Hebrews 12:16-17 - Not finding a place of repentance?
Does Hebrews 12:16-17 have conditions?
Hebrews 12:16: "(that) someone (may) not (be) sexually-immoral or profane like Esau, who gave-back his (own) firstborn-rights for one meal."
Hebrews 12:17: "For you-know that indeed afterward, (while) wanting to-inherit the blessing, he-was-rejected — for he-did not find (a) place (of) repentance — even-though having-sought-for it with tears."
Hebrews 12:16: "he-did not find (a) PLACE (of) REPENTANCE"?:
It is written about "ESAU" (Hebrews 12:16) that "he-did not find (a) PLACE (of) REPENTANCE" (Hebrews 12:17).
The phrasing "(a) PLACE [topos 5117 in Greek] (of) REPENTANCE [metanoia 3341 in Greek]" (Hebrews 12:17) would have been a known idiom in Hellenistic Jewish literature before Hebrews was written, and would have meant: "an opportunity/window of time to repent".
For example, speaking of God's judgment on the Canaanites, it is written in Wisdom of Solomon: "But executing judgment by little and little, you gave them PLACE [topos 5117 in Greek] (of) REPENTANCE [metanoia 3341 in Greek], not being ignorant that they were a naughty generation" (Wisdom of Solomon 12:10). God did not judge the Canaanites all at once, but He delayed, giving them a "PLACE" or "opportunity" to REPENT and avoid final judgment.
The author of Hebrews was warning the audience how Esau did "NOT find (a) PLACE (of) REPENTANCE" (Hebrews 12:17) because two chapters earlier the author of Hebrews warned that God was about to bring "judgment and (a) zeal (of) fire about to-consume the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27) and would "not delay" (Hebrews 10:37) any further, and so the warning was that in such a situation "someone (may) not (be) sexually-immoral or profane like Esau" (Hebrews 12:16).
Hebrews 12:17: "even-though having-sought-for IT with tears"?
It is written about Esau that "(while) wanting to-inherit the blessing, he-was-rejected — for he-did not find (a) place (of) repentance — even-though having-sought-for IT with tears" (Hebrews 12:17).
Esau sought "IT" (Hebrews 12:17) with tears.
It would be "the BLESSING" (Hebrews 12:17) that ESAU would be "having-sought-for IT with TEARS" (Hebrews 12:17).
The Greek word for "IT" (Hebrews 12:17) is in the ACCUSATIVE Singular Feminine, like the Greek word for "BLESSING" (Hebrews 12:17).
The Greek word for "repentance" (Hebrews 12:17) is in the GENITIVE Singular Feminine, so the word for "IT" (Hebrews 12:17) may not refer to that. The part "for he-did not find (a) place (of) repentance" (Hebrews 12:17) may be inserted as a parenthetical clause, and may be read in the following way: "(while) wanting to-inherit the blessing, he-was-rejected — for he-did not find (a) place (of) repentance — even-though having-sought-for it with tears" (Hebrews 12:17).
The "TEARS" (Hebrews 12:17) of Esau here would have been because he did not inherit the blessing, "even-though having-sought-for it with TEARS" (Hebrews 12:17). Indeed in the original account in Genesis, when the situation was introduced it was written that "when ESAU heard the words of his father Isaac, he cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter CRY, and said, “BLESS, indeed me also, father!”" (Genesis 27:34). And again 4 verses later in Genesis Esau continued to seek for a blessing, as it is written that again "ESAU said to his father, “You do not have (only) one BLESSING, do you father? BLESS, indeed (me) also, father!” But Isaac having been deeply troubled, Esau cried out aloud and WEPT" (Genesis 27:38).
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