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Heb_13:18-19. Summons to the readers to intercession on behalf of the author. Comp. 1Th_5:25; 2Th_3:1; Rom_15:30; Eph_6:19; Col_4:3.
περὶ ἡμῶν ] The plural has reference exclusively to the author of the epistle. In addition to himself, to think of Timothy (Seb. Schmidt, al.), or of the ἡγούμενοι spoken of Heb_13:17 (Carpzov, Kluge), or of the fellow-labourers in the gospel in the midst of the Gentile world, remote from the Hebrew Christians (Delitzsch, comp. also Alford), or of the companions in his vocation, with regard to whom it was to be made known that they wished to be looked upon as joint-representatives of the subject-matter of the epistle (Hofmann), is arbitrary. For—apart from the fact that no mention has been made of Timothy until now, and that the presupposition that the author wished himself to be numbered among the ἡγούμενοι spoken of in Heb_13:17 is a wholly baseless one—the singular, which in Heb_13:19 without any qualification takes the place of the preceding plural, is in itself decisive against this view. For, even if perchance at Heb_13:19 the person of the writer had to be brought into special relief, out of a plurality of persons indicated at Heb_13:18, a distinguishing ἐγώ as addition to the simple παρακαλῶ could not have been wanting.
πειθόμεθα γὰρ ὅτι κ . τ . λ .] for we persuade ourselves, i.e. we suppose or take it to be so (comp. Act_26:26), that[126] we have a good conscience, since we endeavour in all things to walk in a praiseworthy manner. Indication of the reason on the ground of which the author believes he is entitled to claim an interest on the part of the readers, manifesting itself in intercession on his behalf. But in the fact that he regards such explanation as necessary, there is displayed the consciousness that the Palestinian Christians took umbrage at him and his Pauline character of teaching; to remove this umbrage is therefore the object of the justificatory clause.
ἐν πᾶσιν ] belongs to that which follows, not still, as Oecumenius and Theophylact suppose, to ἜΧΟΜΕΝ ; and ΠᾶΣΙΝ is not masculine (Chrysostom: οὐκ ἐν ἐθνικοῖς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ; Oecumenius, Theophylact, Luther, Er. Schmid, Tholuck, Hofmann, al.), but neuter.
[126] Bengel, Böhme, Kuinoel, Klee, and others take ὅτι —in reading the received πεποίθαμεν γάρ , and then supposing this to be put absolutely—as the causal “for” or “because,” which, however, even supposing the correctness of the Recepta, is forced and unnatural. Yet more unsuitable, however, is it when Hofmann, even with the reading πειθόμεθα , will have ὅτι taken causally. The sense is supposed to be: “if we believe that ye are praying for us, this has its ground in the fact that we have a good conscience.” But to derive the more precise indication of contents for the dependent πειθόμεθα from that which precedes, is altogether inadmissible.