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For the construction metavnoia ajpov compare Acts 8:22 metanovhson ajpo; th'" kakiva" , and the characteristic phrase of the Apocalypse metanoei'n ejk : Apoc. 2:21 f.; 9:20 f.; 16:11.

The patristic interpretations of the phrase are vague: e.g., Primasius: Poenitentiam ab operibus mortuis agere est ipsa opera mala per poenitentiam delere, qua animam mortificabant. Opera namque mortis sunt peccata.
pivstew" ejpi; qeovn ] of faith toward God , Vulg. fidei ad Deum. This phrase also is unique.
pivsti" is used (1) with gen. in each group of the writings of the N. T.: Mark 11:22; Acts 3:16; Rom. 3:22; Apoc. 14:12; James 2:1, & c.

(2) with eij" , Acts 20:21; 24:24; 26:18; Col. 2:5; comp. 1 Pet. 1:21; Philem. 5.

(3) with ejn , Eph. 1:15; 1 Tim. 3:13; 2 Tim. 3:15.
(4) with
prov" , 1 Thess. 1:8. Pisteuvein ejpiv tina occurs not unfrequently: Matt. 27:42; Acts 9:42; 11:17; 16:31; 22:19; Rom. 4:5, 24.

As distinguished from pisteuvein eij" perhaps pisteuvein ejpiv (acc.) suggests the idea of being directed towards, and pist. ejpiv (dat.) resting upon some solid foundation (the Rock). The relation in ejpiv is external, in eij" , internal.

Heb. 6:2. baptismw'n didach'" ( didachvn )] Vulg. baptismatum doctrinae, impositionis quoque manuum. The construction of didach'" , if this reading be adopted, has been variously explained. It has been taken either (1) absolutely: baptisms, teachings, and laying on of hands; or, (2) in connexion with baptismw'n , either as ( a ) depending on it and qualifying it; baptisms of teaching , baptisms involving teaching and not mere ceremonial lustrations; or as ( b ) governing baptismw'n : teaching of baptisms.

The construction and sense of the whole passage are decidedly in favour of the last view. The order is decisive against taking the word didach'" absolutely. There is no special propriety in speaking of Christian baptism as ‘a baptism of teaching’; and on the other hand ‘baptisms,’ ‘laying on of hands,’ ‘resurrection,’ ‘judgment,’ form characteristic subjects of teaching. This construction is also supported by the variant didachvn ; and it makes but little difference whether we read didach'" as parallel with qemevlion , or didachvn as explanatory of it; yet, on the whole, it seems simpler to take the genitive.

The unusual order is probably to be explained by the emphasis gained for the characteristic contents of the teaching by placing baptismw'n first. If didach'" were placed first, this would appear to be coordinate with metanoiva" and pivstew" rather than the elements which it includes.

The progress in the subjects of teaching is significant. It reaches from the first scene of the Christian life to the last, as it is made known to us. The two types of divine ordinances ( baptism, laying on of hands ) correspond broadly to the two characteristics of the Christian's temper already noticed. The first marks the passage from an old state to a new (the gift of life by the action of the Holy Spirit); the second, the arming for the fulfilment of the new service (the endowment for the work of life by the gift of the Holy Spirit). It appears to be of great importance to keep in close connexion the ‘ordination’ of the Christian layman and the ‘ordination’ of the Christian priest, as


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