independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentdashed = verbless / suspended
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Every high priest — taken from men, called by God 5:1–4
vv. 1–3 — the office defined: solidarity and sacrifice
1
For every high priest, taken from among men, is appointed on behalf of men in the things pertaining to God,independent — the gnomic profile — γάρ grounds 4:14–16; the attributive λαμβανόμενος kept internal
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins,purpose — the appointment's purpose — the whole cult in τε … καί
2
being able to deal gently with the ignorant and erring,participial — the second mark — μετριοπαθεῖν, the mean between apathy and indulgence
since he himself also is beset with weakness,cause — ἐπεί — weakness worn like a garment (περίκειται)
3
and because of it he is obligated,independent — coordinate finite — δι' αὐτήν picks up the ἀσθένεια of v. 2
as for the people,comparative — elliptical — 'as (he offers) for the people'
so also for himself, to offer for sins.content — complementary infinitive — οὕτως answers καθώς; unlike Christ (7:27)
v. 4 — the honor not self-taken
4
And no one takes the honor for himself,independent — the decisive mark — ἑαυτῷ fronted; the office a conferred τιμή
but only when called by God,participial — the ellipse — '(he takes it) being called'; the divine call constitutive
just as Aaron also was.comparative — Exod 28:1; Num 16–17 — Aaron the paradigm; verb supplied
So also Christ — appointed by God, perfected through suffering 5:5–10
vv. 5–6 — not self-glorified: appointed by the One who spoke
5
So also Christ did not glorify himselfindependent — the rule of v. 4 applied — ἑαυτόν parallel to ἑαυτῷ
to become high priest,content — epexegetic infinitive — the office not self-assumed
but (he was glorified by) the One who said to him:independent — elliptical — supply ἐδόξασεν; God the speaker is the appointer
'You are my Son;content — Ps 2:7 — the enthronement decree (cf. 1:5)
today I have begotten you.'content — Ps 2:7 — 'today', read of the exaltation; intensive perfect
6
as he also says in another place:comparative — the second testimony joined to the first — Scripture as God's living speech
'You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.'content — Ps 110:4 (LXX 109:4) — the priestly oracle, the homily's text for ch. 7; verbless
vv. 7–10 — the days of his flesh: obedience learned, perfection reached
7
who, in the days of his flesh,relative — on αὐτόν (= Christ) — the frame of the relative period, suspended until ἔμαθεν (v. 8)
having offered up both prayers and supplications, with loud crying and tears, to the One able to save him from death,participial — Gethsemane — the priestly verb προσφέρω (v. 1) of his own prayers; ἐκ θανάτου, out of death
and having been heard for his reverence —participial — ἀπό read causally — heard because of his reverent submission, not spared the cup
8
though being a Son,participial — concessive (καίπερ) — sonship no exemption; construes with ἔμαθεν below
he learned obedience from the things he suffered,relative — the period's finite verb at last — paronomasia ἔμαθεν/ἔπαθεν; relative attracted (ἀφ' ὧν)
9
and, having been perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,relative — coordinate with ἔμαθεν — τελειωθείς vocational (2:10), not moral; ὑπακούουσιν echoes ὑπακοήν
10
having been designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.participial — the seal — Ps 110:4 resumed; inclusio with v. 6, opening the way to ch. 7
The rebuke — dull of hearing, milk not solid food 5:11–14
vv. 11–12 — the charge: dull, needing the ABCs again
11
Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain,independent — περὶ οὗ — Melchizedek, or the whole priesthood theme; verbless predication
since you have become dull of hearing.cause — ἐπεί — the difficulty located in the hearers, not the subject; perfect of regression
12
For indeed, though you ought to be teachers because of the time,participial — concessive — hung on its subject's charge of dullness while construing forward with ἔχετε
you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God,independent — πάλιν the damning word — the ABCs over again; τινὰ read as 'someone'
and you have become those who need milk, not solid food.independent — periphrastic perfect — a settled regression to infancy
vv. 13–14 — the metaphor unpacked: infants and the mature
13
For everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness,cause — why milk convicts — ἄπειρος, without practiced skill; verbless
for he is an infant;cause — the reason beneath — νήπιος, the un-grown, opposite of τέλειος
14
but solid food is for the mature,cause — the δέ-half completing v. 13's γάρ — τελείων fronted, emphatic
those who because of practice have their faculties trained for distinguishing both good and evil.participial — apposition to τελείων — ἕξις, Aristotle's habituation; senses drilled like an athlete's
Analysis. Hebrews 5 falls into three shapes. Verses 1–4 are the gnomic profile of the office: three flush-left present-tense main verbs (καθίσταται, ὀφείλει, λαμβάνει) state what holds of every high priest — taken from men, appointed for men, bound to offer for his own sins too, never self-appointed — with the compassion-clause (μετριοπαθεῖν δυνάμενος) and its ἐπεί ground hanging beneath, and Aaron a verbless comparison at the bottom. Verses 5–10 apply the profile to Christ in one arc: two independent statements — the negated ἐδόξασεν and the elliptical ἀλλ' ὁ λαλήσας (supply 'glorified him') — carry the twin psalm citations as content lines (Ps 2:7; Ps 110:4), and then the great relative period ὃς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις opens as a suspended frame from which the Gethsemane participles (προσενέγκας, εἰσακουσθείς) and the καίπερ-concession hang, resolving at last in the finite ἔμαθεν and its coordinate ἐγένετο, sealed by προσαγορευθείς — the name Melchizedek closing the inclusio with v. 6. Verses 11–14 are the rebuke: a γάρ-chain descending from the verbless Περὶ οὗ line through milk to infancy, with the δέ-counterpart (solid food for the mature) completing the antithesis. Cruxes the layout takes a side on: ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλαβείας (v. 7) is read causally — he was heard because of his reverent submission — not 'delivered from his fear'; σῴζειν ἐκ θανάτου is deliverance out of death (resurrection), not exemption from dying; καίπερ ὢν υἱός is a true concession (no concessive type exists, so it stands as a participle with the concession named in the tag); the wordplay ἔμαθεν/ἔπαθεν is flagged rather than smoothed; περὶ οὗ (v. 11) is left open between Melchizedek and the whole priesthood theme; τινὰ (v. 12) is read as 'someone', not 'which elements'; and the sentence-opening concessive ὀφείλοντες (v. 12) is hung on the dullness-clause it presupposes while construing forward with ἔχετε.