ajpogegrammevnwn ejn toi'" oujranoi'" kai; pneuvmata dikaivwn teteleiwmevnwn : ejkei' diaqhvkh palaiav, ejntau'qa kainhv : ejkei' dou'lo" mesivth", ejntau'qa uiJov" : ejkei' ai|ma ajlovgwn, ejntau'qa ai|ma ajmnou' logikou' .
12:22 ff.
ajlla; prosel.
...] Ye are not brought face to face with any
repetition of the terrors of Sinai; but ye are even now still standing in a heavenly presence, not material but spiritual, not manifested in elemental powers but in living hosts, not finding expression in threatening commands but in means of reconciliation, inspiring not fear but hope. Yet, it is implied, that the awfulness of the position is not less but greater than that of the Israelites.
For proselhluvqate see 12:18.
jEkei'noi ouj prosh'lqon ajlla; povrrwqen eiJsthvkeisan : uJmei'" de; proselhluvqate . oJra'/" th;n uJperochvn ; (Theophlct.). In one sense the heavenly Jerusalem is already reached: in another sense it is still sought for: 13:14.
( a ) The scene to which Christians are come (12:22 a). 12:22 a. Siw;n o[rei ... ejpour. ] Over against the material and kindled fire of Sinai is set the mountain and city of God, His palace and the home of His people, shewn by images in the earthly Zion and Jerusalem. In this heavenly, archetypal, spiritual mountain and city, God is seen to dwell with His own. He is not revealed in one passing vision of terrible Majesty as at the giving of the Law, but in His proper dwelling-place. Zion is distinctively the acropolis, the seat of God's throne, and Jerusalem the city. Sometimes Zion alone is spoken of as the place where God exercises sovereignty and from which He sends deliverance. Ps. 2:6; 48:2; 50:2; 78:68; 110:2; (3:4; 15:1); Is. 18:7; sometimes Zion and Jerusalem are joined together: Mic. 4:1 ff.; Joel 2:32; Amos 1:2.
In the spiritual reality Mount Zion represents the strong divine foundation of the new Order, while the City of the Living God represents the social structure in which the Order is embodied. GodWho is a Living God (Heb. 3:12 note)does not dwell alone, but surrounded by His people. His Majesty and His Love are equally represented in the New Jerusalem.
For the idea of the Heavenly Jerusalem, compare Apoc. 21:2, 10 ( hJ aJgiva jIerousalhvm . Is. 52:1); Heb. 3:12 ( hJ kainh; jIer. ); Gal. 4:26 ( hJ a[nw jIer .). This is the city which hath the foundations (Heb. 11:10), for which Abraham looked; and for which we still seek (Heb. 13:14). It is like the good things of the Gospel, in different aspects future and present. For ejpouravnio" see Heb. 3:1 note.
Compare Philo de somn. ii. § 38 (2.691) hJ de; tou' qeou' povli" uJpo; JEbraivwn jIerousalh;m kalei'tai, h|" metalhfqe;n to; o[noma o{rasiv" ejstin eijrhvnh" (Clem. Al. Strom. 1.5, 29; Orig. Hom. in Jos. 21.2).
Chrysostom suggestively contrasts the city with thevdesert of Sinai ( ejkei' e[rhmo" h\n, ejntau'qa povli" ). So Theophylact, a little more fully: ajnti; tou' Sina' e[comen Siw;n o[ro" nohtovn, kai; povlin nohth;n jIerousalhvm : toutevstin aujto;n to;n oujranovn, oujk e[rhmon wJ" ejkei'noi . See also Additional Note on Heb. 11:10.
(
b
) The persons to whom Christians are come (12:22 b, 23 a). 12:22 b.
kai; mur.
...
kai; ejkklhsiva/
] The description of the scene of the
Divine Kingdom to which Christians are come is followed by a description of the representative persons who are included in it, with whom believers are