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a Other ancient authorities read it did not meet with faith in those who listened
b Gk he
c Gk he
d Or tempted
4.1–11 The sermonette reaches its climax in a demonstration of the way in which rest remains a possibility for the audience.
4.1 Attention shifts to the final verse of the psalm citation (Heb 3.7–11) and the promise it implies. For this motif, see 6.12, 15, 17; 7.6; 8.6; 9.15; 10.36; 11.9, 13, 17, 33, 39.
4.2 The conviction that the same good news has come throughout salvation history is fundamental to Hebrews; see 1.1; 11.39–40.
4.3–5 Comparison of two verses that in Greek use forms of the word rest. (Such an argument is common in rabbinic literature.)
4.3 Ps 95.11, already cited in 3.11, supports the claim that God’s promise remains open. That God’s works were finished at creation implies that “rest” was available long before the Israelites approached Canaan.
4.4 Gen 2.2, with its note that God rested, confirms that “rest” was a reality already present at the creation of the world. The verbal connection between Ps 95 and Gen 2 is not apparent in the Hebrew but works in the Greek, where forms of the same word for “rest” are used in both verses.
4.5 The author takes the phrase my rest in Ps 95.11 to refer precisely to the “rest” into which God entered on the seventh day. That rest was obviously not the land of Canaan but a heavenly reality.
4.6 It remains open summarizes the argument of vv. 1–5. The remark that the Israelites failed to enter summarizes 3.12–19.
4.7 The Greek version of the OT explicitly attributes Ps 95 to David. Much later, the interval between the conquest of Canaan and the time of David.
4.8 The author argues, despite the contrary affirmation of Josh 21.44, that the conquest generation, under the leadership of Joshua did not attain rest, for true “rest” is not to be found in the land of Canaan but is of a different order.
4.9 The description of the promise as a sabbath rest implies not simple inactivity, but joyous celebration characteristic of the weekly holy day.
4.12–13 A reflection on the power of God’s word forms an epilogue to the sermon; see also 1.3.
4.12 For God’s word as a sword, see Eph 6.17; Rev 1.16; 2.12. For the image of the word as a warrior carrying a sword, cf. Wis 18.15–16. Divine Wisdom also has power to pierce the spirit; see Wis 7.23.
4.13 That nothing is hidden before God’s eyes is a commonplace; see Jer 11.20; Rom 8.27; 1 Cor 4.5; 1 Thess 2.4. In Greek the term for account is the same as that for God’s word (logos).
4.14–5.10 Discussion of Christ’s role resumes with the theme of the merciful high priest, whose heavenly presence guarantees help.
4.14 Christ’s passage through the heavens refers to his exaltation; see 1.3, 13; 2.9; 9.11.
4.15 On Christ’s role as a tested high priest, see 2.17–18. That Christ was without sin is a common assumption; see 7.26; Jn 8.46; 2 Cor 5.21; 1 Pet 1.19; 2.22; 3.18; 1 Jn 3.5.
4.16 The Son’s heavenly throne (see 1.8) is now specified as one of grace, since from it issues help; see 2.18.
Hebrews 5
1Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”
6as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
7In the days of his flesh, Jesusa offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Warning against Falling Away
11About thisb we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. 12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; 13for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
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a Gk he
b Or him
5.2 The concern for sinners who are ignorant and wayward is apparently based upon the scriptural texts that treat “unintentional sins” (Lev 4.2; 5.15–16; Num 15.22–31).
5.3 The high priest’s sacrifices for his own sins and for those of the people recall the Day of Atonement; see 7.27; Lev 9.7. That solemn day’s ritual dominates chs. 9–10.
5.4 For the call of Aaron, see Ex 28.1; Lev 8.1–9; Num 16–18.
5.5 Ps 2.7, also cited in 1.5.
5.6 Ps 110.4. The psalm’s first verse was cited in 1.13. Melchizedek, who appears in the OT only in Ps 110.4 and Gen 14, is discussed at length in ch. 7.
5.7 Prayers and supplications vaguely recalls Gethsemane (Mt 26.36–46; Mk 14.32–43; Lk 22.40–46), but the overall portrait is different. Loud cries and tears suggests the pious prayers of such psalms as 22.1–2; 116.8–11.
5.8 The obedience that Jesus learned is a model for his followers; see v. 9; 12.1–3. To learn through what one has suffered is a Greek proverb (pathei mathos).
5.9 For Christ made perfect, see 2.10. The notion that Christ was perfected has to do not with his moral character, but with his qualifications to be a sympathetic high priest. Cf. 2.10; 7.28. His sacrificial act in turn perfects his followers; see 10.14.
5.10 Order of Melchizedek echoes Ps 110.4, cited in v. 6, and anticipates ch. 7.
5.11–14 Common sermonic imagery serves as a warning.
5.11 The subject that is lengthy and hard to explain is the interpretation of Christ as heavenly high priest given in chs. 8–10.
5.12 Oracles of God, Israel’s scriptures; see Acts 7.38; Rom 3.2; 1 Pet 4.11. Milk and solid food commonly symbolize levels of teaching, as in 1 Cor 3.1–3.
5.13 Those who live on milk receive only elementary instruction, presumably grammar and rhetoric, and have not yet advanced to the word of righteousness, or ethics.
5.14 The mature have mastered ethical matters and are ready for yet more “advanced” teaching that involves properly understanding Jesus. On being trained by practice, see 12.11; 1 Tim 4.7; 2 Pet 2.14.
Hebrews 6
The Peril of Falling Away
1Therefore let us go on toward perfection,a leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, 2instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And we will dob this, if God permits. 4For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. 7Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.
9Even though we speak in this way
, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. 10For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sakec in serving the saints, as you still do. 11And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, 12so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God’s Promise
13When God made a promise to Abraham, because he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply you.” 15And thus Abraham,d having patiently endured, obtained the promise. 16Human beings, of course, swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all dispute. 17In the same way, when God desired to show even more clearly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it by an oath, 18so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
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a Or toward maturity
b Other ancient authorities read let us do
c Gk for his name
d Gk he
6.1–12 A more severe warning (vv. 1–8) precedes encouragement (vv. 9–12).
6.1 The same Greek term (teleiotes) means both perfection, the result of Christ’s suffering (2.10; 5.9), and maturity, to which the audience is called (5.14). Dead works are not works of the law, but actions that lead to or are sin (see 9.14).
6.2 For various baptisms, see perhaps Acts 18.25; 19.3–5. For ritual laying on of hands, see Acts 8.17; 19.6.
6.3 This, the movement on to perfection (v. 1).
6.4 For other impossible things, see v. 18; 10.4; 11.6. Like some other early Christian writers, the author of Hebrews takes a rigorous stand against the possibility of repentance after baptism. This condemnation of apostasy is similar to the notion of the unforgivable sin “against the Holy Spirit” of Mt 12.32; Mk 3.29; Lk 12.10 or the “mortal sin” of 1 Jn 5.16. To be enlightened refers generally to accepting the truth (10.32; see also 2 Cor 4.4–6; Eph 1.18) but may also allude to baptism. Heavenly gift, possibly the Eucharist, although a more general reference to God’s saving love is likely. For similar gifts, see Acts 2.38; 10.45; Rom 5.15; 2 Cor 9.15; Eph 3.7.
6.7 Ground that drinks up the rain recalls the promised land of Deut 11.11.
6.8 Thorns and thistles characterize the cursed land of Gen 3.18. Fields choked with weeds are burned over, but the fiery end here alludes to final judgment.
6.9 The address beloved, common in sermons and letters (see, e.g., 1 Cor 10.14; 15.58; 1 Jn 2.7), begins the message of encouragement.
6.11 For the full assurance of hope, see 10.22. For holding on to the very end, see 3.14.
6.12 Paul frequently calls for imitators; see 1 Cor 4.16; 11.1; 1 Thess 1.6; 2.14. For those who inherit the promises, see 11.1–12.3.
6.13–20 Assurance of God’s fidelity reinforces the encouraging tone of the previous verses.
6.13 The promise that Abraham would be the father of a great people is repeated in Gen 12.2–3; 15.5; 17.5. In Gen 22.16, God, to confirm the promise, swore an oath on God’s own name.
6.14 Gen 22.17.
6.15 Abraham. See also 11.17–19.
6.17 The first-century Jewish interpreter Philo (On Abraham 273) similarly holds that God took oaths in order to help human beings accept God’s promises.
6.18 Two unchangeable things, most likely God’s promise and the oath that confirms it. The author may have in mind Ps 2.7, cited in 5.5, as the basic promise and Ps 110.4, cited in 5.6, as the confirming oath.
6.19 The anchor as a symbol of hope is not scriptural but was common in Greco-Roman culture. Inner shrine, the most sacred part of the tabernacle; it lies behind the curtain; see Ex 26.31–33; 40.3; Mt 27.51. The imagery anticipates the discussion of the tabernacle in chs. 8–10. To enter into the most sacred space behind the curtain is the right only of the high priest, once yearly, on the most solemn festival of the Day of Atonement.
6.20 Forerunner recalls pioneer in 2.10.
Hebrews 7
The Priestly Order of Melchizedek
1This “King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him” 2and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness” next he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
4See how great he is! Evena Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. 5And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithesb from the people, that is, from their kindred,c though these also are descended from Abraham. 6But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithesd from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. 7It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Another Priest, Like Melchizedek
11Now if perfection had been attainable through the levitical priesthood—for the people received the law under this priesthood—what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron? 12For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13Now the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
15It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, 16one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life. 17For it is attested of him,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
18There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual 19(for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope, through which we approach God.
20This was confirmed with an oath; for others who became priests took their office without an oath, 21but this one became a priest with an oath, because of the one who said to him,
“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever’”—
22accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantee of a better covenant.
23Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; 24but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25Consequently he is able for all time to savee those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
26For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the otherf high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. 28For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later tha
n the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.
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a Other ancient authorities lack Even
b Or a tenth
c Gk brothers
d Or a tenth
e Or able to save completely
f Gk lacks other
7.1–28 The author explores the significance of applying Ps 110.4 to Christ. In interpreting the psalm, the author relies heavily on the only other reference to Melchizedek in the OT, the account in Gen 14 of his meeting with Abraham.
7.1 See Gen 14.18–19. For the significance of this action, see v. 7.
7.2 One-tenth of everything. Abraham’s tithe appears in Gen 14.20. The explanations of the names are understandable but technically incorrect. Melchizedek means not king of righteousness, but “Zedek [a Canaanite deity] is my king.” Salem is not “peace” (Hebrew shalom). Philo (Allegorical Interpretation 3.79) offers an etymological analysis of the name similar to that of Hebrews.
7.3 Without father and other characteristics listed here are deduced from scripture’s silence. A priest forever. For eternality as the central feature of the “order of Melchizedek,” see v. 24.
7.5 For the priestly tithe, see Num 18.21–32.
7.8 It is testified that he lives, because the scriptures do not report Melchizedek’s death; see v. 3. Some first-century Jewish texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls Melchizedek (11Q13), speculate about an angelic Melchizedek, perhaps on similar grounds. Philo (Allegorical Interpretation 82) provides an allegorical interpretation of Melchizedek as the Logos, or Divine Word/Reason.
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