The opening words of this chapter illustrate the writer’s habit of introducing his practical exhortations into the body of his argument, unlike Paul, who defers them until the end. Comp. ch. iiD 7-199 yn 11.
Cu. IL] THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 393
1. Therefore (dca rovro). Because you have received a revelation superior to that of the old dispensation, and given to you through one who is superior to the angels.
To give the more earnest heed (repiccorépws mpocdyev). Lit. to give heed more abundantly. Tlpocéyev to give heed, lit. to hold (the mind) to. °P. The full phrase in Job vii. 17. Mostly in Luke, Acts, and the Pastorals. See on 1 Tim. i. 4. IIeptccotépws more abundantly, in Hebrews only here and xill. 19: elsewhere only in Paul.
To the things which we have heard (tois dxovaGeioww). Lit. to the things which were heard, that is, from the messengers of the gospel. Comp. the phrase o Adyos ris axons the word of hearing, ch. iv. 2; 1 Th. ii. 18. "Evayyédtov gospel does not occur in the Epistle, and evayyerterPar to proclaim good tidings, only twice.
We should let them slip (7wapapudpev). Rend. should drift past them. N.T.°. From qrapa by and feiv to flow. Of the snow slipping off from the soldiers’ bodies, Xen. Anad. iv. 4, 11: of a ring slipping from the finger, Plut. Amat. 754: see also LXX, Prov. ili. 21, and Symmachus’s rendering of Prov. iv. 21, “let not my words flow past (wapappuncdtwcav) before thine eyes.” The idea is in sharp contrast with giving earnest heed. Lapse from truth and goodness is more often the result of inattention than of design. Drifting is a mark of death: giving heed, of life. The log drifts with the tide : ' the ship breasts the adverse waves, because some one is giving earnest heed.
2. The word spoken by angels (0 & ayyédwv Aadnels Adyos). The Mosaic legislation which was conveyed through the mediation of angels. Comp. Deut. xxxili. 2; Acts vil. 38, 58; Gal. iii. 19, on which see note. The agency of angels indicates the limitations of the legal dispensation; its char- acter as a dispensation of the flesh. Hence its importance in this discussion. The abolition of the old limitations is the
394. WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. [Cu. II.
emancipation of man from subordination to the angels. The O. T. is made to furnish proof that such subordination is inconsistent with man’s ultimate destiny to sovereignty over all creation.
Was steadfast (éyévero BéBaios). Rend. proved sure: realised itself in the event as securely founded in the divine holiness, and eternal in its principles and puhpe gous. Comp. Matt. v. 18.
Transgression and disobedience (zrapdBacts Kai trapaxo7). IlapaBaocrs is a stepping over the line; the violation of a posi- tive divine enactment. See on Rom. ii. 23. ILapaxon, only in Paul and Hebrews, is a disobedience which results from neglecting to hear; from letting things drift by. It is notice- able how often in O.T. obedience is described as hearing, and disobedience as refusing to hear. See Ex. xy. 26; xix. 5,8; xxii. 22; Josh. i..18; Isa. xxyil. 12; xxx. 95 Jer, xi. 10> XXxli. 238; xxxv. 16. Comp. Acts vii. 57.
A just recompense of reward (évdicov picParroduciar). "EvotKos just, only here and Rom. iii. 8. °LXX, quite frequent in Class., but mainly in poetry. The meaning is substantially the same as décavos as it appears in the familiar phrase d¢écavds e¢ut with the infinitive: thus, décasds eiue Kordé- ev Iam right to punish, that is, I have a right, etc., right or justice being regarded as working within a definite circle. MicOarrodocia recompense only in Hebrews. Comp. x. 35; xi. 26. °LXX, °Class., where the word is picbodocta. From picOds wages and arodiddva to pay off or discharge. The reference is, primarily, to the punishments suffered by the Israelites in the wilderness. Comp. ch. iii. 16; x. 28: 1 Cor. x. 5, 6.