Hebrews 13:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Hebrews 13:20
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
peace
εἰρήνης,eirēnēs
G1515
peace (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
again
ἀναγαγὼνanagagōn
G321
to lead up · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
from
ἐκek
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
dead
νεκρῶνnekrōn
G3498
dead (literally or figuratively · adjective — genitive plural masculine
our
ἡμῶνhēmōn
G2257
of (or from) us
Lord
κύριονkurion
G2962
supreme in authority · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
Jesus
Ἰησοῦν,Iēsoun
G2424
Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
that
ποιμέναpoimena
G4166
a shepherd (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular masculine
great
μέγανmegan
G3173
big (literally or figuratively · adjective — accusative singular masculine
shepherd
ποιμήνpoimḗn
G4166
a shepherd (literally or figuratively)
sheep
προβάτωνprobatōn
G4263
something that walks forward (a quadruped) · noun — genitive plural neuter
through
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
blood
αἵματιaimati
G129
blood · noun — dative singular neuter
the
διαθήκηςdiathēkēs
G1242
properly · noun — genitive singular feminine
everlasting
αἰωνίου,aiōniou
G166
perpetual (also used of past time · adjective — genitive singular feminine
covenant
διαθήκηdiathḗkē
G1242
properly
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed wi…
Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them,…
Zechariah 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hebrews 13:18–end
Here, I. The apostle recommends himself, and his fellow-sufferers, to the prayers of the Hebrew believers (Heb 13:18): "Pray for us; for me and Timothy" (mentioned Heb 13:23), "and for all those of us who labour in the ministry of the gospel."
1. This is one part of the duty which people owe to their ministers. Ministers need the prayers of the people; and the more earnestly the people pray for their ministers the more benefit they may expect to reap from their ministry. They should pray that God would teach those who are to teach them, that he would make them vigilant, and wise, and zealous, and successful - that he would assist them in all their labours, support them under all their burden…
Concluding prayer.
God of peace--So Paul, Rom 15:33; Rom 16:20; Co2 13:11; Phi 4:9; Th1 5:23; Th2 3:16. The Judaizing of the Hebrews was calculated to sow seeds of discord among them, of disobedience to their pastors (Heb 13:17), and of alienation towards Paul. The God of peace by giving unity of true doctrine, will unite them in mutual love.
brought again from the dead--Greek, "brought up," &c.: God brought the Shepherd; the Shepherd shall bring the flock. Here only in the Epistle he mentions the resurrection. He would not conclude without mentioning 'the connecting link between the two truths mainly discussed; the one perfect sacrifice and the continual priestly intercession--the depth…
Now the God of peace - We have often seen that peace among the Hebrews signifies prosperity of every kind. The God of peace is the same as the God of all blessedness, who has at his disposal all temporal and eternal good; who loves mankind, and has provided them a complete salvation.
Brought again from the dead our Lord - As our Lord's sacrificial death is considered as an atonement offered to the Divine justice, God's acceptance of it as an atonement is signified by his raising the human nature of Christ from the dead; and hence this raising of Christ is, with the utmost propriety, attributed to God the Father, as this proves his acceptance of the sacrificial offering.
That great Shepherd o…
The Church Fathers
"The blood of the eternal covenant," not through that which passes away but through the one which remains forever, that is, Jesus Christ our Lord.
"the God of peace." First, asking for their prayers and honoring them even in this way, Paul himself also prays for them. Since, he says, God is peace, you ought not to be stirred up against me from mere gossip and to have hostility. "who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep." Which one? Our Lord, he says, Jesus. He affirms to them a certain word about the resurrection, taking the use from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 40:11). And while there were also other shepherds, minor ones, he said the great one. For many are the prophets and teachers, but one is the instructor, Christ. "by the blood of the eternal covenant." That is to say, He raised him from the dead who had died, and having poured out his blood, that this might be for us an eternal covenant, that is, not to be cancelled, as the legal one, but everlasting. Thus: He raised him from the dead by the blood of an eternal covenant. For when he was raised, his blood was granted to us for an eternal covenant. For if he had not been raised, his blood would not have been for us a covenant.
Therefore having first asked their prayers, he then himself also prays for all good things on them. "Now the God of peace," he says (be ye not therefore at variance one with another), "that brought again from the earth the Shepherd of the sheep" (this is said concerning the resurrection) "the Great Shepherd" (another addition: here again he confirms to them even to the end, his discourse concerning the Resurrection) "through the blood of the everlasting covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ," "make you perfect in every good work, to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight." Again he bears high testimony to them. For that is made "perfect" which having a beginning is afterwards completed. And he prays for them which is the act of one who yearns for them. And while in the other Epistles, he prays in the prefaces, here he does it at the end. "Working in you," he says, "that which is well-pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Seest thou how he shows that virtue is born neither wholly from God, nor yet from ourselves alone? First by saying, "make you perfect in every good work"; Ye have virtue indeed, he means, but need to be made complete. What is "good work and word"? So as to have both life and doctrines right. "According to His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight." "In His sight," he says. For this is the highest virtue, to do that which is well-pleasing in the sight of God, as the Prophet also says, "And according to the cleanness of my hands in His eye-sight." (Ps. xviii. 24.)
Dictionary and topics
Bless — (1.) God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Gen. 1:22; 24:35; Job 42:12; Ps. 45:2; 104:24, 35). (2.) We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Ps.…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Resurrection of Christ — One of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an historical fact. On the…
Shepherd — A word naturally of frequent occurence in Scripture. Sometimes the word “pastor” is used instead (Jer. 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; 17:16). This word is used figuratively to represent the relation of…
Christ Is God · As Jehovah, the Shepherd — As Jehovah, the Shepherd
Christ, The Shepherd · The great — The great
Covenant, The · Is everlasting — Is everlasting
Holy Spirit, The, Is God · As raising Christ from the dead — As raising Christ from the dead
Peace, Spiritual · God is the God of — God is the God of
Perfection · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Sheep · Illustrative: Of the people of Christ — Illustrative: Of the people of Christ
Now the God of peace,.... This is the concluding part of the epistle, which is ended with a prayer, made up of very suitable petitions for the Hebrews; and as the apostle desires them to pray for him and other ministers, he, in turn, and by way of example, prays for them: and he addresses God, as "the God of peace"; who is so called, because of his concern in the peace and reconciliation of his people; because he is the giver of conscience peace to them; because he is the author of all felicity and prosperity, temporal and spiritual; the promoter of peace and concord among saints, and at last brings them to eternal peace; See Gill on Romans 15:33, a consideration of this gives boldness at th…
Hebrews 13:20-25
20. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
20. Porro Deus pacis, qui eduxit ex mortuis Pastorem ovium magnum in sanguine Testamenti aeterni, Dominum nostrum Iesum,
21. Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21. Confirmet (alias, aptet, vel, perficiat) vos in omni opere bono, ut faciatis ejus voluntatem, faciens in vobis quod acceptum sit coram ipso, per Iesum Christum, cui gloria in secula seculorum. Amen.
22. And I beseech you…
Benedictions were an important element of letters, speeches, and sermons. The author of Hebrews weaves a number of important themes from the book into his benediction. • The image of our Lord Jesus as the great Shepherd of the sheep (cp. Ps 23) communicates God’s provision for and protection of his people (see also John 10:11-18; 1 Pet 2:25) and is specifically tied here to an eternal covenant.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
· .Of Christ
— .Of Christ
Shepherds · Illustrative: Of Christ as the good shepherd — Illustrative: Of Christ as the good shepherd
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).