have . Omit. believed . Greek. pisteuo. App-150 . in . Greek. en. App-104 . if, &c . See Hebrews 3:11 . from . Greek. apo. App-104 . foundation . See App-146 . world . Greek. kosmos. App-129 . read more
spake = hath said. God . App-98 . rest . Greek. katapauo. See Acts 14:18 . Quoted from Genesis 2:2 . the seventh, &c . = on (Greek. en) the seventh, &c. read more
For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said, As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest; although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.The use of the present tense, "we do enter into that rest," stresses the first and immediate phase of the Christian's rest and focuses the attention of the believer upon the benefits and joys of that Christian service which are already his and in the process of being enjoyed by him. This verse again... read more
For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.Genesis 2:2 is the text in the author's mind in these words; and the argument is that God's resting on the seventh day, unaccompanied by any subsequent declaration that he has left off resting, makes the rest of God still available for them that will receive it, as it has been from the time God finished creation. The rest God promised his people is thus a share of his own rest and... read more
And in this place again, They shall not enter into my rest.This quotation, as in Hebrews 4:3, is again from Psalms 95:11, serving the purpose, alongside of the quotation from Genesis 2:2, of identifying the rest spoken of here as that of God himself, following the six days of creation, and to which heavenly rest God has always invited people to come and share. To make this place any kind of an argument for people's keeping the sabbath day is to miss the entire argument of the epistle in this... read more
Hebrews 4:3. For we who have believed, &c.— This stands connected with the former part of the preceding verse: "Unto us was the good tidings of a rest preached, as well as unto them: For all we who have believed,—or, all who do believe, do enter into rest." Faith is the way by which men must expect to enter into whatever rest God promises in one age or another. The rest which was preached to them of old, they, for want of faith, and for acting disobediently, did not enter into; as appears... read more
Hebrews 4:4. For he spake in a certain place, &c.— The supplemental nominative case here is Γραφη, the scripture, not he: or it is to be understood impersonally, as in other citations in this epistle,—It is said concerning the seventh day. It was not customaryfor the Jews, when they quoted scripture, to mention the book or chapter; for they were so familiar with the sacred writings from their infancy, that they knew where to find any passage as soon as they heard it. read more
3. For—justifying his assertion of the need of "faith," :-. we which have believed—we who at Christ's coming shall be found to have believed. do enter—that is, are to enter: so two of the oldest manuscripts and LUCIFER and the old Latin. Two other oldest manuscripts read, "Let us enter." into rest—Greek, "into the rest" which is promised in the ninety-fifth Psalm. as he said—God's saying that unbelief excludes from entrance implies that belief gains an entrance into the rest. What, however,... read more
4. he spake—God ( :-). God did rest the seventh day—a rest not ending with the seventh day, but beginning then and still continuing, into which believers shall hereafter enter. God's rest is not a rest necessitated by fatigue, nor consisting in idleness, but is that upholding and governing of which creation was the beginning [ALFORD]. Hence Moses records the end of each of the first six days, but not of the seventh. from all his works—Hebrew, Genesis 2:2, "from all His work." God's "work" was... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Hebrews 4:1-13
Warning against unbelief (3:7-4:13)The writer warns his disheartened Jewish readers with some reminders from Israel’s experiences in the wilderness (see Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13; Psalms 95:7-11). Those experiences show that people who appear to be God’s people may be so unbelieving, bitter and complaining, that they cannot enjoy the inheritance God has promised (7-11). They should resist the tendency to unbelief and stubbornness, by encouraging one another to maintain their faith with... read more