Hebrews Highlights - December 2021

David Allen offers some Lessons on Preaching Hebrews . . . From Hebrews.

Claude Mariottini queries Who Was Melchizedek's Mother?

Allan Bevere has daily devotions on Hebrews 1–6

                                                        Hebrews 7–10

                                                        Hebrews 11–13

Review of Gelardini, Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews

Jonathon Lookadoo reviews Gabriella Gelardini, Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews: Collected Essays.

 

Cyril of Alexandria's Commentary on Hebrews Has Now Been Translated into English

I have just been informed that Cyril of Alexandria's Commentary on the Letter to the Hebrews has now been translated into English.

"This is the first English translation of the newly found Armenian manuscript of Cyril of Alexandria, which is the most comprehensive text of the Commentary on the apostle Paul's Letter to the Hebrews. It contains the full commentary by Cyril of the first three chapters of the Letter to the Hebrews.

Only fragments from the Greek original and Armenian and Syriac translations of the Commentary of the Letter to Hebrews by St. Cyril of Alexandria (†444) were known until now.

The present Armenian critical text and the English translation are placed on facing pages.
The book has an index for both Armenian and English texts."

Two New Articles on Hebrews in NTS

Two new articles on Hebrews have appeared in the latest issue of New Testament Studies:

Malik, Peter. “On Citing the Sahidic Version of Hebrews: Theoretical Reflections and Examples from Textual Practice.” New Testament Studies 68.1 (2022): 61–75.

"The Sahidic Coptic is one of the earliest and most important versions of the New Testament. Thus, it is essential that its witness be related to the Greek tradition with adequate methodological precision. This article attempts to pave the way for such an undertaking in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a New Testament book which, currently, lacks a major critical edition of its Greek text or an edition of its Sahidic version. Firstly, the present study offers methodological reflections on citing the Sahidic version, with a particular focus on transmissional, editorial, linguistic and translation-technical issues. And secondly, a selection of the most significant variant units in Hebrews is examined with a view to relating the Sahidic evidence to the Greek variant spectrum at each point."


McKay, J. Michael, Jr. “Is Joshua a Type of Christ in Hebrews 4.8? An Assessment of the Referent of Ἰησοῦς.” New Testament Studies 68.1 (2022): 105–18.

"The referent of Ἰησοῦς in Heb 4.8 is traditionally understood to refer to Joshua son of Nun and frequently as a type referring to Jesus the Christ. I will argue against this reading and, instead, maintain that the referent of Ἰησοῦς is Jesus. Two lines of evidence are provided. First, analysis of the context demonstrates that the ‘Joshua’ option disrupts the author's argument, and that understanding the referent to be Jesus clarifies the argument. Second, the use of the nomina sacra abbreviations to refer to Jesus in the earliest manuscripts demonstrates that they interpreted Ἰησοῦς as referring to Jesus."

Hebrews Highlights - November 2021

Was Hebrews originally written in Hebrew?

Dyer Reviews Costley, Creation and Christ

Bryan R. Dyer reviews Angela Costley, Creation and Christ: An Exploration of the Topic of Creation in the Epistle to the Hebrews. 

 

Rowlands Reviews Jamieson, Jesus' Death and Heavenly Offering in Hebrews

Jonathan Rowlands reviews R. B. Jamieson, Jesus' Death and Heavenly Offering in Hebrews.

Two New Books with Wipf and Stock

I noticed two new books on Hebrews on the Wipf & Stock website:

James W. Thompson. Preaching Hebrews and 1 Peter. Proclamation: Preaching the New Testament.

"Because commentaries are increasingly complex, preachers face the challenge of mastering the results of critical scholarship and merging the horizons between exegesis and a living word for the congregation. In this volume, Thompson offers a guide for preachers, using the results of current scholarship on Hebrews and 1 Peter to enrich the preaching task. He demonstrates that these ancient letters, which speak to believers whose faith has made them aliens and exiles in their own land, offer insights that speak to believers who are aliens and exiles in a post-Christian culture. While the standard commentaries analyze the historical and grammatical issues in detail, this book demonstrates the focus and rhetorical effect of each section, making it accessible for preaching. He focuses on the argument of each letter and its pastoral dimension for the ancient and contemporary audience. Thompson also demonstrates the path from exegetical insight to the focus and function of each pericope for the sermon. Brief sermon sketches demonstrate the relationship between the focus of the text and the focus of the sermon."

 

 

Panayotis Coutsoumpos. Reading Hebrews in First-Century Context and Christianity. 

"Paul's epistle to the Hebrews is one of the most detached and polemical letters in the whole Bible, making it one of the most difficult documents to study. In the letter to the Hebrews, we find the basic concept of the author's theology on the topics of the sanctuary and the high priest in the temple. What made Hebrews a special letter is a sermon and refined oral style. Another feature of Hebrews is its originality and Paul's use of the Old Testament. The Christology in Hebrews focuses on Christ's preexistence and divine status, as well as the humility that makes him our example. Hebrews portrays Jesus as ultimate high priest, who sacrificed himself once for all to atone for human sins."

Hebrews at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature

Hebrews is getting some considerable attention at this year's annual meeting. Unfortunately two of the IBR sessions overlap, so I will only be able to attend one of them.

 

San Antonio, TX

November 20–23, 2021

 

P19-217
Institute for Biblical Research
3:30 PM–5:30 PM
Marriott Rivercenter - Salon B
Theme: Research Group - Hebrews and the Pauline Tradition

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 invited papers that engaged with specific texts or themes in Hebrews and the Pauline Epistles.

For more information, visit the Research Groups tab under the IBR website (www.ibr-bbr.org).
 

Bryan R. Dyer, Baker Publishing Group, Presiding (5 min)
 

Cynthia Long Westfall, McMaster Divinity College
Am I Not an Apostle? Authorship and the Signs of an Apostle (30 min)

Madison N. Pierce, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
The Roles of Angels in Hebrews and the Pauline Corpus (30 min)
 

Amy L. B. Peeler, Wheaton College (Illinois)
Discipline of the Body (30 min)
 

Discussion (25 min)

 

P19-222
Institute for Biblical Research
3:30 PM–5:30 PM
Marriott Rivercenter - Conference Room 6
Theme: Research Group - The Relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament

This study group explores various themes related to the nature of the relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament and their function as Christian Scripture  independently and intertextually. A scholarly approach is applied to both traditional and
trendy views.
 

This research group focuses on a variety of related issues such as, but not limited to: (1) the way in which the Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament appropriates the Old. (2) the use made of various Old Testament passages in the New, (3) the way in
which various New Testament writers interpret the Old, and (4) the way in which Christians have understood the unity of the Bible and the continuing relevance of the Old Testament.
 

Theme for 2021: Hebrews as a Guide for Understanding the OT

For more information, see https://ibr-bbr.org/annual-meeting/researchgroups.
 

W. Creighton Marlowe, Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Presiding (5 min)

Gareth L. Cockerill, Retired, Wesley Biblical Seminary
Sinai in the Letter to the Hebrews: God Speaks Today (20 min)
 

Dana M. Harris, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Hebrews as a Hermeneutical Lens on the Old Testament (20 min)
 

J. David Stark, Faulkner University
Productive Prejudgments in Hebrews’s Hermeneutic: A Method and Test Case (20 min)

Ardel B. Caneday, University of Northwestern - St. Paul
The Exegetical Significance of the Old Testament’s Silence in the Case of Melchizedek’s Ancestry and Progeny in Genesis 14 (20 min)
 

Discussion (25 min)
 

Business Meeting (10 min)

 

S20-325
SBL Hebrews Section
4:00 PM–6:30 PM
San Antonio Convention Center - 217D (Meeting Room Level)

Madison Pierce, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Presiding
 

Benjamin Ribbens, Trinity Christian College
Union with Christ in Hebrews (30 min)
 

Paul S. Bebout, London School of Theology
Hebrews 2:9–13 and the Social Identity of the Children of God (30 min)
 

Josiah D. Hall, Baylor University
Placing Words into Jesus’s Mouth: The Exegetical Methodology of Hebrews 2:10–18 (30 min)
 

Jeffrey M. Dale, Baylor University
There Remains a Sabbatismos: Divine and Human Rest in Hebrews 3–4 in Light of Early Jewish Sabbath Discourse (30 min)
 

Marcus A. Mininger, Mid-America Reformed Seminary
Not Re-laying an Old Foundation: Neglected Evidence about the Temptation Facing Hebrews’s Audience and the Impossibility of Repentance in Heb 6:1–6 (30 min)

 

S21-246
SBL Theological Interpretation of Scripture / Hebrews Section / Theological Interpretation of Scripture Seminar / Hebrews Section
1:00 PM–3:30 PM
Losoya Conference Center - Maverick
Theme: Theological Readings of Hebrews

Amy Peeler, Wheaton College (Illinois), Presiding (5 min)

David Moffitt, University of St. Andrews, Panelist (25 min)
Bryan Dyer, Baker Publishing Group, Panelist (25 min)
Katherine Sonderegger, Virginia Theological Seminary, Panelist (25 min)
Nicole Reibe, Loyola University Maryland, Panelist (25 min)
Amy Peeler, Wheaton College (Illinois), Respondent (15 min)
Discussion (30 min)

 

S21-329

SBL Homiletics and Biblical Studies Section
4:00 PM–6:30 PM
Grand Hyatt - Presidio C (3rd Floor)

Julie M. Leyva, Duke University
Someone Has Testified Somewhere: Preaching the Nicene Creed from the Forgotten Book of Hebrews (30 min)

 

S22-312
SBL Hebrews Section
4:00 PM–6:30 PM
Hilton Palacio Del Rio - La Condesa (Mezzanine)
 

Eric F. Mason, Judson University (Elgin, Illinois), Presiding
 

Kyu Seop Kim, Asia United Theological University
Intercessio Tacita: ἔγγυος in Hebrews 7:22 in Light of Ancient Legal Practices and Documentary Papyri (30 min)
 

Abeneazer G. Urga, Columbia International University
Christ Intercedes or Judges? An Examination of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Rendering and Interpretation of ἐντυγχάνω in Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 (30 min)
 

Daniel Stevens, Museum of the Bible
Christ’s Body and the Shame-Faced God: Reading Christ’s Session in Hebrews with Melito and Theophylact (30 min)

Christy M. Anderson, Fresh Start Church
Critical Hook Culminating in Hebrews 10:9 Clarifies the Referent as Christ’s Physical Body Sown in Death, Not the Abolishing of an Eternal Covenant (30 min)

Michael Francis, John Brown University
Intentional and Unintentional Sin in Hebrews (30 min) 

SV22-122 virtual session
SBL Jewish Christianity / Christian Judaism Section
9:00 AM–11:30 AM
Virtual - Virtual
Theme: Rethinking the Didache, Didascalia Apostolorum, and Apostolic Constitutions

Andrew W. Higginbotham, Ivy Tech Community College - Lawrenceburg Riverfront
“Parting of the Prayers”: How Heb 11 and Didache 10 Inform the Development of the Apostolic Constitutions 7.32–33 and the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei) (25 min)

Discussion (10 min)

Hebrews Highlight - September 2021

Yes, I know it's late, but I had a couple of links to articles on Hebrews sitting on my desktop that I have just read and think they are important to note:

Jesper Svartik discusses the issue of Hebrews and supercessionism.

He also reflects upon the lectionary passages for October 3 (Hebrews 1:1–4; 2:5–12) and October 10 (Hebrews 4:12–16).

Amy Peeler explains the warning passages in Hebrews.

Long Reviews Osborne's Commentary on Hebrews

Phillip Long reviews Grant R. Osborne and George H. Guthrie's commentary, Hebrews: Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries.

 

Hebrews Highlights October 2021

J. D. Walt has been doing a devotional series on Hebrews 3:13: 

Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called TODAY
Getting Beyond our Bumper Sticker Theology
The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

James Arlandson inquires, Who was Melchizedek?

 

Keldie Paroschi, Craig Keener's TA, fills in for him in the NT Survey class on Hebrews and 1-2 Peter.

 

Update

I have added about 3 dozen new articles, theses, and dissertations to my resource pages. I found many them on this site: CORE, which claims to be "the world's largest collection of open access research papers." It will take me some time to work through the database and add resources.

HT: Lee Zachary Maxey

The Oldest Book Now In My Collection

This book arrived today from France. It is now the oldest book I have in my collection. Note the date:

Osborne, Hebrews Verse by Verse

Lexham Press is announcing the publication of the following commentary:

 

Grant Osborne. Hebrews Verse by Verse.

 

"The letter to the Hebrews is unique in the New Testament for its focus on the priesthood of Jesus and its interaction with the Old Testament. But beyond this deep theology, Hebrews is a practical book that addresses the very real challenges believers face when life gets difficult.

 

In Hebrews Verse by Verse, the late Grant R. Osborne, with George H. Guthrie, shows readers how this beautifully crafted letter encourages believers to endure in faithfulness to Jesus. By using Scripture and theology to lay the foundation for these exhortations, the central message of Hebrews continues to be relevant for the church today. Osborne’s commentary delves into the grand implications of Christ’s identity and its importance for our spiritual lives."

Review of Bateman and Smith's Commentary on Hebrews

Phillip Long has a brief review of Bateman and Smith's commentary:

 

Bateman, IV Herbert W. and Steven W. Smith. Hebrews: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries.

 

 

Review of Angers, L‘ « Aujourd‘hui » en Luc-Actes, chez Paul et en Hébreux

The following review was recently published in RBL:

Dominique Angers. L‘ « Aujourd‘hui » en Luc-Actes, chez Paul et en Hébreux: Itinéraires et associations d'un motif Deutéronomique. Review by Laurent Pinchard.

 

The review is in French

New Article on the Christological Reading of Psalm 8 in Hebrew 2

This came out in February but I am just learning about this now:

Maston, Jason. “‘What Is Man?’ An Argument for the Christological Reading of Psalm 8 in Hebrews 2.” Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 112.1 (2021): 89–104. 

 

Abstract:
"Whether the author of Hebrews interpreted LXX Ps 8,5–7 as referring to humanity (the anthropological interpretation) or Christ (the Christological interpretation) has been widely debated. This essay strengthens the case for the Christological interpretation. After discussing the connections between Hebr 1,1–13 and 2,5–9, the article focuses on the citation and interpretation of LXX Ps 8,5–7 in Hebr 2,6–9. I contend that the author identified a three stage pattern in the psalm which he sees replicated in Jesus’ life. The next stage of the argument shows how in 2,10–18 the author only applies two stages to the lives of believers. Believers do not complete the third stage which indicates that, for the author of Hebrews, the psalm is first about Jesus and then applicable to humanity."

Ken Schenck's YouTube Podcasts on Hebrews

Ken Schenck has a YouTube series of podcasts on Hebrews. I have made a link to them in my multimedia page.

New Book on the Pragmatic Situation of Hebrews

Here is a new book that has just come out:

Thomas Witulski. "... da ihr ja träge geworden seid an den Ohren": Zur textpragmatischen Situierung des Hebräerbriefes. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament (BWANT). 2021.

English translation of the title: 

"... because your ears have become sluggish": On the pragmatic situation of the letter to the Hebrews

Here is an English translation of the description of the book:
"It is usually assumed that the letter to the Hebrews is addressed to a church that is showing signs of fatigue in the faith and is to be encouraged, straightened up, and brought back to the living faith. On the basis of detailed observations, however, Witulski shows that the text itself hardly contains any indications for this assumption. Rather, he shows that a group of theological trainees who are preparing to take over a catechetical parish office is being written to. Its members - from the perspective of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, of course - have apparently not yet sufficiently intellectually penetrated essential aspects of Christian theology. With his writing, the auctor ad Hebraeos attempts to overcome this theological deficit and to lead the group to which he has written to a comprehensive understanding of Christian thought and belief."

 Thanks to Jacob Brouwer for bringing the book to my attention. 

Hebrews at the BNTS Annual Meeting

The British New Testament Society will be having its annual meeting in hybrid format at Durham University from August 19 to August 21. Two papers on Hebrews are of interest for this blog:

Session 3: Hebrews

Chair: Nick Moore, Durham University

Angela Costley, St Mary’s College, Oscott, ‘By faith, Abraham has offered up Isaac”: Death and Resurrection in Hebrews 11:17’

In Hebrews 11:17, we are told that by faith Abraham offered Isaac. In Hebrews 11:19, we read that Abraham’s faith consisted of the fact he believed that God is able even to raise someone from the dead. This seems a little strange if we take it as a reference to Genesis 22 as we now have it. In the Akedah, when Abraham attempts to sacrifice his son, his arm is stayed by an angel (Gen. 22:11). However, there is possibly another, darker, tradition that might lie behind Hebrews’ comment. In this other tradition, Abraham does slay Isaac. Indeed, various scholars have explored the redaction of the Genesis account and the suggestion that, originally, Isaac was indeed killed – T. Freitheim, RE Friedman, CTR Hayward, JD Levenson, to name a few – a tradition that persisted and is found in Rashi’s commentary and Pirke de Rab. Eliezer, where he also rises.   This paper will explore the fascinating possibility Hebrews knew this tradition and suggest Hebrews is reliant upon a typological theology in which Isaac was truly sacrificed. 

Owen Edwards, University of Chester, ‘A Scarlet Thread Leading Beyond the Camp: Yom Kippur, the Red Heifer, and Rahab’

Diverse texts in Hebrews – texts on the eternal Sabbath, the red heifer sacrifice, the journey of Jesus outside the Camp, and the example of Rahab, particularly – seem disconnected or only tangentially related, yet an investigation of the source and traditions of those subjects, as well as their rhetorical use in Hebrews, reveals that they are closely and intentionally connected. Drawing on parallel Rabbinic texts, Philo, and (especially) the Epistle of Barnabas, this paper will show that this network of texts is clearly connected in the tradition that Hebrews drew upon. Furthermore, this complex but clear example of intertextual exegesis spanning the whole letter furnishes an excellent example of the Epistle’s allegorical interpretation of Scripture – with even the lack of explicit textual links serving the author’s purpose, as the Christian is commanded to seek spiritual “meat” over “milk”.

In Memoriam: Albert Vanhoye 1923-2021

While I was on vacation the news broke that Cardinal Albert Vanhoye passed away on July 29. Vanhoye was one of the most prolific Hebrews scholars and his work on the structure of Hebrews would prove to be most influential. I want to thank Nick Moore for preparing the following bio and selected bibliography for this blog:

In memoriam Albert Vanhoye (1923–2021)

Albert Vanhoye was born on 24 July 1923 in Hazebrouck, in the far north of France, the second of five children in a devout Roman Catholic family of Flemish extraction. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1941; this was during the German occupation of France in the Second World War, and Vanhoye had to cross the demarcation line clandestinely in order to reach the noviciate. He spent brief spells in the chantier de jeunesse (the replacement for military service in Vichy France) and in the French Army following the Allied landings. After the War he completed his studies in literature at the Sorbonne, and went on to study philosophy at Vals-près-le-Puy and theology at Enghien in Belgium. At the completion of his training he was ordained priest, on 25 July 1954. He taught New Testament for a short period in Chantilly, at the Jesuit scholasticate recently relocated from Enghien. He completed a doctorate in sacred scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 1961, on the structure of the Letter to the Hebrews, which was to form the basis for his published work on this topic. In 1963 he began to teach at the Pontifical Institute, where he would spend the rest of his career. He was Dean of the Biblical Faculty there from 1969–1975, and Rector of the Institute from 1984–1990. Alongside his work at the Institute, Vanhoye had teaching responsibilities at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Lateran University, and supervised a number of doctoral students. He retired in 1998 at the age of 75.

Among his ecclesiastical appointments and responsibilities, Vanhoye was part of the commission which prepared the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana (1979), on ecclesiastical universities and faculties. He was a member and for two terms secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission; during his first term of office the Commission published L’Interprétation de la Bible dans l’Église (1993; English version The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, issued 1994), an important and well received document open to Catholic engagement with the full variety of interpretative methods being used in biblical studies. He was also Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1980–1996), and a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the scholarly community Vanhoye joined the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas in 1964, and served as its President in 1995. His presidential address was subsequently published in New Testament Studies and is included as the third essay in this volume. He served on the editorial board of the journal Biblica from 1969, and was editor from 1978 until he stepped down from the board in 1984. In later life he was appointed Cardinal, with as his titular church the Deaconry of Santa Maria della Mercede and Sant’Adriano in Villa Albani. This was in 2006, when he was over 80 and therefore excluded from an elective conclave of the College of Cardinals, and thus the appointment was purely honorific, and Vanhoye was not consecrated bishop. The further honorific pro hac vice (temporary) elevation of the Deaconry of Santa Maria della Mercede and Sant’Adriano to a presbyteral title – and thus of Vanhoye to Cardinal-Priest – took place in 2016. In 2008 he led the Lenten retreat for the Roman Curia, using the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and focussing on the theme of Jesus as High Priest. Vanhoye was the oldest member of the College of Cardinals, having turned 98 just days before his death in Rome on 29 July 2021.

The nature of Vanhoye’s appointments reflects a lengthy and distinguished career in which he has made a significant contribution to the life of both the church and the academy. This is reflected by his numerous publications in several European languages, across eight decades, and at both scholarly and more popular levels. Among numerous publications on Hebrews he made notable contributions on the letter’s structure and on its portrayal of priesthood, as well as writing two commentaries on the letter in later life.

[This tribute includes material excerpted and modified from the introduction to Albert Vanhoye, A Perfect Priest: Studies in the Letter to the Hebrews, ed. and trans. by Nicholas J. Moore and Richard J. Ounsworth (WUNT II/477; Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen: 2018)]

 

Selected publications

Vanhoye, Albert. 1963a. La Structure littéraire de l’Épître aux Hébreux. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer.

———. 1963c. Traduction structurée de l’Epître aux Hébreux. Rome: Institut biblique pontifical.

———. 1964c. Structured Translation of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Translated by James Swetnam. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute.

———. 1967b. Structure and Theology of the Accounts of the Passion in the Synoptic Gospels. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.

———. 1969a. Le Christ est notre prêtre. Supplément à ‘Vie chrétienne’ no. 118. Paris.

———. 1969c. Situation du Christ : Hébreux 1–2. Paris: Cerf.

———. 1976a. La Structure littéraire de l’Épître aux Hébreux. 2nd edn. Stud-Neot 1. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer.

———. 1977b. Le Message de l’Épître aux Hébreux. Cahiers Évangile 19. Paris: Cerf.

———. 1977c. Our Priest Is Christ: The Doctrine of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Translated by M. Innocentia Richards. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute.

———. 1980. Prêtres anciens, prêtre nouveau selon le Nouveau Testament. Parole de Dieu 20. Paris: Éditions du Seuil.

———. 1986. Old Testament Priests and the New Priest: According to the New Testament. Translated by J. Bernard Orchard. Petersham, MA: St Bede’s Publications.

———. 1989. Structure and Message of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Translated by James Swetnam. Subsidia Biblica 12. Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto biblico.

———. 2005. Le Don du Christ: Lecture spirituelle. Christus. Paris: Bayard.

———. 2008. Accogliamo Cristo nostro sommo sacerdote : esercizi spirituali predicati in Vaticano, 10-16 febbraio 2008. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

———. 2010b. L’Epistola agli Ebrei : “un sacerdote diverso.” Translated by Carlo Valentino. Bologna: Dehoniane.

———. 2010c. L’Épître aux Hébreux : “un prêtre différent.” Pendé: Gabalda.

———. 2010d. Let Us Confidently Welcome Christ Our High Priest: Spiritual Exercises with Pope Benedict XVI. Translated by Joel Wallace. Leominster: Gracewing.

———. 2011a. A Different Priest: The Epistle to the Hebrews. Translated by Leo Arnold. Rhetorica Semitica. Miami: Convivium.

———. 2011b. I carismi nel Nuovo Testamento. Analecta biblica 191. Rome: Gregorian & Biblical Press.

———. 2015. The Letter to the Hebrews: A New Commentary. Translated by Leo Arnold. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense LXX

I had the honor of presenting a paper, "The God Who Communicates: A Study in the Characterization of God in Hebrews" at the 70th session of the Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense (CBL). I want to publicly thank Régis Burnet for the invitation to present at this conference.

"The Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense is an annual international conference on Biblical Studies jointly organised by the theological faculties of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université Catholique de Louvain. The meetings take place in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the KU Leuven and are alternately dedicated to a topic in Old and in New Testament Studies. 

The Colloquium offers a forum and meeting place for research and scholarly discussion in the field of Biblical Studies. As a rule the annual conference focuses on a biblical book or a collection of writings, but it also addresses thematic subjects."

The CBL met during the dates of July 22–24, 2021. Due to the pandemic, the CBL was held in an online format. This year's CBL was organized by the president, professor Régis Burnet, and the secretary, Reimund Bieringer. Papers and sessions were conducted in four languages. It was truly an international session. The following plenary session papers were presented:

Presidential Address: 

Régis BURNET (Université catholique de Louvain)
Quel but poursuit l’Épître aux Hébreux ? Une histoire des lectures du cadre interprétatif de la théologie d’Hébreux

 

Gabriella GELARDINI (Bodø, Norway)
Virtues in Hebrews

 

Jason WHITLARK (Baylor University)
Becoming Ideal Citizens of the Coming City: New-Covenant Naturalization in Early Christianity and Hebrews

 

Thomas WITULSKI (Universität Bielefeld)
Die Vorstellungen von Zeit und Raum im Hebräerbrief

 

Harold ATTRIDGE (Yale University) 

The Letter to the Hebrews and the Authority of Scripture

 

Antoine PARIS (Paris)
 « Car la parole de Dieu est vivante »
La productivité des intertextes dans l'Épître aux Hébreux

 

David M. MOFFITT (Saint Andrews)
Boldly Approaching While Still Waiting: The Dynamics of Heavenly Access and Jesus’ Awaited Return in Hebrews’ Soteriology

 

Brian C. SMALL
The God Who Communicates: A Study in the Characterization of God in Hebrews

 

Gert STEYN (Theologische Hochschule Ewersbach) 

Der "Brief" an die Hebräer und die Apolloshypothese

 

Albert COETSEE (North-West University)
"Through the eternal Spirit” (Heb 9:14): The Arguments for and Implications of Interpreting the Phrase as a Reference to the Holy Spirit

 

Martin KARRER (Wuppertal-Bethel) 

Textgeschichte und Theologie des Hebräerbriefs

 

In addition four parallel seminars were offered:

 

Nederlands:
Joseph VERHEYDEN (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Het vocabulaire van de Hebreeënbrief: Woorden met privatieve α en andere vormen van ontkenning

 

English: 

Madison N. PIERCE (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
The World Spoken through the Son: Divine Speech and Creation in the Epistle to the Hebrews

 

Français:
Steeve BÉLANGER (Université catholique de Louvain)
La figure de Melkisédeq dans l'épître aux Hébreux

 

Deutsch:
Reimund BIERINGER (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
Deutungen des Todes Jesu im Hebräerbrief

 

In addition, three parallel sessions consisting of offered papers were presented:

[Click the link for the abstracts]

 

Session 1:

Rémi Fatchéoun
Institut Catholique de Paris

Heb 1:1-4: A Prologue to a Discourse on the Son of God as Logos or a Son who is Prophet?

 

Justin Devassy Puthenpurackal
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

The Realized and the Future Eschatology of τελειωτής in Heb 12:1-2

 

Armin Kummer and Sarah Whitear
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Undefiled Beds and Unparted Ways: Hebrews 13:4 and Sexual Purity Practices

 

 

Session 2:

Martin Pochon
Centre d'Etudes Pédagogiques Ignatien, Toulouse

De l'utilisation du psaume 39/40 dans la lettre aux Hébreux

 

Kyu Seop Kim
Asia United Theological University, R. of Korea

Ἐπαγγελία in Hebrews in Light of Greco-Egyptian Documentary Papyri

 

Soeng Yu Li
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Πίστις in Heb 11:1-16: A Reading in Light of Text World Theory

 

 

Session 3:

 Jean Valentin
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Hébr. 1,1-4 en arabe dans le Vatican 13 et les manuscrits du Sinaï

 

Valentina Duca
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven A Syriac Case for the Reception of Hebrews: Isaac of Nineveh's Ascetic-Mystical Corpus

 

Vadim Wittkowsky
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Der Hebräerbrief als Hintergrund der "Exempla Biblica" aus Ankara (Mitchell-French 2019, Nr. 347, 348)

Distributions of the Holy Spirit - Hebrews 2:4

In this brief podcast Madions Pierce argues that "distributions of the Holy Spirit" in Hebrews 2:4 refers not to spiritual gifts, as is commonly understood, but to the Holy Spirit himself. She does not mention this in the podcast but this means that she is taking πνεύματος ἁγίου as an objective genitive (the Holy Spirit is distributed) rather than as a subjective genitive (the Holy Spirit is distributing). This is certainly grammatically possible.

Distributions of the Holy Spirit: Hebrews 2:4 - with Dr. Madison Pierce

 

Hebrews Highlights June 2021

Ken Schenck has posted his explanatory notes on Hebrews 1:1–4.

New Expository Times Article

O’Collins, Gerald Glynn. “‘The Faith of Jesus’: Translating Hebrews 12:2a.” Expository Times 132.9 (2021): 387–93.

Abstract:
"This article shows how a big majority of English translations (17 out of 22 that I examined) have introduced ‘our’ into the text when they identify the subject of the ‘faith’ spoken of in Hebrews 12:2a. Modern commentators on Hebrews, however, have overwhelmingly understood the faith in question as the faith exercised by Jesus and, at best only secondarily, our faith in him. It seems that many translators have been following their predecessors (e.g. the King James Version) rather than reading commentaries."