a note on hebrews 5.14

7/31/2019 A Note on Hebrews 5.14

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ANote on Hebrews 5:14

MARKKILEY

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA02138

THE GREEK TEXT of Hebrews 5:14 runs as follows:

, .

Commentators on Hebrews 5:14 are unanimous that the verse praises the

mature abilityto discern good and bad. But describing the precis function of

in the verse has proved to be difficult.

One type oftranslation of is represented bythe Vulgate: pro consuetudine. In the RSV, the verse is rendered: "But solid food is for the mature,

for those who have their faculties trained bypractice to distinguish good fromevil." Many modern versions are similar to theRSV.

1And Michel, among

recent commentators, similarly translates: "Erwachsenen (Vollkommenen)

aber beghrt die feste Speise, wenn sie infolge des Gebrauchs gebte Sinnes-

werkzeuge haben zur Unterscheidung von Gut und Bse."2

All these versions make and functionallyequivalent, and when considered together, redundant.


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502 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 42, 1980

Not all commentators have inclined toward translating as

"by practice." Montefiore, for example, translates: "But solid food is for

mature men, who, in virtue of their condition, have had their perceptions

tra ined t o distingu ish . . ."3

And Hering translates: " ceux qui par leuratt itu de ont exerc leur sensibilit de manire savoir dist inguer . . ."

4And

Spicq, partly on the basis of the Philo passage cited below, translates as

"state"; "Par contre la nourriture solide est celle des parfaits qui, partat, ont

les sens entr an s a u disc ernement du bien et du mal."5

Philo's Leg. all. 3.210 provides a n interes ting parallel to Heb 5:14 because

it speaks of the of a child and a wise man:

Why, even the bad man does some things that it is his duty to do without actingfrom a dutiful character ( ). Yes, and the drunken man and themadman now and then utter sober words and do sober deeds, but not from asober mind; and those who are still quite young children, not from a fixedlyrational state ( ) (for nature has not yet trained them to be rational),do and say many things that rational men do and say. But the lawgiverwishes thewise man to be accounted a man of benediction not as the outcome of a passingmood, or of being easily led by others, or as though bychance, but as the result ofa fixed state () and disposition () charged with benediction." 6

Thus, Phi lo offers some justifica tion for unde rs tan din g precisely as a

condition or state.

However, in a parallel hitherto unnoticed, the Middle Platonist philo

so pher Albinu s (mid-second cen tur y A.D.) uses precisely as does He b 5:14,

and finally helps to tip the scales in favor of the translations of Montefiore,

Hring, and Spicq which render as something like "state":

The potential differs from what is termed the "established" (* ) and theactual. For the potential signifies a capacity in the one who has not yet thecharacteristic () in question; as for instance the child will be said to bepotentially a grammarian, a fluteplayer, or a carpenter, but will only then be inpossession () of one or two of these when he learns or acquires some one ofthese characteristics (). Hewill be any one of these in actuality, on the other

3H. Montefiore, A Commentaryon the Epistle to the Hebrews(HNTC; New York:

Harper& Row, 1964) 101.4 J. Hring, L Eptre aux Hbreux (CNT 12; Neuchtel: Delachaux & Niestl, 1954) 55.5

C. Spicq, L'Eptre aux Hbreux (EBib; Paris: Gabalda, 1953) 145. In addition he cites


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A NOTE ON HEB 5:14 503

hand, when he can act on the basis of the possession ofthat characteristic ()which he has acquired.

7

Albinus says that the child may, by learning or acquiring a characteristic

"state" ( ), act in one of several occupations. The characteristic state is aresult of the training implied in "learning or acquiring," but is not wholly

identified with that training. The state achieved by training then serves as basis

for further action.

Similarly, the Author of Hebrews exhorts the addressees to leave behind

their immaturity and praises "those who on account of their characteristic

state (as adults) have their senses trained to discern good and bad."

7The passage comes from 26 of the Didaskalikosand occurs during a general discussion

of fate and free will The Greek text is available in Platonis dilaogici secundum Thrasylli


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a note on hebrews 5.14

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