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sinners he must have that calm, just feeling which neither exaggerates nor extenuates the offence. It may further be noticed that Christ, as High-priest, has no weakness, though He sympathises with weaknesses (7:28; 4:15). ejpeiv ] The particle is unusually frequent (9 times) in this Epistle (10 times in St Paul), while o{ti causal only occurs in quotations (Heb. 8:9 ff.). See 5:11 note.
perivkeitai ajsq. ] V. L. gestat infirmitatem. Vulg. circumdatus est infirmitate. Syr. clothed with infirmity. For the use of perivkeimai , compare (Heb. 12:1); Acts 28:20 th;n a{lusin tauvthn perivkeimai . Clem. 2 Cor. 1 ajmauvrwsin perikeivmenoi . Ign. ad Trall. 12; and for the general thought see Heb. 7:28 e[conta" ajsqevneian . The image is common in Greek literature from the time of Homer: Il. 18.157 ejpieimevnoi ajlkhvn . Comp. Lk. 24:49; Col. 3:12. Eijdw;" to; mevtron th'" ajnqrwpivnh" ajsqeneiva" ejfj eJautw'/ ejpimetrei' kai; th;n suggnwvmhn (Theoph.).

The exact opposite to perikei'sqai is perielei'n (Heb. 10:11). With the sing. ( ajsqevneia ) contrast the plural Heb. 4:15.

5:3. kai; dij aujthvn ] and by reason thereof, i.e. of the weakness. This clause may be an independent statement, or depend upon ejpeiv . On the whole the form ( kai; dij aujthvn instead of dij h{n ) is in favour of the former view; which is further supported by the fact that weakness does not absolutely involve sin, so that the weakness and the sin even in the case of man, as he is, are two separate elements.

In the case of the human High-priest weakness actually issued in sin. In this respect the parallel with Christ fails. But it has been seen (4:15) that a sense of the power of the temptation and not the being overpowered by it is the true ground of sympathy. Comp. 7:27.
ojfeivlei ] he is bound in the very nature of things, in virtue of his constitution and of his office. He must obtain purity for himself before he can intercede for others. Comp. Heb. 2:17 note.
peri; eJautou' ] The ceremonies of the Day of Atonement are still foremost in the writer's thoughts (Lev. 16). Philo ( Quis rer. div. haer. § 36,
1.497 M.) regards the daily meal-offering as the offering for the priest (Lev. 6:20), as the lamb was the offering for the people.
prosf. peri; aJmartiw'n ] The constant use of the singular in the sense of ‘sin-offering’ (Heb. 10:6, 8; 13:11 peri; aJmartiva" and LXX.) seems to shew that here peri; aJm. is to be taken generally ‘for sins,’ while prosf. is absolute as in Luke 5:14, though not elsewhere in this Epistle. See also Num. 7:18.

Heb. 5:4. A second qualification for the High-priesthood lies in the divine call. He must be man, and he must be called by God. The fact of human sinfulness naturally leads to this complementary thought. Of himself a man could not presume to take upon him such an office. He could not draw near to God being himself sinful: still less could he draw near to God to intercede for others. At the most he could only indicate in action the desire for fellowship with God.
eJautw'/ lambavnei ] The idea of bold presumption does not lie in the phrase itself (Luke 19:12), but in the context. The unusual form oujc eJautw'/ ti" corresponds with oujc eJautovn which follows.
th;n timhvn ] Latt. honorem , the office. So hJ timhv is used of the High- priesthood by Josephus: e.g., Antt. 3.8, 1.


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