Isa. 63: II

Zech. 9:11

Isa. 55:3

19. things. And I exhort you the more exceedingly to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20.

3

Now the God of peace, who brought again °from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep 01 with the blood of 2 the eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus, 21. make you perfect in every good 3 thing to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be the glory 5 for ever and ever.

Amen.

I Or, by Gr. in. • SV an 3 Many ancient authorities read work. ancient authorities read you. 5 Gr. unto the ages of the ages.

4 Many

has incurred criticism by withdrawing from the scene of danger, as Cyprian, e.g., afterwards did in the Decian persecution. · On the other hand, he may have been in exile or imprisonment for some time past. Certainly he is now free, for he declares his intention of coming to them with Timothy, if he come soon. Perhaps he as well as Timothy has just been set at liberty, cf. vs. 23.

19. Some obstacles, at all events, still keep the writer from the readers, and these he hopes by their prayers may be speedily removed, so that he may rejoin them.

20. From his request for the readers' prayers for himself, the writer turns to his own devout wish for them, somewhat in the manner of Paul, 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Thes. 3:16. The God of peace. As in I Thes. 5:23; Rom. 15:33; 16: 20; Phil. 4:9, etc. Who brought again. Or, who brought up. The language is largely drawn from Isa. 63: 11 LXX. From the dead. While a reference to the resurrection is unmistakable here, the further allusion to the blood of an everlasting covenant suggests one of the great themes of the epistle, the entrance of Jesus into the eternal sanctuary with his blood, there to effect the final atonement. It is this that is emphasized. The . . . shepherd of the sheep. A Messianic designation, cf. John 10:11, 14; 21:16; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4 (the arch-shepherd). Not simply the shepherd of the sheep, of Isa. 63: 11 LXX, but the great shepherd. With the blood of the eternal covenant. Cf. Zech. 9: II. The reference is to Jesus' priestly ministry, for which God brought him up to the eternal sanctuary, his presence. The eternal covenant. Better, An eternal covenant. The new, better, final covenant of 8:6, etc.

21. Make you perfect. Or, fit you. To be connected with to do his will. Working in us. The thought is that God will so

22.

But I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation: for I have written unto you in few words. 23. Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. with you all. Amen.

24.

25.

Grace be

01

ISVm The brethren from, elc.

fit them to do his will, by working in us, through Jesus Christ, his good pleasure. To whom be the glory. That is, to the God of peace. Cf. 1 Pet. 5:11.

22. The writer seems to anticipate some possible impatience with his message on the part of the readers. The passages of stern rebuke may have recurred to his mind. The brevity of the letter, he seems to say, must excuse its abruptness or any other defect.

23. The writer is in a position to know more of the circumstances of Timothy than are the readers. Tradition connects Timothy's later activity with Ephesus, and it was in that region and at Rome particularly that believers were at this time persecuted. Save for these precarious hints, suggesting Asia as the possible scene of Timothy's imprisonment and release, nothing can be said of them. Doubtless it was as a Christian that he had suffered. That the writer should speak thus of Timothy to a Jewish Christian congregation seems hardly appropriate or probable. The mention of him serves rather to connect the writer with the followers of Paul and with his congregations. Timothy is expected by the writer, who proposes to proceed with him to the readers, i.e., to Rome. The writer thus seems to be at some point by way of which Timothy would naturally journey to Rome, or from which at least Rome is more readily accessible than it is from the point at which Timothy finds himself. That the writer is outside of Italy is probable from the following verse.

24. Salutations are sent to the leaders and to the members of the congregation. They of Italy. Lit., They from Italy, suggesting that Italian brethren absent from Italy are meant, who are taking this opportunity to send salutations to their brethren at home, from whom they are separated perhaps by the same stress of persecution which has driven the writer from Rome.

25. The same concise parting salutation occurs in Tit. 3:15. Paul's letters usually exhibit a somewhat longer form, 1 Cor. 16:23; Gal. 6:18.

NOTE

Melchizedek in Philo

Philo understands Melchizedek to represent that right reason which guides and cheers the aspiring mind, giving it, instead of water, wine that possesses it "with a divine intoxication, more sober than sobriety itself." His priesthood is the priesthood of reason, which has as its inheritance the true God. Philo thus completely spiritualizes and allegorizes Melchizedek, as he does Abraham, whom he understands to represent the soul emigrating (" Hebrew ") from the realm of the passions. The writer to the Hebrews, on the other hand, while he does find significance in the meaning of Salem, and makes use of the silence of scripture, treats Melchizedek and Abraham in a much more historical spirit, not allegorizing them, but setting Melchizedek forth, altogether in the manner of Ps. 110, as a type of non-Aaronic priesthood, underived and unlimited. Here, as often, the epistle has interesting points of resemblance to Philo, but exhibits, upon examination, still deeper differences, in spirit, method, and detail. Cf. Philo, On the Allegories of the Sacred Laws, chh. 25, 26; On Abraham, ch. 40.