Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 5:11

"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become dull of hearing." — Hebrews 5:11 (ASV)

Although NIV takes this to be the opening of a new paragraph, it seems better to take it as completing the preceding paragraph. The writer points out that there is a good deal that could be said about his subject. It is “hard to explain,” not because of some defect in the writer or the intrinsic difficulty of the subject, but because of the slowness of the learners. This leads to a new train of thought that is pursued throughout ch. 6 (we come back to Melchizedek in ch. 7). “This” refers to the way Melchizedek prefigures Christ. “Are” should really be “have become”; it is an acquired state, not a natural one. “Slow” (GK 3821) means “sluggish” or “slothful.” His readers ought to have been in a different condition, but they had allowed themselves to get lazy. V. The Danger of Apostasy (5:12–6:20) Obviously the author was much concerned lest his readers slip back from their present state into something that amounts to a denial of Christianity. So he utters a strong warning about the dangers of apostasy. He wants his friends to be in no doubt about the seriousness of falling into it.