oJ lao;" gavr ... nenomoq. ] Vulg. populus enim sub ipso...legem accepit. The efficacy of the Law may justly be represented by the efficacy of the priesthood, for the people , called to be the people of God (7:5), hath received the Law, resting on it (the priesthood) as its foundation. For this use of ejpiv with gen. see Luke 4:29. The general sense is expressed more naturally in English by under it as the forming, shaping power. The temporal sense (Matt. 1:11) has no force here.
For
oJ laov"
comp. Heb. 2:17 note. This use of the passive (
nenomoqevthtai
comp. 8:6) corresponds directly with the active form
nomoqetei'n tina
(Ps. 24:8 (25:8); 118:33 (119:33)); as it is found also in Plato, answering to
nom. tini
. The Law is regarded as still in force (Heb. 10:1; 9:6).
tiv" e[ti creiva
...
levgesqai
;] The explicit words of the Psalmist at once separate the new priest from the former line. He was styled not after the order of Aaron. The
e[ti
marks that the want was felt after the Levitical priesthood had been established. The change was found by experience to be required, and it was described long before it came to pass by one who lived under the Law and enjoyed its privileges.
The negative ( ouj ) belongs to the descriptive clause and not to levgesqai .
For ajnivstasqai see Acts 3:22; 7:37. By the use of e{teron (not a[llon ) the two priesthoods are directly compared to the exclusion of all others. Contrast Heb. 4:8 ( peri; a[llh" hJm. ).
7:12.
metatiq. gavr
...
givnetai
]
For when the priesthood is changed
...The
gavr
may refer to the main thought of v. 11 or to the parenthesis (
oJ lao;"
gavr
...). The former connexion appears to be the more natural. The change of priesthood involves the change of Law. Such a change must have been called for by an overwhelming necessity.
The change of the priesthood is presented as the transference, the removal, of the priesthood from one order, one line, to another: translatum est sacerdotium de tribu in tribum, de sacerdotali videlicet ad regalem (Primasius). The removal of the Law is more complete: Heb. 12:27. This change is considered in the abstract ( novmou metavqesi" ); and the use of the pres. partic. ( metatiqemevnh" ) makes the two processes absolutely coincident (this thought is lost in the Vulg. translato enim ).
7:13.
ejfj o}n ga;r l. t.
] Latt.
in quo enim
...This clause goes back to v. 11, the intervening verse 12 being treated as parenthetical. The necessity there spoken of has been recognised and met. The promise in the Psalm, with all its consequences, has been fulfilled;
for He to whom these divine words are directed
...For
ejfj o{n
comp. Mark 9:12 f.:
eij" h{n
Heb. 7:14 note.
metevschken
] Latt. (
de alia tribu
)
est.
The choice of this word points to the voluntary assumption of humanity by the Lord. It is not said simply that He was born of another tribe: He was of His own will so born. Compare 2:14
(
metevscen
); and for the perfect 7:6 note.
The use of eJtevra" appears to place the royal and priestly tribes in significant connexion and contrast.
The Glossa Ordin. (following Chrysostom) draws a parallel between the tribe of Judah and the Lord. Intuere mysterium: primum fuit regalis [tribus Iudae], postea facta est sacerdotalis. Sic Christus rex erat semper; sacerdos