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Hebrews Chapter 5

Hebrews Chapter 5

(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability.  "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love".  However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior.  It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings.  (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".)  Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé".  Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing.  It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)

Glossary

Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits

Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively.  The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9).  Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.

Clean/unclean

Covenant

Faith

Flesh

Forgive/forgiveness

Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)

Holy

Justification

Law (Torah)

Make purification

Pure/Impure

Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.

Ransom

Redemption

Repent/repentance

Righteous/righteousness

Salvation/save

Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Sin

Click to Collapse the Glossary
Jesus our high priest
  1. For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for the sake of men in things pertaining to God, so he might offer both gifts and the sacrifices of sin offerings
  2. while being able to gently and compassionately forbearfn“gently and compassionately forbear” is one word in Greek.  It indicates moderated empathy which isn’t too strong or too weak. with the men being ignorant and wandering astray, since he himself is also bound by weakness.
  3. And because of this, just as he’s obligated to offer sin offerings for the people, in this way also, he must offer them for himself.
  4. And no one takes the honor on himself, but he’s called by God, just as Aaron also was.
  5. So also, the Anointed didn’t glorify Himself by becoming a high priest, but He was glorified by the One who said to Him: “You are My Son, today I have fathered you.”fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 2:7
  6. Just as He also says in another place: “You are a priest through the ages,fn“ages” is literally “age” according to the order of Melchizedek.”fn quotation/allusion to Psalm 110:4
  7. Who in the days of His flesh offered both prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His reverent fear of God.fn“reverent fear of God” is one word in Greek, and different from the Greek words typically translated “(reverent) fear of God”.  It could also be translated “pious fear of God” and focuses on a sense of holy reverence and veneration towards God that’s not contained in the phrase which is usually translated “(reverent) fear of God”.  This word is used only twice, the other place being Hebrews 12:28
  8. Though being a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.
  9. And having been perfected, He became the author of the salvation of ages to all the men obeying Him,
  10. having been designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
  11. About this, there’s many a word for us to say and it’s hard to explain since you have become lazy in hearing.
  12. For you also ought to be teachers by this time, but again you have need of someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God from the beginning.  And you have become men having need of milk and not of solid food.
  13. For every man partaking only of milk fails because of inexperiencefn“fails because of inexperience” is one word in Greek.  It refers to someone who fails when tested because they don’t have adequate knowledge, skills, and/or experience. with the word of righteousness, for he’s an infant.
  14. But solid food is for mature men, the men having their perception strenuously *trainedfn“strenuously *train” is one word in Greek.  It literally means to train naked or in a loincloth, and was used of athletes who trained themselves for the Olympic games, which were conducted clad thus.  Figuratively – as it’s used here – it means to constantly train with rigorous effort and practice. through habitual practice for the discernment of both good and evil.

 

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