[B-Greek] Heb. 13:20-21 - what was/is the blood used for?

Harold Holmyard hholmyard at ont.com
Wed Dec 7 16:07:25 EST 2005


Dear Luke,

>I was reading the letter to the Hebrews recently, and I have a question
>about Heb. 13:20-21. The question is to do with what was 'the blood of the
>eternal covenant' used for.
>
>In versions like the ESV (and the KJV) these two verses say things like
>this: -
>"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
>the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip
>you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which
>is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and
>ever. Amen."
>
>Here's my question: -
>-Does the phrase ' ... by the blood of the eternal covenant ... ' refer to
>how God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? Like this: -
>' ... the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus ... by
>the blood of the eternal covenant ... '
>
>-Or, does the phrase refer to how God equips believers with everything good?
>Like this: -
>'Now may the God of peace ... by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip
>you with everything good ... '
>  
>
HH: That's an interesting question. The NET Bible assumes that it is the 
former alternative:

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant 
brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord 
Jesus Christ,

HH: This also seems to be the view of the NASB ansd NRSV. The HCSB with 
the comma after covenant seems to agree with NET, though it could be 
clearer:

13:20-21
Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord 
Jesus--the great Shepherd of the sheep--with the blood of the 
everlasting covenant, equip you with all that is good to do His will, 
working in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to 
whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

HH: The word order suggests that there is a third alternative. What 
follows is a literal translation keeping much of the original word order:

Heb 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the 
great Shepherd of the sheep in the blood of the eternal covenant, our 
Lord Jesus, may He equip you with every good thing to do His will, doing 
in us what is pleasing before Him through Jesus Christ, to whom be the 
glory for every and ever, amen.

HH: The phrase "in the blood of the new covenant" might be translated as 
"by the blood of the eternal covenant." Of the two alternative 
interpretations you gave, the word order seems to favor the first rather 
than the second, that God brought up Jesus by the blood of the eternal 
covenant. But it is hard to see how this blood was a means of raising 
Jesus from the dead. I suppose if it was sinless blood this might 
explain it. However, it seems at least conceivable that "the great 
Shepherd of the sheep" was such "by the blood of the eternal covenant," 
by the blood that Jesus was willing to shed. We'll have to see what some 
others think who are more skilled in Greek than I am, but I find that 
the New Living translation supports this third interpretation:

NLT Heb 13:20-21 And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from 
the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. 
May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is 
pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an 
everlasting covenant, signed with his blood. To him be glory forever and 
ever. Amen.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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