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by the things which He suffered; 9 and , having been made perfect ,
(2)
He became to all them that obey Him, the cause of eternal salvation ,

10 being addressed by God, as High-priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Heb. 5:7, 8. Christ—the Son, the priest after the order of Melchizedek—has been shewn to have fulfilled one condition of true High- priesthood by His divine appointment: He is now shewn to have fulfilled the other, as having learnt through actual experience the uttermost needs of human weakness.

5:7. o{" ] The relative goes back to the main subject of v. 5, Christ, who has been more fully described in the two intervening verses. Here there is no difficulty. Comp. 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 Pet. 4:11. In Heb. 3:6 the ambiguity is greater, but there ou| is to be referred to God and not to Cristov" . Comp. 5:11 note.


ejn tai'" hJm. t. s. a. ] Vulg. in diebus carnis suae , Syr. When He was clothed with flesh. The pronoun may be taken either with th'" sarkov" or with the compound phrase, in the days of His flesh , or in His days of flesh. The general meaning of the phrase is well given by Theodoret as describing ‘the time when He had a mortal body’ ( hJmevra" de; sarko;" to;n th'" qnhtovthto" e[fh kairovn, toutevstin hJnivka qnhto;n ei\ce to; sw'ma . Quamdiu habitavit in corpore mortali. Primas.).

‘Flesh’ here describes not that which is essential to true humanity (Luke 24:39), but the general conditions of humanity in the present life: Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:22, 24: 1 Pet. 4:2. Comp. 1 Cor. 15:50; and (perhaps) Heb. 10:20.

oujk ei\pen hJmevra" sarkov" ...... wJ" nu'n ajpoqemevnou aujtou' th;n savrka .
a[page : e[cei ga;r aujth;n eij kai; a[fqarton : ajllj hJmevra" fhsi; sarko;" oi|on ta;" ejn th'/ sarkikh'/ zwh'/ aujtou' hJmevra" (OEcum.). Comp. 2 Clem. 5:5 hJ ejpidhmiva hJ ejn tw'/ kovsmw/ touvtw/ th'" sarko;" tauvth" mikrav ejstin kai; ojligocrovnio" .

We can indeed form no clear conception of ‘immortal,’ ‘incorruptible’ flesh; but the phrase represents to us the continuance under new conditions of all that belongs to the perfection of our nature.

The words ejn t. hJm. t. s. stand in contrast with teleiwqeiv" . It is not said or implied that the conflict of Christ continued in the same form throughout His earthly life. A contrast is drawn between the period of His preparation for the fulness of His Priestly work, and the period of His accomplishment of it after His ‘consummation.’
tai'" hJmevrai" ] The use of the term ‘days’ for ‘time’ or ‘season’ seems to suggest the thought of the changing circumstances of life (comp. Matt. 28:20).

Compare also Heb. 10:32; 1:2. For the plural see Heb. 1:2; 10:32; Eph. 5:16; 2 Tim. 3:1 ( e[scatai hJm .); James 5:3 ( e[sc. hJm. ); 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 3:3; Apoc. 2:13 & c. pros. kai; eijsakousqeiv" ] These participles have been interpreted as preparatory to e[maqen (‘after He had offered...He learnt’), or as explanatory and confirmatory of it (‘in that He offered...He learnt’). Usage and the gradual development of the thought favour the first view. The ‘obedience’ of Christ


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