Hebrews 7


Hebrews 7 is the seventh 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" 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. This chapter contains the exposition about the superiority of Christ's Priesthood through Melchizedek to the Levitical Priesthood.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

The Greatness of Melchizedek (7:4–10)

Verse 4

Verse 9

Imperfection of the Aaronic Priesthood (7:11–14)

Verse 14

Superior Because of the Divine Oath (7:20–22)

Verse 22

The further aspect of Jesus' priesthood is introduced here and will be explored in the next chapters, that is, Jesus' role as a "guarantor" of a better covenant, superior to the old covenant as much as his priesthood is superior to that of Aaron. The author emphasizes the superior dignity of Jesus by arranging the weight of argument to fall on the word "Jesus" as the last word of this verse in the original Greek text.

Verse 24

Verse 25

Superior Because of the Character of Jesus (7:26–28)

Verses 26–27

There is no explicit ordinance for a high priest to offer daily sacrifices for his own sins, but 'inadvertent sinning' could be a 'daily hazard' and, in his position, if not taken care of, it could bring guilt on the people. Therefore, it becomes a custom to for the high priest to first offer sacrifices on his own account, before performing his task for the peop!e, as also attested by the first-century Jewish writer, Philo.

Verse 28

The 'new and perpetual priesthood after Melchizedek's order', given under oath by the Divine acclamation, was designed to supersede the previous priesthood under the ancient law, which was beset by frailty and required sin offerings for the high priest as well as the people. The supersession became effective once the Messiah 'vindicated his high-priestly title on the basis of a perfect sacrifice', so his 'high-priesthood is absolutely efficacious and eternally suited to meet the need of his people'.