Hebrews 7:14
in Hebrews 7For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests.
KJV
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
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This verse in Hebrews 7
Commentary
13 notes on this verse357. – Then he explains what he had said, saying, It is evident that our Lord descended from Judah: 'The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered' (Rev. 5:5). In connection with that tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. For the Law commanded that …
This site's exposition
when the priesthood is changed
on Hebrews 7:12-14
The law tied the priesthood to Levi, so when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed as well. Christ belonged to a different tribe, Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.
This site's exposition
descended from Judah
The title our Lord stands here without Jesus or Christ, as elsewhere only at 2 Peter 3:15. The Greek verb behind descended pictures a branch springing up. The genealogies in Matthew and Luke record that descent from Judah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Julius AfricanusJulius Africanus The Epistle to Aristides · Written before 240.
proposed
And they ought not indeed to have been ignorant that both orders of the ancestors enumerated are the generation of David, the royal tribe of Juda.
"For He of whom these things are spoken pertained to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests." I myself also say it, I know that this tribe of Judah had nothing of priesthood. For there is a transferring. And observe the mystery. First it was royal, and then it is become sacerdotal: so therefore also in regard to Christ: for King indeed He always was, but has become Priest from the time that He assumed the Flesh, that He offered the sacrifice. Thou seest the change, and the very things which were ground of objection these he introduces, as though the natural order of things required them.
For it is said, "that our Lord arose from Judah." The word "arose" is related to the fleshly birth of our Savior God. A crafted expression referring to the fleshly birth of our Savior, the word "arose," taken from the prophecy of Balaam, "A star …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Significant is the expression "has dawned," taken both from the prophecy of Balaam, who says: "a star shall rise out of Jacob" (Num. 24:17), and also from the prophecy of Malachi, who calls Him "the Sun of righteousness" (Mal. 4:2). By this it is shown …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah - Whatever difficulties have arisen since, during so long a tract of time, it was then clear beyond dispute.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah,....
The priesthood and law by which perfection could not come are abolished, and a priest has arisen, and a dispensation is now set up, by which true believers may be made perfect. Now that there is such a change is obvious.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For it is evident - As the apostle speaks here with so much confidence, it follows that our Lord’s descent from the tribe of Judah was incontrovertible. The genealogical tables, both in Matthew and Luke, establish this point; and whatever difficulties we may find in them now, there were none apprehended in those days, else the enemies of the Gospel would have urged these as a chief and unanswerable argument against Christ and his Gospel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
evident--literally, "manifest before the eyes" as a thing indisputable; a proof that whatever difficulties may now appear, then Jesus Christ's genealogy labored under none. our Lord--the only place where this now common title occurs without "Jesus," or "Christ," except 2Pe 3:15. sprang--as a plant, and a branch.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah - It is well known: it cannot be a matter of dispute. About the fact that the Lord Jesus was of the tribe of Judah, there could be no doubt; compare Mat 1:3. But probably the apostle means here to refer to more than that simple fact. It was a doctrine of the Old Testament, and was admitted by the Jews, that the Messiah was to be of that tribe; see Gen 49:10; Isa 11:1; Mic 5:2; Mat 2:6. This was an additional consideration to show that there was to be a change of some kind in the office of the priesthood, since it was declared (Ps. cx) that the Messiah was to be a priest. The fact that the Messiah is to be of the tribe of Judah is still admitted by the Jews. As their distinction of tribes now, however, is broken up, and as it is impossible for them to tell who belongs to the tribe of Judah, it is held by them that when he comes this will be made known by miracle. Of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood - That is, in the Mosaic laws respecting the office of priest, this tribe is not mentioned. All the arrangements pertain to the tribe of Levi.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| πρόδηλον | prodelon | [It is] evident | G4271 → | |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ἐξ | ex | out of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| Ἰούδα | iouda | Judah | G2455 → | |
| ἀνατέταλκεν | anatetalken | has sprung | G393 → | |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κύριος | kurios | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἡμῶν | hemon | of us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| εἰς | eis | as to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| ἣν | hen | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| φυλὴν | phulen | a tribe | G5443 → | |
| περὶ | peri | concerning | G4012 → | 332 times |
| ἱερέων | hi'ereon | priests | G2409 → | 30 times |
| οὐδὲν | ouden | no [thing] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| Μωϋσῆς | mouses | Moses | G3475 → | 78 times |
| ἐλάλησεν.¶ | elalesen | spoke. | G2980 → | 294 times |
πρόδηλον[It is] evident
prodelonG4271 →
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ἐξout of
exG1537 →911 times
ἸούδαJudah
ioudaG2455 →
ἀνατέταλκενhas sprung
anatetalkenG393 →
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κύριοςLord
kuriosG2962 →711 times
ἡμῶνof us
hemonG3165 →1936 times
εἰςas to
eisG1519 →1755 times
ἣνwhich
henG3739 →1405 times
φυλὴνa tribe
phulenG5443 →
περὶconcerning
periG4012 →332 times
ἱερέωνpriests
hi'ereonG2409 →30 times
οὐδὲνno [thing]
oudenG3762 →232 times
ΜωϋσῆςMoses
mousesG3475 →78 times
ἐλάλησεν.¶spoke.
elalesenG2980 →294 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 5:5Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 11:1
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Isaiah 11:1
Through
Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
it leads to
- Matthew 2:6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
- John 7:42
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
- Matthew 2:6
Through
Isaiah 11:1Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 23:5
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Zechariah 6:12
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build…
- Revelation 22:16
Through
Revelation 22:16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
it leads to
- Revelation 5:5
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 5:5
Where this verse is studied
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About Hebrews
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 13; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Julius Africanus, Julius Africanus The Epistle to Aristides; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.