Vincent's Word Studies in the NT

Hebrews 12:13

Make straight paths for your feet [τ ρ ο χ ι α ς ο ρ θ α ς π ο ι ε ι τ ε τ ο ι ς π ο σ ι ν υ μ ω ν]. After the LXX of Proverbs 4:26. The corresponding Hebrew means to tear, to cut into : hence to cut through as a path; to make firm or plain. Orqov N. T. Only here and Acts 14:10; commonly straight or upright, but also right, safe, happy. Comp. Proverbs 8:6; Proverbs 14:14; Proverbs 21:8. here, not in the sense of straight as distinguished from crooked, but more generally, right, plain, by implication even or smooth. 239 Trocia N. T. o is literally a wheel - track (trocov a wheel). Very rare in profane Greek. Toiv posin uJmwn "for your feet," not with. That is, exert yourselves to make the course clear for yourselves and your fellow Christians, so that there be no stumbling and laming.

That which is lame [τ ο χ ω λ ο ν]. Cwlov lame, halting, only in Synoptic Gospels and Acts. Mostly in the literal sense. Proverbial in Isaiah 33:23. Metaphorically here, and partly Matthew 18:8; Mark 9:45. The verb cwlainein to be lame or to make lame (not in N. T.) is used metaphorically in LXX, Psalms 18:45; 1 Kings 18:21, where the A. V. "how long halt ye between two opinions" is ewv pote ujmeiv cwlaneite ejp' ajmfoteraiv taiv ijgnuaiv how long do ye go lame on both your hams? To cwlon here signifies the lame part or limb.

Be turned out of the way [ε κ τ ρ α π η]. Rend. "be put out of joint." The A. V. is according to the more usual meaning of the verb, which, in N. T., is confined, with this exception, to the Pastoral Epistles. See 1 Timothy 1:6; 1 Timothy 5:15; 2 Timothy 4:4. LXX only Amos 5:8. But it is also used by medical writers in the passive, with the meaning to be wrenched or dislocated. 240 There is nothing strange in the use of this word in a medical sense by our writer, whose work bears the stamp of Alexandria. The Greeks received their knowledge of surgery from the Egyptians, and mural paintings and documents, and even hieroglyphic symbols, prove that that people had attained remarkable proficiency in the science. Herodotus (ch. 3 131) mentions a medical school at Cyrene in Africa, and says that the pupils of that school were regarded as the second best physicians in all Greece. At the time of Galen (163 A. D.) the medical school of Alexandria was the most famous in the world, and Galen himself studied there. Celsus (first half of the first century A. D.), in the 7th book of his treatise De Artibius, treats of surgical operations according to the views of the Alexandrian schools. The commonly accepted rendering of the A. V., besides giving a conception which is very tame, presents two incongruities : the association of going astray with lameness, and of healing with straying. The other rendering gives a lively and consistent image. Make the paths smooth and even, so that the lame limb be not dislocated by stones or pitfalls. Do everything to avoid aggravating the weakness of a fellow - Christian. Rather try to heal it. To cwlon may refer either to an individual or to a section of the church which is weak and vacillating.

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Vincent's Word Studies in the NT

Hebrews 12:13

Old Testament

New Testament