Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 12:16
16. Fornicator Who would be eminently “a root of bitterness,” defiling the Church. Some so separate fornicator by a comma as to preclude its being an intended epithet for Esau. Esau was said by tradition to have been unchaste, but it is not clearly said here; while it is clearly said that he was a profane person. By that epithet is meant a man regardless of sacred things, perhaps a scoffer. Esau’s profanity was displayed in his undervaluation of his birthright. Among primitive nations... read more
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible - Hebrews 12:15
15. Looking diligently The Greek might be rendered episcopizing; the word from which bishop is derived. Every Christian should be bishop in this respect, watching for the purity of the Church. Root of bitterness Not a principle or an event, but a person, who springs up like a poisonous plant in a garden, and whose noxious quality is contagious. So Christ is beautifully called the “root of David;” and, in the Apocrypha, Antiochus Epiphanes is called “a sinful root.” But the allusion... read more