Hebrews 6 is the sixth chapter of the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The author is anonymous, although the internal reference to "our brother Timothy" ( Hebrews 13:23) causes a traditional attribution to

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, but this attribution has been disputed since the second century and there is no decisive evidence for the authorship. This chapter contains the admonition to progress and persist in faithfulness.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 46 Papyrus 46 (''P. Chester Beatty II''), designated by siglum (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri. Manuscripts among ...

(175–225; complete) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330-360) *

Papyrus 89 Papyrus 89 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓89, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The surviving texts of Hebrews are verses 6:7–9,15–17. The manuscrip ...

(4th century; extant verses 7–9, 15–17) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450; complete) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 1–3, 10–13, 20) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing p ...

(~550)

Old Testament references

* : * :

Admonition (6:1–8)

Verses 4–6

:''For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to be renewed once more to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and subject Him to public shame.'' According to this epistle, there are four things to be 'impossible' ( Hebrews 6:4; 6:18; 10:4; 11:6); the first one is about the impossibility to restore apostates, resembling other early Christian expressions regarding what is termed the '

unforgivable sin Unforgivable may refer to: * ''Unforgivable'' (1996 film), a 1996 American television drama film * ''Unforgivable'' (2011 film), the English title of 2011 French drama film ''Impardonnables'' * '' The Unforgivable'', a 2021 American-German drama ...

' (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10) or the ' sin unto death' (also called the 'mortal sin'), which is also discussed in 1 John 5:16. In rejecting the one whose death brings

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

(verse 6), the apostates join those who disgracefully executed

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, whose solemn designation as 'Son of God' reinforces 'the heinousness of apostasy'.

Encouragement to Persevere (6:9–12)

Verse 10

:''For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.'' "God is not unjust to forget" is not to focus on the reward for services, but God knows the real situation of people's spiritual lives and he can motivate the expressions of 'genuine Christianity' anytime, just like in the past, also again in the future. The "work" and the "love" are those done literally 'for his name', involving the ministering of God's people (Greek: ''tois hagiois''; "to the saints"), for example in .

The Steadfastness of God's Promise (6:13–20)

Verse 13

:''For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,'' Christian hope is based not on wishful thinking but on the 'solemn ''promise'' of God', that the 'foundation of God's saving activity in the world was the particular promise made to ''Abraham'' in and repeated at different times and forms to the forefathers of Israel (cf. ; ).

Verse 14

:''saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”''

Verse 18

:''So that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.'' This verse contains one of the four things said to be 'impossible' in this epistle ( Hebrews 6:4; 6:18; 10:4; 11:6). *"Immutable": or "unchangeable". The 'two unchangeable things' are apparently "the word of God" and "the confirming oath".

Verse 19

: ''This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,'' NKJV This verse and the next should be read in the light of , that because Jesus is the promised high priest ''in the order of Melchizedek'' ( with an oath similar to the one in ), he has become 'the guarantee' of the blessings of the new covenant ( Hebrews 7:22), so those who rely on Jesus 'can actually enter ''the inner sanctuary behind the curtain'' ("the Presence behind the veil"), where 'he has gone before them and has entered on their behalf' ("the forerunner has entered for us", ). *"Anchor of the soul":

John Gill John Gill may refer to: Sports *John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer *John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach *John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer *John Gill (American football) ...

cites Pythagoras who spoke about the anchor of soul as follows: "riches (he says) are a weak anchor, glory: is yet weaker; the body likewise; principalities, honours, all these are weak and without strength; what then are strong anchors? prudence, magnanimity, fortitude; these no tempest shakes" (''Apud Stobaeum'', ''Serm.'' I.). *"Behind the veil": One Jewish literature (''Zohar in Gen.'' fol. 73. 3.) speaks of "a veil in the world to come, which some are worthy to enter into". Gill, John
''Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Hebrews 6:19
/ref>

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Hebrews 06