Friday, March 30, 2007

Hebrews 13:5—not, not, not

Greekers who love the Lord, love this verse—and for good reason.
Ἀφιλάργυρος ὁ τρόπος, ἀρκούμενοι τοῖς παροῦσιν. αὐτὸς γὰρ εἴρηκεν· οὐ μή σε ἀνῶ οὐδ᾽ οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω,
The context is an encouragement to godly contentment. The reason that our lifestyle should not be that of silver-lovers is given as the impossibility of the Lord's abandoning us.

First you note the emphatic introduction. The simple verb εἴρηκεν is strengthened by the αὐτὸς. It is He, no less than He and none other than He, who has said this. Also, the verb is in the perfect tense: εἴρηκεν. He has gone on record, He has made a statement, the statement stands.

But then notice the piling up of negatives. First there are two (οὐ μή), and then there are three (οὐδ᾽ οὐ μή). Not, not, nor not not.

But I learn from Wallace that even the tense strengthens the negation, as these emphatic denials are paired with subjunctives. Hear him from p. 468:
One might think that the negative with the subjunctive could not be as strong as the negative with the indicative. However, while ouv + the indica­tive denies a certainty, ouv mh, + the subjunctive denies a potentiality. The negative is not weaker; rather, the affirmation that is being negatived is less firm with the subjunctive. ouv mh, rules out even the idea as being a possibil­ity....
So perhaps a "dynamic" rendering, a paraphrase, would be: : "for He Himself has said, 'There is no conceivable way I will leave you, nor is there any conceivable way I will abandon you.'"

At any rate, it is a wonderful promise, and is well captured in the wonderful hymn How Firm a Foundation:
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
All praise and glory to our faithful, self-committed, oath-keeping God.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hebrews 10:24—consider what, or who?

This passages is very frequently mistranslated.

First, look at the Greek: καὶ κατανοῶμεν ἀλλήλους εἰς παροξυσμὸν ἀγάπης καὶ καλῶν ἔργων....

Then consider (pun unintended) the following, and ask yourself, "What's wrong with this picture?"
AMP And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,

ESV And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

GWN We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things.

ISV And let us continue to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

MOF and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds

NAB We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.

NAS and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

NAU and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

NET And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works,

NIV And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

NLT Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

NRS And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,

RSV and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Hebrews 10:22-25—three heads of "let us"

Years ago, I noticed something about the structure of this passage:
22 προσερχώμεθα μετὰ ἀληθινῆς καρδίας ἐν πληροφορίᾳ πίστεως ῥεραντισμένοι τὰς καρδίας ἀπὸ συνειδήσεως πονηρᾶς καὶ λελουσμένοι τὸ σῶμα ὕδατι καθαρῷ· 23 κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἀκλινῆ, πιστὸς γὰρ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος, 24 καὶ κατανοῶμεν ἀλλήλους εἰς παροξυσμὸν ἀγάπης καὶ καλῶν ἔργων, 25 μὴ ἐγκαταλείποντες τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν ἑαυτῶν, καθὼς ἔθος τισίν, ἀλλὰ παρακαλοῦντες, καὶ τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ὅσῳ βλέπετε ἐγγίζουσαν τὴν ἡμέραν.
Do you see it? There are three cohortatives in this passage (first person plural subjunctives, all present tense). In English, we use the phrase "let us." Hence, "Three Heads of 'Let Us.'"

See how I develop this, if you like, in this sermon [update: link's bad, trying to find out why; sorry.]

Monday, March 26, 2007

Hebrews 10—study in contrasts

I can't think of an author who more abundantly rewards close attention to his choice of words, nor who uses them more deftly and deliberately and vividly.

Throughout his letter, he contrasts the person and work of Christ with various good persons and institutions — angels, Moses, Aaronic priesthood, Mosaic covenant. Here in chapter 10, he is focusing on the whole ritual surrounding the sacrifices offered by the Aaronic priesthood. Focus on the first verse of chapter 10, and see how many ways he finds to contrast its limited and temporary effects with the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ, in one verse:
Σκιὰν γὰρ ἔχων ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν
οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων
κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν
ταῖς αὐταῖς θυσίαις
ἃς προσφέρουσιν
εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς
οὐδέποτε δύναται
τοὺς προσερχομένους τελειῶσαι·
Then focus on vv. 11-13—
Καὶ πᾶς μὲν ἱερεὺς ἕστηκεν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν λειτουργῶν καὶ τὰς αὐτὰς πολλάκις προσφέρων θυσίας, αἵτινες οὐδέποτε δύνανται περιελεῖν ἁμαρτίας, 12 οὗτος δὲ μίαν ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν προσενέγκας θυσίαν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ, 13 τὸ λοιπὸν ἐκδεχόμενος ἕως τεθῶσιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. 14 μιᾷ γὰρ προσφορᾷ τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους.
The passage is a marvel. See how he pounds his point again and again, just in v. 11. It isn't some priests, it's πᾶς ἱερεὺς. Every priest ἕστηκεν, for he can can never sit, for his work is never finished. The work is carried on not just occasionally, but καθ᾽ ἡμέραν. It wasn't a single event, but it was ongoing (λειτουργῶν, προσφέρων—present participles). Nor does he try different measures, but offers τὰς αὐτὰς. Nor can he ever do it once and be done with it, but must offer them πολλάκις.

Why is that? Because these sacrifices are the very ones (αἵτινες) that not only don't take away sins, but are incapable of (δύνανται) taking away sins; and that not only on occasion, but regularly (present tense); and that not only at one time, but not at any time (οὐδέποτε).

You could make a column, then, and contrast each of these points with what he then asserts about Christ's sacrifice. He was a different Person (οὗτος); His sacrifice wasn't πολλάκις, but μίαν; its effect wasn't temporary and partial but εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς; He did not continue to stand making this sacrifice, but ἐκάθισεν; His seat was not on a chair in an earthly tabernacle, but ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ.

And all that is why, while centuries of Mosaic sacrifices οὐδέποτε δύναται τοὺς προσερχομένους τελειῶσαι (v. 1), by starkest contrast the one sacrifice of Jesus τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους (v. 14).

This is one of those passages that, to me, is difficult to preach, because one despairs ever of communicating the grandeur of the author's teaching. He has said it so eloquently, emphatically, and concisely. Our danger is that we will either blunt it and bury it beneath a flood of words, or fail ever to scale the peak and capture the lofty truth he communicates.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Hebrews 9:12—Eureka! (Except not)

One Greek verb which most English-speakers unknowingly know is eureka, the first person singular perfect active indicative of εὑρίσκω, I find; thus, "I have found (it)."

This is the sense in which the verb is used most often in the GNT, as in John 1:41, εὑρήκαμεν τὸν Μεσσίαν.

However, back in Attic Greek (so BAGD tells us) the middle form of εὑρίσκω was used in the sense of obtaining, securing something. They document various uses of the active in this sense in the NT, but Hebrews 9:12 is the only use of the middle:
οὐδὲ δι᾽ αἵματος τράγων καὶ μόσχων διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος εἰσῆλθεν ἐφάπαξ εἰς τὰ ἅγια αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος.
Robertson, both in his Grammar and Word Pictures, suggests that the middle emphasizes that the Lord Jesus accomplished this Himself, by His own efforts and deeds. It at least serves another example of where bare use of an interlinear or a short lexicon would be dangerous. If the writer is saying anything, it certainly is not that Jesus "happened upon" eternal redemption, according to one common use of the verb in the active.

Also notice the verse as a whole. It is beyond the scope of one post to develop, and is a glorious theme to preach, but the author never tires of finding ways to show the vast superiority of Jesus' work to that of the Old Covenant types and shadows. This verse is densely packed with such language. Consider:
  1. The contrast with the Old: οὐδὲ δι᾽ αἵματος τράγων καὶ μόσχων
  2. The heart of the New: διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος εἰσῆλθεν ἐφάπαξ εἰς τὰ ἅγια αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος
But further focus on the way its superiority is highlighted:
  1. Infinitely superior offering: διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος (this is further developed in the verses immediately following)
  2. Superior tabernacle (by inference): εἰσῆλθεν ...εἰς τὰ ἅγια
  3. Superior outcome: εἰσῆλθεν ἐφάπαξ εἰς τὰ ἅγια αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος
Yet again, consider how the outcome is shown to be superior:
  1. It only took one sacrifice: ἐφάπαξ
  2. It obtained eternal redemption, not redemption in need of periodic renewals: αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν
  3. It was obtained by one person, and Him of infinitely superior worth: εὑράμενος
As I've said, Romans is a great and deep theological treatise. But Hebrews is no Chick tract.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Hebrews 6:4-6—what?! No finite verb?

[Sorry this is out of sequence]

Hebrews 6:4-6 is one of the Bible's interpretive hotbeds, certainly. The issues of perseverance and security are all over this passage. As a thoroughly convinced Calvinist, I'll admit openly it's one of the ones that demands a strong response. And, simply as a Christian, I think it's one of the scariest passages in the Bible, no matter what your theological position.

In fact, I'll say this dogmatically: if you don't find this to be a scary passage, you're not reading it right.

Having said that, on this read-through I was struck by one particular grammatical phenomenon. Look at the passage as a whole:
Αδύνατον γὰρ τοὺς ἅπαξ φωτισθέντας, γευσαμένους τε τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς ἐπουρανίου καὶ μετόχους γενηθέντας πνεύματος ἁγίου 5 καὶ καλὸν γευσαμένους θεοῦ ῥῆμα δυνάμεις τε μέλλοντος αἰῶνος 6 καὶ παραπεσόντας, πάλιν ἀνακαινίζειν εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἀνασταυροῦντας ἑαυτοῖς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ παραδειγματίζοντας.
What's missing?

No doubt the title has already clued you in. There isn't a finite verb to be had for love nor money in the whole thing. Look it over. I count thirty-nine words: one 2X4-board-on-the-forehead adjective (Αδύνατον), followed by one, two, three, four, five aorist accusative participles, then a present infinite... and then two more accusative participles, for good measure — though these are present-tense.

There actually is a sixth participle amid that first string, μέλλοντος; but it usually functions pretty much as an adjective, in my reading. Yet it does make for a grand total of seven participles (of which four are aorists) and one infinitive, and zero finite verbs.

Would a finite verb have made exegesis easier?

Hm; probably depends on the verb, doesn't it?

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Hebrews 7:25—able to save....

No matter how you slice it, Hebrews 7:25 makes a glorious assertion about the Lord Jesus. On the basis of His eternal life and (therefore) untransferrable priesthood,
ὅθεν καὶ σῴζειν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς δύναται τοὺς προσερχομένους δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τῷ θεῷ, πάντοτε ζῶν εἰς τὸ ἐντυγχάνειν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν.
This phrase, εἰς τὸ παντελὲς, stands out. How to render it? The familiar KJV "to the uttermost" is one option, and it is retained by ASV, ESV and NKJ. The CSB has "always"; in fact, oddly, it uses the word twice in this verse, once for our phrase and once for πάντοτε. NAS has "forever," NET has "completely," as does NIV. Phillips (no relation) has "fully and completely."

The phrase occurs exactly in one other verse in the Greek Bible. It is Luke 13:11, speaking of the woman whom Satan had crippled:
καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ πνεῦμα ἔχουσα ἀσθενείας ἔτη δεκαοκτὼ καὶ ἦν συγκύπτουσα καὶ μὴ δυναμένη ἀνακύψαι εἰς τὸ παντελές.
Here, the meaning clearly is not "forever." "Completely" or "fully" would work. But the phrase could have the nuance of "forever." When a Greek phrase is ambiguous, I like to try to find an English phrase that retains the ambiguity. Would not "all the way" keep that ambiguity?

But that still leaves us in a bind, since the syntax which is so elegant in Greek simply does not come across to English with equal elegance: "...whence also He is able to save, all the way, those who draw near to God through Him, as He always lives to make intercession for them."

What a wonderful and reassuring depiction of our Lord's priesthood and work. His salvation does not stop partway, any more than His life will stop partway, nor will His priestly intercession for His own (cf. John 17:9) stop partway. As my pastor well says, if any part of the process were left to us, that is the part we'd botch.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Hebrews 7:11—perfection

In my reading, I crossed Hebrews 7:11.
Εἰ μὲν οὖν τελείωσις διὰ τῆς Λευιτικῆς ἱερωσύνης ἦν, ὁ λαὸς γὰρ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς νενομοθέτηται, τίς ἔτι χρεία κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ ἕτερον ἀνίστασθαι ἱερέα καὶ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Ἀαρὼν λέγεσθαι;
Note the stress on τελείωσις, and the fact that the Levitical priesthood cannot deliver it. It occurred to me that the use of terms with the τελ- element in Hebrews is very prominent. Consider this list:
  • 2: 10 ἔπρεπεν γὰρ αὐτῷ, δι᾽ ὃν τὰ πάντα καὶ δι᾽ οὗ τὰ πάντα, πολλοὺς υἱοὺς εἰς δόξαν ἀγαγόντα τὸν ἀρχηγὸν τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν διὰ παθημάτων τελειῶσαι.
  • 3:14 μέτοχοι γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεγόναμεν, ἐάνπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν-
  • 5:9 καὶ τελειωθεὶς ἐγένετο πᾶσιν τοῖς ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ αἴτιος σωτηρίας αἰωνίου,
  • 5:14 τελείων δέ ἐστιν ἡ στερεὰ τροφή, τῶν διὰ τὴν ἕξιν τὰ αἰσθητήρια γεγυμνασμένα ἐχόντων πρὸς διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ.
  • 6:1 Διὸ ἀφέντες τὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα φερώμεθα, μὴ πάλιν θεμέλιον καταβαλλόμενοι μετανοίας ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων καὶ πίστεως ἐπὶ θεόν,
  • 6:8 ἐκφέρουσα δὲ ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους, ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς, ἧς τὸ τέλος εἰς καῦσιν.
  • 6:11 ἐπιθυμοῦμεν δὲ ἕκαστον ὑμῶν τὴν αὐτὴν ἐνδείκνυσθαι σπουδὴν πρὸς τὴν πληροφορίαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἄχρι τέλους,
  • 7:3 ἀπάτωρ ἀμήτωρ ἀγενεαλόγητος, μήτε ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν μήτε ζωῆς τέλος ἔχων, ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, μένει ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸ διηνεκές.
  • 7:11 Εἰ μὲν οὖν τελείωσις διὰ τῆς Λευιτικῆς ἱερωσύνης ἦν, ὁ λαὸς γὰρ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς νενομοθέτηται, τίς ἔτι χρεία κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ ἕτερον ἀνίστασθαι ἱερέα καὶ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Ἀαρὼν λέγεσθαι;
  • 7:19 οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐτελείωσεν ὁ νόμος- ἐπεισαγωγὴ δὲ κρείττονος ἐλπίδος δι᾽ ἧς ἐγγίζομεν τῷ θεῷ.
  • 7:25 ὅθεν καὶ σῴζειν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς δύναται τοὺς προσερχομένους δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τῷ θεῷ, πάντοτε ζῶν εἰς τὸ ἐντυγχάνειν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν.
  • 7:28 ὁ νόμος γὰρ ἀνθρώπους καθίστησιν ἀρχιερεῖς ἔχοντας ἀσθένειαν, ὁ λόγος δὲ τῆς ὁρκωμοσίας τῆς μετὰ τὸν νόμον υἱὸν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τετελειωμένον.
  • 8:5 οἵτινες ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ λατρεύουσιν τῶν ἐπουρανίων, καθὼς κεχρημάτισται Μωϋσῆς μέλλων ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν σκηνήν· ὅρα γάρ φησιν, ποιήσεις πάντα κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει·
  • 8:8 μεμφόμενος γὰρ αὐτοὺς λέγει· ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, λέγει κύριος, καὶ συντελέσω ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα διαθήκην καινήν,
  • 9:6 Τούτων δὲ οὕτως κατεσκευασμένων εἰς μὲν τὴν πρώτην σκηνὴν διὰ παντὸς εἰσίασιν οἱ ἱερεῖς τὰς λατρείας ἐπιτελοῦντες,
  • 9:9 ἥτις παραβολὴ εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τὸν ἐνεστηκότα, καθ᾽ ἣν δῶρά τε καὶ θυσίαι προσφέρονται μὴ δυνάμεναι κατὰ συνείδησιν τελειῶσαι τὸν λατρεύοντα,
  • 9:11 Χριστὸς δὲ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν γενομένων ἀγαθῶν διὰ τῆς μείζονος καὶ τελειοτέρας σκηνῆς οὐ χειροποιήτου, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτίσεως,
  • 9:26 ἐπεὶ ἔδει αὐτὸν πολλάκις παθεῖν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου· νυνὶ δὲ ἅπαξ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς ἀθέτησιν [τῆς] ἁμαρτίας διὰ τῆς θυσίας αὐτοῦ πεφανέρωται.
  • 10:1 Σκιὰν γὰρ ἔχων ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων, κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ταῖς αὐταῖς θυσίαις ἃς προσφέρουσιν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς οὐδέποτε δύναται τοὺς προσερχομένους τελειῶσαι·
  • 10:14 μιᾷ γὰρ προσφορᾷ τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους.
  • 11:22 Πίστει Ἰωσὴφ τελευτῶν περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐμνημόνευσεν καὶ περὶ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ ἐνετείλατο.
  • 11:40 τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ ἡμῶν κρεῖττόν τι προβλεψαμένου, ἵνα μὴ χωρὶς ἡμῶν τελειωθῶσιν.
  • 12:2 ἀφορῶντες εἰς τὸν τῆς πίστεως ἀρχηγὸν καὶ τελειωτὴν Ἰησοῦν, ὃς ἀντὶ τῆς προκειμένης αὐτῷ χαρᾶς ὑπέμεινεν σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας ἐν δεξιᾷ τε τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ θεοῦ κεκάθικεν.
  • 12:23 καὶ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρωτοτόκων ἀπογεγραμμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ κριτῇ θεῷ πάντων καὶ πνεύμασι δικαίων τετελειωμένων
  • 13:17 Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε, αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες, ἵνα μετὰ χαρᾶς τοῦτο ποιῶσιν καὶ μὴ στενάζοντες· ἀλυσιτελὲς γὰρ ὑμῖν τοῦτο.
A writer's vocabulary is a window into his thinking. Any analysis of this very careful writer's thought should deal with his frequent dipping from the τελ-well.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Hebrews 7:3—a few observations

Today's note is a brief one, and focuses on Hebrews 7:3—
ἀπάτωρ ἀμήτωρ ἀγενεαλόγητος, μήτε ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν μήτε ζωῆς τέλος ἔχων, ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, μένει ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸ διηνεκές.
First, note the staccato opening: three alpha-privatives, no conjunctions: ἀπάτωρ ἀμήτωρ ἀγενεαλόγητος.

Then note the suspended present participle ("neither beginning of days nor of life an end having"), followed immediately by a perfect passive participle (ἔχων, ἀφωμοιωμένος), then the point: Christ remains a priest for perpetuity.

One last note, and this an interpretive/theological one: if Melchizedek was ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, then he wasn't likely himself ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, was he? That is, one is not made like what one is. This should effectively rule out the suppositions one occasionally hears that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnational Christophany. The Son of God is not made like the Son of God.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Hebrews 5:8—breathtaking word on Christ's pedagogy

This may be the only verse in the Bible that, without fail, literally makes me stop and catch my breath on every reading. It is Hebrews 5:8.
καίπερ ὢν υἱός, ἔμαθεν ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἔπαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν,
It is a marvel on so many levels. I remember the first time a friend brought it to bear on me personally. I was going through a very difficult time a couple of decades ago, with a badly broken heart. He quoted me this verse. It took my breath away then, and has ever since. Let's just consider a few of its marvels together.
  1. Doctrinally—where to begin? If one has a word from the great Spurgeon, that's usually the best place, so let's do: "God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod" (CHS, Morning and Evening, 5/31 AM, though on 2 Samuel 15:23). Obviously the Son's "learning" is not like ours, teaching a contrary to a rebel. But submission was something the incarnate Logos learned, and He learned it not in a bucolic school on a lovely afternoon. He learned it through suffering.
  2. Practically—if the sinless Son learned submission thus, how could we born rebels expect to learn it less painfully? He was like us in every regard, except as to sin nature. Christ's nature did not chafe against the yoke, His heart did not most naturally rise up in rebellion against God. He did not walk according to the spirit of the age, working in the sons of disobedience. He was unlike us in all those things...and still suffering was the school in which He learned τὴν ὑπακοήν.
  3. Grammatically—there is so much. There is the anarthrous (no definite article) phrase καίπερ ὢν υἱός. It stresses not so much who He was, as what He was. Not so much that He was The Son, but that Son is what He was. He wasn't a slave, He wasn't a reconciled enemy; He was no less than Son. But Son though He was, suffering was his alma mater in the matter of submission. Then there is the assonance. Read the phrase aloud: ἔμαθεν ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἔπαθεν. What an artist this author is! Then there is what I'll un-academically call the syntactic suspense. The author does not write, ἔμαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἔπαθεν. Rather, it is ἔμαθεν ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἔπαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν. "Son though He was, He learned from the things He suffered"— learned what? The wickedness of sin? The brokenness of the world? The rough providences of God? No. "Submission." And this is held in suspense until the last, syntactically. As if to say, "Son though He was, He learned from the things He suffered—submission!"
One parting thought, if I may. A man who didn't know a word of Greek could open up some wonderful thoughts from this verse. But do you see, everything we just reflected on lies under the surface of the English text. The best analogy I've thought of is this: a man with a great translation is like someone with a really good black and white TV. You see what's going on, you follow the story fine.

Ah, but if you really want to see things as they are, and pick up shadings and depth you might otherwise miss, you need color.

The analogy isn't exact, of course. But this text well illustrates its point.

(That said, I say again that I really hope folks are point this site out to pastors!)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Hebrews 4:15—our sympathetic High Priest

I remember when the Greek of this verse first hit me. I had taken my Greek NT with me in my backpack, and had gone on a hike in the foothills of Glendale, CA, back in the 1970's. I just wanted to be alone, to read, reflect, and pray.

And then I read this:
οὐ γὰρ ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα μὴ δυνάμενον συμπαθῆσαι ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἡμῶν, πεπειρασμένον δὲ κατὰ πάντα καθ᾽ ὁμοιότητα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας.
That word, συμπαθῆσαι, struck home to me. It's phrased in the negative, "We do not have such a high priest as cannot" -- emphatically denying that He is such as cannot συμπαθῆσαι, and thus emphatically affirming that He can and does συμπαθῆσαι.

But that word, συμπαθῆσαι. When I read it, I said aloud, "Wow."

It means that He can feel with, He can feel pain with, He can be touched with the painfulness of our weaknesses. He is not a bloodless, dispassionate Force or Principle (such as my cult, recently abandoned in repentance, had taught). He is not an expressionless, alabaster statue in the heavens. Even now, at God's right hand, serving as our High Priest, He knows from within Himself the pains our weaknesses cause.

And the reason given for this ability is both His humanity (further brought out in 5:1ff.), and His having endured trials and temptations of His own: πεπειρασμένον δὲ κατὰ πάντα καθ᾽ ὁμοιότητα. Perfect passive participle, He is now one who has been put through every category of temptation in similarity (to our own).

But there is one all-important point of disconnection with us: χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας.

His temptations were thus all the worse than ours, contrary to what our first impression might be. Dr. Robert Thomas first helped me understand this, at Talbot. The Devil tempts us, ratchets up his temptation-machine to a 1, 1.5, 1.75 -- and we bail, we fail.

But with the Son of God, the temptation is brought to a 1, a 2, a 3... nothing. Then 4, 6, 8, and finally the greatest force he can bring to bear, a 10 -- still nothing. No yielding. Temptation far stronger and more intense than any we endure, but no failing. What a Savior.

I can't imagine putting it better nor more tersely than Spurgeon:
"God had one Son without sin; but he has no son without temptation" (Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, 2/9 pm)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Hebrews 4:12—experimental rendering

Here is where the blog owner sits on the board over the tank of water, hands out baseballs to the public, and simply invites them to throw.

First, The Greek:
Ζῶν γὰρ ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργὴς καὶ τομώτερος ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον καὶ διϊκνούμενος ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος, ἁρμῶν τε καὶ μυελῶν, καὶ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν καρδίας·
Now, the very-literal DPUV (Dan Phillips Unauthorized Version):
For the word of God is living, and effective, and sharper beyond every two-edged sword; and is penetrating up to the partition of soul and of spirit, of both joints and of marrows, and is discriminating [or critical] of the emotions and inner thoughts of the heart;....
This would be a more "dynamic" rendering:
For the word of God is living and effective, and far sharper than any double-edged sword; and it penetrates to the point of splitting soul and spirit, as well as joints and ligaments; and it is able to critique the very innermost stirrings and thoughts of the heart.
All right, have at it.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Hebrews 3:16-18—τίνες, τίσιν, τίσιν

Today's note is a brief one.

In 13:22, the writer describes his own letter as a "word of exhortation."
Παρακαλῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ἀνέχεσθε τοῦ λόγου τῆς παρακλήσεως, καὶ γὰρ διὰ βραχέων ἐπέστειλα ὑμῖν.

Many have noted sermonic elements in Hebrews. This rather stands out in Hebrews 3:16-18, where the writer asks his readers three very pointed questions, that serve to bring home the portion of Scripture he'd just been using as a warning:
16 τίνες γὰρ ἀκούσαντες παρεπίκραναν; ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πάντες οἱ ἐξελθόντες ἐξ Αἰγύπτου διὰ Μωϋσέως;
17 τίσιν δὲ προσώχθισεν τεσσεράκοντα ἔτη; οὐχὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήσασιν, ὧν τὰ κῶλα ἔπεσεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ;
18 τίσιν δὲ ὤμοσεν μὴ εἰσελεύσεσθαι εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἀπειθήσασιν;
Thus he stirs up his hearers' attention and involves them in the text. Preachers should never preach for their own amusement, nor simply to discuss a topic. The Word should always have impact; we should always preach before God, to our audience.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Hebrews 3:14—past and present in salvation

While Romans is perhaps the most theologically celebrated book in the New Testament, Hebrews is no small potatoes. Honest Calvinists (like me! Hi, everyone!) will admit that some of the more challenging passages relating to the Biblical doctrine of Christ's keeping the saints are to be found in Hebrews.

This passage, I think, puts the matter rather deftly. An explicit warning begins with verse 12:
12 Βλέπετε, ἀδελφοί, μήποτε ἔσται ἔν τινι ὑμῶν καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας ἐν τῷ ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ζῶντος, 13 ἀλλὰ παρακαλεῖτε ἑαυτοὺς καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται, ἵνα μὴ σκληρυνθῇ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν ἀπάτῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας- 14 μέτοχοι γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεγόναμεν, ἐάνπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν-...
Well, there it is, the danger of unbelief and apostasy, and put in so many words (ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ζῶντος-v. 12). The writer is both warning his readers, and enlisting their participation in the "one another" ministry of broadcasting this caution throughout the assembly.

But note well the exact wording of verse 14. The writer does not say, "If we hold fast to our confidence, we shall become partakers." Nor does he say, "We have become partakers of Christ, if we have made a confession of confidence." Nor, "We shall remain partakers of Christ, if we hold fast." Nor even, "We have become partakers of Christ, if we have held fast our confidence."

Rather, he says, μέτοχοι γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεγόναμεν, ἐάνπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν. The grammar is "We have become X, if we do Y." The first is a first person plural perfect deponent verb, and indicates that "we" have come into a state of being. At some point in the past, this happened, and the effects remain — ἐάνπερ. If what? If we hold fast to the original confidence we placed in Christ, the conviction we came to hold about Him (put as a simple aorist subjunctive).

The wording is interesting, and translation knotty; but my sole focus here is the syntax, and its significance. The writer is saying that present activity reveals past transformation. Perseverance reveals a past work of sovereign grace—and it alone reveals that fact. Not a remembered profession of faith; but enduring possession. Continuance is the test, and proof, of reality.

In this way, the passage is reminiscent of 1 John 5:1—Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται. "Everyone who currently, now believes that Jesus is the Son of God has, at a point in the past, been begotten by God."

As regeneration precedes and causes saving faith, so being made a partaker (or partner) of Christ precedes and causes endurance.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Hebrews 2:7-8—three asyndeta

For reading, exegesis, and exposition, the Greek language is rich in conjunctions. One day I'm sure I'll have occasion to gripe bitterly about the practice of dropping conjunctions in translation. Sure, it can make for "smoother" English reading; but sometimes I think the conjunction is exegetically significant (Matthew 17:1 always leaps to mind in this connection).

So it is always notable when a writer tersely drops conjunctions altogether, and fires off a staccato series of statements, assertions, or exhortations.

Our passage is an example today. Such a clause is called an asyndeton; the plural is asyndeta. There are three asyndeta in Hebrews 2:7-8. I can make the reading more arresting, the points blunter or more emphatic.

I think they're best seen in this case by removing verse numbers and breaking them up on separate lines. I number the asyndeta, thus:
διεμαρτύρατο δέ πού τις λέγων·
τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν;
1. ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ᾽ ἀγγέλους,
2. δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτόν,
3. πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Hebrews 2:3—three prepositional phrases

Next, let's take a quick look at Hebrews 2:3. It's nestled within the wonderful (and instructive) 2:1-4. Here the author asks:
πῶς ἡμεῖς ἐκφευξόμεθα τηλικαύτης ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας, ἥτις ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα λαλεῖσθαι διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη
He specifies the σωτηρία he is talking about as τηλικαύτη, then refers to its origin. Its origin reinforces its greatness, because it was first spoken (ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα λαλεῖσθαι) by the Lord. But he does not say so quite that simply. The author's way is both terser and more elegant at the same time.

Note the three prepositional phrases he employs, bang-bang-bang. This great salvation was:
  1. First spoken διὰ τοῦ κυρίου
  2. Then confirmed ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων
  3. εἰς ἡμᾶς
Note too how the author brackets the prepositional phrases within two verbs or verbal phrases, so that the pre-phrases are given (as I say) bang-bang-bang: ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα λαλεῖσθαι διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουσάντων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐβεβαιώθη.

Over-woodenly, it would be something like this: "how shall we escape, after disregarding salvation so great as this, which having first been spoken by the Lord, unto us by those who heard was confirmed."

Monday, March 5, 2007

Hebrews 1:3-4—tenses and participles

Now note Hebrews 1:3-4.
ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, 4 τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων ὅσῳ διαφορώτερον παρ᾽ αὐτοὺς κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα.
First, the participles: the sequence is present, present, aorist, aorist. Two states viewed as ongoing: (1) Christ's being the radiance of God's glory and the impress of His being, and (2) His carrying the universe by His powerful word. Two actions (or states) viewed as past: (1) the accomplishment of purification of sins, and (2) being better than the angels.

The contrast matters to the writer. What Christ was as to His essence is timeless and ongoing (cf. 13:8), and this gives meaning to His eternal Person and His historical work.

But this purification of sins was an historical event, done once for all (cf. 7:27; 9:12; 10:10), never to be repeated.

Then note the two finite verbs in verse four: ἐκάθισεν, whose importance I discussed in the previous post; and κεκληρονόμηκεν.

It isn't often that a man's thought and eloquence are as well-matched as they are in this man. One thinks of Spurgeon... and very few others.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Hebrews 1:1-4—masterful start to a breathtaking epistle

In the history of literature, many books are rightly famed for their masterful opening lines. Hebrews should rank among the very best. Consider:
Πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως πάλαι ὁ θεὸς λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἐν τοῖς προφήταις 2 ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ, ὃν ἔθηκεν κληρονόμον πάντων, δι᾽ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας· 3 ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ, φέρων τε τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς, 4 τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων ὅσῳ διαφορώτερον παρ᾽ αὐτοὺς κεκληρονόμηκεν ὄνομα.
This post won't be much more than a gushy admiration for the inspired writer's style in constructing one of the commanding openings of all time. If the writer is anyone named in Scripture, the description we have of Apollos as Ἰουδαῖος ...Ἀλεξανδρεὺς τῷ γένει, ἀνὴρ λόγιος (Acts 18:24) surely fits. Whoever he was, God found in him a man whose providential gifts, elevated by the Spirit's inspiration, were equal to very lofty themes.

Note how the writer starts with three adverbs (Πολυμερῶς, πολυτρόπως, πάλαι) followed by an aorist participle (λαλήσας), and does not bring out a finite verb until what is our second verse (ἐλάλησεν). A literal translation makes for difficult English, and many versions smooth it out—thus losing (in my opinion) the intended impact.

If the writer had meant to say "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets" (NLT), or "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways" (TNIV), he could have done so. But he chose not to, and his choice (again, in my view) should be reflected in the translation. To go in the other direction suggests to the English reader that the writer is making two independent statements: God spoke in this way; now God spoke in another way.

Surely it will be argued that we have to adopt some such convention, even as the more literal versions do (ESV: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets"), but I demur. The author's emphasis is not equally divided between the two assertions. His emphasis is on God's speaking to us Son-wise (ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ). Everything is subordinated to that pivotal event.

And this same could be said for the book as a whole. This is the writer's argument: all was preparation for Christ. Everything is overshadowed by Christ. Master-wordsmith that he was, he sets this all up for us in the opening words.

So he says "In many portions and in many manners of old God having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, at the last of these days He spoke to us in the Son." That's very rough English, and indeed it might be another case where it's best to translate it one way, and then explain it. A preacher could say,
"The way the writer phrases himself, his great emphasis is on God's word in Christ. Everything else is subordinated to that. How has God spoken in Christ? He has done so, having spoken at many times over a space of millennia, and in many manners by vision and symbol, in years gone by. After these epochs of gradual and multiform accumulative revelation, God has spoken in a final and definitive manner. This climactic revelation is not partial, it is not under many guises, and it is not solely mediated. It is direct, and it is final. The former is backdrop to the latter. God spoke to us in one who was—not merely an angel, nor prophet, nor a symbol, nor a type, but—a Son."
All my readers know that we could go on and on about the marvels of this passage. I'll just note one more facet to bolster my argument that it sets the stage for the whole book. It's that note in v. 3—καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς. This alludes to Psalm 110, which some have said (justifiably) is the background text for the entire book. The verb καθίζω occurs in three other pivotal passages (8:1; 10:12; 12:2). It marks Christ off from all others. Angels are not invited to sit at God's right hand; priests could never sit, because their work was never done.

Only Christ is God's "right-hand Man," only Christ accomplished perfect and eternal atonement, and so only Christ ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν ὑψηλοῖς. It is the magnificence of this Christ that these magnificent opening words serve to spotlight. One can only gaze and marvel—and then try, with our vastly inferior gifts, to convey to others the wonders that are unveiled here.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Getting started in Greek

I promised a post for folks who may be a bit daunted by advanced syntactical discussions. Here it is.

Teachers counsel different approaches to starting the study of Greek. Go through a grammar, learn vocabulary, etc. All of that makes sense. My own approach was different.

The Lord saved me when I was a senior in high school. I had been a completely undisciplined student. If a subject interested me, I applied myself... a bit. If it didn't, or if it was hard, I didn't.

My conversion ruined every career plan I had, and slapped my aimless worldview around, so everything was a-jumble. I knew I was filled with a burning desire to know the Word, do the Word, communicate the Word to others. I wanted my life to count for the glory of God.

A pastor I knew told me he believed I was gifted to become a pastor myself, and invited me to join the training school he was starting. I was overwhelmed. It made perfect sense of my desires -- but there was that whole study thing. The thought of hard, continuous, disciplined study was very daunting.

And particularly, I knew I'd have to master Greek. He stressed that. It made sense to me. After all, how could I teach a book written in Hebrew and Greek, without knowing Hebrew and Greek?

So I decided to get a head start. I got a Machen grammar, as this would be our text. From it, months before school started, I learned the alphabet—just the alphabet. How to write it and say it, how to read and say words written in Greek.

Then I went to our public library, and found the Greek section. It had a Greek New Testament. I sat down with it, figured out how to find passages I knew, and read them.

This was over thirty-three years ago, and I still remember it vividly. I strained to say those words. I think I even broke out in a sweat, it was so hard to begin with. But there, in John 1:1, was that word λόγος. I recognized it from other words like logic, and I think I'd heard the pastor talk about it. Then there was that word θεὸς. I knew that! It was like in theology! This was exciting. Before too long, I'd read my first whole verse, in Greek.

I kept that up as Greek classes approached, looking up favorite verses, picking out Greek word-equivalents. I continued the same practice as I began Greek. I followed along in my Greek NT during sermons. It made Greek alive and exciting to me. I picked things out that translations didn't quite communicate -- tenses, numbers, prepositional phrases. The more I learned, the more I saw. The rewards increased as my knowledge deepened.

And so, when I've taught Hebrew and Greek, I've encouraged my students to do exactly that. Don't wait until you've had a year of the language to start looking at the testaments. Get the alphabet down cold, and start looking at the original texts now. You'll start noticing things early-on. The study will start rewarding you, right from the beginning.

That taste will help keep you going when you get to irregular verbs, hapaxes, and prepositions with scores of possible meanings (did someone say ἐπὶ?).

This also gives me the opportunity to stress one more time the importance of learning the alphabet. I encountered the greatest resistance to this in teaching Hebrew, because its alphabet is so much stranger to English readers than Greek is. Too many students treat the Hebrew alphabet as if it's a series of coded symbols. They only learn it well enough to find them in BDB, not well enough to read them. This guarantees failure.

If you're starting, start with mastering the alphabet, and reading the actual Greek NT aloud. It isn't essential that you understand it at first; it is essential that you get your brain used to it. Then the rest will come much more easily.