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only in the fulfilment of the promise. Comp. Gal. 4:21 ff.

6:13. tw'/ ga;r jA. ejpaggeilavmeno" ... kaqj eJautou' ] For God having made promise to Abraham...sware ...Vulg. promittens (Old Lat. cum repromisisset )... juravit .... The promise was given, and then the promise was
confirmed by an oath (Gen. 12:3, 7; 13:14; 15:5 ff.; 17:5 ff.; compared with Gen. 22:16 ff.). The student will do well to consider very carefully the exact differences of form under which the promise was given to Abraham at different times and afterwards to Isaac (Gen. 26:2 ff.) and to Jacob (Gen. 28:13 ff.).

This interpretation, which is directly suggested by the history, seems to be better than that which regards ejpaggeilavmeno" and w[mosen as contemporaneous, a construction which is in itself perfectly admissible. (Comp. Heb. 2:10.)

It may be further added that the interposition of an oath implied delay in the fulfilment of the promise. No oath would have been required if the blessing had been about to follow immediately. But in the nature of the case the promise to Abraham pointed to a remote future. Thus his example was fitted to encourage the Hebrews to trust in the unseen. At the same time the promise was absolute and not conditional (as 1 Kings 2:4).
ejpei; katj oujdeno;" ei\cen m. oj. ] since He could swear by no greater one (according to usage). Vulg. quoniam neminem habuit per quem juraret majorem. Comp. Philo, Leg. Alleg. iii. § 72 (1.127 M.) oJra'/" o{ti ouj kaqj eJtevrou ojmnuvei qeov", oujde;n ga;r aujtou' krei'tton, ajlla; kaqj eJautou' o{" ejsti pavntwn a[risto" (in reference to Gen. 22:16).
w[mosen kaqj eJautou' ] The oath to Abraham was the foundation of the hope of Israel (Ps. 105:6 ff.; Luke 1:73) and the support of all positive religious faith. In this respect it is important to notice that it is the first explicit mention of the divine oath, which however was implied in the promise to Noah (Is. 54:9; Gen. 8:21 f.; 9:11 ff.). Compare also Gen. 15:8 ff. Jewish scholars dwelt on the thought of God's oath ‘by Himself’: Shemoth R. 44 (on Ex. 32:13), What means By Thyself ? R. Eliezer replied: Moses spake thus to the Lord (Blessed be He). If Thou hadst sworn by heaven and earth, I should say, since heaven and earth shall perish, so too Thine oath. Now Thou hast sworn to them by Thy great name: as Thy great name lives and lasts for ever and ever, Thy oath also shall last for ever and ever.

The phrase ojmn. katav tino" does not occur again in the N. T. (comp. Matt. 26:63). It is found in the LXX. Jer. 29:14 (49:13); 28:14 (51:14); Amos 6:8; and in later Greek. The classical construction (with the simple acc. ) is found in James 5:12.

6:14. eij mh;n eujlogw'n ...] Gen. 22:17. The writer of the Epistle substitutes sev for to; spevrma sou in the last clause. He concentrates his attention on Abraham alone. Comp. Gen. 12:3 with Gen. 22:18.

The promise which is quoted is simply that of outward prosperity, of which in part Abraham lived to see the fulfilment. But the Messianic promise, with which the readers were familiar, was given under the same circumstances.
eujlogw'n eujloghvsw ] Old Lat. benedicendo benedixero. Vulg. benedicens benedicam. This construction in imitation of Heb. inf. abs. with the finite verb is found in the N. T. only in quotations from the LXX. in which it is extremely frequent. Comp. John 3:29 cara'/ caivrei note.


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