American Standard Version
Hebrews 7:5
5And they indeed of the sons of Levi that receive the priest’s office have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though these have come out of the loins of Abraham:
Hebrews 7:5 in other versions
- King James Version (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:
- New International Version (NIV)Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
Context of Hebrews 7:5
3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually. 4Now consider how great this man was, unto whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the chief spoils. And they indeed of the sons of Levi that receive the priest’s office have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though these have come out of the loins of Abraham: 6but he whose genealogy is not counted from them hath taken tithes of Abraham, and hath blessed him that hath the promises. 7But without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.
Read all of Hebrews 7Hebrews 7:5 word by word
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν Λευὶ τὴν ἱερατείαν λαμβάνοντες ἐντολὴν ἔχουσιν ἀποδεκατοῦν τὸν λαὸν κατὰ τὸν νόμον, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτῶν, καίπερ ἐξεληλυθότας ἐκ τῆς ὀσφύος Ἀβραάμ.Read the interlinear
- sonsυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- LeviΛευΐLeui · LeviG3017
- receiveλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
- commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
- peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
- accordingκατάkata · according toG2596
- lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- comeἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
- loinsὀσφῦςosphus · loinsG3751
- AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
Cross-references for Hebrews 7:5
- Hebrews 5:4And no man taketh the honor unto himself, but when he is called of God, even as was Aaron.
- Exodus 28:1And bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
- Numbers 16:10and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also?
- Numbers 17:3And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers’ houses.
- Numbers 18:7And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil; and ye shall serve: I give you the priesthood as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
- Leviticus 27:30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah’s: it is holy unto Jehovah.
- Numbers 18:26Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe.
- 2 Chronicles 31:4Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the law of Jehovah.
- Nehemiah 13:10And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.
- Hebrews 7:10for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him.
- Genesis 35:11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
- Genesis 46:26All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, that came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
- Exodus 1:5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph was in Egypt already.
- 1 Kings 8:19nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
Commentaries on Hebrews 7:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5They that are of the sons of Levi - The priests who are of the posterity of the Levites, and receive the priesthood in virtue of their descent from Aaron, have authority from the law of God to receive tithes from the people. According to the law - That is, the Levites received a tenth from the people. The priests received a tenth of this tenth from the Levites, who are here called their brethren, because they were of the same tribe, and employed in the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And verily they that are of the sons of Levi - The meaning of this verse is, that the Levitical priests had a right to receive tithes of their brethren, but still that they were inferior to Melchizedek. The apostle admits that their superiority to the rest of the people was shown by the fact that they had a right to require of them the tenth part of the productions of the land for their maintenance, and for the support of religion. But still he says, that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 That High Priest who should afterward appear, of whom Melchizedec was a type, must be much superior to the Levitical priests. Observe Abraham's great dignity and happiness; that he had the promises. That man is rich and happy indeed, who has the promises, both of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This honour have all those who receive the Lord Jesus. Let us go forth in our spiritual conflicts, trusting in his word and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6Collecting the tithe was both a duty and an honor for the priests under the law of Moses (Numbers 18:21–32). from the people: This refers to all the people of Israel. Although Melchizedek was not a descendant of Levi, he collected a tenth from Abraham, the ancestor of the Levites. This shows Melchizedek’s greater status over both Abraham and his descendants, including the priests (Hebrews 7:8–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. sons of Levi--namely, those alone who belonged to the family of Aaron, to whom the priesthood was restricted. Tithes originally paid to the whole tribe of Levi, became at length attached to the priesthood. according to the law--sanctioned by Jehovah (He 9:19). of their brethren--with whom, in point of natural descent, they are on a level. though, &c.--Though thus on a level by common descent from Abraham, they yet pay tithe to the Levites, whose…Read the comment
Topics related to Hebrews 7:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hebrews 7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries