“For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.”
My Notes
What Does Hebrews 7:18 Mean?
"There is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof." The old commandment — the Levitical law — is cancelled. Not modified. Not updated. Disannulled. Set aside. The reason: it was weak and unprofitable. It couldn't do what needed to be done. The law wasn't sinful — it was insufficient.
The word "disannulling" (athetesis) means abrogation, setting aside, making void. The legal language is precise: the old commandment has been legally annulled. It's no longer in force. The contract has been voided — not because it was invalid from the start but because a better arrangement has replaced it.
The two charges — "weakness" and "unprofitableness" — diagnose why the law failed. It was weak: it couldn't empower people to obey. It was unprofitable: it couldn't produce the righteousness it required. The law could diagnose the disease but couldn't cure it. It could name the problem but couldn't fix it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What old system of performance-based righteousness are you still living under?
- 2.How does understanding the law as 'weak and unprofitable' differ from calling it sinful?
- 3.What does the law's perfect diagnosis and absent cure teach about human religion's limitations?
- 4.What has replaced the old commandment in your spiritual life — and is it actually better?
Devotional
The old commandment is cancelled. Not because it was wrong. Because it was weak. Because it was unprofitable. It couldn't do what needed to be done. The law diagnosed the disease and couldn't cure it.
The writer of Hebrews uses legal language for a legal event: the old covenant has been set aside. The technical term — disannulled — means voided, abrogated, cancelled. The law of Moses, which governed Israel's relationship with God for centuries, has been formally replaced by something better.
The two charges against the law are diagnostic, not condemnatory. Weakness: the law couldn't empower obedience. It told you what to do but couldn't give you the power to do it. Unprofitableness: the law couldn't produce the righteousness it demanded. It set the standard and then watched everyone fail to meet it.
The law was a good doctor with no medicine. It could identify the disease with perfect accuracy. It could describe every symptom, name every condition, and specify exactly what health would look like. But it couldn't heal. The diagnosis was perfect. The treatment was absent.
The replacement — the new covenant, Christ's priesthood, the better hope (verse 19) — provides what the law couldn't: actual power to transform, actual righteousness available by faith, actual access to God without a system of sacrifices that never fully worked.
What 'old commandment' are you still trying to live under that has been cancelled? What system of self-effort, rule-keeping, or performance-based righteousness are you maintaining that Hebrews says is weak and unprofitable?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the law made nothing perfect,.... Or no man; neither any of the priests that offered sacrifices, nor any of the…
For there is verily a disannulling - A setting aside. The Law which existed before in regard to the priesthood becomes…
For there is verily a disannulling - There is a total abrogation, προαγουσης εντολης, of the former law, relative to the…
Observe the necessity there was of raising up another priest, after the order of Melchisedec and not after the order of…
there is) Rather, "there occurs" or "results," in accordance with Psa 110:4.
a disannulling See note on Heb 7:12. Comp.…
Cross References
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