08_Biblica_2_AM_C_Swetnam_Layout 1 30/01/13 13:18 Pagina 601 08_B The Meaning of toi/j avkou,sasin at Hebrews 4,2 At Heb 4,2 occur the apparently innocuous words toi/j avkou,sasin. But even a cursory check of the literature shows how difficult the words are to interpret 1. Much of the difficulty arises from the rest of the verse, which is also far from clear. The present note will attempt to give a plausible ex- planation of toi/j avkou,sasin in the context of the entire verse. The text adopted will be that of the 27th edition of Nestle – Aland: kai. ga,r evsmen euvhggelisme,noi kaqa,per kavkei/noi avll’ouvk wvfe,lhsen o` lo,goj th/j avkoh/j evkei,nouj mh. sugkekerasme,nouj th// pi,stei toi/j avkou,sasin 2. I. Selected Opinions One common view, based on the best manuscript reading sugkekeras- me,nouj, is that the words “for those who (had) heard” (toi/j avkou,sasin) refer to Joshua and Caleb 3. These two represent the believing minority who, in contrast to the majority of the Israelites of the desert generation, did believe. The point would be that the word, though heard, did not meet with a believing response on the part of the majority. The difficulty with this view is that the previous verse (4,1) seems to presuppose that no one in the desert generation believed, for the promise to all of them, majority and minority alike, remained unrealized 4. Further, the connotation of the For a discussion of the various opinions cf. P. ELLINGWORTH, The Epistle 1 to the Hebrews. A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGNTC; Grand Rapids, MI – Carlisle 1993) 240-244. For a defense of the reading cf. H.W. ATTRIDGE, The Epistle to the He- 2 brews (Hermeneia; Philadelphia, PA 1989) 122. Cf. also B.M. METZGER, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. A Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament. (London – New York 1971) 665. 3 W.L. LANE, Hebrews 1–8 (WBC 47A; Dallas, TX 1991) 93. Cf. also C. 3 MARCHESELLI-CASALE, Lettera agli Ebrei (I Libri Biblici.Nuovo Testamento 16; Milano 2005) 219-220; C. SPICQ, L’Épître aux Hébreux. II. Commentaire (EB; Paris 1953) 81. In subsequent discussion Joshua is explicitly mentioned, of course (4,8 4 — vIhsou/j but the point there is that even though Joshua believed, he could not enter the rest of God. What is more, the author of Hebrews emphasizes that Joshua not only did not but could not enter into God’s rest, for the pro- mise (under the image of God’s Sabbath rest) still remains even though Jo- shua had faith and did what God commanded. BIBLICA 93.4 (2012) 601-608 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati