Hebrews 4:12-16
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- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible - KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Chapter IX, Adversus Judaeos, Tertullian (c. 198)
- Chapter III, The Prescription of Heretics, Tertullian (c. 200)
- II.VI.4, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
- I.3, I.23, I.36, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Origen. (c.228)
- VIII.XXXIV, Against Celsus, Origen (c. 246)
- Statement of Faith, Athanasius of Alexandria, c. 330.
- Part 31, On the Incarnation of the Word, Athanasius of Alexandria, c. 318.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "Lest he appear by the great glory of our High Priest, to prevent us from going to him, he adds after, that he is nonetheless our brother indeed, (as he proved before) and that he counts all our miseries as his own, to call us boldly to him."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "In the sight of Infinite Wisdom, it was needful that the Saviour of men should be one who has the fellow-feeling which no being but a fellow-creature could possibly have; and therefore it was necessary he should actual experience of all the effects of sin that could be separated from its actual guilt."
- From
Wesley's Notes.
- "It is God whose word is thus "powerful:" it is God in whose sight every creature is manifest; and of this his word, working on the conscience, gives the fullest conviction."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "PHILO similarly speaks of "God passing between the parts of Abraham's sacrifices (Ge 15:17, where, however, it is a 'burning lamp' that passed between the pieces) with His word, which is the cutter of all things: which sword, being sharpened to the utmost keenness, never ceases to divide all sensible things, and even things not perceptible to sense or physically divisible, but perceptible and divisible by the word.""
- From
The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- "A high priest must be in sympathy with those for whom he ministers."
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
-
Commentary,
Hebrews 4:12-16, Pentecost 19, Bryan J. Whitfield, Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- "Hebrews stresses that the Son's work as high priest joins together these two ideas of claim and succor."
-
"First
Thoughts on Year B Epistle Passages in the Lectionary,"
Pentecost 19, William
Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "Compassion and kindness, grace and mercy, are there when we face our times of need. This is not so much about when we fail, as it is when we face hard times and are confronted with temptations which threaten to overwhelm us."
-
- Hebrews 4:9-16, Wandering But Not Lost, Stanley N. Olson, Word & World Texts in Context, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, 1985.
- "Confirming Erik," Stephen Paul Bouman, The Christian Century, 2003.
- "So then, in the face of our frail humanity, constantly undermining our reliance on Jesus, hold firm to the thread of faith. It is enough."
- "Christ,
Our High Priest in Heaven," Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., in Kerux:
The Online Journal of Biblical Theology (Reformed).
- "It doesn't matter how complicated, how desperate, perhaps even hopeless your life has become. No matter how overwhelmed you may feel by your problems, if your trust is in Jesus Christ, you can be sure that he is praying for you now and through that prayer he will provide for you the resources to bring you relief or enable you to carry on."
-
Commentary,
Hebrews 4:12-16, Pentecost 19, Bryan J. Whitfield, Preaching
This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
- Articles & Background:
-
"Exploring a Life of Prayer," Jane E. Vennard, Iliff School of Theology.
At Religion OnLine.
- "When we recognize the unity of body and spirit, the body can become a path to prayer."
-
"Learning
to Pray," an interview with Roberta C. Biondi. By John C. Purdy at
Religion OnLine.
- "I ask everybody to include three elements in their prayer. One is some portion of scripture every day... The other part of their prayer is conversation with God in which they really speak their minds... The third part of their prayer is silence: just sitting in God's presence without saying anything or having any expectations of God or of themselves. I call it kitchen table prayer. Just spending time with God as we spend time with a friend without tallking."
-
"On
Providence and Prayer," Jack A. Keller. At
Religion OnLine.
- "Is there any way to understand prayer that can (1) salvage the essential insight in the evangelical view of providence that God cares for persons and peoples and actively seeks our well-being, and (2) escape the ruin that the fact of widespread genuine evil has brought upon traditional formulations of providence?"
- "Empathy
and the New Testament," L. Ann Jervis, McMaster
Journal of Theology and Ministry, 2000.
- "Empathy connotes not just
listening to another?s story but also participating in the
other?s story, so that the listener not only hears and believes
the facts of another?s experience, but actually feels the
experience at some level. To have empathy with another is not
simply to believe what that person says but to feel along with that
person, to participate in that person?s experience.
- "Empathy connotes not just
listening to another?s story but also participating in the
other?s story, so that the listener not only hears and believes
the facts of another?s experience, but actually feels the
experience at some level. To have empathy with another is not
simply to believe what that person says but to feel along with that
person, to participate in that person?s experience.
- "On
Being Known," Charles M. Wood, Perkins School of Theology. Theology
Today, 1987.
- "As portrayed by this text-and here this text is rightly representative of the tenor of scripture as a whole-the word of God does not define reality, heteronomously, imposing a view of self and world which the hearer is directed to accept. Nor is the word of God something that simply confirms the hearer's prior attitudes and beliefs. Rather, the word provides a context within which the truth of things becomes manifest."
- "A Preliminary
Exegesis of Hebrews 4:15 with a View Toward Solving the Peccability/Impeccability
Issue," Daniel B. Wallace, Dallas Theological Seminary.
- "It is my conviction, based on several strands of evidence seen throughout the New Testament, that Jesus Christ was incapable of sinning (thus, he was impeccable). But Heb 4:15 must be dealt with if this view is to be maintained."
-
"Exploring a Life of Prayer," Jane E. Vennard, Iliff School of Theology.
At Religion OnLine.
-
Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Bamberger, Henry,
"New Light on the High Priest," Journal of Ecumenical Studies,
1981.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bouman, Stephen Paul,
"Confirming Erik," The Christian Century, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Cowdery, Ann Hoch, "Hebrews 4:1-13," Interpretation, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Enns, Peter, "Creation and Re-Creation: Psalm 95 and
Its Interpretation in Hebrews 3:1 - 4:13," Westminster Theological
Journal, 1993.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Forney, David,
"Quieting the Echoes of Sin," Journal for Preachers, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Galloway, Lewis F., "Hebrews 4:14-5:10,"
Interpretation, 2003.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Olson, Stanley N.,
"Wandering But Not Lost," Word & World, 1985. (Section on this text
begins on page 429.)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Rowell, J.B.,
"Our Great High Priest," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1961.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smillie, Gene R., "'HO
LOGOS TOU THEOU' in Hebrews 4:12-13," Novum Testamentum, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smillie, Gene R.,
"'The Other LOGOS' at the End of Heb. 4:13," Novum Testamentum,
2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Smothers, Thomas G.,
"A Superior Model: Hebrews 1:1-4:13," Review and Expositor, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Songer, Harold S.,
"A Superior Priesthood: Hebrews 4:14-7:28," Review and Expositor,
1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wood, Charles M.,
"On Being Known," Theology Today, 1987.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Bamberger, Henry,
"New Light on the High Priest," Journal of Ecumenical Studies,
1981.
- Reviews:
- Sermons:
-
"A
Time for Sacrifice: The Sacrifice of Pride,"
- "For Us," John Jewell, 2000.
-
"A
Time for Sacrifice: The Sacrifice of Pride,"
- With Children:
- "Temptation Island," Jim Kerlin, childrensermons.com.
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art, Hebrews 4:15, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
-
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Hebrews 4:12, 14, 15, 16. The Cyber Hymnal.
- Hymn selections (United Methodist) and more from Hymnsite.com.
- Hymnal Scripture References, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies Linked at The Text This Week's Movie
Concordance, with the following themes:
- Temptation
- Repentance
- Judgment
- Prayer
- See especially "The Full Monty" reviewed by Glen Powell)
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Hebrews
