Stability through Grace: Passive Verbs and Dative Anchors in Hebrews 13:9

In διδαχαῖς ποικίλαις καὶ ξέναις μὴ παραφέρεσθε· καλὸν γὰρ χάριτι βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν, οὐ βρώμασιν, ἐν οἷς οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν οἱ περιπατήσαντες (Hebrews 13:9), the author of Hebrews exhorts believers to remain anchored in grace rather than swept away by foreign teachings. The sentence is grammatically intricate, but its centerpiece is the passive infinitive βεβαιοῦσθαι — “to be strengthened” — and its agent, not fleshly food (βρώμασιν), but grace (χάριτι). This construction — passive stability through a dative of means — is rare and elegant. The grammar doesn’t just describe the doctrine; it performs it.

Morphological Breakdown

1. διδαχαῖς ποικίλαις καὶ ξέναις –
   Root: διδαχή, ποικίλος, ξένος
   Form: dative feminine plural noun + two adjectives
   Lexical Meaning: “by various and foreign teachings”
   Contextual Notes: Dative of means or cause. The phrase describes the errant teachings that threaten doctrinal stability.
2. μὴ παραφέρεσθε –
   Root: παραφέρω
   Form: present passive imperative, 2nd person plural with negative particle
   Lexical Meaning: “do not be carried away”
   Contextual Notes: The present tense implies ongoing resistance. Passive voice indicates external influence — false doctrines as a current pulling believers off course.
3. καλὸν γὰρ –
   Root: καλός, γάρ
   Form: nominative neuter singular adjective + conjunction
   Lexical Meaning: “for it is good”
   Contextual Notes: γάρ introduces the explanation or justification for the command. καλόν functions as the predicate adjective — it is good to be stable.
4. χάριτι –
   Root: χάρις
   Form: dative feminine singular
   Lexical Meaning: “by grace”
   Contextual Notes: Dative of means or instrument — grace is the true stabilizing force, contrasted with foods.
5. βεβαιοῦσθαι –
   Root: βεβαιόω
   Form: present passive infinitive
   Lexical Meaning: “to be strengthened,” “to be confirmed”
   Contextual Notes: Passive infinitive expressing purpose or result. Indicates a heart made stable not by rituals but divine grace.
6. τὴν καρδίαν –
   Root: καρδία
   Form: accusative feminine singular noun
   Lexical Meaning: “the heart”
   Contextual Notes: Direct object of βεβαιοῦσθαι. The inner life — thought, will, and affections.
7. οὐ βρώμασιν –
   Root: βρῶμα
   Form: dative neuter plural noun with negation
   Lexical Meaning: “not by foods”
   Contextual Notes: Dative of means in contrast to χάριτι. Refers to dietary laws or ritual meals which cannot spiritually strengthen.
8. ἐν οἷς –
   Root: ἐν + ὅς
   Form: preposition + relative pronoun (dative neuter plural)
   Lexical Meaning: “in which”
   Contextual Notes: Refers back to βρώμασιν; “in these [things].”
9. οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν –
   Root: ὠφελέω
   Form: aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural + negation
   Lexical Meaning: “they were not helped,” “they gained no benefit”
   Contextual Notes: Aorist summarizes past ineffectiveness. Passive voice emphasizes external expectation not fulfilled.
10. οἱ περιπατήσαντες –
    Root: περιπατέω
    Form: nominative masculine plural aorist active participle
    Lexical Meaning: “those who walked,” “those who lived [by them]”
    Contextual Notes: Refers to ritualistic adherents; those whose way of life centered on food regulations.

Passive Infinitive and the Dative of Means

The central theological weight lies in the phrase χάριτι βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν — “to have the heart established by grace.” Greek expresses this divine strengthening with a passive infinitive and a dative of instrument. The heart is not self-stabilized, nor shaped by ritual; it is made firm by an external, divine gift. The passive voice highlights dependence. The dative χάριτι signals the true source. The contrast is then doubled by οὐ βρώμασιν: foods not only fail to strengthen — they do not help at all.

Syntax of Exclusion: Rhetoric through Relative Clauses

The final clause — ἐν οἷς οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν οἱ περιπατήσαντες — undercuts the alternative. The relative pronoun οἷς references βρώμασιν and introduces a damning verdict: those who walked in them were not helped. The aorist ὠφελήθησαν looks backward to collective experience. The participle οἱ περιπατήσαντες evokes a lifestyle — one of religious precision — now revealed as spiritually sterile. Syntax becomes judgment.

Grammar That Grounds the Heart

Hebrews 13:9 gives us a theology of inner stability through a verb: βεβαιοῦσθαι. And it roots that stability not in effort or observance, but in χάριτι. Greek grammar — with its passive voice, dative instruments, and relative clauses of exclusion — reflects a spiritual principle: true strength comes not from what enters the body, but from what sustains the soul. And in Greek, grace does the strengthening.