Heb 6:11-15
| Previous | Next |
Questions
- Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions
Lexical notes
- Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes
Exegesis
Verses 11-12
These two verses are probably best thought of as a continuation of the thoughts expressed in the preceeding verses. What we are seeing is the delicate rhetorical game that the author is playing of exhorting his audience while only condemning them obliquely. The transition to the next section comes with the reference at the end of v. 12 to "inherit the promises."
The phrase is interesting as it invokes two seperate sorts of relationships: inheritances and contracts. An inheritance is essentially a status-based relationship. One becomes entitled to benefits because one stands in a particular -- generally familial -- relationship with the benefactor. The classic example is the relationship between a father and an eldest son. A promise, in contrast, invokes the notion of contract. Generally speaking, a contract defines the purely voluntary obligations between two otherwise unrelated parties. No adoption or other change in familial status is necessary in order to become an obligee or an obligor under a contract. Rather, the touchstone becomes mutual assent to the transaction. The notion of promising also invokes oaths, a category closely related to contract. The idea of an oath is that one promises something and then invokes divine punishment upon oneself in the event of lapse.
By discussing salvation in terms of "inheritance of the promises" the author finesses a difficult aspect of Christian conversion. On one hand, conversion is thought of in voluntarist terms, a choice that reflects the deepest, most personal condition of one's soul. On the other hand, the relationship formed by conversion is much richer than those defined by contract. We do not simply make a kind of anti-Faustian bargain with God, but rather become adopted into his household and ultimately co-heirs with Christ.
Related links
- Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links
| Previous | Next |
