law. Comp. 1:4; 2:2; 3:14; 5:9; 6:4, 12; 7:18, 26 & c. ejlehvmwn ... kai; pistov" ] It seems to be far more natural to take both these words as qualifying ajrciereuv" than to take ejl. separately: that He might become merciful, and a faithful high-priest. Our High-priest is merciful in considering the needs of each sinful man, and faithful (one in whom the believer can trust) in applying the means which He administers. It has been supposed that the one epithet expresses mainly the relation towards men and the other the relation towards God (Heb. 3:2, 5); but here the relation towards men is alone in question, so that the faithfulness of Christ expresses that wherein men can trust with absolute confidence.
The word
pistov"
admits two senses according as the character to which it is applied is regarded from within or from without. A person is said to be faithful in the discharge of his duties where the trait is looked at from within outwards; and at the same time he is trustworthy in virtue of that faithfulness in the judgment of those who are able to rely upon him. The one sense passes into the other. See Heb. 3:2, 5; 10:23; 11:11.
pistov"
]
[Idion tou' o[ntw" kai; ajlhqw'" ajrcierevw" tou;" w|n ejsti;n ajrciereu;" ajpallavxai tw'n aJmartiw'n
(OEcumen., Chrysost.). Ministerium sacerdotis...est fidelem esse ut possit eos quorum sacerdos est liberare a peccatis (Primas.). Man gains confidence by the sight of Christ's love.
ajrciereuv"
] The writer introduces quite abruptly this title which is the key-word of his teaching, and which is applied to the Lord in this Epistle only among the writings of the N. T. So also the title
iJereuv"
is used of Christ only in this Epistle: 10:21 (
iJereva mevgan
). Comp. 5:6, & c. (Ps. 110:4). Yet see also Apoc. 1:13. The title is adopted by Clement:
ad Cor.
i.c. 36
eu{romen
...
jIhsou'n Cristo;n to;n ajrciereva tw'n prosforw'n hJmw'n
, c. 58
dia; tou' ajrcierevw" kai; prostavtou hJmw'n jIhsou' Cristou'
. (See Lightfoot
ad loc.
) Comp. Ign.
ad Philad.
9.
The rendering of the
sing.
in the
Vulg.
is uniformly
pontifex
(Heb. 3:1; 4:14 f.; 5:5, 10; 6:20; 8:1; 9:11); the
plur.
in 7:27, 28 is rendered
sacerdotes
(as O. L.). In the Old Latin
pontifex
does not appear except in Vigil. Taps. (4:15) though there is considerable variety of rendering:
sacerdos, summus sacerdos, princeps sacerdos, princeps sacerdotum, princeps
(3:1). On coins and in inscriptions
pontifex
generally corresponds with
ajrciereuv"
, while
pontifex maximus
is represented by
ajrciereu;" mevga"
or
mevgisto"
. Comp. Boeckh
Inscrr. Gr.
3834, 3878, 3949, 4283 c 2741 (
ajrciereuv"
) note; 5899
(
ajrc. jAlexandreiva" kai; pavsh" Aijguvptou
).
ta; pro;" to;n qeovn
]
in the things
(in all things)
that pertain to God.
Latt.
ad Deum.
The phrase expresses more than
pro;" to;n qeovn
and points to all man's relations towards God, all the elements of the divine life (
in his quae sunt ad Deum
in some old Lat. texts). Comp. Heb. 5:1; Ex. 4:16; 18:19; Rom. 15:17. (Lk. 14:32; 19:42; Acts 28:10.) Jos.
Antt.
9.11. 2
eujsebh;"
...
ta; pro;" to;n qeovn
. The phrase is not uncommon in classical writers: e.g., Arist.
Pol.
3.14
ta; pro;" tou;" qeou;" ajpodevdotai toi'" basileu'sin
[
ejn th'/ Lakwnikh'/ politeiva/
]; Plut.
Consol. ad Apoll.
init.
eij" to; iJlavsk. ta;" aJm.
] O. L.
ut expiaret peccata
, and
ad deprecandum (propitiandum) pro delictis.
Vulg.
ut repropitiaret delicta.
For the construction of
iJlavskesqai
(
ejxilavskesqai
) in biblical and classical Greek see Additional Note on 1 John 2:2. The use of the accus. of the things cleansed occurs Lev.