Hebrews 5:13

πᾶς γὰρ … νήπιος γάρ ἐστι. “For every one who partakes of milk [as his sole diet] is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe.” The reference of γὰρ is somewhat obscure. It seems intended to substantiate the last clause of Hebrews 5:12 : “Ye cannot receive solid food, for you have no experience of the word of righteousness”. But he softens the statement by generalising it. Every one that lives on milk is necessarily unacquainted with the higher teaching, which is now λόγος δικ. ἄπειρος having no experience of, ignorant; as κακότητος ἄπειροι, Empedocles in Fairbanks, Phil. of Greece, p. 202. ἄπειρος ἀγρεύειν, Babrius, lxix. 2; ἄπ. τοῦ ἀγωνίζεσθαι, Antiphon, Jebb, p. 8. λόγου δικαιοσύνης, with teaching of righteous conduct the suckling has nothing to do; he cannot act for himself, but can merely live and grow; he cannot discern good and evil, and must take what is given him. Righteousness is not within the suckling's horizon. He cannot as yet be taught it; still less can he be a teacher of it (Hebrews 5:12) νήπιος γάρ ἐστι, for he cannot even speak [νη - ἔπος = infans], he is an infant. The infant can neither understand nor impart teaching regarding a life of which he has no experience, and whose language he does not know. Indirectly, this involves that the higher instruction the writer wished to deliver was important because of its bearing on conduct. [Other interpretations abound. Chrysostom and Theophylact understand the reference to be either to the Christian life or to Christ Himself and the knowledge of His person. Others, as Beza, Lünemann, and many others, take it as “a periphrasis for Christianity or the Gospel, inasmuch as the righteousness which avails with God is precisely the contents of the Gospel”. Riehm also thinks that the Gospel is meant, “because it leads to righteousness”. Westcott understands it of the “teaching which deals at once with the one source of righteousness in Christ, and the means by which man is enabled to be made partaker of it”. The view of Carpzov, and also that of Bleek, is governed by the connection of Melchizedek with righteousness in Hebrews 7:2.]