Hebrews 12:21

Heb 12:21. Τὸ φανταζόμενον, the sight) A most real sight is meant. Herodian, εἴτε ἀληθῶς ἐφαντάσθη τισὶν, ἢ, κ.τ.λ., whether it was really seen by some, or, etc.—Μωϋσῆς, Moses) who however was the only one admitted very near, and therefore saw and felt more than the rest. He indeed acted as the messenger between God and the people; but while the very words of the Ten Commandments were pronounced, he stood by as one of the hearers; Exo 19:25; Exo 20:16 (19).—ἔκφοβός εἰμι καὶ ἔντρομος) I am struck with fear of mind, and trembling of body. The words differ: 1Co 2:3, notes. In Deu 9:19, for יגרתי, “I was afraid,” the LXX. have ἔκφοβός εἰμι, in the present. The apostle adopts that version, and supplies, καὶ ἔντρομος. Thereby Moses shows his fear and trembling for the anger of God, which had been kindled by the misconduct of the people after the giving of the law: but the sight itself presented to the eyes of Moses, who was previously also reckoned one of the people, Exo 19:23, in the word, בנו; ch. Exo 34:27, rendered his fear the greater on account of the misconduct of the people, while the burning of the mountain still continued; Deu 9:15.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb_12:21. Καί] is the ordinary conjunctive and. It belongs not to οὕτως φοβερὸν ἦν τὸ φανταζόμενον, in such wise that Μωϋσῆς εἶπεν κ.τ.λ. is added by way of appendix, with an accentuation of the subject which renders any connecting particle unnecessary (Hofmann), but to Μωϋσῆς εἶπεν, in such wise that οὕτως φοβερὸν ἦν τὸ φανταζόμενον forms an exclamation, inserted parenthetically within the greater parenthesis: andso terrible was the appearing!

MOSES said, I am sore afraid and tremble. καί cannot be taken, with Jac. Cappellus, Carpzov, Schulz, Knapp, Böhme, Bloomfield, and others, for the enhancing even. For, from its position, it can only serve for the connection of the clauses, while for the indication of the sense alleged an additional καί immediately before Μωϋσῆς (or even an αὐτός before the same) would have been required. Yet the right feeling underlies this interpretation: that, regarded as a fact, Heb_12:21 contains an ascending gradation from Heb_12:20, inasmuch as the being seized with fear, which at Heb_12:20 was asserted of the people, is now in like manner predicated of Moses, the leader of the people.

τὸ φανταζόμενον] equivalent to τὸ φαινόμενον, the appearing, the visible covering in which the invisible God manifested Himself to the Israelites. Theodoret: φανταζόμενον δὲ εἶπεν, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ αὐτὸν ἑώρων τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἀλλά τινα φαντασίαν τῆς θείας ἐπιφανείας

The verb φαντάζεσθαι, in the N. T. only here.

ἔκφοβός εἰμι καὶ ἔντρομος] In the accounts of the promulgation of the law given in the Pentateuch, an expression of this kind on the part of Moses is not met with. According to Zeger, Beza, Estius, Schlichting, Chr. Fr. Schmid [MLean, with hesitation], Heinrichs, Stuart, Stein, and others, the author drew the same from tradition; according to Owen and Calov, he gained the knowledge even from immediate inspiration; while Carpzov will not have an actual utterance of Moses thought of at all, but, on the contrary, takes the formula: Moses dicit: horreo et tremo, as of the same meaning with the bare Moses horret et tremit; and Calvin has recourse to the not less violent expedient: Mosem nomine populi sic loquutum, cujus mandata quasi internuntius ad Deum referebat. Fuit igitur haec communis totius populi querimonia; sed Moses inducitur, qui fuit veluti commune et omnium. Without doubt the words of LXX. Deu_9:19 [cf. Heb_12:15] were present to the mind of the author, where in another connection Moses says: καὶ ἔκφοβός εἰμι. These words he then transferred, by virtue of an inexact reminiscence, to the time of the promulgation of the law.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The shape and form which he saw, which was no counterfeit and forged shape, but a true one.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the sight--the vision of God's majesty.

quake--Greek, "I am in trembling"; "fear" affected his mind: "trembling," his body. Moses is not recorded in Exodus to have used these words. But Paul, by inspiration, supplies (compare Act 20:35; Ti2 3:8) this detail. We read in Deu 9:19, Septuagint, of similar words used by Moses after breaking the two tables, through fear of God's anger at the people's sin in making the golden calves. He doubtless similarly "feared" in hearing the ten commandments spoken by the voice of Jehovah.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(21) And so terrible was the sight that. . . .—Better, And (so fearful was the appearance) Moses said, I exceedingly fear and tremble. Deu_9:19, as it stands in the Greek translation, contains these words in part (“I exceedingly fear”); there, however, they belong to a later time, when Moses was “afraid of the anger and hot displeasure” of the Lord against the worshippers of the golden calf (Exodus 32). Various Jewish traditions speak of the terror of Moses as upon Mount Sinai he beheld the wonders of the heavenly world (see Heb_2:2); but no saying that has been preserved throws additional light on the words before us.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. the sight] “the splendour of the spectacle” (τὸ φανταζόμενον, here only in N.T.). The true punctuation of the verse is And—so fearful was the spectacle—Moses said …

I exceedingly fear and quake] No such speech of Moses at Sinai is recorded in the Pentateuch. The writer is either drawing from the Jewish Hagadah or (by a mode of citation not uncommon) is compressing two incidents into one. For in Deu_9:19 Moses, after the apostasy of Israel in worshipping the Golden Calf, said, “I was afraid (LXX. καὶ ἔκφοβός εἰμι) of the anger and hot displeasure of the Lord,” and in Act_7:32 we find the words “becoming a-tremble” (ἔντρομος γενόμενος) to express the fear of Moses on seeing the Burning Bush (though here also there is no mention of any trembling in Exo_3:6). The tradition of Moses’ terror is found in Jewish writings. In Shabbath f. 88. 2 he explains “Lord of the Universe I am afraid lest they (the Angels) should consume me with the breath of their mouths.” Comp. Midrash Koheleth f. 69. 4.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But ye are come unto Mount Sion,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, as in Heb 12:18 "for ye are not come"; which may seem to favour that interpretation of this passage, which refers it to the heavenly state; to which saints, in this present life, are not, as yet, come: but, by "Mount Sion", and the other names here given, is meant the church of God, under the Gospel dispensation, to which the believing Hebrews were come; in distinction from the legal dispensation, signified by Mount Sinai, from which they were delivered: and this is called Mount Sion, because, like that, it is beloved of God; chosen by him; and is the place of his habitation; here his worship is, and his word and ordinances are administered; here he communes with his people, and distributes his blessings and this, as Mount Sion, is a perfection of beauty the joy of the whole earth; is strongly fortified by divine power, and is immovable; and is comparable to that mountain, for its height and holiness: and to come to Sion is to become a member of a Gospel church, and partake of the ordinances, enjoy the privileges, and perform the duties belonging to it:

and unto the city of the living God; the Gospel church is a city, built on Christ, the foundation; and is full of habitants, true believers, at least it will be, in the latter day; it is pleasantly situated by the river of God's love, and by the still waters of Gospel ordinances; it is governed by wholesome laws, of Christ's enacting, and is under proper officers, of his appointing; and is well guarded by watchmen, which he has set upon the walls of it; and it is endowed with many privileges, as access to God, freedom from the arrests of justice, and from condemnation, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance: and this may be called "the city of God", because it is of his building, and here he dwells, and protects, and defends it; and who is styled "the living God", to distinguish him from the idols of the Gentiles, which are lifeless and inanimate, no other than sticks and stones.

The heavenly Jerusalem: the church of God goes by the name of Jerusalem often, both in the Old and in the New Testament; with which it agrees in its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace: Christ, the King of it, is the Prince of peace; the members of it are sons of peace, who enjoy a spiritual peace now, and an everlasting one hereafter: like that, it is compact together, consisting of saints, cemented together in love, in the order and fellowship of the Gospel; and is well fortified, God himself, and his power, being all around it, and having salvation, for walls and bulwarks, and being encamped about by angels; and it is a free city, being made so by Christ, and, through him, enjoying the liberty of grace now, and having a title to the liberty of glory in the world to come; as Jerusalem was, it is the object of God's choice, the palace of the great King, and the place of divine worship: it is called "heavenly", to distinguish it from the earthly Jerusalem; and to express the excellency of it, as well as to point out its original: the members of it are from heaven, being born from above; their conversation is now in heaven; and they are designed for that place; and its doctrines and ordinances are all from thence.

And to an innumerable company of angels; which are created spirits, immaterial and immortal; very knowing, and very powerful; and swift to do the will of God; they are holy, and immutably so, being the elect of God, and confirmed by Christ: and saints now are brought into a state of friendship with them; and into the same family; and are social worshippers with them; and they have access into heaven, where angels are; and with whom they shall dwell for ever: and, in the present state of things, they share the benefit and advantages of their kind offices; who have, sometimes, provided food for their bodies; healed their diseases; directed and preserved them on journeys; prevented outward calamities; delivered them out of them, when in danger; restrained things hurtful, and cut off their enemies: and, with regard to things spiritual they have, sometimes, made known the mind and will of God unto the saints; have comforted them under their distresses; helped them against Satan's temptations; are present at their death, and carry their souls to glory; and will gather the saints together, at the last day: and, as to the number of them, they are innumerable; they are the armies of heaven; and there is a multitude of the heavenly host; there are more than twelve legions of angels; their number is ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands: and this makes both for the glory and majesty of God, whose attendants they are; and for the comfort and safety of saints, to whom they minister, and about whom they encamp: a like phrase is used in the Apocrypha:

"Before the fair flowers were seen, or ever the moveable powers were established, before the innumerable multitude of angels were gathered together,'' (2 Esdras 6:3)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

Ver. 21. Moses said, I exceedingly] This Paul might have by tradition, or rather by revelation, unless he gathered it from Exo 19:19, compared with Dan 10:8; Dan 10:16-17; Dan 10:19.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said ... - This is not recorded in the account of the giving of the Law in Exodus, and it has been made a question on what authority the apostle made this declaration respecting Moses. In Deu 9:19, Moses indeed says, of himself, after he had come down from the mountain, and had broken the two tables of stone that were in his hand, that he was greatly afraid of the anger of the Lord on account of the sin of the people. “I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you;” and it has been supposed by many that this is the passage to which the apostle here alludes. But it is very evident that was spoken on a different occasion from the one which is referred to in the passage before us. That was after the Law was promulgated, and Moses had descended from the mount; and it was not said in view of the terrors of the scene when the Law was given, but of the apprehension of the wrath of God against the people for their sin in making the golden calf.

I know not how to explain this, except by the supposition that the apostle here refers to some tradition that the scene produced this effect on his mind. In itself it is not improbable that Moses thus trembled with alarm (compare Exo 19:16), nor that the remembrance of it should have been handed down among the numerous traditions which the Jews transmitted from age to age. There must have been many things that occurred in their journey through the wilderness which are not recorded in the Books of Moses. Many of them would be preserved naturally in the memory of the people, and transmitted to their posterity; and though those truths might become intermingled with much that was fabulous, yet it is not irrational to suppose that an inspired writer may have adduced pertinent and true examples from these traditions of what actually occurred. It was one method of preserving “the truth,” thus to select such instances of what actually took place from the mass of traditions which were destined to perish, at would be useful in future times. The circumstance here mentioned was greatly suited to increase the impression of the sublimity and fearfulness of the scene. Moses was accustomed to commune with God. He had met him at the “bush,” and had been addressed by him face to face, and yet so awful were the scenes at Horeb that even he could not bear it with composure. What may we then suppose to have been the alarm of the body of the people, when the mind of the great leader himself was thus overpowered!

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It must needs be a dreadful, fearful, horrid, and astonishing apparition, and exhibition of the great Lawgiver here, that such a person as Moses, so sanctified by him, so favoured with familiarity with him, so constituted mediator between the people and God in this work for their good and comfort, so called and ordered by God to manage it, yet should cry to God to succour him, while he did quake and tremble at it; and was comforted and strengthened by God’s voice to him again, Exo 19:19. Christians now have no call nor access to so terrible a dispensation of the covenant, but have immunity, exemption, and freedom from it, which was not so helpful to holiness as the gospel dispensation, to which now they have actual admission, having freed them from all the terrors and curses of the Mosaical one.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. And… Moses said—Drop out that, which is not in the Greek, and enclose so… sight in a parenthesis.

I exceedingly fear… quake—These words are not in the Exodus narrative. In Deu_9:19, Septuagint, the Greek for I exceedingly feared occurs. They there describe Moses’s fear of the anger of Jehovah at the violation of the decalogue by the people. Lunemann says, that our author transferred these words by a slip of memory. Erasmus, Beza, Stuart, and others conjecture that he writes them from a traditional account; Calovius attributes them to his original inspiration; Rosenmuller, Stier, and Delitzsch hold that he does not mean that Moses used these very words, except mentally, but that the words, as in Deu_9:19, are used to express Moses’s emotions at the Sinaitic scene. Stuart says: “It is implied, however, [that Moses trembled,] where it is said that ‘all the people in the camp trembled,’ and Moses was with them.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Even Moses - Though admitted to so near an intercourse with God, who "spake to him as a man speaketh to his friend." At other times he acted as a mediator between God and the people. But while the ten words were pronounced, he stood as one of the hearers, Exod. xix, 25; Exod. xx, 19.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

21. Moses said. Even Moses was filled with fearful awe (Exod. 19:19).

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

21. τὸ φανταζόμενον. “The splendour of the spectacle” (here only in N. T.). The true punctuation of the verse is And—so fearful was the spectacle—Moses said …

Ἔκφοβός εἰμι κ.τ.λ. No such speech of Moses at Sinai is recorded in the Pentateuch. The writer is either drawing from the Jewish Haggadah or (by a mode of citation not uncommon) is compressing two incidents into one. For in Deu 9:19 Moses, after the apostasy of Israel in worshipping the Golden Calf, said “I was afraid (LXX. καὶ ἔκφοβός εἰμι) of the anger and hot displeasure of the Lord,” and in Act 7:32 we find the words “becoming a-tremble” (ἔντρομος γενομενος) to express the fear of Moses on seeing the Burning Bush (though here also there is no mention of any trembling in Exo 3:6). The tradition of Moses’ terror is found in Jewish writings. In Shabbath f. 88. 2 he exclaims “Lord of the Universe, I am afraid lest they (the Angels) should consume me with the breath of their mouths.” Comp. Midrash Koheleth, f. 69. 4.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21.] Parenthetical, explaining the reason of this horror on the part of the hearers.

21.] and (this clause is diversely punctuated. Before Beza, there was no comma at καί, and the sense was read straight on, “and so terrible was the sight, (that) Moses said,” as in E. V. So the Fathers: so some mss. of the vulg. So Mill, Bengel, Michaelis, and Lachmann. And thus, as Bl. well observes, should we have punctuated in an Epistle of St. Paul, who is full of these broken constructions. But nothing can be more different than the style of this Epistle, which is weighed and rhetorically balanced with constant care. There can be little doubt in any who take this style into account, that the punctuation which began with Beza is right, viz. the setting a comma at καί, and regarding οὕτως φοβ. ἦν τὸ φαντ. as a parenthesis. καί must not, with Carpzov, Cramer, al., be taken for “even,” for thus we should have an asyndeton: and it is too far separated from Μωυσῆς),—so fearful was that which was revealed (which appeared to them as a vision of the glory and majesty of Jehovah: φανταζόμενον δʼ εἶπεν, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ αὐτὸν ἑώρων τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεόν, ἀλλά τινα φαντασίαν τῆς θείας ἐπιφανείας, Thdrt.),—Moses said, I am in great terror and in trembling (no such saying of Moses at this time is to be found in the sacred narrative. In ref. Deut. he says, καὶ ἔκφοβός εἰμι, which εἰμί should be ἤμην, and refers to the time when Moses went up to the mount after he had broken the tables. Our Writer probably transfers these words from that time to this, indicative of the terror which Moses felt at the divine presence on Sinai. Some have supposed that the saying is taken from some tradition: but none has been found to justify the idea. Others, as Calvin, suppose that “hæc communis totius populi querimonia; sed Moses inducitur, qui fuit veluti commune os omnium.” But if so, where would be any climax, as there manifestly is in this verse?):

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sight [το φανταζομενον] . N. T. o. LXX, Wisd. 6 16; Sir. 31 5. Rend. "the appearance" : that which was made to appear.

I exceedingly fear and quake [εκφοβος ειμι και εντρομος] . Lit. I am frightened away (or out) and trembling. Ekfobov only here and Mr 9:6. Comp. LXX, Deu 9:19. Entromov, only Act 7:32; Act 16:29. Rare in LXX

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.