Among the seven middoth (מדות, literally 'measures') or rules for biblical interpretation which rabbinic tradition attributes to Hillel (died c. 10 A.D.), perhaps the best known is the qal wachomer or qal wahomer1 principle (קל וחומר, literally 'light and heavy'). This principle involves either arguing from the lesser to the greater (what logicians would call an argument a minore ad maius) or from the greater to the lesser (a maiore ad minus). If one extends the scope of the qal wachomer beyond biblical interpretation to any logical inference within the biblical text that follows this pattern, it is very common throughout the Bible. I am not aware of any resource that comprehensively tabulates occurrences of qal wachomer arguments within the Bible, so in this article I am offering a step in that direction in the form of a table with 65 biblical texts that certainly or at least plausibly contain a qal wachomer.
The table is largely my own work, although I did consult this page as a starting point, and was already familiar with a few of the more famous cases either through the academic literature or hearing about them from my theology lecturers. There are a few suggested cases of qal wachomer that I have omitted from the table because I am not convinced they are such.2 I do not claim to have found all biblical instances of qal wachomer, and some of those I have identified may be disputed (especially if the qal wachomer is only implicit or partially stated).
The most common structure for a qal wachomer is, 'If X (a light thing) is true, how much more is Y (a heavy thing) true?' Sometimes the direction is heavy to light, and sometimes the argument is phrased negatively, e.g. '...how much less...?'
A slight majority (39) are from the New Testament. Such reasoning is especially common in the sayings of Jesus in Matthew, Luke and John, in the Pauline Hauptbriefe (undisputed letters) and in Hebrews. Translations are taken from the NASB unless otherwise indicated. The table below can also be downloaded in Excel or PDF format.
Text
|
Translation
|
Paraphrase of qal wachomer
|
Ex. 6:12
|
12 But Moses spoke before
the Lord, saying, “Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to
me; how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am unskilled in speech?”
|
If even my own people wouldn't listen to me,
how much more will Pharaoh not?
|
Num. 12:13-14
|
13 Moses cried out to the Lord,
saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!” 14 But
the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her
face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for
seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”
|
If her father had but spit in her face, she
would bear her shame for seven days. How much more then when she has been
struck with leprosy?
|
Deut. 31:27
|
For I know your rebellion and your
stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been
rebellious against the Lord; how much more, then, after my
death?
|
If the Israelites are rebellious while
Moses is still around, how much more will they be after he is gone?
|
1 Sam. 14:29-30
|
29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has
troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a
little of this honey. 30 How much more, if only the people had
eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now
the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”
|
If I have been cheered by a little honey,
how much more would the people have been cheered if they had been allowed to
eat freely from the spoil of the Philistines?
|
1 Sam. 21:4-6
|
4 The priest answered David and said,
“There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated
bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from
women.” 5 David answered the priest and said to him, “Surely women
have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of
the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more
then today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest
gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but
the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the Lord,
in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.
|
If women are kept from us on ordinary
journeys, how much more on this urgent errand?
|
1 Sam. 23:3
|
3 But David’s men said to him,
“Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah
against the ranks of the Philistines?”
|
If we are afraid here in our own territory,
how much more will we be afraid in enemy territory?
|
2 Sam. 4:9-12
|
9 David answered Rechab and Baanah his
brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As
the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all
distress, 10 when one told me, saying, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’
and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him in
Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him
for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have
killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not
now require his blood from your hand anddestroy you from the
earth?” 12 Then David commanded the young men, and they killed
them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them up beside the pool in
Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the grave
of Abner in Hebron.
|
If I had a man executed just for telling me
Saul was dead and expecting a reward, how much more will I have you executed
for murdering Saul's innocent son inside his own house on his bed?
|
2 Sam. 16:10-12
|
11 Then David said to Abishai
and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks
my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him
curse, for the Lord has told him. 12 Perhaps
the Lord will look on my affliction and return good to me instead
of his cursing this day.”
|
(Heavy to light) If my own son wants me
dead, it is no surprise if this man from another tribe does.
|
2 Sam. 18:11-12
|
11 Then Joab said to the man who had
told him, “Now behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him
there to the ground? And I would have given you ten pieces of
silver and a belt.” 12 The man said to Joab, “Even if I should receive
a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I would not put out my hand
against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king charged you and
Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Protect for me the young man Absalom!’
|
(Heavy to light; rhetorical rather than
argumentative) I would not have murdered Absalom for a thousand pieces of
silver, how much less would I do it for ten pieces and a belt?
|
1 Kings 8:27 (cp. 2 Chr. 6:18)
|
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth?
Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much
less this house which I have built!
|
(Heavy to light) if heaven itself is unfit
to contain God, how much less is a man-made building fit to contain God!
|
1 Kings 13:7-8
|
7 Then the king said to the man of God,
“Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a
reward.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to
give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or
drink water in this place.
|
(Heavy to light; rhetorical rather than
argumentative) I would not go home with you for a reward of half your house;
how much less would I do so for some unspecified reward!
|
2 Kings 5:12
|
Then his servants came near and spoke to
him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great
thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he
says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
|
(Heavy to light) Naaman, if Elisha had
ordered you do something great to be healed, you would have done it; how much
more should you be willing to do the simple, easy task he has given you?
|
Job 4:17-21
|
17 ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a
man be pure before his Maker? 18 ‘He puts no trust even in His servants; And
against His angels He charges error. 19 ‘How much more those who dwell in
houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 20 ‘Between
morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish
forever. 21 ‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet
without wisdom.’
|
(Heavy to light) if God even regards his
angels as impure, how much more does he regard mere mortals as impure?
|
Job 15:15-16
|
15 “Behold, He puts no trust in His holy
ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight; 16 How much less one who is
detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water!
|
(Heavy to light) similar to Job 4:17-21
|
Job 25:5-6
|
5 “If even the moon has no brightness And
the stars are not pure in His sight, 6 How much less man, that maggot, And
the son of man, that worm!”
|
(Heavy to light) similar to Job 4:17-21
|
Job 35:13-14
|
13 “Surely God will not listen to an empty
cry, Nor will the Almighty regard it. 14 “How much less when you say you do
not behold Him, The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
|
(Heavy to light; Hebrew is difficult and
may read differently) if God doesn't answer the cry of the oppressed who
don't raise doubts against him, how much less will he answer you, who do?
|
Prov. 11:31
|
If the righteous will be rewarded in the
earth, How much more the wicked and the sinner!
|
(Logical progression is not obvious - see
interpretation of LXX in 1 Pet. 4:18)
|
Prov. 15:11
|
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before
the Lord, How much more the hearts of men!
|
(Heavy to light) if even hidden places under
the earth are open to God, how much more the hearts of people living on the
earth?
|
Prov. 19:7
|
All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with
words, but they are gone.
|
(Heavy to light) if even the brothers of a
poor man hate him, how much more will his friends do so?
|
Prov. 21:27
|
The sacrifice of the wicked is an
abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent!
|
If the sacrifice of a wicked person is
already abominable due to his wickedness, how much more when the sacrifice
itself is done in bad faith?
|
Jer. 12:5
|
“If you have run with footmen and they have
tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a
land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
|
(Double qal wachomer) If you can't even
keep up with men running, how much more will you not keep up with horses? If
you fall down in a peaceful land, how much more in a dangerous land?
|
Jer. 25:29
|
For behold, I am beginning to work calamity
in this city which is called by My name, and shall you be
completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment;
for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,”
declares the Lord of hosts.’
|
(Heavy to light) if I am not sparing my own
special city Jerusalem from punishment, how much less will I spare the
nations?
|
Ezek. 14:19-21
|
19 Or if I should send
a plague against that country and pour out My wrath in blood on it to
cut off man and beast from it, 20 even though Noah,
Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God,
“they could not deliver either their son or their daughter.
They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” 21 For thus
says the Lord God, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments
against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and
beast from it!
|
If the righteousness of past righteous
figures could only spare themselves and not their people in the day of
calamity, how much more will the present wicked city of Jerusalem face my
judgment?
|
Ezek. 15:1-5
|
15 Then the word of
the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, how is the
wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is
among the trees of the forest? 3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything,
or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any
vessel? 4 If it has been put into the fire for
fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle
part has been charred, is it then useful for anything?
5 Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How
much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be
made into anything!
|
If wood from a vine is useless when it is
intact, how much more is it useless when it has been charred by fire?
|
Jonah 4:10-11
|
10 Then the Lord said, “You
had compassion on the plant for which you did not work
and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight
and perished overnight. 11 Should I not have compassion
on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who
do not know the difference between their right and left hand,
as well as many animals?”
|
If you (a mere mortal) had compassion for a
mere plant, how much more should I (the merciful God) have compassion for a
huge city?
|
Sir. 10:31
|
He who has repute in poverty, how much more
also in wealth? And he who is held in disrepute in wealth, how much more also
in poverty? (NETS)
|
(Double qal wachomer) If a person has a
good reputation while poor, how much better would his reputation be if he became
rich? If a person has a bad reputation while wealthy, how much worse would
his reputation be if he lost his wealth?
|
Matt. 6:26 (cp. Luke 12:24)
|
26 Look at the birds of the air,
that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
|
If God feeds mere birds, will he not much
more feed people?
|
Matt. 6:30 (cp. Luke 12:28)
|
30 But if God so clothes
the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is
thrown into the furnace, will He not much
more clothe you? You of little faith!
|
If God clothes mere grass, will he not much
more clothe people?
|
Matt. 10:24-25
|
24 “A disciple is not above his
teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple
that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they
have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they
malign the members of his household!
|
(Heavy to light?) If the wicked malign even
the master (who is greater), how much more will they malign those who follow
him?
|
Matt. 12:3-6
|
3 But He said to them, “Have you
not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his
companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate
the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those
with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the
Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and
are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something greater than
the temple is here.
|
If the letter of the law could be
overridden in the presence of the temple, how much more in the presence of
the One who is greater than the temple?
|
Matt. 12:10-12
|
10 And a man was there whose
hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to
heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to
them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it
falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it
out? 12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then,
it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
|
If it is legal to rescue a sheep on the
Sabbath, how much more is it legal to rescue a man?
|
Matt. 12:41-42 (cp. Luke 11:31-32)
|
41 The men of Nineveh will stand up
with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they
repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than
Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise
up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came
from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and
behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
|
(Implicit) If Gentiles will be judged (and
vindicated) in terms of their contact with Jonah and Solomon, how much more
will Jews of this generation be judged (and condemned) in terms of their
contact with someone much greater?
|
Luke 11:11-13 (cp. Matt. 7:9-11)
|
11 Now suppose one of you fathers
is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a
fish, will he? 12 Or if he is asked for an egg, he will
not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
Him?”
|
If even earthly, mortal fathers respond to
their children's requests with good, earthly gifts, how much more will the
divine, heavenly Father respond to his children's requests with good,
heavenly gifts? (the contrast in the quality of the gifts is not explicit in
Matthew)
|
Luke 12:6-7 (cp. Matt. 10:29-30)
|
6 Are not five sparrows sold for
two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before
God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not
fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
|
If God cares about sparrows, how much more
does he care about people?
|
Luke 13:15-16
|
15 But the Lord answered him and
said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie
his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to
water him? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as
she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not
have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
|
If it is legal to work to provide for
animals' basic needs on the Sabbath, how much more is it legal to release a
daughter of Abraham from bondage to Satan on the Sabbath?
|
Luke 16:10-12
|
10 “He who is faithful in a very
little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very
little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been
faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the
true riches to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful
in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which
is your own?
|
qal wachomer principle stated explicitly in
v. 10, followed by two applications
|
Luke 18:6-7
|
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them?
|
(Implicit) if even an unjust judge can be moved by persistence to bring justice, how much more can God be? (Thanks to Anonymous for pointing out this instance in the comments.)
|
John 3:12
|
12 If I told you earthly things and
you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
|
If you cannot even believe earthly things,
how much less will you be able to believe heavenly things?
|
John 5:46-47
|
46 For if you believed Moses, you
would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do
not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
|
(Implicit) If you cannot even believe the
words of Moses who wrote about me, how much less will you be able to believe
my own words?
|
John 6:61-62
|
61 But Jesus, conscious that His
disciples grumbled at this, said to them,“Does
this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you
see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
|
(Implicit) If you have been offended by the
previous saying, how much more will you be offended by this one…
|
John 7:23
|
If a man receives circumcision
on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you
angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
|
If it is legal to 'fix' one small part of
the body on the Sabbath, how much more is it legal to 'fix' the whole body on
the Sabbath?
|
John 10:34-36
|
34 Jesus answered them, “Has it
not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are
gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and
the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, whom the
Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’
because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
|
If even
those to whom the word of God came can be called 'gods', how much more can
God's own Son be called 'God'?
|
John 19:36
|
36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken."
|
(Implicit) As argued by Longenecker,3 this may be a subtle qal wachomer exegetical argument: if Ps. 34:19-20 is true of the generic 'righteous one', how much more is it true of Jesus, the Righteous One par excellence? However, I think the use of Ps. 34:19-20 in John 19:36 is at least partly explicable in terms of pesher (a revelatory 'this-is-that' interpretation of the contemporary fulfillment of Scripture).
|
Acts 1:16-20
|
16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, And let no one dwell in it’; and, ‘Let another man take his office.’
|
(Implicit) Again, Longenecker4 regards this as a subtle qal wachomer exegetical argument: if Ps. 69:25 and Ps. 109:8 are true of the generic evildoer, how much more are they true of Judas, the traitor par excellence? Again, however, I think the use of the psalms here is at least partly explicable in terms of pesher.5 Note the explicit use of 'this-is-that' pesher language in Acts 2:16.
|
Rom. 2:25-27
|
25 For indeed circumcision is of value
if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the
Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 So
if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law,
will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?27 And he
who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge
you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision
are a transgressor of the Law?
|
(Implicit) if Jews who practice the Law -
which they explicitly know - can be regarded as 'circumcised', how much more
can Gentiles who meet the Law's requirements - which they do not explicitly know
- be regarded as 'circumcised'?
|
Rom. 5:10
|
10 For if while we were enemies
we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having
been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
|
If the death of God's Son yielded a good
result for God's enemies, how much more will the life of God's Son yield a
good result for God's friends?
|
Rom. 5:15-17
|
15 But the free gift is not like
the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many
died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the
one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not
like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one
hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting
in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many
transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the
transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those
who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness
will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
|
(Double; restated) Given God's righteous
and gracious nature, if the transgression of the lesser man (Adam) had
consequences for many, how much more did the grace and righteousness of the
greater man (Jesus Christ) have consequences for many?
|
Rom. 8:31-32
|
31 What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who is against
us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
|
(Double; implicit; heavy to light) If even
God, the highest judicial authority of all, is not against us but for us, how
much less could any other judicial authority be against us? If God was
willing to gratuitously deliver over his own Son to give us a hope, how much
more will he consummate this hope when that same Son comes again?
|
Rom. 11:11-12
|
11 I say then, they did not stumble so
as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their
transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them
jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and
their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their
fulfillment be!
|
If God brought salvation in allowing his
people Israel temporarily to fail, how much more will he bring salvation when
he intervenes to end this failure?
|
Rom. 11:24
|
24 For if you were cut off from what
is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the
naturalbranches be grafted into their own olive tree?
|
(Heavy to light) If it is possible for wild
branches to be grafted into a cultivated olive tree (against nature), how
much more is it possible for cultivated branches to be grafted in (in accordance
with nature)?
|
1 Cor. 6:2-3
|
2 Or do you not know
that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged
by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law
courts? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more
matters of this life?
|
(Double; heavy to light) If the saints are
competent to judge the world, and angels, how much more are they competent to
judge temporal matters?
|
1 Cor. 9:12
|
11 If we sowed spiritual things in you,
is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others
share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use
this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance
to the gospel of Christ.
|
If others (who did not found the Corinthian
church) have a right to reap material things from the Corinthian church, how
much more does Paul (who did found the Corinthian church) have this right?
|
1 Cor. 14:6-9
|
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you
speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by
way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either
flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in
the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the
harp? 8 For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound,
who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you
utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is
spoken? For you will bespeaking into the air.
|
(Implicit) If even 'lifeless', earthly
sounds require clarity to be useful, how much more do life-giving, heavenly
sounds require clarity to be useful?
|
1 Cor. 15:13-146
|
13 But if there is no resurrection of the
dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
|
(Implicit) If not even Christ has been
raised, how can anyone else hope to be raised?
|
2 Cor. 3:7-11
|
7 But if the ministry of
death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that
the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of
the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the
ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For
if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does
the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For indeed
what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that
surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with
glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
|
(Triple qal wachomer) if the ministry of death and
condemnation, which is fading away, had glory, how much more does the
ministry of the Spirit and righteousness, which surpasses it, have glory?
|
2 Cor. 11:13-15
|
13 For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15
Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
|
(Heavy to light; logic is comparable to
Matt. 10:25) If even Satan disguises himself (heavy), it is no surprise if his
servants disguise themselves (light)
|
Gal. 1:8-9
|
8 But even if we, or an
angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we
have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have
said before, so I say again now,if any man is
preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to
be accursed!
|
(Heavy to light; implicit) If even Paul
himself (who originally brought them the gospel) or a heavenly angel should
be accursed for preaching a different gospel, how much more should anyone
else be accursed for preaching a different gospel
|
Gal. 2:14
|
But when I saw that they were not straightforward
about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all,
“If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the
Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like
Jews?
|
(Implicit) If it was acceptable for Cephas
himself-a Jew-to live like a Gentile, how much more is it acceptable for
Gentiles to live like Gentiles?
|
1 Tim. 3:5
|
(but if a
man does not know how to manage his own
household, how will he take care of the church of God?)
|
If a man is incapable of managing his own
natural household, how much more is he incapable of managing God's spiritual
household?
|
Heb. 2:2-3a
|
2 For if the word spoken
through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if
we neglect so great a salvation?
|
(Similar to Heb. 10:29-30) If
transgressions under the law were punished, how much more will a rejection of
the great salvation be punished?
|
Heb. 6:13-18
|
13 For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” 15 And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. 16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
|
(Implicit) Guthrie7 sees an implicit qal wachomer argument here: if even men's oaths have force in confirming their word, how much more does God's oath have force in confirming his unbreakable word? Note, however, the comparative 'in the same way' (rather than 'how much more' as used elsewhere in the letter) casts some doubt on whether a light-to-heavy movement is intended; it may only be an analogy.
|
Heb. 9:13-14
|
13 For if the blood of goats and
bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled
sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more
will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
|
If the blood of physically unblemished
animals have cultic efficacy, how much more does the blood of the spiritually
unblemished Christ?
|
Heb. 10:28-29
|
28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of
Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How
much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled
under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the
covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of
grace?
|
If apostasy against the old covenant earned
a punishment of death, how much more severe a punishment will apostasy
against the new covenant earn?
|
Heb. 12:9-10
|
9 Furthermore, we had earthly
fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much
rather be subject to the Father of spirits,
and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as
seemed best to them, but He disciplines
us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
|
If we respected our earthly fathers who
disciplined us according to their imperfect will, how much more should we
respect our heavenly Father who disciplines us according to his perfect will?
|
Heb. 12:25
|
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is
speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who
warned them on earth, much less will we escape who
turn away from Him who warns from heaven.
|
If people who failed to heed Moses' earthly
warning (Ex. 19:12-13) did not escape punishment, how much less will people
who failed to heed God's heavenly warning (Hag. 2:6-7) escape punishment?
|
1 Pet. 4:17-18
|
17 For it is time for
judgment to begin with the household of God; and
if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome
for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And if it
is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of
the godless man and the sinner?
|
(Implicit; v. 18 quotes Prov. 11:31 LXX) If
the righteous household God will face judgment and scarcely escape, how much
more will wicked unbelievers be unable to escape
|
Footnotes
- 1 These transliterations are both widely used, and I am more concerned with ensuring this article receives a decent ranking in Google searches than with meeting transliteration conventions; hence I have not marked up the transliteration.
- 2 These are Esth. 9:12 (suggested by Wansbrough), 2 Chr. 32:15, Matt. 6:15 (par. Mark 11:26) and 1 Cor. 8:8-10.
- 3 Longenecker, Richard N. (1999). Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period (2nd edn). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, p. 81.
- 4 Longenecker, op. cit., p. 139.
- 5 Longenecker writes elsewhere concerning Acts 1:20 that 'While there is here the use of Hillel's first exegetical rule qal wa-ḥomer ("what applies in a less important case will certainly apply in a more important case"), thereby applying what is said in the Psalms about the unrighteous generally to the betrayer of the Messiah specifically, the aspect of fulfilment, as based on typological correspondence in history, gives the treatment a pesher flavor as well'. (Longenecker, Richard N. (2007). Early Church Interpretation. In Stanley E. Porter (Ed.), Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation (pp. 78-89). New York: Routledge, p. 80.)
- 6 Peerbolte thinks the whole argument of 1 Cor. 15:12-20 is a qal wachomer (Peerbolte, Bert Jan Lietaert (2013). How Antichrist defeated Death: The Development of Christian Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Early Church. In Jan Krans, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, Peter-Ben Smit & Arie Zwiep (Eds.), Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology: Studies in Honour of Martinus C. de Boer (pp. 238-255). Leiden: Brill, p. 241.
- 7 Guthrie, George H. (2007). Hebrews. In G.K. Beale & D.A. Carson (Eds.), Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (pp. 919-996). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, p. 966.
