What Does Hebrews 13:22 Mean?
And I urge you, brothers. Bear up under the word of urging, for I have written to you in a few words.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.THE KEY
“Beseech” and “exhortation” belong to one Greek word-family: the appeal asks you to bear with the appeal.
THE MEANING
This line meets you as an appeal worth bearing with: the word that urges you can also encourage you. Its few words do not make it slight; a brief message can still carry a concentrated appeal.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An urging word is not necessarily condemnation; the word-family here also carries the sense of comfort.
THE ROOT
παρακαλῶ
parakalō
GROWS FROM
παρακαλέω
To urge or appeal; the same Greek word-family also carries the sense of comfort.
“urge” in this verse is parakalō. The KJV renders this word-family first as “beseech” and then as “exhortation,” so the appeal and the message being received are linguistically joined. What sounds like a request followed by a separate subject is one continuing act of urging and encouragement.
ALSO GROWS
parakaleō: urge, appeal, comfort
παρακαλέω
This is the verb rendered “beseech” at the start of the verse.
paraklēsis: appeal, exhortation, comfort
παράκλησις
This is the noun rendered “exhortation”; it names the message from the same word-family.
THE PATTERN
An urging word can also strengthen and comfort the one who receives it.
A man has joy in the answer of his mouth, and a word in its season, how good it is!Then the assemblies had wholeness throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were built up. And walking in the awe of the LORD and in the comfort of the Set-Apart Breath, they were multiplied.Who comforts us in all our pressure, so that we are able to comfort those in every pressure, through the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.THE THREAD
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another one who comes alongside, that he may be with you for the ages.“Comforter” translates παράκλητος (paraklētos, comforter or helper), from the same Greek word-family as παρακαλέω (parakaleō, urge or comfort) and παράκλησις (paraklēsis, appeal or encouragement). The word-family that names the appeal here also names the one who comforts.
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