Tag Archives: Hebrews 8:4

εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἐπὶ γῆς, οὐδ’ ἂν ἦν ἱερεύς, ὄντων τῶν ἱερέων τῶν προσφερόντων κατὰ τὸν νόμον τὰ δῶρα,

For if indeed he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are priests offering the gifts according to the law. (Hebrews 8:4)

Conditional Clauses and Theological Logic εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἐπὶ γῆς This is the protasis of a second-class (contrary-to-fact) conditional clause. εἰ (“if”) with imperfect ἦν (“he were”) implies a hypothetical scenario contrary to reality: Christ is not on earth. The phrase ἐπὶ γῆς (“on earth”) contrasts with his heavenly ministry (cf. Heb. 8:1–2).… Learn Koine Greek