Monday, February 20, 2017

A New Commentary on Hebrews from a "Pro-Torah" Perspective

I just got in the mail a new two-volume commentary set that would probably not be on most scholars' radar because it is not published with your standard scholarly publishers:

Tim Hegg. Commentary on the Book of Hebrews. Volume 1:Chapters 1–8; Volume 2: Chapters 9–13. Tacoma, WA: Torah Resources, 2016. Pp. 355 + 370. Paper.

Some initial observations:
The commentary is apparently written from a Hebraic perspective, and in particular, from a "pro-Torah" perspective. It takes issue with scholar who claim that Hebrews says that the new covenant has forever replaced the old covenant. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in his exegesis.

The commentary also evinces some scholarship. The author provides a modest bibliography of commentaries used—all in English. All of them are scholarly, but he is missing some key ones. Other works cited are in the modest footnotes used throughout the commentary. The author uses Greek and Hebrew, which are often translated and/or transliterated. The writing style seems accessible enough for non-specialists.

6 comments:

  1. Tim Hegg is associated with the Hebrew Roots/Hebraic Roots movement which should be distinguished from what most would consider the Jewish messianic movement(s).

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    1. Alright, I guess I am not sure of the distinction you want to make since he mentions messianic teachers.

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  2. Might want to just google the movement. I consider the Jewish Messianic movement fairly sound. But the Hebrew Roots movement is seriously flawed. BTW, most of the adherents Hebrew Roots movement are Gentiles. Also most of the teachers lack academic theological training and/or credentials.

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    1. Alright, thanks for the information. Would you mind identifying yourself?

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  3. I realize this is quite a bit of time *after* the prior comments. But to be clear, Tim Hegg is not a member of Hebrew Roots groups, and has been an outspoken opponent to many of the odd and conspiratorial beliefs promoted by the Hebrew Roots movement. Tim is a leader at a Messianic Jewish Synagogue, and is an authentic Messianic Jewish leader. He possesses both an M.Div and a Th.M, he isn't just some self-taught, self-appointed teacher. Agree with him or don't, that's up to the individual, but I did not appreciate the slander from the Anonymous poster prior.

    As a matter of clarity, Tim does teach and affirm Torah keeping today (where applicable, such as in Sabbaths and dietary) for all believers today, often called One Law Theology. He similarly teaches Enlargement Theology, which in summary is the position that the Church does not replace Israel (ie. Replacement Theology, as common among evangelicals and Hebrew Roots groups), but rather that all believers are accounted as heirs of Abraham and members of Israel (per Romans 10-11, and Galatians 3).

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