Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadLange Commentary - Hebrews 13:18 - 13:25
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Personal communications
Heb_13:18-25
[Heb_13:18.— ðåéèüìåèá , we persuade ourselves; Moll, wir sind der Ueberzeugung, we are of the conviction; Alf., we are persuaded. Rec. ðåðïßèáìåí , we trust. Ðåðåßóìåèá is elsewhere rendered, we are persuaded, Heb_6:9.— ἀíáóôñÝöåóèáé , to conduct ourselves.
Heb_13:19.— ðåñéóóïôÝñùò äÝ , and I the more abundantly beseech you. The Eng. ver. weakly renders rather, which it seems to attach to ðïéῆóáé . The Rec. ver., and Alf. both improperly render äÝ adversatively but. The German aber, thrown in after several introductory words, is less objectionable. The adversative force of óÝ is often, as here, too slight to admit of its being indicated in English.
Heb_13:20.— Ὁ äὲ èåὸò and the God: Eng. ver., now the God; Alf., but the God.— ὁ ἀãáãþí , who brought back; or, perhaps, as Moll, Alf., etc., who brought up. I prefer the former, and back to again.— ôὸí ìÝãáí ðïéì the (not, that) great shepherd.— ἐí áἵìáôé , in (not by) the blood, refers to ἀãáãþí — äéáèÞêçò áἰùí , of an (not the) everlasting covenant.
Heb_13:22.— ðáñáêáëῶ äÝ and I beseech, not, but I beseech.— ἀíÝ÷åóèå , bear with. ἔãñáøá , I wrote: “the epistolary A mandabam, ἔãñøá . frequently in St. Paul” (Alf.).
Heb_13:23.— ãéíþóêåôå , not so clearly indicated as imperative, by standing at the beginning of the sentence, as Alf., Moll, etc., deem. Its position rather determines the emphasis; and it is by no means certain that the Indic, form might not be quite as emphatic as the Imper. Bl., De W., etc., take it as Indic. We can hardly decide positively.— ἀðïëåëõìÝíïí , taken predicatively, the Part, for Inf., with verbs of knowing, etc.; also undoubtedly released, not dispatched—K.].
We persuade ourselves, etc.—The ðåðïßèáìåí of the lect. rec.=we have confidence, or trust, Beng., Böhme, etc., take absolutely, and then regard ὅôé as causal (“because”). According to the true reading ðåéèüìåèá , the author says [and substantially the same meaning might be educed with the reading ðåðïßèáìåí ]; We persuade ourselves, i.e., we hold it as matter of conviction that, etc. He assigns a reason for his claim to their prayers, and expresses himself modestly on account of his relation to the readers. The participial clause following, is by some connected with ðåéèüìåèá assigning the ground on which he rests his persuasion; by others better with ἔ÷ïìåí thus stating the thing to which his conscience bears testimony. Ἐí ðἄóéí belongs not to ἔ÷ïìåí (Œc. Theophyl.), and is not masc. (Chrys., Luth., Thol., etc.)
Heb_13:19. And I the more abundantly beseech you, etc.— ÐåñéóóïôÝñùò is connected by Seb. Schmidt, Ramb., Beng., with ðïéῆóáé ; by Lün., and the majority with ðáñáêáëῶ ; by Del. with both. Calov. and others have without reason inferred from this an imprisonment of the author. For although ἀðïêáèéóôÜíåéí ôéíἀ ôéíé points naturally to the removal of some serious hinderance, yet it by no means necessarily refers to the specific idea of imprisonment. Nor do the words shed any light on the specific relation which the author has previously sustained to the church in question.
Heb_13:20. And may the God of peace, etc.—This expression which is also familiar to Paul, is referred by many with Chrys., to a discordant relation between the author and his readers, which they conceive to be indicated in Heb_13:18; by Grot., Böhm., De W., Bisp., and others to dissensions among the readers, alluded to Heb_12:14; by Schlicht. and Riehm, to Paul’s mode of designating God as the dispenser of salvation. The words ἐí áἵìáôé áἰùíßïõ äéáèÞêçò , and by Œc, Calv., Beng., Bl., Bisp., etc., connected with ὁ ἀíáãáãþí ; by Baumgart. and others with ìÝãáí ; but better by Bez., Grot., Este, Lün., Riehm, etc., are taken instrumentally as more exactly defining the collective clause ôὸí ðïéìÝíá ôῶí ðñïâÜôùí ôὸí ìÝãáí . could we refer the ἀíáãáãþí to the ascension (Bl., De W., Bisp.), we might easily take ἐí in the sense of accompaniment as Heb_9:25 (Calv., Bl., Bisp., V. Gerlach, Kahnis). But the words ἐê íåêñῶí restrict the participle to the resurrection, the distinct mention of which in our epistle is confined to this single passage. [“This is the only place where our author mentions the resurrection. Everywhere else he lifts his eyes from the depth of our Lord’s humiliation, passing over all that is intermediate, to the highest point of His exaltation. The connection here suggests to him once at least to make mention of that which lay between Golgotha and the throne of God, between the altar of the cross and the heavenly sanctuary, the resurrection of Him who died as our sin-offering,” Del., cited by Alf.]. Perhaps the author had Isa_63:11, or also Zec_9:11, floating before his mind. The Doxology is less naturally referred to the very remote ὁ èåüò as being the principal subject of the sentence, (Limb., Beng., Chr. F. Schmidt, Del., Alf., etc). than to the immediately preceding Ἰçóïῦ ÷ñéóôïῦ (Calv., Grot., Bl., Thol., Lün. and the majority).
Heb_13:22. In few words.—The expression äéὰ âñá÷Ýùí = äé ’ ὀëßãùí , 1Pe_5:12, furnishes no reason for referring the ëüãïò ôῆò ðáñáêëÞóåùò barely to the exhortations interspersed through the Epistle (Dind., Kuin.), or barely to the section from Heb_10:19 (Grot., Calov, etc.), or exclusively to the last chapter (Semler). Theophyl. rightly places the brevity of the Epistle in contrast with the fulness of thought and emotion which swells the breast of the writer who stood in no official relation to the readers, and employs the gentlest and tenderest forms of speech when he comes to speak in his own person. ἘðéóôÝëëåéí =writing a letter, as Act_15:20; Act_21:20.
Heb_13:23. Know that Timothy, etc.—There is no reason for taking ãéíþóêåôå as Indic. (Vatabl., Bl., De W., etc.); and the absence of the article before ἀðïëåëõìÝíïí is decisive against the rendering of Schultz=ye know our brother Timothy, the one who has been set free, as well as against the rendering of Storr, etc.: Hold in honor, or Receive kindly. The interpretation of ἀðïëåëõìÝíïí , absent from, viz., the author (Este., Limb., Carpz., etc.), is forced and unnatural. The translation, sent away, viz., with the letter to the Hebrews (Theod., etc.), is possible (Act_13:3; Act_15:30; Act_15:33; Act_19:41; Act_23:22); and to this explanation of the participle conforms the subscription of the Epistle in many minusc. and ancient versions: ἘãñÜöç ἀðὸ Ἰôáëßáò äéὰ ÔéìïèÝïõ . The old interpreters, Chrys., Theoph., Œ., refer it, although hesitatingly, to a being freed from imprisonment. Since Beza, this has been decidedly the prevalent view.
Heb_13:24. Salute all, etc.—We cannot infer from this passage either that the Epistle was directed to a plurality of churches, or to mere private persons. Large churches had a number of leaders, and these must receive the salutation without exception, and so also the entire Church in all its members. May it perhaps also include all Christians with whom the receivers of the Epistle come into contact, independently of a connection with the Church? (Del).
They of Italy.—Since Semler, the majority of expositors have assumed that the ïἱ ἀðὸ Ἰôáëßáò must have designated persons who had come from Italy, and were with the author outside of the limits of that country. They have been supposed in particular to be fugitives from the persecution under Nero; sometimes, however, simply, in general, Italian fellow-laborers with the author, perhaps in Corinth or Ephesus (Bl.), or in Asia Minor (Schwegler), or in a place where no Christian Church as yet existed (Lün.), which latter supposition would explain the absence of any greeting addressed to the Church. Cod. 66 names Athens, but adds ἄëëïé äὲ ἀðὸ Ἰôáëßáò . Special emphasis is laid upon the fact that the author, if he, while living in Italy, were conveying greetings from Italian Christians, would certainly have written ïἱ ἐí Ἰôáëßᾳ (1Ti_1:15; 1Pe_5:13); but we might explain the expression of our Epistle from an elliptical mode of expressing relations of place according to (Mat_24:17; Luk_11:13; Luk_16:26); as= ïἱ ἐí ôῇ Ἰôáëßᾳ ἀðὸ ôῆò Ἰôáëßáò , as formerly Winer, but see, on the other hand, Alex. Butt. Gramm. of the New Test. dialect, p. 323); and not only so, but many with Thol., Wieseler, Del., maintain that ἀðü as well as ἐê is used to express paraphrastically independent substantive ideas, so that the expression in question merely indicates that the persons sending their greetings originated from Italy, without intimating any thing with regard to their present residence. We may not, therefore, either, from this expression, deduce with i certainty that the Epistle was written in Italy (Cod. K. and other Greek MSS. and versions with Tisch., Nov. Test., ed. 7.11,596) or even that it must have been written in Rome (with Primas. and the ancients generally, as also Cod. A.)—The closing benediction is precisely identical with Tit_3:15.—It may, however, be argued for the writing of the Epistle in Southern Italy (Wetstein) that Christian churches already existed, Act_28:13 (Thol.), and that Timothy, who apparently was in a different place from the author of our Epistle, and yet not far removed from him, could probably at this time have been imprisoned nowhere else than in Rome (Wieseler).
2. We need prayer on our behalf, not merely in weakness, and under assaults, but also for the fulfilment of our hopes and wishes in the attestations of our joy, and our gratitude for the living and powerful exhibition of our faith, of our love, of our communion in the Lord. This sense of need we must not repress, but cherish, give utterance to, and satisfy.
3. The best thing that we can wish and pray for one another is the continuance of the work of God in ourselves, in order that through Jesus Christ we may attain to perfection of life in God.
Starke:—A good conscience is a great comfort, and gives us a good confidence before God and men; before God, to whom we are permitted filially to turn in all need and anxiety; before men, that we need not be shamefaced, but may be able to encounter with joyfulness the eyes of every man.—The standard of good works is not men’s self-will, but God’s will. This will believers must not only know, but also do.—God works both the willing and the accomplishing; therefore, we must, by all means, give ourselves up to Him for spiritual renewal.—Teachers must respect highly their fellow-laborers in the gospel of Christ, and desire for them the like blessings as for themselves.—We should, indeed, bless even our enemies, but greet preëminently those who are the friends of God, and our friends.
Rieger:—From the dealings of God with His saints, we shall observe how wonderfully He brings them out of suffering, how wonderfully He conducts them into it.
Heubner:—The grace of God, the highest wish for ourselves and others (Psa_106:4). Lord, remember me according to Thy grace, which Thou hast promised to Thy people. Amen!
Footnotes:
Heb_13:18.—Instead of ðåðïἰèáìåí , trust, we are to read with A. C*. D*. D., lat., 17, 53, ðåßèüìåá . In Sin., also, ðåðïßèáìåí , is introduced as a correction.
Heb_13:21.—The addition êáὶ ëüãù after ἔñãῳ , in A., is a gloss from 2Th_2:17.
Heb_13:21.—The áὐôüò , self, with Lachm. ed. ster., rests only on D. lat. and 71; Wetstein also ascribes it to C., but erroneously. In his large ed. Lachm. reads áὑôῷ after A. C*., and Greg. Nyss. This reading is also found in Sin., but rejected by the corrector.
Heb_13:21.—C***. D. and many minusc. omit ôῶí áἰþíùí .
Heb_13:22.—The Imperf. ἀíÝ÷åóèå is supported by Sin. A. C. B***. K., against the Infin. ἀíÝ÷åóèáé , found in D*., 46, 67, Vulg., Pesh., Arm.
Heb_13:23.—The ἡìῶí is to be received after Sin. A. C. D*., 17, 31, 37, 39. In the Sin. it has been thrown out by the corrector.
Heb_13:25.— ἈìÞí Is found in Sin. only as a correction.