Is. 38:14 (Lord) be Thou surety for me ( ynIber[; ).
The word mesiteuvein occurs here only in N.T. It occurs both in Philo and Josephus for that which interposes between conflicting powers or persons: Philo de plant. Nooe § 2 (1.331) tou' qeivou novmou ... ta;" tw'n ejnantivwn (elements) ajpeilav" ... mesiteuvonto" kai; diaitw'nto" . Jos. Antt. 7.8, 5; 16:4, 3. For mesivth" , see Heb. 8:6 n.
Heb. 6:18.
i{na
...
ijsc. paravk. e[c. oiJ kataf.
...]
that...we may have strong
encouragement who fled
...Latt.
ut fortissimum solacium habeamus qui confugimus
...The whole context shews that
paravklhsin
is to be understood as
encouragement
to maintain with boldness a position beset by difficulties, and not simply passive
consolation.
The word occurs again in the Epistle Heb. 12:5; 13:22.
The epithet ( ijscuravn ) is unusual (comp. Heb. 5:7 kraugh; ijsc. [11:34]). It describes that which possesses absolute might, and not simply strength sufficient for a particular task. Compare 2 Cor. 10:10; Apoc. 18:2, 10; 19:6; Lk. 15:14 (not Matt. 14:30).
For the order see Heb. 9:12; and distinguish the predicative use in 7:24.
On
e[cwmen
Chrysostom says with true feeling:
oJra'/" o{ti ouj th;n ajxivan th;n eJautou' skopei' ajllj o{pw" tou;" ajnqrwvpou" peivsh/
. Comp. 1 John 2:1 note.
dia; duvo pragm. ajm.
]
by two immutable things
, the promise and the oath (Heb. 6:13, 17).
Pra'gma
may mean either
object
(Heb. 10:1; 11:1) or
fact, action
(Acts 5:4; Luke 1:1).
ejn oi|" ajduvn. yeuv".
] That the promise of God should fail is as inconceivable as that His oath should fail. He must (as we speak) fulfil His promise: He must fulfil His oath. Comp. Philo,
de Sacr. Ab. et Cain
§ 28
(1.181 M.)
ouj dij o{rkon pisto;" oJ qeo;" ajlla; dij aujto;n kai; oJ o{rko" bevbaio"
. For
ajduvnaton
comp. Heb. 6:4; 10:4; 11:6; and for
ajduvn. yeuv".
see Tit. 1:2; Clem.
R. i. c. 27
oujde;n ajduvnaton para; tw'/ qew'/ eij mh; to; yeuvsasqai
. For illustrations of the divine impossibility see John 5:19 note. Aug.
de civ.
5.10 Recte quippe [Deus] omnipotens dicitur qui tamen mori et falli non potest. Dicitur enim omnipotens faciendo quod vult, non patiendo quod non vult; quod ei si accideret nequaquam esset omnipotens. Unde propterea quaedam non potest quia omnipotens est.
The use of
oJ qeov"
(Heb. 6:17) and
qeovn
is instructive. In the second case the idea is rather that of the nature of God than of His Personality: impossible for Him who is God....
oiJ katafugovnte" krath'sai
...]
we who
at the decisive moment
fled for refuge to lay hold of
.... Comp 4:3
oiJ pisteuvsante"
. Every other support was
abandoned. The word occurs again Acts 14:6. Delitzsch refers to two striking passages of Philo:
Leg. All.
iii. § 12 (1:95)
oJ de; ejnantivo" touvtw/
(who is destitute of feeling for the noble)
feuvgei me;n ajfj eJautou' katafeuvgei dj ejpi; to;n tw'n o[ntwn qeovn
.
de prof.
§ 18 (1.560)
mhvpotj ou\n hJ presbutavth
...
mhtrovpoli"
(among the cities of refuge)
oJ qei'ov" ejsti lovgo" ejfj o}n prw'ton katafeuvgein wjfelimwvtaton
. So Clement speaks of Christians as
tou;" prospefeugovta" toi'" oijktirmoi'" aujtou'
[
tou' megavlou dhmiourgou' kai; despovtou tw'n aJpavntwn
]
dia; tou' kurivou hJmw'n jIhsou' Cristou'
(1
Cor.
20).
The words krath'sai t. prok. ejlp. appear to be connected in different ways both with katafugovnte" and with paravklhsin . The position of the words