Spoils, choicest (plunder) (205) akrothinion

Choicest spoils (205) (akrothinion from akron = topmost point + this = a heap) means literally "the topmost part of the heap" and originally meant "first fruits" but came to be used of the choicest spoils of war, the finest booty, the best of the plunder. This is the only use of this word in Scripture (NT or OT) From these spoils an offering would be made to the gods as a thanksgiving for victory. Abraham gave a tenth of the very best to Melchizedek. Expositor's Greek Testament notes that... The Greeks after a victory gathered the spoils in a heap (Greek = "this") and the top or best part of the heap ("akron") was presented to the gods. Vine writes this word depicts the “firstfruit offerings,” and in war “the choicest spoils Wuest adds that... The Greeks after a victory, gathered up the spoils in a heap, and the top, or best part of the heap, was presented to the gods. The fact that Abraham gave a tenth of the pick of the spoils to Melchisedec, magnifies the latter’s greatness in the eyes of the readers of this letter. But it was not any ordinary man called Abraham who paid tithes to Melchisedec. It was Abraham, the patriarch. The writer is careful to identify him, lest his Jewish readers think it might be some other man of the same name. (Ibid) Abraham voluntarily gave his best to a "shadow" of Messiah without being asked! Do I give the Lord who is the Substance my best (time, talent, finances) or just throw Him my leftovers? Hebrews 7:5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended * from Abraham (NASB: Lockman) Greek: kai oi men ek ton huion Leui ten hierateian lambanontes (PAPMPN) entolen echousin (3PPAI) apodekatoun (PAN) ton laon kata ton nomon, tout' estin (3SPAI) tous adelphous auton, kaiper exeleluthotas (RAPMPA) ek tes osphuos Abraam; Amplified: And it is true that those descendants of Levi who are charged with the priestly office are commanded in the Law to take tithes from the people—which means, from their brethren—though these have descended from Abraham (Amplified Bible - Lockman) KJV: And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: NLT: Now the priests, who are descendants of Levi, are commanded in the law of Moses to collect a tithe from all the people, even though they are their own relatives. (NLT - Tyndale House) Young's Literal: and those, indeed, out of the sons of Levi receiving the priesthood, a command have to take tithes from the people according to the law, that is, their brethren, even though they came forth out of the loins of Abraham; AND THOSE INDEED OF THE SONS OF LEVI WHO RECEIVE THE PRIEST'S OFFICE HAVE COMMANDMENT IN THE LAW TO COLLECT A TENTH FROM THE PEOPLE: kai oi men ek ton huion leui ten hierateian lambanontes (PAPMPN) entolen echousin (3PPAI) apodekatoun (PAN) ton laon: Nu18:21-26 (Heb 5:4; Exodus 28:1; Numbers 16:10,11; 17:3-10; 18:7,21-26) (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:26-32; 2 Chronicles 31:4-6; Nehemiah 13:10) + The point the writer is building toward is that if Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, he was also greater than Abraham's descendants, some of which would include the Levites including the priests from Aaron's lineage. The UBS Handbook however adds this interesting observation noting that... The differences between Levites and priests are complex and partly uncertain. It is not even certain that the author of Hebrews distinguished between priests and Levites, that is, between those Levites who descended from Levi through Aaron, and those who belonged to other branches of the Levi family. Those descendants of Levi who are priests assumes that the writer did make this distinction, but it is made nowhere else in Hebrews, not even in verse 11 where one might expect it. (Ellingworth, P., & Nida, E. A. A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews. New York: United Bible Societies or Logos) Sons of Levi - Sons speaks of the male lineage and the Greek is rendered literally "out of the sons of Levi". So what? The implication is that the reference here is not to all Levites, for not all were priests but only those who were out of (preposition ek = out of or from) the tribe of Levi and from the house of Aaron and thus were duly qualified to be priests. Who receive the priest's office - Genuine God honoring ministry is not something one "achieves" but a privilege one "receives". And all believers have received this high privilege -- priests of the Most High God. How are you fulfilling your purpose as His privileged priest? Are you interceding? Are you offering up sacrifices?..."of praise to God"? see note Hebrews 13:15; of thanks for everything? see note 1Thessalonians 5:18; How is it possible for saved sinners, as even we yet non-glorified priests are, to offer acceptable sacrifices? see note Hebrews 13:21. Dear priest of the Most High God, is His praise continually in your mouth and on your lips as it was for David, even in the miserable circumstances of Psalm 34:1? You are encouraged to ponder the psalm and Spurgeon's note below, especially taking note of his comment "I will"... (A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him) (away and he departed.) I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1) I will bless the Lord at all times. He is resolved and fixed, I will; he is personally and for himself determined, let others so as they may; he is intelligent in head and inflamed in heart -- he knows to Whom the praise is due, and what is due, and for what and when. To Jehovah, and not to second causes our gratitude is to be rendered. The Lord hath by right a monopoly in His creatures praise. Even when a mercy may remind us of our sin with regard to it, as in this case David's deliverance from the Philistine monarch was sure to do, we are not to rob God of His need of honour because our conscience justly awards a censure to our share in the transaction. Though the hook was rusty, yet God sent the fish, and we thank Him for it. At all times, in every situation, under every circumstance, before, in and after trials, in bright days of glee, and dark nights of fear. David would never have done with his praising, because he would never be satisfied that he had done enough but always feeling that he fell short of the Lord's deservings. (Ed note: Oh, may the Spirit of the Living God be pleased to ignite the flame of similar passion in the hearts of his believer-priests in a day of all too often apathetic attitudes toward the eternal, almighty, Holy One, Whom we are to worship and serve in Spirit and in truth!) Happy is he whose fingers are wedded to his harp (You might want to read that sentence again and picture what Spurgeon is saying.). He who praises God for mercies shall never want a mercy for which to praise. To bless the Lord is never unseasonable. His praise shall continually be in my mouth, not in my heart merely, but in my mouth too. (Amen!) Our thankfulness is not to be a dumb thing; it should be one of the daughters of music. Our tongue is our glory, and it ought to reveal the glory of God. What a blessed mouthful is God's praise! How sweet, how purifying, how perfuming! If men's mouths were always thus filled, there would be no repining (repine = to fret, be discontent) against God, or slander of neighbours (or husbands or wives or relatives or pastors, etc). If we continually rolled this dainty morsel under our tongue, the bitterness of daily affliction would be swallowed up in joy. (Amen again!) God deserves blessing with the heart, and extolling with the mouth -- good thoughts in the closet, and good words in the world. (Spurgeon's Note) The Law (3551) (nomos) - Beginning in this passage, the writer mentions Law for the first time in this book and then some 13 times in Hebrews 7-10 (click for all uses). Nomos can denote law in general or a principle according to which one acts, but in this context it is used for the law of Moses. Not only was the payment of one-tenth widely customary in the ancient world, the Mosaic law required that a tithe be paid to the priests. "And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting... "For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, 'They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.'" (Numbers 18:21,24) The significance of this act of tithing is seen when one understands that the Aaronic priests took tithes of their brethren by law only. When they paid tithes in this way, there was no acknowledgment of inferiority on the part of those who paid tithes. Their tithing reflected an obligatory compliance with the law. But in the case of Abraham, there was no law that obligated him to pay tithes to Melchizedek. When he paid Melchizedek tithes, it was an acknowledgment on his part of his own inferiority and a personal tribute to Mel's greatness and superiority. Guzik explains that... The priesthood of Levi received tithes from Israel as a commandment. Abraham voluntarily gave tithes to Melchizedek. This makes Abraham’s giving to Melchizedek greater than Israel payment of tithes to the priesthood instituted by Moses. Expositor's Greek Testament agrees adding that... The significance of this tithing is perceived when it is considered that, although the sons of Levi take tithes of their brethren, this is the result of a mere legal appointment. Those who pay tithes are, as well as those who receive them, sons of Abraham. Paying tithes is in their case no acknowledgement of personal inferiority, but mere compliance with law. But Abraham was under no such law to Melchizedek, and the payment of tithes to him was a tribute to his personal greatness. THAT IS FROM THEIR BRETHREN ALTHOUGH THESE ARE DESCENDED FROM ABRAHAM: kata ton nomon toutestin tous adelphous auton kaiper exeleluthotas (RAPMPA) ek tes osphuos abraam: (Heb 7:10; Genesis 35:11; 46:26; Exodus 1:5; 1 Kings 8:19) From their brethren - This refers to the countrymen of the Jewish priests. Although these - "These" refers to the priests. Leon Morris explains that... The law required tithes to be taken of people of whom the priests were "brothers." There is a sense in which the priests had no inherent superiority. They were kin to those who gave tithes to them. They owed their ability to collect tithes to the provision made in the law and not to any natural superiority. But with Melchizedek it was different. He "did not trace his descent from Levi." Melchizedek was not simply one among a host of brothers. He was a solitary figure of grandeur. And he exacted tithes not simply from his brothers but from Abraham. His greatness stands out. (Ibid) Melchizedek had no part in the Levitical genealogy, and therefore no legal right to exact tithes, and yet he took tithes from the great patriarch himself! And thus Melchizedek was greater than Abraham. The writer emphasizes that the right of the Levitical priest to receive tithes was only their right because it was ordained by a specific law and therefore their receiving tithes implied no intrinsic superiority of the priests to their Jewish brethren. On the other hand, to reiterate, Melchizedek, though he had to legal right, nevertheless received tithes from Abraham as a voluntary gift (Abraham was under no legal obligation to give a tithe to anyone), which implied Abraham’s recognition of the personal greatness of Melchizedek. Although they are descended - JFB explains "although" writing... Though thus on a level by common descent from Abraham, they yet pay tithe to the Levites, whose brethren they are. Now the Levites are subordinate to the priests; and these again to Abraham, their common progenitor; and Abraham to Melchisedec. “How great” (Heb 7:4) then, must this Melchisedec be in respect to his priesthood, as compared with the Levitical, though the latter received tithes! and now unspeakably great must “the Son of God” be, to whom, as the sacerdotal archetype (in God’s purpose), Melchisedec was made like! Thus compare the “consider,” (observe) Hebrews 7:4, in the case of Melchisedec, the type, with the “consider” (Greek, “contemplate attentively,” see on Hebrews 3:1 [note], a stronger word than here) in the case of Christ, the archetype. (Hebrews 7) Descended from - There are 4 words in Greek, the verb exerchomai (literally to come out of) and the phrase "ek tes osphuos" which are rendered more literally "to come out of, from the loins of" Abraham "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/hebrews_74-5.htm#spoils

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Spoils, choicest (plunder) (205) akrothinion

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