“Let brotherly love continue.”
Let brotherly love (philadelphia) continue — the exhortation shifts to ethical practice grounded in covenant. Philadelphia, love of brothers/sisters, is the constitutive virtue of the community. Continue (meneō) suggests persistence against erosion.
Church Fathers on Hebrews 13:1
“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful of hospitality, for hereby some have entertained angels unawares.” See how he enjoins them to preserve what they had: he does not add other things. He did not say, “Be loving as brethren,” but, “Let brotherly love continue.” And again, he did not say, “Be hospitable,” as if they were not, but, “Be not forgetful of hospitality,” for this was likely to happen owing to their afflictions. Therefore (he says) “some have entertained…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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