The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 308

Divine mind, read into the text what ia not dend," etc., 1·efon plainly to Gen. iv. 10, tnere. "The voice of thy brother•~ blood crieth Ver. 4.-By faith Abel ofFered unto God a unto me from the ground." The same voice more e:a::oellent aaoritloe than Cain, through of innooent blood, which appealed nt the whioh (i.e. faith, not rocrifioe, "faith" being beginning of human history to the God of the _ruling_ idea o~ the whole passage) he righteousness, cries still through all the obtained WltneBB (literally, toas witneBsed of) ag·es; it sounds in our own enrs now, teiling I.hat he wa.a righteous, God testifying of us that faith prevails on hiih, and that (liternlly, toilnessing upon, or, in respect to) " right dear in the sight of the Lono is the hill gifts: a.nd through it (faith) he being death of his saints." Cf. eh. xii. 24 for au dead yet speaketh. ln the traditions pre- allusion age.in to the ory of the blood of served in Genesis of the dim and distant Abel. The word .\aA•i'v is there nlso used, uutediluvian period., three figures stand out supporting the reading .\aA•i', rather than prominently as representing the righteous the .\aA•i'Ta, of the '.rex tus Receptus here. ~eed in the midst of gro"11"ing evil-Abel, Ver. 5.-By faith Enoch we.a traDBlated Enoch, and Noah. These are, therefore, that he should not see death ; and wa.a not first adduced with the view of showing found, because God had transle.tod him: for that it is in respect of faith that they e.re before his translation he had this testimony, thus distinguished in tlle sacred record. that he pleaaed God; literally, hath been With respect to Abel, it is not necessary to witnessed of that he had been toell-pleasing to inquire or conjecture whether the bloody God. The allusion is, of course, to the character of his offering is to be considered testimony in Genesis (v. 24), the LXX. as constituting its superior excellence. The being closely followed, which hll8 1 Ei,71- record in Genesis simply represents the two pEcr.-71cr•v 'Evclix .-ij 0erp, ,cal oiix 71~plcr,c • .-o Lrotbers as offering each what he had to Ii,&.-, ,,_..,./871,cev ti11Tov 6 0e&r, whereas the offer in accordance with his occupation and literal translation of our Hebrew text is, pursuits, the only difference being that Abel " Enoch walked toith God ; and he toas not, is said to ho.ve offered bis .firstlings and the because God took him." fat thereof, while nothing is said of Ca.in Ver. 6.-Bnt without faith it is impossible l,aving brought bis firstfruits or his best. to pleue him: for he that cometh to God Then, in the account of the result, we are must believe that he is, and tllat he is a oulv told that unto one ihe Locn had re- rewarder of them that diligently seek him. spect, and not to the other, without mention The purpose of this verse, in conneotion of the reason why. It is usual to find a with the conolusion of the last, is to show reason in the nature of Abel's offering as thst the Scripture record does imply faith si~ifying atonement, and to suppose his in Enoch, though there is no mention of it faith manifested in his recognition of the there by name: it is of necessity involved need of such atonement, signified to him, as in the phrase, ev11plcr.-.cre .-cp ®•ri• The ex- !,us been furtlier supposed, by Divine com- pression in the Hebrew, "walked with God" mand. This view of the intention of the (be it observed), involves it equally; so that narrative is indeed suggested by the de- the argument is not affected by the quo- scription of what hie offering was, viewed in tation being from the LXX. the light of subsequent sacrificial theory; Ver. 7.-By faith Noah, being warned of but it is not apparent in the narrative taken God of things not seen as yet, moved with Ly itself, or in the reference to it in the fear ( <vAa.871Beh ), prepared an ark to the passage before us. The acceptablenese of a&ving of his house; through whioh (i.e. the offering is here simply attributed., as of faith) he condemned the world, and beoame necessity, to the faith of the offerer, without heir of the righteousness which is aooording any intimi,,tion of how that faith had been to faith (,ca.-a .,,./cr•r-.v). The "things not evinced. And with this view of the matter seen as yet" were the divinely predioted agrees the record itself, where it is said that events of the Deluge. The word •il.\afl71B•ls " uuto Abel and his offering the Loao had (translated as above in the A.V.) is taken respect; " i.e. to Alie! first, and then to his by many commentators as implying godly uffering-the offering was accepted because fear, a sentiment of piety, with reference to Abel was, not Abel on account of hie kind the previous xp11µ.a..-,cr8els, since the noun of offering. "Omne quod datur Deo ex e6.\a.8eia. seems to have this special sense in dantie mente penee.tur . . . Neque enim eh. xii. 28, ,,_.,,.;;. alBovr ,cal ev.\a.B•las (see sacrum eloquinm dicit, Reepexit ad munera. what was said under ver. 7, where the word .Abel et ad Cain munera non reepexit, eed occurred); so too the adjective, eb.\a..8,lr, prius ait qnia respexit ad Abel, ac deinde Luke ii. 25 ; Acts ii. 5; viii. 2. Hence the suLjunxit, • et ad munera ejuH.' Idcirco emendation, "moved with godly fear," in non Abel ex muneribus, sed ex .Abel mu- the reee11t "Revised Version." But, mas• 1.leru oblatu. plu.cuerunt" (St. Gregory, much as the verb •v.\o./3•lcr8a, has in the quoted by Delitzsch). "Aud he Lciug New Testament, BS elsewhere, only its ori, mr. xr. l- -10.) THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBTIEWS. 2!)!)