HEBREWS 5:11-14

For most Bible scholars this chapter is of interest solely because of the way the author deals with the Old Testament story of the mysterious character of Melchizedek. He appears again in Chapter 7, and I have already written a post concerning the way Hebrews treats him as a type of Christ (see “Hebrews 7”). But at the end of Hebrews 5 there are a few verses which are often ignored entirely. I would like to correct that omission.

After introducing the topic of Christ as “a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (v. 10),” the author stops before continuing his analogy in order to address “the spiritual immaturity of his readers,” to quote Metzger.

Hebrews 5:11

Bruce notes that the author will return to the subject of Melchizedek “in Ch. 7:1ff, but first he turns aside (as he has done before [cf. Heb. 3:7ff]) to address some words of practical admonition to his readers' spiritual condition.” As Hawthorne says, “he feels compelled to postpone it until first he has stirred them out of their lethargy. From this it is clear that the problem Hebrews is attempting to resolve is the problem of inactivity, of not persevering, of dullness and spiritual immaturity.”

The phrase “'hard to explain' may tactfully imply 'teaching difficult in itself and therefore doubly difficult for you to understand in your present state.'” (Ellingworth)

Stibbs states, “The whole subject...is difficult to expound to these particular readers because, although they are Christians of long standing, they have become slack and backward in their response to the God-given Word.”

Hebrews 5:12

“For many sects of Judaism and Christianity, there was a certain length of time allowed for moving from one degree of initiation to another...No time is indicated for the training required for the readers of Hebrews, but, in the author's judgment, they were slow learners and had already taken a longer time than was customary...Those who continued mulling over elementary subjects were not yet weaned, academically.” (Buchanan)

Ellingworth explains the words here apparently implying that any of his audience should be capable of teaching. He says that “there is the conviction, widespread in the hellenistic world, that any mature person should be able to teach others.”

Hebrews 5:12-14

Kittridge says, “Common in Hellenistic rhetoric, the comparison between milk as rudimentary teaching and solid food as more advanced teaching is used to encourage the community to move beyond basic teachings (cf. Cor 3:12).”

Allen states, “5:12-14 furnishes a strong parallel with 1 Cor 3:13 both in vocabulary (with the repetition of the words 'babble,' 'milk,' and 'perfect'), and in the concept of spiritual immaturity.” He goes on later in his commentary to say, “This passage is replete with medical and physiological terms,” of which he cites nine specific examples.

As an aside, Delitzsch years ago detected medical language in these particular verses, pointing to Luke as the possible author of this anonymous epistle.

Hebrews 5:13a

The Jerusalem Bible footnotes this verse with the comment: “'The doctrine of righteousness' like 'God's oracles' can mean either the O.T., cf 2 Tim 3:16, or the whole body of doctrine. Here it seems to mean all that Christ taught about the righteousness of God as applied to mankind, Rm 3:21-26, and especially about his own priesthood of mediation, prefigured by Melchizedek, the 'king of righteousness', 7:2.”

“The term 'the word of righteousness' found in Hebrews 5:13 is best understood in the light of Polycarp's exhortation to obey 'the word of righteousness' by following the example of the martyr's endurance...If this is the case, the readers of Hebrews were described as 'unskilled in the word of righteousness' because they had forgotten how to endure persecution for the sake of Christ.” (Kruse)

Hebrews 5:13b

Concerning the last half of this verse, NEB notes that an alternative to describing his audience as not knowing what is right is to say that they are “incompetent to speak of what is right.”

Hebrews 5:13-14

Their sluggishness slowed itself in a disposition to settle down at the point which they had reached..; the intellect is not over-ready to entertain an idea that the heart finds unpalatable.” (Bruce)

Hodges goes on to say, “It is not so much that a spiritual 'infant' lacks information – though at first he obviously does – but rather that he has not yet learned to put 'the teaching about righteousness' to effective use. He lacks the skill which goes with maturity and which results in the ability to make appropriate moral choices.”