Ver. 9. ot ἐπείρασάν µε..., ‘‘ where your fathers tempted me,” 7.¢., in the wilderness. Others take οὗ as = ‘with which,” attracted into genitive by πειρασμοῦ. ἐν δοκιμασίᾳ, “in pntting me to the proof”. καὶ εἶδον .. «ἔτη; ‘and saw my works forty years,” the wonders of mercy and of judgment. In the psalm τεσσ. ἔτη are joined to προσώχθισα, διὸ being omitted. The same connection is adopted in νετ. 17.
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εἶδον τὰ ἔργα µου τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη 10. διὸ προσώχθισα τῇ
ενεᾶ ἐκείνη, καὶ εἶπον, ᾿Αεὶ πλανῶνται τῇ καρδία: αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ γένεᾳ η 2 1
i Num. xiv. ἔγνωσαν τὰς ὁδούς pou’ 11. 21; Deut. i. 34.
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᾿ ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ pou, Εἰ εἰσελεύ- , ᾿ σονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν pou.” 12. βλέπετε, ἀδελφοὶ, μή ποτε
5 ” ς κα δί BY > / 3 ο > a ον εσται εν τινι υμων καρ ta πονηρα απιστιας. εν τῷ αποστηναι απο
Θεοῦ ζῶντος: 13. ἀλλὰ παρακαλεῖτε ἑαυτοὺς καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν,
Ver. το. διὸ προσώχθισα, ‘‘wherefore I was greatly displeased”’. In the psalm the Hebrew verb means “1 loathed,” elsewhere in the LXX it translates verbs meaning “ | am disgusted with,” “TI spue out,” “1 abhor,” cf. Lev. Xxvi. 30, [from ὄχθη a bank, as if from a river chafing with its banks; or related to ἄχθος and ἄχθομαι as if “ burdened ””.]
αὐτοὶ δὲ... . Theinsertion οἵ αὐτοὶ δὲ shows that this clause is not under εἶπον, but is joined with the preceding προσώχθ. “1 was highly displeased,— but yet they did not recognise my ways.”
Ver. 11. ὡς ὤμοσα. “As I sware,” i.e., justifying my oath to exclude them from the land. εἰ εἰσελεύσονται, the common form of oath with et which supposes that some such words as “ God do so to me and more also” have preceded the “if”. The oath quoted in Ps. xcv. is recorded in Num. xiv. 21-23. eis τὴν κατάπαυσίν pov, “into my rest,” primarily, the rest in Canaan, but see on chap. iv.
Ver. 12. Βλέπετε ἀδελφοὶ μήπ- οτε... « “Take heed lest haply ” as in xii. 25, Col. ii. 8, for the more classical δρᾶτε μὴ. It is here followed by a future indicative as sometimes in classics. ἔν τινι ὑμῶν, the individualising, as in ver. 13 indicates the writer’s earnestness, whether, as Bleek supposes, it means that the whole Christian community of the place is to be watchful for the individual, may be doubted; although this idea is confirmed by the παρακαλεῖτε ἑαυτοὺς of ver. 13. What they are to be on their guard against is the emergence of καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας ἐν . . . ζῶντος, a wicked heart of unbelief manifesting itself in departing from Him who is a living God. ἀπιστίας is the genitive of quality = a bad, unbeliev- ing heart ; whether the wickedness pro- ceeds from the unbelief, or the unbelief from the wickedness, is not determined. Although, from the next verse it might be gathered that unbelief is considered the result of allowed sin: 2.6., it is when the heart is hardened through sin, it becomes unbelieving, so that the psycho-
logical order might be stated thus: sin, a deceived mind, a _ hardened heart, unbelief, apostasy. The main idea in the writer’s mind is that unbeliefin God’s renewed offer of salvation is accompanied by and means apostasy from the living God. In the O.T. Jehovah is called ‘‘the living God” in contrast to lifeless impotent idols, and the designation is suggestive of His power to observe, visit, judge and succour His people, In this Epistle it occurs, ix. 14, X. 31, xii. 22. To object that the apostasy of Jews from Christianity could not be called ‘‘ apostacy from God” is to mistake. The very point the writer wishes to make is just this: Remember that to apostatize from Christ in whom you have found God, is to apostatize from God. It is one of the ominous facts of Christian experience that
-any falling away from high attainment