Review of Gelardini, Deciphering the Words of Hebrews

Christopher T. Holmes reviews Gabriella Gelardini, Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews: Collected Essays in RBL.

Description:
"In the collection entitled Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews Gabriella Gelardini gathers fifteen essays written in the last fifteen years, twelve of which are in English and three in German. Arranged in three parts (the world of, behind, and in front of Hebrews’s text), her articles deal with such topics as structure and intertext, sin and faith, atonement and cult, as well as space and resistance.

She reads Hebrews no longer as the enigmatic and homeless outsider within the New Testament corpus, as the “Melchizedekian being without genealogy”; rather, she reads Hebrews as one whose origin has finally been rediscovered, namely in Second Temple Judaism."

A Hypertextual Commentary on Hebrews and Revelation

Bartosz Adamczewski. Hebrews and Revelation: A Hypertextual Commentary. Peter Lang.

Summary:
"This monograph demonstrates that the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Book of Revelation are results of highly creative, hypertextual reworking of the Acts of the Apostles. In both cases, this detailed reworking consists of around 700 strictly sequentially organized conceptual and often also linguistic correspondences to Acts. The strictly sequential, hypertextual dependence on Acts explains numerous surprising features of both Hebrews and Revelation. Critical explanations of such features, which are offered in this monograph, ensure the reliability of the new solution to the problem of the identities of Hebrews and Revelation, as well as their relationships to the Lucan, post-Pauline school of literary-theological production."

The Pauline History of Hebrews

Warren Campbell. The Pauline History of Hebrews. Oxford University Press.

"The Letter to the Hebrews is a confounding book in the New Testament. For one, it is not really a letter. Nor is the author of this indistinctly-titled letter named or identified. In fact, many of the rudimentary questions surrounding its intended audience, date, and provenance seem impermeable.

Undeterred by these gaps, critical scholars have been transfixed by the anonymity of this text for more than just a few centuries, posing solutions with no foreseeable consensus. This historical-critical tradition has produced a litany of candidates for the author of this "letter" who now live on as customarily recycled ideas in obligatory "Introductory" genres for work on Hebrews.

Rather than see anonymity as an unresolved problem, as a lack in the text that needs to be resolved, Warren Campbell embraces anonymity as a vantage point from which to observe the Pauline history of the Hebrews in a new way -- that is, how Hebrews was made to be Pauline. It moreover discusses how later readers variously configured Paul's Jewishness in light of having this epistle in their collection of Pauline letters. It also takes up a crucial point in the critical study of Hebrews by exploring how prefacing Hebrews in the manuscript tradition functions as a reading guide that predetermines the purpose and function of Hebrews. In this groundbreaking and thoroughly researched book, Campbell brings to bear new material on the memory of Paul's Jewishness, helping to start to lay the groundwork for a more nuanced and perceptive understanding of the Letter to the Hebrews."

A New and Living Way: Christ in Hebrews

Kevin B. McCruden. A New and Living Way: Christ in the Letter to the Hebrews. Paulist Press.

 

"In A New and Living Way: Christ in the Letter to the Hebrews, Kevin B. McCruden invites readers into a rich theological and pastoral reflection on one of the most distinctive portrayals of Jesus in the New Testament. With scholarly insight and accessible prose, McCruden explores how the Letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus as the eternal high priest―one who is both exalted in divine glory and deeply in solidarity with human suffering.

Drawing on contemporary biblical scholarship and ancient literary context, McCruden illuminates Hebrews' dynamic balance between Christ's divinity and humanity. He shows how the letter's priestly Christology was shaped to encourage a marginalized community struggling to remain faithful, and how its message continues to speak powerfully to the needs of Christian readers today.

This volume bridges academic rigor with pastoral sensitivity. It is ideal for students, ministers, and all who seek a deeper understanding of the theological beauty and enduring relevance of Hebrews."

Heavenly Space in Hebrews

I missed the rollout date on this. This was newly published in July:

 

Stephen C. Wunrow. Heavenly Space in Hebrews and Its Jewish and Christian Environment: Passing through the Heavens. T&T Clark.

 

Description:

"Stephen Wunrow addresses the pressing question of what the author of Hebrews meant by his descriptions of heaven, arguing that the author intended his references to heavenly space to be interpreted as realistic descriptions of a real place. Wunrow posits that language about heaven is neither metaphor nor a description of a “place” outside the creation, by examining other early Jewish and Christian texts that narrate or describe humans ascending into heaven. Given the nature and the function of heavenly space as described in these texts, Wunrow suggests it is most probable that the authors of the texts intended their descriptions of heavenly space to be understood as realistic.

Wunrow thus explores 1 and 2 Enoch, 4 Ezra, 2 and 3 Baruch, the Apocalypse of Abraham, the Testament of Levi, the Testament of Abraham, the Ascension of Isaiah, and Revelation; investigating how other roughly contemporary authors described heavenly space, and considering that the rhetorical aims of most of these authors fail unless their readers understand their descriptions of heavenly space in realistic ways. Turning then to examine Hebrews, Wunrow suggests that while the letter does contain unique features and rhetorical aims, it also fits comfortably with other early Jewish and Christian texts that describe humans ascending into heaven in a realistic manner. He concludes with reflections on how this conclusion helps to clarify other topics in Hebrews, including atonement and eschatology."

A Social Identity Commentary on Hebrews

Just published:

 

Matthew J. Marohl. Hebrews: A Social Identity Commentary. T&T Clark.

 

Description:

"In this volume, Matthew J. Marohl introduces a culturally sensitive reading of Hebrews employing a social identity approach. This allows readers to encounter a unique and powerful depiction of the faithful Jesus and a dynamic group of Christ-followers called upon to maintain their faithfulness. In the end, this social identity approach reveals a work with two strands thoroughly intertwined.

Through the lens of conceptual blending theory, Marohl examines the way in which the author combines the multiple identities of the addressees, shedding light on the community dynamics of early Christ followers. Marohl explores how the author describes ingroup boundaries, how faithfulness is held up as the ultimate ingroup norm, and how the promised rest is grounded in the language of the anticipated future. Ultimately, Marohl argues that Hebrews is a prime example of literature created out of crisis."