Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom347The results of this comparison have a positive value, unless they can be, at least in some gooddegree, paralleled by words common to Hebrews and the other New Testament writers. I do notfind this to be the case. There seem to be but two words common only to Hebrews and to any ofthem occurring more than once in each. One of these is the purely accidental word μ , usedtwice in Hebrews, and seven times elsewhere (five times in Revelation); and the other is the moreimportant word μ (always in the plural = purifying ablutions) used twice each in Mark andHebrews. Whatever value, therefore, there may be in this examination of common words, it is muchincreased by the almost entire absence of any such relation between this Epistle and the otherwritings of the New Testament. It certainly points, as far as it goes, to some sort of relation betweenthe three writers, St. Luke, St. Paul, and the author of Hebrews, and especially between the twolast.We now turn to common words of wider range which yet have something in their usage tendingto show the style of the writer. The verb μ with its compounds -, -, -, -, -, -,and -, is naturally more common in narrative. Making allowance for this, we are surprised at itsrelative frequency in Hebrews and infrequency in the Pauline Epistles, while the word is in suchcommon use as to make this difference significant. The proportionate numbers are: Hebrews, 519;St. Luke, 656; St. Paul, 169; all others, 708. For the particular compound μ , the same numbersare: Hebrews, 196; St. Luke, 133; St. Paul, 7; all others, 91. While it is relatively much the mostfrequent in Hebrews, it is yet common in St. Luke, but almost entirely avoided by St. Paul.μ with its compounds -, -, and -, have a similar variable usage. They are all relativelymuch more frequent in Hebrews than elsewhere, less common in St. Luke, and still less so in St.Paul; taking the simple verb and its compounds separately, St. Luke alone uses that with (fourtimes actually, or relatively, six times), and almost entirely avoids that with , and St. Paul, likethe other writers, that with ; while Hebrews uses them all (except ) with peculiar frequency.The proportionate numbers are:—Hebrews. St. Luke. St. Paul. All Others.μ .. 196.... 80.... 61 157- 34.... 19...... 4.... 4- 139...... 1.... 20.. 25- —...... 6.... —.. ——— —— —— ——Total........... 369........... 106........... 85........... 186The verbs employed for request or prayer are numerous, and their employment by the differentwriters varies much. The following list of their relative frequency shows the principal facts:—Hebrews. St. Luke. St. Paul. All Others.. 11..... 330......... 7..... 46-....... —......... 3....... —..... —-....... —......... 2....... —..... —-....... —......... 3....... —..... —-..... 35......... 6......... 7..... —-.... —......... 1....... —....... 2μ . —......... 8......... 9....... 1μ . 11....... 23....... 11....... 5511