The Context of the Crux at Hebrews 5, 7-8 103 b) Hebrews 4,12-13 Zwn ga;r oJ lovgo~ tou` qeou` kai; ejnergh;~ kai; tomwvtero~ uJpe;r ` pasan mavcairan divstomon kai; pneuvmato~, aJrmw`n te kai; muelw`n, ` kai; kritiko;~ ejnqumhvsewn kai; ejnnoiw`n kardiva": kai; oujk e[stin ktisi~ ajfanh;~ ejnwvpion aujtou`, pavnta de; gumna; kai; tetrachlismev- v na toi`~ ojfqalmoi`~ aujtou` pro;~ o}n hJmi`n oJ lovgo" 10. Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from mar- row; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ⁄ And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account 11. The almost universal contemporary interpretation of the ‘word’ (logo") of v. 12 has it as referring to scripture 12. This interpretation gives v a superficially plausible exegesis of the passage, which speaks of the last- ing relevance of God’s word. But there are a number of difficulties with this exegesis 13: 1) The terminology is inconsistent. The fact that the occurrence of oJ lovgo" in v. 13 is different from the occurrence of oJ lovgo~ in v. 12 is odd, since the occurrences seem to be intended as a frame for the pas- sage. This change from lovgo~ as ‘word’ (of scripture) to lovgo~ as ‘account’ is bizarre 14. 10 Text after NA27. 11 Translation after NSRV (The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments. New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition [Nashville, 1993] 219 [New Testament section]). 12 Attridge, Hebrews, 134, notes that «The identification of the Logos here as Christ is common in patristic sources», some of which he identifies. He names several modern commentators who follow this interpretation, but does not give his approval. See also W. L. Lane, Hebrews 1–8 (WBC; 1991) 103, who strongly defends the contemporary con- sensus that lovgo~ means scripture and not Christ. 13 See J. Swetnam, «Jesus as lovgo~ in Hebrews 4,12-13», Bib 62 (1981) 214-224. The difficulty with trying to understand Heb 4,12-13 comes in no small part from the fact that the passage has become an accepted topos for the efficacy of the word of scripture: Heb 4,12-13 is about the efficacy of the word of scripture because, as everyone knows, the word of scripture is sharper than a two-edged sword. 14 Cf. the remarks of A. Vanhoye: «Une inclusion ouvre et ferme la longue phrase [sc., 4,12-13]: les premiers mots présentent oJ lovgo~ tou` qeou` et les derniers disent hJmi`n oJ lovgo". Lovgo", il est vrai, n’est pas pris les deux fois dans la même acception: au début, il s’agit de la parole de Dieu; à la fin, il s’agit, soit de l’exposé en course, soit—plus probablement—du compte que nous aurons à rendre. Il en résulte pour le text une certaine bizarrerie, qui s’accentue encore, lorsqu’on remarque que le pro;~ o{n (traduit: «et c’est à lui») désigne le lovgo~ du début: c’est à la parole qu’il faut adress- er la parole!» (A. Vanhoye, Structure littéraire littéraire de épître aux Hébreux [Paris 19762], 102).