The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 57

bearings, he is, in the Person of Christ, over struction of the sentence evidently connects " all things" thus supreme. Therefore in it, not with ~7'..a.TTr,,µ.lvov, but with ~<TT«f>a.vo,- Christ alone docs man attain hie appointed µlvov. It is, "Because or the sufi'erin"' 0 of destiny. We may here observe how, even death crowned with glory and honour in without the enlightenment of Scripture, order that for [i.e. in beuaH of] all he :nay man's own conscio11Bness reveals to him an taste of death." Now, the fact that the actual ideal of his position in creation which, in death wo.s previous to the crowning sug- hie present state, he does not realize. The gests reference, not so much to it o.s to its atrange apparent contradiction between man permanent efficacy: and, further, the em- as he is and man as he feels he should be, phatic words are lnr~p ,ra.vTos, as shown by between experience and conscience, between their position in the sentence; and thus the foots and the ideal of humanity, has the idea seems to be, '' In order that for long been patent to philosophers 11.11 well as all his ta.sting of death may be availing." divines. And he may even be regarded as still Ver. 9.-The phrase fJpa.xo .,.,, where it to.sting of death after his crowning, in the occurs in this verse with reference to Christ's sense of knowing its taste through his temporary humiliation, is by me.ny to.ken to human experience, and so perfectly sym- mean "for a little while," on the ground pathizing with mortal man (cf. eh. v. 15, tlu~t this meaning suits best the application and below in this chapter, vers. 14, 15). H to Christ, though its most obvious meaning is e. further question whether ·.-a.vros should in the psalm (quoted in ver. 7) is, e.s in the be here taken o.s masculine, o.s in the A. V., or, A.V., "e. little." The Greek in itself will like the preceding ,rcivra., o.s neuter, in tho bear either meaning; and if " 11 little" be, sense of" all creation." The latter render- 11s it seems to be, the original meaning ing seems in itself more natural, though" all in the psalm, there is no necessity for mankind" must be conceived e.s the ma.in supposing a departure from it. All that idea in the writer's view. At the so.me time, the writer need be supposed to intimate it is to be remembered how the redemption is that Christ, through his ince.rno.tion, is elsewhere spoken of as availing for crea- took man's position us represented in the tion generally, for the restitution of univer- psalm. For the su1l'ering of death. So the sal harmony (of. Rom. viii. 19, etc.; Eph. A.V. renders, connecting the words by i. 10, 20, etc.). A further reason for under- punctuation with the clause preceding ; standing ,ra.vrbs in the wider sense will the idea being supposed to be that Christ appear in our examination of the phrase next wns "made a little lower than the angels" to be considered. (2) As to tho reading with a 'l!iew to the "suffering of death;" i.e. xdplTI 0<oil. It is found in nil existing manu- because of the " suffering of death" which scripts except in one uncial of the tenth he had to undergo. But the proper force of century (Codex Uffenbe.ch, cited ll8 M), in 11 liu'& with the accusative is better preserved, scholium to Codex 67, and in a codex of the nnd 11, better meaning given to the passage, Peschito. But, on the other hand. Origen, by connecting liui .,./i ,rd,871µa. '!"oil 8a.v,Tou an earlier authority tho.n any m11.nuscript, with the olause that follows, and translating, speo.l{s of the prevalent reading in his time lint we ■ee him who ho.a been me.de a little being X"'Pls 0<oil, xd.plTI being found only in lower than the angels, JeBUB, beoause of the some copi~s (b .,.,ow dvT1')!p,cpo,s). Thco- euJfering of death orowned with glory and doret, Theodorue of Mopsnostin, o.nd the honour. His crowning we.s the consequence Nestorio.ns o.lso read xwpls: o.nd the Latin of his suffering; because of his suffering he Fe.thers,Ambrose,Fulgentius,o.nd others,ha ve wo.s crowned ; he won, 11.11 man. o.nd in virtue absqll,6 o.s its equivalent. Jerome also speaks of his human obedience unto death, his of the reading absque, but us occurring position of "glory and honour." Exactly only "in quihusde.m exemplaribus "-thus the same idea is found in eh. v. 7, etc., reversing in his day what Origen ho.d so.id where the purpose and result of Christ's suf- two centuries earlier o.s to the comparative fering, here anticipated, are more explicitly prevalence of the two readings. The charge set forth (cf. also eh. xii. 2). This view, too, me.de by Marius Mercator, Theophylact, o.nd suits the drift of the passage before us, which CEcumenius ago.inst the Nestorio.ns, that is that human nature hos been exalted in they had introduced the reading xwpls in sup- the Person of Christ. That he, by the graoe port of their own views, is evidently unten- of God, should taste death for every man. nblo, since the testimony of Origen proves its Two questions arise here: (1) As to the mean-• prevo.lenco long before the N estoria.n contro- ing of the expression, "that he should to.ate versy. It is, on the other hand, very pro- death," etc. ; (2) Ill! to the true reading, as ba.ble that the use ma.de of this rending by well as the meaning, of the phre.se translated the Nestorians was 11 cause of the other "by the grace of God." As to (I), the being clung to by the orthodox, and being clause is introduced by 3,..,.,s, followed by retained almost cxclusivoly in the exist- tp.e subjnnotive, 3.,,,.,s ')'Eilcr71nu: and the con- ing oodiccs. And this probability grcntl.1  THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [OH. H. 1-18,