Hebrews' Relationship to Second Temple Judaism

A link to this dissertation has been added to the Theses and Dissertations page:

Strickland, Phillip David. “Pro Hebraious: The Epistle to the Hebrews and Its Relationship to Second Temple Judaism.” PhD diss., McMaster Divinity College, 2019.

Rest, Rhetoric, and Suffering in Hebrews

A recent doctoral dissertation that is available on the internet:

Ngama, Dickson Kûng’û. “Rest, Rhetoric, and Suffering in the Letter to the Hebrews: How the Author of Hebrews Uses Classical Rhetoric to Resolve Tension between Invitation to God’s Rest and Present Suffering.” PhD diss., Rawlings School of Divinity, 2024.

HT: Lee Zachary Maxey

Articles on Hebrews from Africa

The following article recently came out:

Urga, Abeneazer G. “The Victorious High Priest in the AfricanContext: Christ and the Logic of Atonement in Hebrews 2:14–18.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 10.2 (2024): 1–24.

 

Abstract:

"Scholars have proposed several atonement theories to describe what Christ has achieved through the incarnation, particularly through his death—Recapitulation, Example, Moral Influence, Ransom, Christus Victor, Penal Substitution, and Government theories. However, the discussion of atonement theories reveals that scholars favour and advocate for one theory. The Christus Victor and Penal Substitutionary atonement theories are often pitted against each other. This article examines Hebrews 2:14–18, using a historical, grammatical, and literary method. The passage depicts Jesus’s sacrificial death for the sins of God’s people and his victory over the devil and death through his incarnation. Contrary to the common tendency of scholars to pit the Christus Victor model and Christ’s atoning substitution against each other, in the present pericope, the author of Hebrews illustrates the integration of Christus Victor and substitutionary atonement theories as complementary aspects of Jesus’s incarnation. The article also showcases the integration of victory and sacrifice in African Christian songs that perceive Jesus as a victorious High Priest who died as a substitute and freed his people from the domination of the devil and death. The article proposes that the Christus Victor and Penal Substitutionary atonement models are not mutually exclusive but should be understood synergistically."

 

Links to this article, along with the following articles will be added to the articles page:

Steyn, G. J. “Die vita Christiana volgens Hebreërs 10:19–25: Eksegetiese kantaantekeninge.” Dutch Reformed Theological Journal/Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskriff 48 (2007): 612–20.

Jones, M. “Calvin and His Puritan Heirs on Christ’s Humanity in Hebrews.” Dutch Reformed Theological Journal/Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 54.1 (2013): 59–69.

Boaheng, Isaac. “A Soteriological Reflection on Priestly Christology from an Akan Perspective.” Stellenbosch Theological Journal 9.1 (2023): 1–18.

 

Article on Hebrews from Ukraine

Here is an article from Ukraine:

Lukin, Volodymyr. “Why Did Jesus Suffer ‘Outside the Gates’ and not ‘Outside the Camp’? The Theological Significance of the Two Place-Spaces in Hebrews.” Analecta of the Ukrainian Catholic University 11 (2024): 7–51.

 

Abstract:
"This article seeks to identify a single source of intertextual connection that has been influential in forming theological statements about Christ’s death in Heb 13:12 in terms of spatial-topological theology. It reexamines and evaluates the theological approaches to the interpretation of place-space indicators such as “outside the gates” and “outside the camp”. For the first time in studies of this kind, the differences in the soteriological and eschatological scenarios associated with the choice of the respective backgrounds are pointed out, and the practical implications of these differences are outlined. The motive that led the apostle Paul to use the language of a specific Old Testament background, with the help of which he recorded the true reality and its intentionality, was made explicit. It has been shown that the rituals of Yom Kippur are not the hermeneutical context of the indicators mentioned and cannot serve as an interpretive axiom. In turn, this has shed light on the negative consequences of imposing the Day of Atonement motif not only for the contents of Heb 13:12, but for the whole document. Certainly, this approach to dealing with the crucial informative aspects in this Exhortation to Hebrews, is evidence of the domination of academic thinking by fixed theological motivations, and within the boundaries of a particular scholarly trend. It has been exegetically argued that the ritual activity of the daily service in the earthly Tabernacle, is regarded as a non-alternative outline in the explication of the cumulative features of the informative constituents in Heb 13:12. In general, this made it possible not only to coordinate the vector of interpretation of the soteriological component with the intentions of the author of the document, but also to determine how the identified data, outline the contours of the practical life of church members, forming their doctrinal-worldview horizon."

 

Thanks to Vladimir for the tip.

An Exegetical Examination of the Humanity of Christ

Here is a recent doctoral dissertation that I will add to my theses and dissertations page:

Barnes, Nathaniel D. “An Exegetical Examination of the Humanity of Christ in Hebrews 2:5–18.” PhD diss., Moore Theological College, 2022.

The Complementarity of Spatial and Temporal Aspects in the Eschatology of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Recently published:

Elena Belenkaja. Die Komplementarität räumlicher und zeitlicher Aspekte in der Eschatologie des Hebräerbriefes. (Rainer Hampp Verlag).

"The Letter to the Hebrews presents a unique eschatology between space and time embedded in an artful symbiosis of philosophical and theological thoughts, with its author developing his very own eschatology within the New Testament. Its peculiarity is expressed in the interweaving of perfect, present and future statements. Their interpretation suffers from the difficulty of grasping the limitations of these statements and their relationship to each other, a challenge which this book takes up. In an exegetical case study of the primary text (Heb. 1-13), the author examines relevant statements on the understanding of time and space, taking into account their complementary relationship."

Amy Peeler Podcasts

Amy Peeler. "The Barriers and Brilliance of Hebrews." Riley Heppner Podcast.

Amy Peeler. "How to Understand Hebrews!" The Center for Bible Study.

Hebrews at SBL Annual Meeting

Society of Biblical Literature 2024 Annual Meeting

San Diego, CA - November 23–26

 

P22-103s

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Institute for Biblical Research
11/22/2024
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Indigo 204A (Second Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Hebrews and the Pauline Tradition
For much of Christian history the Epistle to the Hebrews was understood as a Pauline letter. Today the overwhelming scholarly consensus is that Paul is not the author of Hebrews. Still the connection to Paul is difficult for Hebrews to shake. Even if Paul did not write Hebrews, there is some connection—even if just merited by the epistle’s canonical placement immediately after Paul’s letters—that is significant. Surprisingly, in recent decades little scholarly attention has been devoted to investigating this connection. This research group explores the relationship between Hebrews and the Pauline tradition. While Hebrews must be able to speak on its own terms, historical and canonical imperatives call for it to be read alongside Paul’s letters. This year we are hosting invited papers that address theological connections between Hebrews and the Pauline tradition.

Bryan Dyer, Baker Publishing/Calvin University, Presiding

Erin M. Heim, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University
Crucifixion and Shame in Paul and Hebrews (30 min)

David M. Moffitt, University of St. Andrews
The Ascended Christ’s Ongoing Intercession as Covenant Maintenance: A Shared Soteriological Concept between Hebrews and Paul? (30 min)

Madison N. Pierce, Western Theological Seminary
Power and "Royal Messianism" in the Pauline Corpus and Hebrews (30 min)

Robert W. Wall, Seattle Pacific University
Reading Hebrews with Paul in Canonical Context (30 min)

 

 

M22-106s

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Institute for Biblical Research
11/22/2024
9:00 AM to 11:15 AM
Room: Indigo D (Second Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Scripture and Church Seminar (SACS)

“Scripture-Based Models for Preaching” What can Scripture itself teach us about preaching? How did biblical authors appropriate Scripture in their own preaching? What can we learn from portions of Scripture that were intended to urge certain ways of thinking to lead to right ways of living, such as Proverbs? This seminar explores these questions and others. The focus is not on homiletics per se, but rather models for preaching that emerge organically from Scripture itself. 

 

Dana Harris, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Hebrews: Preaching to the People of God from the Word of God (25 min)
 

 

P22-216s

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Institute for Biblical Research
11/22/2024
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Room: Indigo 204A (Second Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Asian American Biblical Interpretation: Evangelical Voices

This year our research group will focus on biblical interpretation from non-East Asian cultural contexts focusing in particular on South and Southeast Asia. The program will consist of invited papers which will expound a biblical text from such social locations speaking to their locations and the wider world. Presentations will include some reflection on methodology and those characteristics which distinguish South and Southeast Asian biblical interpretation. Two respondents, one East Asian, as well as discussion from the floor will be included. Questions can be directed to Milton Eng (miltoneng@thirdspaceaa.org) or Max Lee (mlee1@northpark.edu). 

 

David A. deSilva, Ashland Theological Seminary
Reading Hebrews in a Sri Lankan Context (20 min)

 

 

S23-312

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Contextualizing North African Christianity
11/23/2024
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Cobalt 501A (Fifth Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Composing Communities

This session focuses on the creation and preservation of early Christian communities, exploring the compositional and hermeneutical practices that formed the identity of various early Christian groups through literary production.

 

Bec Muir, Ridley Melbourne
Can We Compose Righteous Communities? A Comparison of the Discussions of Divine Enablement in Augustine and Hebrews (25 min)

 

 

S24-214

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Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti
11/24/2024
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Aqua 307 (Third Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Please Recycle (II): Ancient Intertexuality in the New Testament, Christian Apocrypha, and Beyond

 

Laurie A. Wilson, Biola University
Suffering as Education and Athletic Training: Parallels between Epictetus and Hebrews 12:1–13 (30 min)

S24-318

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Hebrews
11/24/2024
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Aqua 311A (Third Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Hebrews and Other Early Christian Literature

Madison N. Pierce, Western Theological Seminary, Presiding

Benjamin Ribbens, Trinity Christian College
The Redemption of Violations Committed under the First Covenant: Hebrews 9:15 and Rom 3:21–26 on Redemption, Forgiveness, and Passing over Sins (25 min)

Scott Shauf, Gardner-Webb University
The Covenant Sacrifice in Hebrews 9–13 and 1 Corinthians 10–12 (25 min)

Julie M. Leyva, Duke University
What Advantage Is a Mediator? Μεσίτης and Νόμος in Galatians and Hebrews (25 min)

Stephen Wunrow, Wheaton College
Cave Corpus? Human Bodies as a Potential Threat to Heavenly Space in Hebrews and Other Early Christian Traditions (25 min)

David Downs, University of Oxford
“Let Us Fix Our Eyes on the Blood of Christ” (1 Clem 7.4): Resurrection and Atonement in 1 Clement and Hebrews (25 min)

Discussion (25 min)

S25-223

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Hebrews
11/25/2024
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Cobalt 501A (Fifth Level) - Hilton Bayfront

Theme: Open Session on Hebrews

Madison Pierce, Western Theological Seminary, Presiding

Kaspars Ozolins, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Isaiah’s Third “Servant Song” as a Background to Hebrews 1:10–12 (25 min)
Tag(s): Hebrews and Catholic Epistles (Biblical Literature - New Testament), Intertextuality (Interpretive Approaches), Septuagint (Biblical Literature - Hebrew Bible/Old Testament/Greek OT (Septuagint))

Timothy Bertolet, ABWE International
The High Priest as Second Adam (25 min)

Alberto Solano-Zatarain, University of Oxford
Entering Perfection: Cultic Consecration and Sinai in Hebrews (25 min)

Albert J. Coetsee, North-West University (South Africa)
Moses’ Fear during the Second Ascent: An Intertextual Study of Deuteronomy 9:19 and Hebrews 12:21 (25 min)

Naphtali S. Meshel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jesus’ Suffering “Outside the Gate” according to Hebrews 13 (25 min)

Jack Franicevich, Valparaiso University
Meal or Metaphor: Identifying the Sacrifice of Praise at Hebrews 13:15 (25 min)

S25-323

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Intertextuality in the New Testament
11/25/2024
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: 11A (Upper Level West) - Convention Center

Theme: Biblical Texts and Figures in Paul and Hebrews

 

Allen Lai, University of Notre Dame
Examining Contextually Sensitive Exegesis in Conflate Citation in Hebrews 2:12–13 (30 min)

Ryan Francis, Catholic University of America
Abel's Speech in Hebrews and Philo (30 min)

S26-128

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Space, Place, and Lived Experience in Antiquity
11/26/2024
9:00 AM to 11:15 AM
Room: Aqua 311A (Third Level) - Hilton Bayfront

 

Theme: Open Call

 

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Princeton University
Real Space, Ideal Space, and “the Mind” in Hebrews: Interpretation through the Lens of Foucault’s “Heterotopia” (25 min)

 

 

 

Hebrews at ETS

Evangelical Theological Society 76th Annual Meeting

Wednesday, November 20 – Friday, November 22

Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina

Wednesday

 

1:00 PM - 4:10 PM

Adventist Theological Society 

 

2:40 PM - 3:20 PM
Larry Lichtenwalter
(Middle East University)
First, New and Eternal Covenants in the Book of Hebrews: Implications for Hermeneutics, Ethics and Nurture 

Thursday

8:30 AM - 11:40 AM
New Testament
General Studies II

8:30 AM - 9:10 AM
Kaspars Ozolins
(Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Isaiah’s Third “Servant Song” as a Background to Hebrews 1:10–12

9:20 AM - 10:00 AM
Jihyung Kim
(McMaster Divinity College)
Wilderness Memories: The key Identity Marker for the Hebrews Community

10:10 AM - 10:50 AM
Michael Kibbe
(Great Northern University)
The Chronology of Prosopology: The Timing of Jesus’ Scriptural Speeches in Hebrews

Review of Lustig, Tod und Opfer Jesu im Hebräerbrief

Sophia Niepert-Rumel reviews Christian Lustig, Tod und Opfer Jesu im Hebräerbrief, in RBL.

Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in Hebrews 9:27–28

New book:

 

Henry, William W., Jr. Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in Hebrews 9:27–28: Jesus’s Ministry to Lead Believers for Salvation into Heaven a Very Little While after Individual Death and Judgment. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024. 

 

Description:
"The general believer waiting for salvation by Jesus hopes to see him appear while living or promptly at death. Comfort during loss of life usually portrays those passing now in heaven. Conversely, the more religiously academic, the less one thinks anyone, ever, goes to heaven. Trained scholars typically choose a closed heaven with temporal delays and spatial detours in limitation of God's promises about "so great salvation." "Better" typically perceives as a resuscitated flesh on earth that lives by decay of the surrounding creation. Hearing word-meaning by mapping creation with an old first-century option for plural heavens, this project reexamines the conversation recommended by the pastor in the letter to the Hebrews about promises regarding the twofold ministry of Christ. By analysis with current study tools, the conversation both challenges the common academy views and reintroduces a first-century hearing option for God's speech concerning prompt, postmortem, Christ fulfillment into heaven. Listening includes the milk of the beginning teaching requirements for atonement and logic of resurrection to God immediately after death and judgment. Hearing senses the solid food about priestly intercession by Jesus after death at judgment to shepherd his believers for salvation into heaven a very little while after individual death and judgment."

Reading Hebrews with Aquinas

New book:

Matthew Levering, Piotr Roszak, and Jörgen Vijgen. Reading Hebrews with St. Thomas Aquinas. Emmaus Academic.

Description:

"This collection of scholarly essays engages historical, theological, and exegetical dimensions of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. These studies belong to an approach that is known as “Biblical Thomism,” which pursues the retrieval of Aquinas’s biblical commentaries as well as his patristic sources as part of a constructive response to the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on Scripture as being the soul of sacred theology."

Recent Hebrews Articles

Stevens, Daniel. "Contrasting Human Speech in Hebrews 12-13." Novum Testamentum 66 (2024): 352-363.

Abstract

This article will analyze an under-studied aspect of the Epistle to the Hebrews: human speech. In so doing, the author will show how the letter-writer creates an implicit comparison between the audience of the epistle and Moses, placing the audience in a position more privileged than Moses himself. The argument will proceed by justifying the scope of the material to be considered, Heb 12–13, then examining the few but significant instances of human discourse in the letter. The author will argue that the letter-writer’s use of explicitly human discourse serves the epistle’s overall argumentative purpose of encouraging the audience to continued adherence to Jesus through a comparison of the Mosaic and new covenants, particularly in reference to the events immediately after the exodus from Egypt. Then the author will conclude with reflections on the rhetorical use of human discourse and the potential implications for the structure and literary unity of Hebrews.

 

Jeffries, Bridget Jack. "Hebrews, She Wrote? An Analysis of the Harnack-Hoppin Thesis of Priscillan Authorship of Hebrews."  Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 67 (2024): 47-66

 

Abstract 

This article evaluates the Harnack-Hoppin thesis that Priscilla is the primary author of Hebrews, examining (1) the historical evidence pertinent to Priscilla’s candidacy for authorship; (2) the probability of a woman in antiquity composing a work of oratory, rhetoric, and philosophy of the caliber of the Epistle to the Hebrews; (3) the inductive argument that the text “feminizes” or otherwise contains internal evidence that it is the work of a feminine mind, and (4) the author’s self-referential use of the participle διηγούμενον in 11:32. An examination of these four elements demonstrates that advocates of the Harnack-Hoppin thesis have not adequately addressed the difficulties posed by historical questions about Priscilla’s candidacy, they have not refuted the apparent verdict of the masculine participle at 11:32, and their inductive argument for a feminine author is critically flawed and unsustainable. The article concludes that Priscilla is not a serious contender for primary authorship of Πρὸς Ἑβραίους.

 

 

Harriman, K.R. "Union with Christ in Hebrews 2–5: An Exploration of “Narrative Christological Solidarity”".  Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 67 (2024): 67-85.

 

Abstract

Abstract: The theme of union with Christ has been well explored in NT scholarship, particularly in the works of Paul. But such a theme has been underexplored in the book of Hebrews, despite the significant amount of relevant material therein. With focus on Hebrews 2–5, I argue that the author exemplifies a particular expression of union with Christ through his references to the narrative of Jesus, including but not limited to the major gospel events, which uphold what I call “narrative christological solidarity.” Through an investigation of Hebrews 25, particularly 2:5–18 and 4:14–5:10, I show how the author conveys union with Christ through references to the narrative of Jesus’s life and highlight theological-ethical connections to union of the faithful with Christ made in these narrative-based references. 

 

 

Stevens, Daniel. "The Ark and the Blood: Jesus’s Body and Intercession in Hebrews". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 67 (2024): 87-101.

 

Abstract

Over the past several years, there has been much debate on the nature of Christ’s intercessory work in Hebrews. At present, the most recent arguments are in favor of understanding it in view of a continuing Yom Kippur atoning liturgy or an atoning tamid sacrifice. This article argues that a continuing sacrificial framework of any variety does not best explain the presentation in Hebrews of Jesus’s ongoing work. Through an analysis of the passages in which Jesus’s body and intercession are related and through recourse to patristic and medieval interpreters, this article argues that Jesus’s intercession—and the role of his body and blood therein—is best understood through the frameworks of the ark and the paschal blood.

 

HT: Daniel Stevens

Minor Variant of Hebrews 2:9

New article:

Clivaz, Claire. “The Minor Variant of Hebrews 2.9, with Mark 15.34 and Psalm 22.2.” New Testament Studies 70 (2024): 291–306.

Abstract

This article explores the relationship of a minor variant in Hebrews 2.9 – Jesus dead ‘apart from God’ (χωρὶς θɛοῦ) – with the minor variant of Mark 15.34 and more broadly with Psalm 22.2, as suggested by Harnack, Michel, Zuntz, Elliott, Ehrman and Rodgers. First, it highlights new elements in the file of the evidence of Heb 2.9 and compares it with the case of Mark 15.34. Secondly, it demonstrates that paying attention to the minor variants of Heb 2.9 and Mark 15.34 allows one to grasp better the diversity of Jewish and early Christian readings of Ps 22.2 or Ps 21.2 LXX: these readings provide a plausible context to explain the emergence of these two minor variants.

 

Majority World Perspectives on Hebrews

This book has recently been published. I expect I'll pick up a copy at SBL:

 

Abebe, Sofanit T., Elizabeth W. Mburu, and Abeneazer G. Urga, eds. Reading Hebrews and 1 Peter from Majority World Perspectives. (Bloomsbury  T&T Clark). 

 

Description from the website:

 

The contributors to this volume offer a bold re-reading of Hebrews and 1 Peter from the perspective of the Global South. The chapters provide enriching new hermeneutical and theological insights, revealing facets of the text that may not at first be apparent to readers within a Eurocentric context.

The volume is thus able to explore topics ranging from the authorship of Hebrews in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition and the Batak reading of Christus Victor, to a Xhosa perception of the solidarity and sacrifice of Jesus, and intercultural readings of Christian identity in the context of persecution. With an introduction and final response by scholars from the Global North, this volume encourages awareness of how the Global South contributes to world Christianity.