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Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

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—:<br />

<strong>Hebrews</strong> II. 18. 361<br />

servaiive, or, whicti is the same thing, the chastising grace of God.<br />

<strong>The</strong> second act of that saving grace consists in the sending of his<br />

Son and then his Spirit—in the saui/i^ grace properly so called (t'Aeo^",<br />

When man does not resist<br />

sh-n, <strong>to</strong>hsn Luke i. 72), and more especially, the justifying and sanctifying<br />

(juridical and medicinal) grace.<br />

this grace, then it becomes again possible for God <strong>to</strong> let man taste<br />

his friendship, enjoy his blessed presence, and <strong>to</strong> conduct himself<br />

again as propitious <strong>to</strong>wards him. "IXaog then denotes not the internal<br />

disposition of God <strong>to</strong>wards man, but the actual positive<br />

expression and radiation of that feeling which first becomes again<br />

possible <strong>to</strong>wards the redeemed ; and IXdoKeodai means <strong>to</strong> make it<br />

again possible for God <strong>to</strong> be 'iXao(;, i. e., actually <strong>to</strong> expiate actual<br />

guilt.<br />

In ver. 18 an explanation is given why the being compassionate<br />

and faithful and, with this, the being made like <strong>to</strong> his brethren, necessarily<br />

belongs <strong>to</strong> the oflQ.ce of the high priest.<br />

First of all, however, it must be settled how this verse is <strong>to</strong> be<br />

construed. Erasmus, Bengel, S<strong>to</strong>rr, Kuinoel, Bohme, and Tholuck<br />

take iv w as a simple argumentative particle " because."<br />

It is true<br />

that it is not a relative limited temptation that is here spoken of—it<br />

is not '• in as far as he was tempted, in so far is he able <strong>to</strong> save"<br />

as if Christ was tempted only up <strong>to</strong> a certain point, and was able<br />

<strong>to</strong> succour only up <strong>to</strong> a certain point.<br />

It is true also, that it is not<br />

the aorist enadev that is here used. But precisely because it is not<br />

the aorist, we think that every obstacle in the way of taking ev w<br />

in its proper signification is removed. It is no his<strong>to</strong>rical or special<br />

statement that is here made, but one of a general kind. It is not<br />

" Christ was tempted in certain points but in others not, and in so<br />

far as he was tempted he has been able <strong>to</strong> succour ;" but it is, " in<br />

so far as he has been tempted he can help," or, <strong>to</strong> separate the two<br />

ideas which are here conjoined : A high priest can help in so<br />

far as he has been tempted, and so also can Christ—he therefore<br />

must be tempted in all things, in order <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> help in aU<br />

things.<br />

But of those critics who rightly and literally translate tV w, some<br />

have still had recourse <strong>to</strong> artificial constructions. Casaubon and<br />

others have referred tv o) not <strong>to</strong> neipaodeig but <strong>to</strong> Trenovde ;<br />

"in that<br />

which he has suffered, and suffered as one who was tempted, he is<br />

able <strong>to</strong> help those who are tempted." Here the neipaadeig becomes<br />

an accessary idea, while it evidently stands parallel with neipa^oixevoig<br />

as a principal idea. Bleek takes the words Iv w mTTovdev as a<br />

relative clause dependent on netpaodetg "<br />

: as one who was tempted,<br />

namely, in the things in which he had <strong>to</strong> suffer, he is able <strong>to</strong> help<br />

those who are tempted ;" but it is diflficult <strong>to</strong> see either what necessity<br />

there was for this accessary idea in the relative clause, or

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