Category: HEBREWS

The Bible – New Testament

Index

Hebrews

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Chapter 11

1

¹ Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence ² of things not seen.

2

Because of it the ancients were well attested.

3

By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, ³ so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.

4

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks.

5

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and “he was found no more because God had taken him.” Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God.

6

⁵ But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

7

By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.

8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

9

By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;

10

for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God.

11

By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age – and Sarah herself was sterile – for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

12

So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

13

All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,

14

for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.

15

If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return.

16

But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,

18

of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”

19

⁶ He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

20

By faith regarding things still to come Isaac ⁷ blessed Jacob and Esau.

21

By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and “bowed in worship, leaning on the top of his staff.”

22

By faith Joseph, near the end of his life, spoke of the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

23

By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

24

⁸ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

25

he chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin.

26

He considered the reproach of the Anointed greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the recompense.

27

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s fury, for he persevered as if seeing the one who is invisible.

28

By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29

By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted it they were drowned.

30

By faith the walls of Jericho fell after being encircled for seven days.

31

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.

32

What more shall I say? I have not time to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,

33

who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions,

34

put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders.

35

Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection.

36

Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment.

37

They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.

38

The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth.

39

Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised.

40

God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect. ⁹

 

1 [1-40] This chapter draws upon the people and events of the Old Testament to paint an inspiring portrait of religious faith, firm and unyielding in the face of any obstacles that confront it. These pages rank among the most eloquent and lofty to be found in the Bible. They expand the theme announced in ⇒ Hebrews 6:12, to which the author now returns (⇒ Hebrews 10:39). The material of this chapter is developed chronologically. ⇒ Hebrews 11:3-7 draw upon the first nine chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1-9); ⇒ Hebrews 11:8-22, upon the period of the patriarchs; ⇒ Hebrews 11:23-31, upon the time of Moses; ⇒ Hebrews 11:32-38, upon the history of the judges, the prophets, and the Maccabean martyrs. The author gives the most extensive description of faith provided in the New Testament, though his interest does not lie in a technical, theological definition. In view of the needs of his audience he describes what authentic faith does, not what it is in itself. Through faith God guarantees the blessings to be hoped for from him, providing evidence in the gift of faith that what he promises will eventually come to pass (⇒ Hebrews 11:1). Because they accepted in faith God’s guarantee of the future, the biblical personages discussed in ⇒ Hebrews 11:3-38 were themselves commended by God (⇒ Hebrews 11:2). Christians have even greater reason to remain firm in faith since they, unlike the Old Testament men and women of faith, have perceived the beginning of God’s fulfillment of his messianic promises (⇒ Hebrews 11:39-40).

2 [1] Faith is the realization . . . evidence: the author is not attempting a precise definition. There is dispute about the meaning of the Greek words hypostasis and elenchos, here translated realization and evidence, respectively. Hypostasis usually means “substance,” “being” (as translated in ⇒ Hebrews 1:3), or “reality” (as translated in ⇒ Hebrews 3:14); here it connotes something more subjective, and so realization has been chosen rather than “assurance” (RSV). Elenchos, usually “proof,” is used here in an objective sense and so translated evidence rather than the transferred sense of “(inner) conviction” (RSV).

3 [3] By faith . . . God: this verse does not speak of the faith of the Old Testament men and women but is in the first person plural. Hence it seems out of place in the sequence of thought.

4 [4] The “Praise of the Ancestors” in ⇒ Sirach 44:1-⇒ 50:21 gives a similar list of heroes. The Cain and Abel narrative in ⇒ Genesis 4:1-16 does not mention Abel’s faith. It says, however, that God “looked with favor on Abel and his offering” (Genesis 4, 4); in view of v 6 the author probably understood God’s favor to have been activated by Abel’s faith. Though dead, he still speaks: possibly because his blood “cries out to me from the soil” (⇒ Genesis 4:10), but more probably a way of saying that the repeated story of Abel provides ongoing witness to faith.

5 [6] One must believe not only that God exists but that he is concerned about human conduct; the Old Testament defines folly as the denial of this truth; cf ⇒ Psalm 52:2.

6 [19] As a symbol: Isaac’s “return from death” is seen as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Others understand the words en parabole to mean “in figure,” i.e., the word dead is used figuratively of Isaac, since he did not really die. But in the one other place that parabole occurs in Hebrews, it means symbol (⇒ Hebrews 9:9).

7 [20-22] Each of these three patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, had faith in the future fulfillment of God’s promise and renewed this faith when near death.

8 [24-27] The reason given for Moses’ departure from Egypt differs from the account in ⇒ Exodus 2:11-15. The author also gives a christological interpretation of his decision to share the trials of his people.

9 [40] So that without us they should not be made perfect: the heroes of the Old Testament obtained their recompense only after the saving work of Christ had been accomplished. Thus they already enjoy what Christians who are still struggling do not yet possess in its fullness.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

The Bible – New Testament

Hebrews

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Chapter 7

1

¹ This “Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High,” ² “met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings” and “blessed him.”

2

³ And Abraham apportioned to him “a tenth of everything.” His name first means righteous king, and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.

3

Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, ⁴ thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

4

⁵ See how great he is to whom the patriarch “Abraham (indeed) gave a tenth” of his spoils.

5

The descendants of Levi who receive the office of priesthood have a commandment according to the law to exact tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, although they also have come from the loins of Abraham.

6

But he who was not of their ancestry received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.

7

Unquestionably, a lesser person is blessed by a greater. ⁶

8

In the one case, mortal men receive tithes; in the other, a man of whom it is testified that he lives on.

9

One might even say that Levi ⁷ himself, who receives tithes, was tithed through Abraham,

10

for he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met him.

11

⁸ If, then, perfection came through the levitical priesthood, on the basis of which the people received the law, what need would there still have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of Aaron?

12

When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well.

13

Now he of whom these things are said ⁹ belonged to a different tribe, of which no member ever officiated at the altar.

14

It is clear that our Lord arose from Judah, ¹⁰ and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

15

¹¹ It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of Melchizedek,

16

who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. ¹²

17

For it is testified: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

18

On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness,

19

for the law brought nothing to perfection; on the other hand, a better hope ¹³ is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

20

¹⁴ And to the degree that this happened not without the taking of an oath ¹⁵  – for others became priests without an oath,

21

but he with an oath, through the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: ‘You are a priest forever'” – 

22

to that same degree has Jesus (also) become the guarantee of an (even) better covenant. ¹⁶

23

Those priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,

24

but he, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away.

25

¹⁷ Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.

26

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: ¹⁸ holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. ¹⁹

27

He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, ²⁰ first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.

28

For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.

1 [1-3] Recalling the meeting between Melchizedek and Abraham described in ⇒ Genesis 14:17-20, the author enhances the significance of this priest by providing the popular etymological meaning of his name and that of the city over which he ruled (⇒ Hebrews 7:2). Since Genesis gives no information on the parentage or the death of Melchizedek, he is seen here as a type of Christ, representing a priesthood that is unique and eternal (⇒ Hebrews 7:3).

2 [1] The author here assumes that Melchizedek was a priest of the God of Israel (cf ⇒ Genesis 14:22 and the note there).

3 [2] In Genesis 14, the Hebrew text does not state explicitly who gave tithes to whom. The author of Hebrews supplies Abraham as the subject, according to a contemporary interpretation of the passage. This supports the argument of the midrash and makes it possible to see in Melchizedek a type of Jesus. The messianic blessings of righteousness and peace are foreshadowed in the names “Melchizedek” and “Salem.”

4 [3] Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life: this is perhaps a quotation from a hymn about Melchizedek. The rabbis maintained that anything not mentioned in the Torah does not exist. Consequently, since the Old Testament nowhere mentions Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, or death, the conclusion can be drawn that he remains . . . forever.

5 [4-10] The tithe that Abraham gave to Melchizedek (⇒ Hebrews 7:4), a practice later followed by the levitical priesthood (⇒ Hebrews 7:5), was a gift (⇒ Hebrews 7:6) acknowledging a certain superiority in Melchizedek, the foreign priest (⇒ Hebrews 7:7). This is further indicated by the fact that the institution of the levitical priesthood was sustained by hereditary succession in the tribe of Levi, whereas the absence of any mention of Melchizedek’s death in Genesis implies that his personal priesthood is permanent (⇒ Hebrews 7:8). The levitical priesthood itself, through Abraham, its ancestor, paid tithes to Melchizedek, thus acknowledging the superiority of his priesthood over its own (⇒ Hebrews 7:9-10).

6 [7] A lesser person is blessed by a greater: though this sounds like a principle, there are some examples in the Old Testament that do not support it (cf ⇒ 2 Sam 14:22; ⇒ Job 31:20). The author may intend it as a statement of a liturgical rule.

7 [9] Levi: for the author this name designates not only the son of Jacob mentioned in Genesis but the priestly tribe that was thought to be descended from him.

8 [11-14] The levitical priesthood was not typified by the priesthood of Melchizedek, for ⇒ Psalm 110:4 speaks of a priesthood of a new order, the order of Melchizedek, to arise in messianic times (⇒ Hebrews 7:11). Since the levitical priesthood served the Mosaic law, a new priesthood (⇒ Hebrews 7:12) would not come into being without a change in the law itself. Thus Jesus was not associated with the Old Testament priesthood, for he was a descendant of the tribe of Judah, which had never exercised the priesthood (⇒ Hebrews 7:13-14).

9 [13] He of whom these things are said: Jesus, the priest “according to the order of Melchizedek.” According to the author’s interpretation, Psalm 110 spoke prophetically of Jesus.

10 [14] Judah: the author accepts the early Christian tradition that Jesus was descended from the family of David (cf ⇒ Matthew 1:1-2, ⇒ 16, ⇒ 20; ⇒ Luke 1:27; ⇒ 2:4; ⇒ Romans 1:3). The Qumran community expected two Messiahs, one descended from Aaron and one from David; Hebrews shows no awareness of this view or at least does not accept it. Our author’s view is not attested in contemporaneous Judaism.

11 [15-19] Jesus does not exercise a priesthood through family lineage but through his immortal existence (15-16), fulfilling ⇒ Psalm 110:4 (⇒ Hebrews 7:17; cf ⇒ Hebrews 7:3). Thus he abolishes forever both the levitical priesthood and the law it serves, because neither could effectively sanctify people (⇒ Hebrews 7:18) by leading them into direct communication with God (⇒ Hebrews 7:19).

12 [16] A life that cannot be destroyed: the life to which Jesus has attained by virtue of his resurrection; it is his exaltation rather than his divine nature that makes him priest. The Old Testament speaks of the Aaronic priesthood as eternal (see ⇒ Exodus 40:15); our author does not explicitly consider this possible objection to his argument but implicitly refutes it in ⇒ Hebrews 7:23-24.

13 [19] A better hope: this hope depends upon the sacrifice of the Son of God; through it we “approach the throne of grace” (⇒ Hebrews 4:16); cf ⇒ Hebrews 6:19, ⇒ 20.

14 [20] An oath: God’s oath in ⇒ Psalm 110:4.

15 [20-25] As was the case with the promise to Abraham (⇒ Hebrews 6:13), though not with the levitical priesthood, the eternal priesthood of the order of Melchizedek was confirmed by God’s oath (⇒ Hebrews 7:20-21); cf ⇒ Psalm 110:4. Thus Jesus becomes the guarantee of a permanent covenant (⇒ Hebrews 7:22) that does not require a succession of priests as did the levitical priesthood (⇒ Hebrews 7:23) because his high priesthood is eternal and unchangeable (⇒ Hebrews 7:24). Consequently, Jesus is able to save all who draw near to God through him since he is their ever-living intercessor (⇒ Hebrews 7:25).

16 [22] An [even] better covenant: better than the Mosaic covenant because it will be eternal, like the priesthood of Jesus upon which it is based. ⇒ Hebrews 7:12 argued that a change of priesthood involves a change of law; since “law” and “covenant” are used correlatively, a new covenant is likewise instituted.

17 [25] To make intercession: the intercession of the exalted Jesus, not the sequel to his completed sacrifice but its eternal presence in heaven; cf ⇒ Romans 8:34.

18 [26] This verse with its list of attributes is reminiscent of ⇒ Hebrews 7:3 and is perhaps a hymnic counterpart to it, contrasting the exalted Jesus with Melchizedek.

19 [26-28] Jesus is precisely the high priest whom the human race requires, holy and sinless, installed far above humanity (Hebrews 1:26); one having no need to offer sacrifice daily for sins but making a single offering of himself (Hebrews 1:27) once for all. The law could only appoint high priests with human limitations, but the fulfillment of God’s oath regarding the priesthood of Melchizedek (⇒ Psalm 110:4) makes the Son of God the perfect priest forever (⇒ Hebrews 7:28).

20 [27] Such daily sacrifice is nowhere mentioned in the Mosaic law; only on the Day of Atonement is it prescribed that the high priest must offer sacrifice . . . for his own sins and then for those of the people (⇒ Lev 16:11-19). Once for all: this translates the Greek words ephapax/hapax that occur eleven times in Hebrews.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.