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There is a tradition that originally the High-priest on the Day of Atonement, when he offered the prayer for forgiveness in the Holy of Holies, uttered the name of God with a loud voice so that it could be heard far off. Comp. Maimon. ap. Delitzsch, Heb. ii. p. 471 (E. Tr.).
kraughv ] The loud cry of deeplystirred feeling of joyful surprise: Luke 1:42; Matt. 25:6; of partisan applause: Acts 23:9; of grief: Apoc. 21:4 (not Apoc. 14:18); of anger: Eph. 4:31. Compare Ps. 22:24 (LXX.); and see also kravzw in Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15.
meta; ... dakruvwn ] Heb. 12:17; Acts 20:31 (not Mark 9:24). Compare Hos. 12:4.

Epiphanius ( Ancor. 31) seems to use e[klause as a general periphrasis of the passage in St Luke (22:43): ouj movnon ga;r ta; hJmw'n bavrh ajnedevxato uJpe;r hJmw'n ejlqw;n oJ a{gio" Lovgo" ajlla; kai; uJpo; aJfh;n ejgevneto kai; savrka e[labe ... ajlla; kai; e[klause : kei'tai ejn tw'/ kata; Lou'kan eujaggelivw/ ejn toi'" ajdiorqwvtoi" ajntigravfoi" ... kai; genovmeno" ejn ajgwniva/ ... kai; w[fqh a[ggelo" ejniscuvwn aujtovn .

The question has been asked for what did Christ pray? ( peri; tivnwn ejdehvqh ; peri; tw'n pisteusavntwn eij" aujtovn Chrys.). Perhaps it is best to answer generally, for the victory over death the fruit of sin. This was the end of His work, and to this end every part of it contributed. Under this aspect the conditional prayers for His own deliverance (Matt. 26:39 and parallels; John 12:27) become intelligible. And the due connexion is established between the prayer at the Agony, and the High-priestly prayer which preceded it. The general truth is admirably expressed by the Latin commentators: Omnia autem quae ipse egit in carne preces supplicationesque fuerunt pro peccatis humani generis. Sacra vero sanguinis ejus effusio clamor fuit validus in quo exauditus est a deo patre pro sua reverentia, hoc est, voluntaria obedientia et perfectissima caritate (Prim., Herv.).
prosenevgka" ] Comp Heb. 5:1, note. Perhaps the use of the ritual word ( prosenevgka" ) of the Lord's prayers on earth points to the true sacrificial character of spiritual service: Heb. 13:15. The combination prosfevrein devhsin occurs in late Greek writers. See Lexx.
eijsakousqei;" ajpo; th'" eujlabeiva" ] having been heard for His godly
fear
, O. L. exauditus a metu (all. ab illo metu v. propter timorem ), Vulg. exauditus est pro sua reverentia. The Syr. transfers the words ajpo; th'" eujl. from this clause to the next, learnt obedience from fear and the sufferings which He bore. True prayer—the prayer which must be answered—is the personal recognition and acceptance of the divine will (John 14:7: comp. Mark 6:24 ejlavbete ). It follows that the hearing of prayer, which teaches obedience, is not so much the granting of a specific petition, which is assumed by the petitioner to be the way to the end desired, but the assurance that what is granted does most effectively lead to the end. Thus we are taught that Christ learnt that every detail of His Life and Passion contributed to the accomplishment of the work which He came to fulfil, and so He was most perfectly ‘heard.’ In this sense He was ‘heard for His godly fear’ ( eujlavbeia ).

The word eujlavbeia occurs again in Heb. 12:28 (only in N.T.) and the

verb in Heb. 11:7. It is very rare in the LXX. Josh. 22:24 ( hg:a;d“ ); Prov. 28:14;

Wisd. 17:8. The adj. eujlabhv" is found Lev. 15:31; Mic. 7:2, v. l. The verb eujlabei'sqai is more frequent and represents no less than a dozen Hebrew


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