to place room between · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular masculine
from
ἀπὸapo
G575
"off · preposition
sinners
ἁμαρτωλῶν,hamartōlōn
G268
sinful · adjective — genitive plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
made
γενόμενος·genomenos
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
higher
ὑψηλότεροςhupsēloteros
G5308
lofty (in place or character) · adjective — nominative singular masculine, comparative
heavens
οὐρανῶνouranōn
G3772
the sky · noun — genitive plural masculine
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
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
1 Peter 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Hebrews 4:14-15 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majes…
1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had b…
Isaiah 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Luke 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hebrews 7:11–end
Observe the necessity there was of raising up another priest, after the order of Melchisedec and not after the order of Aaron, by whom that perfection should come which could not come by the Levitical priesthood, which therefore must be changed, and the whole economy with it, Heb 7:11, Heb 7:12, etc. Here,
I. It is asserted that perfection could not come by the Levitical priesthood and the law. They could not put those who came to them into the perfect enjoyment of the good things they pointed out to them; they could only show them the way.
II. That therefore another priest must be raised up, after the order of Melchisedec, by whom, and his law of faith, perfection might come to all who obey…
such--as is above described. The oldest manuscripts read, "also." "For to US (as sinners; emphatical) there was also becoming (besides the other excellencies of our High Priest) such an High Priest."
holy--"pious" (a distinct Greek word from that for holy, which latter implies consecration) towards God; perfectly answering God's will in reverent piety (Psa 16:10).
harmless--literally, "free from evil" and guile, in relation to Himself.
undefiled--not defiled by stain contracted from others, in relation to men. Temptation, to which He was exposed, left no trace of evil in Him.
separate--rather, "separated from sinners," namely, in His heavenly state as our High Priest above, after He…
Such a high priest became us - Such a high priest was in every respect suitable to us, every way qualified to accomplish the end for which he came into the world. There is probably here an allusion to the qualifications of the Jewish high priest: -
1. He was required to be holy, ὁσιος, answering to the Hebrew חסיד chasid, merciful. Holiness was his calling; and, as he was the representative of his brethren, he was required to be merciful and compassionate.
2. He was to be harmless, ακακος, without evil - holy without, and holy within; injuring none, but rather living for the benefit of others.
3. He was undefiled, αμιαντος answering to the Hebrew באל מום baal mum, without blemish - having…
The Church Fathers
For to this end had He come, that, being Himself pure from sin, and in all respects holy, He might undergo death on behalf of sinners.
"It was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners … who had no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself," not for him but for the sins of humankind.
"For such an High Priest also became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from the sinners." Thou seest that the whole is said with reference to the manhood. (But when I say "the manhood," I mean the manhood having Godhead; not dividing one from the other, but leaving you to suppose what is suitable.) Didst thou mark the difference of the High Priest? He has summed up what was said before, "in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin." "For" (he says) "such an High Priest also became us, who is holy, harmless." "Harmless": what is it? Without wickedness: that which another Prophet says: "guile was not found in His mouth," that is, He is not crafty. Could any one say this concerning God? And is one not ashamed to say that God is not crafty, nor deceitful? Concerning Him, however, in respect of the Flesh, it might be reasonable to say it. "Holy, undefiled." This too would any one say concerning God? For has He a nature capable of defilement? "Separate from sinners."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Christ, Character Of · Harmless — Harmless
Christ, The High Priest · Is of unblemished purity — Is of unblemished purity
Example Of Christ, The · Is perfect — Is perfect
Excellency And Glory Of Christ, The · In his sinless perfection — In his sinless perfection
High Priest, The · Typified Christ in: Holiness of office — Typified Christ in: Holiness of office
Holiness · Christ: An example of — Christ: An example of
Human Nature Of Christ, The · Was without sin — Was without sin
Sin · Christ alone was without — Christ alone was without
Succession · Of priests, irregularity in — Of priests, irregularity in
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).
For such an high priest became us,.... Is suitable to us, answers to our cases and necessities, is every way such an one as is wanted:
who is holy; by nature, originally and underivatively, perfectly and completely, internally as well as externally; he was typified by the high priest, who had holiness to the Lord written on his forehead, and far exceeds any of the priests in holiness; and such an one becomes us, for had he not been holy he could not have entered into the holy place for us, or have appeared there on our account, or have been our sanctification; so Philo the Jew speaks of the true priest as being not man, but the divine Word, and as free from all sin voluntary and involuntary…
Hebrews 7:23-28
23. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
23. Et illi quidem plures facti fuerunt sacerdotes, quod prohiberentur morti permanere:
24. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
24. Hic autem quia perpetuo manet immutabile habet sacerdotium.
25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
25. Unde et servare in aeternum potest eos qui per ipsum Deo appropinquant, semper vivens ut intercedat pro nobis.
26. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin…
Jesus is unstained by sin and set apart from sinners (cp. 4:15), which makes him superior to the priests of the old covenant, who had to deal with their own sins as well as those of the people (see also 5:1-3). • has been given the highest place of honor in heaven: This is an affirmation of his uniqueness as High Priest (cp. 2:9; 5:9; Phil 2:5-11). • once for all: This does not mean once for all people but rather once, never to be repeated.
