Friday, March 27, 2015

David Allen on how to translate Hebrews 7:24

[Heb 7:24] is straightforward in its meaning, asserting Jesus has a permanent, perpetual, unchanging priesthood because he “lives for ever.” When the adjective aparabaton, “permanent,” is translated attributively, as in the NIV, KJV, and a few other translations, it is a violation of Greek grammar. The adverbial rendering as in the NASB is also problematic. It is better to take the adjective in a predicate relationship to the noun, as “Jesus has the priesthood (and it is) permanent,” or as a relative clause, “a priesthood which is permanent.”

David L. Allen, Hebrews (vol. 35 The New American Commentary; Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), p. 428. (the author tries to argue that aparabatos means only Christ holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, but this is refuted by the meaning of the term itself).