Hebrews 7:28 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Hebrews 7:28
For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
evermore
αἰῶναaiōna
G165
properly · noun — accusative singular 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
Hebrews 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salva…
Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 7:21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art…
Hebrews 5:1-2 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for…
Psalms 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Luke 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall b…
Exodus 32:21-22 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Leviticus 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bull…
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…
For--reason for the difference stated in Heb 7:27, between His one sacrifice and their oft repeated sacrifices, namely, because of His entire freedom from the sinful infirmity to which they are subject. He needed not, as they, to offer FOR HIS OWN SIN; and being now exempt from death and "perfected for evermore," He needs not to REPEAT His sacrifice.
the word--"the word" confirmed by "the oath."
which--which oath was after the law, namely, in Psa 110:4, abrogating the preceding law-priesthood.
the Son--contrasted with "men."
consecrated--Greek, "made perfect" once for all, as in Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9; see on Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9. Opposed to "having infirmity." Consecrated as a perfected pri…
For the law maketh men high priests - The Jewish priests have need of these repeated offerings and sacrifices, because they are fallible, sinful men: but the word of the oath (still referring to Psa 110:4) which was since the law; for David, who mentions this, lived nearly 500 years after the giving of the law, and consequently that oath, constituting another priesthood, abrogates the law; and by this the Son is consecrated, τετελειωμενον, is perfected, for evermore. Being a high priest without blemish, immaculately holy, every way perfect, immortal, and eternal, He is a priest εις τον αιωνα, to Eternity.
I. There are several respects in which the apostle shows the priesthood of Christ to be…
The Church Fathers
"The law appointed" weak "men as high priests" who certainly needed to offer sacrifices for their sins. "The word of the oath," however, "which" was provided in David "later than the law, appointed the Son" who remains "perfect forever."
"But the word of the oath which was since the Law maketh the Son who has been consecrated for evermore." "Consecrated": what is that? Paul does not set down the common terms of contradistinction; for after saying "having Infirmity," he did not say "the Son" who is mighty, but "consecrated": i.e. mighty, as one might say. Thou seest that the name Son is used in contradistinction to that of servant. And by "infirmity" he means either sin or death. What is, "for evermore"? Not now only without sin but always. If then He is perfect, if He never sins, if He lives always, why shall He offer many sacrifices for us? But for the present he does not insist strongly on this point: but what he does strongly insist upon is, His not offering on His own behalf.
"For the law appoints men."And for whose sake did he not need, he says, to offer a sacrifice for himself? Nor did he often offer for the people, as the high priests do, but having offered once, he was sufficient; why? Because the priests who are appointed from the law are under sin. Therefore, they must always offer a sacrifice for both themselves and the people. But God, by the oath made after the law, appointing the high priest Christ, who is the Son, established him as a perfect priest, and not subject to the same weakness and sin as those according to the law, once as the Son of God and God, "has been made perfect forever." In common. He established him as a priest, he says, for made perfect forever, that is, not only now being without sin, but also to be such for all time. If then he is both Son and perfect forever, for whose sake was he to need many sacrifices?
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, The High Priest · Has an unchangeable priesthood — Has an unchangeable priesthood
Excellency And Glory Of Christ, The · In his sinless perfection — In his sinless perfection
High Priest, The · Inferior to Christ in: Needing to make atonement for his own sins — Inferior to Christ in: Needing to make atonement for his own sins
Human Nature Of Christ, The · Was without sin — Was without sin
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 the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity,.... Every word has an emphasis on it, and shows the difference between Christ and these priests: they were many; they were made priests by the law, the law of a carnal commandment, which made nothing perfect, and was disannulled; they were men that were made priests by it, and could not really draw nigh to God, and mediate with him for themselves, or others, nor atone either for their own or others' sins; and they were men that had infirmity, not natural and corporeal, for they were to have no bodily blemishes and deficiencies in them, but sinful ones; and especially such were they who bore this office under the second temple, and par…
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…
This verse echoes 5:1-3 and sums up the entire discussion of Christ’s appointment as High Priest (5:1-10; 7:1-28). • Limited by human weakness refers primarily to human sinfulness and mortality (5:2-3; 7:18, 23-27). • God appointed his Son with an oath: See Ps 110:4, the key Old Testament passage behind Heb 7:11-28. • perfect . . . forever: The words High Priest are not in the Greek text but are implied in the context. • In Hebrews, the term perfect means complete or mature (see 2:10; 5:9; 7:11; 9:9-11); the Son, through his sacrificial death and resurrection, has become completely qualified to serve as our eternal High Priest, and his priesthood lasts forever.
