Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6
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Epistle to the Hebrews 6:7–9, 15–17 on the recto side of Papyrus 89 (4th century).
Book	Epistle to the Hebrews
Category	General epistles
Christian Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Christian part	19

Hebrews 6 is the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author is anonymous, although the internal reference to "our brother Timothy" (Hebrews 13:23) causes a traditional attribution to Paul, but this attribution has been disputed since the second century and there is no decisive evidence for the authorship.^[1]^[2] This chapter contains the admonition to progress and persist in faithfulness.^[3]^[4]

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Transcription

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Papyrus 46 (175–225; complete)^[5]
Codex Vaticanus (325-350)
Codex Sinaiticus (330-360)
Papyrus 89 (4th century; extant verses 7–9, 15–17)
Codex Alexandrinus (400-440)
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete)
Codex Freerianus (~450; extant verses 1–3, 10–13, 20)
Codex Claromontanus (~550)

Old Testament references

Admonition (6:1–8)

Verses 4–6

⁴For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶if they fall away, to be renewed once more to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and subject Him to public shame.^[7]

According to this epistle, there are four things to be 'impossible' (Hebrews 6:4; 6:18; 10:4; 11:6); the first one is about the impossibility to restore apostates, resembling other early Christian expressions regarding what is termed the 'unforgivable sin' (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10) or the 'sin unto death' (also called the 'mortal sin'), which is also discussed in 1 John 5:16.^[8] In rejecting the one whose death brings salvation (verse 6), the apostates join those who disgracefully executed Jesus, whose solemn designation as 'Son of God' reinforces 'the heinousness of apostasy'.^[8]

Encouragement to Persevere (6:9–12)

Verse 10

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.^[9]

"God is not unjust to forget" is not to focus on the reward for services, but God knows the real situation of people's spiritual lives and he can motivate the expressions of 'genuine Christianity' anytime, just like in the past, also again in the future.^[10] The "work" and the "love" are those done literally 'for his name', involving the ministering of God's people (Greek: tois hagiois; "to the saints"), for example in Hebrews 10:32–34.^[10]

The Steadfastness of God's Promise (6:13–20)

Verse 13

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,^[11]

Christian hope is based not on wishful thinking but on the 'solemn promise of God', that the 'foundation of God's saving activity in the world was the particular promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 and repeated at different times and forms to the forefathers of Israel (cf. Genesis 15:1–21; 26:2–4; 28:13–15; Exodus 3:6–10).^[12]

Verse 14

saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^[13]

Verse 18

So that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.^[14]

This verse contains one of the four things said to be 'impossible' in this epistle (Hebrews 6:4; 6:18; 10:4; 11:6).^[8]

"Immutable": or "unchangeable".^[15] The 'two unchangeable things' are apparently "the word of God" and "the confirming oath".^[8]

Verse 19

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,^[16]

This verse and the next should be read in the light of Hebrews 7:20–22, that because Jesus is the promised high priest in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4 with an oath similar to the one in Genesis 22:16), he has become 'the guarantee' of the blessings of the new covenant (Hebrews 7:22), so those who rely on Jesus 'can actually enter the inner sanctuary behind the curtain ("the Presence behind the veil"), where 'he has gone before them and has entered on their behalf' ("the forerunner has entered for us", Hebrews 6:20).^[12]

"Anchor of the soul": John Gill cites Pythagoras who spoke about the anchor of soul as follows: "riches (he says) are a weak anchor, glory: is yet weaker; the body likewise; principalities, honours, all these are weak and without strength; what then are strong anchors? prudence, magnanimity, fortitude; these no tempest shakes" (Apud Stobaeum, Serm. I.).^[17]
"Behind the veil": One Jewish literature (Zohar in Gen. fol. 73. 3.) speaks of "a veil in the world to come, which some are worthy to enter into".^[17]

References

^ Attridge 2007, p. 1236.
^ deSilva 2005, p. 201.
^ Attridge 2007, pp. 1244–6.
^ deSilva 2005, p. 203.
^ deSilva 2005, p. 202.
^ Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 839. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
^ Hebrews 6:4–6 MEV
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Attridge 2007, p. 1245.
^ Hebrews 6:10 NKJV
^ ^a ^b Peterson 1994, p. 1335.
^ Hebrews 6:13 NKJV
^ ^a ^b Peterson 1994, p. 1336.
^ Hebrews 6:14 NIV
^ Hebrews 6:18 MEV
^ Note [a] on Hebrews 6:18 in NKJV
^ Hebrews 6:19 NKJV
^ ^a ^b Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible - Hebrews 6:19

Sources

Attridge, Harold W. (2007). "75. Hebrews". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 1236–1254. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
Bruce, F. F. (1990). The Epistle to the Hebrews. New International Commentary on the New Testament (revised ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802825148.
deSilva, David A. (2005). "Hebrews". In Evans, Craig A. (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John's Gospel, Hebrews-Revelation. The Bible Knowledge Series (illustrated ed.). Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. pp. 199–256. ISBN 9780781442282.
Peterson, David (1994). "Hebrews". In Carson, D. A.; France, R. T.; Motyer, J. A.; Wenham, G. J. (eds.). New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4, illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 1321–1353. ISBN 9780851106489.