7
the need for believers to imitate Abraham's persevering faith. As Lane states, "the unchanging
purpose of God provides a strong reason for emulating the trust and steadfastness of Abraham."
25
Then how does emulating Abraham's faith relate to the believers' imitation of Christ? This
relationship may be observed from the link between 6:18 and 6:19. In 6:18 the author mentions
that believers have fled for safety to lay hold of the hope set before them. The idea of hope goes
back to Abraham's faith in waiting patiently for God's promise, as seen in 6:1315. As Abraham
hoped for what God had promised him, so do the believers in the new covenant hope for that
which is set before them. What is the believers' hope? It is explained in 6:19. In this verse the
relative pronoun h{
n
(which) takes ej
lpiv
"
(hope) as its antecedent, which in turn is related to
eij
sercomev
nhn
(i.e., one which enters). This may be illustrated as follows:
26
6:18 krath'
sai th'
" prokeimev
nh" ej
lpiv
do":
(to lay hold of the hope set before us)
6:19
h}
n wJ
" a[
gkuran e[
comen th'
" yuch'
"aj
sfalh'
te kai;
bebaiv
an
(which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast)
kai;
eij
sercomev
nhn eij
" to;
ej
swv
teron tou'
katape-
petav
smato"
(one which enters within the veil).
This diagram allows one to see that it is hope that enters within the curtain in the heavenly
sanctuary where Jesus has already entered as forerunner by becoming a high priest according to
the order of Melchizedek.
27
The implication is that hope penetrates behind the curtain and it is by
this hope that we believers draw near to God (7:19).
28
The word prov
dramo"
is used only here in
the New Testament. In classical Greek the term was used in the sense of going before by
running.
29
Apparently, the author of Hebrews has this sense in mind in 6:20. In the present
context the term has the idea that Jesus is the model of faith for his followers. Thus the author's
25 Ibid.
26 The translation is a slight variation of NASB.
27 Grammatically speaking, it is possible to take the antecedent of the participle eijsercomevnhn as a[gkuran. If
this is what the author had in mind, then v. 19 is to be translated "the anchor which enters within the veil." This is the
view held by Attridge (see Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews, 178, 18384). On the other hand, Lane prefers to take
ej
lpiv
do"
(hope) as the antecedent of eij
sercomev
nhn
(Lane, Hebrews 18, 153).
28 Lane, Hebrews 18, 15354
29 Herodotus 7.203; 9.14; Polybius, Hist. 12.20.7.