Hebrews study section
Hebrews word studies
A handful of Greek words carry the theology of Hebrews. Tap the speaker next to any word to hear it pronounced.
Key words
κρείττων (kreittōn) — “Better, Superior”
Usage: Hebrews 1:4; 7:22; 8:6; 9:23; 11:40
Meaning: Better, greater, more excellent, superior.
Theological Significance: Kreittōn is the drumbeat of Hebrews: Christ is better than the angels, and He brings a better hope, a better covenant, better promises, and a better sacrifice. All that the old covenant foreshadowed finds its superior fulfillment in Him (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6).
ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus) — “High Priest”
Usage: Hebrews 2:17; 4:14-15; 7:26; 9:11
Meaning: High priest — the chief mediator between God and His people who offers sacrifice and intercedes.
Theological Significance: Jesus is the great archiereus who sympathizes with our weakness, offered Himself once for all, and “always lives to make intercession.” His permanent, perfect priesthood surpasses and fulfills Aaron’s, opening the way to God (Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:24-25).
διαθήκη (diathēkē) — “Covenant”
Usage: Hebrews 7:22; 8:6-13; 9:15; 13:20
Meaning: Covenant, testament — a binding arrangement established by God with His people.
Theological Significance: Christ mediates “a better covenant,” the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah, in which God writes His law on the heart and remembers sins no more, making the old obsolete. His blood is “the blood of the eternal covenant” (Hebrews 8:6-13; 9:15; Jeremiah 31:31-34).
πίστις (pistis) — “Faith”
Usage: Hebrews 10:38-39; 11:1-40; 12:2
Meaning: Faith — “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Theological Significance: By pistis the saints of old lived, pleased God, and awaited His promises, and by faith believers now “preserve their souls.” Faith looks to the unseen God and His promises, fixed above all on “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 11:1, 6; 12:2).
ἐφάπαξ (ephapax) — “Once for All”
Usage: Hebrews 7:27; 9:12; 10:10
Meaning: Once for all, once and for all time — a single, decisive, unrepeatable act.
Theological Significance: Christ offered Himself ephapax, a single sacrifice that need never be repeated, unlike the endless offerings of the old order. By that one offering He secured eternal redemption and “perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 9:12; 10:10-14).
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