughts which he could
put to effective use in his teaching, every now and then
adopts the sacramental phraseology, but it was not congenial
to him. Philologically considered, "sacramental" and
"mystical" are the same word, and in our English Prayer
Book "mystical" does mean just "sacramental." But
" mystical " has of late taken a more particular signification
which is almost antithetical to that of "sacramental,"
implying the inward union of the mind with eternity, a union
not mediated by outward things. And in that sense S. Paul
is mystical by nature, not sacramental. It is a remarkable
coincidence — -but see John xiv. 26, xvi. 13 — that this
Alexandrine thinker, with his vivid style of picture-language,
should be writing to Alexandrine Platonists, who needed
instruction concerning the Person of Christ, at a time when
the interest in our Lord's earthly life was being-newly roused.
The coincidence produced this first sketch of the application
of the sacramental principle to the elucidation of the gospel

ON THE GODWARD SIDE lxv
story. Later, the evangelist of the fourth Gospel would use
the same principle with childlike simplicity and still more
profound thoughtfulness in that narrative of the life of Jesus
Christ which displays, more splendidly yet quietly than any
other writing. Godhead interpenetrating manhood in His
Person, and from Him as from a source transfiguring the life
of men everywhere.
§ 9. Christ the High Priest is mediator " on the Godward side,"
consummating the eternal priesthood which runs through nature
and history.
Now we come to the main thought of the epistle, the High-
priesthood of Christ. The idea itself, and the language in
which it is elaborated, is derived from the high-priesthood of
Aaron as described in the books of the Law. The Book, not
the contemporary usage at Jerusalem, is the source; the
Tabernacle, not the Temple, is the illustration. And the
ritual of the Day of Atonement is especially employed. That
was a service in which the high priest took the great part, not
the other priests. When the epistle was written the distinction
in Greek between "priest" and "high priest" was not care
fully observed, and we must not too hastily read subtle
significances into the author's application of this title to our
Lord; His "priesthood" in the wide sense is the great point,
and in Ps. ex., from which the phrase "priest after the order
of Melchizedek" is taken, the word is simply "priest."
Nevertheless the author's habit is to make the most of what
is peculiar and striking in words, and it is reasonable to
suppose that when he styled our Lord "High Priest," he did
mean to emphasise His eminence in a priesthood which all
men shared. It is a title which expresses, symbolically, what"
we have just now been considering, viz. that our Lord,
though He lived on earth as a man among other men, was
the first to attain "perfection" of manhood, and so became_
the representative of all men in the presence of God.
For that, according to the epistle, is the essence of priest
hood. It is "on the Godward side," ii. 17, v. 1. In Ex. iv. 16
the Lord promises Moses that Aaron shall be his spokesman ;
and in the LXX the same Greek phrase is used as here, " and

lxvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY'
thou shalt be to him on the Godward side." That is the
excellent translation which has been proposed for these
words in Hebrews. " On the Godward side " : George Herbert
wrote "Man is the world's High priest," and again
To this life things of sense
Make their pretence :
In the other Angels have a right by birth :
Man ties them both alone,
And makes them one,
With the one hand touching heaven, with the other earth.
The whole of that poem, "Man's medley," might be
quoted in illustration of some of the deepest thoughts of this
epistle. This verse has obvious affinities with chapter ii. The
idea recurs in other applications. Thus the Messianic
quotations in chapter i. point to the Christ-kings of Israel
standing on the Godward side of the nation, and the nation
on the Godward side of the world. The heirship of the Son to
all that has been created through Him, i. 2, and the phrase
"for whom are all things, and through whom are all things,"
ii. 10, indicate that growth of nature up to God which we
term evolution, and in the quotation from Ps. cii., in i. 10 — 12,
there is a hint of the same Godward-drawing vitality in
changing and perishing things which persists throughout
their mutability. So again in xi. 3 the idea is of the successive
ages of history being linked together by an influence, not
material, which ever works on the Godward side, and in spite
of much appearance to the contrary, still leads mankind
upward and onward in steady course. The heroes of faith,
who are celebrated one after the other in the rest of that
chapter, stand in' just this Godward relation to their several
generations. The divine movement of history goes on, till at
last (verses 39 f .) the priestly, Godward-drawing responsibility
is found to rest upon the readers of the epistle, whose duty
done or failed in will affect the perfecting of all their pre
decessors. We can of course see the same thing going on still,
a father standing on the Godward side of his family, one who
sacrifices life for a cause standing on the Godward side of his
contemporaries, a parish priest standing on the Godward
side of his parish, and so indeed each person who does his

AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK lxvii
duty in that state to which it pleases God to call him. We
might term all this "natural priesthood." The writer of
Hebrews would prefer " eternal priesthood," for it is in work
like this that "the other world" (ii. 5) breaks in; in this the
sacramental quality of life is perceptible.
§10. The author names the eternal and really typical priesthood
after Melchizedek, as the artificial shadowy priesthood had been
named after Aaron.
He does however distinguish this priesthood by another
term, which no doubt seemed appropriate enough to his
Alexandrine friends, but which obscures his meaning to us.
He calls it priesthood " after the order of Melchizedek." We
see from Philo how the Jewish philosophers of Alexandria
had used the mysterious story of Melchizedek to illustrate
their doctrine of the Word of God, a doctrine which is often
near akin to the idea sketched in the last paragraph. We who
have not been brought up in the Alexandrine schools have to
make an effort in taking their point of view. And our author
has not made that effort easier by his too scholastic treat
ment of the subject in chapter vii. This is the most Philonic
in form of all his writing. And yet the dry, half logical, half
fanciful, argument is punctuated by a few great phrases
which outweigh much tediousness, and upon which if we fix
our attention, we shall not miss his real meaning. What he
says is in effect this. The Levitical priesthood is but a ritual
institution. All such wear out and pass away. There is no
seed in them which grows to perfection. And to-day we see
this institution proving weak and unprofitable (vii. 18). Is it
to make way for another ordinance of like kind ?
No, a better hope (vii. 19) has arisen. In the life and death
and victory over death, in the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
we hope that the Godward-drawing influence which the
Levitical institution represented by ecclesiastical symbolism
("after the law of a carnal commandment"), but which has
always been a real working power in the whole world, has
reached its destined perfection. This influence has been due
to a divine life, always in the world, indissoluble amid all
changes and chances; and in Jesus Christ, who died for men

Ixviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY'
and yet lives, we believe that we recognise the source and the
complete manifestation of that life ("after the power of an
indissoluble life," vii. 16). He has fulfilled the typical priest
hood, and His priesthood, by which we really come to God
(vii. 19), shall never pass away as institutional ordinances do
(vii. 24). "He is able to save to the uttermost them that
draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them," vii. 25.
The institutional priesthood, which merely stimulated
thought and emotion (cf. x. 3), is named after a person in the
sacred record of Israel's history. The high priest of this
artificial order is Aaron. The High Priest of trie other, real
and living order is Jesus Christ. But cannot a name be found
in the same sacred story which may stand as a type of Him,
representing all the imperfect efforts of true priesthood which
He inspired and has now carried out to their inherent
perfection ("made like unto the Son of God," vii. 3)? Will not
"Melchizedek" serve this purpose? That personage in the
dawn of history appears exercising a priest-king's function,
outside the limits of the chosen people, dominating our great
ancestor Abraham, and described in mysterious language
which suggests eternity of life, vii. 2 f. Here surely is the
world-wide, unending priesthood we are seeking. The choice
of this name might seem unimportant, but it gains importance
when we find a psalmist taking up the name and the idea
long afterwards in a psalm which not only testifies to the
inextinguishable aspiration of God's people towards the
consummation of this effectual priesthood, but also pictures
so remarkably the glory of our ascended Lord. " Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek," he says; and
" Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy
footstool," vii. 15, 21, viii. 1, cf. i. 13, v. 6, xii. 2.
§ 11. But another element in true priesthood is atonement,
which in Hebrews is oftener represented as cleansing.
In some such terms as these our author might translate his
Alexandrine reasoning were he confronted with his modern
readers. But he would have to confess that his phrase " after
the order of Melchizedek" does not cover all he has to say

PROPITIATION Ixix
about the priesthood that was consummated by Jesus Christ.
There is nothing about "propitiation," "atonement," in the
story of Melchizedek. How did our High Priest win that
forgiveness of sins which was needed by sinful men if they
were really to enter the holy presence of God? This question
is answered in the three following chapters, viii.- — x. In these
we have the exposition of that other key-word, "to make
propitiation," ii. 17.
That verb is found elsewhere in the New Testament only
once, and there in the sincere, but as yet imperfect prayer of
a beginner in the faith, Luke xviii. 13. The reason for this
infrequency is not hard to guess. In pagan religion, and in
popular misunderstandings of Judaism and Christianity
before and since, men have conceived of "propitiation" as
the changing of God's mind from hostility to favour. No such
idea is admitted in the New Testament. Man is reconciled to
God, Rom. v. 10; 2 Cor. v. 18 ff. ; only in a sense which
requires explanation can we say in the language of the second
"Article of Religion*' that Christ died "to reconcile His
Father to us1 " ; even of the Old Testament the consistent
teaching is, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love,"
Jer. xxxi. 3, " I will heal their backsliding, I will love them
freely," Hos. xiv. 4. The "wrath" of God, in either Testa
ment, is not contrary to His love, it is His love itself burning
its way against opposition. The same feeling about pro
pitiation appears in S. Paul in the one place where he uses
a kindred Greek noun, Rom. iii. 25. He guards the true idea
by adding "through faith." Another kindred word is twice
used by S. John, 1 John ii. 2, iv. 10, and not elsewhere in the
New Testament. And this is noticeable. For it is one of the
connecting links between Hebrews and the Johannine
writings, which stand in the same line as Ezekiel and the
priestly writings of the Old Testament. In all these books
healing is provided for those who feel the stain rather than
the chain of sin. So Ezekiel, for all his insistence upon
sacrifices, shews what he recognised as the permanent
underlying significance of sacrifices, in such a passage as
1 See note on "The idea of Reconciliation or Atonement" in
Sanday and Headlam's Romans, pp. 129 f.

lxx INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
xxxvi. 25 f . : " And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and
ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all your
idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and
a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh." Compare with that- Heb. ix. 13 f ., " 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 flesh:
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God? " And here we meet with that other word, " cleanse,"
which the author prefers to "make propitiation." His habit
is to translate "propitiation" in terms of "cleansing."
§ 12. This cleansing is through the Blood, which is life given by
God to re-create life. Leviticus : the suffering Servant of the Lord.
Both terms however are priestly. And this is especially
evident when we observe how the cleansing is effected. It is
by " blood . ' ' Here is a form of speech which would seem very
strange to us if we were not so accustomed to read of the Blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament that we have
somewhat blunted our apprehension of the startling figure —
we are become dull of hearing (Heb. v. 11). Indeed we hardly
recognise anything of the nature of figure here. Our Lord's
death involved bloodshed; that violent bloodshedding was
the price of our salvation. But that idea, though glanced at
elsewhere in the New Testament, never enters this epistle.
The Greek word for bloodshedding in Hebrews, ix. 22,
includes the blood-sprinkling of a sacrifice, and to understand
— what to a Christian educated in Judaism would have been
as familiar as the doctrine of sacraments is to those brought
up on the Church Catechism — we must turn to Lev. xvii. 10 f. :
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the
strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of
blood ; I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and
will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh
is in the blood : and I have given it to you upon the altar to make

BLOOD IS LIFE lxxi
atonement for your lives: for it is the blood that maketh atone
ment by reason of the life.
In the Hebrews, as R.V. margin shews, one and the same
word stands throughout for "soul" or "life." The sense is
obscured by varying the translation. The main point is that
life atones for life. Indeed we might say "life cleanses life."
For the Hebrew ritual term, although in other connexions it
means "cover," is very likely akin in this connexion to a
similar word in Babylonian ritual which does mean "cleanse1.
And in any case the essential idea is deeper than any ritual
metaphor. It is that in sacrifice a life offered to God renews
man's spoiled and broken life, re-unites it with the life of God,
carries it to its destined perfection in God.
This is true even of the Levitical theology. For the
theology of this passage is a conscious, an inspired trans
formation of an older crude religion. The older base is a
mere taboo against eating blood. That taboo is taken into
the Mosaic law to stay there for a while till it passes away
with the rest of the " shadow." But it is also developed into
a truth about God which is to last as long as time. " Atone
ment " is God's grace; cf. ii. 9 : He himself, so far from having
to "be propitiated," provides means for reconciling His
alienated children to himself. And He finds these means in
the mystery of life, and through life brings new life to the
dead. Life is appointed by Him to re-create life. Contrast
this "life-blood... given upon the altar" for renewal of life
with what Aeschylus says of life-blood spilt upon the ground :
" when a man dies and the dust drinks up his blood there is
no resurrection," Eum. 647 f. ; cf. 1 Sam. xiv. 33 f. ; 2 Sam.
xiv. 14.
How far, even in the Levitical conception, is this mere
figure? So far as it was expressed by the use of the blood of
victims it was of course mere figure. The life of bulls and
goats could never be anything but external to the offerer.
Unless atonement or salvation could be wrought for men
entirely by an act outside themselves, these sacrifices were
merely fictions. And such they were ; the Levitical ritual was
1 See Encyclopaedia Biblica, art. "Ritual," § 8.

lxxii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
a shadow. But whenever the principle was transferred from
the ritual sacrifices to deeds in which men willingly offered
themselves to God's will — to be used by Him in life or death
just as He called them to be used — then it did become
possible for one man's life to re-create the life of others. And
even in Old Testament history we find this happening. Very
imperfectly some of the kings of Judah did this. More
perfectly the great prophets did it, especially Jeremiah.
Above all that person, celebrated in Is. liii. as the Servant of
the Lord, by whose suffering and death the peoples were
converted and saved, did this. He may have been a historical
personage, or he may have been a lyric type, the expression
of an inspired prophetic poet's imagination. At any rate his
" indissoluble life " was a supreme illustration of the Levitical
theology "life re-creating life," and from apostohc times
onward he stands as the forerunner of our Lord, the real
"type" which could be really fulfilled in Him. We in the
twentieth century can hardly avoid the presumptuous fancy
that the epistle to the Hebrews would be easier for us to
understand if the author had called our Lord's High-priest
hood "priesthood after the order of the suffering Servant"
instead of "after the order of Melchizedek."
§ 13. • The Blood of Christ is His life enriched by death,
through which He appeared before God on our behalf.
For as we read on and enter upon the profounder chapters
viii. — x., it becomes clear that our Lord's "priesthood"
reaches its essence in His "sacrifice," and His sacrifice is
through His death. It is not His death, simply. The sacrifice
is what He offered, and that was His life. But He could only
offer it by dying. Yet again it was not through death, simply.
The series of words concerning "suffering" are as frequent
as those which concern death. The phrase in the Litany, " By
thy cross and passion," is in strict accord with the theology
of Hebrews. A sacrifice, an offering, is, from the very nature
lof such words, made at one definite time, once for all. But
this is a matter that overpasses the lexicographical precision
of single words. This most real offering was a moral action,
a personal action with influence from persons to persons,

BUT LIFE ENRICHED BY DEATH lxxiii
Christ, God, men. And therefore it was bound up with the
development of character — " Christ learned obedience by the
things which he suffered; and having been made perfect, he
became etc.," v. 8. There was a moment when the sacrifice
was offered, and there was a moment when Christ was hailed
as High Priest, v. io. But to press this very far is to make
our interpretation servile to the figurative letter. The
"becoming," first of Christ then of "those that obey" Him,
is as important in the argument of the epistle as is that other
point — which nevertheless is exceedingly important — that in
Christ's action, as in man's, and especially as it was in that of
the first readers, there came one supreme moment, up to
which all the past led, and upon which all the future turned.
And that was the moment of His death. If, instructed by
the Levitical theology, we were to substitute "life" for
"blood " in all those passages of the epistle where the blood of
Christ is named, much vivid truth would be recovered for
ears blunted by convention. But something too would be
lost. In Levitical ritual the death of the victim was not the
sacrifice, but the indispensable preliminary; for except by
the victim's death, its blood (which was its life) could not be
set free for sacrificial "pouring" or "sprinkling." And,
taught here by the ritual as before by the Levitical theology,
we amend our substitution, and by the "blood of Christ"
understand His "life set free and enriched by_ death." We
should probably come~near tfie^ractical sense of the epistle
if we said this hfe enriched by death was what Christ offered.
But the epistle does not quite say that. Following the
analogy of the Levitical ritual, the author speaks of His
entering the true sanctuary "through his own blood," ix. 12,
and sanctifying the people " through his own blood," xiii. 12,
and of God bringing Him from the dead "in the blood of the
eternal covenant," xiii. 20, and of our entering the true
sanctuary "in the blood of Jesus," x. 19. As Aaron entered
the sanctuary "with blood not his own," ix. 25, the sacrificial
blood being but the instrument by which, or the sphere in
which, the offering— itself a mystery not defined — was made,
so also Christ. But His offering is defined. The simplest word
possible is employed. He offered "himself," ix. 14. Com-

Ixxiv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
parison with x. 34, xii. 3, shews how high a value the author
set on this colourless word. It is as though he checked his
picturesque style when he tried to touch the very heart of
things. So in the same clause, ix. 14, he abandons even the
sacred imagery of the blood, and substitutes the sublime
phrase "through eternal Spirit," which might be feebly para
phrased " through the spiritual virtue of the divine holiness
of life." And in ix . 24 Christ enters the true sanctuary simply to
" appear before the presence of God on our behalf " : even the
offering of "himself" is left unmentioned: in profoundest,
naked truth there is no gift of any kind which God requires.
§ 14. The significance of death for Christ and for all
men : it is the perfecting of life.
But all this is but an example of the translation of symbolic
into "real" language which, from the very constitution of all
language, it is impossible to carry out successfully; yet which
must be attempted by those who would grapple closely with
the mind of this most symbolising writer, and which from
time to time he essays himself. Omitting further details of
this kind, let us pass on to consider why he should assigft so
effective a value to the suffering of death. Alexander Ewing,
Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, wrote to Erskine of Linlathen,
"The outward sufferings of Christ were, so to speak, the
accidents of His mission... .But I do not know that the dying
of Christ affects me more than the fact does, that ' He ' was
acquainted with grief; for in this fact, Christ being what He
is, we have expressed to us the Divine sympathy with our
sorrows in a way which leaves nothing to be wished for1."
There is much harmony with the epistle in this, but not
complete harmony. The author would hardly agreee that the
sufferings were but accidents of Christ's mission; he would
say that we have to deal with sin as well as with sorrow; and
he would insist that Christ's actual death was all important.
And in that insistence he would be in agreement with S. Paul
and S. Peter and with our Lord himself; for though it is by
no means plain that our Lord started upon His ministry with
1 Memoir, p. 371. Isbister, 1887.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEATH Ixxv
a plan of salvation which included sufferings and death— in
that sense these might be described as "accidents of His
mission " — it is plain that when S. Peter confessed Him to be
the Christ, He did receive or had received, by what we may
perhaps call the inspiration of His incarnation, assurance of
the Father's will that by His death He should bring the
promised kingdom of Heaven. Is there here some mystery,
hidden in that complete and universal nature of things which
none but God can gather into view? It may be that such
confession of our limits is the necessary prelude to all dis
cussion of this matter. "We drop our plummet into the
depth, but the line attached to it is too short, and it does not
touch the bottom. The awful processes of the Divine Mind
we cannot fathom1." Yet we can go some way towards
gaining light from the nature of things even as we behold
them. In what follows here Dr DuBose's chapter on " Human
Destiny through Death " in his High Priesthood and Sacrifice
has given much help.
Death may be considered as an evil, but also as a good.
S. Paul generally speaks of physical death as an evil of the
same kind as disease seems to be considered in the Gospels.
In i Cor. xv. 24 — 27 he says death is " the last enemy that
shall be abolished." But in Heb. ii. 14 f., a passage which
looks as. though it were in a manner based upon the passage
in Corinthians, it is not death but "the fear of death," and
the "bondage" due to that fear, which is represented as the
evil. If it be objected that the devil is here said to be the lord
of death, answer may be made in a fine sentence from DuBose,
which lovers of the Old Testament will be quick to understand ;
" The devil himself is the supreme evil only as he overcomes
us; overcome by us, he is the supreme means of grace." What
the author of Hebrews here lays stress upori is our Lord's
use of death as the means of His victory. And that fits well
with the heroic view in ii. 9 of Jesus crowned with glory and
honour for the suffering. of death. The general idea of death
in this epistle is not as an evil disease of mortal men, but as
the great means of fulfilling their destiny.
1 Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. 94, Note on "The Death of
Christ considered &S a Sacrifice."

Ixxvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
And that is what our Lord thought. " Whoseover would
save his hfe shall lose it; and whoseover shall lose his life for
my sake and the gospel's shall save it," Mark viii. 35 and
parallels. No doubt He meant to include in this losing of life
that "death to sin," or to the old self, of which S. Paul so
often speaks. But when we remember what He said about
the travail pangs of the Kingdom, Mat. xxiv. 8 ; Mark xiii. 8,
it is certain that He was also thinking of the death of the
body. And indeed it is hardly possible that there can be any
thorough dying to the old self unless it includes willingness to
fac6 physical death if God so call a man. That was indeed
S. Paul's mind too, and for himself he did not always think
of death as an evil, whatever he may have said in some turns'
of his theological arguments; see Phil. i. 21 — 26, and cf.
Acts xx. 24.
The paradox, if it be a paradox, is indeed dissolved in the
light of ordinary hfe. In quiet times death may appear as
the unfortunate cutting short of pleasure or usefulness, the
disease of mortal nature, the penalty of man's sinful con
dition. But at other times death for a man's country, for a
cause, for "Christ's sake and the gospel" can well be looked
upon as divinely destined completion, "perfection," of a
man's life soul self, his "gaining of soul." It was in a time
of severe trial that it was said of the righteous man : "^ing
made perfect in a little while he fulfilled long years," Wisdom
iv. 13. "Trial," "temptation," generally bears this intense
signification in the New Testament. Probably it does in the
Lord's Prayer, and "Lead us not into temptation" ought to
be interpreted by the standard of -the cross "where," — so
sang Dr Watts in the same spirit as the Book of Wisdom —
" where the young Prince of Glory died." If we are not quite
wrong in the setting we have decided upon for Hebrews,
"temptation" bears the intense meaning there, and readers
who might soon be "resisting unto blood " themselves would
be the more apt to appreciate the pregnant issues of a heroic
death. Now transpose the key. Still remembering how great and
hopeful a crown of life is a heroic death, think not of heroism
but of the perfecting of all the " goodrifess " of our Lord Jesus

THE WAY OF HIS FLESH lxxvii
in His death. Then these words of Dr DuBose will seem
grounded in reverent reason : " The death of Jesus Christ was
no mere incident or accident of His human career. It was the
essential thing in it, as what it means for us all is the essential
thing in human life and destiny," for " the mystery of man is
the mystery of death, and the mystery of death is the mystery
of man ; each is interpretative and explanatory of the other."
§ 15. Third element in Christ's priesthood, approach to God.
By the way He went and is men too must go: He re-enacts
achievement in them.
" What it means for us all " is the forgiveness of sin, that
is the cleansing and cleansing awaj>- of sin, and in consequence
our unimpeded access to the presence of God. " Having there
fore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the
blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new
and living way through the veil, that is to say, the way of his
flesh; and having a great priest over the house of God; let us
draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our body washed
with pure water," x. 19 — 22. Here is our fourth key-word,
"way." And, according to the translation here adopted and
justified in the note on the passage, this way is the way of our
Lord's flesh, i.e. we men must in our own lives re-enact, or
have re-enacted in us, that "perfecting" which our Lord
went through in His earthly hfe.
Now it may be that again in this connexion we ought to
bear in mind the limits of our faculty for reasoning things out.
It may be that there are phrases in the epistle which hint at
depths beyond the reach of our plummet. And of course all
the thoughts of the epistle are, as Origen recognised, " won
derful," outrunning our thought. Still it is evident that on
the whole the author does mean us to believe that our sin is
forgiven and the entrance is opened for us by an act of God in
Christ which He enables us to make our own. The salvation
is not worked upon us from outside as by a ritual ordinance.
It is worked by inward moral connexion, as by a person
influencing persons. The divine "way" is not a higher thing
than influence. If it were it would be indeed beyond our
HEBREWS

Ixxviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
understanding, but it would be also, as far as we can in any
manner conceive, incapable of pioducing any effect upon us
worthy of a personal, or, as the epistle puts it, of the living
God. Christ enables men to be "perfected" when they pass
along the way He made His own in His flesh. Only the
perfection, the Godhead which, from the point of view taken
in the epistle after the opening verses have removed the
possibility of misconstruction, He attained, has raised His
"influence" to such a pitch that this way may be repre
sented not as "His own" but as "Himself": "for we are
become partakers of the Christ, if we hold fast the beginning
of our confidence firm unto the end," iii. 14. And with
regard to that preliminary of perfection, the forgiveness of
sin, a like process may be recognised. Sin is forgiven in being
cleansed away. "Cleansed away" is part of the ritual
imagery, and the author applies that imagery very boldly
in vii. 27; see p. Ix above. Changing the metaphor — all
language is but more or less metaphorical — and ignoring the
details of ritual correspondence, we may suppose him to
mean, not merely that our Lord bore our sins, but that He,
as much as we, had to "overcome" sin, being as He was
"tempted in all points like as we are." The result of that
overcoming and its effect for His "brethren" has been set
forth so well by Dr DuBose that it would only be darkening
counsel to seek for other words :
I do not know how better to express the truth of the matter than
to say, in what seems to me to be the explicit teaching of our
Epistle, and of the New Testament generally, that our Lord's whole
relation to sin in our behalf was identical with our own up to the
point of His unique and exceptional personal action with reference
to it. Left to our nature and ourselves it overcomes and slays all
us; through God in Him He overcame and slew it. He did it not
by His own will and power as man, but as man through an
absolute dependence upon God. And He made both the omnipo
tent grace of God upon which He depended, and His own absolute
dependence upon it, His perfect faith, available for us in our
salvation. He re-enacts in us the victory over sin and death which
was first enacted in Himself.
That is what the epistle would seem to mean by the phrase
in ix. 12, "Christ through his own blood, entered in once

COVENANT lxxix
for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp
tion." § 1 6. This interaction of men with God is illustrated by the
doctrine of the Covenant which the author develops from
Jeremiah. His affinity with Jeremiah in respect of forgiveness,
national crisis, freedom from religious bondage.
That this interaction of man with God through Christ in
the work of salvation is according to the mind of the epistle
appears in its treatment of the Covenant in chapter viii., and
of the Will in chapter x. The Covenant forms the transition
from "priesthood" to the "priestly sacrifice" (ix.), and the
passage about God's Will sums up the whole of the previous
argument, and leads on to the appeal (x. 19 ff.) with which
the final, practical section of the epistle begins.
The word diatheke by which the LXX translates the Hebrew
Berith, means in Greek generally, though not always, a
testamentary disposition rather than a covenant; and it is
possible that this meaning has to some extent shaped the
author's phraseology in ix. 15 — 17. It is not however
necessary to resort to that explanation of the passage, since
the sacrifices with which God's covenants with His people
were inaugurated, from Sinai to the Last Supper, sufficiently
account for all that is there said. Some are of the opinion
that the choice of diatheke " disposition " instead of syntheke
"agreement" in the LXX was meant to vindicate the
peculiar character of the divine covenant, as originating from
God and not as a merely mutual agreement between equals.
That character of course it has, in accordance with the
principle which underlies not this epistle only, but the whole
New Testament and Old Testament also; the principle so
forcibly enunciated by S. Paul in Rom. viii. 12, "So then,
brethren, we are debtors," but quite as plainly in Ex. xx. 2 f .,
" I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none
other gods before me." Nevertheless though not "merely"
mutual, the divine covenant is a covenant, and mutual
relations are its essence. In the quotation made by our author
from Jer. xxxi. 31 — 34 this mutuality is emphasised by his
/2

lxxx INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
use of the Greek instead of the Hebrew Bible. Where the
Hebrew said " Which my covenant they brake, although I
was an husband to them, saith the Lord," his quotation from
the LXX has " For they continued not in my covenant, and
I regarded them not." No one who interprets the details of
Holy Scripture by the whole will suppose this to mean that
God changed from love to indifference, but it does illustrate
the principle we have been examining, viz. that salvation is
an act of God on man as well as for him, and that the very
nature of God and man makes it impossible for God's
forgiveness, though God unceasingly forgives, to operate
except when men answer personally to His personal influence.
And it is clear that our author meant to bring the
Covenant to bear on his doctrine of forgiveness especially.
That was one reason why he chose to quote from Jeremiah
rather than from any other part of the Old Testament. For
Jeremiah's oracle ends emphatically with forgiveness
(Heb. viii. 12), and it is just those words in the quotation
which are repeated in x. 17, at the end of the paragraph on
the Will. But there were other reasons also for the choice.
One was, we may suppose, that the occasion of Jeremiah's
utterance was so hke the occasion of this letter. Jeremiah
spoke when Jerusalem was about to fall before Nebuchad
nezzar; this letter was probably written when the war with
Rome was breaking out which was to end in the calamity of
a.d. 70. Then again Jeremiah spoke of a "new" covenant,
and it was the renewal of the ancient covenant which our
Lord inaugurated in His Blood at the Last Supper; see
especially Luke xxii. 20. One chief reason against laying
stress on the coincidences of Heb. ix. 15 — 17 with the
language of testamentary law is that the governing thought
which underlies the whole is not Roman law, but Christ's
fulfilling of Israel's covenant hope on the night in which He
was betrayed and the day on which He died.
But above all, because it is the idea which pervades and
vivifies all the rest, Jeremiah's words are chosen as expressing
that ascent from shadow to reality which is the doctrinal
theme of this epistle, as it was the special revelation com
mitted to Jeremiah. Both authors wrote at a crisis when the

JEREMIAH lxxxi
institutional form of religion was being broken up. To those
whom they addressed this might well seem the end of religion
itself. In the narrower sense of the word religion — scrupulous
reverence — it was almost an end. But with the loss of out
ward bonds to God, Jeremiah saw the vision of a real union
of the heart between Israel and God. And to some extent his
vision was realised; as in the Psalter of the post-exilic Jewish
Church. Yet on another side the increasing domination of
the Law made the later Jewish Church more institutionally
scrupulous than before. And when Hebrews was written not
only did the war with Rome threaten an abolition of these
institutional bonds, but the larger spirit of Judaism itself was
fretting to be free from them. The author, being a real
churchman, would assure his friends, who as yet are so
imperfect churchmen, that in Jesus Christ the whole difficulty
is more than overcome. Quite freed from all the hamper of
artificial religion, which is worn out and passing away, they
may enjoy real forgiveness and enter really into the presence
of God. The New Covenant of the heart is now being realised.
Only it is a covenant. There must be an answer to the
movement of God. And for these friends of his the answer
must be given in the courageous acceptance of a dangerous
duty, a painful dissociation from venerable traditions and
ancestral friendships.
That practical appeal continually breaks in. It lends an
ominous undertone to many phrases which have primarily a
theological purpose. Thus ix. 22, "And apart from shedding
of blood there is no remission," must be interpreted not only
in the light of the doctrine of sacrifice generally, or of Christ's
sacrifice eminently, but also of that sacrifice which was then
being demanded from the readers, and is darkly foreshadowed
in xii. 4, "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood." These men
could not refuse to join the revolutionary standard without
incurring the murderous resentment of their compatriots. All
the more honourable was their willingness to listen to so
academically reasoned a persuasion as their master sends
them. If in his time of trial Jeremiah lifted some Judaeans
from religion to heart-religion, this letter lifts its readeis from
religion to theology. " ' Theology,' " wrote' Forbes Robinson,

lxxxii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
"is the thing and ' Religion' is not, I think, nearly such a fine
word. Theology is the Learning, Knowing, Studying God1."
Hebrews, a letter to men who may soon be martyrs, testifies
more than any other book of the New Testament to the moral
force of good theology.
§ 17. This thought of interaction is carried further '
in the doctrine of the Will :
The mutual, personal significance of the Covenant is
developed in x. 1 — 18 into the still intenser theology of the
Will. A short passage concerning the old sacrifices introduces
this. The obvious purpose is to contrast the fictional value
of a brute's blood with the real value of a person's willing act.
But what has just been said about " undertones " applies here
too. After all there was something not altogether unreal in
these fictional sacrifices. They " called to mind " ; they moved
the heart. By the mere "doing" of these sacrifices nothing
would ever be produced like in kind to the sacrifice of Christ.
Yet the offerers wanted to become like Christ; good priests
led priestly lives and helped Israelites to become like Christ;
they, as well as the writer of this epistle, could deduce
Christlike teaching from their sacrificial system. Another
quotation from Mr Forbes Robinson well expresses this quasi-
typical relationship of the Jewish sacrificial law. " It dimly
hints (as sacrificial law in other nations does) at the fact that
the ground of the universe is self-sacrifice — that the ground
of all human, whether family or national, hfe is a filial
sacrifice.'' The Psalms however touch the reality which the Law
"dimly hints." And from a psalm the author takes words
which he could place quite appropriately into the mouth of
our Lord as He entered upon His ministry, a ministry which
overpassed the artificial bounds of Judaism, and was to
transform the whole world (x- 5)- "I come," He said, "to
do thy will, O God." The ritual imagery is for a moment
dropped. The argument winds inward to the soul of truth.
Christ did God's will. There was His sacrifice. That sacrifice
1 Letters to his Friends, by Forbes Robinson, p. 67.

THE WILL lxxxiii
becomes real for us when we make it our own by doing God's
will as He did. Yet the two efforts, His and ours, even
before they coincide, are not separate. For here is the secret
power of influence again. Once He had perfectly done God's
will, it became more possible for us to attempt the same, at
last possible for us to succeed. That secret power is deep in
the constitution of the ordered universe, the " cosmos." For in
the cosmos there is but one real will, namely God's. Self will,
or feeble will, in men is but their refusal of absolutely free
will. For absolute freedom is security in God from all the
obligations of shifting slaveries (cf. ii. 15). If, leaving what
we fancy to be our private wills, we enter God's will, we
are borne irresistibly on therein, "consecrated" to perfect
activity; and this entry into God's will has been opened for
us by the sacrifice of Christ. He having learned obedience
by suffering, at last, at the moment of His final obedience,
lost and found His will perfectly in God's. That uniquely
perfect consecration of a man's will to God, one perfected
Son's to the Father of all, has had supreme influence; it has,
so to say, righted the tottering destiny of man. From that
moment the ideal of perfect consecration has been brought
again within the range of men's practical aim. Yet, since
that aim is practical, they must submit to the discipline of
gradually working it out.
§ 18. which in this epistle is concentrated upon the one act of
will, first wrought by Christ in dying, now to be made their own
in the particular duty of the readers.
Thus perhaps we may paraphrase the carefully distin
guished tenses, "we have been sanctified" (with the
supplement "through the offering... once for all," cf. vii. 27,
ix. 12, 26, 28), "he hath perfected them that are sanctified."
With the idea, here suggested, of that last present participle
compare " working in us " in the final blessing, xiii. 20 f . That
may be taken to imply that, whereas the writer prays for his
friends that they may do their one hard duty and so enter
the will of God, he himself has already made that entry, and
would have God carry on his gradual sanctification. A like

lxxxiv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
thought of gradual sanctification may be involved in the two
participles of ii. n, "he that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified," and again in the present tense of "do enter" of
iv. 3 as contrasted with the immediately preceding aorist
"have believed," "we who made the initial entry into God's
will when we embraced the faith of the Church are con
tinually pressing deeper into the peace of that will." For
the two chapters on the Rest of God contain a preliminary
sketch of the doctrine of God's will; cf. ii., iii. with x., and
(as illustrative parallel) Dante's " E la sua volontate e nostra
pace" with S. Augustine's "Quia fecisti nos ad te, et
inquietum est cor nostrum donee requiescat in te."
Yet it must remain doubtful whether this thought of
gradual sanctification is in harmony with the mind of this
epistle ; whether these present tenses are not more properly
interpreted, in this epistle, of the one great conversion of will,
repeated in all those who from time to time are brought into
the allegiance of Christ. For, true though the other thought
is generally, in this epistle the stress is almost entirely on the
one decisive act. The one moment of Christ's offering His
sacrifice, the one sin which may prove irreparable, the one
brave act of duty which the readers are called to perform:
these are the eminent ideas, and the last of them explains
why. This epistle was written with one special purpose, to
induce certain waverers to become by one decisive act whole
hearted followers of Christ, and this purpose moulds the whole
shape of its theology.
Thus S. Paul's doctrine of the faithful being "in Christ"
is known to our author, but is not much dwelt upon in the
epistle. It would naturally be known to him, for S. Paul, who
made it so vital and profound, did not discover it, but with
the whole of the primitive Church inherited it from Judaism.
"The Christ of the Lord " had been to early Israel the king
who represented the nation. Sometimes it was used as a title
for the nation itself. So this author uses it, of course with a
widening of the original application, in his quotation from
Ps. lxxxix. 50 f. in xi. 26. In the later Jewish Church "The
^Christ" was recognised as a person, the King of the expected
kingdom of Heaven, but the idea of inclusive representation

TRIAL AND DUTY OF THE READERS lxxxv
was preserved. There was no Christ apart from his people,
and, as in Dan. vii., he could be considered as almost
embodying in himself "the saints of the Most High" who
were to "possess the kingdom for ever." This conception of
the Christ including all the faithful, " the Christ that is to be,"
was grandly developed by S. Paul in the epistle to the
Ephesians1. In Hebrews it appears more nearly in its Jewish
simplicity, as in iii. 14, "For we are become partakers of the
Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm
unto the end." Here we have the "in Christ" doctrine, but
it is coupled with an "if," and that "if" is just what prevents
the writer from developing it further. He had to concentrate
all his might on the preliminary task of urging his friends to
make the doctrine their own by loyalty to Jesus Christ, — a
particular act of loyalty to the definitely envisaged person of
the Lord. S. Paul, even in our author's place, might have
preferred to say, " Believe that you are in Christ and you will
be able to do this hard duty." Our author found it better to
say, "Follow Christ loyally, do this duty, and you will know
what it is to share with Him the peace of God."
His way may seem a lower way than S. Paul's. But it
ought not to be so understood. His trust in the all-embracing
will of God, and in the already perfected sacrifice of Christ,
allows him to lay this emphasis on duty. Though he urges his
friends to make their effort, he is aware of all that is being
divinely done for them; their effort will not be the initial
impulse in the whole complex purpose of God for their salva
tion. And he knew his friends, and knew what arguments
would best prevail with them. They were men of fine and
romantic honour and the appeal to loyalty would come home
to them. Their conception of the mystery of Christ's Person
was imperfect, and they could not understand properly what
"in Christ" implied. Their interest in His earthly life, and
the imaginative form which, if the epistle was congenial to
them, thought seems to have generally taken in their minds,
all this was good reason for pressing the romantic, imagina
tive, sacramental idea of following Christ, rather than the
mystical idea of union in Christ.
1 See the Commentary and the Exposition by the Dean of Wells.

lxxxvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
§ 19. And such concentration was natural in the crisis which
the author recognised as a "coming" of Christ.
And there was yet another peculiarity in their circum
stances which made them apt to be " followers " of Christ as
" captain " (cf . ii. 10, xii. 2) . In the troubles of these times He
was "coming," and He was coming to call His soldiers after
Him. That is a picture which is repeatedly presented in the
Apocalypse. If the Apocalypse and Hebrews be not both
connected with the revolt against Rome, it is at least evident
that they are both connected with some crisis of like character.
In the eschatological discourse of our Lord which precedes
the Passion in each of the synoptic Gospels, it is difficult to
avoid recognising a premonition df the fall of Jerusalem
mingling with the prophecy of the final " coming " of the Son
of man. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose that our Lord and
other observers of the signs of the times foresaw such a
conclusion to the increasing zeal of the patriots. In S. Luke's
version of the discourse it seems plain that a prediction of the
fall of Jerusalem is followed and completed by a prediction
of the great Advent. That advent filled the horizon of the
early Church. Had one of its members been asked, What is
the Christian hope? he would have answered without hesita
tion, The coming of our Lord as Christ. And that is the hope
which fills this epistle. But it is no longer a hope for the
quite near future; as it was when S. Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians, but not when he wrote to the Ephesians. In
Hebrews, as in Ephesians, a vista opens into a long future
for the Church. Writer and readers are breaking with a past
which is dear to them, but regret is transformed into a
vigorous outlook upon a new world (cf . " the world to come,
whereof we speak," ii. 5). When once the "temptation" is
over, youth will be renewed under the banner of Jesus Christ
(cf. note on xii. 24). And to the writer, as to S. Luke, the
revelation has occurred, that " the advent " is a mystery with
many senses. Whatever the great final "coming" may be,
Christ can come at another time and in another way ; and in
the then imminent crisis he believed that Christ was really
coming. That seems the evident meaning of x. 25, "...ex-

CHRIST COMING IN THE CRISIS OF THE TIME lxxxvii
horting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day
drawing nigh." In the atmosphere of this thought we catch
undertones — such as we have already observed to be natural
to our author — in i. 6, "when he again bringeth in the
firstborn into the world," or even ix. 28, "so Christ also,
having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall
appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for
him, unto salvation."
§ 20. This crisis explains the three passages in which
repentance seems to be limited.
A crisis was at hand. In that crisis Christ was coming;
it was, so to say, the first stage in the realisation of all that
the traditional hope of His advent meant. The crisis would
bring the readers. of the epistle face to face with a definite
choice between loyalty to Him and apostasy. The choice was
of infinite importance; its effects would reach into the sphere
of eternal realities ; if they made the wrong choice it was more
than uncertain whether they would ever find opportunity for
correcting it. Take no thought for doubtful morrows but do
your duty to-day, is the burden of the letter. And this con
centrated anxiety of the writer for his friends explains those
three remarkable passages, vi. 4 — 8, x. 26 — 31, xii. 16 f., in
which he might seem to be denying the possibility of repeated
repentance. If the letter were a general treatise of theology,
laying down general rules for all Christians of all times, it
would be natural to interpret his words in that manner. The
special occasion of this, not treatise but letter, makes all the
difference. Nevertheless " no second repentance " has been understood
at different times to be his teaching (cf. Intr. 11. §§ 3, 13,
pp. xxvf., xlivff.). Tertullian so understood him. So does
his latest commentator Dr Windisch, whose detached note on
" The denial of the second repentance " is a valuable summary
of material for forming a judgement on the question. He
argues that the rigour of Hebrews was a logical development
of the original principle of the Church. This principle was
inherited from the Old Testament. The Law had allowed no
forgiveness for any but sins "of ignorance"; see e.g. Num.

lxxxviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
xv. 28 — 31. Ezekiel implies the same in his chapter, xviii.,
on the wicked man turning away from his wickedness and
finding life. This inherited principle had been intensified by
the eschatology from which the gospel started; when the
Kingdom, into which the Christian was called, was immedi
ately expected, there was no "place for repentance" after
the one absolute repentance which constituted his entry into
the Kingdom. S. Paul implicitly, and without perhaps
conscious reflexion on the problem, held the same doctrine.
That is evident from 2 Cor. vii. 10, "For godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of : but
the sorrow of the world worketh death " (so our A.V. but see
R.V.). And though it cannot be said that this austere rule
was universal in the primitive Church, we do find it again in
1 John v. 16 f., " If any man see his brother sinning a sin not
unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them
that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not
concerning this do I say that he should make request. All
unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."
This precept is probably connected with the passages in
Hebrews, and with our Lord's word about the sin against the
Holy Ghost. In fact the proclamation of forgiveness for all
the world through the death of Christ involved constancy as
an inherent condition. A second repentance for those who
fell away from the new life thus given was impossible, except
by some special command from God himself. Such special
command, for a certain limited period, was declared in the
Apocalypse (ii. 5, 16, 21 1, iii. 3, 15 — 19; cf. xiv. 6t), and
some years later in the Shepherd of Hermas. Yet even this
was but a particular indulgence, a second repentance, not a
repentance that might be repeated yet again. On the other
hand the epistle of Clement of Rome witnesses to a milder
doctrine which was accepted in a large part of the early
Church, and which became presently the general rule. The
Fathers explain away the rigour of Hebrews by interpreting
its language as denying second baptism but not repeated
repentance. It would not be fair to decide for or against Dr Windisch
from this free sketch of his argument. Yet his hard literalism

REPENTANCE lxxxix
is evident. In the notes on Heb. vi. 4 ff . reasons will be found
for supposing that the question of "second repentance" is
not raised by this passage at all. The readers had been
wondering whether they had not better go back to the
simplicity of their ancestral Jewish faith and find a good
practical "repentance" in so doing. Their friend tells them
that this would be in the nature of things impossible, since
to do this would be to dishonour the allegiance they have
already given to Jesus as Christ. Plain honour demands
faithfulness to Him. No complicated doubts about other
claims of honour can annul that claim. How is it conceivable
then that a new and better life can be attained in a continued
state of base apostasy? A quotation Dr Windisch makes from
Philo — different though his application of Philo's thought is
— may be used to describe the situation: "he who asks
obhvion for what he has done wrong is not so perverse as to
go on with new offences at the very time he is asking to be
freed from the old," de spec. leg. 1. 193, p. 240.
This explanation of Heb. vi. 4 ff. will hardly win assent
from those who recognise no connexion between the epistle
and the Jewish revolt. But if any other severe crisis be taken
as the occasion of writing, it will be easy to understand all the
three passages on repentance in a different sense from Dr
Windisch. The author is not enunciating a rule of church
discipline. He is impressing the extreme peril of the situation
upon his own friends. Nothing, he urges, can be compared
with the gravity of this choice before you. The wrong choice
will be a grievous sin. It is the. one sin in all the world for
you, and this choice is" your one great chance. The time is
perilous. In the coming disturbances you may die, or you
may be involved in an inextricable tangle of evil. You will
certainly not have another chance of Christian nobility like
this ; it may well prove that, this neglected, you may never
find the opportunity again of salvation through Christ whom
you now dishonour1.
1 When these lines were being written a parallel was offered in
the Archbishop of Canterbury's sermon in Westminster Abbey,
Sunday Oct. 1, 1916 — the opening message of the National
Mission of Repentance and Hope: "It seems to me almost certain

xc INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
§ 21. Repentance is based upon the sacrifice offered once for
all, which nevertheless must be repeated in each disciple.
In the prayer, xiii. 20 f., with which the author concludes,
the sacramental correspondence is recapitulated between the
trial and the one decisive victory of the Lord Jesus in His
earthly life, and the trial through which the readers are going
and the one decisive duty they have to do. And the sacrificial
aspect of the victory is presented in the phrase " in the blood
of the eternal covenant." This pre-occupation with the need
of one decisive act of will on the part of his friends may have
been part of the impulse which led the writer to select the
analogy of priesthood for his fresh exposition of the traditional
doctrine of Christ's Person and work. For a sacrifice is an
offering. The essential, generous work of a priest is to offer
gifts, v. 1 . It is involved in the very idea of a gift, an offering,
a sacrifice, that it should be given "once for all." If it could
be repeated that would mean that something had been kept
back in the first giving. So far then as the analogy goes there
could be but one sacrifice of Christ, offered once for all. And
there is more than the truth of analogy in this. There is the
emotional truth that this sacrifice, being what it was, the
dreadful crucifixion, cannot be thought of as repeated, ix. 26,
and even the prolongation of it, as it were (vi. 6), by men's
continued or repeated unfaithfulness would be a horrible
thing. And there is the satisfaction of our need for full
assurance of full free pardon; the sacrifice is "full, perfect
and sufficient," x. 14, ix. 14. Hence the greatest stress is laid
in the epistle on this offering once for all. There is no
repetition; nor can the sacrifice be styled "eternal," since
such an epithet might, by confusion between its temporal
and moral senses, lead to misunderstanding. In ix. 14
"through eternal Spirit" could not be changed into "for
ever " without ambiguity.
Nevertheless something is implied in "through eternal
that if this opportunity goes by unused, it can never, never come
again. Wait till six months after the war is over, and the new start,
possible now, will be unattainable. At present all is tense and
keen; the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of readiness to offer ourselves
and what we love, is 'in the air.'" Times, Oct. 2, 1916.

SACRIFICE RE-ENACTED IN EACH DISCIPLE xci
Spirit" which obliges us to consider rather more carefully
what we mean when we assert that the sacrifice of Christ is
neither repeated nor continuous. The argument from the
nature of a gift or offering becomes fallacious as soon as the
offering is pictured in the mind materially and the material
picture allowed to direct our moral apprehension of the truth.
If we think of Christ's sacrifice as it was sacramentaliy worked
out on earth, it culminates in the moment of His death. If
we insist on the ritual imagery, that moment is alone the
moment of sacrifice. But if we let the ritual imagery go and
think of what Christ did for our salvation in His earthly
course, it seems highly artificial to separate His teaching,
obedience, faith and suffering from His death, as though the
ministry were merely moral, the death alone effectual. For
what is " merely moral " ? And how does " moral " differ from
" spiritual " ? And how can a single act be cut away from the
whole process of character? In hke manner we may imagine
Christ's heavenly work beginning at the moment of His death,
now pictured as His entrance into the presence of God. At
that moment He "offers," and the offering is completed.
But just as to S. Paul He who was once crucified abides for
evermore "the crucified one," so we may think of the High
Priest abiding for ever in the state of " one who has offered."
That is to say in modern phrase, " He pleads the sacrifice " ;
in the words of the epistle, "He ever liveth to make inter
cession for us." But how difficult it is to explain what we
mean by the intercession or the pleading as distinct from the
offering. We try to do so, and fail. The suspicion will occur
to us that we are trying to do an impossible thing, viz. to
express what is spiritually real as a whole, in the analytic
language of "appearance." So it is when we ask, Was there
a beginning of time? Is there a boundary to space? and
(must we not add?) "When did our Lord become High Priest? "
In ii. 17 ("to make propitiation") the present tense of the
Greek verb is much to be noticed. There, at any rate, though
a ritual term is employed and Christ's work is conceived as
"propitiation" rather than "salvation," it is not contem
plated as an instantaneous process.
Of that word however Dr DuBose writes thus : " The use of

xcii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
the present tense, instead of the aorist, expresses the fact
that Christ's single, and once for all completed, act of (on the
part of humanity) self-reconciliation or at-one-ment with God,
is continuously being re-enacted in and by us, as we by His
enabling grace and aid are enduring temptation and attaining
victory, are dying His death and rising into His life." That
may appear too subtle an exegesis of the isolated word. But
the more the epistle is studied as a whole, the more reasonable,
after all, will it prove. As S. Paul, using the figure of birth,
writes to the Galatians as though Christ should be bom again
in them, Gal. iv. 19, so this author, using the figure of priest
hood, writes to his friends as though they were in their own
persons to offer the sacrifice of Christ again ; notice especially
xiii. 12 f. The parallel is the closer because the Galatians, hke
these readers, were already Christians but needed to make a
fresh definite choice of action if they were to be fully
Christian. " My little children, of whom I am again in travail
until Christ be formed in you," is exactly like "Since Jesus
suffered sacrificially without the gate, let us go forth unto
him without the camp, bearing his reproach." How far the
author of Hebrews was influenced in the conduct of his
analogy from priesthood by the eucharistic service of the
Church is a doubtful, if it is even a proper question. But in
the eucharistic service of the Church in England there is a
striking illustration of this idea of the repeating of the one
completed sacrifice in the persons of the worshippers. In the
prayer of consecration memorial and dramatic representa
tion is made of the "full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice," as
it was first prefigured by the Saviour himself at the Last
Supper; in the following prayer that sacrifice is re-enacted in
the words " And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord,
ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable holy and
lively sacrifice unto thee." In this prayer it is made clear, as
in the epistle, that the re-enacting depends on the preceding
completion. It might be suspected that the separation of the
second prayer from the first, with which it was originally
combined, is an instance of that bondage to the analogy and
that inopportunely logical analysis which have unnecessarily
multiplied the theological problems of the epistle,

THE IDEAL OF SINLESSNESS xciii
§ 22. And though, after that initial re-enacting of the one
sacrifice, S. Paul, S. John and Hebrews uphold the ideal of
sinlessness, they acknowledge means for the renewal of the
faithful if they do sin.
The truth might be put in this way. Though, on the one
hand, the epistle represents Christ's priesthood as culminating
in the one sacrifice, and concentrates its exhortation on the
one duty of the readers, yet on the other hand, Christ's
priesthood as a whole is its theme, and it was recognised as a
canonical scripture in virtue of its universal appeal. So
regarded, the narrower view of its doctrine of repentance
appears impossible. How can that view be thought con
sistent with vii. 24 f . ? " But he, because he abideth for ever,
hath his priesthood unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able
to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God
through Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them." The words are as wide as those of our Lord, "Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest... and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out," Matt. xi. 28, John vi. 37. Neither in this epistle,
nor elsewhere in the New Testament, is the rule of ecclesiastical
discipline provided. All still moves in the region of ideals.
And the difficulty is not in the stern denial of repentance but
in the unattainable (as it seems to us) hope of perfection.
S. Paul takes for granted that Christians have really risen
to a new life in Christ and are really free from sin.' His
converts did sin, and he deals with their sins as he is inspired
to deal with them severally, cf . 1 Cor. v. 4 f . with 1 Cor. vii. 6,
25. He goes so far as to dehver an unrepentant member of
the Church " unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus,"
1 Cor. v. 5. Arid as soon as an obstinate sinner does repent
he rejoices in his restoration, 2 Cor. ii. 5 ff. In this case
extreme measures appear to have been taken which were not
generally necessary. The main point is that in S. Paul's
epistles we see Christians guilty of sins, and yet the apostle
abates nothing of his ideal of perfect holiness. He is not
laying down a rule, but undauntedly insisting on the true life
HEBREWS g

xciv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
with its immense hopefulness. In the first epistle of S. John
the same ideal is insisted upon. By this time the ardour of
first conversion is no longer universal in the Church and a
two-fold difficulty is arising. Commonplace sins are frequent,
and since these are inconsistent with the ideal, some are
inclined to maintain that such faults are not actual sins.
S. John answers that they are, and that whenever a man
commits them he falls out of the new life into which he has
been born: yet through confession he may he restored and
through the blood of Jesus he may more and more be cleansed
from all sin. And there is no need for Christians to sin; his
letter is written that they may not sin. If they will but be
true to the power of the new birth they will not sin : I John
i. 7 — io, ii. i, iii. 4 — 6, v. 18. But, secondly, Christians are
sometimes guilty of such sin that it is plain they intend to
persist in it, so plain that there would be insincerity in
praying for them. To this S. John does not answer " You must
not pray for them," but very guardedly, " There is a sin unto
death: not concerning this do I say that one should make
request." He recognises the real difficulty, and insists upon
sincerity in intercession. Whether there would be any limit
to his own intercession he does not say.
Hebrews stands in a manner outside this line of develop
ment because of the very special circumstances which called
it forth. But in the important matter of the ideal the author
is entirely at one with S. Paul and S. John. There is no
faltering in his hope. Christ's redemption (ix. 12), salvation
(i. 14), kingdom (xii. 28), sacrifice, all mean that Christians
like Christ are to be perfect. If we ask in astonishment
whether it is really to be supposed possible that a man should
go through his whole earthly life without any sin, we are
indeed involved in a difficulty, for our Lord did nothing less
than that. But it is not the interesting practical question.
Our Lord did indeed no less than that, but He did so much
more. His progress ending in perfection; His being " without
sin" and learning obedience till at last He was "separated
from sinners" (iv. 15, vii. 26; cf. ix. 28); this is the great
pattern. There is the same paradox; He is one with men yet
supreme among them, in this matter of sinlessness as in the

PERFECTION AND DEATH xcv
whole mystery of His Person. Yet that does not make the
union unreal. The unreality comes in from our reasoning by
negatives. It is transmuted when we act upon the bold hope.
One who strove manfully for right and conquered sins one
by one in himself, would obviously be nearer to the perfect
goodness of Christ, than one who committed no "sin" and
lived a useless ignoble hfe.
§ 23. Is this re-enacting of Christ's sacrifice accomplished in
the death of self-will, or is bodily death the ultimate necessity?
In the apostolic age this question would not seem important.
Or we may put it thus : our perfection is the ideal which
we go through hfe to realise; but the Lord Jesus, as man,
achieved that ideal: ii. 8 f., x. 9 f., 14. Does the epistle
promise that we may in this life realise the ideal? In 1 John
iii. 2 f. the realisation seems to wait till the great Advent.
"Beloved, now are we children of God, and itis not yet made
manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be
manifested, we shall be hke him ; for we shall see him even as
he is. And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth
himself, even as he is pure." S. John substitutes " manifesta
tion," or the shewing of One already present but invisible,
for "advent," as of One coming from another place; but no
doubt he has the great final manifestation in view1. With
this we may compare Heb. ix. 28. But in xii. 23 another
thought appears. In the heavenly Jerusalem there are
already "the spirits of just men made perfect." Mr F. Field
wrote of this2: "To avoid ambiguity a shght change is
necessary; namely 'to the spirits of just men who have been
made perfect.' It is the just men, not the spirits, that are
made perfect, and that not in the future state, but here on
earth, where alone they can be subject to those trials and
conflicts, by the patient endurance of which they are
prepared for a higher state of being." He quotes examples of
misunderstanding of the Enghsh version. One from Arch-
1 See Dr Brooke's note on the passage in the International
Critical Commentary, and especially p. xxi of his Introduction.
a Notes on Translation of the New Testament. Cambridge
University Press, 1899. #2

xcvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
bishop Sumner's Exposition on Ephesians will here suffice:
"The inheritance of the purchased possession when 'the
spirits of just men' will be 'made perfect,' no longer clouded
by the pains and anxieties which attend a fallen state."
Sumner is certainly wrong and Field right. Yet there was
possibly something in the author's mind which he has missed.
There is in the epistle, combined with the idea of progressive
discipline and progressive salvation, that other line of thought
in which stress is laid on the decisive, culminating moment.
It would seem that death, as the crowning act of life, is
considered to be the moment of a man's perfecting. At death,
or through death, the ideal is reahsed. This is well put by a
writer in the Cowley Evangelist, April 1895 (reprinted July
1914): Our Lord is leading all who are following the movements of His
Holy Spirit to the true balance of their being. Some He deals with
more strenuously and rapidly by giving them early opportunities
of embracing His will, when to do so means to embrace what is
hard for flesh and blood; but sooner or later, if life is here at all
prolonged, there must come the occasion when the will either
surrenders itself afresh to Him in some time of great trial, or sinks
back upon itself, only too soon to energize in movements of
rebellion against the Divine will. It is by such ways that He
reveals to men that they cannot ' ' live by bread alone, bu t by every
word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God." They are led a
step nearer to the peiception of what it is to be nourished by God's
very life in the abeyance of all else. And all are being led to this
attitude who rightly are preparing for the end, for this abeyance
is a marked characteristic of death, and will be, to such as are
prepared to receive it, the blessing which accompanies death's
chastening discipline.
Almost every sentence in this quotation illustrates some
point in the practical or the doctrinal exhortations of the
epistle. And it indicates a right answer to a question which
will have already occurred to any one who reads these notes,
viz. Is the sacrifice in which we re-enact the sacrifice of Christ
effected by bodily death only or also by the death of our self-
will? S. Paul would surely say that it is certainly by the
death of our self-will: " I have been crucified with Christ; yet
I live ; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me : and that

DEATH AND MARTYRDOM xcvii
life which I now live in the flesh I five in faith, the faith which
is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for
me," Gal. ii. 20. The same answer, imphed by the whole of
this epistle, becomes explicit in xi. 17, where the change from
the aorist of LXX to the perfect "hath offered" of the
quotation seems designed to shew the reality, and the abiding
reality, of the sacrifice of Isaac. Isaac was not slain, but he
was truly sacrificed, and that sacrifice has become the type
of the consecrated life of the Israel of God, and of every
losing and finding of man's will in the will of God which shall
have been consummated since.
Indeed the question would have been less insistent to the
New Testament writers than it is to us. To them the great
day for each behever was "the day" of Christ's advent or
manifestation, not the day of death. And to them the life
that is hid with Christ in God was so absolutely the only real
life, that death was quite naturally contemplated as one act,
however decisive, in the unbroken life, already being lived,
of eternity. Whether that decisive act came through the
" chastening discipline " of physical death, or of some earlier
hour of supreme renunciation, was hardly a distinction to be
dwelt upon. Perhaps in quiet times it would seem the one,
in times of persecution and martyrdom the other. And, if our
hypothesis be accepted, Hebrews was written at a time when
martyrdom threatened. Hence in Hebrews the solemn thought
of — what we should call — literal death is never far from the
surface. That kind of death is chiefly glorified in this epistle;
it is the longed-for "perfecting." Cf. § 14, p. lxxiv f.
Yet it should also be noticed that in xi. 39 f. the Old
Testament saints, celebrated in the whole preceding chapter,
are said either to have waited for their perfecting till the
times of Christ; or to be still waiting, in at least partial
dependence on the faithfulness of the then "militant"
generation, as contributing to their perfection. With the
former explanation it might seem apposite to compare
1 Pet. iii. 18 ff. Yet that is an imperfect parallel, since the
heroes of Hebrews are very different from the spirits, once
disobedient, in prison. And the picture which immediately
follows in Heb. xii. 1 ft'., of the contest to be endured by

xcviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
Christ's followers on earth and witnessed to by these heroes
in their state of waiting, lends probabihty to the latter. The
inconsistency vanishes if, as the arrangement of clauses in
xii. 22 ff. also indicates, "the spirits of just men made
perfect" are the deceased members of the Christian Church.

§ 24. In Hebrews, as in Apocalypse, special interest in the
blessed dead is shewn. The general doctrine of N.T. on this
subject. Or perhaps Christian martyrs in particular. Among other
points of contact between Hebrews and the Apocalypse is
their common interest in the blessed dead. Between the
writing of 1 Cor. xv. and of these two books something has
happened which has multiplied, or is multiplying, the number
of deceased Christians. And there are four passages in the
Apocalypse which throw light on the language of Hebrews :
(1) vi. 6-10, the vision of "the souls" under the altar, the
martyred prophets of the Old Covenant, who were to
wait till the complement of the martyrs of the New had
come in. For as Heb. xi. 40 says, "they apart from us"
cannot "be made perfect." These are clothed in white
raiment and are, I imagine, merged in those who keep
coming out of the great tribulation, also arrayed in white
robes in vii. 13 ff., to be shepherded by the Lamb.
(2) Look next at xiv. 13. " Blessed are the dead that die in
the Lord from this time forth. Yea, saith the Spirit, may
they rest from their toiling, for their works follow with
them." This rest is not inactivity. Their powers trained
by their earthly activities are from henceforth to find full
scope without friction.
(3) When we pass on to xix. 14, we are given a vision of the
armies that are in heaven riding on white horses, clothed
in the vesture of the Bride of the Lamb, going out to
fight under their Captain Christ.
(4) Then in xx. 4 we come back once more to the Christian
martyrs, who have been faithful in their witness, and
who live and reign with Christ during the mystic
Millennium of the chaining of Satan. This we are told is
"the first Resurrection."

DEATH AND RESURRECTION xcix
These paragraphs are quoted from an article in the Church
Quarterly Review, April 1916, by Dr J. O. F. Murray, on "The
Empty Tomb, the Resurrection Body and the Intermediate
State." From this article, with the author's permission, some
further extracts shall be made1.
The Resurrection of Christ is the manifestation of a force in the
Universe, which, because it has been seen in operation in one
instance, may be trusted to work universally .... But the working
of the Resurrection power, which had been manifested in the
raising of Christ as the first-fruits, was not to be seen in operation
again until "the Appearing," and then only in the case of Chris
tians. ...An intermediate state is implied, not only in the doctrine
of the descent into Hades, but also in the dating of the Resurrection
on the third day.
The fact seems to be that "Resurrection," like "Death" and
"Life," is a term of manifold significance, and admits of many
stages and degrees.... The questions of practical importance for
us are two. . .( 1) Where do we stand with regard to the " Appearing "
which St. Paul expected in his own generation? And (2) to what
extent are we here and now contributing to the evolution of our
spiritual bodies, building up "the habitation, the building from
God, made without hands, eternal in the heavens," which we are
to inhabit hereafter?
Here, with regard to the first point, Dr Murray calls
attention to the four passages in the Apocalypse to which we
referred above. He proceeds thus :
The sequence of events implied [in those four passages] seems
to me remarkably parallel in general outline to the scheme laid
down by St. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. And I am prepared to take as my
working hypothesis the view that we are living now in this
"Millennium " : that we are or may be, in proportion to our faith,
here and now citizens of the New Jerusalem, and that, again in
proportion to our faith, it is true for us that "there is no more
death"; that in fact our Lord's promises are strictly true: "Who
soever loseth his life for my sake finds it," not after an indefinite
period, but immediately [and so S. John viii. 51, xi. 26]. Such
believers have part in the first Resurrection. What further fulness
of life may lie before them at the second Resurrection when the
whole race reaches its consummation and each member of it is
1 Cf. also "The Ascension and Whitsunday," by Father R. M.
Benson, reprinted from "The Life beyond the grave," in The
Cowley Evangelist, May 1915, especially pp. 108 — 112.

c INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY'
uplifted by the energy of the whole who can say?... Meanwhile
they are in life not in death, and their life is not "disembodied."
The souls are clothed, not naked. For them Christ has come
again. With regard to the second point : " What conception can
we form of the nature of our spiritual bodies? To what extent
are we here and now contributing to their evolution?,"
Dr Murray finds
that, in i Cor. xv. 42, St. Paul must mean "this life in corruptible
flesh in the body of our humiliation is the sowing time, the harvest
will come under the transformed conditions of the body of our
glory." Certainly according to the best text he calls us expressly
to begin at once to wear (xv. 49) "the image of the heavenly," an
expression that corresponds closely to his injunction to us in
Col. iii. 5 "to mortify our members that are upon earth... stripping
off the old man with his ways of action, and clothing ourselves
with the new after the image of Him that created Him," further
defined as "compassion, kindness, humility, meekness," and so
forth. In other words, personal character is the most practical
form under which we can conceive of our spiritual body.
And we may conceive of the condition of the rest of the dead,
"who lived not" and have no part in the first Resurrection, not as
"disembodied," but as in various stages of imperfect, arrested or
perverted, spiritual development, without as yet the organs by
which they can enter into relation with the life that is life indeed.
Such a view would, I think, be in harmony with such indications
as the New Testament gives us. There does not seem to be any
thing in the New Testament to justify the view, which has no
doubt coloured all our Christian thinking for centuries, that "soul
and body meet again" at the Resurrection.
Dr Murray, though referring oftenest to S. Paul, attempts
here to form a view that shall be harmonious with the New
Testament as a whole. And according to this view Hebrews
appears consistent in itself and with the other apostolic
writings. If in ix. 27 judgement seems to follow immediately
upon death, that judgement is in Greek crisis, a "distin
guishing," such as Dr Murray recognises between those who
have and those who have not part in the first resurrection.
The "eternal judgement" of vi. 2 might be thought to stand
in contrast with this as "final judgement," and if so the
juxtaposition of " resurrection of the dead " might seem after

SPIRITS... MADE PERFECT ci
all to imply that, for that final judgement, "soul and body
meet again." But the reference here is probably to Jewish
rather than to Christian doctrine; "resurrection" is at any
rate used in no more confined a sense here than in xi. 35 ; and
two considerations make it improbable that the author
thought of the blessed dead as obhged to wait till a "last
day" for the receiving of the spiritual body. One is the
phrase in xii. 23, "spirits of just men made perfect": the
other is his silence concerning our Lord's resurrection "on
the third day."
§ 25. Application of general doctrine to Hebrews: "spirits"
are not "disembodied."
As for the first of these, the phrase in xii. 23 expresses
" perfection." If there is anything in the epistle which corre
sponds to the partaking in the first resurrection it must be
recognised here. But the word "spirits" might seem to
contradict this. Surely not ; it is our presupposition, disproved
by Dr Murray's careful analysis of the evidence, that in the
New Testament "intermediate" means "disembodied,"
which makes us fancy this. This use of " spirit " for all that is
essential in man is found in the Old Testament. In Dan.
iii. 86 (LXX) "spirits and souls of the righteous," Sirach
xxxi. 14, and other places, it is joined with a following
genitive; but in Sirach xxxix. 28, 2 Mace. iii. 24 (according to
one ancient Ms.) it stands absolutely. It is a natural develop
ment of the expression " living soul " for a creature endowed
with animal hfe, and S. Paul has given it the utmost dignity
by his antithesis in 1 Cor. xv. 45, "The first man Adam
became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving
spirit." Since "soul" represents the unseen natural life, in
distinction from its vehicle the visible body, and since again
"spirit" represents the more inward, more essential divine
life in man, as distinguished from its mortal vehicle, " spirit "
is especially used of men in their " freedom from the burden
of the flesh." So S. Paul in 1 Cor. v. 5 would dehver the guilty
man unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus; cf. 1 Pet.
iv. 6. In 1 Thess. v. 23 he writes more precisely : " The God

cii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
of peace sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul
and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is more characteristic, for
S. Paul is distinguished among New Testament writers by
his almost scientific interest in psychological analysis. Our
author is more concerned with essence than with entirety,-
and prefers to sum man up as a spirit, or as "truly himself,"
x. 34. Nor does he, like S. Paul, oppose "flesh" to "body"
as base to noble ; our Lord's earthly ministry is, in this epistle,
"the days of his flesh"; and, in almost the same sense, the
readers are bidden remember them that are evil entreated as
being themselves also "in the body."
§ 26. The author's silence about our Lord's rising on the third
day is not inconsistent with the tradition of the Church.
In like manner we read in x. 10 of " the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ" and in x. 20 of "the way of his flesh." Both
phrases describe His earthly, visible passion. Neither would
be natural to this author when speaking of Christ ascended.
Nor is there a word in the epistle about His resurrection in
the body, on the third day. All is foreshortened, so to speak.
At the moment of dying on the cross the Lord enters as High
Priest into the heavenly sanctuary.
He enters as being then, and not till then, "made perfect."
Helped as we have been by Dr Murray to clear the mind from
servility to figures of speech, we shall not suspect that the
author imagined the ascended Lord as lacking any of that
complete manhood which is guarded by the doctrine of the
resurrection of His body. And therefore, as we said above,
this peculiar presentation of the Lord's victory over death
guarantees a no less complete significance for the "spirits"
of just men made perfect.
Whatever may be thought about the date of the three
synoptic Gospels, S. Paul shews that the resurrection on the
third day was included in the earliest tradition of the Church.
Our epistle is the only book of the New Testament which
could be quoted to suggest that this tradition was not held
by the whole Church. And it is far more natural to suppose

RESURRECTION, ASCENSION, COMMUNION ciii
that the silence of our author is due to the special direction
he wished to give to his argument. His analogy of the high-
priesthood leads him to lay stress on the "indissoluble life,"
and .on our Lord's entering the sanctuary of the presence of
God at the moment of His death. According to his sacra
mental view of things, the inward and outward offering of
sacrifice are necessarily simultaneous. They are in fact one;
for the sacramental idea is not an idea of succession in two
worlds, but of time and eternity, heaven and earth, being
" inveterately convolved."
And he was quite at liberty to lay the stress thus. For
there is no contradiction of the general tradition. The
" ascension " was but the last of our Lord's appearances after
His death; S. Paul, who claimed to have seen Him also, would
deny that it was the last. The resting of His body in the tomb
till the third day may imply that, for our Lord himself, there
were, as Dr Murray puts it, "stages" of resurrection. But
the immediate "bringing again of the great shepherd from
the dead" (xiii. 20) was itself "resurrection." And yet we
may perhaps find in this author's liberty some encouragement
to hope that those who, like him, nourish faith more readily
by meditation on the invisible indissoluble hfe than by appeal
to the visible historical evidences for the resurrection, are not
condemned by the apostolic discipline. Only it must also be
remembered that these perhaps more philosophic thinkers
have to a great extent been secured in their liberty by the
troublesome controversial labour of the historians, as our
author and his friends were secured by the simpler faith of
the Church around them.

§ 27. The communion of saints is presupposed in this epistle :
but the readers are not yet in full enjoyment of that communion.
One further question must be answered before leaving this
part of the subject: what does this epistle teach about the
communion of saints, the intercourse between those who are
still in their earthly pilgrimage and those who have entered
into rest? That most comfortable doctrine is established more
firmly by S. Paul, with his assurance that all the faithful live

civ INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
one united life "in Christ"; and by S. John in all that
pervading faith of his in the life eternal which is summed up
in the words he records of the Lord to Martha (Johnxi. 23 ff.),
to whom, when she had expressed belief in resurrection " at
the last day," He answered, "I am the resurrection and the
life." In Heb. xii. 22, "Ye are come unto mount Zion, etc."
falls a little short of that. And, as in other places, the reason
is that, until the readers make their venture of faith, they
have but come near, they have not entered by the living way,
x. 19 ff. And in xii. 1 the "encompassing cloud" is a cloud
of "witnesses," not of fellow saints in full communion. Yet
it is implied in xi. 40 that these witnesses are waiting in eager
expectation of that full communion. It might be said that
the epistle takes throughout for granted that behef in and
enjoyment of the communion of saints which was already
part of the fuller faith of Judaism, cf. Isa. liii. 10, 2 Mace.
xv. 14, and that it holds out to its readers, as part of the great
peace now to be grasped by them, the perfect enjoyment of
such communion as was the acknowledged heritage of the
Christian Church.
§ 28. Hebrews and the Old Testament : quotations are
reasonably developed from the original sense.
This thought however brings us to the last division of our
enquiry. What is the relation of this epistle to the Old
Testament in general, and to that Alexandrine complement of
the Palestinian canon in particular which touches on so many
sides the Alexandrine or Philonic philosophy ?
Few characteristics of the apostolic writers are more
striking than the respect they had for the authority of the
Jewish Bible. They appeal to it continually. They quote it
continually, almost learnedly; yet not quite with the fashion
able learning of their day. They appreciate the deeper
meaning of its words, its inspiration in fact. But they take
a reverent view of inspiration and abstain far more than was
usual with their contemporaries in Judaism, and their suc
cessors in the Christian Church, from forced interpretations,
and unnatural Messianic applications. No doubt this was
due to our Lord's influence who appears at the beginning

THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE HOLY SPIRIT cv
of S. Luke's Gospel as a studious, but still more as a thoughtful
boy, and who always reached so surely to the heart of all the
Old Testament passages He dealt with in His fninistry. Yet
there are exceptions to this sobriety in the New Testament,
and, as might be expected in an author of finer education,
the writer to the Hebrews is distinguished by his peculiarly
reasonable use of the Old Testament.
This has been denied. It was once said by some one
that, having opened his epistle with a magnificent assertion
of our Lord's divinity, the author goes on to prove it by
applying a number of passages from the Old Testament to
Him, none of which were meant of Him at all. But that is
just what he does not do. He does not attempt to prove our
Lord's divinity in this place; he leaves proof to spring by
degrees from the analogy which fills the epistle. What he uses
the Old Testament for here is to shew that He who came forth
from God inherited the name of " Son " from those who of old,
in the actual history of Israel, were entitled " Christ " or the
" anointed of the Lord. " And a like reverence for the original
significance of the ancient words in their historical environ
ment runs through the epistle. The quotation from Ps. viii.
in Heb. ii. would, have no point if the original reference to
"mankind" were not recognised. The "to-day" in the
quotation from Ps. xcv. in Heb. iii., iv. gains its force from
having been a summons in " David's " time to enter into the '
rest of God which was a'repetition of an earlier opportunity.
And throughout the epistle the real history of Israel is the
main type, or the vehicle of the prophetic Spirit which
revealed the ever-growing manifestation of the Christ through
the Christ-bearing nation1.
§ 29. In Hebrews the Holy Spirit is chiefly thought of as
the inspirer of scripture :
This prophetic Spirit is noticeable. The Spirit of God, as a
mighty all but personal influence, is prominent in the Old
Testament. It becomes, as revelation proceeds, the Spirit of
1 See Hort's note on 1 Pet. i. n in his Commentary, The First
Epistle of St Peter i. 1 — ii. 17, the Greek Text with Introductory
Lecture, Commentary, and Additional Notes, Macmillan, 1898.

cvi INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
Messiah. And on this Une of developing faith " the Spirit of
Jesus" (Acts xvi. 7), and "the Holy Spirit "as one of a Trinity
of divine Persons (2 Cor. xiii. 14), attracted the reverence of
the early Church. In Hebrews that line is not followed out.
The Spirit as the giver of the new life is not distinctly
endowed with personality in this epistle. In that connexion
the Greek article is not prefixed.' This impersonal manner of
expression enables the author to fill his phrase in ix. 14,
" through eternal Spirit," with a pregnancy of thought which
may perhaps be better appreciated in this present day than
at any period since the epistle was written. But in the three
places where the Holy Spirit is represented as inspiring the
sacred books of Israel the article is added, iii. 7, ix. 8, x. 15.
To this book-student the most distinctly personal manifesta
tion of the Spirit of God was as the inspirer of the prophetic
word1. And here again the affinity, with no less marked
differences, of Hebrews with the Apocalypse (xix. 10), and
with that other book which falls into the same group,
1 Peter (i. n), may be observed.

§ 30. with whom, as it were, the author converses.
This manifestation is indeed "personal" in the most
popular sense of the term. In one word it might be said that
this writer reads the sacred books as though he were " con
versing" with their ultimate author, the Holy Spirit of God.
That is what he defends in the paragraph, iv. 12 f., in' which
he says the word of God is living and penetrates the conscience.
The "word of God " here is doubtless wider than the. written
word. But it is wider because even the written word is wider
than itself. There is for him no such thing as a merely written
word. The word has been written. It was written at various
times, by several men, whose circumstances contributed to
the producing of their particular expressions of the mind of
God. He is too good a Platonist, or sacramentalist, to slight
these limitations which are the means of access to the inner
1 See on this subject Swete, The Holy Spirit in the New Testa
ment. Macmillan.

PHILO cvii
hfe. But the inner hfe, the living One who speaks by these
means, is the object of his affection; and since He still speaks
in the new events of history and later movement of men's
hearts and intellects, all these must be included in " the word "
which still interprets itself to ,the believer in its ever-
deepening and penetrating hfe. Hence the author's bold
selection, as of Ps. civ. 4 to shew the angels are wind and fire,
though in other places they are otherwise figured in the Old
Testament; or correction, as in xi. 27, where he denies that
Moses "feared," in harmony with Moses' character as
described by the whole story, but in contradiction to .the
particular verse referred to. Hence above all, that deepening
and refining of "the lesson of the beginning of the Christ"
(vi. 1) which does discover wonderful germs of the gospel
consummation in the Messianic origins of the oracles of God
(v. 12), notably in the Old Testament treatment of the
mystery of Melchizedek.
§ 31. This treatment of O.T. has likeness to Philo, but
is really different from his "allegories."
But in this last instance it may be said we have overshot
the mark. If S. Paul was rabbinic in some of his old-fashioned
arguments, this author is Philonic in his subtleties about
Melchizedek. This objection has been noticed above in § 10,
and need not be more closely examined here. It may
however be remarked that nothing would better serve to
illustrate the likeness and unlikeness of our author to Philo
than a perusal of the whole passage about Melchizedek in
Philo, Legum Allegoria iii. 79 ff., pp. 102 ff. The likeness
is not altogether superficial, for Philo had a beautiful mind,
and to the author of Hebrews the Philonic philosophy was a
real preparation for the Gospel. But Philo is diffuse and
fanciful. The very title of his commentary on the Law —
"Allegories" — indicates the gulf between him and the
epistle. Philo wanders far and wide in allegory ; he employs
facts as arbitrary symbols to illustrate his own ideas. The
author of this epistle is led sacramentally through the
historical facts of Israel's past and the earthly life of Jesus

cviii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
Christ to firm eternal truths which can be tested by faith
(Heb. xi. i)1.
Philo was born about b.c. 20, studied and taught at
Alexandria, was versed in Greek literature, and spent a great
part of his life in harmonising Greek philosophy, as he
understood it, with the Jewish faith. The fruits of this effort
are preserved in his chief work, the long allegorising com
mentary on the Law of Moses. The date of his death is not
known. Following Dr Caird, we may briefly say that the three main
points in Philo 's philosophy are these:
(1) God is absolute being and as such cannot be known
or reached; He can only be described by negatives. Philo
" carries back the finite to the infinite, but cannot think of
the infinite as manifested in the finite."
(2) Yet in some way God must reach man and man God.
Hence there must be mediation. Philo finds mediation in the
Word of God; which in the Old Testament meant God's
uttered command, His direct action, but had already been
taken by the Stoics to express "the rational principle
immanent in man and in the universe." And to describe this
mediating Word Philo employs a wealth of analogies and
figures. His Word seems at times to be almost a person. It
is really the principle of all the activities that are involved in
the connexion of man with God.
(3) Man is a soul defiled by a body. He is indeed dwelt
in by the Word and can return to God. But to do so he must
escape from all that is himself. He must escape by losing his
will in the divine will ; not realise true manhood by losing and
finding his will in the divine will.
And yet the distinction in (3) and indeed in (1) is subtle.
1 For Philo's life and works the reader may be referred to the
article "Philo" in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, Extra Volume,
by James Drummond, to Dr Bigg's Bampton Lectures, The
Christian Platonists of Alexandria, new edition, Clarendon Press,
1915, to the two lectures on "The transition from Stoicism to Neo-
platonism" and "The philosophy and theology of Philo," in
Dr E. Caird's Gifford Lectures, The Evolution of Theology in the
Greek Philosophers, Maclehose, 1904, and to Breliier, Les idles
philosophiques et religieuses de Philon d'Alexandrie, Paris, 1908.

PHILO cix
We must not be unfair to Philo. He aims at the true
conceptions, but he does not get them so distinctly as our
Lord taught his apostles.
It is, at any rate, evident that there is a certain amount of
correspondence in these ideas with the thoughts of our
epistle, though the epistle would seem to correct Philo at
least as much as it takes from him. In language there is the
same kind of cautious or doubtful correspondence. From
many pages of Philo a few characteristic words used in
Hebrews may be gleaned, and these mount up to a con
siderable sum as the process is continued. It is in Philo's
abundant imagery of the Word that coincidences, culled and
brought together, are most striking. The Logos, writes
Dr Bigg, is the Impress of the mind of God, His Son, the
Archetypal Seal, the Great Pattern according to which all is
made. He is the Divider, in so far as he differentiates, and
makes each thing what it is. He is the Heavenly Man, the
Prophet of the Most High. " For his atoning function Philo
found a fitting symbol ready to hand in the High Priest....
The true High Priest is sinless; if he needs to make an
offering and utter prayer for himself, it is only because he
participates in the guilt of the people whom he represents....
He is Melchisedech, priest of the Most High God, King of
Salem, that is of peace, who met Abraham returning from his
victory over the four kings, and refreshed him with the
mystic Bread and Wine."
Again however we notice that the coincidences are not
always agreements. The main point in the representation of
Melchizedek is not the same in Hebrews as in Philo. The
following words which Philo puts into the mouth of the Logos
would be utterly repudiated by the author of the epistle, as
false if applied to our Lord, and meaningless in any other
connexion : " I stand between the Lord and you, I who am
neither uncreated like God nor created like you, but a mean
between the two extremes, a hostage to either side." And
Dr Bigg rightly observes that in much of his discourse Philo
is but translating the hymn of the praise of wisdom, in the
Alexandrine Book of Wisdom, into scientific terminology —
of that wisdom which is " the brightness of the everlasting
HEBREWS h

ex INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
light, the unspotted mirror of the Power of God, the image
of His Goodness " ; see Wisd. vii. 22 ff.
§ 32. Hebrews is broadly Alexandrine rather than Philonic,
sacramental rather than philosophic.
Here there is a really close parallel with Heb. i. 3, and while
it is doubtful whether our author had read Philo, we may be
pretty certain he had read the Book of Wisdom. It was part
of that larger Greek Bible which was used by the Alexandrine
Jews, and which included most of what we call the Apocrypha.
The Canon was still somewhat vague even in Palestine. In
Alexandria it was no doubt vaguer, and we need not curiously
enquire what degree of authority was recognised in these
additional books. It suffices to remember that this author
knew them and that one of them was a favourite of his. That
one was 2 Maccabees, largely drawn upon in Heb. xi. and
continually suggesting turns of language in the epistle.
But 2 Maccabees is not a book of philosophy. There is a
tinge of Alexandrine philosophy in it. So there is indeed in
very many parts of the LXX version ; see for instance Gen. i. 2,
where the Greek might be rendered "without visible form or
order," and notice the influence of this phrase in Heb. xi. 1 ff.,
and frequently in Philo. A thoughtful man who had received
an Alexandrine education would not necessarily be a philo
sopher, but he would have looked through the window of
philosophy and have become aware of that view of things
which is ignored by the so-called " plain " man, or the man of
"common sense," or the "materialist." He would also have
acquired a number of more or less philosophical terms with
which to express his deeper thoughts more readily.
That was the kind of scholarship possessed by the author
of Hebrews. He was indeed more of an artist than a philo
sopher. So far from aiming strenuously at "pure thought"
he frankly delighted himself with the expression of thought
in visual images. That is part of what we have termed his
"sacramental" temperament. And the sacramental temper
is in many respects the antithesis of the philosophical. Yet
in one important point it coincides with right philosophy.
It abhors " dualism. ' ' It would extend the scientific fact that

THE CHRISTIAN PLATONIST cxi
all physical life is one, into the reasonable assurance of faith
that all life is one, that the natural is also divine. Professor
Burnet1 speaks of "the fateful doctrine of two worlds," and
shews that Plato never made that separation.
But it was that "fateful doctrine" which gave Philo so
much trouble. He tried to overcome it by his mediatory
Powers. He was hampered by his heritage of language. Much
of what he writes about the "intelligible world" etc. is too
conventional. He employs terms which the ancient Greeks
had invented for their search after "reality," in his different
search after the answer to the question, How can God act as
a person ? But the writer to the Hebrews troubles little about
either of those problems. He takes for granted that God does
act as a person, and asks (in his picturesque manner) , How can
we enter into the presence of God ? And he accepts the answer
of the whole Christian Church: We can do so through our
Lord Jesus Christ, who, obedient to God's love for men, died
to effect this. But he wrote his epistle because some friends
needed further explanation of this answer. The Church in its
earliest days' had been content with the very simple explana
tion that our Lord would shortly come as Christ with the
kingdom of God, and then His people would go to God with
Him. S. Paul said, Yes, and even here and now our life is hid
with Him in God through the Spirit. Our author says, Christ
is coming now in the crisis of these troubled times. That was
a practical not a speculative assurance. He, with the rest of
the Church, still expects the "final" coming. But that was
for a "morrow" of which there was no need to "take
thought" then, "while the summons was going forth, To
day." What mattered then was the faithful following of the
"Captain" who was being "brought again into the world."
Nevertheless, as a thoughtful man writing to thoughtful
men, he attempts to discover a general principle which will
bring harmony into such ideas of extended, successive
" comings " and their results. Our Lord, S. Luke records, had
already said "The kingdom of God is within you," or "in
your midst" (xvii. 21). And, according to the record of
1 Greek Philosophy, Thales to Plato, pp. 90, 345- Macmillan,
1914. h2

cxii INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
S. John, He had taught much about His continual presence
with His disciples. This author says, The kingdom, or the new
world, or the coming age, or the promised good things of God,
or the inner sanctuary of His presence — call the mystery
what you will — has been brought within reach of all when
Christ died. These realities are here and now. They, invisible
and eternal, are not separated from the visible things of this
practical and responsible life of ours on earth. It is through
these practical trials, duties, and affections that we deepen
and intensify hfe till it is recognised as what it really is, the
hfe that is life indeed. Thus we go to heaven when we pray,
iv. 1 6. And you now, my friends, will find Jesus, and enter
the sabbath rest of God, and know the vital significance of
the Church's dogma concerning the Person of Christ and His
strength being yours, if you will recognise " the way of His
flesh" in the trial before you, and do your hard duty, and
pass onward and inward with Him to God.
It is a "new world" not "another world" that Platonists
seek, and Christians believe is their own to use. Only — at
least so our author would put it — we have it but as we use it,
and while the various persons who make up the Church
linger, hesitate, or press on, a seeming inconsistency remains.
We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour for the suffering
of death, but we do not yet see all His disciples so ready to
die (ii. 8 f.). We know Him to be exalted and apart from sin
(vii. 26, ix. 28), but only one by one, as each makes the one
sacrifice in his own sphere of love, do we attain to His
security and propagate it in the visible world.
§ 33. Thus "faith" in this epistle is trust intensified by hope
and love. The author expresses the idea with some Platonic
sympathy, but mainly rests upon the Church's doctrine of Christ.
To take that bold step man needs an impulse. That
impulse is, according to our author, faith. Lightfoot has
given in his commentary on Galatians1 a complete analysis
of the meaning of "faith" in the Old Testament, the various
New Testament writers, the Alexandrine and rabbinic
1 Macmillan, original edition, 1865.

FAITH AND HOPE cxiii
schools: see his notes on "The words denoting 'Faith'" and
"The faith of Abraham." On that aspect of the subject it
must here suffice to say: that in the Old Testament faith is
mainly trust in God ; that this primary notion persists in all
the New Testament writers, but is rendered deeper and more
complex by being involved with the leading passion of their
particular theology; thus S. Paul's faith is bound up with
the "love" of Christ which sprang from his conversion;
S. John's with that "knowledge" of God and of His Son,
which is reinforced by intellectual meditation, but springs
mainly (as in Hosea) from the experience of personal com
munion. In Hebrews faith is coloured by an atmosphere of "hope,"
and appears as a spiritual force impelling men to endure and
persevere and strive towards a holiness, a peace and a
knowledge not yet realised. Whether it is innate in all men,
it did not form part of the author's plan to discuss. He
certainly regards it as having been implanted by God in all
the men with whom his epistle directly deals, viz. the children
of Israel and the Christian Church. He might, if he had
chosen to adopt Platonic language, have said that faith was
a form of the in-dwelling Word. But he prefers to put it in
the opposite way, as though faith were an embracing potency
in the sphere of which men live (x. 39). So faith is a bond of
union between the ancient Church of Israel and Israel's heir
the Christian community (iv. 2). Thus, from the beginning,
faith was connected with hope; for the Church of Israel lived
on "promises," iv. 1, vi. 12, 15, 17, vii. 6, viii. 6, ix. 15, x. 36,
xi. 9, 13, 17, 33, 39. And so, when the great chapter xi. on
faith is reached, the author introduces it by one of his terse
proverbial sayings, in which he indicates the relation of faith
to hope. It is the substance of things hoped for, the test of
things not seen. This certainly implies that the things which
may rightly be hoped for are already in being, but the stress
is on "time" rather than "reality"; faith presses onwards,
to the "not yet." Cf. Rom. viii. 24 (a passage which may
have helped to shape this verse), " For by hope were we saved :
but hope that is seen is not hope : for who hopeth for that
which he seeth ? "

cxiv INTRODUCTION III: THEOLOGY
A practical application of the verse will perhaps help to
the understanding of our author's mind. Suppose a nation
at war. If all points more and more certainly to victory the
period of hope is drawing to a close. Hope has to do with
things not yet seen, and flourishes in dark days. But it will
flourish in dark days, if faith is there to give it substance, to
" uphold " it. Such faith must obviously be faith in God who
alone upholds things worthy to be hoped for. And so faith
is a test of these as yet unseen but hoped for things. What
then may this nation rightly hope for? Victory? No, that
is on the knees of God, who designs that which is truly best
for each party in the strife. Peace? Yes, but not necessarily
outward peace, only the peace of God which makes for His
righteousness among men. Apply the test of faith and one
by one all temporal greed and private judgements about
what is best for the world are stripped away. The patriotic
will is not annihilated, but it is transformed into perfect
union with the will of God. The test is severe, but the gold
from which it purges away the dross is an inalienable
possession. A nation which rejoiced in such a purified hope
would conquer the world with God, though it lost what
seemed its all. And it would enjoy peace in the midst of
violence, and fight indomitably while convinced God bade it
fight, for it would be free from all fear and all anxiety; "qui
fortis est idem est fidens," Cicero, Tusc. iii. 14 (quoted by
Lightfoot) .
There is plainly a good deal of the Pauhne "love" in this
author's faith also. It was lack of loving loyalty which
caused Israel's tragic failure of faith, iii. 16 ff. And the
personal note is distinctly heard throughout chapter xi.;
Moses endured as seeing "Him," not "it," which was
invisible, xi. 27. It is this personal note which forbids our
exaggerating the debt of this epistle to the Alexandrine
philosophy. That philosophy enlarged the vocabulary of the
author. It also served the intellectual interest which was
strong in him, and which enabled him to intervene very
weightily in the perplexed trial his friends had to face. But
that trial was too real to allow him in any intellectual
trifling. Alexandria had been refurbishing old-fashioned

THE SCHOLAR CHURCHMAN cxv
instruments of speculation. Philo followed the fashion. His
earnestness made him break away again and again from the
method he had imposed upon himself. But the method
hampered him. There is much tediousness, much confusion
in his writings. His main achievement was that "he first
gave utterance to both of the two great requirements of the
religious consciousness, the need for rising from the finite and
relative to the Absolute, and the need of seeing the Absolute
as manifested in the finite and relative; although he could
find no other reconciliation of these two needs except
externally to subordinate the latter to the former" (Caird).
The writer to the Hebrews knew something of this "great
problem of his time," and of the manner in which educated
men were approaching it. This gives his letter a peculiar
sympathy which may well have won its first readers and is
still appreciated by its more academic readers in these days.
But his main interest was in the sufficing truth he had found
enshrined in the Christian Church, and in the life of the Lord
Jesus Christ, loyalty to whom was the tradition of the Church .
That made him simple independent original. So far as he
did touch philosophy he went back, unconsciously, from
Alexandrine Platonism to Plato himself. But he only touched
that kind of philosophy so far as it suited his more con
centrated purpose. He was convinced that in Jesus Christ
the riddle of the universe was solved as far as needs be. Much
more was he convinced that in Him the difficulty of living
a noble life was overcome. And out of that conviction he sent
this "treatise of encouragement" to some much-loved and
sorely-tried friends. IV
THE STYLE AND TEXT OF THE EPISTLE
§ i. Some characteristics of the style of Hebrews.
The writers of the N.T. have each their characteristic style.
This is very evident in the original Greek, but an attentive
reader catches something of it even in the English version.
How simple is the Gospel according to S. Mark, what solemnity

cxvi INTRODUCTION IV
and grandeur in S. Matthew: one is a gospel for the cottage,
the other for the church. The epistles of S. Paul are quite
different. In these a remarkable man seems to be talking to
us. He uses naturally the language of an educated gentleman,
but he makes it go deep and far; he is straining common
language to express profoundly intellectual ideas; he is
setting plain words on fire with earnestness. He compels you
to attend.'and is easier to understand when read aloud. And
notice how this attention and understanding is increased if
you use the Revised Version. In the Gospel and epistles of
S. John we have simplicity again but a different simplicity
from S. Mark's. It is the simplicity of one who seems little
versed in composition, but has limited himself to a childlike
style in which he moves without embarrassment and finds
means to convey pure meditative truth. Turn from these
books to the Apocalypse, and even in its English rendering
you perceive what the ancient Greek bishop meant who said
the same John could not have written it, the style is so
peculiar. Our English smooths the grammar but disguises
little of the rude vigour. Then there is the literary ease of
S. Luke in Acts, and in the preface to his Gospel his literary
stateliness. The epistle of S. James is something like Acts
in its unstudied grace: so, but more homely, is I Peter.
Hebrews is akin to the preface to the Gospel. If S. Paul talks
to us, this author almost makes a speech ; and yet not quite,
for it is still a letter he is writing ; you feel that the friends he
addresses are at a distance, are to read him through the post.
He is rhetorical but in the best sense; contrast the less
agreeable rhetoric of S. Jude and 2 Peter. His arrangement
is artistic.
The late Dean of Lincoln, Dr Wickham, says in his edition :
It is, in a sense beyond any other epistle in the New Testament, an
artistic whole. It is a letter, but at the same time it is an im
passioned treatise or piece of oratory, having a single purpose,
ardently felt, clearly conceived, never lost to sight. The whole
argument is in view from the beginning, whether in the purely
argumentative passages, or in those which are in form hortatory;
we are constantly meeting phrases, which are to be taken up again,
and to have their full meaning given to them later on. The plan
itself develops. While the figures to some extent change and take

STYLE AND TEXT cxvii
fresh colour, there is growing through all, in trait on trait, the
picture which the writer designs to leave before his readers'
minds. He is careful about tenses, the use of the article, the choice of
words. Sometimes, as in vi. 6, ix. ii, xi. 29, xii. 28, we may
misunderstand him if we do not remember that he employs
a more classical Greek than other writers of N.T. One
characteristic of his style is worth special notice, for it helps
to explain an important characteristic of his theology. He
is. a picturesque writer and he is a sacramental thinker. He
sees what he thinks, and it is through the outward and
visible that he reaches the inward and eternal : cf . Intr. m. § 8.
Notice the personification in xii. 4 and again in 5, also in 24.
Yet in each case what is characteristic is the delicacy of the
figure; the phrase just falls short of personification, cf. x. 23
the " confession " wavering; it is the unconscious liveliness of
an ever picturing mind. And in the two instances from ch. xii.,
of voices in Scripture and in the mystery symbolised by
"blood," there is something akin to the idea which runs
through the epistle of the Spirit of God speaking in books,
history and ritual. Pictures are again and again presented
to the mind's eye; see the opening verses i. i- — 4, and xi.
13 — 16 the "pilgrim fathers." Sometimes these pictures are,
not indistinct, but hard to interpret. They take form,
dissolve, and form themselves afresh, as we ponder on their
meaning; so iv. 12 f. and xiii. 7 the release of departed
"leaders" from the coil of business, or their martyrdom.
Mystery of a deeper kind is suggested in such passages as
xii. 18 with its undefined participles "that might be touched,
etc."; mark the "appearance" immediately afterwards,
which comes in as a curious and pecuhar word that lets you
into the spirit of the whole design. The converse of this
appears in sentences where difficult thought is condensed
into luminous phrases and made "clear" by being carried
into a higher region of imagination. Instances are ii. 14 "him
that had the power of death," vi. 5 "powers of the age to
come," vii. 16 " . . .after the power of an indissoluble hfe," and
vii. 25 " seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
Cf. also ix. 14, xi. 1, 3, 27, xii. 27. There is something of the

cxviii INTRODUCTION IV
same nature, though here imagination more nearly approaches
metaphor, in x. 20; worth special reference however on
account of the "that is to say," which, perhaps always, in
this epistle introduces a more profound second thought.
Then there is the imagination of sympathy, as in the
pictures of the divine humiliation ii. 8 f., v. 7 ff. ; of the
unhappy "sinners against their own selves" xii. 3, cf.
"without compassion" x. 28; the silly, halting "multitude"
xii. 13; the wakeful leaders xiii. 17; and the recollection in
v. 1 ff. of good priests the author and his friends have known.
In xi. 21 "worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff,"
which we are apt to feel an otiose addition, is probably a
pathetic detail in the description of the aged patriarch. It is
generally safe to let the picturesque emerge from our
author's language. Consider how the visual image simplifies
discussion of "substance," "make perfect," "conscience,"
and in their context, " according to faith " xi. 13, " mediator "
xii. 24; and how it adds to the value of such rememberable
phrases as the "cloud of witnesses," "land of promise,"
"city that hath the foundations."
§ 2. A.V. and R.V.
Translations into modern English, such as Weymouth's or
The Twentieth Century New Testament, are less acceptable for
Hebrews than for other parts of N.T. Moffatt's earlier trans
lation in his Historical New Testament (T. and T. Clark) does
preserve something of the peculiar flavour of this epistle.
Yet how thin is his rendering of xi. 1 : " Now faith is to be
confident of what we hope for, to be convinced of what we
do not see." Hardly indeed may A.V. be surpassed in that
verse : " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen." The half philosophical, half
picturesque phraseology of the original is just caught there,
and the marginal note on "substance" — "Or, ground, or
confidence " — goes as far as it ought to go in concession to the
weaker brethren. The R.V., it must be confessed, attenuates
the sense : " Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the proving of things not seen," and in the margin for "the
assurance " " Or, the giving substance to" ; for " proving " " Or,

STYLE AND TEXT cxix
test." Other, but slight, misrenderings in R.V. are vii. 9 "so
to say" instead of "one may almost say," x. 33 "partly...
partly" instead of "on the one. ..on the other hand," xiii. 8
where the insertion of " is " weakens the proclamation, which
in A.V. sounds forth bravely.
In Hebrews A.V. is particularly good, not merely as a
piece of Enghsh, but as an equivalent of the uncommon Greek
style. The advantage of reading in R.V. is not so immediately
obvious as in S. Paul's epistles, perhaps even less so when the
proper test of reading aloud is applied. Yet to the theologian ,
however simple, who does not read to delight his ear but to
assure his anxious heart, the satisfaction of R.V. is'presently
discovered. There is first the inestimable advantage of the
pure text. At the outset R.V. strikes the note of hope with
"at the end of these days" instead of "in these last days";
then of breadth with " when he had made purification of sins "
instead of "when he had by himself purged our sins." It
does matter whether Christ came as a high priest of good
things to come, or, R.V. margin, of good things that have
with His death already come, ix. 11; whether we ought to
"consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself," or rather "him that hath endured such
gainsaying of sinners against themselves," xii. 3.
Nor is the scrupulous attention of R.V. to this perf. part.,
"that hath endured," pedantry. Asinii. 18 and many another
place the author encourages us here by the belief that our
Saviour's pains on earth are still in Him a ground of sympathy
with us. If all the many corrections of tenses in R.V. are not
so evidently practical in their bearing, more and more are
found to be so by the student who broods over his book. Or
take the article. Is there no theological beauty in " the city
which hath the foundations" xi. 10, "the city which is to
come" xiii. 14? Or observe the answer of xi. 14 to xi. 9, "a
sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own....
For they that say such things make it manifest that they are
seeking after a country of their own." In xii. 2 " endured the
cross, despising shame," is perhaps wrong; the Greek has the
art. with neither noun, and A.V. reproduces the aphorism more
forcibly by adding it to both. But in xii. 14 "Follow after

cxx INTRODUCTION' IV
peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no
man shall see the Lord," R.V. has faithfully preferred an
obscurity, which at least startles the conscience, to the
smooth inaccuracy, which so easily passes through the mind
as a truism, of A.V.
In that verse "no man" is a right translation. But in iii. 3,
x. 12 A.V. speaks of our Lord as "this man" without justifi
cation in the Greek. This confuses the important doctrine of
the real manhood which the epistle illustrates continually,
but never in such crude fashion. It dwells too on His
"compassion" or "sympathy," but the word in v. 2 is
different, is even more tender than that, and R.V. "bear
gently with" is admirable. A.V. however has "can reason
ably bear with" in its margin, and the margin deserves
attention in both versions — in R.V. it is as valuable as the
text; it is very wrong to print either without their marginal
notes. If the theology of Hebrews does add anything to the
theology of the rest of the N.T., it is more than worth while
to render its pecuhar theological phraseology with particu
larity. That is attempted far more thoroughly in R.V. than
in A.V. In i. 14 "ministering spirits sent forth to minister"
misses the conversion of ritual idealism into practical service
which R.V. expresses by "to do service." "To make
reconciliation," ii. 17, is Pauline; "to make propitiation" is
the priestly term. "Consecrated," vii. 28, confuses two
characteristic verbs of the epistle; the margin has "Gr.
perfected," but R.V. rightly puts this into the text. In x. 23
"faith" for "hope" is a sheer mistake, possibly a printer's
error. In xi. 2, 39 "obtained a good report" is quite mis
leading. R.V. " had witness borne to them " sounds less plain
English but indicates the connexion with the other passages
where this verb or cognates are used with more or less
approach to the idea of "martyrdom." In xii. 2 the dominant
note of "make perfect" is again echoed in "perfecter."
A.V. " Author and finisher" has the influence of custom upon
us. But the echo is important, and "finisher" may even
suggest an untrue thought if we connect it with the popular
interpretation of 1 Cor. xiii. 13. R.V. "author and per
fecter," with the marginal alternative "captain" for "author,"

STYLE AND TEXT cxxi
carries us far deeper into the writer's mind. In xi. 13 A.V.
has " These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them," a false reading and a wrong transla
tion. How beautiful is R.V. " having seen them and greeted
them from afar." This is an example of that vivid picturesque-
ness which really belongs to the epistle and which, reverently
preserved, may impress the writer's earnest purpose upon
more generations of readers than the sweetest compensations
in another idiom. So in x". 27 "fierceness of fire" R.V. is
better than "fiery indignation." It might seem wanton to
alter "Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to
vanish away," viii. 13, into "But that which is becoming old
and waxeth aged is nigh unto vanishing away." But the
transposition of "old" knits, as in the Greek, this verse to
the preceding. The compound phrase "is becoming old"
shews that this is no mere proverbial appendage (which
might well be introduced by "Now"), but the observation of
a particular and startling process already going on before the
eyes of the writer and his friends. And the "nigh unto" is
one of the solemn notes characteristic of the epistle; cf. vi. 8
"rejected and nigh unto a curse," x. 25 "the day drawing
nigh" and — an answering phrase in the harmony — "a
bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw nigh
unto God" vii. 19. If this epistle really is a challenge,
sounding out of an actual crisis when some great perilous
change was "nigh," all this correction was worth making. It
is however a pity that those who worked so carefully here
should have obscured their purpose by rendering the simple
participle "ending" or "dying," xi. 22, into "when his end
was nigh." § 3. Rythm.
Perhaps R.V. delights the ear less than A.V. But let us
clear our mind of prejudice before we settle that. In one
respect R.V. really seems to have the advantage. The
author of Hebrews took pains with the rythm of his Greek.
Now A.V. is famous for its rythm. But it is the rythm we are
generally trained to appreciate — an English adaptation of

cxxii INTRODUCTION IV
the regularity of Latin. Greek rythm is a less obvious move
ment, with varying ebb and flow. And whereas A.V. preserves
the more formal Latin tradition in its grand but slightly
varied cadences, R.V. approaches more nearly the freedom
of the Greek. No doubt the main care of the Revisers was
for exact translation and sometimes for restoring the author's
meaning by attention to the order of his words. But the
result unconsciously attained is, fairly often, a nearer
agreement with the Greek rule that in prose there should be
rythm but no metre, and that the rythm should not be too
precise. § 4. The text.
This however is the incontestable merit of R.V. : it is based
upon the true ancient Greek text, whereas A.V. represents
the later corrupted Byzantine text. When Erasmus first
printed the Greek Testament in 15 16 he had but few mss. and
those of the late kind to work with. The text thus published
was copied with very little alteration by his successors until
it took permanent form in what is called the Textus Receptus
or Received Text. In the last hundred years or so multitudes
of mss. have become known, many of them very ancient;
early versions have been studied; and the witness of the
Fathers or primitive church writers has been sifted and
understood. In 1881 Westcott and Hort, entering upon the
labours of scholars who had gone before, and each of whom
had done something to establish principles of textual
criticism, published a Greek text. This may not be final, but
at least it marks an epoch. The mass of mss., and the Textus
Receptus which goes with the mass, have been demonstrated
wrong. The method of grouping mss. and other witnesses has
been established. Rules of thumb, such as "go with the
majority," "prefer the harder reading" have been super
seded. The actual process of transmission has been traced —
for the most part clearly. Westcott and Hort's text may be
improved in minute particulars, but the type of text it
represents approves itself evidently as primitive: the type
which Textus Receptus represents is plainly late and
commonplace.

STYLE AND TEXT cxxiii
And this is no academic consideration but a practical
matter. The inspiration of the apostohc writers appears in
the bold unexpected things they say. The later copyists,
making mistakes, then correcting them, aiming at a smooth
inoffensive easily understood text for general reading,
debased inspiration into commonplace. Take this one
instance from i Cor. xv. 47, "The first man is of the earth,
earthy: the second man is of heaven." Thus writes S. Paul
of the divinely destined transformation of us all. But his
sublime faith is utterly removed by the alteration, "The
second man is the Lord from heaven." Throughout N.T. and
not seldom in Hebrews this kind of alteration has taken
place. Of course the greater number of variations are far less
interesting or important. Textual questions will not be often
raised in this commentary. But sometimes they have to be
considered. It will make those notes more intelligible if
something is added here about a few of the textual autho
rities for Hebrews.
First then, Hebrews is contained in the two great mss. of
the fourth century : in B or Codex Vaticanus at Rome, which
however breaks off in the middle of ix. 14 and is lost for the
conclusion of the epistle : and in X or Codex Sinaiticus, part
of which is at Leipzig, the greater part (it is to be hoped still
safe) at Petrograd.
Then there is J)13 written on papyrus which was the
material commonly used in the earlier period before vellum
codices came into fashion. This is also of the fourth century.
It is not complete but contains a large part of the epistle,
and as its text is very much hke X and B it is valuable for
those chapters in which B fails. JJ 13 is in the British Museum.
Codex Claromontanus, D, has the Greek with a Latin
version in parallel columns. It is of the fifth century, and is
now at Paris. In this ms. we have our chief example of the
Old Latin version, i.e. the version, probably African, which
was read before S. Jerome revising it produced the Latin
Vulgate: see above, Intr. n. § 5.
Besides the Old Latin and the Vulgate Latin, the Syriac
and Egyptian Versions are of great importance for the text.

cxxiv INTRODUCTION IV
And the following Fathers may also be named as of
peculiar interest :
Clement of Alexandria cent. ii. — iii.
Euthalius, editor of S. Paul's epistles cent. iv. — v.
Origen of Alexandria cent. iii.
Tertullian of Carthage cent. ii. — iii.
Westcott and Hort's New Testament in Greek is published
by Macmillan. The smaller edition has a short account at the
end of the principles on which the editors have worked, very
clear and interesting, the best introduction to the study of
textual criticism that could be read. The full argument is set
out in the second volume of the larger edition.
The Greek text actually adopted by the Revisers of the
English Version (which is mainly but not exactly the same as
WH) has been admirably edited with a select apparatus
criticus by Dr Souter for the Oxford University Press.
Kenyon's Handbook to the textual criticism of N.T. is an
excellent guide to the whole subject, complete scholarly
urbane.

THE EPISTLE
TO THE
HEBREWS
Ch. I. 1 — 4. The Son Eternal.
Gradually and variously, abundantly yet still imperfectly, in
the ancient days God revealed His mind to our spiritual ancestors,
the Hebrew Fathers of the faith. He entered into the hearts of His
prophets and each of them uttered the word He gave. Now at the
end of this period to which we belong the same God has spoken to
us in One whose eternal unity with Him we are taught to recognise
in the name " Son" : One whom He appointed from eternity to be
the heir of the whole universe of life, through whom also He
created those successive ages of time in which life goes on, ascending
ever back to Him through whom it first sprang forth from God:
One who, like the effulgence of a hidden glory or the engraven
form that perfectly expresses an artist's idea, has never ceased to
shed the divine light and impress the divine seal upon creation:
One too who in the passage through humiliation which He under
took as well as in the new exaltation thus achieved, bore and still
bears onward ah things to their destined goal, as He was authorised
to do by the commandment issuing from the effectual power of
God. For this eternal Son entered into the life of men, and hke a
priest made purification of those sins which had become the
characteristic stain of humanity; and so, triumphant, He sat down
on the right hand of Majesty divine in sublime state. Thus in bold
concrete terms borrowed from holy writ we figure His heavenly
reign, while by adding abstract terms of reverence we confess how
little language can describe or mind conceive the co-equality of
Godhead. Thus then He reigns, having become in the mysterious
progress of that earthly career by so much greater than the angels
— those spiritual beings whose glory and beauty it might be
imagined He would resemble in His journey through creation —
as that name of " Son," so homely sounding, which He, the heir of
all, inherited by human fashion of inheritance, is more distinguished
in real worth than any that belongs to them.
HEBREWS 1

2 HEBREWS I. i
1 f~~*- OD, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in
\j the prophets by divers portions and in divers
1. God] though the fourth word in the Greek, is nevertheless the
emphatic word which binds the sentence together. And this
emphasis is significant. The gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ,
but the purpose of the gospel is to bring men to the Father. So
our Lord' always taught. He claimed little for Himself: His
disciples found in Him the revelation of God, and could not but
say "My Lord and my God," attributing deity to Him. The N.T.
is the record of that faith growing clearer through the experience
of life. But it remains faith directed through Jesus Christ "unto
God " (i Pet. i. 21). That depth of goodness stretches inward ever
unfathomable, but, through Jesus Christ, no longer terrible or
dark. "Men to-day," says Canon B. K. Cunningham, "are not
particularly interested in proofs of the deity of Christ, but they
are profoundly concerned to believe in the Christlikeness of God."
Cf. Joh. i. 18, xiv. 9, Col. i. 15, and v. 3 below.
by divers portions and in divers manners] Two ringing words in
Greek which open the epistle. They are reminiscent of contem
porary Greek oratory and of the book of Wisdom. They express
what scholarship has brought out so plainly of late, the progressive
revelation of O.T. Each prophet contributed his portion, learned
in his particular circumstances, e.g. the judgement of God in Amos,
His love in Hosea, His holiness in Isaiah, the new covenant in
Jeremiah, law and sacrifice in Ezekiel.
It might be questioned whether the prep, "in" (the prophets)
does not point to the disproportionate stress which the Alexandrines
had laid on the passive disposition of the prophet; God spoke in
him as though he were merely the instrument of revelation. The
author of this ep. however is apt to give the deepest meaning to
his phraseology, whencesoever borrowed; and when he says God
spoke in the prophets he is not likely to have intended less than the
fullest inspiration of most reasonable heralds. See Intr. in. 29, 30.
Indeed this appeal to prophecy at the opening of the ep. sets the
key of the whole. (Not mechanical law but the inspiration of men
is the fine along which God's purpose will be found to reach ful
filment in Christ.iThis is in harmony with the whole N.T. The
Christian Church was at one with the more liberal Judaism of the
day in its peculiar reverence for the prophetic augmentation of the
original Torah. In this our Lord had set the example. Canon Box
says :
Nor must it be forgotten that our Lord's attitude towards the old
religion of Israel was that of the prophet rather than the priest The
fulfilment of the Law of which He spoke was essentially prophetic in
character. He breathed into it fresh life, deepened and extended its moral
significance and claim. And above all He took up a position towards it
of sovereign freedom. It is in the prophetic Scriptures that He finds the

HEBREWS I. i, 2 3
manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us 2
in 1 his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through
1 Gr. a Son.
most adequate expression of His own Messianic consciousness, especially
in Isaiah liii. The people instinctively recognised in the new teacher the
voice of a prophet. And in fact the whole character of the Christian
movement depicted in the New Testament is prophetic. The Day of
Pentecost marked the outpouring of the prophetic spirit and gifts. "The
testimony of Jesus is tne spirit of prophecy1."
2. at the end of these days] This is the ancient text ; not "in these
last days." It is opposed hke "modern" to "old time." At the
end of the modern period to which the author belonged the Son
entered upon His ministry. The addition of "these" makes the
phrase different from anything else in N.T. (cf. 1 Pet. i. 20; 2 Pet.
iii. 3; Jude 18), and it indicates the peculiar attitude of the author
to the Messianic ideas of the Church. Intr. in. 19.
hath... spoken] Does this refer specially to our Lord's teaching,
or more generally to His whole life and work in which God spoke
to men? See the last pages of Milman's Latin Christianity for an
eloquent appeal to the words of Christ as "the primal, indefeasible
truths of Christianity," which, however our understanding of them
be deepened, "shall not pass away." There is little more in this
ep. about His words; the theme is His act of sacrifice. But His
words fofm"BeTe—arj"vBf'~antithesis to the ancient prophecy, and
ii. 3 agrees with that interpretation. Only, the reference there is
less to continuous teaching than to the proclamation of "salva
tion." Such a proclamation is the beginning of the gospel in
Mark i. 15.
his Son] Neither this nor the marginal rendering "a Son"
reproduces the grandeur of the original. The author sets us for the
moment in the sphere of heavenly pre-existence where ordinary
ideas of personality are out of place; theseTwill come presently as
part of the fruitful limitations of "the days of his flesh." The
Greeks, with their frequent omission of the article in the large
tragic style, could express just what is wanted here: "Son"
stands absolutely, as "God" so often does. Westcott paraphrases
"One who is Son."
heir of all things] The noun is rich in associations from O.T.,
Philo, and the gospel tradition. In O.T. the "inheritance" of
Abraham and his descendants in Canaan, and Hence in spiritual
privileges, is a common theme: Israel too is the "inheritance" or
"heritage" of the Lord. The subject of one of Philo's treatises is
" Who is the inheritor of divine things? " In the gospel tradition
1 "How should we teach the Old Testament?" Guardian, July r3,
1916.

4 HEBREWS I. 2, 3
3 whom also he made the 1 worlds; who being the effulgence
of .his glory, and 2the very image of his substance, and
1 Gr. ages. 2 Or, the impress of his substance
our Lord was remembered (or interpreted)1 as having described
Himself as the heir of the vineyard, slain by the husbandmen, and
thereby opening the vineyard to other husbandmen: Matt. xxi.
33 ff. ; Mark xii. 1 ff . ; Luke xx. 9 ff. The particular noun is rare in
LXX. In N.T. it is used by S. Paul, elsewhere only in Jas. ii. 5
and those three passages of the Gospels, and this ep. But in this
6p. the three words "inherit," "inheritance," "heir, " are charac
teristic: seei. 4, 14, vi. 12, 17, ix. 15, xi. 7, 8, xii. 17. From Noah
onwards the chosen people are represented as heirs of God's
blessing in the future. The Christian people have inherited their
hope and are entering, heirs in their own turn, upon its fulfilment.
All this heirship springs from Christ's universal and eternal heir
ship. Through Him all nature was created and to Him it all
reverts in holiness historically perfected by the ascending strain
of hfe towards its Lord. The commencement of His visible act of
heirship is indicated in vv. 5 ff. : He takes by right of inheritance
the ancient names of Christ and Son.
made the worlds] Aeon in LXX represents 'olam, "age." In late
Hebrew 'olam had the meaning "world," but perhaps not when
this ep. was written. "Ages" is a fuller sense and therefore likely
to be our author's. Tt corresponds with "these days," i.e. this
period or age, just above; and a like full meaning suits best in xi. 3.
3. the effulgence of his glory] Cf . Wisd. vii. 25 f. Whatever may
have been the original meaning of the Hebrew chabod the context
often shews that it expressed the idea of glorious light in O.T., and
so it was rendered in LXX; see e.g. Is. Ix. 1. This was consonant
with the Hebrew mind. " The sky had cleared after some days of
south-westerly weather, and morning broke in that rare splendour
which persuaded the Hebrew poets that perfect bliss will be
perfect light2." We might translate "the reflection of His glory"
but "effulgence" suits this context; the Son. is. the stream of light
fromjthe_innermost.glory. th~e veryJmage of his substance] The Greek word for " very image"
is not eikon as in x. i, hutcharacter, which might^ejthfimpresslon,
but is here used in the more primary" sense of the engraved seal
itself which expresses the idea in the artist's mind : cf . CicTOr. 8,9,
"deep in his own mind he had a supreme idea of beauty, into which
he would gaze steadfastly and govern his artist's hand to reproduce
it." Cicero had just written "as an image is expressed," so that
the rendering of Erasmus and A.V., "express image," may be
approved. But A.V. "person" is an anachronism: hy£aslgsis (the
1 See "The parable of the wicked husbandman," A. Gray, Hibberl
Journal, Oct. 1920.
2 Hogarth, Accidents of an Antiquary's Life, ch. v.

HEBREWS I. 3 5
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
Greek original) was not used for "person" till the fourth century-
See ,three articles by Dr Strong, Dean of Christ Church1, for full
treatment of this and kindred words. A.V. here follows the Geneva
version, and may be compared with Wisd. ii. 23, " God created man
for incorruption, and made him an image of his own proper being. ' '
But that is not the idea in our author's mind. He treats hypostasis
throughout the ep. more as a philologist than a philosopher. It
means thatjjvhicji, in the deepest sense appropriate to the context,
underlies, supports, or as here originates expression, and it is
always associated with_a^gehitive ; cf. iii. 14, xi. 1, and contrast
2 Cor. ix.~4~ CI7 also Coleridge2, "Quod stat subtus, that which
stands beneath, and (as it were) supports the appearance. ' ' Milton,
who conveys so much from this ep., says in Paradise Lost, x. 63 ff. :
So spake the Father, and unfoulding bright
Toward the right hand his Glorie, on the Son
Blaz'd forth unclouded Deitie; he full
Resplendent all his Father manifest
Express' d, and thus divinely answered milde.
being. ..and upholding] or bearing. The mode of conjunction
emphasises the ditficujt^assertifi.n.iiat throughout the. days of His
flesh the_Son was stilhrevealing- Godhead and bearing- the universe
_toi±s_ggal. But this is the assertion which the author justifies by
his sacramental view of glory in humiliation; cf. Intr. 11. 15, in. 7.
For the pres. part. cf. xi. 17, and Phil. ii. 6 where however the
compound form employed means "being originally" rather than
"being continually," as here.
by the word of his power] i.e. " b^LJie^conunaudingJBfQxd (cL xi. 3)
of God's power." The second " his," especially in a balanced piece
of rhetoric hke this, would surely have the same reference as the
first And this fits the context; the Sonjreveals or mediates God's
power_as He does His glory and inmost being. The ancient
commentators andTranslators generally took this "his" to mean
"the Son's." Perhaps they were unconsciously influenced by their
general view of the passage as a declaration of the essential unity
of the Son with the Father. But it is more than that. It starts
from the prophets, and joins the high doctrine of the contemporary
Church concerning the Godhead of the Son with the old prophetic
idea of the Christ, the Lord's anointed, representing God in His
people. The HiMtig is_-jqot^so-much^tlie_jrnigtuenessof the Son's
relation to the Father^as His uniti^^MnjTOtfrG^driTus^fJeTxnnes
plainer as"EEe—ep. proceeds; so far itTs par£Iy~obscured by the
technical terms which are borrowed from Alexandrine Judaism.
1 "The history of the theological term 'Substance,'" Journal of
Theological Studies, Jan., Oct. tqoi ; Oct. 1902.
* Aids to Reflection, Intr. Aphorisms, xii n.

6 HEBREWS I. 3, 4
had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand
of the Majesty on high; having become by so much better
than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent
when he had made purification of sins] So, without "by himself"
and "our" in the ancient text. Neither emphasis nor limitation
is accordant with the terse grandeur of this introduction.
sat down on the right hand] First allusion to Ps. ex. which will
supply the guiding thought of the ep., viz. the royal High Priest
after the order of Melchizedek. Cf. Mark xiv. 62, which is
reminiscent of this psalm and of Dan. vii. 13.
Majesty] Used in the doxologies of Jude (25) and Clem. Rom.
xx. 12. In viii. 1 it is joined with "in the heavens"; in this
rhetorically finished passage the author substitutes "on high" or
' ' in the heights " in a peculiar sense partly for the alliterative music,
partly to give distinction and variety to the style.
4. hath inherited] The long Greek perfect tense with its running
metre is also chosen partly for musical cadence; cf. vii. 28, xii. 2.
But there are no idle graces in the author's style, and the perfect
is needed here. The Son has inherited that name and still keeps it.
This verb is also a stylistic echo of "heir" in v. 2; yet more than
stylistic. Hitherto we have been mainly concerned with the pre-
existent state of One who received in time the name>of Son, also of
Christ, and the dignity of Lord, King and High Priest. But the
rest of the ep. is chiefly taken up with tracing His inheritance and
achievement of these names and dignities on earth. "Most of
what is said of the Son in His pre-existing state is contained in i. 2, 3,
though some of the things said there are repeated in other passages.
The pre-existing state is alluded to very little, and chiefly because
it explains the present condition of exaltation, which was not
possible except to a being essentially Son of God.... Beyond the
assumption of the pre-existence of the Son, the epistle seems
nowhere to desert the region of history" (Davidson, pp. 40 and
74). Davidson thinks the appointment as heir in v. 2 refers to the
historical exaltation after the death on the cross. Westcott, surely
better, says, "There is nothing to determine the 'time' of this
divine appointment. It belongs to the eternal order. " It is in fact
the whole of which our modern notion " evolution " is a part. But
with "hath inherited a name" we pass to another special part or
line of this whole in history. The next section looks back upon the
Christs of Israel's history who have, in O.T., received the name of
Son, and regards this as the process of inheritance, by which One,
who will later in the ep. be styled Lord and King and High Priest
and Christ, inherited His name of Son.

HEBREWS I. 7
5 — 14. The Son's inheritance. Christ-sons in history.
The angels I say; for angels have nothing to do with such a
name as "Son." God, who speaks in the writers and personages
of our sacred books, did not say, " My son art thou; this day have
I begotten thee," to any angel. He said that to one of those kings
of Israel who were also called the Christs of the Lord, and who,
being themselves faint reflections of the divine effulgence and copies
from the divine seal, made history prophetic of the perfect Christ.
It was again to the best and greatest of those Christ-kings that
God said through Nathan the prophet, " I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son. " And whenever God brings back again
the people whom He had called His firstborn son into the family
of nations, after one of those repeated humiliations which make the
paradox of their spiritual history, and are prophetic of a far more
transcendent glory through humiliation still to come, He says,
"And let all the angels of God worship him." The quotation is apt
for our argument, since this nation, itself too, bore the title
' ' Christ ' ' : through all this varied line of Christship our Christ, who
crowns the line, inherits His name of "Son."
And on the other hand while God, speaking in a psalmist about
Himself, utters words concerning angels which indicate their
dignity in the sacramental order of nature — "Who maketh his
angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire," concerning the
Son God indicates His place in a more mysterious line along which
manhood and Godhead, history and its fulfilment in the eternal
sphere, are inexplicably brought together — ' ' Thy throne is God
(or does He even say, O God?) for ever and ever, and the sceptre
of righteousness is the sceptre of God's kingdom. Thou lovedst
righteousness and didst hate iniquity; therefore God, even thy
God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
And, going deeper still, bringing seen and unseen, time and
eternity, into still closer union, He uses the person of a psalmist
to address Himself by His own ineffable name; yet utters words
which certainly have reference to the Son through whom He made
all things, and to whom, the abiding heir of all things, they return
through all their change and perishing as His inheritance—" Thou
in the beginning, Lord, didst found the earth, and works of thy
hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but thou still remainest.
And they all as a garment shall grow old, and as a vesture shalt
thou roll them up; as a garment shall they be utterly changed.
And thou art the same, yea thy years shall not fail."
And finally, concerning the Son and not concerning any angel,
God signifies in a mysterious oracle, which a psalmist was inspired
to express in human words, that One (whom we well recognise
to-day) is to reign with Himself in co-equal majesty till the victory
over evil is wholly won — " Sit thou on my right hand until I make
thine enemies the footstool of thy feet." Such an awful summons
was never given to an angel. The angels serve, they do not reign.

8 HEBREWS I. 4—6
5 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,
And he shall be to me a Son?
6 *And when he again 2bringeth in the firstborn into 3the
1 Or, And again, when he bringeth in
2 Or, shall have brought in 3 Gr. the inhabited earth.
In the universal temple of creation they are the priestly winds,
the holy spirits, ceaselessly sent forth to do God's service for the
sake of those who are to inherit salvation in that divine victorious
act which lay quite in the future when the doctrine of angels was
first made known to man, and still we await its full completion.
5. the angels] This takes up "better than the angels" in the
last verse, and introduces a formal proof of the Son's superiority
to the angels. We are reminded of Col. ii. 18 and i. 16, and wonder
whether the author is correcting a tendency of his day to angel
worship. But there is no further hint of this in the ep. unless the
further parallel with Col. in xiii. 8 f . be thought to support the
conjecture. And the positive argument of the section, that the
Son has received His name by inheritance through the line of the
Christ-nation and its kings, is far more essential to the ep. than
the negative argument, that the inheritance has not come through
the line of the angels . The main point comes out at last in ii . 1 6 ; the
Son is truly man and therefore truly mediator between man and God.
Thou art my Son, &c] From Ps. ii., which is addressed to a king
of Israel. Apart from the more transcendent Messianic significance
which this psalm would probably have in the Jewish Church of the
later centuries B.C., it is justly quoted by the author in its context
here for this reason. In O.T. kings of Israel are styled " the Lord's
Messiah." In the English Bible "Messiah" is rendered "Anointed,"
but in the LXX, which was the Bible of the author, the rendering
is "the Christ." Hence he quite fairly thinks of our Lord as
"inheriting" this title through the Christs of the past. He also
thinks of these Christs of the past as being themselves, in their
degree, revelations of the one divine Christ (cf. xi. 26). And he is
confirmed in this bold idea by finding that even these Christs of the
past were called "sons" of God. Intr. in. 6.
1 will be to him, &c] This appears in a striking manner in
Nathan's oracle to David, 2 Sam. vii., from, which this quotation
is taken. The deep solemnity of that passage was felt of old as
much as by this author. That is proved by the allusion to it in
Ps. Ixxxix. 26 ff.
6. And when he again bringeth in, &c] The meaning of this ap
pears from the quotation which follows, "And let all the angels, &c."

HEBREWS I. 6, 7 9
world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
And of the angels he saith, 7
Who maketh his angels x winds,
And his ministers a flame of fire :
1 Or, spirits
This nearly corresponds to the LXX of Ps. xcvii. (xcvi.) 7, and
exactly to one text of a LXX addition to Deut. xxxii. 43. Each
poem celebrates the restoration of the people of Israel, who are in
Ps. lxxxix. 51 associated with David in the office of Messiah. It
is, therefore, when God brings His people, after their humiliation
(of exile, &c), into the fellowship of the nations again, that He bids
all the angels worship this people who are His firstborn son
(Jer. xxxi. 9; Hos. xi. 1). In Ps. xcvii. (xcvi.) "angels" of LXX
represents the Hebrew 'elohim. This indicates the answer to an
objection that might be raised, viz. that angels are called " sons of
God" in Job i. 6, ii. 1, xxxviii. 7. In the author's Bible, the LXX,
"angels" is the rendering of bne 'elohim in each place. Nor is this
a false rendering. 'Elohim is used in the O.T. in various senses, of
false gods 1 Kings xix. 2, of judges &c. Ps. lxxxii. 6, of spiritual
beings or angels. This last is the use in the passages of Job, and
bne 'elohim is the regular Hebrew phrase for the class or company
of 'elohim, as bne neb' Urn is for the class or professional guild of
prophets; sonship in the sense of "descent from" is not implied.
A question still remains about the force of the temporal clause
"when he bringeth." Being completed by the present "saith" in
the apodosis it should mean "whenever he brings again." And
this would suit the repeated humiliations of Israel very well : " The
exile of Israel in its deepest sense has lasted from Nebuchadnezzar's
burning of Jerusalem to the present day1." But the imperative
"let... worship" might be considered the real apodosis; cf. Apoc.
iv. 9 f. Then the reference would be to an event in the future, and
it is very possible that the author had also in mind that " second "
advent of his Lord (ix. 28) of which he treats in a somewhat
unusual manner in this epistle; cf. Intr. in. 19. "Again" might
be taken as in preceding verse, but whenever it is followed by a
verb in this ep. it is construed with the verb; iv. 7, v. 12, vi. 6.
7. And of the angels] Not "to" but "with regard to." No
address to angels follows, but a description of angels from Ps. civ. 4.
It matters little whether the Hebrew makes "winds" (one word
both in Greek and Hebrew meant "spirit" or "wind") and "fire"
predicate as the Greek does, or the other way. The meaning will
be really the same. Other pictures of angels might be collected
from O.T., but this accords with the ancient and deepest idea of
the Hebrews. To them the thunderstorm was in very truth the
manifestation of the Lord their God. The thunder was His voice,
1 Cheyne, Jewish Religious Life after the Exile, p. 159.

io HEBREWS I. 8—10
8 but of the Son he saith,
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of xthy
kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation
of the earth,
1 The two oldest Greek manuscripts read his.
the winds and lightnings His angels. So in N.T. the Law, given in
the thunder of Sinai, is spoken of as ordained by angels, and the
coming of the Son of man is expected sometimes with angels, ,
sometimes with clouds; cf. also John xii. 29. That this implies no
derogation from the angels' 'glory is shewn by the author's
language in xii. 23, and the symbolic exaltation of nature and
"forces of nature" in the Apocalypse1. All this however is but
hinted here. The main thing is that angels are shewn to stand in
another line of life from that along which the Son lifts man to God.
8 . of the Son] The same preposition must have the same meaning
as before. Yet the quotation, from Ps. xiv., is in the form of an
address. Such a direct address to the Son as God would hardly
accord with N.T. usage: even S. Thomas' words in John xx. 28
are different from the absolute " O God." But, besides that, there
is some doubt whether the Greek phrase here is intended to be
taken as a vocative. In SB, that very strong combination of
textual authority, "his kingdom" not "thy kingdom" is read.
With "his, " the natural (though not quite inevitable) translation
of the sentence would be "Thy throne is God... and the sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of his kingdom." It is a further
argument for following the strong MS. authority that the author
has made another adjustment of his LXX text by writing "the
sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of . . . " instead of ' ' the sceptre
of.. .is the sceptre of uprightness," shifting the predicate as though
to imply that wherever righteous rule is found it will be God's rule.
One who could make such a thoughtful correction as that might
make the other to avoid what he felt to be somewhat crude
theology. It would be possible to construe the original Hebrew in
this way, and it would make the immediately following "God,
even thy God" easier. Most O.T. commentators however think
1 See further Sanday, The Life of Christ in 1 ecent research, on " The
Symbolism of the Bible," and "A Sermon on Angels."

HEBREWS I. 10—13 11
And the heavens are the works of thy hands :
They shall perish ; but thou continuest : 1 1
And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, 12
As a garment, and they shall be changed :
But thou art the same,
And thy years shall not fail.
But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, 13
Sit thou on my right hand,
Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet?
this unnatural, and all ancient exegesis is against it in the quoted
Greek. But the solution of the problem in v. 8 does depend in part upon
the interpretation of ww. 10 — 12. These are quoted from Ps. cii. 25ff.
As generally in LXX " Lord " represents the ineffable name. Hort
writes in his commentary on 1 Pet. ii. 3, "It would be rash to
conclude that he meant to identify Jehovah with Christ. No such
identification can be clearly made out in the N.T." It would seem
right therefore to say that here again, as in the last quotation, O.T.
language is applied to the Son to describe His divine character;
He is not Himself addressed as " God " or " Lord." But if so, the
whole series of quotations might seem to be in an ascending scale.
First, His inheritance of the name Son is illustrated from passages
in which that name is given to the anointed kings or to the people
of Israel. Then, after a verse in which the " nature-glory " of angels
is indicated, a second application of O.T. language is made,
assigning to the Son the attributes of a king who is addressed as
' ' God, ' ' and finally even the attributes of Him who is the Lord God
of Israel are associated with Him.
On the other hand it must be noticed that not all those attributes
are presented. These verses from Ps. cii. seem to correspond to the
"nature" character of the angels in v. 7 and to the Son's work
of creation in v. 2. The mark of His divinity is here mainly
recognised in this, viz. that while created nature changes and
passes, He as " very image of the substance " abides unchangeable :
cf. xii. 27 1, xiii. 8.
13. Sit thou on my right hand] From Ps. ex., which dominatesin
the ep.; cf. i. 3, v. 6, 10, vi. 20, vii. 11, 15, 17, 21, 24, 28, viii. 1,
x. 12 f., xii. 2. In the last two quotations the name "Son" was
not expressed. In this verse that thought is quite superseded by
the culminating glory of exaltation to co-equality in kingly
rule; cf. Mark xii. 37; 1 Cor. xv. 28. This quotation brings us
to the personal history of our Lord on earth, the humihation in
which this glory was achieved; that subject will be taken up at
ii. 5-

12 HEBREWS I. 14
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do
service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?
14. ministering] This adj. might be translated "liturgic," and
with its verb and' noun is used of the Levitical service in LXX (not
in Leviticus) ; cf. Rom. xv. 16. The angels minister in the " temple "
of God, which is the universe, as often in the Psalter. See
especially Ps. xxix. 9 and cf. John xiv. 2 ; Luke ii. 49. " Ministering
angels" are spoken of in Philo and the Talmud.
spirits] Here we must translate "spirits" in spite of v. 7. But
the Greek reader, certainly the Jewish Greek reader, would
feel no difficulty in that. He had not learned, nor found in his
Bible, the separation between symbol and reality which confuses
us. Thus in Gen. i. 2 the wind on the dark water actually was to
him the Spirit of God; cf. Ps. xxxi. 5; Eccl. xii. 7; Luke xxiii. 46;
John iii. 8, xx. 22.
sent forth] Pres. part, of continual activity. A part, is similarly
used in the Hebrew of the seraphim in Is. vi. So Milton,
"Thousands at his bidding speed And post o're Land and Ocean
without rest " ; cf. Lucr. v. 297 ff., ardor e ministro . . .tremere ignibus
instant, Instant nee loca lux inter quasi rupta relinquit.
that shall inherit salvation] That are about, or going to; the same
verb is used in ii. 5, vi. 5, the world " to come." S. Paul's doctrine
of election does not enter into this ep. , not even in iv. 3 ; it is the
salvation that is predestined not the number .of the saved. All
that is read in O.T. of angels is here represented as having
reference to the salvation to be fulfilled in the latter days; cf. ix.
28, xi. 40.
Hence "salvation" is to be interpreted from O.T. usage not, as
perhaps in some parts of N.T., from the contemporary Greek world.
Hort has fine notes on the word in his comm. on 1 Pet., pp. 38 1,
48, 103; see also Sanday and Headlam on Rom. i. 16. The domi
nant idea is that of victorious rescue, as in Ps. xxxv. (xxxiv.) 3 ;
Is. lix. 16 — 20; cf. Eph. vi. 17. But "salvation in the fullest sense
is but the completion of God's work upon men, the successful end
of their probation and education" (Hort); so in this ep. it is
associated with "progress" and "perfection," ii. 10, v. 9, vi. 9.
"Saviour," frequent in Pastorals and 2 Pet., cf. also Phil. hi. 20,
does not occur in this ep.
Ch. II. 1 — 4. The tradition of salvation : give
heed to it.
Such being the mysterious origin, office and achievement of Him
to whom our allegiance has been rendered, we are bound more
exceedingly to give heed to the tradition of life and doctrine on
which we (unlike the earlier disciples) mainly depend. More
exceedingly: for we are in a time of trial, and we must be vigilant
lest by however unexpected a chance the tide of trouble sweep

HEBREWS II. 1—3 13
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to 2
the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from
them. For if the word spoken through angels proved 2
stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward ; how shall we escape, 3
us away from our loyalty. More exceedingly again : for we run a
risk hke that of ancient Israel, but of deeper consequence. Their
Law was a word spoken through the angels of the storm at Sinai;
and in due course it was firmly established, and every refusal to
walk in its path or to listen to its meaning, though it delayed
complete establishment, received just and due payment of the
wage it merited. So costly was the establishment of the Law : and
how shall we escape away if by our neglect we hinder — no mere
word spoken through angels but — salvation itself? And such a
great salvation ! A proclamation of victorious mercy, which
received its impulse in the speech of Him we adore as Lord, has
been handed on unimpaired so far as to us by those who heard the
very accents of His voice. So far in its course it has been firmly
established : God as well as the disciples witnessing to its truth all
the way with signs and wonders as of old ; with exquisitely varied
acts of power; with breathings of a holy Spirit such as inspired
creation and our national history, each duly apportioned according
to His ever active will.
1. Therefore we ought] This verse introduces the first of those
exhortations which are so closely interwoven with the argument
of the ep. that the author justly styles it a " word of exhortation"
in xiii. 22. So, in an ancient prologue to the Pauhne epp. (in an
Irish MS. of the Vulgate) Hebrews is described simply thus — "To
the Hebrews whom he exhorts like the Thessalonians that in the
commandments of God they should most readily endure perse
cutions." the things that were heard] The tradition of the Church on which
the whole ep. rests. Like the ancient prophets, the author dis
claims innovation; cf. xhi. 8 f. ,
drift away] The Greek passive here implies being carried away
by the tide of temptation.
2. the word spoken through angels] The Law at Sinai, "' ordained
through angels by the hand of a mediator" as S. Paul says, Gal.
iii. 19; see note on i. 7 above.
proved stedfast] From xii. 19, 25 we see how the author (so
imaginatively reading his Bible) felt that a risk was run at Sinai ;
Israel's fear made the acceptance of God's commandments un
certain. Moses the "mediator" saved them from the peril then,
but the "word " did not become really firm till the whole troubled
course of the nation's political ambition was ended by the exile.
This verse hke i. 1 is a curious anticipation of modern O.T.
criticism.

14 HEBREWS II. 3, 4
if we neglect so great salvation? which having at the
first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto
4 us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with
if we neglect] A hke risk was before the author's friends, but he
had good hope of them; cf. vi. 1 — 12.
having at the first been spoken] Cf. xi. 29, 36. The Greek phrase
has almost a personal ring, hke "receiving impulse from." Thus
it gives to "was confirmed" something of the idea of confirmation
by "development."
The first "speaking" was our Lord's proclamation "The
kingdom of God is at hand," then the whole of His teaching during
His ministry; xi. 4, xii. 24 are not parallels. That teaching includes
such pregnant sayings as Mark viii. 35, x. 45, which are the germ
of the apostohc doctrine of salvation by the cross. In this ep. the
high-priestly entrance into the heavenly sanctuary is contem
plated timelessly or as simultaneous with the act of dying;
therefore no reference to the forty days of Acts i. 3 is likely.
the Lord] Here first the author names his Master plainly. The
readers would have recognised to whom he was pointing through
out ch. i. , but there he set them, as it were, by the throne of God in
heaven, and opened a vision of eternal things. That would have
lost its mystery if he had introduced a defining title which rose out
of the earthly limitations of "the days of" the Saviour's "flesh."
It rose out of those days, yet perhaps not immediately. The title
" Lord " is not often found in the synoptic gospels in the full sense
which it has in the rest of N.T. In many places S. Luke's
"Master" might be substituted for it without apparent loss. In
Luke xxiv. 3 "the body of the Lord Jesus" is quite unusual. But
all three words ("the Lord Jesus") are omitted by authorities
which have peculiar weight in these last chapters of Luke, and the
closest parallel to them is in Mark xvi. 19 t, which according to
the most ancient evidence are no part of the original book.
Bousset in his study of early Christian doctrine, Kyrios Christos,
shews that this title, Kyrios or "Lord," was characteristic of
certain religious fellowships in the Graeco-Roman world which
may have influenced the Christian Church in the development of
faith through worship — lex orandi, lex credendi. Such influence
would not be alien to the followers of Him who is Himself the truth
wherever found (John xiv. 6) . But there are passages in the gospels
(though hardly in Mark) which at least raise the question whether
the impulse had not been given earlier and elsewhere; e.g. Matt.
vii. 21 {., xx. 31. And the influence of the LXX with its Kyrios (see
above on i. 10) must also be taken into account.
by them that heard] S. Paul, who claims im/nediate revelation so
earnestly (see Gal. i. 1, n f., 16), would hardly have written this.
But, taken by itself, it does not put the author and his friends
farther from the "beginning " than S. Paul. They had not listened

HEBREWS II. 4 I5
them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers,
and by 1gifts of the 2Holy Ghost, according to his own
will. 1 Gr. distributions.
*~Ot, Holy Spirit: and so throughout this book.
to the teaching of our Lord himself; that is all that is necessarily
implied; cf. Acts i. 21 f.
4. signs and wonders] So often in Acts and thrice in Paul; cf.
also John iv. 48. A frequent collocation in LXX of Deuteronomy,
which was rather a favourite book with our author. The idea has
some resemblance to the concluding verses of Mark which may
have been written by the presbyter Ariston; see Swete's com
mentary, pp. ciii — cv; there are also other coincidences in
language. Closer attention shews that the resemblance is probably
superficial. In particular, Ariston makes much of the outward
signs; our author passes from his almost conventionally quoted
O.T. words to the deeper things of spiritual life.
gifts] "distributions" R.V. margin. The word is different from
S. Paul's (1 Cor. xii. 4) and this is one of the passages where
translation suggests Pauline colour which is net really present.
The idea however is something hke 1 Cor. xii. 11.
the Holy Ghost] Without article in the Greek, as always in this
ep. unless the Spirit is connected with O.T. inspiration. The
exception in x. 29 is a grammatical necessity. Intr. in. 29.
5 — 18. Jesus the man : glory in humiliation :
priesthood through death.
The Lord speaking, God witnessing, Holy Spirit operating ! Yes,
for it was not to mere angels that God subjected the spiritual world
of which we are speaking, our home long destined and now within
our reach. To whom then is it subject? Why, to man. Does not
some one somewhere call God to witness to this paradox? " What
is a man," he says, "that thou art mindful of him; mortal man,
that thou visitest him? Thou didst humble him indeed, but only
a little below angels; with a wreath of glory and honour didst
thou deck him. All things didst thou put in subjection under his
feet." Glory in humihation ! Strange but true, for there it stands
written, "all things in subjection"; there is no exception at all.
Well, as yet at any rate we do not see those "all things" in
subjection to man. But we do behold One, who stands visible to
memory and faith, a little below angels, humbled — He is Jesus, the
man : and but a little below angels indeed — it is for the suffering
of death that He wears a wreath of veritable glory and honour, so
that He may — thus God of His free favour granted — on behalf
of every one of us taste death.
Manhood, suffering, death ! Yes, for it was befitting Him, for
.Whose good pleasure "all things" came into being, and through

io HEBREWS II. 5
5 For not unto angels did he subject 1the world to come,
1 Gr. the inhabited earth.
whose direction "all things" hold their course, after bringing
many sons "to glory" in the psalmist's dream, to carry Him who
was to lead the way in realising that glorious victory of theirs,
through sufferings to His purposed goal. For suffering is the
faculty of mortal man, and in suffering we find the pledge of real
communion; not only the sanctifier but those too whom He
sanctifies are seen thereby to have the same divine origin. Arid
that is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers. Who so well
as He can give full meaning to those often-repeated words of
Israel's martyr and Israel's prophet? " I will declare thy name to
my brothers, in the midst of the church of our people I will praise
thee." And again, "It is I who will be a man of faith in him."
And again, " Behold I and the children whom God gave me." Now
there we hear the accents of a common piety and kindred. And
since kindred as regards these "children" implies physical
relationship, He too partook of that just as they do; for the sake
of that great purpose already named, viz. through death to bring
to nought the potentate of the realm of death, the awful Adver
sary; and so to give quittance to all the multitude of those who by
fear of death throughout the course of natural hfe were liable to
slavery. For I hardly fancy you will say that such physical
relationship, such " taking hold of," is likely with regard to angels.
No, it is Abraham's human seed He takes hold of. And therefore
He was bound in all respects to be made like to these "brothers "
of His. For this is the sum of all that purpose indicated by man
hood, suffering, human piety and death, namely that He may
become, in regular process, pitiful and faithful as a High Priest on
the Godward side, to the end that He may continually do priestly
work in taking away the sins of the people of God. For, having
gone through the tribulation of trial, He has in Himself the
lasting experience of suffering, and in that quality is able to come
to the rescue of those who, as their turn comes round, enter into
trial. 5. For not unto angels, &c] The LXX of Deut. xxxii. 8 says
that "when the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance
he set the bounds of the" peoples according to the number of the
angels of God" (Heb. "of the children of Israel"). This might
imply that when the world became "the inhabited earth" (R.V.
margin), a society of men, it was put under the control of the
angels. Thus "the world to come" might mean "the social world
which lay in the future at the time of creation." If so the author
denies the inference (cf. xi. 27). But it is more likely that he is
giving a varied expression of the thought which recurs in vi. 5,
xu. 28, xiii. 14; cf. also iii. 5, iv. 9, viii. 13, ix. 10, x. 1, 20, xi. 10'
16. The world or city or good things to come, the kingdom that

HEBREWS II. 5, 6 17
whereof we speak. But one hath somewhere testified, 6
saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
cannot be shaken, the opened way to God, are the "kingdom of
God," promised in O.T., proclaimed at hand by our Lord, brought
in some sense by His death, still to be consummated at His'
"coming" (ix. 28). That passage, ix. 28, shews that the author
holds the ancient faith of the Galilean disciples (Acts Hi. 21). con
cerning the final advent. But it is enlarged and deepened in his
epistle. A "coming" in the trial of his own day is recognised,
x- 25, 37, Intr. m. 19; and the seeming confusion of past, present
and future is removed by his Platonic conception of eternity as
reahty, not length of time, cf. ix. n f. To him there was no anti
thesis between this world and "the world to come," a favourite
formula in late Judaism. If, as the coincidence in quoting Ps. viii.
suggests, he knew Eph. i. 21 f., he would feel that he could not
quite adopt the phrase used there. His "world to come" is more
akin to S. Paul's doctrine of the Spirit, and nearer still to S. John's
sacramental thought. It is "the higher hidden life which lies
at the roots of the visible hfe," Gardner, The Ephesian Gospel,
p. 194.
6. one hath somewhere testified] A favourite verb in Acts: "to
call (God) to witness to the truth of what some one says." Thus
the Alexandrine formula " some one somewhere " is used here with
precision. In the quotations of this chapter it is no longer God
who speaks in the person of the O.T. writer; here it is a man
concerning mankind, in 12 f. the man Jesus concerning His
relation towards men. Throughout this chapter the point of view
is from earthly history.
What is man, &c] From Ps. viii. The psalmist contemplates the
grandeur of creation and feels the littleness of man. But,
remembering Gen. i. 26 ff., he appeals to the Lord to confirm his
faith in man's high destiny. In the Hebrew he says ' ' Thou hast
made him little lower than God." That becomes in LXX "than
the angels." The rendering might be justified from the ambiguity
of 'elohim (cf . note on i. 8) . But it is not necessary to press this.
The real subject of interest in this chapter is not the angels but the
humihation of Jesus as the means of His glory. The omission of
"And didst... hands" in the next verse (so R.V. margin) helps to
bring out the simplicity of the argument.
the son of man] So far as there is real antithesis in the original
Hebrew, this second term for "man" means "ordinary man,"
"mankind." It may be that the lowly idea of this psalm and of
Ezekiel (ii. 1 and passim) was combined with the grand idea in
Dan. vii. 13 by our Lord when He called Himself "The Son of
Man." There is no direct reference to that title in this epistle.
HEBREWS 2

18 HEBREWS II. 7—9
7 Thou madest him 1 a little lower than the angels ;
Thou crownedst him with glory and honour,
a 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 aU things unto him, he left
nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not
9-yet all things subjected to him. But we behold him who
hath been made 1a little lower than the angels, even
1 Or, for a little while lower
2 Many authorities omit And didst... hands.
8. in that he subjected, &c] Is there reminiscence of i Cor. xv.
25 — 28 in the language here? That passage shews at any rate how
naturally association of ideas would lead the author from Ps. ex.
(i. 13) to Ps. viii. i( . t
9. him who hath been made, &c.] Throughout v. 8 " him ' means
'man" in general, in whom the psalmist's faith is not yet seen
fulfilled. In the one man, Jesus — note the name of His manhood,
here first introduced, so frequent in the rest of the epistle — we do
behold it. As He passes to His death, we behold Him glorified in
humiliation: see John xiii. 31.
a little] in theps. appears to mean "only a little," here "at
least a little," or possibly "for a little while." The distinction is
not important, nor is the comparison with angels. The stress is on
" made lower." The author keeps to the main idea of his quotation,
"glory in humihation," but gives a deft turn to this particular
phrase. crowned] is closely connected in the Greek with "made lower."
The picture is of one who stands ever before our view (note
pres. indie, and perf. part.) as both humiliated and glorified. This
compound phrase is divided into two parts by the emphatic
"Jesus," and "because of the suffering... crowned" go together.
The prep, has its "forward" sense, "crowned for the purpose
of," not "in recompense for" death. Thus "that he may taste"
follows intelligibly. There is no other way of construing gram
matically1, nor is the grammatical construction difficult unless we
suppose a reference to the ascension, as in Phil. ii. 5 — 11. But in
this ep. our Lord becomes king by enthronement not by crowning,
and that is in general accordance with ancient custom. Properly
1 Dr J. O. F. Murray however writes in a letter: " I have in times past
taken 'that he should taste death ' as referring not to the Cross but to
a present activity of the ascended Lord, taMng the bitterness out of the
cup of death for everyone — as He did in the case of S. Stephen, Acts vii.
55. S. Paul suggests that He is present at every death bed (1 Th. iv. 14)
lulling to sleep ' them that are fallen asleep through Jesus.' This would
prepare the way for ii. 15, and xii. 4."

HEBREWS II. 9— ii 19
Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with
glory and honour, that by the grace of God he should
taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom 10
are all things, and through whom are all things, xin
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the 2 author
of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both n
1 Or, having brought a Or, captain
indeed this "crown" is not a kingly crown at all but an athlete's
wreath, cf. 2 Tim. ii. 5, iv. 8. But the usage of LXX perhaps
forbids our pressing that. The title " Christ " which belongs to His
exalted perfection is not added to the name of His manhood in
this place; it first appears at hi. 6; cf. the antithesis in xhi. 20 f.
Throughout this chapter the work of the Lord on earth is in view.
Only in the perf. partt. here and in v. 18 are glimpses of that
completed glory which will be the theme of later chapters. Intr.
n. 15, in. 7.
by the grace of God] A few mss. have "apart from" (choris)
instead of "by the grace of" (chariti). Textual authority may be
considered decisive against this, and it might seem to have arisen
from theological reflection, orthodox or docetic ; Godhead could not
taste death. Comparison with v. 7 f . makes one wonder whether
it was not due to recollection of the cry Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,
by which the evangelists mark the supreme moment of glory in
humihation. 10. it became him] So of Christ befitting us vii. 26, cf. Matt. iii.
15. Philo uses the word boldly, as here, of God the Father. Cf.
"it behoved," v. 17.
for whom... through whom] Cf. Rom. xi. 36; 1 Cor. viii. 6.
many sons] Not merely the Christ-sons of O.T. as in ch. i., but
all men as in Ps. viii. That follows from the obvious reference in
the aorist part, "having brought" (R.V. margin). Rutherford, in
his First Greek Syntax, says: "The use of the aorist participle to
denote an action anterior to that of the principal verb is a sense
acquired by it, and cannot be explained as other than a convention
sanctioned by its utility. Still there are no exceptions of any sort
to this convention, such exceptions as are" commonly recorded
being no exceptions." Here at any rate there is no need to dispute
that dictum; this part, refers back to "Thou crownedst him with
glory " : " having brought to glory as we have just heard."
author] margin "captain." Cf. xii. 2; Acts hi. 15; in the earlier
classical Greek of a prince; in LXX and later Greek of a leader or
author Aristotle calls Thales ' ' leader in this kind of philosophy . ' '
to make... perfect] The phrase "to fill or make perfect the hands "
is used in LXX of appointing a priest in Ex., Lev., Num., e.g.

zo HEBREWS II. ii— 13
he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of
one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
12 brethren, saying,
I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
In the midst of the 1 congregation will I sing thy praise.
13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again,
Behold, I and the children which God hath given me.
1 Or, church
Lev. iv. 5, where the Greek may be literally translated "The
Christ-priest with hands made perfect." The ritual association
may have suggested its use in N.T. where it is characteristic of
John as well as of Hebrews. But the author's habit of pressing the
root-significance of words best explains the varied force he gives
it. In each context "bringing to the destined perfection" is the
.idea. So in Jas. i. 25 "perfect law "is "a law that involves its own
end," the converse of what this ep. says of the Levitical law.
Philo, migr. Abr. 1. 457, has the same idea.
11. he that sanctifieth] Another Levitical word. The refrain of
the "Law of Holiness" (Lev. xvii. — xxvi.), "Be ye holy for I the
Lord your God am holy," shews how deeply moral feeling entered
into Israel's ritual. Jesus, whose forerunners speak in the next
series of quotations, is "he that sanctifieth": "they that are
sanctified" are the "many sons," i.e. mankind, cf. John i. 9. The
tense of the partt. serves this large faith; contrast x. 10, xii. 14,
and note the emphatic "all": Intr. in. 18.
of one] completes "for whom... through whom," cf. Luke iii. 38.
But Bruce, borrowing the phrase though not the judgement of
Davidson, suggests "of one piece, one whole." But cf. also the
Greek gnome, "one race of God and men," Pind. Nem. vi. and
Adam's development of the thought1. Add Acts xvii. 28 ; 2 Pet. i. 4.
he is not ashamed] Of God in xi. 16. Here the condescension, or
cheerful humility of Jesus the Son is declared by putting into His
mouth three verses of O.T. in which representative personages call
those whom they save by suffering (Ps. xxii. 22), or train as
disciples (Is. viii. 17 1), "brothers" and "children," and confess
themselves to be like them dependent upon God.
13. I will put my trust] An emphatic periphrasis in the
Greek ("I will be one whose trust is settled"). The striking phrase
perhaps led to the choice of the quotation.
Behold, I, &c] Cf. Odes of Solomon xxxi. "He lifted up His
voice to the Most High, and offered to Him the sons that were with
Him2." 1 "The doctrine of the divine origin of the soul from Pindar to Plato,"
Cambridge Praelections.
! Rendel Harris, The Odes and Psalms of Solomon, p. 129.

HEBREWS II. 14, 15 21
Since then the children are sharers in * flesh and blood, 14
he also himself in like manner partook of the same ; that
through death he 2 might bring to nought him that
3had the power of death, that is, the devil; and 2might 15
1 Gr. blood and flesh. 2 Or, may 3 Or, hath
14. flesh and blood] The physical constitution of man, as in
Matt. xvi. 17; 1 Cor. xv. 50; Gal. i. 16; Eph. vi. 12; Johni. 13. So
in Philo and Sirach xiv. 18. Not however in the Hebrew Bible
where "blood," as in all other places in this ep., signifies "life";
see Lev. xvii. 11 and Intr. m. 12. 13. The order of the words in
Greek "blood and flesh" is noted in R.V. margin. That order
suited the author's rythm. Intr. iv. 3.
him that had the power of death] The English versions might
remind us of Luke xii. 5, but the "power" or "authority" there
is God's; here the devil has "the empire" of death. There is some
thing vague and shadowy about the phrase. The author, who
nowhere else mentions the devil or evil spirits, would be in
sympathy with Dr Swete's view of "the personal or quasi-
personal 'Satan1,'" and with Jas. iv. 7, "Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you." Our Lord died, he says, to "do away with"
this lord of death; death itself, says S. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 26 (that
passage seems to be still in the author's mind). He holds firm to
our Lord's victory over the realm of evil, but does not define the
persons of its agents. Nor does our Lord in the synoptic gospels ;
He condescends to the popular language of the time, but with a
quiet correction of its grossness, which impresses the mind of the
reader more and more.- In those gospels the devil or Satan is
mentioned comparatively seldom, with reticent and perhaps
symbohcal solemnity2; it is the many evil spirits that are oftener
spoken of. In the Pauhne epp. of the captivity these spirits take
on a certain grandeur, so that it is not always easy to decide
whether powers of good or evil are meant; see Eph. ii. 2, iii. 10,
vi. 12; Col. i. 13, 16, ii. 10, 15. In S. John's Gospel and 1 Ep. they
almost disappear, but " the devil" is freely and frankly introduced.
In LXX diabolos, "devil," is the rendering of satan —
adversary, and is used of a human adversary Ps. cix. (cviii.) 6,
and of that angel whose office it is to try the servants of God, Job i.
and ii. ; Zech. iii. 1 ff. Except possibly in 1 Chr. xxi. 1 this angel is
not a rebel or an evil one; and in 1 Chr. xxi. 1 the LXX translator,
prefixing no article, seems to have understood a human adversary
to be meant. Wisd. ii. 24 gives the first hint of the later explanation
of the serpent in Gen. iii. as being the devil. Rabbinical Judaism
was inclined to the ancient simplicity. "Satan and the evil
1 The Holy Spirit in the New Testament, p. 370.
2 See Sanday, The Life of Christ in recent research, pp. 28 ff.

22 HEBREWS II. 15—17
deliver all them who through fear of death were all their
16 lifetime subject to bondage. For verily not of angels doth
he take hold, but he taketh hold of the seed of Abraham.
17 Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be made like
unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faith-
impulse and the angel of death are one," said Simon ben Laqish
(c. 260 a.d.)1.
The marginal rendering (of the ambiguous Greek) "hath" is
perhaps better than "had." Our Lord has reduced the empire of
the devil to a shadowy impotence, but as often as we cease to be
"partakers of the Christ" (iii. 14) we rebuild its reality for our
selves: in that sense the devil still "hath" power.
15. deliver] The Greek verb is found only in Luke xii. 58,
Acts xix. 12 elsewhere in N.T., nor there in this sense or con
struction. With the thought of this clause cf. Rom. viii. 20 f. But
this "give quittance" is a less noble word than "set free" which
S. Paul uses there. Neither that word nor the Pauline "reconcile
ment of man with God" comes into this epistle ; A.V. is inaccurate
in v. 17 below.
all them who through fear, &c] Such a state is well illustrated by
the hymn of Hezekiah in Is. xxxviii., and by all that pagan
doctrine of Sheol which long hindered true religion in Israel. But
the author shews abundantly in ch. xi. that he does not consider
that to have been the real faith of O.T. saints. True faith, though
still expectant not fulfilled, could always rise above the imper
fections of its environment: see below on v. 1 f. That holds good
of the ancient pagan world as well as of Israel, but this ep. is
mainly concerned with Israel.
16. taketh hold of] The Old Latin adsumpsit or suscepit repre
sents the interpretation of the Fathers "who understand the
phrase of the fact of the Incarnation " — " when He took upon Him
man"; Westcott prefers the unclassical meaning "help," under
standing it "of the purpose of the Incarnation" — "to deliver
man." Is. xii. 8 f. seems to have been in the author's mind. But
he substituted another form of the compound verb for that in the
LXX, which does mean " helped " ; cf. Luke i. 54. The picturesque
expression is quite in his manner; it is faithfully translated by
vg. apprehendit; it has a broader significance than either of the
other translations allows; and the ironical phrase which is too
roughly rendered "verily" (a literary nicety not found elsewhere
in the Greek Bible) serves partly as an apology for its rather rude
vigour. "The seed of Abraham " instead of " men " was suggested
by the passage of Isaiah, but is in harmony with the whole ep cf
Matt. i. 2. r
1 See Box, Ezra-Apocalypse, p. xii.

HEBREWS II. 17, 18 23
ful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make pro
pitiation for the sins of the people. *For 2in that he 18
himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour
them that are tempted.
1 Or, For having been himself tempted in that wherein he hath
suffered 2 Or, wherein
17. high priest] The figurative title, derived from Ps. ex. which
rules throughout the ep. Here first pronounced, it has been pre
pared for, more or less subtly, in i. 3, 13, 14, ii. 9 — n; indeed
almost every word of this chapter has been pregnant with an
expectation which is now explained. The psalm has " priest." This
author often, not always, prefers the full-sounding "high priest."
In the Greek of his time the words were used indifferently.
in things pertaining to God] This has been well translated ' ' on
the Godward side." The same phrase is used in LXX of Ex. iv. 16
where the Lord tells Moses that Aaron shall be a mouth to him :
"and thou shalt be to him on the Godward side." Intr. in. 5, 9.
to make propitiation for] Elsewhere in N.T. only Luke xviii. 13 ;
see R.V. marg. Kindred Greek words are used in viii. 12, ix. 5 ;
Rom. hi. 25 ; 1 John ii. 2, iv. 10. In LXX a compound form is more
frequent, and often represents Hebrew kipper, e.g. Lev. xvii. 11.
Both Heb. and Gk. verb can take ace. of person in sense of
"conciliate," e.g. Gen. xxxii. 20 (Jacob and Esau). But in the
Hebrew scriptures this construction is never applied to God ; God
reconciles man to himself, man does not appease or propitiate God
in the true theology of Israel. Intr. in. 11.
the people] The doctrine of priesthood in this ep. starts from the
analogy of the Levitical priesthood though its reality is found in
another fine. This is one of the terms of the analogy; the word
employed denotes especially the people of Israel, see antithesis in
Luke ii. 32.
18. being tempted. . .that are tempted] In N.T. " temptation " has
an intense meaning which springs from the great trial that shall
precede the coming of the kingdom of God, cf . Apoc. hi. 10. In the
Lord's Prayer, "Lead us not into temptation" is tinged with that
thought, cf. Luke xxii. 40, 46. The first readers of this ep. were
entering upon a trial of just that nature. The Lord was " coming" ;
loyalty involved a hard choice, which might mean martyrdom;
Intr. in. 19. For the significance of the present tenses in this verse
see Intr. hi. 18 and 21.
Ch. III. 1 — 6. Jesus is Christ, the Son.
That is what the humihation of the Lord Jesus really means.
Wherefore, ye brothers in a consecrated life, partakers hke Him in
a summons to heavenly exaltation through the trials of earth,

24 HEBREWS III. i, 2
3 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly
railing, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our
2 confession, even Jesus; who was faithful to him that
penetrate into the heart of Him whom God sent on such a mission
and made High Priest of the creed which you are destined to
confess courageously. We name Him Jesus, man among men,
faithful with manly faithfulness to God who appointed Him His
task. So, Scripture says, was Moses faithful in God's family. But
His faithfulness has richer consequences. For He stands before us
endued with a glory more abundant than Moses had, the glory of
kinship with the founder of the family himself. I mean God, and
I mean a larger family than Moses knew as God's; Israel was God's
family indeed, but God's true family is everywhere- And further,
if it was in that universal family that Moses served, still he was but
the servant ; when God called him faithful, that was but a guarantee
that he would faithfully make known to the people what God
purposed to tell him; while God's Christ (even the Christ-kings of
Israel's monarchy) was to be styled "Son," and the son, as
founder's kin, is in authority over the family. That family, ruled
by the supreme Christ, are we, if we resolve to hold fast the
boldness and the boast of the hope with which such a divine
pedigree invests us.
1. holy brethren, partakers] take up thoughts already thrown
out in i. 9, ii. n f., 17. So too "consider" answers to "behold"
ii. 9. It is still Jesus, the man, on whom attention is fixed; not till
v. 5 are the two lines of ch. i. (the divine Son) and ch. ii. (the
fellow-man) brought together in the title Christ. The reading
"Christ Jesus" (A.V.) here has no place in any type of ancient
text. the Apostle and High Priest] As effluence of the divine glory, as
proclaimer and leader of salvation He was "sent." Cf. Gal. iv. 4,
but more especially John xvii. 3. The idea is characteristic of John,
Gospel and 1 Ep. In 1 John iv. 10, "sent his Son to be the pro
pitiation," it is combined, as here, with the sacerdotal analogy.
In Paul the word "apostle" has generally a more technical ring.
Here it has a larger sense as in John xiii. 16: so also in that place
in the synoptic gospels where it is used for thefirst time, Mark hi.
14 (KB and R.V. marg.); Luke vi. 13; contrast Matt. x. 2. Cf.
Clem. xlii. " the apostles received the good tidings for us from the
Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ was sent forth from God."
our confession] Twice again in the ep. iv. 14, x. 23 ; in a more
general sense 2 Cor. ix. 13; in 1 Tim. vi. 12 f. of the brave con
fession of faith which, after the example of Christ, a churchman
ready for martyrdom makes. That passagehelps us to understand
both confession and calling here.
2. The reference in this and the following verses is to Num. xii.
where Moses is vindicated by God against the complaint of Miriam

HEBREWS III. 2—6 25
1 appointed him, as also was Moses in all 2his house. For 3
he hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
by so much as he that 3 built the house hath more honour
than the house. For every house is 3builded by some 4
one; but he that 3 built all things is God. And Moses 5
indeed was faithful in all 2his house as a servant, for a
testimony of those things which were afterwards to be
spoken; but Christ as a son, over 2his house; whose house 6
are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying
1 Gr. made. 2 That is, God's house. See Num. xii. 7.
3 Or, established
and Aaron. Moses is no mere prophet to whom God makes himself
known in vision and dream; "with him will I speak mouth to
mouth": the fut. "will I speak" explains "those things which
were afterwards to be spoken" below. But "servant" gets an
emphasis in LXX by repetition; Moses is intimate with God, yet
still a servant. Cf. Philo, Leg. All. in. 128: " God only is faithful,
God and any one who is a friend to God, even as Moses is said to
have been faithful in all the house." In Wisd. x. 16 Moses is called
"servant of the Lord" and Lightfoot says (on Clem, iv.) that in
ecclesiastical literature '"the servant of God' was a recognised
title of Moses, as 'the friend of God' was of Abraham."
appointed] or as in margin "made," i.e. 'imade him Apostle and
High Priest." This is obvious and natural; "created," absolutely,
would — apart from the question of orthodoxy — bring a super
fluous thought into the context.
4. but he that built (or established) all things is God] Cf. i. 2,
God made all things through the Son. This is not a declaration of
the divinity of Jesus as creator, but a step in the argument for His
divinity as Son.
6. but Christ as a son] Another step in the same argument.
"Christ" in N.T., but especially in this ep., hnks the history of
Israel with the gospel, the adoption of the people of God with the
incarnation of the Son. Here as in v. 5 the title looks backwards
and forwards ; Moses was not one of those Christs who were of old
called "sons," Jesus is the Christ in whom that Sonship is per
fected. whose house are we] The house throughout this passage is a
house of persons, a family. Cf. Abbott1. "These things reveal the
object of Jesus as being, from the first, not the establishment of
what men would commonly call a Kingdom, but the diffusion of
what we should rather call the atmosphere of a Family, a spiritual
emanation spreading like a widening circle from a source within
Himself as a centre, and passing into the hearts of all that were
1 The fourfold Gospel, section in. The Proclamation, pref.

26 HEBREWS III. 6, 7
7 of our hope firm unto the end. Wherefore, even as the
Holy Ghost saith,
fitted to receive it, so as to give them something of His own power
or 'authority' — a term defined in the Prologue of the Fourth
Gospel as being 'authority to become children of God.'" This
quotation helps us also to appreciate the paradox (a favourite one
in S. Paul) of Christian boasting: "the glorying" or rather "boast
of our hope." In the late text followed by A.V. this paradox is
smoothed away.
firm unto the end] omitted in p13B. The phrase is unnecessary
here and (in the Greek) grammatically awkward. In v. 14 it is
otherwise, and it would gain force there by coming freshly.
Chs. III. 7 — IV. 2. Therefore listen to the call.
Loyalty and hope is the tradition in God's family. Therefore,
as the Holy Spirit saith in Scripture, "To-day if ye shall hear
his voice, harden not your hearts as in the Provocation after the
manner of the day of the Temptation in the wilderness; in which
wilderness your fathers became God-tempters in the time of his
assay, 'when,' saith God, 'they saw my works full forty years.'"
"Wherefore," Hecontinueth, " I was wroth with that generation and
said, ' Ever do they wander in heart, they are the people that know
not my ways. As I sware in my anger; certainly they shall not
enter into my rest.' " Look to it, brothers, that there be not in any
one of you an evil heart of mistrust, manifesting itself in apostasy
from God who lives ; bflt encourage one another from day to day
while still the call "To-day" is sounding; that no one of you be
hardened by the speciousness of that sin which fills our thought
at this time. There is ground for encouragement, for partakers in
the fellowship of the Christ-nation we long have been, and still
shall be, if we will but hold fast the principle of its foundation
firmly to the end ; the while it is still said, " To-day, if ye shall hear
His voice, harden not your hearts as in the Provocation." For who
were they that heard and provoked ? Why, were they not all those
who came out of Egypt, under the leadership of Moses ? And with
whom was He wroth full forty years? Was it not with those who
sinned, whose limbs, saith Scripture, fell in the wilderness? And
to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but
to those who refused to trust Him ? Indeed we plainly see that the
reason they could not enter was just that — mistrust. Let us
therefore fear, lest while the promise of entering into His rest
survives though they perished, any one of your number shall be
found (a thing scarce credible) to have deserted your post. Your
post, I say, for we too have now heard that same good tidings of
rest which they did, though the sense of what they heard was no
use to them — those unhappy men whom we still remember as lost
from the company of -the true hearers who have been welded into
one body by faith.

HEBREWS III. 7—13 27
To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, 8
Like as in the day of the temptation in the wilderness,
1 Wherewith your fathers tempted me by proving me, 9
And saw my works forty years.
Wherefore I was displeased with this generation, 10
And said, They do alway err in their heart :
But they did not know my ways;
As I sware in my wrath, 1 1
2They shall not enter into my rest.
Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one 12
of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the
living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long 13
as it is called To-day; lest any one of you be hardened
1 Or, Where 2 Gr. // they shall enter.
7. as the Holy Ghost saith] So x. 15, cf. ix. 8; Intr. in. 29. The
quotation is from Ps. xcv. in which the psalmist's invitation to
worship passes into warning; then, at "where your fathers
tempted" the voice Of God himself breaks in. The author follows
LXX, though not agreeing exactly with any one known MS., and
perhaps adapting at his own will. Thus "wherefore" is probably
his own addition. He divides the sentence where the "first
person" begins, and so lays emphasis upon the conclusion. This
brings the "forty years" into connexion with the "tempting" or
"trying," and comparison with Deut. viii. 2 f. suggests that
"proving" means the proof to which God put the Israelites
(notice the italics in R.V.) during the whole period of their
wandering; for the metaphor cf. Sir. vi. 21; 1 Pet. i. 7.
11. If they shall enter (R.V. marg.)] A strong negative, as often
in LXX (cf. Mark viii. 12). It represents a Hebrew idiom, an
aposiopesis frequent in oaths.
12. an evil heart of unbelief] The force of "unbelief" or "faith
lessness" here may be felt by comparing 2 Tim. ii. 13, "if we are
faithless, he abideth faithful." But pistis, "faith," with its
cognates, gradually reveals its definite significance in this ep. as
the argument develops.
in falling away from the living God] Cf . 1 Tim. iv. 1 for the verb,
and contrast it for the noun. The phrase "living God," frequent in
N.T. and nearly always (in the true text) without article, is used
with special emphasis in this ep., cf. ix. 14, x. 31, xii. 22. To readers
brought up in Judaism it would imply the essential energy of
Godhead, cf. Matt. xvi. 16, xxvi. 63. To Grecized ears the epithet
"true" might mean more, cf. 1 Thess. i. 9; 1 John v. 20. In ix. 14
a later text betrays itself by adding "and true."

28 HEBREWS III. 13—16
14 by the deceitfulness of sin : for we are become partakers
xof Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence
15 firm unto the end: while it is said,
To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not
1 Or, with
13. by the deceitfulness of sin] If that is all the author meant
there is a slight irregularity in the Greek construction which
surprises us in so correct a writer. "By the sin's deceitfulness"
might represent this in Enghsh, and it may be supposed that he
intended to mark thus unusually the definite character of the sin.
He means some particular sin to which his friends were immediately
liable, cf. xii. 1, 4.
14. partakers of Christ] In i. 9 ( =Ps. xiv.) this Greek had the
same meaning as in Luke v. 7. Here it is used as in iii. 1, vi. 4,
xii. 8, participes Christi, Lat. Nor is there any difficulty in this if
the O.T. idea of "the inclusive Christ" be remembered: "par
takers of the Christ" would be a more faithful and intelligible
rendering. Intr. 111. 18.
the beginning of our confidence] The word hypostasis ( = substance
or foundation) is used here as in xi. 1. As "foundation" it may
mean "'firmness" of character or resolution. It is so used in
2 Cor. ix. 4, xi. 17, and it is a natural extension of the word into
metaphor. But the author's habit is to press the literal sense, and
if the idea expressed in the last note be just we may suppose him
here to be referring, in quasi-philosophical phrase, to the principle
of Christship founded upon which his readers had started upon
their spiritual course, cf. vi. 1. The vg. with its initium substanliae
eius might seem to support this explanation. Westcott quotes
Primasius: "The beginning of substance he calls Christ's faith,
through which we subsist and have been born again, because it is
the foundation of all virtues. And right well does he call it
substance, because as body subsists and is vivified by soul, so soul
by faith subsists in God and fives by this faith. And faith is called
Christ's substance either because it is given by him, or because he
certainly does live through faith in the hearts of the faithful." He
had xi. 1 in mind, and it may be noticed that one MS gives " faith "
here instead of hypostasis.
15. while it is said... provocation] Either a complete sentence
in itself with apodosis at "harden not" (A.V.) ; or a continuation
of the last sentence (R.V.) ; or it might be printed with a dash after
" provocation," the form of the warning being rhetorically altered
at "for who...?"
16. For who...?] A.V. "For some" was no doubt influenced by
vg. quidam enim. The Greek pronouns only differ by an accent.

HEBREWS III. 16— IV. 2

29

all they that came out of Egypt by Moses? And with 17
whom was he displeased forty years? was it not with them
that sinned, whose 1 carcases fell in the wilderness? And 18
to whom sware he that they should not enter into his
rest, but to them that were disobedient? And we see 19
that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.
Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left 4
of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to
have come short of it. For indeed we have had 2good 2
tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word
of hearing did not profit them, because 3they were not
1 Gr. limbs. 2 Or, a gospel
3 Some ancient authorities read it was.
The unaccented "some" does sometimes stand at the beginning
of the sentence, but rarely, and here the position would be too
emphatic and the series of rhetorical questions would be broken.
The idiomatic "but" (R.V. "nay") misled the old Latin translators
from whom quidam of vg. is derived. For the historical fact see
Num. xiv. 28 — 35 (to which there is verbal allusion in next verse),
xxvi. 64; Deut. ii. 14.
IV. 1. a promise] This word, which in Acts xxiii. 21 bears the
more classical sense of "announcement," is often used by Paul of
the promises made to Israel. In LXX it is used of God's promise or
announcement in Ps. Iv. (lvi.) 9; Amos ix. 6, which latter (half)
verse might almost serve as a motto to this ep. : "who buildeth his
ascent unto the heaven and foundeth his promise upon the earth."
2. have had good tidings preached] By the time the heading to
Mark was written evangelion, "the Evangel," had come to mean
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ." But when our Lord proclaimed
" the gospel of the kingdom," or spoke of " losing life for my sake
and the gospel," He was, like the author of this ep., carrying on
the idea of the "good tidings" already declared to Israel. The use
of the verb in Is. xl. — Ixvi. especially prepared the way for N.T.
Seels, xl.9, hi. 7(andRom.x. I5),lx. 6,lxi. 1 (andLukeiv. i8f.).
the word oj hearing] Cf. 1 Thess. ii. 13 ; Rom. x. 16 f. ; Gal. iii. 2, 5.
The Greek phrase here is a little different and almost looks like an
improvement upon Paul's vague " Hebraism." It is not " the word
heard" but " the sense of what was heard " ; cf. LXX of Ez. xii. 23,
"the days have arrived and the meaning of every vision."
because they were not united by faith with them that heard]
" Because-they-were-united " is one word, a perf. part., in Greek.
By the omission of one letter it becomes " because-it-was-not-
united," as A. V. reads. Both readings havegood ancient attestation.

30 HEBREWS IV. 2, 3
3 united by faith with them that heard. xFor we which
1 Some ancient authorities read We therefore.
Since Westcott and Hort and the Revisers formed their texts,
their choice has been confirmed by accession of the papyrus p13 to
the group they followed. This may almost turn the scale,
especially if it can be demonstrated that the plural participle best
fits the context. It surely does. The author's mind is intensely set
upon the peril to his readers' loyalty. He looks back for illustrative
warning to Israel's history. He sees the disobedient Israehtes
standing as it were pictured before him; hence the perfect which
well describes those persons but would ill fit the abstract "word of
hearing" (cf. ii. 9, vii. 3, xii. 2, 23). But some (spite of v. 16)
did listen to that " gospel." Caleb did then (see reff . to Num. and
Deut. already given), and the Lord's disciples did afterwards
(cf. ii. 3) . With that company of faithful listeners the " generation "
whom Moses led out of Israel are not (not "were not") "very
members incorporated in the mystical body."
Ch. IV. 3 — 10. Rest is offered you,
For there is a rest into which we are entering even now, we who
have made the venture of faith, according to that He hath said,
"As I sware in my wrath, certainly they shall not enter into my
rest.". ..And yet. ..after the six days' work of creation was
finished. He hath said somewhere I think concerning the seventh
day words like these, " And God rested on the seventh day from all
his works.". ..And then in this psalm again, "Certainly they shall
not enter .into my rest."... What do these deep hints and dis
appointing contradictions mean? Why surely this: since the
fulfilment of the promise demands that certain persons should
enter, and since those who heard the good tidings in former days
did not enter because of then stubbornness, He now again defines
a particular day, saying " To-day" in the person of David after all
this long time; it is with prophetic significance that the pro
clamation comes to us, "To-day if ye shall hear his voice, harden
not your hearts." It comes to us; for if it had been "rest" that
their Jesus gave to them when he ied the second generation of the
wanderers into Canaan, the Holy Spirit would not be speaking in
the later period of the psalmist about another fateful day. There
remaineth therefore a divine rest for the people of God. For whoso
hath entered into that rest which God offers is witness to a bold
analogy. Such a one needs no more to choose and see. He has
found rest from the anxieties of effort, even as God, after what we
can only imagine as the six days' effort of creation, returned into
the tranquil energy of Godhead.
3. For] The margin gives "therefore," the reading of an
important group of mss. If "them that heard" refers (as is
supposed in the last note) to the Christian Church, "for" gives

HEBREWS IV. 3—7 31
have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath
said, As I sware in my wrath,
1They shall not enter into my rest:
although the works were finished from the foundation of
the world. For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day 4
on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all
his works; and in this place again, 5
xThey shall not enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter 6
thereinto, and they to whom 2 the good tidings were before
preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, he 7
again defineth a certain day, 3 saying in David, after so
long a time, To-day, as it hath been before said,
To-day if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts.
1 Gr. 7/ they shall enter. 2 Or, the gospel was
3 Or, To-day, saying in David, after so long a time, as it hath
been &-c.
much the best sense. Without p13 the authorities would be too
strong on either side to allow that consideration to be decisive.
Again the accession of p13 to the first group turns the scale. In
the following phrase it is more than possible that A.V. "rest" is
better than R.V. "that rest." The small but strong group which
omits the Greek article allows us to recognise a certain subtlety in
our author's language; this is not "the rest" of the psalm in its
primary sense, but "a rest" which new experience reads into the
old words. Intr. iv. 2.
which have believed] Is this technical, "who have become
Christians," cf. Rom. xiii. 11? or quite general, the antithesis to
"because of unbelief," iii. 19? Or may we compare xiii. 21 and
understand that deep conversion which is peace indeed, already
enjoyed by the author, who, because he desires it for his friends,
writes them this earnest letter?
although] The construction of this sentence is not quite in our
author's manner and it yields a rather dim sense. If, with p13
only, we might omit "for" before "he hath said," all would be
clear. The particle would have the meaning "and yet" or "and
further" which it has sometimes in classical Greek and possibly
in Acts xiv. 17: see paraphrase above.
7. in David] More like "in the prophets," i. 1, than Rom. ix.
25, xi. 2. But the stress is on the Holy Spirit who speaks (hi. 7),
not on the tradition of human authorship. "To-day" may be

32 HEBREWS IV. 8— n
8 For if xJoshua had given them rest, he would not have
9 spoken afterward of another day. There remaineth there-
io fore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is
entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his
u works, as God did from his. Let us therefore give
1 Gr. Jesus.
second accusative after "defineth." Then "saying" would intro
duce the repeated quotation, and "as it hath been before said"
would refer back to hi. 7, 15. That is a legitimate rendering of
the Greek, though it is not certain (in spite of R.V.) that this verb
is so used elsewhere in N.T. A strong group of authorities read the
active instead of passive perfect, and instead of "defineth" the
Old Latin renders that verb " defineth beforehand." Reading and
rendering seem to point to a deeper significance in this return
upon the already repeated quotation. The psalm is now recognised
as prophetic of a further future which is pressing to fulfilment
while this letter is being written: "again he defines beforehand...
saying To-day... even as he has foretold."
8. For if Joshua] Cf. xi. 15 f. but the Greek is "Jesus" as in
margin and in A.V., and the explanation "Joshua" rather spoils
the point. Very likely this name " Jesus," as sometimes " Christ"
in this ep., sounds confusing to ears accustomed to the English
Bible. But to readers of LXX there would be no doubt about the
reference to "Jesus the son of Naue" who brought Israel into
Canaan; to converts from Judaism that Jesus would be the old
familiar name. The coincidence enriches old and new with inter
change of associations; the emphatic position of "them" in the
Greek helps to keep the distinction clear; presently, in v. 14, it
will be strikingly asserted.
9. a sabbath rest] A noun (found also in Plutarch, not in LXX)
formed from the Hebrew sabat, which is translated "rested" in
Gen. ii. 2 quoted above. Wetstein quotes passages from rabbinical
writings in which the sabbath is a type of " the age to come which
is all sabbath and rest unto life eternal"; cf. Abelard's hymn,
" O quanta qualia sunt ilia sabbata Quae semper celebrat superna
curia." But our author knows a sabbath rest which may be
enjoyed here and now; the aorists in v. 10 are neither "gnomic"
nor "post futurum"; they spring from experience, cf. xhi. 21.
11 — 13. Be zealous and sincere.
Zealous therefore let us be to enter into that rest, in order that
no one of us may chance to fall, involved in that same ruin which
is the type of all resistance to God's purpose. For the Word of
God, wherever heard, is His reason and is alive. Practical it is,
and cuts both ways, for comfort and for judgement, more sharply
than any two-edged sword; and penetrates to that inmost centre

HEBREWS IV. ii— 13 33
diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall x after ¦
the same example of disobedience. For the word of God 12
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 thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no 13
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. 1 Or, into Gr. in.
of our being where the immaterial and material elements combine
to form a person; and analyses the prudent calculations and the
quick intuitions of the heart. No corner of our nature is obscure
to Him, but all is naked and exposed before His eyes, to whom the
reasonable conscience He himself has planted in us must give
answer. 11. that no man. ..of disobedience] Notice the emphatic final
genitive, as in v. 8 supra and x. 20. In such a vigorously composed
clause it would be rash to deny that the strange expression " fall
into a type or example" (see margin) is possible. But it would
be strange, and "fall" is weightier if taken absolutely;, cf. "fell
away," vi. 6. The Greek hypodigm ("example") is "a sign
suggestive of anything " (viii. 5, ix. 23), and so may signify a crime
or horror which is a world's wonder, cf. 2 Pet. ii. 6.
12. For the word of God is living. Sec] This explains the fresh
interpretation which has just been put upon the written word of
the psalm. But so much in the following paragraph resembles
what Philo says of the " logos " in a wider sense, that it is necessary
to recognise something of the larger sense here also. The predicate
"living" makes this possible. The written word is no mere fixed
letter; it is the means of conversation — a "reasonable service"—
with the hving and still speaking God. Intr. in. 30.
sword] Cf . Luke ii. 35, " Yea and a sword shall pierce through
thine own soul ; that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed " ;
a saying which really illustrates this passage, with its keen analysis
of conscience, more vividly than the more intellectual parallels in
Philo: see Intr. in. 32. But in Luke the word for "sword" is a
" great sword," elsewhere in N.T. only in Apoc. The word used here
may have its general N.T. meaning " sword," as in xi. 34, 37, or its
more proper meaning "knife," and the grim realism of the whole
simile may be drawn from fighting, or from the butcher-work of
sacrifice, or possibly from surgery. Cf. note on vi. 19.
13. laid open] The choice between these alternatives might
be decided if we could recover the primary meaning.of this word,
but that is not easy. Philo uses a compound* of trie saime werb
HEBREWS

34 HEBREWS IV. 14
14 Having then a great high priest, who hath passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
(de proem, p. 413) of an athlete "thrown" or perhaps "doubled
backwards" by superior strength. Theodoret says the metaphor
is from victims in sacrifice. Hesychius, the (late) Alexandrine
lexicographer, says the meaning is " made manifest." So the Latin
and Syriac versions. The general idea may be illustrated by a
passage in Dr H. F. Hamilton's book, The People of God, vol. 1.:
"What causes Isaiah's apprehension is the very vividness of his
consciousness, the nakedness with which he sees his soul contrasted
against another Personality. If death is sometimes apprehended
because consciousness is felt to be dying out, in this case death is
apprehended because consciousness is passing the bounds of life in
the opposite direction. It is becoming so acute and so intense,...
that the prophet feels that soul and body are on the point of being
torn asunder."
with whom we have to do] Windisch translates ' ' of whom we
speak," comparing Philo and Wisd. vi. 9. Westcott, " to whom we
have to give account." The hteral translation is "Towards whom
for us is the word." Having no equivalent in English to the Greek
logos with its complex associations we can hardly express the
effect, which nevertheless we feel, ol its emphatic position at the
beginning and end of the sentence.
14 — 16. The compassionate High Priest.
Having then a High Priest who is supreme above all others, and
has passed right onward beyond all our imaginations of heaven,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us be loyal in our allegiance to One who
is so great yet so kind. For we have not such a High Priest as
cannot be touched with the passionate trouble of our infirmities.
He has gone through every kind of temptation that men are
subject to; He has been as liable to fall as other men; but through
all He has kept innocence. Trusting therefore in His real victory
over sin, let us draw near with boldness to the throne of God's
grace, that we may receive the royal boon of God's pity, and find
His Fatherly countenance turned graciously upon us, for rescue in
each time of need.
14. Having then] The particle may mean " therefore," marking
logical consequence as in v. 16; or " then," indicating resumption
of argument after digression as in x. 19.
a great high priest] Philo twice has "the great high priest."
In 1 Mace. xiii. 42 the phrase marks a turning-point in Jewish
history: cf. x. 21, xiii. 20.. Here the argument begins to rise from
mere analogy to the doctrine of real priesthood.
who hathpassed through the heavens] Cf. 2 Cor. xii. 2, "caught up
evento the third heaven." But the compound part, is the emphatic
word. All that we call " heaven " has been passed through and left

HEBREWS IV. 14—16 35
fast our confession. For we have not a high priest that 15
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but
one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin. Let us therefore draw near with boldness 16
behind. The real presence of God is reached. The plural certainly
need not be an allusion to the rabbinic idea of successive heavens.
The Hebrew word is a dual form. Yet the sing., uranos, is the
regular rendering in LXX. The plural is common in Psalms and is
found in passages which have a grand ring — poetry, prayer, &c.
In this ep. the sing, is only used in ix. 24, xi. 12, xii. 26. The
distinction is illustrated in the Lord's Prayer. The opening is
solemn, "Our Father which art in the heavens"; the antithesis is
simple, "as in heaven, also on earth."
15. be touched with the feeling of] Transliterated this word is
sympathise. It is used of God in 4 Mace. v. 25; in N.T. only here
and x. 34; the adj. in 1 Pet. iii. 8. Both verb and adj. possess an
intensity which "compassion" and "sympathy" have lost in
English; cf. Luke xxiv. 26; Acts xxvi. 23; Intr. in. 14.
tempted... without sin] See quotation from DuBose, Intr. in. 15.
It may be asked whether our Lord was tempted or tried in all
points like all men, if, as the silence of the gospels perhaps implies
and ecclesiastical tradition almost asserts, He never suffered
sickness; and il that be so, whether He overcame disease in and
for man in the same way as He overcame sin1. It is certainly the
will of God that the evil of sickness should be overcome as much
as the evil of slavery or ignorance. And perhaps the true succession
of the miracles of healing is the advance of science. It seems
reasonable as well as reverent to recognise a discipline of sickness ;
we cannot think of a discipline of sin. This ep. would seem to
promise real freedom for man from sin, not from suffering.
16. Let us. ..draw near] A sacerdotal word, Lev. xxi. 1 7 — 23; cf.
Ez. xliv. 9 — 16; it is used in 1 Pet. ii. 4, never in Paul except,
somewhat strangely, 1 Tim. vi. 3. And "the throne of grace"
makes one think of the mercy-seat where the Lord promised to
commune with Moses, Ex. xxv. 20 ff. Thus the new and living way
of x. 20 is here anticipated, and here as there "boldness" has a
special force. Philo has "the altar of mercy" (cf. Statius, Theb.
xii. 481 ff.), but the fine phrase of' the ep. is probably formed on
O.T. models; see especially Is. lxvi. 1. For "grace" see Hort on
1 Pet. i. 2, "It combines the force of two Hebrew words chen and
chesed...chen, a comprehensive word, gathering up all that may be
supposed to be expressed in the smile of a heavenly King looking
down upon His people (Num. vi. 25)... chesed, the coming down of
the Most High with help to the helpless (Ps. Ixxxv. 7)." Cf.
1 See a paper by the Rev, F. M. Downton in The Cowley Evangelist,
July, 1914; and cf. note on xii. 2.
3—2

36 HEBREWS IV. 16— V. i
unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and
may find grace to help us in time of need.
5 For every high priest, being taken from among men,
is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he
Culverwell on Ps. iv. 6, "The words are plainly put up in the form
of a petition to Heaven, for some smiles of love, for some pro
pitious and favourable glances, for God's gracious presence and
acceptance1." Both "grace" and "mercy" are found in LXX as
renderings of both chen and ckesed, and their combination, as in
this verse, is natural; cf. Wisd. iii. g, iv. 15; 1 Tim. i. 2; 2 Tim. i. 2.
to help... in time of need] A phrase modelled on LXX of Ps. ix. 10;
cf. Ps. x. 1.
Ch. V. 1 — 10. The priesthood of our High Priest fulfils the
UNIVERSAL RULE; CONSUMMATION THROUGH' INFIRMITY.
Yes, infirmity is characteristic of priesthood. For every high
priest of whatever religion is taken from among men, and on men's
behalf is established on the Godward side in order that he may,
like any ordinary worshipper, bring gifts and sacrifices before God
for rehef from sins. He is himself one of the people, no austere
saint in whom the passions of humanity are quenched, but one
who is able to bear gently with the ignorant and wandering just
because he, like them, is compassed about with infirmity, and
owes the debt of moral weakness, and while he offers for the people
must himself also make offering for sins. He has indeed a dis
tinctive office. And yet that is no prize of successful effort; he is
priest simply because God calls him.
So it was with Aaron. So also with the Lord's Anointed whose
priesthood is celebrated in the psalm. He did not glorify himself
in order to be made high priest. God called him; God who in one
psalm spoke of his sonship, in another assigned him priesthood;
"Thou art priest," He said, " after the order of Melchizedek." And
when this anointed Son manifested himself wholly, as Jesus Christ,
the same rule held. He, in the days of His earthly sojourning,
made offering of prayers and supplications, with a great cry and
with tears, to Him who was able to lead Him in salvation out of
the valley of death. In awful reverence He cried and at once was
heard. Then, Son though He was, He learned by the sufferings
appointed Him the obedience that might be achieved no other
way. At last, perfected by the death through which God conducted
Him, He became to all men who, obeying Him, share His obedience,
author of salvation that is eternal; being hailed by God in the
eternal sphere "High Priest," after the order of Melchizedek.
1. in things pertaining to God] See ii. 17 note.
that he may offer] This verb and its cognate noun are sacrificial
words in LXX. So is the slightly varied form of the verb (" offer
1 Campagnac, Cambridge Platonists, p. 263.

HEBREWS V. 1—5 37
may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins : who can bear 2
gently with the ignorant and erring, for that he himself
also is compassed with infirmity; and by reason thereof 3
is bound, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for
sins. And no man taketh the honour unto himself, but 4
when he is called of God, even as was Aaron. So Christ 5
also glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he
that spake unto him,
Thou art my Son,
This day have I begotten thee :

up ") which is used in vii. 27. In the LXX the first form is used of
the offerer bringing the victim to present before the altar, the
second of the priest offering up the selected portion upon the altar
(see Hammond, Liturgies Eastern and Western, pp. 376, 389). Both
sets of words are used in the Greek liturgies : the noun belonging
to the second verb, anaphora — which does not occur in N.T. — is
the title of the more solemn part of the service which begins with
"Lift up your hearts," and corresponds nearly with the "canon"
of the Latin mass.
for sins] With a person the prep, would mean "on behalf of." In
LXX the usual phrase is " concerning sin," which is often used as
a noun in itself even without the article = " sin-off ering " : so in
Ps. xl. quoted in ch. x. The phrase used here is rare in LXX: in
N.T. only in Hebrews, but cf . 1 Cor. xv. 3 ; Gal. i. 4. The colloca
tion in ix. 7 suggests the feeling of the phrase.
2. can bear gently with] "can reasonably bear with," A.V. mg.
Windisch quotes from Philo (Leg. All. in. p. 113), "Thou seest
how the perfect one always practises the perfectly passionless state.
But Aaron, who though he takes a second rank, yet at least goes
on improving, allows himself a moderate compassion; for as yet
he cannot quite tear out his heart and feeling." That "moderate
compassion" represents the very word which our author here
applies so differently.
the ignorant] In the Greek liturgies the priest prays that he
may offer "for his own sins and the ignorances of the people":
cf. ix. 7.
4. even as was Aaron] The paragraph is about high priests in
general and would really be plainer without this reference to Aaron.
The Greek word for " even as " is so strange that it was altered in
the later text. And now we find the papyrus p13 does omit the
clause. Intr. iv. 4.
5. Christ] Better " the Christ." The psalms about to be quoted
referred primarily to "Christs" of O.T. ; not till v. 7 is attention
concentrated upon the consummator of their Christhood.

38 HEBREWS V. 6- 9
6 as he saith also in another place,
Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers
and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him
that was able to save him1 from death, and having been
8 heard for his godly fear, though he was a Son, yet learned
9 obedience by the things which he suffered; and having
been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey
1 Or, out of
7. the days of his flesh] Cf. 2 Cor. v. 16; 1 Cor. xv. 50, and x. 20
below. unto him that was able] Cf. Mark xiv. 35 f., " if it were possible...
all things are possible unto thee." The whole passage seems to
allude to Gethsemane; hardly to the narrative as it stands in any
of our gospels. The clause which is doubtfully attested in Luke
xxii. 43 f. perhaps indicates considerable variety in the tradition
behind those gospels. The language has many affinities with the
Maccabean books, 2 Mace. xi. 6; 3 Mace. i. 11, 16, vi. 13 f.
to save... from death] margin "out of death," and so Syr. "to
quicken him from death"; vii. 16 and the whole idea of this ep.
justify such a paraphrase, though the everyday meaning of the
three Greek words would be "to save from dying."
having been heard for his godly fear] John Smith, the Cambridge
Platonist, said, "He was delivered from what he feared; for so the
words being nothing else but an Hebraism are to be rendered1,"
but there are no such Hebraisms in this ep. Pro sua reverentia is
the good translation of vg., well explained by Primasius, " Reverence
sometimes stands for love, sometimes for fear; here for the
supreme charity and supreme obedience of the Son of God."
8. learned... by the things which he suffered] Proverbial in Greek
from Hdt. to Philo, but the ace. "obedience" gives the phrase
distinction here.
In Ignatius "suffer" has almost, the same sense as in the creed,
"suffered and died." That sense is approached in ix. 26, xiii. 12;
Luke xxii. 15 ; Acts i. 3, xvii. 3. In 1 Pet. the verb is very frequent,
and generally illustrative of the idea that Christ's disciples are
made one with Him by suffering. The theology of 1 Pet. iv. 1
(cf. Rom. vi. 7) is near akin to that of our author/but less carefully
expressed: "Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm
ye yourselves also with the same mind, for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin."
1 Campagnac, p. 156.

HEBREWS V. 9, io 39
him the * author of eternal salvation ; named of God a high 10
priest after the order of Melchizedek.
1 Gr. cause.
9. the author of eternal salvation] A phrase twice found in Philo.
The Greek for " author" ("cause" in margin) is a more philosophi
cal term than that in ii. 10.
10. named] or "hailed." Cf. 1 Mace. xiv. 40, and Clem, xvn.,
a ch. which has other coincidences with the ep. The parts. " having
been made perfect" (catching here that shade of meaning which
it has in Wisd. iv. 13, "perfected by death") and "named" are
grammatically synchronous, both marking a moment just anterior
to "became." But the emphatic epithet "eternal" complicates
the symmetry. It might be said that "became" depends on
" made perfect " grammatically, philosophically on "named." For
"eternal" in this ep. is quasi-philosophical: cf. vi. 2, ix. 12, 14 f.,
xiii. 20. It mingles in conversational freedom ideas from O.T. and
¦ from the Alexandrine schools. In LXX aeon= Hebrew 'olam,
"age," and aeonian or "eternal" represents the same noun
modified by dependent words; it means in general "everlasting."
In Philo chronos is distinguished from aeon as the measurable
system of days, years, &c. which is but an image of the archetypal
aeon; for aeon is the hfe of the " intelligible " world and must be
sought among the immaterial things of the pure intellect (Quis
rerum div. p. 496, De mut. nom. p. 619). This is like Plato in
Timaeus, 37 d, e; time with its parts is an eternal image of the
eternity which has no parts or tenses. Only in calling the image
also ' ' eternal " Plato shews the difference between his true idealism
and the vulgar fancy of "two worlds " which most of his successors
indulged in (Intr. in. 32) ; moreover Plato is not speaking here
with philosophic strictness. He is dealing with the " eternal," not
with the " intelligible, " and only gives a poetic hint, in picturesque
terms, of " time untimed." Our author is nearer Plato than Philo
in this respect. He has not thought out the problem so far as
perhaps S. John did. But in his free artistic deepening of O.T.
phrases he does so use " eternal " that at each of its occurrences the
reader must pause, as though before the opening of a spiritual
vista which outshines the current thought. " Divine " would be no
rendering, but a suggestive substitution. After all the usage of
O.T., to a sympathetic reader, will seem different in degree, not
kind: see esp. Psalms, and Eccl. iii. 11 R.V. mg.
Chs. V. 11 — VI. 8. It is impossible to sink the difference
between Judaism and Christianity: return to the
simplicity of childhood would be unmanly betrayal
of our Lord.
Of Melchizedek our discourse might be much, and it would be
difficult to explain in sufficient argument what we mean by

40 HEBREWS V.
putting his priesthood in the same line as our Lord's, since of late
you have grown so lazy-eared. For just when you ought to be
commencing teachers, now that you have been so long in our
Christian school, you say that you yourselves have need of a
repetition of the old pre-Christian teaching as to what the very
elements of the earliest lessons in the oracles of God may mean.
You have come round again to this; you have need (such is your
iterated plaint) of the milk of simple religion, not of the strong
food of the controversy between the Churches. I play upon your
words as you do upon our .master Paul's. But I am anxious. For
any one who casts in his lot with that kind of simphcity, avoids
the discipline which produces a reasoned morality; he is in fact
a babe. And full-grown men do require the strong food ; the kind
of men, I mean, who by reason of habitual exercise have their
faculties in good training, so that they can discern in a crisis
between the noble course and the base.
Wherefore let us leave behind the simple theme of the mere
origins of Messianic doctrine, and let us be borne onward by the
tide of duty to the consummation of that doctrine in thought and
action. Let us not be laying over again a foundation for the
conventional religious hfe of renouncing the works of the devil
and of faith towards God; the foundation which consists of
teaching about ceremonial washings, and imposition of hands,
about the resurrection of the dead, and judgement at the eternal
assize. And indeed we are to go forward, if, as I surely believe,
God will presently commission us for a time of trial.
It is a critical hour. For as to your plan of shirking responsibility
by retiring into the Church of your fathers, that is in the very
nature of things impossible. Your eyes have been opened once
for all to the truth; you know the taste of the gracious gift that
comes from heaven; you have become members of the body which
the Holy Spirit vivifies; you have tasted the excellence of God's
promise; you have anticipated its fulfilment in the age that is to
come when our Lord comes as Christ triumphant, for you already
experience the spiritual powers that issue therefrom. That is
Christianity; not an academic problem, but a profound spiritual
experience, a gift received, a loyalty to be rendered. If you fall
away from this, it is impossible to start you again fair and fresh
in the recovered simplicity of childhood's mind, while by the very
act of this fresh start you are crucifying the Son of God — not being
" crucified with Christ," but crucifying Him for your pleasure and
putting Him to open shame by the renunciation of allegiance
which your new hfe will daily proclaim.
Take a parable from Genesis to enforce my warning. The
ground that (in the time of man's innocency) drinks the rain which
comes often upon it and brings forth herb meet for those for whose
sake it is also, by God's ordinance, tilled, partakes of the blessing
of the whole creation. But when (after the mortal change) it
produces thorns and thistles, it is reprobate and nigh the fulfil-

HEBREWS V. ii— VI. i 41
Of 1whom we have many things to say, and hard of n
interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing. For 12
when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye
have need again 2that some one teach you the rudiments
of the 3 first principles of the oracles of God; and are
become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food.
For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience 1 3
of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But solid 14
food is for 4fullgrown men, even those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
Wherefore let us 5 cease to speak of the first principles 6
of Christ, and press on unto 6 perfection; not laying again
a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
1 Or, which
2 Or, that one teach you which be the rudiments
3 Gr. beginning. ' Or, perfect
5 Gr. leave the word of the beginning of Christ.
6 Or, full growth
ment of the curse which God pronounced, and its destiny is to be
cleansed of its weeds by fire.
11. Of whom, &c] Cf. Dion. Hal. De comp. viii., "concerning
which things speech is abundant and speculation deep." These
four verses are more than usually tinged with the literary flavour
of the period, but beneath the surface they are biblical. S. Paul
had written about "rudiments," Gal. iv 3 (where see Lightfoot's
note), and 9, Col. ii. 8, 20, and about "feeding babes with milk,"
1 Cor. iii. 1 f. ; cf. 1 Pet. ii. 2. The author gives a half playful turn
to words which he and his friends knew well (cf. xhi. 25). Then in
the next paragraph this friendly intimacy passes into the severity
of anxious love.
12. that some one teach] So W.H. But most ancient authority is
for teach you which be (marg.) . It is again as in iii. 17 the ambiguity
of indefinite or interrogative pronoun. Greek ears could perhaps
catch the rythm better than ours, the bare, active inf. is untrans
latable but idiomatic, "which be the rudiments" has a touch of
lively irony, "some one" is a mannerism already repeated to
satiety, and on the whole it seems better to read the interrogative
with A. V., and probably (among the ancients) Euthahus.
VI. 1. the first principles of Christ] The hteral translation of
margin "the word of the beginning of Christ," better "of the
Christ," makes the meaning plainer. See paraphrase and
Intr. in. 18 and 28, and note on i. 5. That knowledge of "the
Christ" is signified which Judaism learned from O.T.
dead works] Elsewhere in N.T. this word for "dead" is used

42 HEBREWS VI. i, 2
2 toward God, 2of the teaching of 2 baptisms, and of laying
on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of
1 Some ancient authorities read, even the teaching of.
2 Or, washings
only of persons, except Rom. vii. 8, viii. 10, and Jas. ii. 17—26,
where it is predicate to "sin," "body," " faith." Tertulhan felt the
personal sense so strongly that he translated here "works of dead
men." The metaphor is bold, "deeds which belong to that realm
of death" spoken of in ii. 15. There is probably no thought of
Paul's "works of merit."
2. of the teaching] But the reading of the margin " even the
teaching" has strong attestation and, making a certain ecclesi
astical system the foundation of repentance and faith, suits one
interpretation of the passage very well. With the genitive, the
foundation is not defined; "laying foundation" is but an orna
mental phrase for starting upon repentance, faith, doctrine of
washings, &c.
It will be noticed that all the elements of this foundation belong
to Judaism as much as to the Christian faith. They are the
"rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God " as held by
a Pharisee hke S. Paul or a Hellenistic Jew like S. Stephen before
their conversion to Christianity. The plural "washings" (see
margin) occurs again at ix. 10 of Jewish " washings" ; cf. Mark vii.
4, 8; Lev. xiv. 7 1, xvi. 4, 24, 26, 28, &C.1 For " laying on of hands"
cf. Acts vi. 6, viii. 17, ix. 17, xiii. 3, xix. 6, xxviii. 8; 1 Tim. iv. 14;
2 Tim. i. 6; also Lev. i. 4, &c, xvi. 21; Num. xxvu. 18. For
"resurrection " and " eternal judgement " cf. Acts xxui. 6, xxiv. 15,
25 ; Dan. xii. 2 f . ; 2 Mace, vii., and the teaching of our Lord in the
gospels. Of course the last three doctrines were inherited by the
Christian Church. That can hardly be said of the (plural)
"washings," and this phrase seems to make it plain that "the
foundation of repentance and faith" which the readers of the ep.
propose to lay again would be, should they carry out their proposal,
a return to the Jewish Church. This they think an abandonment
of useless controversy, a simple and sufficient basis of noble hfe
and true faith in God. Their friend answers that their purpose is
an "impossible" (v. 4) one. They would be abandoning not useless
theological controversy, but their Lord himself to whom (whatever
they think of the doctrine of His Person) they have given allegiance.
Their new start in the simple faith of their fathers would be an act
of gross dishonour; it would not be a new start at all, but a base
desertion. The idea is in the very nature of things impossible.
Intr. in. 1 — 3, 20.
1 For the "baptism" of proselytes, &c, see Box and Oesterley, The
Religion and Worship of the Synagogue, ch. xiii.

HEBREWS VI. 2—6 43
eternal judgement. And this will we do, if God permit. 3
For as touching those who were once enlightened *and 4
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, and 2 tasted the good word of God, and 5
the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is 6
impossible to renew them again unto repentance; 3 seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
1 Or, having both tasted of. ..and being made. ..and having tasted
&c. 2 Or, tasted the word of God that it is good 3 Or, the while
3. if God permit] Perhaps " commission" rather than "permit."
The nature of the commission may be inferred from x. 25, xii. 4,
xhi. 3.
4. enlightened] In eccl. writers this verb and its noun mean the
illumination of baptism. This passage and x. 32 perhaps lead up
to that technical usage. For the tense cf. Rom. xiii. 11. The
following phrases carry on the description of the manifold
character of "the new hfe." They are tersely suggestive and lose
their pregnancy by detailed explanation. A few parallels will shew
how church tradition lies behind the whole passage: "heavenly
gift," 2 Cor. ix. 15; 2 Pet. i. 3, 4; "the good word of God," or
better "how good is the word of God" (margin), 1 Pet. i. 24 f. ;
"the power of. the age to come," Luke i. 17, v. 17; 1 Cor. v. 4;
Gal. hi. 5. For "partakers of the Holy Ghost" it is unnecessary to
quote. It is taken for granted throughout Acts and epistles that
the Christian hfe is new hfe springing from the Holy Spirit, the
life-giver. But the form of the phrase indicates rather strikingly
one characteristic of this thought as N.T. holds it. In F. D.
Maurice's words, " The Spirit dwells in the Body, and in each of its
members as such, and not in individuals. The Spirit in an individual
is a fearful contradiction," Life, 1. p. 209. For absence of art.
before " Holy Ghost" in the Greek see Intr. in. 29, iv. 1, but here
the style of the context would be sufficient explanation.
5. the powers of the age to come] In Tertullian's copy what might
be a full hne in a papyrus roll had dropped out, and he translated
the resulting words with dark grandeur occidente iam aevo, "at
the sunset of the world." Intr. 11. 3.
6. renew. ..again. ..crucify. ..afresh] The usual N.T. word for
" crucify " means in classical Greek " make a palisade." This writer
prefers classical language and therefore uses the proper compound
verb: cf. xii. 28 note. Intr. iv. 1. Neither verb carries the meaning
"again" in itself. What is implied may be seen by comparing
Gal. ii. 19, iv. 19; when one entered the Christian family he shared
the crucifixion of his Lord and so found the Lord's life his own. If
these disciples desert Christ they are enacting the crucifixion in

44 HEBREWS VI. 6—10
7 him to an open shame. For the land which hath drunk
the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs
meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth
8 blessing from God: but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it
is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be
burned.
9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that ^accompany salvation, though we thus
10 speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
1 Or, are near to
another manner, declaring their fellowship with the crucifiers
instead of with the Crucified. For "put to open shame," literally
"make <* paradigm of," cf. iv. n with Gal. hi. 1; Matt. x. 33;
Mark ix. 39; Luke xii. 9; 1 Cor. xii. 3, and Matt. i. 19.
7 f . An analogy in confirmation of what has been said, drawn
from Scripture; cf. Gen. i. 11 1, iii. 17 f.
Ch. VI. 9 — 12. You are diligent in charity; be zealous
ALSO IN THEOLOGY.
But we have really no doubt about you, my very dear friends;
you are certainly destined for those grander efforts which lay fast
hold of salvation, even though we do speak thus. For God is not
a taskmaster, too austere to care for equity. He does not forget
your work and the love of which you gave proof in the service you
devoted to the honour of His name. You ministered in former
days to His covenanted saints, in whom the ancient communion
in His name is continued and renewed. You are still ministering
to them. And God whose memory is effective love will not let you
break away from our loving fellowship. But we set our heart on
your doing something further. We would have each one of you
continue to prove the same zeal in another line of service; i.e. in
expanding, deepening and assuring our common hope till at last,
matured, it passes into fulfilment. That is the impulse which we
desire to save you from treating with lazy indifference, and so to
make you imitators of your companions in the faith who through
loyal trust in God and a steady enduring spirit are entering upon
the inheritance of the ancient promises in all their modern com
plexity. 9. accompany (margin are near to) salvation] Hdt. often uses
this construction as periphrasis, e.g. =" dream-matter." But the
object "salvation" rather recalls such personal usage as in Eur. fr.
Ino, "lay hold of a noble hope": cf. xii. 5.
10. not unrighteous] Cf. God's "righteousness" in O T eg
Ps. ciii. 17. ' " 's'

HEBREWS VI. io— 12 45
the love which ye shewed toward his name, in that ye
ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we n
desire that each one of you may shew the same diligence
unto the 1 fulness of hope even to the end: that ye be not 12
sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and
patience inherit the promises.
1 Or, full assurance
the love] Most mss., but hardly one of weight, prefix " labour of"
(from 1 Thess. i. 3).
the saints] ="the Christians," but in this ep. only so here and
xhi. 24 (cf. iii. 1). This is the regular use in Paul. Lightfoot, on
Phil. i. 1, explains it as " a term transferred from the old dispensa
tion to the new"; Israel had been chosen by God as His " holy ' ' or
' ' saintly people ' ' ; the Israelites were called in LXX " the saints ' ' ;
now the Christian Church takes over the title; the main idea is
"consecration." Perhaps it may be added that in his two earliest
epp., to the Thessalonians, Paul uses the word in a rather different
sense of the "holy ones" who shall accompany the Christ at His
advent, 1 Thess. hi. 13; 2 Thess. i. 10. Is it possible that this
apocalyptic colour always affects his application of the term ? Cf .
below, x. 25, xii. 14, and 1 Cor. vi. 1 f.
11. eachone] Cf. "any one," hi. 12 f.,iv. 1, 11. It is correlative
to the affectionate " beloved " frequent in Paul ; the writer is very
anxious for his friends and "calleth them all by their names."
fulness] Cf. x. 22; 1 Thess. i. 5; Luke i. 1; Col. ii. 2, where
Lightfoot says that "full assurance" seems to be the meaning of
this substantive wherever it occurs in N.T. (sc margin and A.V.) .
Elsewhere only in ecclesiastical writers, e.g. Clem, xlii., "with full
assurance of the Holy Spirit."
12. inherit] as in i. 14. Abraham "found" the promise (-15);
he did not " carry home the harvest " (x. 36, xi. 39). Thatremained
for those who "in the end of these days" are entering into the
various labours of their predecessors (John iv. 37). The word was
suggested to the author by the quotation he is about to make (14)
from Gen. xxii. 17, where the sentence continues, "and thy seed
shall inherit."
13 — 20. The oath of God, and the anchor of hope.
The promises are ancient, and they are a real ground for hope.
For it was to Abraham that God made promise. And since He had
no greater person to swear by. He sware (we read) by Himself,
saying " Surely, with great blessing will I bless thee, and with great
abundance will I multiply thee." And that was how Abraham,
after spirited endurance, met with his promise An encouragement
to us as well as to him. For when mere men swear, they swear by
some one who is greater than themselves, and however hot their

46 HEBREWS VI. 13—16
13 For when God made promise to Abraham, since he
14 could swear by none greater, he sware by himself, saying,
Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
15 multiply thee. And thus, having patiently endured, he
16 obtained the promise. For men swear by the greater : and
dispute, it is brought to a close and the agreement is decisively
fixed by an oath. And so it was by oath that God, deliberately
purposing to demonstrate with excessive clearness to the future
heirs of the promise made to Abraham the unalterable firmness of
His plan, took the position of an umpire between himself and
Abraham. He bound himself by an oath sworn by His own person,
in order that, through two unalterable sanctions — the oath He
sware. and His own Divinity that He sware by — we may have
strong encouragement. We were the final cause, we who have now
fled for refuge from the storm of this troubled world to seize the
hope thus long ago held forth to us. That hope we are attached to
as an anchor to which we may entrust the keeping of more than
physical hfe; an anchor soundly forged and firm in its hold. Such
an anchor as it drops into the mysterious deep and bites the ground
is a symbol of the high priest's entry into the presence of God
behind the sanctuary veil. And indeed One has entered into that
presence as a forerunner of our own entry to do priestly service
there for us, namely Jesus. He entered at the moment of His death,
having in that moment become "High Priest," "after the order
of Melchizedek," "eternally."
he sware by himself] Philo (Legg. All. in. p. 127) presses the
argument from the phrase of LXX in the same manner.
14. Surely] An oath-formula not unfrequentin LXX and with
slightly different spelling quite classical; in N.T. the quotation
here,is the only instance.
blessing I will bless] A common mode of representing an emphatic
Hebrew idiom which throws the stress on the root idea of the verb ;
so A.V. and R.V. in Luke xxii. 15, where A.V. mg. is less good.
Moulton calls it "possible, but unidiomatic Greek1."
15. he obtained] The part, attached here, and the context in'
xi. 33, shew that this word implies boldness in accepting a promise
of which the fulfilment is hidden in the future. It means properly
to fall in with on the way; cf. Thomas Aquinas' prayer, "Concede
mihi dilectum filium tuum, quern nunc velatum in via suscipere
propono, revelata tandem facie perpetuo contemplari. " "Grant
that thy beloved Son, whom I now prepare to receive veiled on
the way, may at last with unveiled face be mine to contemplate
continually." A Christian gem in Brit. Mus. has a fish and anchor
with the imperative of this verb as motto 2.
1 Grammar of New Testament Greek, p 76, Clark, 1906.
2 Westcott, Religious Thought in the West, p. 307.

HEBREWS VI. 16—19 47
in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
Wherein God, being minded to shew more abundantly 17
unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his
counsel, * interposed with an oath : that by two immutable iS
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 before us; which we have as an 19
anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and
1 Gr. mediated.
18. in which it is impossible for God to lie] Num. xxiii. 19;
1 Sam. xv. 29; the name "God" stands in Greek emphatically at
the end of the clause. Cf. xiii. 16, Clem, xxvii. "nothing is im
possible with God except to he."
19. the soul] psyche, which in iv. 12 seems to signify one of
the physical elements in man's constitution, his living power as
distinguished from (what is intimately connected therewith) his
pneuma or breath. Yet even there the physical analysis is an
illustration of the keener analysis of conscience by God's Word.
Here "soul" evidently has a higher meaning in itself. The fol
lowing extract from Coleridge1 explains this meaning : " Life is the
one universal soul, which, by virtue of the enhvening Breath and
the informing Word, all organised bodies have in common, each
after its kind. This, therefore, all animals possess, and man as an
animal. But, in addition to this, God transfused into man a higher
gift, and specially inbreathed: — even a living (that is, self-
subsisting) soul, a soul having its hfe in itself. And man became a
living soul. He did not merely possess it, he became it. It was his
proper being, his truest self, the man in the man." Coleridge
perhaps refines too subtly upon the Hebrew idiom of Gen. ii. 7.
But he has caught the main feehngof theO.T., viz. that the natural
and spiritual are one : and natural life has moral and so eternal life
folded up within it. One writer of O.T. questioned the sharp
division between the "soul" of man and the "hfe" of brutes,
Eccl. iii. 21 R.V. Perhaps that writer's real thought went deeper
than his cynical expression of it. And perhaps there is just a hint
in our author of sympathy with his question. In x. 34, xii. 3, he
seems to recognise that a man's "very self" is a deeper reahty
than even his "soul." Hort's notes on the word in 1 Pet. i. 9, 22,
ii. n, should be read2.
1 Aids to Reflection, Introd. Aphorisms, ix.
2 Cf. also Wallace, Lectures and Essays, pp. 131 f., 204. App. A of
Edwards' English-Greek Lexicon gives briefly the classical usage. And very
instructive is Burnet's Socratic doctrine of the Soul (Milford for the British
Academy, 1916), in which the high Platonic idea of soul, as that true hfe
which a man ought most to care for, is proved to have been originated by
Socrates,

48 HEBREWS VI. 19— VII. 3
20 entering into that which is within the veil; whither as a
forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most
High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter
2 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 King of Salem,
3 which is, King of peace; without father, without mother,
entering into] i.e. the anchor, to which the hope, according to a
common metaphor of Greek writers of every period, is compared.
To break the metaphor at this point and apply the participle
merely to the hope is tame. And the harshness is lessened when
"entering into that which is within the veil" is recognised as all
but a quotation from the well-known account of the day of atone
ment in Lev. xvi. This quotation is introduced in order to bring
the argument back to Melchizedek and priesthood. The general
picture is one of three noticeable ones with which the ep. is
punctuated, cf. xii. 1 f., xiii. ii f. The faithful are likened to the
crew of the ship which has run to port from the storm. The anchor,
dropped into the mysterious deep, already holds the ground. The
captain has gone ashore, and the crew await orders to follow him.
The imagery is only touched in with a stroke or two. But the
point is that the submerged bottom which the anchor holds is
continuous with the shore. So in ix. 4 the altar of incense "belongs
to" the Holy of holies, in xii. 22 the readers have "come to" the
heavenly Sion; all this is "near to salvation," vi. 9.
Ch. VII. 1 — 3. Melchizedek the type.
Melchizedek; for now I am going to talk about him after all.
See him, as he appears in that mysterious chapter of Genesis-
king of Salem, priest of God Most High; who met Abraham as he
was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him- to
whom also Abraham gave as portion a full tithe of all the spoil: 
he being first by the interpretation of his name King of righteous
ness, and then also being entitled King of Salem, which is King of
peace; one to whom no father, mother or descent is assigned; one
who has neither beginning of days nor end of life in the history; 
we behold in short a picture drawn after the likeness of that Son
of God whom antiquity faintly discerned, and whose true features
we have learned to-day from those who saw the Lord and bv our
own communion with Him: — this Melchizedek abides a. priest
continuously. *
For Melchizedek see Gen. xiv. and for the meaning of " Driest
hood after the order of Melchizedek" see Intr. in, i<£ *

HEBREWS VII. 3, 4 49
without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor
end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth
a priest continually.
Now consider how great this man was, unto whom 4
Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the chief
3. without genealogy] Gen. says nothing about Melchizedek's
father, mother or descent; none could declare his "generation,"
cf. Is. liii. 8 (LXX).
made like unto] a word used of statues or pictures that
"resemble" their original. Melchizedek is hke our Lord, not our
Lord hke him.
continually] x. 1, 12, 14. The author uses this phrase when he
wishes to express the simple idea of time. It is frequent in Greek
inscriptions. In x. 12, 14 our version gives "for ever" as its
equivalent: contrast x. 1. This is misleading as "for ever" else
where represents "unto the aeon" and stands for something more
than duration of time: cf. note on v. 9.
4  10. A GREATER PRIEST THAN LEVI.
Look at him. What a large figure he stands there ; one to whom
Abraham gave tithe of the choicest spoils, Abraham the first
father of our holy race. It is true that those who, being of the sons
of Levi, receive the legal office of the priesthood, are authorised to
tithe the people of God according to the Mosaic Law, that is their
own brothers ; the family of Abraham is quite accustomed to being
tithed by their own kin. But here is one who does not count his
ancestry from the sons of Levi, and he has exacted tithe from
Abraham, and upon the holder of the divine promises himself he
has pronounced blessing. Now there is no dispute at all about the
principle. Less receives blessing from greater. And while in our
nation mere men, dying one after the other in the course of nature,
take tithes, in that ancient mystery it is a far greater Person who
takes them, One who, according to the witness of Scripture,
absolutely lives. Indeed we may almost venture to reduce it all
to the matter-of-fact assertion that through Abraham Levi also
the tithe-taker has been tithed, for as Levi had not yet been born,
he was still part of Abraham his ancestor when that meeting with
Melchizedek took place.
4. how great] Rather " how large," cf. Gal. vi. 1 1, or " how old."
There seems no parallel in Greek hterature for the meaning "how
great in character." And the word here translated "consider"
(different from hi. 1) is probably used as in Luke and Acts of
hteral "seeing," not as in John. This is one of the author's bold,
vivid phases = "what a big one." The "apodeictic" "this man"
adds to the effect.
the patriarch] Here in this title which closes it in the Greek is
HEBREWS 4

5o HEBREWS VII. 4—1°
S 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,
6 though these have come but of the loins of Abraham : but
he whose genealogy is not counted from them hath taken
tithes of Abraham, and hath blessed him that hath the
7 promises. But without any dispute the less is blessed of
8 the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but
9 there one, 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.
the true emphasis of the sentence, cf. xi. 17. The "even" of A.V.
comes from a somewhat inferior group of mss. and suggests a false
emphasis. The commas of R.V. do good service here. A reader,
attending to them, would produce the same effect as the Greek
does by its order. For "patriarch" cf. Acts ii. 29, vii. 8, and 4
Mace. vii. 19, xvi. 25, an Alexandrine work which "approaches
nearer than any other book of the Greek Bible to the models of
Hellenic philosophy and rhetoric" (Swete).
8. of whom it is witnessed] The grandeur of this undefined part.
is more easily expressed in the Latin versions than in Enghsh;
R.V. "one" suggests "one man" in the context, and hardly
improves upon A.V.
9. so to say] Here R.V. is not satisfactory. Not "as it were"
but "one might almost say" is the meaning of this Greek idiom.
11 — 25. The moral necessity for the Levitical
priesthood to pass away.
So then Levi is demonstrated less than Melchizedek. And now
let us come somewhat nearer to reality in considering why our
Lord should be priest after the order of Melchizedek, not of
Levi. The real reason is the failure of the Levitical priesthood to
achieve what priesthood is meant to achieve. For if the Levitical
priesthood had achieved that, what need would there still have
been for a psalmist to prophesy that after the order of Melchizedek
a quite different priest should arise, and so be reckoned not after
the order of Aaron ? We see from the book of Leviticus that the
whole law for Israel rests upon the institution of Aaronic priest
hood. The psalmist's word is therefore a bold one. It is the sacred
law of Moses that he is daring to repeal, for the law goes with
the priesthood. He speaks boldly and therefore with as deep a
significance as may be conceived. And so I do not scruple to

HEBREWS VII. 51
believe that he spoke prophetically of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
contemplated an astonishing break with ancestral faith and custom
in these days of ours. For He towards whom this oracle is directed
is a member of a different tribe from Levi, and of His tribe no one
has ever paid any attention to the service of the altar. That is
plain, for every one knows that it is from Judah that our Lord is
sprung, and Moses never said a word about priests with reference
to the tribe of Judah.
And to come back from contemporary fact to scriptural
inference, the setting aside of the merely instituted priesthood of
Aaron is even more plainly commended, if the oracle be true, and
if after a real, moral likeness to Melchizedek there is to arise a
priest of so different a character that he has entered upon his
office, not according to law, which (for all its divine sanction) is
nothing but a material system of authority, but according to the
ever freshly operating power of life which passes indissolubly
through death. For that is what the witness of Genesis as completed
by the psalmist means — "Thou art a priest eternally after the
order of Melchizedek." It means first indeed that an ordinance
we have received from the church of our fathers is being set aside
to-day, because it has proved weak and useless ; for the Law has
really accomphshed nothing of that priestly mediation for which
it was designed. But more important is this; a stronger kind of
hope is being brought forward in its place, through the trans
forming power of which we are in these days of change and trial
actually entering into the presence of God.
And there is also that matter of the oath. Whatever divine
sanction there may have been for the Levitical priesthood, the
sons of Aaron have become priests without an oath from God to
establish them, but this priest received his priesthood with the
giving of an oath by God through the psalmist who brought God's
word to him — "The Lord sware, and will not repent; Thou art
priest eternally." This oath implies covenant, and makes a great
difference. Our Priest has become surety for a covenant, and a
greater covenant than even Abraham knew. And what this
suretyship means we remember when we call Him Jesus, the man
who suffered for us.
And yet another point. Those priests have been appointed one
after the other in considerable numbers. They had to be, for they
were always prevented by death from lasting out. the office which
itself survived them. But our Priest "abides" "eternally"; and
so the priesthood which He holds can never be passed on to
another. Hence He is able to save, and that ail-completely, those
who from generation to generation draw near through His priestly
aid to God ; seeing that at all times He is living to do in the reality
of the eternal sphere all that the analogy of priesthood indicates
for a priest to do after he has offered his sacrifice. This He does
uninterruptedly on their behalf.

52 HEBREWS VII. n— 18
it Now if there was perfection through the Levitical
priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law),
what further need was there that another priest should
arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be reckoned
12 after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being
changed, there is made of necessity a change also xof the
13 law. For he of whom these things are said 2belongeth to
another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance
14 at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung
out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing
15 concerning priests. And what we say is yet more abundantly
evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there ariseth
16 another priest, who hath been made, not after the law
of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an
17 3 endless life: for it is witnessed of him,
Thou art a priest for ever
After the order of Melchizedek.
18 For there is a disannulUng of a foregoing commandment
1 Or, of law 2 Gr. hath partaken of. See ch. ii. 14.
3 Gr. indissoluble.
11. perfection] Cf. ii. 10, vi. 27, ix. 12, x. 19 — 22, xii. 28 f., xhi.
13 f. Windisch quotes Testament of Levi xviii. 1 L, " and aftertheir
visitation from the Lord the priesthood shall fail, and then the
Lord will raise up a new priest to whom all the words of the Lord
will be revealed," and viii. 14, "and a king shall arise from Judah
and he shall make a new priesthood." He thinks this clause
(viii. 14) a Christian interpolation; Charles thinks it proves a
Maccabean date.
13. hath given attendance at] R.V. notices the perf. tense which
A.V. misses. But the rendering of both is a little confused. It
seems to follow the Latin versions with a kind of allusion to the
¦common, and regular LXX meaning of the verb "pay attention to."
14. our Lord] Cf. ii. 3. The familiar title goes naturally with
"it is evident," "obvious, as a historical fact"; contrast the
slightly different word in the next verse which implies "evident
by inference, logically."
16. endless] Cf. 4 Mace. x. n, " endless torments," but the idea
here, is far deeper. It is part of the whole conception of death
revealed by the cross as a mysterious act of one indissoluble (marg.)
hfe, which conception is characteristic of this ep. Like "soul,"
"life" is a physical term with sacramental extension: John i. 4.
18. a disannulling, &c] How bold this declaration is, may be
seen from Lev. xxix. 9, " and priesthood shall be theirs for ever."

HEBREWS VII. 18—25 53
because of its weakness and unprofitableness (for the law 19
made nothing perfect), and a bringing in thereupon of a
better hope, through which we draw nigh unto God. And 20
inasmuch as it is not without the taking of an oath (for 21
they indeed have been made priests without an oath ; but
he with an oath * by him that saith 2of him,
The Lord sware and will not repent himself,
Thou art a priest for ever) ;
by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better 22
3 covenant. And they indeed have been made priests many 23
in number, because that by death they are hindered from
continuing: but he, because he abideth for ever, 4hath his 24
priesthood 5 unchangeable. Wherefore also he is able to 25
save 6to the uttermost them that draw near unto God
through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. 1 Or, through 2 Or, unto 3 Or, testament
* Or, hath a priesthood that doth not pass to another
5 Or, inviolable 6 Gr. completely.
21. after the order of Melchizedek] was added from v. 17 at an
early stage, but the authorities against it are decisive. It is otiose
and muffles the crash of the argument.
22. a better covenant] "Covenant," diatheke in LXX, berith
Hebrew, is an idea which fills O.T. What has already been said
about Abraham and the Law (12) imphes it, cf. Gen. xv. 18;
Ex. xxiv. 7. The word itself is introduced here to prepare for fuller
treatment in the next two chapters. That here, at any rate, it is
used in the O.T. sense, is proved by the addition of "surety," for
neither a "testament" nor an "agreement" in Greek law
required a surety. The word for "surety" is ordinary Greek:
" mediator" (only once in LXX, Job ix. 33, though the thought is
found in Deut. v. 5) is found in Philo and late Greek as well as in
N.T. In this ep. it is used only of Christ, viii. 6, ix. 15, xii, 24;
elsewhere 1 Tim. ii. 5 of Christ, Gal. hi. 19 f. of Moses. Here it
might have caused confusion, coming so soon after vi. 17, and
"surety" has a more affectionate ring, cf. Sir. xxix. 15, "Forget
not the good offices of thy surety; for he hath given his life for
thee." It gives a hint of the reason for "better" which will be
shewn in full presently.
25. to make intercession] Perhaps suggested by Rom. viii. 26 f.,
where the Spirit, and 34, where Christ "maketh intercession." In
Romans vg. has postulat, here the celebrated phrase semper vivens
ad interpettandum pro eis.

54 HEBREWS VII. 26, 27
26 For such a high priest became us, holy, guileless,
undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than
27 the heavens ; who needeth not daily, like those high priests;
to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the
26 — 28. Our High Priest, eternal, Son of God.
A long argument, but now you have the heart of it. For such
a High Priest as my last words describe is the High Priest for
whom we were always waiting. He is God's loving saint, doing no
ill, pure from the least stain, now quite removed from the
hindrance that sinful men could cause to His perfect work, and
hfted high above the highest symbols that we know. He is One
who hath no need (as the high priests on earth have) to multiply
sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and then for those
of the people. Nothing less than that effective two-fold offering
did He make once for all when He offered up Himself, visibly on
the cross, eternally in heaven. Once for all; for there is the
difference. The law of Moses, literal and fixed, appoints mortal
men to be priests, with an inherent weakness, that repeatedly saps
their priesthood. The hving reason with which God swears His
oath of appointment after the discipline of law has failed, exalts
a Son, "eternally," for the consummation of His filial work.
26. became us] An interesting but not really authoritative group
of mss. prefixes " even." This is attractive yet after all it weakens
the sense. It is indeed a startling assertion that such a High Priest
"became" us, cf. ii. 10, Ps. Ixiv. (Ixv.) 1; but the sublime de
scription of this High Priest, and the paradox of His priestly
offering, are what the author would chiefly desire to be noticed.
holy] A different word from iii. 1. It comes often in Psalms for
chasid, in English versions "saint." The chasidim were the little
band who stood with Judas Maccabaeus as martyrs for the faith.
This ep. is an encouragement, xii. 4 f., xiii. 22, to just that kind of
martyrdom, and a hke spirit breathes through the Psalter. But
the word had a tender and beautiful sense of its own before it
received that associated splendour. Cheyne translates, "the man
of love," God's "duteous loving ones"; for chasid is connected
with chesed " lovingkindness, " the special attribute of God in
Hosea1. The epithets that follow may be illustrated from Philo's
allegorisings of high priesthood, but the terse language of the ep.
touches the heart as Philo does not. The author is thinking of One
who had really lived on earth as man. In "separated from
sinners" he does indeed pass to the exalted state of this High
Priest, cf. ix. 28, xii. 2, but it is still the manhood that is exalted,
and carries our affection with it. Intr. in. 7
1 The Book of Psalms, or the praises of Israel, pp. 9, 29, 141.

HEBREWS VII. 27, 28 55
sins of the people : for this he did once for all, when he
offered up himself. For the law appointeth men high 28
priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath, which
was after the law, appointeth a Son, perfected for ever
more. 27. when he offered up] A noticeable group of mss. have simply
"offered." If the distinction noticed on v. 1 be true, this would
seem to refer to the death on the cross, wherein our Lord, before
becoming High Priest, gave Himself to be the victim, whereas " to
offer up," just before, refers to His function as High Priest in
heaven. But textual authority is not in favour of the verbal
distinction, and the idea itseh cannot be analysed with so mechanical
a logic. The sacrifice on the cross is sacramental: earth and heaven,
now and after, are not twain and separated; they stand to one
another as outward visible sign to inward spiritual reality.
Intr. in. 8, 32.
More important it is to notice that "this" implies all that
follows "needeth not." The sacrifice needs no repetition, but when
the Lord offered it, He offered " for his own sins " as well as for the
people's. In what sense that should be understood may be
gathered from ix. 28; 1 Pet. ii. 21 — 24 (a passage which also
explains "guileless, undefiled") ; Gal. iii. 13. The N.T. doctrine is
deeper than "vicarious suffering." Intr. m. 15.
28. the word of the oath] Rather " the divine reason with which
God sware" than "His commanding utterance " or " our argument
about the oath-giving." This vigorous conclusion brings us face
to face at last with the practical earnestness of the author. Philo
and Leviticus, whose fashion and speech he has partly followed in
the preceding paragraphs, only reach the threshold of his house of
thought. Ch. VIII. 1 — 13. The New Covenant.
Here is the chmax of .the argument : our High Priest's work is
real, it is not limited by the terms of the analogy. Such a High
Priest as has been described we certainly have. When He was
enthroned in essential unity with the Godhead in heaven, He
entered on a priestly service which is no less essentially divine. It
belongs to the sanctuar j' and tabernacle of truth not of appearance ;
the tabernacle or tent, says Scripture, which the Lord pitched, not
man. For Scripture hallows this picture-language of analogy, and
as every high priest is appointed for the offering of gifts and
sacrifices, we say of our High Priest too that it was necessary for
Him to have a " sacrifice" to " offer." Now if He had remained on
earth to exercise His priesthood, He would not have been a priest
at all. There was no room among the regular priests with their.
traditional ceremonial for His quite different action to be counted

56 HEBREWS VIII. I
8 *Now 2in the things which we are saying the chief point
is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the
1 Or, Now to sum up what we are saying: We have &-c.
2 Gr. upon.
a sacrifice. (I do not mean that those priests have nothing to do
with heavenly things, but it is only in a shadowy imitation of the
spiritual realities that they perform their unreal ritual. Imitation ;
that is the gist of the oracle announced to Moses when he was to
inaugurate the ceremonial of the tabernacle. See, says the divine
voice, that thou do everything in imitation of the pattern shewn
to thee in the mount.) But our High Priest has succeeded to an
office different in kind from theirs. Indeed the analogy as applied
to Him gets its peculiar distinction by reason of the covenant
which it implies. {The covenant which our High Priest establishes
between God and man is a better one than that which Moses
mediated. It is a covenant that has, on the basis of larger
promises, become the gospel law. Scripture justifies our calling it
"better." For if no fault could have been found with the Mosaic
covenant, there would be no looking for a second to take its place.
But we see just such a searching of faith in one who was — in a
time of trial like the • present — carried beyond the external
guarantees of religion. For there is a divine oracle in the book of
Jeremiah which does find fault with people, and says,
Behold days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will bring My
sacred relationship towards the separated houses of Israel and
Judah to completion in a new covenant. It shall go deeper than
the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when 1
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For,
according to the divine sanction of that covenant, as they did not
abide by My good purpose toward them, so I ceased to be careful
on their behalf. For this is the covenant which I will grant to the
house of united Israel, now that those days have passed away;
again establishing it with My "thus saith the Lord." I will give
them an affectionate understanding of My laws, and upon their
hearts will I write them. So, with mutual trust, I renew the
essential bond between us: "I will be to them God, they shall be
to me My people." Brothers and fellow-citizens as they shall now
be, they will not have to teach one another, saying. Know the
Lord! For they shall all know Me in their own consciences, young
and old, the great men and the simple alike. For with mercy will
I now meet the ingratitude of their offences, and their sins will I
never remember any more.
A new covenant ! The first He declares outworn. That which is
wearing out and growing old is nigh unto vanishing away.
1. the chief point] Capitulum lat. verss. =the capital point; if
an argument is well knit its capital point is also the "sum" of it

HEBREWS VIII. 1—4 57
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
a minister of * the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, 2
which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest 3
is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: wherefore
it is necessary that this high priest also have somewhat to
offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest 4
at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according
1 Or, holy things
(see margin). Here the capital point is that the High Priest of the
Christian faith has entered the real presence of God; His work is
a spiritual reality. The author stiff expresses this by visible
imagery, taken from Scripture, and as it were etherealised by a few
touches; cf. Ps. ex. as in i. 3, Ex. xxix. 30, and Num. xxiv. 6. For
"true" the antithesis of "made with hands" cf. ix. 24.
the sanctuary] A neuter plural of the adj. "holy" in Greek.
Hence the alternative in marg. "holy things"; cf. note on x. 1.
2. the true tabernacle, &c] There is a verbal reference here to
Num. xxiv. 6, but the underlying thought is of Ex. xxiv. 18 —
xxv. 40. And by the epithet "true" the author colours the
simplicity of the Hebrew story of the pattern on the mount with a
philosophic tinge. As in ix. 24 we seem to catch a glimpse of
Plato's "intelligible" world. The epithet applies also to "the
sanctuary." The great High Priest exercises His function in a
reality which transcends our images of thought. For "minister,"
i.e. "liturgic" minister, cf. i. 7; Rom. xiii. 6, xv. 16; Phil. ii. 25.
The word is used both of civil and of sacred officers; to ancient
thought all the service of the state was sacred and Godward. In
Rom. xv. 16 Paul associates the word with priestly phraseology,
in Phil. ii. 25 with civil.
4. Now] So the good mss., though the mass of mss. have "for."
The particle (elsewhere translated "therefore" or "then") is used
here in the "looser way to resume or continue."
To what point of time is the reference in " it is necessary, &c." ?
Are we to translate, "it is necessary... if he were. ..he would not
be" (so lat. verss. and R. and A.V.), or, "it was necessary... if he
had been. ..he would not have been"? The first might perhaps be
defended by vii. 25, and the tense of " to make propitiation," ii. 17,
as an allusion -f o continual intercession. But that would involve
a strange use of the verb "to offer" (cf. note on vii. 27), and if we
ask what the author meant by the "somewhat to offer," it is
difficult to answer otherwise than in the words of ix. 14. The
second translation must therefore be accepted, at least for " it was
necessary." The conditional clause is less definite; but its point is
that, but for His passing through death to the eternal sphere, the
spiritual priesthood of the Lord would have been impossible. So

58 HEBREWS VIII. 4—8
5 to the law; who serve that which is a copy and shadow of
the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God- when
he is about to 1make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he,
that thou make all things according to the pattern that
6 was shewed thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained
a ministry the more excellent, by how much also he is the
mediator of a better 2 covenant, which hath been enacted
7 upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been
faultless, then would no place have been sought for a
8 second. For finding fault with them, he saith,
1 Or, complete 2 Or, testament
here too the thought is carried back to the crucifixion. Thus the
question whether "seeing there are those who offer, &c. " proves the
ep. to have been written before the fall of Jerusalem becomes
superfluous. As far as the Greek construction is concerned either
rendering is possible. Westcott says indeed that "the tense of the
principal verb (' serve ' ) fixes the translation of the participle to the
present." But is "serve" the principal verb? It stands in a
relative clause introduced by a generalising "who" or "such
as." 5. shadow] Cf. Ps. cii. (ci.) 12, cix. (cviii.) 23, cxliv. (cxliii.) 4;
Eccl. vi. 12 (vii. r) ; Wisd. ii. 5, v. 9, in all of which LXX expresses
the idea of a vain thing passing away. So Col. ii. 17, and in this
ep. (cf. x. 1) "shadow" indicates the arbitrary, allegorical symbol,
as opposed to the " image itself," or real symbol which partakes of
the reality it symbolises. Intr. in. 8.
pattern] From LXX of Ex. xxv. 40. Philo (vit. Mos. 11. p. 146) in
his comment on the same passage makes "pattern" something
hke the Platonic "idea." Our author glances at that fancy (see
note on a. 2 supra), but after all lets the word rest in the simple
sense of "pattern," which was all the translator intended. He
changes the tense of LXX "was shewed" from perfect to aorist
because perfects, frequent as they are in the ep., are never
employed without a particular reason; cf. xi. 17, xii. 2, Intr. iv. 2.
6. ministry . . . covenant . . . enacted upon . . . promises] A striking
sequence, leading swiftly to the doctrine of the new covenant
which wiH be introduced at v. 8 by the quotation from Jeremiah.
"Enacted" or "laid down as law" is almost paradoxical like "a
different law. ..against the law of my mind," Rom. vii. 23, since
in vii. 16 supra we have been carried beyond "law."' Such
paradoxes may be reduced to order by reference to Jas. i. 25.
8. finding fault with them, he saith] Or perhaps " finding fault he
saith to them." This phrase of introduction is made as vague as
possible. The subject is best understood from iii. 7, iv. 7, but the

HEBREWS VIII. 8 59
tense of "saith" is the noticeable point. The inauguration of the
promised new covenant now, " at the end of these days," is in the
author's mind ; the original occasion of the prophecy is of secondary
importance to him.
Yet it is of some importance. He has chosen his quotation
carefully. It is from Jer. xxxi. (xxxviii.) 31 — 34. Whether those
critics are possibly right who think the passage does not come from
Jeremiah himself, hardly matters; inspiration, not authorship, is
what the writer of Hebrews cares about. And indeed it seems more
characteristic of Jeremiah than the prophecies of restoration which
immediately precede it. The material symbolism of those prophecies
is not what Jeremiah specially stands for in O.T. ; the daring
"heart-religion" of this place is. We are inclined to connect it
rather with the chapter that follows it, and to think of Jeremiah
imprisoned as a traitor, suspected as a free-thinker in religion,
certain of the speedy ruin of Jerusalem, and the abolition of all the
ancient institutions of the faith. In these straits he is hfted to
such a pure conception of spiritual and therefore "indissoluble"
communion with God, as might be considered the culmination of
O.T. prophecy. He calls this a "new covenant." But the terms of
the covenant are the same as they always have been and will be,
"I will be their God, and they shall be my people." It is new
because it shall now be written on the heart, instead of in law,
priesthood, monarchy, temple, sacrifice. Moreover, thus inwardly
and spiritually written, it shall at last be effectual ; it shall bring
"knowledge of God" to "perfection," and supersede "merit" by
"grace"; cf. John i. 17.
The idea of this new covenant inspired the author of the
"Comfort ye" prophecy (Is. xl. ff.). The very phrase is recorded
by S. Paul and in one version of the gospel narrative as having
been uttered by our Lord at the last supper, 1 Cor. xi. 25 ; Luke
xxii. 20. In Mark (xiv. 24 f.) the two words are spoken, but the
" new " has rather a different significance : " This is my blood of the
covenant, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will
no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink
it new in the kingdom of God."
The author of Hebrews probably knew 1 Corinthians. He knew
the tradition of the Lord's words which lies behind the gospels. He
saw the covenant developing in one unbroken line from Abraham,
through Moses and Jeremiah, to the last supper. At the last
supper the new covenant, promised by Jeremiah, received a fresh
sanction in the Saviour's blood (cf. ix. 15 — 17) and a final promise
of fulfilment when the Lord Jesus came as Christ with the kingdom.
In the trial of his own days he believed that, in some real sense,
that coming was to be. Hence he quotes Jeremiah here as a
prophecy for the immediate present. The new covenant was "in
a very little while" to reach perfection. Even now the obsolete
ceremonial, which Jeremiah had long ago recognised as no necessity
for faith, was dropping away. Intr. m. 16.

60 HEBREWS VIII. 8— ii
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will 1make a new 2 covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah;
i 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.
i For this is the 2 covenant that 3I 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 :
And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen,
1 Gr. accomplish. 2 Or, testament 3 Gr. I will covenant.
saith the Lord] Lord in the Enghsh O.T. as always when the
ineffable name stands in the Hebrew text. This was not pronounced
by the Jews: we only conjecture Jahveh as the pronunciation;
they said Adonai instead which LXX translated Kyrios, we Lord.
I will make] or as margin has it more literally "accomplish,"
seems to be the author's own substitution for "ordain" of LXX.
Like a very similar verb in v. 5, ix. 6, it has perhaps a ritual colour,
which is reflected in the language of the Greek liturgies.
9. And I regarded them not] The Hebrew ba'alti either means
"although I was an husband to them," cf. Jer. iii. 14, or perhaps
" and I was a master to them," which wouldbe explained by Hosea
ii. 16, "thou shalt call me Ishi, my husband, and shalt call me no
more Baali, my master." The mistranslation of LXX may itself
be taken in a sense not unlike Hosea's. In Ex. xix. 5 the covenant
is made conditional on Israel's obedience, cf. Lev. xxvi. 14 ff.,
especially 40 f . The new covenant, being written on the heart,
needs no such condition; it will continually be renewed by for
giveness, cf. Lev. xxvi. 44 f . This is the main teaching in
Deuteronomy (see especially x. 12 — xi. 1), though in some places
the more rigorous doctrine of retribution is enforced, cf. iv. 24
quoted in this ep. xii. 29. The repeated " saith the Lord " (vv. 9, 10)
represents the divine sanction, first for the old promise, with
conditions, then for the new promise of grace.
10. mind] Cf. John xv. 15.
11. fellow-citizen] For this there is in LXX as in ep. a variant

HEBREWS VIII. ii— 13 61
And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord :
For all shall know me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
For I will be merciful to their iniquities, 12
And their sins will I remember no more.
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first 13
old. But that which is becoming old and waxeth aged is
nigh unto vanishing away.
reading "neighbour"; a scriptural commonplace instead of the
idiomatic but free rendering of the translator.
Know... shall know] Thus Jeremiah anticipates a richer fulfil
ment of Hosea's desire, Hos. vi. 3. To both these prophets, as to
S. John, to know God is eternal hfe.
13. hath made. ..old] Perf. corresponding to pres. "saith" in v. 8.
It also frames the picture which is carried vividly through the
"imperfect" participles to the sudden close in "vanishing away"
(frequent in LXX of Jeremiah for sudden violent removal) — "A
certain moment calls the glory from the grey."
Ch. IX. 1 — 10. The parable of the tabernacle.
Now the ordinances of the first covenant were ritualistic and its
holiness was materially conceived. A tabernacle was constructed
after the fashion of a double tent. In the first tent are placed the
candlestick and the table and on the table the rite of setting forth
the loaves before the Lord is celebrated. This tent is called " Holy
place." Then beyond the inner veil is a second tent which is called
" Holy of holies," the ritual of which is mainly connected with the
altar of incense and the ark of the covenant; the altar is golden
and the ark all covered with gold. In this tent the pot, also golden,
containing the manna is kept; also the rod of Aaron which budded,
and the tablets on which the "words" of the covenant at Sinai
were written. Above the ark are the cherubim, the angels of the
Lord's presence, overshadowing the mercy-seat with their wings.
Everywhere pomp and glory of which it is not possible to speak
now in detail.
That is the tabernacle and its furniture as we see it in the sacred
books. And this is the divine service of the tabernacle. The outer
tent is entered continually by the priests as they perform their
various ministries. But the great ceremony takes place within the
inner shrine. Once and once only in the year, by himself alone, the
high priest enters there. He carries blood. Blood is hfe, and on
this great occasion no less significant a sacrificial act is admissible.
He offers the blood, bringing it to the Lord at the mercy-seat
where He has promised to be present; a living soul for the renewal
of his own soul and for cleansing the Lord's people from those

62 HEBREWS IX. 1—4
9 Now even the first covenant had ordinances of divine
2 service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world. For
there was 'a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein ''-were
the candlestick, and the table, and 2 the shewbread; which
3 is called the Holy place. And after the second veil, the
4 tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies ; having a
golden 3 censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round
1 Or, are 2 Gr. the setting forth of the loaves.
3 Or, altar of incense
sins of popular ignorance for which their priest is so largely
responsible. Yet why should they be shut out? The Holy Spirit,
through whom the written record of this institution comes to us,
makes it particularly clear that the way to the inner mysteries has
not yet been revealed to the common gaze; the outer tent still
stands to hide it. But we are meant to recognise in this outer tent
a kind of premeditation of the, change in these days of ours. The
gifts and sacrifices of the old order are offered duly though they
cannot bring the worshipper to real communion with God. They are
but part of an external system of rules about eating and drinking
and various ceremonial washings. As ordinances of worship they
are confined within the limits of earthly ideas. But then significance
springs from their transitory claim. They have been appointed in
expectation of a reformation which inaugurates a new epoch.
1 . Now] A double particle in Greek, one word of which points
forward til 1 it gets its answering " but " in v. x 1 . There is the strong
contrast, Christ with His realities. "Divine service" is rather
"ritual service" according to the usage of the Greek noun. The
order makes this word as well as " of this world " predicative. See
paraphrase; and for "of this world" Tit. ii. 12.
the first] The mass of mss. add "tabernacle." But the simple
adj . with its backward reference in all the good authorities shews
that "the first covenant" (as in viii. 13) is meant.
sanctuary] This is a neuter adj . and in the singular number. The
LXX uses it thus and, less often in the plural, for the outer tent,
the "Holy place." But in this ep. the plural is always used in
that sense as at end of next verse. Is not this singular a neuter
abstract = " its holiness ' ' ? See paraphrase.
For the construction and furniture of the tabernacle see Ex.
xxv. — xxvii., xxx. 1 — 10, xxxvi. — xl. But some details in the ep.
are taken from other places in O.T. ; cf. especially Lev. xvi.
2. the shewbread] From the marginal rendering we see how the .
author has improved the Hebraistic phrase of LXX into something
more like Greek. See paraphrase.
3. the second veil] See Ex. xxvii. 16.
4. censer] So Aquila, Symmachus, Philo, Josephus, for the
"altar of incense" of LXX. But they and our author probably

HEBREWS IX. 4—6 63
about with gold, wherein '¦was a golden pot holding the
manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of
the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory over- 5
shadowing 2the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot
now speak severally. Now these things having been thus 6
prepared, the priests go in continually into the first
1 Or, is 2 Gr. the propitiatory.
mean that altar. It was outside the veil. But when Aaron entered
the Holy of holies the cloud of incense penetrated to the mercy-
seat. Hence in Lev. xvi. 12 f. it is " before the Lord," and is here
said to " belong to" the Holy of hohes.
a golden pot] Ex. xvi. 33; Aaron's rod, Num. xvii. 10; the tables,
Ex. xxv. 16; Deut. xxxi. 26 ; 1 Kings viii. 9. The manna and the
rod are not mentioned in 1 Kings viii. Josephus, Bell. v. 5. 5, says
"No thing at all was therein. It was closed to foot and touch and
sight of all and was called 'Holy of holies.'" Cf. Tac. H. v. 9,
vacuam sedem et inania arcana, "a throne unoccupied and im
material mysteries." But the ep. refers to the tabernacle in the
wilderness, not to the temple and the later state of things.
5. cherubim of glory] A phrase formed by the author after the
fashion of those Hebrew compounds in which the second noun
concentrates attention upon the characteristic feature of the first,
cf. Moulton1, pp. 73 f. So Gen. i. 21, "bird of wing" (cf. Ps. Ixviii. 13,
where we should say "as a dove" in Enghsh). Here the glory is
the presence of the Lord, Ex. xxv. 22; Num. vii. 89; Ez. xi. 22 f.,
xliii. 1 — 4. In tabernacle and builded temple the Lord " speaketh
from between the cherubim," and "above him stand the
seraphim," Is. vi. 2. In the temple of the universe (cf. Ps. xxix. 9),
a more ancient conception, He dwells in the "thick darkness" of
the storm, 1 Kings viii. 12; rides upon the cherubim, the angels of
the wind ; the seraphim, angels of fire and lightning, go before Him,
Ps. xviii. 6 — 14, cf. supr. i. 7; the thunder is His voice, Ps. xviii.
13; Ex. xix. 19; Deut. iv. 12; cf. inf-r. xii. 19. For a beautiful
refinement upon the ritual conception see Ps. xxii. 3.
of which. ..severally] No doubt this simply means "I have no
time or space to dwell on further details." Yet this earnest haste
of the author does itself distinguish him from the allegorical
school in which he had received some instruction, and with which
(as he seems to acknowledge in v. n) he had a certain sympathy.
He refuses "to discover exact correspondences in the harmony of
salvation" which'in the allegorical ep. of Barnabas is considered
necessary. "The writer of the Epistle... men tions the cherubim
and the mercy-seat. Of these, he says, we cannot now speak
particularly. Could any allegorist have resisted the temptation to
speak most particularly on these subjects? " Maurice.
1 Grammar of New Testament Greek.

64 HEBREWS IX. 6—10
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 the * errors of
8 the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way
into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while
9 as the first tabernacle is yet standing; which is a parable
for the time now present; according to which are offered
both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the
10 conscience, make the worshipper perfect, being only (with
meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances,
imposed until a time of reformation.
1 Gr. ignorances.
6 f . For the entrance of the priests, the sons of Aaron, see
Ex. xxviii. 1 ; Num. xvi. 40, xviii. 3 — 7. For the yearly entrance of
Aaron (the "high priest" is hardly mentioned in the "Law") see
Lev. xvi. and Ex. xxx. 10.
7. not without blood] Cf. Lev. xvi. 14 ff., 18 1, withLev. xvii. n ;
Intr. in. 12, 13.
errors] or (marg.) "ignorances"; cf. v. 2 above, and Ez. xiv. 20;
Lev. iv. 2, 22, 27, and especially LXX of 13 " even involuntarily."
Perhaps accidental uncleannesses rather than what we should call
sins are primarily meant by this word. But v. 2 shews that our
author has a deeper thought, and Lev. xvi. 16 justifies it.
8. Here, and in ix. 25, x. 19, xiii. n, "the holy place" (neuter
plural) seems =" Holy of holies." It is more likely that this
reflects the usage of Lev. xvi. There after the full phrase, "into
' the holy ' within the veil in front of the mercy-seat which is upon
the ark of witness," the brief phrase " the holy " is used inclusively
of the whole tabernacle.
9. are offered] like the perfect "hath... been made manifest" is
in accord with the author's habit of beholding pictures in the sacred
records, standing as present things before his eyes : Intr. iv. 1. Thus
again (cf. viii. 4), no inference can be drawn from this passage as to
the date of the ep.
10. washings] Cf. vi. 2; carnal, cf. ii. 14, v. 7 and contrast vi. 1
"dead works" which does not refer to ritual.
carnal ordinances] This bare nominative, without "and," is the
well attested reading. It stands in apposition to "gifts and
sacrifices," summing up all the golden pomp of the tabernacle
ritual in one candid phrase of regret and hope.
reformation] A medical word, used by Aristotle and later writers
in moral sense as here. Cf. Acts iii. 21. The next verse shews that
in one sense this "reformation" has already come. The primitive
and popular faith of the Church would look for it in the "day of

HEBREWS IX. n 65
But Christ having come a high priest of * the good things 1 1
to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle,
1 Some ancient authorities read the good things that are come.
the Lord" (cf. x. 25; Apoc. i. 10), the great Advent still expected.
In this ep. a "critical moment1" is expected "to-day," in which
"reformation," "new covenant," entrance into heaven (x. 19 ff.),
receiving of the kingdom (xii. 28), peace in union with the will
of God (x. 10, xhi. 21) may be realised by the readers for whose
encouragement in stress of trial then friend is writing.
11 — 14. The reality of life laid down to cleanse.
Such is the tabernacle of the Old Covenant and its ritual,
splendid, making no mean appeal to religious emotion, but unfit to
fulfil that new life for which conscience yearns.
But when, Levi fading, Christ came, as High Priest of the loving
mercies of God the only good, which found expression through the
tabernacle that has nought to do with ritual splendour or precision,
the tabernacle not made with hands, not of this ordinary earthly
building; then He cared no more about the figurative blood of
•beasts than about the pomp of worship, but entered by the
sacramental virtue of His own blood, once for all, into the sanctuary :
having found, when all seemed lost upon the cross, such deliverance
for men as can be measured by no temporal standard, nor rendered
ineffectual by any limitations of material circumstance. It is a
moral dehverance. Let it be acknowledged that the ritual
observances do effect such cleansing as the use and wont of mere
humanity demands. Here there is more than that; the "other
world" breaks in. Our Lord Jesus completes the long line of the
Christs of history with all their filial yearnings towards the
Father. He died willingly, lovingly, and His life thus consecrated
really became what the Levitical theology defined "blood" to be,
viz. life set free for the renewing of lives. As Aaron approached the
mercy-seat enveloped in the cloud of incense, so the dear memorv
of our dying Lord is interfused with the mystery of the all-
embracing Spirit who makes all life by His inspiration eternal and
divine. So, an immaculate victim, He offered himself to God.
Such goodness is more intelligible than any analogy. It is our
consciousness of God, who is above and through and in us all, that
He died to restore, cleansing away the evil which is death to hide;
so that, sharing in what He has made priestly service mean, we
too may serve God who lives indeed.
11. the good things to come] But "the good things that are
come '' (margin) is the reading which must be accepted. Doubtless
* Such is the significance of the Greek word here translated "time":
see Trench, New Testament Synonyms, § lvii.
HEBREWS 5

00 HEBREWS IX. n— 13
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through
his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place,
13 having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of
goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them
the group of authorities, mss. versions and fathers, against it is
strong, and W.H. give "to come " a place in their margin. But the
group W.H. follow in theii text may reasonably be interpreted
as a consensus of all three ancient lines of transmission. And this
is one of the few passages in which intrinsic probability is important
in itself. As Rendall has pointed out, the construction is "that
are come through the greater and more perfect tabernacle." We
must delete the full stop in R.V. margin, and make a slight
correction in the wording of v. 12 — "did not enter through the
blood of goats and calves but, &c." This is quite legitimate. The
particle translated "nor yet" means "not even" or "not either"
but English idiom is here satisfied by a simple emphatic "not."
Even Westcott however, who translates "good things realised,"
has missed this piece of rather distinguished idiom. That missed,
the correction "to come" would be obvious: cf. ii. 5, vi. 5, x. 1,
xiii. 14. Nor did the difficulty arise entirely from the construction.
Even with the right construing, the "good things" are said to
have come already into being, and such sayings in N.T. have
always proved hard: cf. Acts xv. 11, where A.V. and R.V. "we
believe that we shall be saved" is possible grammatically but
improbable in the context.
good] agathos, which is found only here and x. 1 in true text of
this ep. The two words commonly used in it express the ideas of
" nobility " and "superiority." From such passages as Mark x. 18 ;
Luke xxiii. 50; Actsxi. 24; Rom. v. 7; 1 Pet. ii. 20, agathos would
seem to imply goodness in the. divine degree, which is goodness
touched with affection.
creation] So the Latin. But the cognate verb is commonly
applied to a city (3 Esdr. iv. 53) or to the tabernacle itself (Lev.
xvi. 16). A.V. "building" does very well.
12. having obtained eternal redemption] Literally ' 'having found."
For aeonian, "in the eternal sphere," see note on v. 10. This is the
only place in the ep. where the simple uncompounded Greek word
for "redemption" or "redeem" occurs. In ix. 15, xi. 35 we find
the longer Pauhne noun, but hardly in Pauline sense. These words
are an inheritance from O.T. through LXX, especially from the
latter part of Isaiah, where they are mostly renderings of some
form of the Hebrew goel = " avenger," and then more generally
"rescuing with might." So Is. lxiii. 4 ff. (LXX): "For the day
of vengeance came to them, and the year of redemption is here.
And I beheld, and there was no helper; and I gave heed, and no

HEBREWS IX. 13, 14 67
that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the
flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who 14
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish
unto God, cleanse xyour conscience .from dead works to
1 Many ancient authorities read our.
one was ready to aid. And my arm rescued them, and my wrath
swooped down." In Mark x. 45 =Matt. xx. 28 our Lord says that
the Son of man came to be a servant and to give His hfe " a ransom
for many," which may shew that to Jewish ears these words
implied "ransom" or "price." Yet that saying too is part of the
Isaianic language of deliverance: "I have given Egypt as thy
ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. ..I have loved thee; therefore
will I give men for thee, and peoples for thy hfe," Is. xliii. 3 f.
The mystery seems deeper when coordinated with John xv. 13,
than when explained in terms of law or commerce. On the whole
we may consider that the main idea in our author's mind is
"deliverance" raised to sublimity by divine self-sacrifice. And
this deliverance the Saviour " found." In the divine will it already
was; not to be bought with a price, but an "ideal" which has now-
been realised in obedience, cf. v. 8. The aor. part, might be
described as "of coincident action" but it might also be said to
represent the moment before "entered in" just as "made per
fect," "named" in v. 9 represent the moment after.
14. the blood of Christ] Intr. in. 12, 13.
eternal Spirit] There is an ancient variant "holy," but the
attestation of " eternal " is sufficient, and it suits the context. The
thrice-repeated "eternal" (cf. vv. 12, 15) is set over against the
"gold and glory" of the tabernacle. For the vast theological idea
see Intr. in. 13, 29. "The Christ" offered himself through the
medium of that divine, essential life in which the whole spiritual
movement issues from and returns to God — "When that which
drew from out the boundless deep, Turns again home."
cleanse] Cf. ii. 17. In the middle of this word Codex B is
mutilated, and fails us for the rest of the ep.
conscience] A Pauhne word; five times in this ep., cf. ix. 9, x. 2,
22, xiii. 18. Rom. ii. 15 shews conscience in its troubled, 1 Pet. ii.
19 in its cleansed and truly natural state, viz. the enjoyment of
the presence of God. This state is perhaps less often remembered
than the other. Hence a later reading in 1 Pet. ii. 19, "good
conscience" and R.V. as well as A.V. renders "conscience toward
God," relegating "of God" to mg.: the meaning rather is that
because of his " consciousness of God," in communion with whom
he is supported and at peace, a man can well bear injuries and
injustice. The word has passed from this ep. into the Greek
liturgies, wherein, as here, it lifts the mind to reality, and deter
mines the true moral sense of such ritual terms as, "undefiled."
5—2

68 HEBREWS IX. 14, 15
15 serve the living God? And for this cause he is the
mediator of a new x covenant, that a death having taken
1 The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.
The whole passage, culminating in " the living God, " is artistically
ordered to that end.
your] our in margin, the attestation being strong on either side.
In xiii. 21 a hke variation is important; here the sense is hardly
affected. dead works] Cf. vi. 1 and Sirach xviii. 29 (omitted in mss.
followed by R.V.) "Better is boldness in the only master than
with dead heart to hold to dead things."
15  22. To LIFE THAT RENEWS LIFE DEATH IS
THE ONLY WAY.
And this life-renewing life can only be through death. That is
why in the new covenant Christ is a mediator between God who
makes the covenant and men with whom God makes it. God dies
not; but in Christ the mystery of life through death has been
enacted. So the divine purpose is achieved. From the trans
gressions, by which (as we are told in Jeremiah) the first covenant
was marred, deliverance has been and is still effected. So those
who have heard the call of God to-day may recognise in their clean
conscience the fulfilment of the promise; the inheritance long
waited for is theirs to take; the eternal inheritance of spiritual
freedom. The analogy of ancient custom points to the same truth. Where
there is a covenant, the death of him who makes it has to be
represented. For the ritual of a covenant is that it must be
confirmed over slain victims ; since the idea is that it avails not so
long as he who made the agreement lives.
Hence the first covenant too is recorded to have been inaugurated
not without blood. For when each commandment had been
spoken, in its proper place in the law which God gave at Sinai, by
Moses to the people, Moses took the blood of the calves and the
goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both
the book of the covenant and all the people, saying, This is the
blood of the covenant which God ordained to establish his relation
ship with you. And, to speak generally, it is in the touch of blood
that all things are cleansed according to that law, and without
bloodshedding there is no remission of legal offences.
15. covenant] Cf. vii. 22, viii. 8. For the question whether the
author passes here from the meaning "covenant" to the meaning
"testament" see Intr. in. 16. Comparison with Gal. iii. 15 ff.
makes for "testament." On the other hand the original Greek
suits "covenant" better than appears in the English version, as
R.V. margin partly shews. The Greek "be brought" might mean

HEBREWS IX. 15—22 69
place for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first * covenant, they that have been called may
receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where 16
a x testament is, there must of necessity 2be the death of
him that made it. For a x testament is of force 3where 17
there hath been death: 4for doth it ever avail while he
that made it liveth? Wherefore even the first covenant 18
hath not been dedicated without blood. For when every 19
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,
saying, This is the blood of the 1 covenant which God 20
commanded to you-ward. Moreover the tabernacle and 21
all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner
with the blood. And according to the law, I may almost 22
1 The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testa
ment. 2 Gr. be brought. 3 Gr. over the 'dead.
4 Or, for it doth never... liveth.
" be represented." The Greek " over the dead " might mean " over
sacrificial victims," for which see Gen. xv. ; Ex. xxiv. 7, 8; Ps. 1. 5,
and Jer. xxxiv. 18. And in v. 17 the Greek negative or interroga
tive particle might come under the grammarian's heading
"cautious assertion" and be rendered "The idea is that it doth
not avail, &c." Our Lord's inauguration of the new covenant at
the last supper seems to dominate the thought and the language
here. That is the main reason for refusing to recognise a passage
from "covenant" to "testament." However the point may be
left doubtful. It is the sacrificial analogy that is affected by the
alternative, not the deeper sense, viz. that our Lord laid down His
life for His friends, and that in no other way might the great
salvation be perfected.
19. See Ex. xxiv. 6 — 8, to which details are here added from
Lev. xiv. 4 — 7; Num. xix. 6, 17 f. So in v. 21 the sprinkling of "all
the vessels of the ministry" comes from the "law of Moses," not
from the particular narrative of the inauguration of the covenant.
The phrase "scarlet wool," which occurs nowhere in LXX, is
found in a. curious compound quotation or reminiscence in Ep.
Barn. vii. about the scapegoat: "and ye must all spit and smite
and put the scarlet wool round its head, and so let it be driven into
the wilderness."

70 HEBREWS IX. 22, 23
say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from
shedding of blood there is no remission.
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 sacrifices than
22. shedding of blood] Not found in LXX or profane authors.
It is a general word which includes the ' ' shedding ' ' as the necessary
and terrible prehminary to the "sprinkling": cf. Matt. xxvi. 28;
Mark xiv. 24 ; Luke xxii. 20. This would suggest the thought of
the "precious blood," 1 Pet. i. 19; cf. Ps. cxvi. 6.
23 — 28. Christ in heaven, our refuge and
our HOPE.
It is therefore necessary that if the imitations of things heavenly
be cleansed by these means, the ultimate realities themselves
should be cleansed by mightier than legal sacrifices. That necessity
conducted Christ. For He entered no manufactured sanctuary, an
echo of the true, but penetrated that very heart of goodness which
"heaven" symbolises, to be manifested now, before the face of
God, in His compassionate divinity which is the refuge of us men.
Nor did He purpose either to repeat that solemn act. He was not
going to offer Himself many times. The very idea of such repetition
is paradoxical. There is no analogy here with the Aaronic high
priest's entering the sanctuary year after year in the fiction of a
blood-life not his own. If that were a true symbol, Christ must
have suffered many times in the long repetition of such rites; for
ritual sacrifice is as old as the world. No; it is now and only now.
At this moment which sums up and sweeps into desuetude the
series of the ages, for the annulling of the sin which till now has
obstinately held its ground, through the sacrifice of himself. He
has been seen of men and passed to God. And in as much as it is
the spiritual destiny of men once to die, and after death the
discernment and separation of judgement; so also He, who as the
Christ shares our manhood and shall at last complete our hope,
having once been taken to God that He might (hke the prophetic
servant of the Lord) take upon himself the sins of many, shall
in the sequel, separated from that burden of sin, be seen by those
who are longingly expecting Him. And that vision shall be rescue
from all ill.
23. better sacrifices] For the pi. cf. xiii. 16, but the reference
can hardly be the same. The pi. here is merely the antithesis, in
a general statement, to "these"; in the particular application
which immediately follows, the sacrifice by which the realities of
heaven are cleansed is shewn to be one and only one.
The cleansing of the heavenly realities might also be explained
as a mere extension of the Levitical analogy. But from xii. 26 f .

HEBREWS IX. 23—28 71
these. For Christ entered not into a holy place made with 24
hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself,
now to appear before the face of God for us : nor yet that 25
he should offer himself often; as the high priest entereth
into the holy place year by year with blood not his own ;
else must he often have suffered since the foundation of 26
the world: but now once at the 1ex\d of the ages hath he
been manifested to put away sin 2by the sacrifice of
himself. And inasmuch as it is 'appointed unto men once 27
to die, and after this cometh judgement; so Christ also, 28
1 Or, consummation 2 Or, by his sacrifice.
3 Gr. laid up for.
more would seem to be meant. Even the things of heaven shall be
shaken. Even the saints at rest watch anxiously the issue of God's
will on earth, cf. xii. 1 with xii. 23, also Apoc. v. n f. with vii. 16 f.
In heaven itself the intercession of the High Priest is still required,
vii. 25, cf. ii. 18. As yet there is no place, however near to God,
where His will is not working against opposition: cf. Eph. vi. 12;
Phil. ii. 10. Only within that will itself is peace, x. 10, xiii. 21. The
same idea is expressed in the Lord's Prayer, at least in the Greek
form in which it has come to us; "Thy will be done as in heaven
also upon earth."
24. to appear] In LXX of manifestation of God, Ex. xxxiii. 13,
18; cf. Ps. lxxix. (lxxx.) 2; Zeph. ii. 11.
26. have suffered] See note on v. 8.
now] does not respond to else =" now as things are," for the
intensive form here used indicates emphatically a point of time.
Both here and in ». 24 there is a reference to that act which to men
is still visible in memory ("hath been manifested," cf. Gal. hi. 1)
as the crucifixion, while in eternity beyond the veil it was the
manifestation of the consummated work of redemption (cf. v. 12).
The "now," v. 24, is not quite logically appropriate. But "To-day"
rings too insistently in the author's ear for him to heed that.
Moreover there is a sense in which loyal following of Christ brings
the completed sacrifice "again" into present time, cf. xhi. 13-;
Intr. in. 21.
end] or "consummation" (marg.). Five times in Matthew (not
elsewhere in N.T.) with the genitive "of the aeon" or "age";
where, as in Dan. ix. 27, xii. 4, 13, it looks forward to the Messianic
" end." Here it is rather different; the final age, in the successive
periods of history, had been reached when the Lord died. Cf. i. 2,
xi. 3.
27. and after this cometh judgement] Cf. Box, The Ezra-
Apocalypse, pp. xlvf. "While the theology of S (that part of

72 HEBREWS IX. 28
having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall
appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait
for him, unto salvation.
2 Esdras which Mr Box calls the ' Salathiel-apocalypse ') recognises
the Day of Judgement and an intermediate state for the soul
between death and judgement, it knows of no resurrection of the
body. In the description of the state of the soul after death it is
made clear that the soul enters at once into a state of blessedness
or the reverse.... These conditions — though they will be intensified
— are not to be essentially altered on the Day of Judgement itself.
This practically means that judgement sets in immediately after
death, and that a man's fate is virtually determined by the present
life — which is the doctrine of Wisdom and of Hellenistic Judaism. "
S. John — and our Lord in S. John — go farther and declare that
crisis, judgement or discernment, is wrought here and now in the
days of the flesh: see John v. 22 ff., xii. 31, xvi. 8 ff. Cf. xi. 40,
xii. 23, but also vi. 2, xi. 35. Intr in. 24, 25.
28. to bear the sins of many] From Is. liii. 12; cf. 1 Pet. ii. 24,
also John i. 29. The verb is the same as is elsewhere in this ep.
rendered "offer up" in sacrificial sense, but Rom. viii. 3; 2 Cor. v.
21, shew how the two meanings might run into one another.
a second time]. Cf. collects for I Advent, VI Epiphany, "come
again," " appear again." But that is not the usual N.T. conception,
cf. Mark xiv. 61 f.; Acts i. n (where a few mss. add "again");
"appear a second time" i.e. "secondly" "at the next stage"
simply answers to "once offered."
apart from sin] Cf . vii. 26.
to them that wait for him] Cf. Luke i. 21 ; but in Paul this verb is
strongly Messianic, Rom. viii. 19, 23, 25; 1 Cor. i. 7; Gal. v. 5;
Phil. hi. 20.
unto salvation] Cf. ii. 3. "Salvation" is the whole of which
redemption, cleansing, sacrifice, &c. are parts.
Ch. X. 1 — 18. The will of man united to the will of
God through the willing sacrifice of Christ.
The Levitical Law carries with it an imaginary shadow of the
good things which God purposed for man, not the consubstantial
symbol which is a vehicle of the realities it symbolises. So year by
year the sacrifices go on in monotonous succession. Men are ever
approaching God, but are unable to reach by such merely ritual
means His very presence. If it were otherwise these sacrifices
would have ceased, since they would have already brought about
the desired result; the ritual cleansing of the worshippers- would
have passed once for all into spiritual cleansing, and they would
no longer be let and hindered by the consciousness of sins. But it
is not so. There is some good in the ritual, especially of the Day of

HEBREWS X. i 73
For the law having a shadow of the good things to 10
Atonement. It awakes the sense of sins year after year. But it
never passes into the eternal order, for bulls' and goats' blood
cannot take sins away.
Wherefore, on His entrance into the created world. One whom
we know saith : ' ' Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not — a body
didst thou prepare for me. In burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
thou didst not take pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I am come — as in
a written book my commission is recorded — to do, O God, thy
will." In the first part of this quotation (which is so prophetically
applicable to the Person and work of our Lord) the legal sacrifices
are spoken of as quite apart from the inmost mind of God. Then
follows an answer to God's appeal which has abiding validity. The
consent of Christ is in real correspondence with the will of God.
Remove sacrifices : then God's will is established as the source and
goal of salvation. And God's will envelopes us with complete and
permanent consecration, since Jesus, a man like us in the body,
used these human limitations to realise His representative,
inclusive Christship, and to make an offering to God through which,
once for all, we are brought into God's very presence, i.e. into
union with His good will.
This union of men's wills with God's will is the reality of which
sacrifice is the figure. Priesthood in general is merely figurative.
We see priest after priest standing up in history and offering
sacrifices, ah of the same fictional, ineffective kind. The sacrifices
are offered, and still sins bar the entrance. But this Priest of ours
offered one sacrifice for the continuous taking of sins out of the
way. That was the real sacrifice of a will lost and found in God's
will. And so it ensued that having offered it, He was enthroned in
high collateral glory at God's right hand; whence, as from the
centre of hfe, He henceforth directs the process which shall at last
be completed by the utter defeat of the powers of evil. That end is
certain; the one true sacrifice assures it, for that sacrifice has
already brought perfection. And He has made those partakers of
His own perfected holiness who in continual succession are called
to realise their consecration in the school of hfe.
These reflections on the life and death of our Lord, as inter
preted by the experience of our hearts, are confirmed by the
witness of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. For in the promise of the
new covenant already quoted from Jeremiah, forgiveness of sins
is the concluding assurance — "of their sins and of their iniquities
I will have no more remembrance at all." The peace of the
Christian conscience answers to the promise of prophecy; and
where such remission is effectual there is no place for any further
offering for sin.
1. shadow. ..very image] Cf. viii. 5: icon here, as in Col. i. 15,
hi. 10 = Gen. i. 27, indicates a true type, symbol or sacrament, in

74 HEBREWS X. 1—5
come, not the very image of the things, Hhey can never
with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer
2 continually, make perfect them that draw nigh. Else
would they not have ceased to be offered, because the
worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had
3 no more conscience of sins? But in those sacrifices there
4 is a remembrance made of sins year by year. For it is
impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take
S away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he
saith, 1 Some ancient authorities read it can.
which the visible actually partakes of the eternal reality signified.
What the ep. implies throughout is here plainly said, that the
Levitical rites, however they may furnish an analogy, are no
"type" of the sacrifice of Christ; Intr. in. 5.
they can never, &c] Who or what are "they " ? Those apparently
who offer. Such a loose way of writing is less tolerable in Greek
than in English, and the marginal "it can" represents an early
attempt to improve the sentence. There are other variants in the
mss. all probably due to dissatisfaction with a piece of careless
writing, which is not intolerable for once in a letter however
carefully composed as a whole.
3. remembrance made] There is no word for "made" in the
original, and the Greek implies an awakening of mind rather than
an external making of remembrance; cf. Clem. liii. "ye know —
for remembrance therefore we write this." Here and elsewhere
the author recognises a sympathetic influence in the old ceremonies
which, as mere ceremonies, were shadows.
5. when he cometh into the world] It is not of course meant that
our Lord uttered these words at His birth or when He began His
ministry. Nor need we suppose that our author thought the psalm
was composed as a direct prediction of our Lord in the days of His
flesh. But he did consider it a prophetic psalm, which expressed,
by more than mere coincidence, the very mind of his Lord. He
writes the cosmos, "the universe of natural law," not the "in
habited earth" (ii. 5 marg.) "the society of men"; there are no
limitations in nature which are not transformed to instruments of
the true freedom when a will in harmony with God's will operates.
he saith] The unexpressed subject harmonises with the idea
of the eternal, variously manifested Christ which pervades the ep.
There is more in the quotation than a dramatic application of
ancient words to the Lord's earthly circumstances ; cf. 1 Pet. i. 11.
The quotation is from Ps. xl. (xxxix.). It follows LXX, trans
posing the last words; "to do, O God, thy will" instead of "to do
thy will, O God." It is a pity our version does not shew this, for

HEBREWS X. 5— io 75
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
But a body didst thou prepare for me;
In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst 6
no pleasure:
Then said I, Lo, I am come 7
(In the roll of the book it is written of me)
To do thy will, O God.
Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt 8
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither
hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to
the law), then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. 9
He taketh away the first, that he may establish the
second. 1By which will we have been sanctified through 10
1 Or, In
the emphasis on " will" is all-important. It throws into the shade
another point which may be made too much of, that the LXX
substitutes "body" for the Hebrew "ears." For though the author
alludes to the word "body" in v. 10, the doctrine of that allusion
permeates the ep., and does not depend on this quotation; and
this particular word has nothing to do with the purpose for which
he quotes the psalm. That purpose is to introduce the main
subject of this section, Christ's union with the will of God and our
union through Him in that same will.
6. sacrifices for sin] A compound noun representing the Hebrew
word for " sin-offering " ; the italics in R.V. are hardly necessary as
the note on v. 1 has already shewn.
7. roll] Properly the umbilicus or horn of the rod round which
the writing was rolled. But here and elsewhere in the LXX it is
used for the roll itself. So we might say, " between the covers of a
book." It is possible that the psalmist had no definite book in
view, but meant simply, " my duty is as plain as if it were written
down," cf. perhaps Ps. cxlix. 9. But Cheyne says, " To the psalmist,
there was a Bible within the Bible, and the^books of Deuteronomy
and Jeremiah formed principal elements in its composition. ' The
law within my heart ' reminds us at once of Deut. vi. 6 and Jer. xv.
16, xxxi. 33."
9. then hath he said] ' ' Then " is part of the quotation : the perf .
"hath he said" sums up the argument emphatically, as in i. 13.
What the psalmist has said of old stands confirmed by the
obedience of Christ: union in the will of God is consecration and
perfection. 10. by which wilt] "In" (margin) is hteral and better: see para
phrase. we have been sanctified] The perfect corresponds to "once for
all." Whatever their subsequent failures, those who have entered

76 HEBREWS X. 10—15
11 the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And
every 1priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and
offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never
12 take away sins: but he, when he had offered one sacrifice
13 for 2sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool
14 of his feet. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever
15 them that are sanctified. And the Holy Ghost also beareth
witness to us : for after, he hath said,
1 Some ancient authorities read high priest.
2 Or, sins, for ever sat down &c.
upon the Christian allegiance are sanctified; nothing but renuncia
tion of their "sanctification" (cf. xii. 14) cancels that. In those
early perilous times, entrance upon such allegiance could seldom
be anything but a sincere act of will. But the thought here is
deeper than that. The security is guaranteed by the greater will of
God : cf . 1 John iii. 20.
11. priest] This is to be read with p13 KD, not "high priest"
(margin). That, after ix. 7, might seem inconsistent with " day by
day." Indeed, the view here may extend beyond the bounds of
Judaism to all the ritual priesthood of the wide world: cf. v. 5.
The history of religion — the satisfying of man's heart-restlessness
for God — is here presented as a consistent whole. The cross is the
focus. Thither all past yearning tends; thence all new confidence
proceeds. There a devotion of will is apparent which goes beyond
all that even the analogy of sacrifice can picture. Yet the analogy
is necessary, else language would be cold and loveless. Moreover
sacrificial language brings the mystery home to the only men who
will recognise the cogency of the argument of these verses, in
which, considered as logic, too much is taken for granted. For in
no other language can the relief of forgiveness be so movingly
expressed. take away] A vivid word — "clear away the encompassment " —
cf. v. 2, and xii. 1 margin. The word is precisely appropriate to the
context so charged with yearning for freedom.
13. As in ch. i. the whole circle of the Incarnation and Redemp
tion is contemplated in this paragraph about the Will. And, as
there, all closes on the oracle from Ps. ex., which tells of exaltation
to the throne in heaven, and then looks on to the great Advent;
cf. 1 Cor. xv. 25.
14. hath perfected... them that are sanctified] As perhaps in Acts ii.
47 (" . . .being saved "), the thought of progress in the Christian hfe
is not excluded. But the argument of the ep. as a whole would lead
us to recognise the succession of those who one after another in
perpetuity are called: "for ever" here is not "eternally," cf note
on vii. 3. As there is one divine will and all wills freed in it so

HEBREWS X. 16—19 77
This is the x covenant that 2I will make with them 16
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,
And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no 17
more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering 18
for sin.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the 19
1 Or, testament 2 Gr. I will covenant.
there is one achieved perfection and each successive perfecting of
men is by partaking in that one. Introd. in. 18, 21.
19 — 25. The venture of faith.
So then, brothers, argument ended, let us chnch it by action.
We are emboldened to venture upon the way into the sanctuary,
spiritually united and vivified in the life-blood of Jesus. It is the
way which He inaugurated for us, a way fresh-slain yet living, the
way that leads through the veil into the inner shrine. But such
figurative language obscures the heart-touching reality — it is the
way of His flesh, the mystery of His union with us in the affections
of suffering manhood. And He who is the way is also the priest,
the great priest prophetically descried, who mediates as elder
brother over the family of God. Let us then draw near with
genuine affection in the full assurance which faith gives of spiritual
truth. Our ritual is complete ; and it is a ritual in which the eternal
pervades and overflows the visible. We are sprinkled, and at the
touch of the blood of hfe each heart has been purged of the
consciousness of its own evil. The body too has been bathed for its
sojourn here with water of sacramental purity. Let us hold fast
the confession of our hope, so that what we professed at baptism
may not swerve in trial; nor shall it, for faithful is the Master to
whose promise our confession answered. And let us study one
another for the provocation of mutual love and emulation in noble
deeds; not neglecting the closer fellowship which comes from
common worship) — nay, sirs, such manners are not good — but
rather contributing encouragement, and so much the more as ye
behold the Day drawing nearer, that Day of the Lord, on which the
hope of our confession was concentrated.
19. brethren] As in iii. 1 exhortation is deepened by the sense
of intimacy (cf. xiii. 22) and fellowship. This fellowship is also
suggested by the form of the following phrase "in the blood"
instead of "through" as in ix. 12; though our version misses that.
So too the encouragement of united worship in v. 25.

78 HEBREWS X. 19—23
20 holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he
dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil,
21' that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over the
22 house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in
1 fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
23 2 conscience, and our body washed with pure water: let
1 Or, full assurance
2 Or, conscience : and having our body washed with pure water, let
us hold fast
20. that is to say, his flesh] The Greek liturgies and almost all
readers of the ep. understand this to refer to "the veil" :
Onely this veyle which thou hast broke
And must be broken yet in me,
This veyle I say is all the cloke
And cloud which shadows me from thee.
H. Vaughan, Cockcrowing.
But Westcott, after considering all the legitimate senses which
such an expression might bear, says, "it remains surprising that
'the flesh' of Christ should be treated in any way as a veil, an
obstacle, to the vision of God in a place where stress is laid on His
humanity." He therefore prefers, with Tyndale, Coverdale, the
Great Bible and the Geneva Bible, to take "of his flesh" as gen.
after "the way " rather than as in apposition to "the veil " (which
is also a genitive in the Greek)': " By the new and living way which
he hath prepared for us through the veil, that is to say by his
flesh." Such emphatic final genitives are not uncommon; see
e.g. xii. 11 ; Acts iv. 33; James ii. 1, and Luke ii. 14, where Origen
considered that "of good will" might be construed with "peace."
Moreover the repetition "way in. ..way" (lost in English) and the
peculiar epithet "new" (which may have been supposed by the
author, as by early grammarians, to mean properly "fresh-slain ")
in antithesis to "living," combine to keep the idea of "way"
prominent throughout the sentence. The "common-sense" of
readers is against this, and it is possible that Westcott, with the
more exact expressions of S. John in his mind, has been needlessly
offended by a verbal inconsistency in this author, who strikes out
a first sketch of the sacramental language elaborated by S. John.
That is possible but improbable ; the subtle nicety of the author's
phraseology and the sanity of Westcott's judgement grow upon
the patient reader: Intr. in. 15.
21. a great priest... of God] A reference, as in iii. 1, to Num. xii.,
but combined with the deep theology of Zech. vi. 11 ff .
22. from an evil conscience] The prep, is recognised as natural
when it is remembered that "conscience" has not yet taken the
definite modern sense: it is still a state rather than a part of mind.
washed] Washing the body is a natural symbol of inner washing,

HEBREWS X. 23, 24 79
us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not ;
for he is faithful that promised : and let us consider one 24
as has probably been always felt; cf. Aesch. fr. 32, ¦'with body
washed in fair waters I came to towering Himera." But no doubt
there is an allusion here to baptism, which throughout Acts and
Epistles fills so much of the background. Almost exactly the same
word with a like veiled allusion is used in John xhi. 10. In the whole
sentence, we have an example of what Bengel rather loosely calls
"chiasmus," and says is the characteristic figure of the epistle.
"Draw near," "sprinkled," "body," "water," are the more
metaphorical or visual terms; "hearts," "conscience," "washed,"
"pure," touch the spirit more directly. The antithetical weaving
of the sentence draws the attention inward and onward to the
unseen: "Let us draw near, but to the unseen shrine of faith; let
us use ritual, but the simplest, the most cleansing; let us rejoice
in our baptism, but remembering that baptism is the appeal 01
conscience to God," cf. 1 Pet. iii. 21; 1 John iii. 19 f. We might
say that the washing is general symbolism, but the associated
thought of baptism gives further point as in Shakespeare, H. V,
i. 2, "That what you speak is in your conscience wash'd As pure
as sin with baptism." It is possible to imagine another connexion
between these two clauses, viz. that while "washed" points to
baptism, "sprinkled" points to the chalice of the Blood of Christ.
The reader must consider whether or no such interpretation fits
the whole context of the epistle; Intr. 11. 4, in. 21. For the ritual
and moral significance of "sprinkled" see Hort's thorough and
profound examination into the sense of " sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. i. 2. He shews that "The sprinkling of
blood on the altar is represented by the sacrifice of the Cross... the
virtue of which proceeded from nothing cognisable by the outward
senses, but from the inner yielding up of the very hfe for the sake
of men at the Father's will"; that "Obedience was the form of
moral good which the preparatory dispensation of law could best
teach. Under the higher dispensation of grace it lost none of its
necessity: the sprinkled blood enlarged its scope, while it filled it
with a new spirit and sustained it with a new power " ; and that to
S. Peter and the seer of the Apocalypse " The blood of martyrdom
was in some sense comprehended in 'the blood of the Lamb,' of
Him who is called 'the faithful Witness,' or Martyr."
The punctuation might be made after "conscience" (margin).
But apart from the considerations touched upon above, the abrupt
commencement "let us hold fast" is quite in the manner of our
author. 23. hope] "Faith" of A.V. was not found in earlier versions
and is without authority. The mistake has affected A.V. heading.
The shp was easy: in cod. armachanus of vg. fidei was written and
afterwards corrected to spei in vi. n.

80 HEBREWS X. 24—26
25 another to provoke unto love and good works; not
forsaking 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 a
24. to provoke unto love] Such paradoxes are not unfrequent in
N.T.; cf. Mark iii. 5; 1 Thess. iv. n (R.V. marg.); also Clem. R.
lvih. and lxii. "intense moderation."
25. the assembling of ourselves together] The Greek is the noun
"synagogue" compounded with a preposition. In 2 Thess. ii. 1 it
is used of joining Christ in the day of His coming. And here, as in
that picture of early church life "The teaching of the Apostles,"
ch. xvi., gathering for worship is connected with that hope. The
common worship is preparation for, even a. sacrament of, the
gathering together of all in Christ. And this the more evidently
because here Christ's immediate coming in the crisis of the time is
especially in view.
26 — 31. In gospel truth no subterfuge for sin.
Away with fastidious hesitation; the coming trial is of
tremendous import. For there is no more question of sins of
inadvertence as in the old Law ; nay the whole of that old Law with
its technical sin-offerings is gone by. If we now persist in wilful
sin after receiving the knowledge which discerns real instead of
conventional truth, nought remains but an expectation of judge
ment, the more fearful for our incapacity of defining it in terms of
human imagination — it is what the prophet meant when he told
how God had predestined "a fierce jealousy of fire to eat up his
adversaries." Do not be adversaries of God. When a man has set
Moses' Law at nought, he is out of reach of all human pity; " on
the evidence of two or three witnesses," we read, " he dies." How
much worse, think ye, shall be the estimate of his penalty who
shall have trampled on the Son of God, and accounted as a vile
thing the Blood of the Covenant in which he received his consecra
tion to our Lord's service, and shall have insolently used the Spirit
who breathes God's grace? Argument is needless; we know
without telling Him who said, " Judgement is mine, I will repay" :
and again, "The Lord will vindicate his own people." It is a.
fearful thing to fall into the hands of God, the living One.
26. knowledge of the truth] Cf. Johni. 17. The Greek word means
knowledge, not in the abstract, but directed towards a particular
object. See Robinson, Ephesians, pp. 248 — 254. '
there remaineth no more, Sec] Like vi. 4 ff., xii. 17, this almost
appears to contradict the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins. Yet
closer examination shews that "sacrifice for sins" is an O.T. term
and that the latter half of the verse is but a repetition of v. i&.

HEBREWS X. 26—30 81
sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of 27
judgement, and a 1fierceness of fire which shall devour the
adversaries. A man that hath set at nought Moses' law 28
dieth without compassion on the word of two or three
witnesses : of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall 29
he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, 2an unholy thing, and hath
done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him 30
that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recom-
1 Or, jealousy 2 Gr. a common thing.
What does "remain" is indeed fearful. Here, as elsewhere, the
ruin involved in a base choice at the crisis with which the readers
are confronted is emphatically stated. Yet such ruin is too
mysterious to be humanly defined: hence "a certain." As in
2 Tim. iv. 14, O.T. language is quoted (Is. xxvi. 11, LXX) to
adumbrate what the author presumes not to explain. And in all
such fears or threats S. Paul's principle (1 Cor. v. 5) is presupposed:
Intr. 111. 20, 22.
28. dieth... witnesses] From Deut. xvii. 6. The curious addition in
some ' 'western' ' texts ' 'or tears ' ' after ' 'compassion, " may be a modi
fied reminiscence of a phrase in the same section of Deut. xiii. 8.
29. the blood of the covenant] From Ex. xxiv. as in ix. 20, but
herei raised to a higher power by the preceding " Son of God."
the Spirit of grace] The following reff. will shew how difficult
it is for us, accustomed to the developed language of Trinitarian
doctrine, to appreciate the delicate shades of meaning that attach
to combinations of " Spirit" with other words in N.T., Rom. viii.
15, cf. 1 Johniv. 6; 1 Cor. ii. 12; 2 Cor. iv. 13; Eph. i. 13; 2 Thess.
ii. 8. But it must be remembered that a heritage of Jewish thought
made the personal conception of Spirit more natural than any
vague idea of influence: Intr. ill. 29.
"The grace" is the gift of new hfe which Christians received,
not merely in general, but with special intensity for meeting their
several trials. The Spirit of this grace is, from one point of view,
the " breath " of God who brings the grace (cf . John xx. 22 f .) : from
another, the breath of new life within springing from this grace.
30. Vengeance. ..shall judge his people] Quoted from Deut. xxxii.
35 f. The second sentence agrees with LXX, the former does not.
But it corresponds exactly with a quotation of the same four words
in Rom. xii. 19, and it represents the Hebrew fairly. Since it agrees
with the Targum of Onkelos still more closely, we cannot certainly
infer that the author remembered S. Paul's words when he wrote
this verse, as is likely however, since the Pauhne faith-text follows
almost immediately in v. 37; cf. xi. 33, where there seems to be
HEBREWS 6

82 HEBREWS X. 30—33
31 pense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is
a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which,
after ye were enlightened, ye endured a great conflict of
33 sufferings; partly, being made a gazingstock both by
a reminiscence, not of the LXX of Daniel, but of some version
which re-appears in the later translator Theodotion. More
interesting is S. Paul's purpose in quoting. He gives the words the
meaning they bear in the original context: God's people may be
secure, for He will judge between them and their enemies. Our
author seems to give them a, precisely opposite meaning. Yet if
the choice before his readers was between a false patriotism and
"in quietness and confidence shall be your strength," the original
intention of the sentence would presently recur to them : Intr. in. 3.
32 — 39. First love an education for the supreme
venture of faith.
And call to mind the early days when, freshly enlightened by
the dayspring of the gospel, you faced like stout athletes much
trial of sufferings. On the one hand you were then a spectacle to
the populace by the insults and afflictions you endured; on the
other hand this gaVe you the assurance that you had really been
made comrades of the men whose chosen lot was a life like that.
Your comradeship you shewed by compassion towards our brothers
in prison; your own hardship you transformed by accepting the
seizure of your property with joy, recognising in your new
knowledge that so long as you were masters of yourselves you had
a better possession than material wealth, and a possession that
abides. Do not then cast off that daring mood which so became
you then and is now designed to reap a plenteous harvest. For
brave endurance is what the times now call for, in order that you
may do the duty which God wills and then carry home what the
prophets have proclaimed. For there is yet but "a very little
while." He (thus we may render the dim early oracle precise to
day), He who "cometh shall come and shall not delay. And to
my righteous servant life shall spring from faith." Yet there is
another verse on another note: " If he shrink back my soul hath
no pleasure in him." Well, as for us, we have nothing to do with
shrinking back to ruin; our calling is the faith that ventures all for
a life in harmony with God's over-ruling of the adverse world.
32. were enlightened] Cf. vi. 4. The reading of X*, "your former
sins," looks like an audacious alteration, such as textual critics
find in what they call the " western " type of early text, prompted
by the idea of baptism; cf. Rom. v. 8.
33. conflict... gazingstock] The Greek words imply "in the arena
and theatre" and these metaphors are so hke what Clement (vi.)

HEBREWS X. 33—36 83
reproaches and afflictions; and partly, becoming partakers
with them that were so used. For ye both had com- 34
passion on them that were in bonds, and took joyfully the
spoiling of your possessions, knowing1 that 2ye yourselves
have a better possession and an abiding one. Cast not 35
away therefore your boldness, which hath great recom
pense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, 36
having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.
1 Or, that ye have your own selves for a better possession
2 Some ancient authorities read ye have for yourselves a better
possession. says of the martyrdoms under Nero at Rome that they seem to
point to Roman Christians as the recipients of the letter. But they
are bookish metaphors (cf. xii. 1 f.), and the author may possibly
have S. Paul's phrase, 1 Cor. iv. 9, in mind.
34. them that were in bonds] The word is desmiois = " prisoners."
An ancient variant is desmois=" bonds." Another is desmois
mou ="my bonds." The first of these variants seems to have been
a mere shp in writing; the second an improvement of the slip for
the sake of getting sense out of the vague ' ' bonds. ' ' Once admitted
"my bonds" became an argument for Pauline authorship; cf.
Phil. i. 7, 13 1, 17; Col. iv. 18; Philem. 10; 2 Tim. ii. 9; Intr. n. 2.
The parallel to the undoubtedly true reading is xiii. 3 infra.
ye yourselves have] But the rendering of the margin, with which
cf. Luke xxi. 19, is surely right, "that ye have your own selves for
a better possession." This is one of those high flights of apostolic
thought which mark " inspiration." Later generations have often
reduced them to commonplace, altering the text. Two such
reductions may be seen here in R.V. margin and A.V. (cf. Intr.
iv. 4). Once the private will has been lost and found in God's Will
(x. 10), the self or soul is infinite riches. The addition of "in
heaven" (A.V.) imports an idea of future recompense which is
quite alien to the context.
For a theological comment on the value of " self " see 2 Cor. xiii.
5, R.V. ; and Maurice's pathetic explanation of this to his troubled
mother (Life, 1. ch. xi.) : "...The truth is that every man is in
Christ; the condemnation of every man is that he will not own the
truth; he will not act as if this were true, he will not believe that
which is the truth, that, except he were joined to Christ, he could
not think, breathe, hve a single hour.... Separate from Christ, I can
bear no fruit to God. Separate from Christ, I am separate from
every one of my brethren — "
And cf. the language of Themistocles after Salamis: "For we
have found a great find, our own selves and Hellas, having beaten
off so vast a cloud of men. . . 'for these deeds it is not we who wrought
but the gods and heroes,'" Hdt. viii. 109.
6—2

84 HEBREWS X. 37—39
37 For yet a very little while,
He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
38 But J 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 perdition;
but of them that have faith unto the 3 saving of the soul.
1 Some ancient authorities read the righteous one.
2 Gr. of shrinking back.. .but of faith. 3 Or, gaining
37. The quotation is from Hab. ii. 3 f., introduced by a phrase
from Is. xxvi. 20, another " advent " passage. There are some slight
variations from the LXX but what is important is the author's bold
addition of the article to the part. " coming," by which he adapts
O.T. language to the Church's expectation of the coming of Christ.
In LXX "coming shall come" represents the emphatic Hebrew
"shall indeed come"; who shall come, is left mysteriously vague.
In the Hebrew it is "the vision" that comes. Thus Hebrew, LXX,
and ep. represent three stages in Messianic thought, corresponding
to the three periods to which they belong.
39. unto the saving of the soul] "Gaining" (margin) is better.
This remarkable Greek noun (=" gaining," "obtaining," "pos
sessing," "making one's own") is used in 1 Thess. v. 9; 2 Thess.
ii. 14; Eph. i. 14; Haggai ii. 9 (LXX) and 1 Pet. ii. 9, with which
cf. LXX of Is. xljii. 21 ; Mai. hi. 17: the corresponding verb in
Luke xvii. 33; Acts xx. 28; 1 Tim. iii. 13. The Dean of Wells
explains Eph. i. 14 ("unto the redemption of God's own pos
session") from the concrete idea of LXX; "that ultimate emanci
pation by which God shall claim us finally as His 'peculiar
treasure.'" Westcott1 however sees a larger promise — "all that
which God has made His own in earth and heaven, not men only
who had fallen from Him, and earth which had shared the con
sequences of man's fall, but all created things, gathered together
in the last crisis of then history. . .God in His infinite patience and
love wins His creatures to Himself  The thought is of the
complete fulfilment of God's purpose." This appears to suit the
general character of Ephesians and the absolute use of the noun
in that verse. In our passage there is a difference; this noun has
changed position, and gaining the grammatical government of the
phrase has lost its principality in the idea. Here the emphasis is
on "soul" and the interest is in that process or crisis of hfe by
which the "soul" reaches freedom. Compare what Hegel says
about the more elementary process of soul possessing body: "A
living being has a body ; the soul takes possession of it and without
intermediary has objectified itself in it. The human soul has much
to do, before it makes its corporeal nature into a means. Man
1 St Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Macmillan, igo6.

HEBREWS XI. i 85
Now faith is 1the assurance of things hoped for, the 11
1 Or, the giving substance to
must, as it were, take possession of his body, so that it may be an
instrument of his soul1." The author desires that his friends may
so truly get possession of their souls that they may become
masters of the circumstances which endanger them. They are to
"come to themselves "» to realise the true harmony between the
ideal of the Christian calling, and the difficulties presented by the
seeming, external necessity of taking a lower choice. When this
friction shall be serenely accepted as the divinely fit means of
destined advance (cf. "let us be borne onward," vi. 1) they will
have entered upon "possession of soul," which is the happy state
of faith, consequent upon the venture of faith.
Ch. XI. 1 — 3. Faith and the eternal order.
And, let men say what they will, there is such a power as faith.
It is the heart of hope; it sifts fancy from reality when we reach
into the unseen. Faith is; for in the impulse and strength of faith
alone did the men of oid time win their place in the roll of
scripture heroes. It is by faith that we get intelligence to com
prehend how the ages have been adjusted and re-adjusted by
God's decree, so that we may not think that the course of history
has come about from the surface play of passions and accidents.
For this description of faith see Intr. in. 33, iv. 2. Add these
quotations from Windisch :
Faith is vision of the unperceived, the apostle says, and brings things
unseen to as full a certainty as if they were seen. . .fof whereas the objects
of hope seem to be unsubstantial faith gives them substance: or rather
gives not, but is their substance. Chrysostom t. xiii. p. 197.
Abraham is said to have been the first to have faith in God since, he
was the very first to grasp the conception firmly and for ever that the
highest of all is the only cause of all and is the providence of the world
and all that is therein. Philo, de vwt. 216, p. 442.
Faith then towards God is the only perfectly true and surely settled
good... the fulfilment of fair hopes... the education of a soul once fixed and
founded on that first cause of all things who can do all things and wills
to do the best. Philo, de Abr. 268, p. 39.
Add also Coleridge, Aids, Moral and Relig. Aph. xii., "in all
finite quantity there is an infinite, in all measure of time an
eternal; and the latter are the basis, the substance, the true and
abiding reahty of the former."
1. is]- stands first in the Greek sentence, unusually and
emphatically; the reality of faith rather than its definition is
insisted upon. Hence the following "for" in v. 2.
things] Notice the italics in R.V. The Greek word is more
1 The Logic of Hegel, transl. W. Wallace, § 208, cf. § 216.

86 HEBREWS XI. 1—3
2 xproving of things not seen. For therein the elders had
3 witness borne to them. By faith we understand that the
2 worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that
what is seen hath not been made out of things which do
1 Or, test a Gr. ages.
concrete, "facts." Faith gives subsistence to hope, existence to
invisible fact.
assurance] But the Greek is hypostasis " substance " ; see notes on
i. 3, iii. 14. Proving, Greek elenchus, is the " test " or " trial " which
shews a thing as it really is. Windisch quotes from Epictetus,
Dissert, in. 10, 11, "the elenchus of a matter is the philosopher's
criticism." There it means the "account" which is given in
answer to this trial: so Socrates in his Apologia (39 c) said that the
Athenians would find, when he was gone, others to "try" or
expose their true characters with less sympathy than he had shewn
and that they vainly expected to escape "giving account." A.V.
"evidence" is almost a confusion of the two senses. "Test"
(R.V. marg.) seems to suit the context here.
2. had witness borne to them] The verb is a striking one —
martyrein cf. "martyr" — and with its cognate noun gathers
deeper meaning as the argument proceeds : cf . xi. 39, note.
3. worlds] But see margin, cf. i. 2. The ref. is primarily to the
creation, Gen. i. But with this word the author takes a wider
sweep. The idea of time in aeons — "ages" not "worlds" — is
extended into faith in the growing process of God's already
perfect will, cf. x. 10. Thus moral purpose enters creation. To the
first readers of the ep. their own troubled days appeared dis
orderly. Their friend's faith, seeing life steadily and whole,
perceived the divine continuity of history.
that what is seen] Our borrowed word phenomena just expresses
the meaning. Blass, in his Grammar of N.T. Greek, 75. 7, says
the "not" should go with the participle, "what is seen hath been
made out of things which do not appear." But it is more forcible
to construe "not" with "hath been made," a perf. inf. which
attracts the weight of the sentence to itself. The result, of in
telligent faith is the conviction that "nullity and transitoriness
constitute only the superficial features and not the essence of the
world1." Blass quotes the parallel in 2 Mace. vii. 28, " I beseech
thee, my child, to lift thine eyes unto the heaven and the earth,
and to see all things that are therein, and thus to recognise that
God made them not of things that were," or as Blass would prefer,
"made them of things that were not" : compare or contrast Apoc.
iv. 11 (R.V.). Readers of Philo will notice how often this chapter
seems to be connected with his writings. But the coincidences
1 Hegel, Logic, Wallace, p. 234, cf. supr. i. 10 ff.

HEBREWS XI. 87
with the Maccabean books are quite as remarkable. With Philo
a general community of thought and language is all that can be
asserted. Intr. in. 32, 33.
4 — 16. Faith and the patriarchs.
" Still far beyond the range of actual touch, historical sympathy
sets the individual amid *. kindred of great names." Wallace.
By faith Abel offered to God a more abundant sacrifice than
Cain, and through that sacrifice he received witness of his
righteousness, God himself witnessing to the Tightness of his gifts;
and through the sequel of the sacrifice he' died and yet still
speaketh. By faith Enoch was taken away so as not to see death ; he was
not found, says the Scripture, for God took him. God took him
because He had pleasure in him, for before he was taken the
witness is recorded that " he hath pleased God." Apart from faith
it is impossible to please; for he who cometh to God's presence
must by an act of faith decide that God is, and that to those who
diligently seek Him He proves a good paymaster in affection.
By faith Noah received oracular warning of events not yet in
sight ; he reverently heeded it, and prepared an ark for salvation,
his family's salvation. Thus he openly condemned the opinion of
the vulgar world, and became heir of the righteousness which
developes along the line of faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed the call, while it was yet in his ears,
to go forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an
inheritance; and he went not knowing whither. By faith he
entered like a sojourner into a foreign land; but it was indeed the
home-land where the divine promise would realise itself. He came
as a sojourner vowed to the life of tents, with Isaac and Jacob who
were associated with him in the succession of the same promise;
a sojourner in tents, for he looked away from earth to the city that
hath firm foundations, whose designer and creator is God.
By faith too Sarah herself (doubter though she seemed) was
invigorated for the seed-sowing even when past the seasonable age,
since she did account Him faithful that promised. And so, from
one man, from a man as good as dead, were born children hke
the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand on the sea-shore
which is innumerable.
On the journey of faith these patriarchs all died; they did not
come home with the promises, but they saw them on the far
horizon and greeted them, and confessed they were strangers and
pilgrims on earth. "On earth"; for those who use that form of
creed make manifest their search after a native land beyond. And
if they had been merely re-awakening the memory of that land
from which they came forth, they would have had opportunity to'
retrace their steps. But now, you see, they are yearning for the
better land, that is the high heavenly one. And therefore infinite

88 HEBREWS XI. 3—7
4 appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne
to him that he was righteous, 1God bearing witness 2in
respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet
5 speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should
not see death ; and he was not found, because God trans
lated him : for before his translation he hath had witness
borne to him that he had been well-pleasing unto God:
6 and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto
him : for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
7 and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. By
1 The Greek text in this clause is somewhat uncertain.
2 Or, over his gifts
God is not ashamed to answer to the homely title of "their God " ;
for He prepared, for them, a city.
4. a more excellent] or "abundant." A picturesque epithet
which lent itself to the author's weakness for alliteration.
God bearing witness in respect of his gifts] See margin. Hort's
judgement was that "the reading of the best mss. (' God himself
bearing witness ') is apparently a primitive error, due to mechani
cal permutation, the true reading being that which Clement of
Alexandria alone has preserved." That reading, "God bearing
witness to him," is now supported by fl13. Yet Gen. iv. 4 might
perhaps have justified the emphasis laid by "the best mss." on
God's "own" witness. The rather awkward expression "in
respect of (marg. 'over') his gifts" represents a Greek preposition
which comes in as part of the quotation from LXX.
speaketh] So the true text; but the "received text" which A.V.
generally follows has "is spoken of." Perhaps the influence of the
Vulgate saved our A.V. from such a jejune sentiment. "Immor
tality ! Not here in human remembrance"; cf. Phil. Quod det pot.,
p. 200, "Abel — what a paradox — has been slain and yet lives."
5. was translated] translatus est, lat. verss. Gen. v. 24 has " And
Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him,"
which might describe a calm and holy death. Wisd. iv. 10 is
almost as reticent : a special sense is imported into the Greek for
"translated " : but it need mean no more than "removed." Nor is
Sirach xliv. 16 different, but in xlix. 14 something miraculous is
implied, " No man was created upon the earth such as was Enoch;
for he was taken up from the earth." Our author, full of the one
great wonder of the Person of Christ, prefers mystery to miracle,
and restrains himself from speculation.
6. rewarder] This does not imply mercenary religion, but trust
which is really personal — respondet curis aequatque amorem. It is

HEBREWS XI. 7— n 89
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. By faith Abraham, when he was 8
called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to
receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went. By faith he became a sojourner in the 9
land of promise, as in a land not his own, 1 dwelling in tents,
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs' with him of the same
promise: for he looked for the city which hath the 10
foundations, whose 2 builder and maker is God. By faith n
even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when
she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had
1 Or, having taken up his abode in tents 2 Or, architect
one of our author's full-sounding compounds : cf . the cognate noun
in v. 26 below.
7. moved with godly fear] Cf. v. 7, xii. 28; metuens, lat. verss.
is inadequate; so is A.V. "moved with fear" and A.V. margin
"being wary."
condemned] Cf. Luke xi. 31 f. This compound verb is rare
compared with the simple form which means "to judge" in N.T.
Only in Mark xvi. 16 and perhaps 2 Pet. ii. 6 is God's "con
demnation " of man asserted.
the righteousness which is according to faith] The preposition is
rather strange: it means " along of," " along the road of." S. Paul
thinks rather of rightenusness springing "out of" faith; Rom. ix.
30, x. 6; cf. Rom. hi. 22, iv. n, 13; Phil. hi. 9.
8. For Abraham's " call " see Gen. xii. 1 ; from the human point
of view. Gen. xi. 30 f. For his "sojourning," Gen. xxiii. 4. That
thought is taken up again in v. 13. The stages of its spiritual
development are to be observed in 1 Chr. xxix. 15 and Ps. xxxix.
(xxxviii.) 12. It is the core of that "other-worldly "idealism which
has always been characteristic of the Jew, appeared in utmost
purity in the Galilean Gospel, and is interpreted for a rising
generation in the rest of N.T. In this ep. the doctrine of faith is
mainly an appeal for the revival of that enthusiasm.
9. the land of promise] For this gen. of essential character cf.
ix. 5.
11. since she counted him faithful] As in v. 27, the author goes
against the letter of O.T. (Gen. xviii. 12 ff.) to reach the general
and profounder truth. For S. Paul's application of the incident cf.
Rom. iv. 18 ff.

90 HEBREWS XI. ii— 16
12 promised: wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as
good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude,
and as the sand, which is by the sea shore, innumerable.
13 These all died Hn faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them and greeted them from
afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and
14 pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things make
it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their
15 own. And if indeed they had been mindful of that
country from which they went out, they would have had
16 opportunity to return. 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. 1 Gr. according to.
12. as the stars, &c] From Gen. xxii. 17.
13. in or according to faith] ="in the way of faith," cf. v. 7. In
accordance with the metaphor that follows the author pictures
faith in terms of space, whereas S. Paul hardly varies from terms
of energy.
having seen. . .and greeted. . .from afar] Like pilgrims who see the
minarets of the city on the horizon, and still must camp for one
more night in the desert. A.V. follows "received text" which
inserts "and were persuaded of them" with a curious paucity of
authority or sense.
16. But now they desire] pres., because the author, as usual,
realises written history as a vivid picture. Perhaps also because
these pilgrim fathers were still living and still waiting, cf. v. 40.
is not ashamed of them] Cf. Plat. Symp. 216 b: "I have had
towards this person alone among men a. feeling of which no one
would suppose me capable, the feeling of being abashed before
any one." The meaning is rather "is not abashed before them" —
a boldly imaginative figure — than "ashamed of their conduct."
Note the emphasis "them," "their," "them."
to be called] Again a compound word which almost implies "to
be surnamed," cf. Ex. iii. 15., The author dissents from Philo's
philosophic reverence, and follows the early historians of Israel in
dwelling on this homely, "human" condescension in God.
17 — 81. Faith: the consecration and redemption
of Israel.
By faith hath Abraham fulfilled the sacrifice of Isaac, though the
trial was hard: yea, the only begotten son was he in the act of
offering who had accepted the promises, unto whom it was said,

HEBREWS XI. 17—19 91
By faith Abraham, being tried, x offered up Isaac: yea, 17
he that had gladly received the promises was offering up
his only begotten son; even he 2to whom it was said, In 18
Isaac shall thy seed be called : accounting that God is able 19
1 Gr. hath offered up. 2 Or, of
In Isaac shall a seed be called for thee. For he had made up his
mind that God, even from the dead, can raise to life. And from
the dead indeed, by a restoration that is a symbol for later faith,
he did recover him.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, and his blessing reached
into the purposes of God.
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, distinguished the two sons
of Joseph as he blessed them; and with the reverent insight of
infirm old age he worshipped leaning on the top of his staff.
By faith Joseph, as his end drew near, bade his brethren
remember that the children of Israel should go forth from Egypt,
and gave commandment concerning the removal of his own bones.
By faith Moses was hidden immediately after birth for three
months by his parents, because they saw how goodly the child was,
and they feared not the decree of the king.
By faith Moses, when he was grown a man, refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter, having made his choice rather to
suffer abiding affliction with the people of God than to have
enjoyment of sin for a season. Greater riches in his reckoning than
the treasures of Egypt was the scorned estate of the Christ-
bearing nation; for he looked to the'eternal service in which God
pays the wages.
By faith he left Egypt, but not because he feared the wrath
of the king; for he strengthened his resolution, as seeing Him who
is invisible. By faith he celebrated the Passover (as Israel still does) and the
ritual of blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not
touch them.
By faith they crossed the Red Sea as by dry land. But the
Egyptians had enough of sea and were swallowed up.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the procession had gone
round them seven times in seven days.
By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with the infidels,
because she had received the spies with the hospitality of peace.
17. offered up] From Gen. xxii., but the perf." hath offered up "
(margin) is in marked contrast to the aorists of that narrative.
"Sacrifice" is a metaphor from ancient worship; the reality such
language points to lies in the union of man's will with God, cf.
x. 10. Thus Abraham is ever to be regarded as having in fact
sacrificed Isaac, though the slaying of the boy was stayed. To our
author the main argument of Gen. xxii. is the eternal consecration

92 HEBREWS XI. 19—26
to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also
20 in a parable receive him back. By faith Isaac blessed
21 Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. By
faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed each of the sons
of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his
22 staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made
mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and
23 gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses,
when he was born, was hid three months by his parents,
because they saw he was a goodly child ; and they were
24 not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith Moses,
when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of
25 Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to be evil entreated
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
26 for a season; accounting the reproach of 1 Christ greater
1 Or, the Christ
of the nation, through Isaac, to the Lord. Cf. the somewhat
narrower application of the same thought in Ep. Barn. vii. 3, " since
he too for our sins was to offer the vessel of the spirit as a sacrifice,
so that the type which was formed when Isaac was offered on the
altar might be fulfilled." In Clem. xxxi. Isaac himself is spoken of
as a willing sacrifice, "Isaac with willing trustfulness reading the
future was gladly conducted' to his sacrifice."
19. in a parable] Cf. ix. 9; but Camerarius, in the sixteenth
century, proposed to take the Greek phrase as though 'in the
very crisis of the hazard"; another of the bold paradoxes of the
ep., but hardly possible, though a scholium on Thuc. I. 131 lends
vague support to it.
20 f. See Gen. xxvii., xlviii. The last words of v. 21 are quoted
from Gen. xlvii. 31, where LXX "staff" represents a different
pointing of the consonants which signify "bed "in the traditional
Hebrew text. Latt. render adoravit fastigium virgae eius: "he
worshipped the top of his staff." But at least one ms. of the
Vulgate inserts super, and our English paraphrase, "leaning upon,"
is legitimate. Our author certainly, and the LXX probably, had
no idea of Jacob's worshipping an image carved on his staff; cf.
however Gen. xxxi. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 23, xix. 13; Hos. iv. 12.
23 ff. See Ex. ii., of which these verses are verbally reminiscent,
as v. 28 is of Ex. xii. 21 ff. "Born" might possibly be construed
with "faith" as referring to Ex. ii. 1; his parents were careful of
his pure Levitical descent.
26. the reproach of Christ] Better "the Christ" (margin). A
reminiscence of Ps. lxxxix. (lxxxviii.) 50 I., where "thine anointed,"

HEBREWS XI. 26—30 93
riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the
recompense of reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not 27
fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing
him who is invisible. By faith he xkept the passover, and 28
the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the
firstborn should not touch them. By faith they passed 29
through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians
assaying to do were swallowed up. By faith the walls of 30
1 Or, instituted Gr. hath made.
or "thy Christ," means the people of Israel; Intr. in. 6, 28, and
i. 5, v. 5, notes.
27. not fearing] This might refer to the exodus. But "as
seeing the invisible" seems to point forward to the burning bush,
and here as in S. Stephen's speech the spiritual education of Moses
in the wilderness is the proper sequel to his secular education in
Pharaoh's court, and the preparation for his redemptive work.
The author deliberately corrects the letter of Ex. ii. 14 by the
deeper truth of Moses' real courage, which he gathers from the
whole context.
28. sprinkling] Cf. ix. 21 f., though the Greek is not quite the
same as either of the words used there. The corresponding verb
is frequent in the ritual chapters of the Pentateuch for the dashing
of the sacrificial blood against the altar, &c.
29. the Red sea] So LXX for Hebrew "sea of reeds."
assaying to do] The idiomatic phrase in the Greek means generally
"have experience of." That would give a grim sense here: see
paraphrase. The phrase is repeated in v. 36 below, "had trial of,"
and perhaps it explains the rather pointless " they were tempted "
or "tried" in v. 37: that superfluous word was originally written
in the margin to indicate the meaning of the somewhat rare
idiom. 32 — 38. Faith : from the Judges to the Maccabees.
And what more am I to say? For time shall fail me if I tell the
tale of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David too and Samuel
and the prophets: — who by faith overcame kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, won promises, stopped lions' mouths, quenched
fire's power, escaped the sword's edge, were made powerful when
they were weak, and strong in war; they turned back armies of
invaders; women received their dead by resurrection; others were
broken on the wheel, having refused the dehverance that was
offered them so that they might attain the better resurrection;
others again had bitter experience of mockings and scourgings, of
bonds too and of prison; they were stoned, tortured, sawn asunder,
died the death of the sword, went about in sheepskins, in goat-

94 HEBREWS XI. 30— 35
Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about
31 for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot perished not
with them that were disobedient, having received the
32 spies with peace. And what shall I more say? for the time
will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah ;
33 of David and Samuel and the prophets : who through faith
subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
34 promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weak
ness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to
35 flight armies of aliens. Women received their dead by a
resurrection: and others were x tortured, not accepting
. x Or, beaten to death
skins; need, affliction, evil estate were theirs continually; men of
whom the whole world was unworthy wandered about deserts,
were fugitives in mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
32. Samuel and the prophets] Samuel, whose "ear the Lord
uncovered" (1 Sam. ix. 15), inaugurated or restored the line of
"inspired" prophets; cf. 1 Sam. hi. 20 f. ; Amos iii. 7; Deut. xxxiv.
10, and contrast 1 Sam. x. 10 — 13, xix. 23 f. ; 1 Kings xxii. 6 ff.
34. from weakness were made strong] Rendel Harris1 sees a
reference to Judith in this verse. Cf. Clem. lv. with Lightfoot's
note. armies] In the quotation, xiii. 11, this word has the meaning
"camp," frequent in late Greek. Here it means "army in line of
battle," as often in Polybius and LXX. This is however especially
frequent in 1 Mace. And at this point the author seems to turn his
mind almost entirely to the Maccabean heroisms, especially to the
famous narrative of the Maccabean martyrs in 2 Mace. vi. and vii.
¦ — "before the martyrs greatest martyrs," as the Prayer-Book of
the Greek Church styles them. Thus "stopped the mouths of the
lions" looks hke a verbal reminiscence of Dan. vi. 22. But that
particular Greek phrase is not in LXX of Daniel, we only know it
from Theodotion's version, and the general reference might be to
1 Mace. ii. 60. The women who received their dead may be those
mentioned in 1 Kings xvii. 17 ff. ; 2 Kings iv. 17 ff. But the thought
of "resurrection" is greatly deepened if the mother of the seven
martyrs is particularly included. See her noble words in 2 Mace.
vii. 29. The "better resurrection" will then be a climax not a
contrast, and the reality of her receiving will be hke the saving of
our Lord "out of death" in v. 7 f .
35. tortured] distenti sunt vg., " beaten to death " margin : a late
word for a late form of torture, which however can too well be
1 Side lights on N.T. research, pp. 170 f.

HEBREWS XI. 35—40 95
1 their deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection : and others had trial of mockings and 36
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were 37
tempted, they were slain with the sword : they went about
in sheepskins, in goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, evil
entreated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering 38
in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the
earth. And these all, having had witness borne to them 39
through their faith, received not the promise, God having 40
2 provided some better thing concerning us, that apart
from us they should not be made perfect.
1 Gr. the redemption. " Or, foreseen
translated into English "broken upon the wheel." Cf. 2 Mace.
vi. 28 ff.
37. sawn asunder] Isaiah is said in an apocryphal book to have
been sawn asunder, but it would be strange to hark back here to
an early prophet. Yet see Clem, xvii., who says that by those who
went about "in goatskins and sheepskins preaching the advent of
Christ," he understands Ehjah, Elisha and Ezekiel. Intr. 11. 4.
were tempted] See note on v. 29 supra.
38. The punctuation of W.H. gives better rythm and more
vigorous sense than is got by the parenthesis of R.V. : see para
phrase. 39 — 40. Deferred fruition.
And yet all these, though canonised through faith in the
witness of Scripture, lacked fruition of the promise; inasmuch as
God, with us to-day in view, had provided a better fulfilment than
they could conceive, that the completion of their blessedness might
not be achieved without our co-operation.
39. having had witness borne to them] This passage takes up the
" witness borne" of v. 2. In xii. 1 "being witnessed to " passes into
" witnessing " : at each stage in the salutary sufferings of the Christ
the partakers of those sufferings become in their turn witnesses,
and the earthly scene is filled with invisible as well as visible specta
tors. Indeedinxii. 1 we are not far from the idea of "martyrdom,"
cf. note on xi. 2 supra, also cf. 1 Cor. iv. 9; 1 Pet. i. 11 f. (where
notice the affinity with our author's doctrine of angels), v. 1, 9;
1 Tim. vi. 12 i, and the testimony of the nations in Is. hi. 13 — liii.
40. apart from us] In spite of xii. 23, it seems as though the
author presses this argument here upon the little group of friends
whom he is urging to their imminent duty — the perfect satisfaction
of these O.T. saints waits for their hastening or hindering it.
Intr. in. 23.

96 HEBREWS XII. i
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 Moth so easily beset us, and let us
1 Or, all cumbrance
2 Or, doth closely cling to us Or, is admired of many
Ch. XII. 1 — 3. The martyrs' trial.
Now we in our turn are on trial. Those whose faithfulness was
attested in the past are now to attest ours. They are spread round
us hke a cloud of spiritual spectators as we stand in the arena.
Therefore, though hesitation to do our appointed duty clings to us
like the wrap which the anxious athlete shrinks from casting off,
let not hesitation become the sin of refusal. Let lis cast it off and
run with steady resolution the race that stretches before us,
looking past the fears of sense to Him who leads us into the
mysteries of faith and will lead us to their consummation; even
Jesus, who in the trial set before His manhood balanced pain with
heroic joy, and with a noble scorn of shame resolutely faced the
cross. So hath He been enthroned on God's right hand. Mark Him
well, for our contest is all one with His; what Korah-like gain
saying hath He so resolutely endured from men who sinned against
themselves in opposing Him. Still men gainsay, and still His
firmness gives us power, so that your faint-heartedness need not
end in failure.
1. cloud] A common metaphor; here particularly appropriate
to the gathering of "spirits," xii. 23.
which doth so easily beset us] Not elsewhere except in passages
dependent on this. It is one doubly compounded word which
should mean "standing well round" or "stood well around." The
active sense is taken by the vg. circumstans and the first rendering
in R.V. marg. "doth closely chng to us." The passive is suggested
by Isocrates' use of almost the same word, of one whois surrounded
by admirers: so the second marginal rendering "is admired of
many." That would well describe the "specious" sin (cf. iii. 13)
in which, if they yield, the readers' honour will stand rooted in
dishonour. No vague besetting sin is meant, but failure in the
particular duty which the ep. is written to urge. The picture here
presented (cf. vi. 19 f.) is of a race-course; the O.T. heroes are
watching to bear witness how the readers of the ep. will acquit
themselves : they, having Jesus now in sight, who has run the same
course and now sits visible on His throne at the goal — note peri.
" hath sat down, " which at last marks a new stage in the argument
of the ep. — they are preparing to run the race. This picture
suggests an active sense for the adjective. The sin which presses on
all sides upon the readers is hke the wrap which the athlete, in the
anxious moments before the start, shrinks from laying aside —

HEBREWS XII. 1—3 97
run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto 2
Jesus the 1 author and perfecter of our faith, who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God. For consider him that hath endured such gain- 3
saying of sinners against 2 themselves, that ye wax not
1 Or, captain
2 Many authorities, some ancient, read himself.
"we must strip off those many tunics of ours," Porphyry, de
abstinentia. Cf. Clem. vn. "for we are in the same lists, and the
same contest is before us. Wherefore let us away with our vain and
empty fancies... let us look steadfastly to the blood of the Christ."
run] might be used figuratively of any contest, but the foot-race
makes the best picture here.
the race that is set before us] The Sixtine and Clementine vg.
have ad propositum certamen. Hence A.V. in its original text
"unto the race." Notice in the Prayer-Book how this passage
helped Cosin to bring the 1549 version of the collect for IV Advent
into its fine present form.
2. author and perfecter] Cf. ii. 10. This has been well rendered,
" He who trod the path before us and trod it perfectly to the end1."
Yet the idea of a captain in arms is included. In "perfecter" the
author, who never labours his imagery, is passing from the
romantic picture to the reahsm of vv. 3 f.
for the joy that was set before him] This corresponds to ' ' set before
us" in last verse. Not the future reward but the immediate "joy
of battle" is meant. Cf. Father R. M. Benson, Letters, p. 201,
" The joy which comes after peace is a spurious joy, an earthly one,
if it is a joy because there is peace in our days."
endured] takes up "patience," which is the cognate noun
("endurance") in Greek, from preceding verse (cf. x. 32, 36), and
is echoed in vv. 3 and 7. The thought is characteristic of this ep.
of the divine manhood. "The message of the cross to sufferers is
this, that the highest and greatest victory that has ever been won
in human nature was won by the perseverance of faith, hope and
charity — in a word, by patience, — under the pressure of sufferings
that were neither removed nor mitigated, but endured; and that,
provided we can, by the grace of God, meet trouble in a spirit
which is essentially the same, however much weaker in degree, we
may win the same kind of victory in our measure2." Cf. note on
iv. 15, and Intr. n. 15, in. 15.
3. sinners against themselves] This, certainly the true reading,
is a reminiscence of Num. xvi. 37 (xvii. 2) . Its bitterness is turned
1 Foundations, p. 192.
2 F. M. Downton, in The Cowley Evangelist, June, 1914.
HEBREWS 7

98 HEBREWS XII. 3—6
4 weary, fainting in your souls. Ye have not yet resisted
5 unto blood, striving against sin: and ye have forgotten
the exhortation, which reasoneth with you as with sons,
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.
by the complementary utterance of our Lord, Luke xxiii. 34.
R.V. marg. and A.V. shew again how later readers were offended
by the vigorous apostolic intellect.
4 — 13. Chastisement the revelation of the
Father's love.
In your wrestle with the threatening sin of these critical days
you have not yet had to face death, and you have forgotten the
consolation which comes to you like a father's voice pleading with
his sons : " My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor yet
faint when thou art reproved by him ; for whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
Wait manfully for His chastisement. As with sons He dealeth
with you, He who is God. For is there ever a son whom a true
father does not chasten? If you stay outside the discipline of the
divine family into which the whole suffering world of men have
been initiated, you must be bastards and not sons. And further:
if we accepted the fathers who begat us as disciplinarians and so
learned to respect them, shall we not much more readily submit to
"the Father of spirits" and so rise to life? To the life, I mean,
which is life indeed; for if they, according to their poor judgement
which looked forward but for a few days, used to exercise dis
cipline, He knows what is really for His children's good and means
them to share the holiness of His own life. All chastening indeed
seems at the moment to be a matter of pain, not of joy: yet
afterwards it yields fruit of peace to those who have been trained
thereby — the peace of righteousness. Wherefore "the slackened
hands and the palsied knees do ye set firm and straight," and
" straight paths be ye making for your feet," that the lame folk be
not led astray but rather be healed.
4. sin] " The sin" in Greek, significantly: cf. note on iii. 13 and
Intr. iv. 1. The sin of failing in the one hard duty set before the
readers of the ep. at that very time is meant.
5. which reasoneth with you] As though discipline were a person
cf. xi. 9, xii. 24; Intr. iv. 1. The quotation is from Prov. xi 3 f '.
To our author the discipline of love raises natural relationship
into spiritual. Cf. Leonian Sacramentary: "God who by loving
dost chasten, and by chastening dost .cherish."
The quotation is from Prov. hi. n i. Philo also cites the verse.

HEBREWS XII. 7—13 99
1 It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you 7
•as with sons; for what son is there whom his father
chasteneth not? But if ye are without chastening, 8
whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers 9
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? For they verily for a few 10-
days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for
our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All n
chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but
grievous: yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto
them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of
righteousness. Wherefore 3lift up the hands that hang 12
down, and the palsied knees; and make straight paths for 13
your feet, that that which is lame be not * turned out of
the way, but rather be healed.
1 Or, Endure unto chastening
2 Or, our spirits
3 Gr. make straight. i Or, put out of joint
7. for chastening] As often in the ep. some trial seems indicated
which is nigh but not yet come, cf. 1 Pet. iv. 12. But in the
"received text" and A.V. the characteristic prep, has been turned
into "if" by the striking off of its last letter, the foreboding is
dulled, and the cheerful faith in God's fatherhood is made
dependent on His creatures' resignation.
9. Father of spirits] Cf. Num. xvi. 22; Apoc. xxii. 6, and
v. 23 infr. Some printed edd. of the Syriac Bible give "fathers of
spirits" (i.e. "spiritual fathers"?) here. That is a misprint or mis
reading of the mss. But the Armenian translation of Ephraem's
commentaries seems to shew that he actually had this reading in
the older version which he knew.
12. lift up, Sec] From Is. xxxv. 3; a close rendering of Heb.;
yet there seems to be a reminiscence of LXX also.
13. thatwhichis lame] Prob. concrete, "lame persons," cf. "the
many," v. 15; Intr. iv. 1. But, giving a later sense to the verb, we
might translate, " that your lameness grow not worse " ; see margin
An adaptation of Prov. iv. 26, LXX. The adaptation is,
according to most mss., in metre of so marked a kind as to be a
real blot upon the author's rythmical taste : see Intr. iv. 3. Happily
the best mss. give one word in a slightly different form and save
him from this imputation. .
7—2

ioo HEBREWS XII. 14—17
14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification
15 without which no man shall see the Lord: looking care
fully 1 lest there be any man that 2 faileth short of the grace
of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble
16 you, and thereby the many be defiled; 1lest there be any
fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of
1 7 meat sold his own birthright . For ye know that even when
he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was
1 Or, whether 2 Or, faileth back from
14 — 17. Charity with loyalty.
Peace: Yes, "pursue peace" with all men. But do not, for the
dream of peace, desert the consecrated fellowship outside of which
no one shall see the Lord at His coming. Keep that unviolated,
continually interesting yourselves in the brethren lest there should
be any one in lack of the common treasure of God's grace; lest
any root of bitterness spring up into a noxious plant, and thereby
the simple multitude be defiled; lest any one be corrupted with
lewd heresy or worldly ambition, as Esau was, who for one dish of
food sold his proper birthright. For you know that when he did
afterwards wish to claim his inherited blessing he lost his plea —
no "place for afterthought" was allowed in that court — though
with tears he had sought diligently to recover it.
14. Follow after peace] Cf. Ps. xxxiv. (xxxui.) 14; Rom. xii. 18.
the sanctification] A Pauline word, but here used in the more
special sense of LXX, the consecration which marks the people of
God. So 2 Mace. ii. 17: "Now God, who saved all his people, and
restored the heritage to all, and the kingdom, and the priesthood,
and the consecration." It introduces a warning like those in vi.
4 ff., x. 26 f . ; such a. warning as was hardened later into extra
ecclesiam nulla salus. This warning is in iambic metre and has
almost a proverbial ring; but it is followed by a second iambic line
which is too plainly due to the author's carelessness.
15 f. lest any root of bitterness, &c] From Deut. xxix. 18 with
certain variations which are probably due to our author's adapting
memory. For the sequence of thought cf. this coincidence or
reminiscence in Leighton quoted by Coleridge1: "The boasted
peaceableness about questions of faith too often proceeds from a
superficial temper, and not seldom from a supercilious disdain of
whatever has no marketable use or value, and from indifference to
rehgion itself. Toleration is a herb of spontaneous growth in the
soil of indifference; but the weed has none of the virtues of the
medicinal plant, reared by humility in the garden of zeal."
1 Aids, Moral and Rel. Aph. xxvi.

HEBREWS XII. 17 101
rejected (for he found no place of repentance), though he
sought it dihgently with tears.
17 though he sought it diligently] For Esau's profaneness and
tears see Gen. xxv. 33 f., xxvii. 30 — 40. "It" might refer to "the
blessing," and Gen. xxvii. 34 supports that explanation, which is
adopted by W.H. in their punctuation. The sense is much the
same, whether "blessing" or "repentance" be referred to. Esau's
hopeless loss (which however is not represented in Gen. as eternal
rejection from God) is a warning to the readers of the ep. whose
hesitation involves a fearful risk of ruin. We find the phrase
"place of repentance" in the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch lxxxv.,
and the Latin 2 Esdr. ix. 12. In these books, which were con
solations to the Jews after the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70, the
doctrine is that in the day of judgement repentance will be no
longer possible. In Wisd. xii. 10, 20, the same phrase occurs in
praise of " the God of the fathers and Lord of his own mercy " who
gives so many opportunities of repentance. Westcott quotes
from Phny's letter (x. 97) to Trajan on the Christians: "whence it
is easy to infer what a multitude of men might be recovered from
error if there were a place of repentance"; and from Ulpian, as
though it were a term of Roman law, in the third century at least.
The phrase had wide apphcations and need not have conveyed to
the first readers the theological hopelessness it suggests here to us ;
Intr. in. 20.
18 — 27. The tremendous hazard in eternal things.
This is a stern warning, for in eternal things the issue of our
choice is tremendous. In this crisis you have come near to no
material fire of kindled stuff, to darkness and gloom and storm and
trumpet-clang and sound of words, of the which sound those who
heard it begged that they might have no further explanation. For
they had been moved beyond endurance by that awfully distinct
command, "If so much as a beast touch the mountain it shall be
stoned." And so fearful was the apparition, Moses said, "I am
beside myself with fear and all a-tremble." No, you stand on the
frontier of eternity, near to Sion the mount and city of the living
God, Jerusalem in heaven above; and myriads of angels in festal
assembly; and to the church of the firstborn, the patriarchal saints
whose names are enrolled in heaven; and to God the judge of all;
and to the spirits of those later saints whose righteousness has been
divinely perfected ; and to the mediator of the covenant which now
renews its youth, even to Jesus; and to the Blood of that un
earthly ritual, tragic, personal, brotherly, which speaks, as Abel
speaks, unceasingly but with a meaning all divine.
See that you refuse Him not who is thus speaking. For if the
Israelites escaped not from God's purpose when in the limited
and earthly revelation at Sinai they had refused their human

102 HEBREWS XII. 18—22
18 For ye are not come unto xa mount that might be
touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness,
19 and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet,
and the voice of words; which voice they that heard
intreated that no word more should be spoken unto them :
20 for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even
21 a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so
fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly
22 fear and quake: but ye are come unto mount Zion, and
1 Or, a palpable and kindled fire
interpreter, how much less we who are all but turning our back on
our Lord who speaks from heaven. That other voice at Sinai, the
voice which shook the earth, was His. And now too it is He whom
we hear proclaiming in the words of the ancient prophecy, "Yet
once more will I myself shake" not only "earth" but also "heaven."
That "once more" signifies the removal of the things that are
shaken, I mean the whole fabric of institutions human and divine,
in order that the realities which are never shaken may come and
abide. 18 — 21. These verses are full of reminiscences of Ex. xix. n — 13 ;
Deut. iv. 11 f., cf. also Deut. v. 22, ix. 19. But "that might be
touched" is the author's own. Some mss. add "mount," but the
authority for omission is decisive. To "understand" it from v. 22,
as in R.V., seems weak. It is possible to take the partt. as neuters,
expressing vague horror: "Something tangible and seared with
fire." But vg. has ad tractabilem et accensibilem ignem = " a
palpable and kindled fire" (margin). Dr E. C. Selwyn1 emends
conjecturally and so gets "a mount all burnt into volcanic
craters." He says that the text could only mean "a fire burnt
out." If so, " a tangible fire and presently burnt out" would stand
in good antithesis with "our God is a consuming fire" at the
conclusion of this passage. But it is easier to explain the perfect
from the primary meaning of the second verb as "having been
kindled." The author's addition "palpable" governs the clause.
Exodus and Deuteronomy express the terribleness of Sinai; he
thinks of the material quality of its terror in contrast with the
invisible, personal, spiritual richness of the mount and city of the
living God, vv. 22 ff. It is that inherent quality which he tries to
suggest by this perf . part.
21. the appearance] A participle resembhng our "phantom."
It is a nicely selected word; it gives to the whole description what
Victor Hugo in his funeral oration on Balzac expressed as " je ne
sais quoi d'effarS et de terrible melS au reel."
• JTS, Oct. 1910.

HEBREWS XII. 22—24 103
unto the city of the living God,- the heavenly Jerusalem,
1 and to 2 innumerable hosts of angels, to the general 23
assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a 24
new Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that
1 Or, and to innumerable hosts, the general assembly of angels, and
the church &-c.
2 Gr. myriads of angels. 3 Or, testament
22 f. For the heavenly Jerusalem cf. Apoc. hi. 12, xxi. 2 ; Gal.
iv. 26 f. with Lightfoot's note on S. Paul's use of "an expression
familiar to rabbinical teachers." In O.T. too Sion and Jerusalem
have sacramental significance, see esp. Ps. lxxxvii. Whether "the
heavenly Jerusalem" be joined with "the city" only or taken in
apposition to the whole preceding clause, may be left to the reader's
taste. Whether "general assembly " should go with angels is a more
interesting question. Tradition, including versions and punctuated
mss., is on the whole for taking these words together; so vg.
multorum milium angelorum frequentiae. The author's penchant
for iambic cadences makes for this. Perhaps "myriads of angels
in festal array " would be a better translation of the words thus
arranged than that given in the margin. The Preface of the Latin
Mass has been modelled on this passage : the Latin form is nearer
to it than our "Angels and archangels and all the company of
heaven." 23. church] In the first division of Acts which tells of the
apostolic community in Jerusalem, this title is reserved, in
technical sense — v. n is different — for the ancient Jewish Church.
So probably in this ep. Hence the "firstborn" are O.T. saints,
who are enrolled in heaven, even though xi. 40 should imply that
the realisation of their birthrightis delayed. The daughter Church,
the disciples of Jesus, will then follow with "and to the spirits."
The universal " God, the judge of all " — looking back as judge and
forward to His "all in ah"'(i Cor. xv. 28) — connects the two.
the firstborn who are enrolled] Cf. Ex. xxxii. 32; Ps. lxxxvii. 6;
Is. iv. 3; Dan. vii. 10, xii. 1 : R. M. Benson, Letters, p. 220, "As the
circle of affectionate memories becomes enlarged in the heavenly
record, we learn increasingly the blessedness of the eternal bond
which unites us in the company of all saints."
spirits of just men made perfect] See Intr. in. 23, 24, 25.
24. mediator] Herewith imaginative propriety; the mediator is
not merely the internuntius of God and man, He links the
ancient church with the new heirs.
a new covenant] A different adjective from that in ix. 15. That
did mean simply "new," this is rather "young." Since it can

lo4 HEBREWS XII. 24—28"
25 speaketh better l than that of Abel. 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 2 that warneth from
26 heaven : whose voice then shook the earth : but now he
hath promised, saying, Yet once more will I make to
27 tremble 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 remain.
28 Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,
1 Or, than A bel 2 Or, that is from heaven
of course be used more generally, the quasi-personification (cf.
xii. 5) is not bizarre; indeed it seems natural in this picture of
exultant life. In Gilbert's reredos at S. Alban's Abbey the crown
of thorns on the head of the Lord rising from the tomb is just
breaking into leaf. When the High Priest entered the true sanctuary
there was a renascence of the world. So in 1 Pet. i. 3, "Who
according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Cf. Philo, sacr.
Abel et Cain, p. 178, "While they receive with all abundant
liberality good things young and new from God who grows not old
but is ever young, let them learn to hold as truth that with him
nothing is old or lost in the abyss of time, but every thing becomes
timelessly and stands in being."
26. The shaking of heaven and earth is quoted with added
emphasis from Haggai (ii. 6), who prophesied when an older ritual
had passed away and a new worship was beginning with little
outward promise. 28 — 29. The Kingdom of God.
Those realities are what our fathers called The Kingdom of God;
and that kingdom which shall not pass away we are receiving in
this final issue of the ages. Wherefore let us shew gratitude, and in
the kingdom do loyal service well pleasing to God with reverence .
and awe, for our God is, as He was of old, " fire" — not material
but "consuming."
28. a kingdom] The "kingdom" or "reign" of God was the
Symbol by which salvation was preached and wrought in the
Galilean gospel. After the synoptists and Acts it falls into the
background of N.T. till the Apocalypse. But the primitive
language now and then reasserts itself as here: Intr. n. n m 32
For "that cannot be shaken" cf. Dan. vii. 14.

HEBREWS XII. 28— XIII. 5 105
let us have * grace, whereby we may offer service well-
pleasing to God with 2 reverence and awe: for our God is a 29
consuming fire.
Let love of the brethren continue. Forget not to shew 13
love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained
,angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as 3
bound with them; them that are evil entreated, as being
yourselves also in the body. Let marriage be had in honour 4
among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and
adulterers God will judge. 3Be ye free from the love of 5
1 Or, thankfulness 2 Or, godly fear
3 Gr. Let your turn of mind be free.
have grace] This strangely literal translation seems to have come
through the Vulgate. In classical Greek the phrase would naturally
mean "shew gratitude." Such nice use of language is rare in the
rest of N.T. but not in this epistle. R.V. margin is therefore to be
preferred. Intr. iv. 1.
29. consuming fire] From Deut. iv. 24; cf. vv. 18 ff. supr.
Ch. XIII. 1 — 6. Precepts of good churchmanship.
Let brotherly love which has always bound together the family
of Christ continue to do so. Love is also due to those without, do
not forget it; for through that wider love some have entertained
angels unawares. Be mindful of people in prison — in these perilous
times you are as good as prisoners yourselves; and of those in
misery or want — the weakness of our mortal nature is the blessed
source of sympathy. Marriage? Everywhere honourable, and the
marriage bed always pure. I speak not of fornicators and
adulterers; God will judge them. A fine carelessness of money:
everyone content with daily bread. For it is the very Ipse dixit of
God: "Be sure I will not overlook thee; most certainly I will not
forsake thee." So we Christians must be of good courage and
repeat: " The Lord is my help, I will not fear. What shall man do
to me?"
1. love of the brethren] Cf. the sketch of the churchman's temper
in 1 Pet. hi. 8 f., and to measure the intensity of this apostolic love
read through 1 John.
2. Cf . Rom. xii. 13 ; Gen. xviii. 3, xix. 2 ; " strangers " may mean
others than journeying brethren, cf. 3 Jonn Io: for the "strange- '
ness" of Christians in pagan eyes 1 Pet. iv. 4.
3. as... in the body] Cf. 2 Cor. v. 6 rather than Rom. xii. 5 : the
Latin rightly paraphrases "sojourning in the body," and Virgil
would have understood — mentem mortalia tangunt.

106 HEBREWS XIII. 5—8
money; content with such things as ye have: for himself
hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any
6 wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we say,
The Lord is my helper; I will not fear:
What shall man do unto me?
7 Remember them that had the rule over you, which
spake unto you the word of God; and considering the
8 issue of their 1life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the
1 Gr. manner of life.
5. himself] emphatic: cf. Clem. xvi. of " Christ Himself, in whose
person the Psalmist is speaking."
I will in no wise, &c] The quot. is adapted from Deut. xxxi.
6, 8 ; Jos. i. 5 : that in the next verse is from Ps. cxviii. (cxvii.) 6.
6. So that with good courage, &c] With this martyr-courage cf.
the amorem intellectualem Dei of Plato: "Therefore if the truth of
reality is always in our soul (as it is) , the soul should be immortal ;
so that you ought with good courage to set about seeking and
remembering what you do not happen to know now, that is what
you do not remember now." Meno 86 B.
What shall man do unto me ?] The interrogative might be used in
Alexandrine and popular Greek as a relative: so A.V., cf. Mark
xiv. 36. But, apart from the original context in LXX, the more
spirited interrogative form which W.H. prefer is far more in
keeping with the aphoristic style of this passage.
7. Memorial of departed leaders.
Cherish the memory of your leaders, men who spoke to you the
word God gave them. And contemplating with ever fresh wonder
the supreme event of their career, be imitators of their faith.
7. them that had the rule] Clement uses this word and also a
compound form of it (1., xxi.) of the officers of the Church in a
general sense: cf. Luke xxii. 26. But Clement also uses it of civil
or military rulers (xxxvii.), and it is often applied to the leaders
of the Jews in 1 and 2 Mace. This passage seems to imply teaching
as a function of the leadership, and to hint at martyrdom — for it
has a militant ring. But it is impossible to guess whether they
were bishops, elders, presidents at the eucharistic service, or
founders of the community to which the readers belonged.
manner of life (margin)] It is the Pauline noun " conversation " ;
the "going up and down the street" which almost supersedes for
him, a townsman, the Galilean metaphor of the "way."

HEBREWS XIII. 8, g 107
same yesterday and to-day, yea and ^or ever. Be not 9
carried away by divers and strange teachings: for it is
1 Gr. unto the ages.
8 — 16. The sacrament of Calvary.
Jesus Christ, yesterday and to-day the same; yea, and while the
ages run. Elaborate precepts are rife which are as novel to
Judaism as to us. Do not swerve because of them from the
onward course. For it is a noble thing to have the heart founded
deeper and deeper by simple grace. But rules of food are mean —
a trivial, disappointing round. We are beyond such cares; the
ministers of the tabernacle partake of the sacrificial food ; our altar
is of a different order. Indeed it is in outward appearance more
analogous to the place outside the camp where the refuse of the
high priest's sacrifice was (as we read) burned. It was on Calvary,
outside Jerusalem, that Jesus, in order to sanctify the people of
God, suffered as a criminal. Therefore let us go forth to Him
outside the camp, bearing the burden which associates us with His
shame. With His shame; but also with the inward spiritual reality
of His sacrifice, for the city which we must now leave was never
our abiding home; but, beyond the shows of sense, we seek the
city God has destined for us. By the priestly mediation of our
Lord Jesus let us offer up a sacrifice which prophets and psalmists
loved, a sacrifice of praise which ascends to God unhindered by all
the changes and chances of ritual; I mean the "fruit of lips," the
sweet mystery of language by which we interpret our heartfelt
devotion to His essential perfection. And do not forget to be kind
to one another and to share your earthly goods ; for such acts are
also sacrifices with which God is well pleased.
8. No verb is required. As in the original Hebrew of the
Shema' (Deut. vi. 4) this is a battle cry rather than a creed. So
Mar an atha=" Lord come!" in 1 Cor. xvi. 22, cf. Apoc. xxii. 20
and vv. 4 f. above.
9. carried away] The "received text," followed by A.V., has
perpetuated the "carried about" of a few ancient authorities;
with that cf . Eph. iv. 14. But in this ep. the danger is not of vague
misbelief but of taking the wrong turn at a particular choice;
cf. ii. 1, xii. 13. This might seem to recommend the reading of most
mss., "them that have been occupied" A.V. and so in fact R.V.,
i.e. "those who have taken to that walk," who have already made
the wrong choice. But the consensus of primary authorities is
almost decisive for the present participle, and such a rendering of
the aorist would not really suit the ep., in which the trial is always
envisaged as being imminent yet still future ; cf . vi. 4 — 9, xii. 5 — 7.
grace] Cf. note on iv. 16. Here, as in ii. 9, the main idea seems
to be of the absolute bounty of God which can neither be disputed

108 HEBREWS XIII. 9—15
good that the heart be stablished by grace; not by meats,
wherein they that x occupied themselves were not profited.
10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which
1 1 serve the tabernacle . For the bodies of those beasts, whose
blood is brought into the holy place 2by the high priest
as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp.
12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people
13 through his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us
therefore go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his
14 reproach. For we have not here an abiding city, but we
15 seek after the city which is to come. Through him 3then
let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually,
1 Gr. walked. 2 Gr. through.
3 Some ancient authorities omit then.
nor measured. Yet something further makes itself felt. How far
does this rich Greek word imply beauty of form or character in
N.T. — "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ"? There is certainly
much feeling in N.T. for that kind of "grace"; our Lord and the
lilies; S. Paul in Phil. iv. 8 ; the sense of "honour " in this epistle;
the angels in festal array; the love of language, often so dehcate
in pathos ; the desiderium for the golden splendour of the tabernacle,
and (more exquisitely) for the tragic simplicity of ' ' the days of His
flesh." meats] Cf. Rom. xiv. ; 1 Tim. iy. 3; Col. ii. 21 ff. The reference
is not to the rules of Leviticus, but to novel "unfitness and
irrelevance of teaching... barren and mischievous trivialities
usurping the office of religion1."
10 f. Another picture, completing vi. 19 f., xii. 1 f. Here Jesus,
who in vi. is out of sight, in xii. in sight but distant, is to be
joined (13). And this imminent reahty compels the author to
dissolve his picture almost while he draws it. The imagery is
thoroughly sacramental. When the Lord died on the cross, that
scene of "shame" (xii. 2), what could be seen was like the off-
scouring of a sacrifice (11 ; cf. Lev. xvi. 27). But what really took
place in the eternal sphere was the entrance of the divine High
Priest with His own sacrificial Blood into the presence of the
Father. And the sacrament is complete, for we, says the author,
are to appropriate its efficacy by doing as He did in visible shame
and spiritual glory (13 f.; cf. ii. 9, vi. 20, xii. 4, xiii. 7, 20). The
imagery is borrowed from Levitical ritual, but no care is taken to
make all the details correspond ; that ritual is not obeyed as a type,
it is merely suggestive. Intr. hi. 5, 7.
1 Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p. 134.

HEBREWS XIII. 15—17 109
that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name.
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with 16
such sacrifices God is well pleased. Obey them that have 17
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 l grief : for this
were unprofitable for you. 1 Gr. groaning.
15. Cf. Ps. 1. (xhx.) 14; Lev. vii. 12 (2) ; 2 Chr. xxix, 31 ; Is. Ivii.
19 (Heb.) ; Hos. xiv. 2.
The " sacrifices " of these verses are not the same as that which
informs the whole theology of the ep. Christ's one sacrifice could
not be dechned into the plural number. Here the idea is rather
that even in the ritual of Christian worship there is a more than
adequate substitute for the many sacrifices of Judaism. Nor was
this doctrine altogether strange to Jews. Philo and other,
especially Hellenistic, teachers had already recognised that it was
enshrined in the Old Testament for the deepening of religion.
Intr. 11. 4, in. 13.
16. to communicate] This rendering, perhaps ambiguous to
untrained ears, is part of our English heritage from the Vulgate.
The word is a noun, the same that is used of the " fellowship of the
Holy Ghost" and of the apostolic community in Jerusalem
(Acts ii. 42). It means more than almsgiving. "AH that believed
...had all things common" (Acts ii. 44, iv. 32) shews the word and
the idea in their root form.
17. Loyalty to those on whom the burdens of
responsibility lie heavily.
Be phant to your leaders' advice and commands. They bear the
weight of responsibility, and are watching through dark hours
over you, the h ving souls entrusted to them ; they know the account
that must be rendered of such a charge. See to it that they may
do their duty with happy cheer and no occasion for groaning —
that would scarcely be to your profit.
17. watch] and that "sleeplessly." Can this be a reminiscence
of the type of leadership, S. Paul? See 2 Cor. vi! 5, xi. 27. Or is it
rather a grim touch of reahty in this document of the warfare that
occupied the corner of the apostolic Church to which this letter
was written? There at any rate the command of the Lord was
already approving itself as necessary; "to watch... watch there
fore... lest he find you sleeping. . .what I say unto you, I say unto
all. Watch." Mark xhi. 34 f.

no HEBREWS XIII. 18—20
18 Pray for us : for we are persuaded that we have a good
19 conscience, desiring to live honestly in all things. And I
exhort you the more exceedingly to do this, that I may be
restored to you the sooner.
20 Now the God of peace, who brought again from the
dead the great shepherd of the sheep 1with the blood of
1 Or, by Gr. in.
18 — 21. Communion in prayer.
Think of us in your prayers; for we would fain believe that our
inmost mind is known to God, and we desire nothing else than to
be true to His honour in all our dealings. And more than ever do
I beseech you to do this, in order that I may be the sooner restored
to you.
And may God who makes peace in troubled times, who brought
up from the dead the Shepherd of the sheep in the Blood of the
Eternal Covenant, that great shepherd of prophecy, the transmuter
of the ancient symbol of Life through Death into reality by His
obedience to God's will, even our Lord Jesus — may God confirm
your shrinking resolution with all or any driving force of goodness
for the doing of that duty which His will demands; while He
continues to do with us (whose peace is already in His will) just
that which is well-pleasing in His sight; may God do all this for
you and us through Jesus, now exalted as Christ, to whom be glory
for ever and ever: Amen, even so may God's will be done.
18. us] The author says little about himself, and we cannot
tell precisely what he means by this plural. In v. 21, as well as
here, it implies community in conscience at least as much as in
circumstances (cf . iv. 3) . It might even be a modest way of saying
"me"; notice the modesty of assertion in "I am persuaded" and
contrast Phil. i. 25, "I am fully persuaded and know," with
Lightfoot's note. ' It is perhaps worth remarking that a similar
request for remembrance in prayer is introduced in Eph. vi. 18 f.
by "watching" (cf. v. 17 supra).
20. This blessing sums up the doctrine and purpose of the
epistle. It may be compared with the liturgical conclusion of
Clement's epistle, but the form is different. Clement's prayer
resembles the Greek liturgies; this is hke a western collect, terse
with close-knit movement, asking for a particular gift of grace:
Intr. n. 4 and 1 (analysis).
In v. 20 there is the solemn invocation: in v. 21 the main
petition for the author's friends that they may be enabled to do
their particular pressing duty ("to do" is aor. inf. ="to do at
once"), continued into the secondary petition for.the author, and
perhaps his fellow prisoners or fellow sojourners, that God's will
may still be theirs. And all ends with, the mediation of Jesus

HEBREWS XIII. 20, 21 in
the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you 21
perfect in every good * thing to do his will, working in 2 us
that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Christ ; to whom be the glory 3 for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Many ancient authorities read work.
* Many ancient authorities read you. 3 Gr. unto the ages of the ages
Christ, and a doxology which in the context seems to be addressed
to Him in glory.
The passage from "our Lord Jesus" who did His duty in the
days of His flesh, to "Jesus Christ" who has thus been perfected
iu His glorious office, is parallel to the passage from the author's
petition for his friends to his petition for himself — their will is not
yet lost and found in God's will, his own is. "Through Jesus
Christ" is more than "through Him I offer prayer." It corre
sponds to the faith of the whole ep., that loyalty to Jesus the
Lord is possible through His assumption of manhood into God.
But all this antithesis and particularity is lost in the later text
which gives "in every good work" for "in every good," and
repeats "you" instead of contrasting "you" and "us " Another
addition which did not get into the received text is "Christ"
after the first "Jesus" — so quoted in Lancelot Andrewes' Preces
Privatae. All these are modifications which (hke "hath visited"
for "shall visit" in Luke i. 78) fitted the special prayer of the
author to the general conditions of church worship. So perhaps
"Amen" at the end of the epistle which R.V. keeps against the
best group of documents. Intr. iv. 3, 4.
For the prophetic phraseology of v . 20 see Is. lxiii. 1 1 ; Zech. ix.
11; Is. Iv. 3; Ez. xxxvii. 26.
"Amen" is explained by 2 Cor. i. 20; Apoc. xxii. 20.
"In every good" might be illustrated from the "in every way,
whether in pretence or in truth" of Phil. i. 18, or at any rate from
1 Cor. ix. 22, " I am become all things to all men, that I may by
all means save some." If "the living principle, the law within"
them be not clear enough, then let any good motive be supphed
that may drive them to the venture.
22 — 25. Final words.
And, brothers, if this be too stern a treatise of exhortation, bear
with it. I exhort you now in quite another tone. For here you see
I am sending you also a real letter.
You know — or let me tell you, that our brother Timothy is at
liberty. Accompanied by him, if he comes here reasonably soon,
I will see you.
Greeting to all your leaders and to all the members of our holy
Church. The brothers of Italy send greeting to you.
And now, in the words of one we all know and shall ever love,
''Grace be with you all."

ii2 HEBREWS XIII. 22—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. They of Italy salute you.
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
22. the word of exhortation] Cf. vii. 28. The "exhortation" of
the author has been long and sometimes stern. Like S. Paul at the
end of Galatians, he "softens the severity" by "brothers." He
adds a further courtesy; there is an "also" in the Greek which
might be merely general emphasis, but might imply a letter as well
as an exhortation; these last paragraphs are indeed the kindly
conclusion of a " letter" which had in its earlier pages grown into
a treatise: so apparently A.V. Nor would the gentle play upon
the two meanings of this verb and noun " exhort " . . . " consolation ' '
be scorned. According to this interpretation "I have written" is
epistolary aorist and means "I write" or "have just written."
We do not know where Timothy, or where the author was. In
the next verse the Greek phrase "they from Italy" is a little more
likely to mean, "Your friends in Italy send you greetings from
thence" than "Your Italian friends send you greetings thither,"
because the former is idiomatic Greek in which this writer would
take pleasure. But either rendering is perfectly justifiable. For
the rest, the impression left on unsophisticated minds by the whole
conclusion, with its reminiscences of Pauline phrases, and this
mention of one Pauline name, might be that a glimpse is given of
a little company of apostohc churchmen to whom S. Paul was a
loved master, lately removed by death. The writer has been near
the apostle in his peril, and is hastening to share a new peril which
now threatens his friends.

INDEX

Aaron, xiv, xlvii, lxv, lxvih
lxxiii, 23, 37, 5of., 63 f.
Abbott, 25 f.
Abelard, xxxvi, 32
Abraham, lxvih, 22, 25, 45 f.,
49, 59, 87, 90
Adam, J., 20
Advent, lxxxvi f ., xcv, xcvii, 9,
17, 45, 65, 72, 80, 84
Aeschylus, lxxi, 79
Africa, xix, xxiv, xxxi
S. Alban's Abbey, 103
Alexandria, xix ff., xxiuf., civ,
cviii
Alexandrine philosophy and
scholarship, xxiii, xxx,
xxxvii f., 1, lv, lxiv, Ixvii, civ,
ex ff., cxv, 39, 50, 86 f.
Afford, xxxii
S. Ambrose, xxxii
Amos, 2, 29
Analogy, Ivii, 34, 73 f., 76
Andrewes, Lancelot, xxxv, 111
Anencletus or Cletus, xxv
Angels, xii, lx, 7 ff., 17, 63, 103
Antioch, xxxviii
Apocalypse, xxiv, lv, lx, lxxxvi,
lxxxviii, xcviii ff., cxvi, 10,
7°
Apocalyptic Christianity, xii f.,
liii
Apollos, xxxix, xhi
Apostle, xx, xxxii, 24
Apostles, The Teaching of, 80
Approach to God, lvi, lxvih,
lxxiv, lxxvii ff., 34 1, 65, 77
Aquila, 62
Aquinas, xxxv, 46
Arianism, lx
Aristion or Ariston, xxxix, 15
Aristotle, 19
Article, cvi, cxix, 3, 15, 98
Articles of religion, lxix

Ascension, xlh, xiv ff., lviii, Ixi,
ciif., 34
S. Athanasius, xxiii
Atonement, lvi, lxix ff., xcif. ;
day of, Ixi, 48, 72 f., 108
S. Augustine, xxxii f., xxxv,
lxxxiv
Baptism, lxii, lxxxviii, 42 f., 79,
82
Barnabas (epistle), xxii, xxiv f.,
xxxi, xxxix, 63, 69, 92
Baruch, apocalypse, 101
Baur, xliii
Bengel, 79
Benson, R. M., xlvii, xcix, 97.
103
Bethune-Baker, xxxviii
Bigg, cix f .
Blass, 86
Bleek, xxxii
Blood, xi, xxvi, xxxvii, xlvi,
xlix, lxii, lxx ff., lxxxi, 21, 61,
65, 7°, 79
Bousset, xhv, 14
Box, 2 1, 22, 42, 71 f.
Brehier, cviii
Brooke, xcv
Bruce, xlviii
Burkitt, xii
Burnet, cxi, 47
Caesarea, xxii
Caird, cviii, cxv
Calvin, xxxv, xxxvii
Cambridge piatonists, 36, 38
Camerarius, 92
Canterbury, archbishop of,
lxxxix f .
Captain, lxxxvi, xcviii, cxi, 48,
97
Catholicity, xii ff.
Character, 4

HEBREWS

li4

INDEX

Charles, 52
Cheyne, 9, 54, 75
Chiasmus, 79
Christ, xiii, xviii, lif., lv; in
O.T., xi, xviii, li, Ivii, lxvi,
lxxxivf., cv, 7L, 20, 25, 37,
92 f . ; inclusive, lxiii, lxxxiv f .,
28, 73; prophet, priest and
king, xxxvi, Ivii; the eternal
Son, xi f., xviii, Ivii, lxiii, 1 ff .
S. Chrysostom, xxxviii, 85
Church, apostolic, xliii f., Iii, 43,
103, 109; Jewish, li, lxxxi,
lxxxiv, civ, cxiii, 8, 40 ff.,
103
Church Quarterly Review, xcix
Cicero, cxiv, 4
City of God, xix, 87, 101
Cleansing, lxix ff., lxxviii, 70,
79
Clement of Alexandria, xx,
cxxiv; of Rome, xxi, xxv ff.,
xxxiv, xxxix, 74, 82, 106, no
Codex X, cxxiii, 10; B, cxxiii,
10, 67; D, xxxi, cxxiii; Ar-
machanus, 13, 79
Coleridge, 5, 47, 85, 100
Collects, 72, 97, no
Communion of saints, ciii f.
Conscience, 67, 78
Consecration, lxxxiii f., xcvii,
75 1, 91, 100
Corinth, xxv ff.
Cosin, 97
Cosmos, lxxxiii
Covenant, xv, lxxix ff., 51, 53,
55 ff., 65, 68 f.
Cowley Evangelist, xcvi, xcix,
35, 97
Creed, lxiii
Crisis, c, 72
Crucifixion, xiii, lviii, Ixi, 43 f.,
71, 107 f.
S. Cyprian, xxxi
Cyril of Jerusalem, xxxv
Daniel, xii, lxxxv, ci, 17, 71, 94
Dante, xxxiii, lxxxiv
Davidson, A. B., xlvii f., 6

Day of the Lord, xvi, xiii,
lxxxvi f., ci, 80, 100
Death, xi, xlix, Iii, lxxii ff.,
lxxxviii, xci 1, xcvi, xcix,
100 ff.
Deuteronomy, liii, 9, 15 f., 60,
75, 81, 100, 105 ff.
Dionysius of Hahcarnassus, 41
Domitian, xxv
Downton, 35, 97
Drummond, cviii
DuBose, xlu, xlviii, lxxv,
Ixxvii f., 35
Ecclesiastes, 47
Edwards, G. M., 47
eikon, 4, 73
Enoch, xii, 87 f.
Enthronement, 18, 96
Ephraem Syrus, 99
Epictetus, 86
Erasmus, xxxiv, xxxvii, cxxii, 4
Esau, xvii, 100 f.
Estius, xxxiii f.
Eternity, lxxviii f., xc, c, cvi,
39, 49, 66 f.
Eucharist, xxvii, lxii, xcii, 79,
106
Euripides, 44
Euthalius, xxiv, cxxiv
Evolution, lxvi, 6
Ewing, lxxiv
Ezekiel, lxixf., lxxxviii, 2, 17,
29, 95, in
Ezra, apocalypse, 21 1, 71 f., 101
Faith, xvi, cxii ff., cxviii, 27,
77, 79, 82, 85 ff.
Farrar, xlvi
Fathers, xxxv, xlix, lxxxviii,
cxxiv
Field, F., xcv f .
Flesh, cif„ 21, 11 1; days of,
lviii f., lxiv, cii, 38; way of,
xii, xvi, cii, cxii, 77 f .
Florus, liii
Forerunner, x, 46
Forgiveness, xv, lxix, lxxviii,
lxxx, 76, 80 f .

INDEX

"5

Gaius; xxix
Gardner, 17
Gaul, xxii
Gethsemane, 38
Glory in humiliation, xi, xlviii,
lviii ff., 15, 18 f.
Gobar, xxix
Goodness, 66
Gospel, lviii, 29, 59; synoptic,
xxv, xxvii, xii, xiv, lix, cii,
cxvf., 21, 38; fourth, xxvii,
xiv, lxivf., cxvi, 26
Grace, 15, 19, 81, 107 f.
Graeco-Roman, xliii f., 14
Greek, of N.T., cxv f ., 23, 43,
46; classical, cxvii, 18 f., 43,
62, 66, 68 L, 105, 112
Gregory of Elvira, xxviii
Habakkuk, 84
Haggai, 84, 104
Hamilton, 34
Hammond, 37
Hamack, xxxix
Harris, Rendel, 20, 94
Headlam, A. C, see Sanday
Heaven, 34 f ., 70 f.
Hebrew idiom, 21, 23, 27, 29,
46, 63, 66 f., 84
Hebrews, epistle to, author,
xix ff., xxxix, 83 ; date, x,
xl ff., liii f . ; destination, x,
xxxix f., xlix ff. ; final bless
ing, x, xviif., li, lxxxiii, no;
intensity, x, li, lxxxii,
lxxxiv f., lxxxixf. ; occasion,
ixf.. Iff., lxxxvi; place of
writing, liii, 112; position in
N.T., xxiii; style, x, xxi,
cxvif. ; title, xxxf., xl, If. ;
use of O.T., civf., 2 f., 8, 33,
89, 93
Hegel, 84 ff.
Hellenistic Judaism, xxxviii 1,
xiv, Iff., 72, 109
Herbert, George, lxvi
Hennas, Shepherd of, lxxxviii
Herodotus, 44, 83
Hesychius, 34

High priest, cix, 23, 34
Hilary of Poitiers, xxxii f .
Hippolytus, xxviiif.
Hogarth, 4
Hope, lxxxvi, cxii ff., 85 f.
Hort, xxiii, cv, cxxii ff., 12, 30,
35, 47. 79, 88, 108
Hosea, cxiii, 2, 54, 60, 109
Hypostasis, 4, 28, 86
S. Ignatius, 38
Illumination, 43, 82
Influence, lxii, ixxviif., lxxx,
lxxxiii
Inheritance, xi, Ivii ff., 3 1, 6f.
Intercession, lxvih, xci 1, 51, 53
Intermediate state, xcviii ff.,
72
S. Irenaeus, xxii
Isaiah, 2, 20, 22, 29, 34, 66 1,
81, 84, 95, 99, in
Isocrates, 96
S. James, xxviii, cxvi
Jeremiah, lxxix ff., 2, 56, 59,
73, 75
S. Jerome, xxiv, xxxii f .
Jerusalem, xxxix f., xiii, xiv,
lxxx, lxxxvi, 58, 101
Jesus, the name of our Lord as
man, xif., xix, xii, xiv, Ivii,
lix, lxxv, 1/5 f., 18, 23, 32, 73,
78, 96, nof.
Jesus = Joshua, 30, 32
S. John, xxvii, xii, xiv, lxiii,
lxv, lxxxviii, xciv f., civ,
cxiil, cxvi, 2, 10, 17, 21,
60 f., 76, 78
Josephus, liiif., 62
Judgement, c f ., 40, 42, 70 ff .
Kenyon, cxxiv
Kingdom of God, xvii, xii f .,
liv, lxxvi, lxxxiv f.; lxxxviii,
cxif., 14. 16 f., 59, 104 f.
Kyrios, xhv, 14, 60
Lake, K., xliv
Last supper, lxxix f., xcii, 59

n6

INDEX

Law, xvii, xxxvii, xl, lv, ivii,
lxv, lxxxif., lxxxvii, io, 13,
5L 53. 64, 72
Leaders, cxviif., 106, 109
Leighton, 100
Leonian sacramentary, 98
Levi,. 49 ff., 65; testament of, 52
Leviticus, lxx f ., 20, 48, 50, 55,
64
Life enriched bv death, lxxu ff.,
68 f.
Lightfoot, xxix, cxii, cxiv, 25,
45, 103, no
Limborch, xxxvi f .
Linus, xxv
Literalism, xlivff., lxxxviii f.
Liturgy, English, lxiv, xcii, 72,
97; Greek, 37, 60, 67, no;
Roman, xxvii
Logos, cix, 33 f.
Lord's prayer, 23, 35, 71
Lucretius, 12
S. Luke, xxi, xxxiv, xxxix,
lxxxvi, cxi, cxvi, 14, 38
Luther, xxxix
Maccabees, ex, 38, 50, 87, 94, 106
Manhood and Godhead, xiii,
xxxvii f ., lviii ff., lx, lxiii,
lxv, 1 f., 5 f., 7, 15 ff., 78, III
Manifestation, xcv, 71
Marcion, xxx
Martyrdom, lxxxii, xcvii, xcviii,
16, 23, 79, 83, 94 1, 106
Maurice, F. D., xlvii, 43, 63, 83
Mediation, lvi, lxvi, cix, 6, 13,
53. i°3t-
Melchizedek, xiv, Ixviii, cvii,
cix, 29, 39 ff., 48 f.
Menegoz, xxxv f.
Messianic doctrine, xi, lxvi,
cvii, 3, 5, 9, 40 1, 72, 84
Millennium, xcix
Milhgan, G., xlvii
Milligan, W., xlvii
Milman, 3
Milton, 5, 12
Moffatt, xii, xlviii, cxviii
Mommsen, canon, xxx

Montanists, xxviii
Moses, xiii, lxv, cvii, cxiv, 13,
24 L, 59, 91 ff-
Moulton, 46, 63
Muratorian canon, xxix f .
Murray, xcviii ff., 18
Mystical principle, lxiv, lxxxv
Nero, xxvi, liii, 83
Nestorius, xxxvii 1
Nicaea, council of, xxiii, xxxvii
Novatian, xxviii
Odes of Solomon, 20
Order of words, exxii, 18, 34,
47,50,58,61, 68, 74 1, 78 1,
85, i°3
Origen, xx ff., xxxii, lxxvii, 78
Paget, F., Ixi f.
Pantaenus, xx
Papyrus (pls), cxxiii, 26, 30 1,
37, 43
Participles, cxix, 12, 19, 39,
46, 50, 61, 67, 102
Particles and conjunctions, 5,
31, 34, 37, 62, 69, 71
Patience, 97
Patriotism, liv 1, lxxxi, cxiv
S. Paul, xix ff., xii, xliii, xiv,
lviii, Ixi, lxxvl, lxxxiv 1,
lxxxviii, xciii, xcvif., xcixl,
cii ff., cxi, cxiii, cxvi, 17, 42,
45, 81 1, 90, 109, 112
Peake, xlviii
Perfection, lix, lxiv, lxxvii,
xcv ff., cii, 19 1, 52, 76 f., 95,
111
S. Peter, xxviii, xxxix, lviii,
lxxiv, 79
1 Peter, lv, xcvii, cxvi, 38, 47,
67, 79, 104
2 Peter, cxvi
Pharisaic Judaism, 42
Philip the deacon, xxxix
Philo, xxxviii, xiv, lv, lxvii,
lxxxix, civ, cvii ff., 3, 19 1,
25, 33 ff-, 37, 39, 55, 58, 85 ff.,
88, 90, 104

INDEX

117

Picturesque language, xiv,
xvii, lvi, lxiv, xci, ex,
cxviil, 1, 48 1, 61, 90, 96 1,
108
Pindar, 20
Plato, lxiv, cvi, cxi, cxv, 39,
57, 90, 106
Phny, 101
Porphyry, 97
Prepositions, 2, 10, 37, 89 1, 99,
112
Priesthood, lvi, 36 1, 73, 76;
Levitical, h, lvil, lxvii, 23,
37, 50 ff., 61 f . ; of Christ, x f .,
xhi ff ., xviii, xxxvi, Ixi, lxv ff .,
16, 34 1, 54 1, 57; after the
order of Melchizedek, xi, xiv,
lxvii ff., lxxii, 48 ff.
Primasius, 62
Priscilla, xxxix
Prophecy, 2 1, 31 1, 74, 94
Proverbs, 98
Psalm n, xxvi, 8; viii, lx, cv,
17 1; xxii, 20, 63; xl, 73 ff. ;
xiv, 10; lxxxix, 8, 92 f. ;
xcv, cv, 27 ff. ; xcvii, 9; cii,
1 1 ; civ, lx, 9 f . ; ex, lxvih,
6, 37. 52 1, 56 1, 97
Psyche, 47
Rabbinic Judaism, liv, 21 1,
35
Ransom, xxxv, 67, cf. xxvi, 70
Reconciliation, xxxvi, box, lxxi,
exx, 22
Redemption, xxvi, lxxix, 66 1,
72
Reformation, hi, 65
Rendall, xlvi, 66
Repentance, xxv, xlvi, lxxxviiff.,
xciii ff., 39 1, 42, 80, 100 f.
Rest of God, xiii, lxxxiv, cv,
cxii, 30 ff.
Resurrection, xlu, lviii, xcviii ff.,
ciil, 42, 94, no
Robinson, F., lxxxif.
Robinson, J. A., lxxxv, 80, 84

Rome, x, xix, xxv, xxvii, xxix,
xxxix 1, 1, liii, lxxx, lxxxiv
Rutherford, 19
Rythm, cxxil, 6, 61, 95, 99 1,
103
Sacramental principle, xviii,
xlvii, Ixi ff., lxxxv, ciii, cvii,
cxi, 17, 52, 79, 107 f.
Sacrifice, xf., xv, xxxvi, xlix,
lxxi, lxxxii, 36 1, 91 f. ; in
O.T., x 1, xv, li, lvi f ., lxxxii,
61 f ., 108 f. ; of Christ, xv ff.,
xxvu, xxxv ff., Ixi, xc, 55,
61 1, 65 f., 108 1; re-enacted
in the faithful, xc ff., cxii,
76 1, 108
Sacrifices, xxvii, 109
Saints, xcvii, 45, 54, 95, 103
Salvation, Iii, lxxviii, 12 ff., 72
Sanctification, lxxxiii f ., exx,
11, 75 1, 100
Sanday, 10, 21
Sanday and Headlam, lxix,
lxxv, 12
Sardinia, xxxi
Satan, ci, 21 1
Schweitzer, Ixi ff.
Self, lxxiii, lxxvi, 83
Selwyn, 102
1 Septuagint (LXX), lxxix f ., 9,
17, 19, 27, 29, 74 1, 84, 100
Sermon on the Mount, liv
Servant of the Lord, lxxii, 72
Shadow and type, xxxvii, xlvii,
h, lvi 1, lxxi 1, 58, 73 f.
Sheol, 22
Sickness, 35, 97
Silas, xxxix
Sin, sinlessness, hi, lixl, lxxiv,
lxxviii, xciii ff., 28, 35, 37,
80 1, 96 ff.
Sinai, xvii, 10, 13, 101 f.
Sirach, xxii, ci, 53, 68, 88
Socinians, xxxvi
Socrates, 47, 86
Soul, lxxi, 47, 84 f .

1 The LXX chapters &c. do not always correspond with the Hebrew or the English
Bible. Thus Ps. xcvii (xcvi) - Ps. xcvi in LXX, xcvii in Hebrew and English.

n8

INDEX

Souter, xxix, xxxi, lxxiv, cxxiv
Spirit, xlvu, cvf., cxi, cxvu,
12, 15, 17, 21, 31, 40, 43, 62,
65. 67, 78, 81
Spirits, xcv ff., cii, 9, 12, 21,
96, 99
Statius, 35
S. Stephen, xxxix, xlh, 42, 93
Strong, 5
Suffering, lxii, lxxiv, 15 f., 35,
38, 71, 97
Swete, 15, 21, 50
Symmachus, 62
Synagogue, 80
Tabernacle, xl, lxv, 56 1, 61 ff.,
65. 67
Tacitus, 63
Targum of Onkelos, 81
Temple, xl, 1, lxv, 12
Temptation, lxxvi, lxxxvi, 23,
93, 95
Tenses, lxxxiii 1, xcil, xcvii,
cxvu, cxix, 6, 12, 18 1, 30, 39,
57 1, 61, 64, 661, 75 1, 86,
90, no
Tertullian, xix, xxiv f ., 43
Text, xxiv, cxxiiff, 3, 6, 10,
19, 27, 29 ff., 37, 42 1, 45, 57,
60 1, 64 ff., 83, 88, 93, 97 1,
99, 107, in; received, cxxii,
88, 107, 111; western, 81 1;
Westcott and Hort's, xxiii,
cxxii ff., 66
Theodotion, 82, 94
Theology and religion, lxxxii,
c/44
Tradition, xxxii, ciil, cxv, 3,
13, 26, 43, 59

Trench, 65
Trent, council of, xxxiv
Ulpian, 101
Vaughan, C. J., xlvi
Vaughan, Henry, 78
Versions, xxiuf., xxxi, cxxiii;
A.V. and R.V., cxviii; earlier
English, 5, 78; Egyptian.
xxiii, cxxiii; modern English,
cxviii; Old Latin, xxxi, cxxiii,
22; Syriac, xxiii, cxxiii, 99;
Vulgate, xxui, xxxi, cxxiii,
22, 29, 53, 88, 92, 97, 102,
105, 109
Virgil, 88, 105
Wallace, 87
Westcott, xxiii, xxix ff., xlix,
cxxii ff ., 3, 46, 58, 66, 78,
84
Wetstein, xl, 32
Wickham, xlvi, cxvil
Will, xii, lxiii, lxxii, lxxxii ff.,
65, 70 1, 72 ff., 83, 92, nof.
Windisch, xliv ff., lxxxvii ff.,
52, 85
Wisdom, xxii, cix 1, 2, 4I, 21,
34, 72, 88
Word, lxvii, cviii f ., 5, 32 ff .
World ("other," "to come"),
lxvii, lxxxvi, cxii, 4. 16 1.
74, 86, 89
Wrede, xx
Zahn, xxiv
Zealots, hii
Zechariah, 78, 11 1

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