r& pfoan, by the word) The Son of GOD is a person ; for He has the word. — avrov) The same as tavrov in the next clause. — 81 lavrou) by Himself, i.e. without the external Levitical instrumen tality or covenant. This power of His shines forth from the titles already given. — xaQapiffpbv, purification) There lies hidden here an anticipation.1 When Christ lived in the flesh, it did not appear that so majestic things should be predicated of Him ; but the apostle replies, that His sojourn in the weakness of the flesh was only for a time, for the purging of our sins. In this chapter he describes the glory of Christ, in that light chiefly, as He is the Son of GOD ; then subsequently he describes the glory of Christ as man, ch. ii. 6. He mentions the actual glory of the Son of GOD before His humiliation in a summary man ner : but His glory after His exaltation, most fully ; for it was from this exaltation in particular, and not before, that the glory which He had from eternity began to be most clearly seen. And the purging of our sins, and subsequent sitting on the right hand of the Majesty, are most fully treated of in ch. vii., etc. — sxaQitsv, He sat down) by the will of the Father ; comp. g'^xe, He appointed, ver. 2. On this sitting, see ver. 13, 14. The ministering priests stood ; the sitting therefore denotes the accom plishment of the sacrifice, and the glorious kingdom begun. By this finite verb, sat down, after the participles, is implied the scope, subject, sum of the epistle; comp. viii. 1. — rqg pzya\u- ffvvrig) of the Majesty, i.e. of GOD. — sv u-^Xo/c, on high) in the heavens, viii. 1.
4. Toffovru, so much) This verse has two clauses, of which, by Chiasmus, the second is discussed in ver. 5, but the first in ver. 13 ; and the Interrogation gives a point to both. The Chiasmus,2 ffX/),ua %iaffrbv, oratio decussata, is so frequent in this epistle, that the observation of this figure alone contributes very much to the explanation of the epistle. See ver 9, ch. ii. 9, 12, 17, iii. 1, 8, iv. 14, 15, 16, v. 7, vi. 7, vii. 6, viii. 4, 10, ix. 1, x. 20, 23, 33, 38, xi. 1, 33, xii. 22, 23, 24, xiii. 10, with the annott. It may be asked, Why, in this one epistle, does that figure occur in every chapter f A ns. It is shown, at some of those passages which I
1 ' Occupatio.' An anticipation of an objection that might be raised, and which is therefore answered beforehand. See Append. — ED.
2 See Appendix.