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Heb_6:18. Indication of purpose to ἐμεσίτευσεν ὅρκῳ , Heb_6:17, and consequently parallel to the participial clause there, περισσότερον βουλόμενος ἐπιδ . τοῖς κληρονόμ . τῆς ἐπ . τὸ ἀμετάθετον τῆς βουλῆς αὐτοῦ , but no mere repetition of the same, since the divine purpose, which was there presented purely objectively in relation to Christians, is now subjectively turned in relation to them.
διὰ δύο πραγμάτων ἀμεταθέτων ] by virtue of two unalterable facts, namely, by virtue of the promise and the oath. Against the connection (comp. Heb_6:13; Heb_6:17) Reuss: l’une de ces choses c’est la parole évangélique apportée par Christ, l’autre le serment typique donné à Abraham.
δύο ] See Winer, Gramm., 7 Aufl. p. 63; Buttmann, Gramm. des neutest. Sprachgebr. p. 25.
ἐν οἷς ἀδύνατον ψεύσασθαι θεόν ] in which (i.e. in connection with their fulfilment) it is impossible that God should have lied (deceived). For God is faithful. His bare word is trustworthy; how much more thus when He confirms it by an oath! To supply a ἡμᾶς to ψεύσασθαι (Heinrichs) is inadmissible.
παράκλησιν ] not “consolation” (Vulgate, Luther, Calvin, Jac. Cappellus, Piscator, Schlichting, Grotius, Owen, Böhme, Ebrard, Bloomfield, Bisping, and the majority), but, as the hortatory tendency of our whole section requires: encouragement (Oecumenius, Theophylact, Estius, Semler, Carpzov, Stuart, Bleek, Tholuck, de Wette, Delitzsch, Alford, Conybeare, Maier, Moll, Kurtz, and others).
Upon παράκλησιν ἔχωμεν , not upon οἱ καταφυγόντες (Primasius, Erasmus, Beza, Schlichting, Grotius, Akersloot, Wolf, Carpzov, Abresch, Schulz, Böhme, Kuinoel, Klee, de Wette, Ebrard, Bloomfield, Bisping, Delitzsch, Riehm (Lehrbegr. des Hebräerbr. p. 749), Alford, Moll, Kurtz, Ewald, M‘Caul, and many others), does κρατῆσαι τῆς προκειμένης ἐλπίδος depend; so that οἱ καταφυγόντες is to be taken, with Oecumenius, Camerarius, Cameron, Seb. Schmidt, Heinrichs, Bleek, Maier, Hofmann, and others, absolutely.
οἱ καταφυγόντες ] those who have fled, with the subordinate notion of having found refuge, thus the sheltered, saved ones. As regards the sense, the expression is to be thus filled up: we who have fled out of the sinful world, and have fled to God. As an analogon is compared οἱ σωζόμενοι (Act_2:47, al.).
κρατῆσαι τῆς προκειμένης ἐλπίδος ] to hold fast (Luther, Schulz, Stuart, Bleek, Conybeare, Maier, Moll, Hofmann, and others) to the hope lying in readiness. To interpret κρατῆσαι as “to lay hold” (Wolf, Tholuck, de Wette, Alford, Kurtz, Ewald, al.), with a right combining with παράκλησιν , is forbidden by the connection; comp. Heb_6:11, according to which the readers already possess the ἐλπίς , but not as yet any πληροφορία thereof; comp. further the διὰ μακροθυμίας , Heb_6:12, and μακροθυμήσας , Heb_6:15.
τῆς προκειμένης ἐλπίδος is not the same thing as τῆς ἐλπίδος τῶν προκειμένων , “to the hope of the blessings of salvation which lie before us, which await us” (Bleek, de Wette, Tholuck, Maier), in such wise that a mingling of the objective notion of ἐλπίς with the subjective notion thereof would have to be assumed. Still less are we at liberty, with Grotius, Seb. Schmidt, Wittich, Peirce, Limborch, Heinrichs, Böhme, Kuinoel, Klee, Bloomfield, Alford, Hofmann, and others, to interpret ἐλπίς in itself alone as “res sperata” (comp. Col_1:5). On the contrary, Heb_6:19 points to the Christian hope in the subjective sense. As προκειμένη , however, lying at hand, or existing in readiness, this is characterized, since it is already infused into the Christians, has already been communicated to them as a blessing for possession, with their reception of Christianity.