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law. Comp. 1:4; 2:2; 3:14; 5:9; 6:4, 12; 7:18, 26 & c. ejlehvmwn ... kai; pistov" ] It seems to be far more natural to take both these words as qualifying ajrciereuv" than to take ejl. separately: ‘that He might become merciful, and a faithful high-priest.’ Our High-priest is ‘merciful’ in considering the needs of each sinful man, and ‘faithful’ (‘one in whom the believer can trust’) in applying the means which He administers. It has been supposed that the one epithet expresses mainly the relation towards men and the other the relation towards God (Heb. 3:2, 5); but here the relation towards men is alone in question, so that the faithfulness of Christ expresses that wherein men can trust with absolute confidence.

The word pistov" admits two senses according as the character to which it is applied is regarded from within or from without. A person is said to be ‘faithful’ in the discharge of his duties where the trait is looked at from within outwards; and at the same time he is ‘trustworthy’ in virtue of that faithfulness in the judgment of those who are able to rely upon him. The one sense passes into the other. See Heb. 3:2, 5; 10:23; 11:11.
pistov" ] [Idion tou' o[ntw" kai; ajlhqw'" ajrcierevw" tou;" w|n ejsti;n ajrciereu;" ajpallavxai tw'n aJmartiw'n (OEcumen., Chrysost.). Ministerium sacerdotis...est fidelem esse ut possit eos quorum sacerdos est liberare a peccatis (Primas.). Man gains confidence by the sight of Christ's love. ajrciereuv" ] The writer introduces quite abruptly this title which is the key-word of his teaching, and which is applied to the Lord in this Epistle only among the writings of the N. T. So also the title iJereuv" is used of Christ only in this Epistle: 10:21 ( iJereva mevgan ). Comp. 5:6, & c. (Ps. 110:4). Yet see also Apoc. 1:13. The title is adopted by Clement: ad Cor. i.c. 36 eu{romen ... jIhsou'n Cristo;n to;n ajrciereva tw'n prosforw'n hJmw'n , c. 58 dia; tou' ajrcierevw" kai; prostavtou hJmw'n jIhsou' Cristou' . (See Lightfoot ad loc. ) Comp. Ign. ad Philad. 9.

The rendering of the sing. in the Vulg. is uniformly pontifex (Heb. 3:1; 4:14 f.; 5:5, 10; 6:20; 8:1; 9:11); the plur. in 7:27, 28 is rendered sacerdotes (as O. L.). In the Old Latin pontifex does not appear except in Vigil. Taps. (4:15) though there is considerable variety of rendering: sacerdos, summus sacerdos, princeps sacerdos, princeps sacerdotum, princeps (3:1). On coins and in inscriptions pontifex generally corresponds with ajrciereuv" , while pontifex maximus is represented by ajrciereu;" mevga" or mevgisto" . Comp. Boeckh Inscrr. Gr. 3834, 3878, 3949, 4283 c 2741 ( ajrciereuv" ) note; 5899
(
ajrc. jAlexandreiva" kai; pavsh" Aijguvptou ).
ta; pro;" to;n qeovn ] in the things (in all things) that pertain to God. Latt. ad Deum. The phrase expresses more than pro;" to;n qeovn and points to ‘all man's relations towards God,’ all the elements of the divine life ( in his quae sunt ad Deum in some old Lat. texts). Comp. Heb. 5:1; Ex. 4:16; 18:19; Rom. 15:17. (Lk. 14:32; 19:42; Acts 28:10.) Jos. Antt. 9.11. 2 eujsebh;" ... ta; pro;" to;n qeovn . The phrase is not uncommon in classical writers: e.g., Arist. Pol. 3.14 ta; pro;" tou;" qeou;" ajpodevdotai toi'" basileu'sin [ ejn th'/ Lakwnikh'/ politeiva/ ]; Plut. Consol. ad Apoll. init.
eij" to; iJlavsk. ta;" aJm. ] O. L. ut expiaret peccata , and ad deprecandum (propitiandum) pro delictis. Vulg. ut repropitiaret delicta. For the construction of iJlavskesqai ( ejxilavskesqai ) in biblical and classical Greek see Additional Note on 1 John 2:2. The use of the accus. of the things cleansed occurs Lev.


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