The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 145

The intention of vel'I!. 1-10 being 88 e.nd bloody offerings of the Lo.w (of. Ps. xl. 6, above explained, it is e. mistake to suppose "Sacrifice and offering (Bvulav Kai ,rpocrq>opft11 any contrast intended here between the LXX.) thou didst not desire;" Dan. ix. 27, Bua-la Kai cr1ro111i~ : and also J er. xvii. 26. To Aaronic priesthood and that of Christ; e.g. both lnr~p aµap-r,iiw ( depending, not on Bvtrlu to t.ake vers. 1-3 as meaning, Human high but on 1rpocr</)epn) applies. For, though blood- priests can sympathize in virtue of their shedding (oh. ix. 22) was essential for atone- own infirmity ,-otherwe Christ; or, Human ment, the unbloody minchah formed part of high priests have need of atonement for the ceremony df expiation, e.nd this notably themselves, -not so Christ. The main drift, on the Day of Atonement, so specie.Uy referred to afterwards in the Epistle (see on the contrary, is that all recognized Numb. x.xix. 7-11). essentials of high priesthood are found in Ver. 2.-Who oe.n have compassion on the Christ. These essentials are that, the high ignorant e.nd erring ; for that he himself priest's office being to mediate between man also is oompused with infirmity. It is not and God, (I) he should be of the same easy to find e. satisfactory English equiva- lent for µe-rp,01ra.B,iv, translated as above in nature, e.nd sympathetic with tbose in the A.V.; by Alford, "be compassionate whose behalf he mediates; e.nd (2) that his towards;" in the margin of the A.V., credentials should be Divine, i.e. that God "reasonably bear with;" by the recent himself ahonld he.ve appointed him to his Revisers, "bear gently with; " by Bengel, office. "moderate e.ffici." The compound had its origin, doubtless, in tbe peripatetic school, Ver. 1.-l'or every high priest, from denoting the right mean between passionate- among men being taken, for men is oon- ness and Stoic apathy, being the application Btitnted in the things perte.i.ning to God, of Aristotle's µ.ea&-r11s to the sphere of the that he may offer both gifts and saorifioes passions. Thus Diog. Le.art. says of Aristotle, for Bins. Here /{ lz.vBptfnra,v Mµ/Jav&µevos is "E</)71 11i 'l'OV cro</)ilv µ~ efva, µ~v il.1ra.9ij, µE-rpur not (u the rendering of the A. V. might ,ra~ij II~. In this sense Philo uses µe-rp,o- suggest) e. limitation of the subject of the 1raB~s to express Abraham's sober grief sentence, confining it to merel,y human high after the death of Sarah (ii. 37) and Jo.cob's priests: it belongs to the predicate, ex- patience under his afflictions (ii. 45). The pressing what is trne of every high priest. verb, followed, e.s here, by a dative of The phrase expresses both the necessary hu- persons, me.y be taken, therefore, to denote manity of the high priest, e.nd e.lso his being moderation of feeling towards the persons set ape.rt for his peculiar offie&-.\aµJlavo- indicated, such moderation being especially µ•vos .1{. The order, and consequent force, opposed in the case before us, where the of the words in the Greek is retained in the persons are the ignorant e.nd erring, to trs.nsle.tiongiven above. (For the expression, excess of severe or indignant feeling. Mode- -ra 1rpbs -rbv 0ebv, cf. eh. ii 17; Rom. xv. 17.) ration, indeed, in this regard seems to have The purpose for which the high priest is been the idea generally attached to the constituted in this relation is '' that he may compound ( cf. Plut., 'De Ira Cohib.,' p. 453, offer both gifts and sacrifices /or sins "-e. 'Avacr-r~ 0-111 Kai crwcra.& 1<al </)f1crclcrBa, 1<al Kap- comprehensive designation of sacerdotal -rep'qcra1. 1rpa&'T1/.,.0S lcr-rl ,cal crurrv,I,µ71s Kai functions, the essential idea, expressed by ,,...,.p,01ra6das). Josephus e.lso speaks of the lnr'l,p a.µa.p-r~v, being at<Jn.erMnt (cf. eh. ii.17, emperors Vespasian e.nd Titus e.s µe-rp«r Eis -rb iJ...&.t11tEtr8a., .,.as &µ.o.p-rla.s -roV i\aoii). 1ra61wdvn,v in their attitude towards the The cllif'erence between the words Bwpov Jews after long hostility (' Ant.,' xii. S e.nd Bvcrla is that the former, denoting 2). This, then, being the meaning of /J,f• properly any offering regarded e.s a gift, is .,.p,01rli8ela, it is obvious how the cape.city especie.lly applied in the LXX. to the of it is essential to the idee. of o. high rMnchah (" mee.t offering"); the latter (from priest e.s being one who is resorted to e.s Bw) denotes properly "e. bloody sacrifice," e. mediator by a people le.den with in- and is generally so applied. The distinction, firmities, to represent them e.nd to plead however, is not invariably observed, Bwpov for them. It is not of necessity implied being used in this Epistle (eh. xi. 4) for the.t every high priest was personally µ•• Abel's se.crifice and ( eh. viii. 4) for e.ll -rp101ra6¾,s : it is tlie ideal of his office the.t is kinda of offerings, while Ova-la in the spoken of. And, in the CBBe of human high LXX. denotes (Gen. iv. 3) Cain's unbloody priests, this ideo.l was fulfilled by their offering aad (Lev. ii. 1) the mtnchaJ,. being themselves human, encompassed IJat here, e.s blllo in eh. viii 3 e.nd ix. them~elves with the infirmity of those for 9, where both e.re named (Bwpa -r• Kai whoru they mc,lio.ted. Christ e.lso, ao far, Uu"(,u), we may conclude 6 dilltinctive rc- evidently fulfilij tile condition. For, though rero- io ae iniended to tae UBbloody he is e.fterw61'ds distinguished (ah. vii. 28) ott, v. 1-14.] THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, 137