Hebrews

4:12-13

The Arguments, 2:10-12:29

1. Christ is a faithful and merciful high priest, 2:10-5:10

v] The Word of God

These two verses serve as a conclusion to a homily on faithfulness, with reference to the faithful High Priest, 3:1-4:13. The passage reminds us to give heed to God's powerful and penetrating Word. The people of Israel, during their wilderness wanderings, had failed to heed the word of God. They had rebelled against God and therefore did not enter the rest of the Lord. They failed to enter the land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Canaan. So, the writer warns us that we must take heed how we hear and respond to the word of God.

These two verses pick up on the quotation from Psalm 95, 3:7-11, which the writer to the Hebrews expounds in 3:12-4:11, and so serves as a concluding exhortation. The word of God is personified as a divine warrior acting on behalf of the all-seeing judge of the universe. Although the writer has confronted us with a harsh and fearful truth, he soon brings us again, face to face, with the merciful High Priest.

gar "for" - Here serving as a connective.

oJ logoV tou qeou "the word of God" - Possibly an objective genitive, "the message concerning God", but more likely a subjective genitive, "the message declared/from God." Possibly the gospel is intended, although a wider sense is more likely, eg. the communicated will of God for his people. Some commentators suggest a personal sense, Christ, the Word of God, although this is unlikely.

zwn (zaw) pres. part. "is living" - living. Emphatic. The participle is adjectival, functioning as the predicate (asserting a truth) of the subject, "the word", so "the word is living". Possibly in the sense of "relevant", or "life-giving", or probably in a personified sense, "alive", Barclay.

energhV adj. "active" - In the sense of "effective, powerful", Ellingworth.

tomwteroV (tomoV) comp. adj. "sharper" - sharp, cutting. Hapax legomenon, once only use in the NT. This and the following descriptives, serve to illustrate the "penetrating" nature of the word. Penetrating for what purpose? The context implies that the word penetrates to expose sin and condemn it, but given the wider context, this judgment primarily serves a positive end, namely, to drive repentance and forgiveness.

diiknoumenoV (diikneomai) pres. part. "it penetrates" - penetrating, passing through, going through. Hapax legomenon. Again adjectival, functioning as a predicate of "the word", "the word of God is penetrating". "It strikes through", Phillips.

merismou (oV) "dividing" - Not the act of dividing, but rather the results of the word's penetration. "His word can cut through our spirits and souls", CEV.<

"soul and spirit, joints and marrow" - It is unlikely that the writer is describing distinctive divisions of the human nature. "God's word penetrates our whole being."

kardiaV (a) "heart" - "the center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling and willing", Bauer.

ktisiV (iV ewV) "creation" - creature, creation. Here "creature"; "no creature has any cover from the sight of God", Phillips.

afanhV adj. "hidden" - hidden, unseen, invisible. "Is out of sight", Barclay.

autou pro. "God's [sight]" - The antecedent is probably "God", but it may be "the word of God."

gumna adj. "uncovered" - naked. In the sense of "exposed" to critical examination.

tetrachlismena (trachlizw) perf. pas. part. "laid bare" - (the neck) having been exposed, laid bare. The participle is again adjectival, functioning as a predicate with the adjective "uncovered / naked", as NIV; "all things lie open and exposed before the eyes of him", Moffatt. The imagery is possibly of a wrestler who, having been taken by the neck, is now pinned and unable to move. "Everything is stripped and exposed to the eyes of the one to whom we have to render account", Barclay.

proV oJn hJmin oJ logoV "to whom we must give account" - to whom our account. Most modern commentators opt for "to whom we must give account", "with whom we must reckon", Ellingworth. Ancient commentators regarded it as a formula statement, "this account is about whom we speak", but probably more is intended. "To whom our account must finally be rendered", Attridge.

Hebrews Introduction

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