the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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King James Version
Hebrews 7:8
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In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.
And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.
All those descendants of Levi who collected the tithes for the church are dead and gone. Rumor has it old Mel is still around somewhere.
Now at the present time, men over whom death has power take the tenth; but then it was taken by one of whom it is witnessed that he is living.
And here dying men receive tithes; but there [one] of whom the witness is that he lives;
Here men who die receive tithes, but there one, of whom it is testified that he lives.
And here men that die receive tithes: but there, he of whom it is witnessed, that he liveth.
Moreover here frail mortal men receive tithes: there one receives them about whom there is evidence that he is alive.
And here men that die receiue tithes: but there hee receiueth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liueth.
And here dying men indeed receive tithes, but there it having been witnessed that he lives;
And here men that dye, receaue tithes. But there he receaueth tithes, of whom it is witnessed that he lyueth.
besides here they that receive tithes are men who die: but there 'twas he of whom it is testified that he liveth.
Or look at it this way: We pay our tithes to priests who die, but Abraham paid tithes to a priest who, the Scripture says, "lives." Ultimately you could even say that since Levi descended from Abraham, who paid tithes to Melchizedek, when we pay tithes to the priestly tribe of Levi they end up with Melchizedek.
Furthermore, here [in the Levitical priesthood] tithes are received by men who are subject to death; but in that case [concerning Melchizedek], they are received by one of whom it is testified that he lives on [perpetually].
And here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
Here tithes are received by mortal men; there, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
And here men that dye receave tythes. But there he receaveth tythes of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
And here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
And here men that die receive tithes; but there he [receiveth them], of whom it is testified that he liveth.
and here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes, and there [he], who is testified to that he was living,
Priests receive a tenth, even though they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who received a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says.
and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive.
In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on.
Priests are given a tenth of what people earn. But all priests die, except Melchizedek, and the Scriptures teach that he is alive.
Moreover, in the case of the cohanim, the tenth is received by men who die; while in the case of Malki-Tzedek, it is received by someone who is testified to be still alive.
In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
And here men that die, receiue tithes: but there he receiueth them, of whome it is witnessed, that he liueth.
And here mortal men receive tithes; but there he, of whom the scripture testifies that he lives, receives them.
In the one case, men who will die receive tenths, but in the other case, Scripture testifies that he lives.
Here men who die receive tithes, but there one, of whom it is testified that he lives.
The men who collect the tenth die, but we are told thatit is declared that">[fn] he keeps on living.Hebrews 5:6; 6:20;">[xr]
And here the sons of men who die receive the tithes; but there [fn] he concerning whom the scripture testifieth that he liveth.
And here, men who die, receive the tithes; but there he of whom the scripture testifieth that he liveth.
Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on.
Jewish religious leaders receive one-tenth part. They are men and they all die. But here Melchizedek received one-tenth part and is alive.
And here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.
And, here, indeed, dying men take tithes, but, there, one of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
And here indeed, men that die receive tithes: but there, he hath witness that he liveth.
And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case it is testified that he lives.
And here men that dye, receaue tithes: but there he [receaueth them] of whom it is witnessed that he lyueth.
Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues to live, as the Scriptures say.
In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.
In the case of the priests the tenth is collected by men who die; but as for Melchizedek the tenth was collected by one who lives, as the scripture says.
And heere deedli men taken tithis; but there he berith witnessyng, that he lyueth.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
men: Hebrews 7:23, Hebrews 9:27
he liveth: Hebrews 3:16, Hebrews 5:6, Hebrews 6:20, Hebrews 9:24, Hebrews 9:25, John 11:25, John 11:26, John 14:6, John 14:19, Revelation 1:18
Reciprocal: Genesis 48:21 - Behold Luke 24:5 - the living Hebrews 7:24 - he continueth Hebrews 7:25 - ever Revelation 4:9 - who
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And here men that die receive tithes, c,] The priests and Levites were not only men, and mortal men, subject to death, but they did die, and so did not continue, by reason of death, Hebrews 7:24
but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth which is to be understood of Melchizedek; who is not opposed to men, as if he was not a man, nor to mortal men, but to men that die; nor is he said to be immortal, but to live: and this may respect the silence of the Scripture concerning him, which gives no account of his death; and may be interpreted of the perpetuity of his priesthood, and of his living in his antitype Christ; and the testimony concerning him is in Psalms 110:4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And here men that die receive tithes - Another point showing the inferiority of the Levitical priesthood. They who thus received tithes, though by the right to do this they asserted a superiority over their brethren, were mortal. Like others, they would soon die; and in regard to the most essential things they were on a level with their brethren. They had no exemption from sickness, affliction, or bereavement, and death came to them with just as much certainty as he approached other men. The meaning of this is, that they are mortal like their brethren, and the design is to show the inferiority of their office by this fact. Its obvious and natural signification, in the apprehension of the great mass of readers, would not be, as the meaning has been supposed to be, that it refers “to the brief and mutable condition of the Levitical priesthood;” see Stuart in loco. Such an interpretation would not occur to anyone if it were not to avoid the difficulty existing in the correlative member of the verse where it is said of Melchizedek that “he liveth.” But is the difficulty avoided then? Is it not as difficult to understand what is meant by his having an immutable and perpetual priesthood, as it is to know what is meant by his not dying literally? Is the one any more true than the other? Whatever difficulties, therefore, there may be, we are bound to adhere to the obvious sense of the expression here; a sense which furnishes also a just and forcible ground of comparison. It seems to me, therefore, that the simple meaning of this passage is, that, under the Levitical economy, those who received tithes were mortal, and were thus placed in strong contrast with him of whom it was said “he liveth.” Thus, they were inferior to him - as a mortal is inferior to one who does not die; and thus also they must be inferior to him who was made a priest after the “order” of him who thus “lived.”
But there - In contrast with “here” in the same verse. The reference here is to the account of Melchizedek, “Here,” in the Levitical economy, men received tithes who are mortal; “there,” in the account of Melchizedek, the case is different.
He receiveth them - Melchizedek - for so the connection evidently demands.
Of whom it is witnessed - Of whom the record is. There is not in Genesis, indeed, any direct record that he lives, but there is the absence of a record that he died, and this seems to have been regarded as in fact a record of permanency in the office; or as having an office which did not pass over to successors by the death of the then incumbent.
That he liveth - This is an exceedingly difficult expression, and one which has always greatly perplexed commentators. The fair and obvious meaning is, that all the record we have of Melchizedek is, that he was “alive;” or as Grotins says, the record is merely that he lived. We have no mention of his death. From anything that the record shows, it might appear that he continued to live on, and did not die. “Arguing from the record,” therefore, there is a strong contrast between him and the Levitical priests, all of whom we know are mortal; Hebrews 7:23. The apostle is desirous of making out a contrast between them and the priesthood of Christ on “this point” among others, and in doing this, he appeals to the record in the Old Testament, and says that there was a case which furnished an intimation that the priestly office of the Messiah was not to pass over from him to others by death.
That case was, that he was expressly compared Psalms 110:4 with Melchizedek, and that in the account of Melchizedek there was no record of his death. As to the force of this argument, it must be admitted that it would strike a Jew more impressively than it does most readers now; and it may not be improbable that the apostle was reasoning from some interpretation of the passages in Genesis 14:0: and Ps. cx., which was then prevalent, and which would then be conceded on all hands to be correct. If this was the admitted interpretation, and if there is no equivocation, or mere trick in the reasoning - as there cannot be shown to be - why should we not allow to the Jew a uniqueness of reasoning as we do to all other people? There are modes of reasoning and illustration in all nations, in all societies, and in all professions, which do not strike others as very forcible. The ancient philosophers had methods of reasoning which now seem weak to us; the lawyer often argues in a way which appears to be a mere quirk or quibble, and so the lecturer in science sometimes reasons.
The cause of all this may not be always that there is real quibble or quirk, in the mode of argumentation, but that he who reasons in this manner has in his view certain points which he regards as undisputed which do not appear so to us; or that he argues from what is admitted in the profession, or in the school where he is taught, which are not understood by those whom he addresses. To this should be added also the consideration, that Paul had a constant reference to the Messiah, and that it is possible that in his mind there was here a transition from the type to the antitype, and that the language which he uses may be stronger than if he had been speaking of the mere record of Melchizedek if he had found it standing by itself. Still his reasoning turns mainly on the fact that in the case of Melchizedek there was no one who had preceded him in that office, and that he had no successor, and, in regard to the matter in hand, it was all one as if he had been a perpetual priest, or had continued still alive.
(The reasoning in the whole passage is founded on the Scripture account of Melchizedek. He is not to be regarded absolutely, but typically. View him just as he appears in the record in Genesis, and the difficulty will be greatly lessened, if it do not altogether disappear. There, he is presented to us, in his typical character, as living. All notice of his death is studiously omitted with the express design, that, appearing only as a living priest, he might the better typify our immortal Redeemer. In this view, which indeed is so well brought out in the commentary above, “the apostle’s argument unto the dignity, and pre-eminence of Melchizedek above the Levitical priests, in this instance, is of an “unquestionable evidence.” For, consider Melchizedek, not in his natural being and existence, which belongs not unto this mystery, but in his Scripture being and existence, and he is immortal, always living, wherein he is more excellent than those who were always obnoxious to death in the exercise of their office” - Owen. McKnight, observing that the Greek verb ζη zē here is not in the present, but the imperfect of the indicative, translates - lived, a priest all his life, in contradistinction from those who ceased to be priests at a certain age. But whatever view may be taken of the passage, whatever solution of the difficulty may be adopted, apology for the mode of reasoning may well be spared. An inspired writer needs it not. All his reasoning has, doubtless, a solid basis in truth. It is impossible he should proceed on any peculiarities or modes of reasoning, but such as are strictly true, the accuracy of which might, any where, and at any time, be admitted, by those who had the means and patience for a right understanding of them.)
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Hebrews 7:8. Here men that die receive tithes — The apostle is speaking of the ecclesiastical constitution of the Jews, which was standing at the time this epistle was written. Under the Jewish dispensation, though the priests were successively removed by death, yet they were as duly replaced by others appointed from the same family, and the payment of tithes was never interrupted. But as there is no account of Melchisedec ceasing to be a priest, or of his dying, he is represented as still living, the better to point him out as a type of Christ, and to show his priesthood to be more excellent than that which was according to the law, as an unchanging priesthood must be more excellent than that which was continually changing.
But there he receiveth them — The ωδε, here, in the first clause of this verse refers to Mosaical institutions, as then existing: the εκει, there, in this clause refers to the place in Genesis (Genesis 14:20) where it is related that Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedec, who is still considered as being alive or without a successor, because there is no account of his death, nor of any termination of his priesthood.
