Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Hebrews 13:4

τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσιν. “Is ἔστω or ἐστὶ to be supplied?” Probably the former, as in Hebrews 13:5, “Let marriage be held in honour among all”. As a natural result of holding marriage in honour, its ideal sanctity will be violated neither by the married nor by the unmarried. Therefore the καὶ links the two clauses closely together and has some inferential force, “and thus let the bed be undefiled” [μιαίνειν τὴν κοίτην occurs in Plutarch to denote the violation of conjugal relations. Used with γυναῖκα in Ezekiel 18:6; Ezekiel 23:17]. The next clause shows in what sense the words are to be taken. William Penn's saying must also be kept in view: “If a man pays his tailor but debauches his wife, is he a current moralist?” For marriage as a preventative against vice, cf. 1 Corinthians 7 and 1 Thessalonians 4:4. Weiss gathers from the insertion of this injunction that the writer is not guided in his choice of precepts by the condition of those to whom he is writing but by “theoretical reflection”. But in the face of Hebrews 12:16, this seems an unwarranted inference. πόρνους … ὁ θεός. Fornicators may escape human condemnation, but God (in emphatic position) will judge them.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

Hebrews 13:4

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