Hebrews 3:16

“For some, when, they had heard, etc..] The Arabic version adds, “his voice”; the law on Mount Sinai; the voice of words, with the voices and thunderings that attended it; the book of the covenant read; the whole system of laws and ordinances delivered to Moses, and by him to them; and also the Gospel, for that was preached to the Israelites in the wilderness, and heard by them; as appears from (<580402>Hebrews 4:2) and which seems chiefly intended: and yet some of the hearers of it did provoke; not only Moses, to speak unadvisedly with his lips; but they provoked Jehovah himself, and the angel of his presence, and his Holy Spirit, by their idolatry, ingratitude, and unbelief: and the…”

“For some--rather interrogatively, "For WHO was it that, when they had heard (referring to 'if ye will hear,' Heb 3:15), did provoke (God)?" The "For" implies, Ye need to take heed against unbelief: for, was it not because of unbelief that all our fathers were excluded (Eze 2:3)? "Some," and "not all," would be a faint way of putting his argument, when his object is to show the universality of the evil. Not merely some, but all the Israelites, for the solitary exceptions, Joshua and Caleb, are hardly to be taken into account in so general a statement. So Heb 3:17-18, are interrogative: (1) the beginning of the provocation, soon after the departure from Egypt, is marked in Heb 3:16; (2) the…”

“For some - Some of the Hebrews who came out of Egypt. The truth was that a large proportion of them rebelled against God, and provoked him to indignation. It is somewhat remarkable that though “all” the Hebrews seem to have joined in the provocation - except a very small number - Paul should have used language which would seem to imply that the number which rebelled was comparatively small. Another version, therefore, has been given to this passage by some of the most eminent critics, consisting merely in a change in the punctuation, by which a different view is given of the whole sentence. According to this, it would be a question, and would mean, “But who were they who when they had heard…”

“Were they not all that came out of Egypt - An awful consideration! The whole elect people of God (a very few excepted) provoked God presently after their great deliverance, continued to grieve his Spirit for forty years, and perished in their sin! Hebrews 3:19”

“3:16-19 These verses contain a rapid-fire series of questions and answers, a common rhetorical technique. The three questions follow the progression of ideas found in Ps 95:8-11: The people of Israel rebelled against God, God was angry, and God took an oath that they would never enter his rest. The answers are taken from other Old Testament passages that focus on the Israelites’ rebellion in the wilderness (Num 14; Deut 9; Ps 106). The author drives home the terrible cost of disobedience to God.”

“some: Heb 3:9, Heb 3:10; Num 14:2, Num 14:4, Num 26:65; Psa 78:17 not: Num 14:24, Num 14:30, Num 14:38; Deu 1:36, Deu 1:38; Jos 14:7-11; Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5 Hebrews 3:17”