σαγωγὴ δὲ κρείττονος ἐλπίδος, δι ἧς ἐγγίζομεν τῷ Θεῷ. καθ᾽ ὅσον οὐ χωρὶς ὁρκωμοσίας: εἰσὶν ἱερεῖς γεγονότες, 21. 6 δὲ μετὰ ὁρκωμοσίας, διὰ τοῦ λέγοντος
18. ᾿᾿Αθέτησις μὲν γὰρ γίνεται προαγούσης ἐντολῆς, διὰ τὸ αὐτῆς. ἀσθενὲς καὶ ἀνωφελές - το. "οὐδὲν γὰρ ἐτελείωσεν ὁ νόμος - ἐπει-
20. Καὶ
oi μὲν γὰρ χωρὶς ὁρκωμοσίας
of His priesthood it was declared to be permanent. The long parenthesis of ver. 21 being held aside the statement of 20-22 reads thus: ‘“ And [introducing a fresh consideration] in proportion as not without an oath [was He made priest] . . . in that proportion better is. the covenant of which Jesus has become the surety”. The parenthesis of ver. 21 is inserted to confirm by an appeal to- Scripture [Ps. cx. 4] the fact that by the swearing ofan oath theMelchizedek priest was appointed, and to indicate the significance of this mode of appointment, viz.: that repentance or change of plan is excluded. That is to say, this priesthood is final, eternal. And the superiority of the priesthood involves- the superiority of the covenant based upon it. The oath significs therefore the transition from a provisional and temporary covenant to that which 15. eternal. καθ᾽ ὅσον. This form of argument is frequent in Philo, see Quis. Rev. Div. H., τῇ, etc. οὐ χωρὶς. δρκωμοσίας, ‘not without oath- swearing ” ; the clause may be completed from that which follows, “thas he been» made priest,” as in A.V., although Weiss maintains that this is ‘‘ sprach- widrig” and that the broken clause “kann natiirlich nur aus dem Vorigen ετρᾶπΖί werden”. But it is most natural and grammatical to complete it from. the sentence in which it stands: ‘As. not without an oath, so of α better covenant has Fesus become surety”’. The parenthesis thus furnishes the needed ground of this statement. He became surety by becoming priest, and as priest he was constituted with an oath. οἱ μὲν yap “ For the one [that is, the Levitical priests] εἰσὶν ἱερεῖς. γεγονότες “have been made priests” Vaughan renders “are having become priests—are priests having hecome so”. So Delitzsch, Weiss and von Soden. Westcott says: ‘‘ The periphrasis marks the possession as well as the impartment of the office ;” and on the “ periphrastic conjugation ’’ see Blass, sec. 62; Ste- phanus Thesaurus s.v. εἰμί, and cf. Acts.
18—22.