Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadHeinrich Meyer Commentary - Hebrews 6:14 - 6:14
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Heb_6:14. Εἰ μὴν κ . τ . λ .] Adducing of the declaration, Gen_22:17, with the difference, that in the case of the LXX. πληθυνῶ τὸ σπέρμα σου is in harmony with the original put in place of πληθυνῶ σε . This deviation is not to be explained by the supposition that the author chose σε instead of τὸ σπέρμα σου merely “for brevity’s sake” (Jac. Cappellus), or “in order to present the promise in a form as concentrated as possible” (Delitzsch), or that he cited from memory (Abresch), or that he wished to place in the background all thought of the merely physical descendants of Abraham, and direct the glance of the reader exclusively to the spiritual or heavenly posterity of Abraham, which was appointed to him through Christ (Böhme, Bisping, and others). It has its ground simply in the fact that the author was here occupied exclusively with the person of Abraham himself (Bleek, de Wette, Maier).
εἰ μήν ] in place of the Greek ἦ μήν , or of the εἰ μή , formed after the Hebrew àÄíÎìÉà , is met with elsewhere in the LXX. (Eze_33:27; Eze_34:8; Eze_35:6; Eze_36:5, al.), not, indeed, so far as concerns our passage in the Cod. Alex. and Cod. Vatic., but yet in other ancient MSS.; and in any case, our author found it in the copy of the LXX. used by him.
The combination of the participle with the tempus finitum of the same verb ( εὐλογῶν εὐλογήσω κ . τ . λ .) is a well-known Grecising of the Hebrew infin. absol., occurring exceedingly often in the LXX., and serving generally—as here—for the augmented and solemn emphasizing of the idea contained in the verb. See Winer, Gramm., 7 Aufl. p. 332.