Hebrews at the Annual ETS Meeting

Evangelical Theological Society

78th Annual Meeting

November 17—19

Denver, CO

 

Tuesday, November 17

 

9:00 AM - 12:10 PM
General Epistles: The General Epistles’ Contribution to the Study of the New Covenant 

 

9:50 AM - 10:30 AM
J. Michael McKay, Jr.
(Cedarville University)
Hebrews and the New Covenant

 

1:30 PM - 4:40 PM
Systematic Theology: Atonement
 

2:20 PM - 3:00 PM
Judson Greene
(Redemption Seminary)
Atonement in Hebrews: A New Assessment

 

 

Wednesdy, November 18

 

3:00 PM - 6:10 PM
New Testament Greek Language and Exegesis: Linguistic Stylistics 

 

4:40 PM - 5:20 PM
David I. Yoon
(Talbot School of Theology | McMaster Divinity College)
Grammatical Metaphor in Hebrews: Nominalization as Theological Art 

 

2:00 PM - 5:10 PM
New Testament: Studies in Hebrews 

 

Moderator: Daniel Stevens
(Boyce College, SBTS)

2:00 PM - 2:40 PM
James Beevers
(Westminster Theological Seminary)
Edenic Rest and the Double-Edged Sword: The Cherub Sword as Structural Bridge to Hebrews 4:14-16
 

2:50 PM - 3:30 PM 

Andrew Iversen
(Wheaton College)
The Covenantal Foundation of Access: Greek Jeremiah 38:31-34 as the Logic of Hebrews 8-10
 

3:40 PM - 4:20 PM
Luke Kieser
(Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)
The Function of Divine Immutability in the Letter to the Hebrews
 

4:30 PM - 5:10 PM
Daniel Stevens
(Boyce College, SBTS)
Who Put That There? The Title of Hebrews and Its Inclusion in the Pauline Letter Collection

Hebrews at the Annual SBL Meeting

SBL 2026 Annual Meeting 

Denver, CO

November 21–24

Saturday, November 21

P21-239s The Relationship between the Testaments as Canon-Consciousness

1:05 PM - 1:25 PM 

George Guthrie. 

The "Christ Frame" and Canon Consciousness: The Hermeneutic of Hebrews at 2:12–13.

 

S21-241 Novum Testamentum Graecum: Editio Critica Maior Seminar

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM 

Emanuele Scieri.

The Greek Text of Hebrews in Codex Claromontanus (GA 06/VL 75). 

 

S21-315 Linguistics and New Testament Ethics

4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Laura Hunt. 

Burning Cognitive Metaphors (John 15:6 and Hebrews 6:8): Descriptive Explanation or Directive Ethical Injunction?

 

S21-317 Bible and Emotion Section and Gospel of Luke Section

4:00 PM - 6:30 PM 

Angela Standhartinger. 

The Weeping Redeemer: Jesus’s Tears in the Context of a History of Emotions.

 

Sunday, November 22

S22-144 Scripture in Lived Context: Biblical Interpretation and Practical Theology

10:40 AM - 10:55 AM 

Julie Leyva. 

A Tale of Two Contexts: Abraham’s Persevering Faith in Hebrews   

 
S22-122 Intertextuality in Paul and Hebrews
11:00 AM - 11:25 AM
Tammy L. Wiese. 

“The Remembrance of Sin”: A Collocation in the Septuagint and New Testament as Support for a Judicial Reading of Hebrews 10:3 and 10:17.

 

Monday, November 23

S23-116a Hebrews and the Gospel of Matthew: Common Themes

9:00 AM - 11:30 AM 

Madison N. Pierce. 

Messianism in Hebrews and Matthew.

Bryan R. Dyer. 

Hebrews, Matthew, and Gethsemane.

 

Erik Waaler. 

Mathew, Matthew’s Jesus, Hebrews' Author, and Paul: Similarities and Differences in their Re-contextualization of Israel's Scripture.

 

Alida Carolin Euler. 

The Psalms in Matthew and Hebrews: Patterns of Psalm Reception and Psalm 110 as a Test Case.

 

S23-222 Gospel of Luke Section

1:00 PM - 3:30 PM  

Tammy L. Wiese. 

Perfected on the Third Day: τελειόω as Definitive Attestation in Luke 13:32 and Hebrews.

 

S23-227 Hebrews Section

1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

 

Judson Greene. 

The Author of Hebrews Reading Romans.

 

Stephen Wunrow. 

“We Have an Altar”: Hebrews 13:9–16, Spatial Mapping, and Sacrifice.

 

Cynthia Long Westfall. 

Sarah: A Bonafide Exemplar of Faith in Hebrews 11:11. 

 

Roderick Saxey. 

Observations on Test Passages in Hebrews: Early Findings from the Hebrews ECM Project.

 

S23-327 Hebrews Section

4:00 PM - 6:30 PM 

 

Ryan Cason. 

Red Heifer, Not Scapegoat: Hebrews 9, Death-Defilement, and Covenant Inauguration.

 

Alberto Solano. 

Hebrews 9:4 and the Spatial Relocation of the Worshipper.

 

Kevin Johnson. 

Jesus as the “Better Hope” of Hebrews 7:19.

 

Sergey Panfilov. 

The Anguish of the Flesh: Reassessing Jesus’s Prayer and Deliverance from Death in Hebrews 5:7.

 

Lee D. Hoffer, Jr. 

A Will Is Secure in Honor of the Dead: Testamentary Protocol in Hebrews 9:16–17.

 

S23-315 Fluid Identity and Locality in Early Jewish Christianity / Christian Judaism

4:50 PM - 5:15 PM

Phillip Strickland. 

Longing for a Better Country: The Promised Land in Judaism and in the Epistle to the Hebrews.

 

Tuesday, November 24 

S24-124a Christian Theology and Bible Section 

10:30 AM - 10:55 AM

Luke Kieser. 

A Theological Grammar of Divine Immutability for the Epistle to the Hebrews.

The Letter to the Hebrews according to the Oldest Papyrus

I am finally getting around to posting about this book. I want to thank Jordi Cervera for this beautiful book. The book is written in Catalan. The title translated is The Letter to the Hebrews according to the Oldest Papyrus. The oldest manuscript in this case is the Chester Beatty Papyrus (P46).

The book is a large coffee-table sized book.

Here are the table of contents:

The presentation:

The book contains full-page color photos of the Chester Beatty Papyrus:

Each photograph is followed by a full transcription of the text:

Then a translation in Catalan follows each transcription:

These pages are followed by a thematic structure of Hebrews:

This is followed by a section-by-section study translation:

Then a section-by-section commentary follows:

Back of the book:

The book comes with a bookmark explaining the symbols in the book:

Again, many thanks to Jordi Cervera who brought me the book all the way from Barcelona!

Reading Hebrews from a Majority World Perspective

New review in RBL:

Sofanit T. Abebe, Elizabeth W. Mburu, and Abeneazer G. Urga, eds. Reading Hebrews and 1 Peter from Majority World Perspectives. Review by Jaeda Charlotte Calaway.

 

 

New Article on the Descent of Christ and the Harrowing of Hell in Hebrews

Marcar, Katie. “Passover, Liberation, and the Defeat of Death and the Devil in Hebrews: A Proposal for the Descensus Christi and the Harrowing of Hell in Hebrews 2:14–15.” New Testament Studies 71 (2025): 264–83.

Thanks to Katie Marcar for the notice.

Reading Hebrews 12:4–13 as Proverbial Wisdom

New article:

Ch’ng, Adam. “Transposing Genre: Reading Hebrews 12:4–13 as Proverbial Wisdom.” Themelios 50.3 (2026): 512–26.

 

Abstract:

"By citing Proverbs 3:11–12 (LXX) in Hebrews 12:5–6, the author of Hebrews transposes the wisdom genre of the proverb into his broader exposition (12:4–13). This article integrates and applies the theories of John Frow and Tremper Longman III, and argues that the strong literary connections between the proverb and Hebrews 12:4–13 indicate the incorporation of the wisdom genre. Accordingly, Hebrews 12:4–13 should be read as proverbial wisdom, and its characterisation of human suffering as divine discipline should be understood not as a universal theodicy but as a circumstantial truth."

The Melchizedek Thread

Michael J. Alter. The Melchizedek Thread: Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. Resource Publications, 2026.

 

Description:

"This rigorous academic work compellingly explores the profound connections between Melchizedek and key biblical texts, including Genesis 14, Psalm 110, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. Melchizedek remains one of Scripture’s most intriguing figures, collectively appearing only ten times in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, yet shrouded in mystery. The author of Hebrews presents a bold assertion: Jesus is a priest “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:10), suggesting a more profound significance that transcends traditional understandings.The Melchizedek Thread employs a variety of approaches essential for a nuanced comprehension of its subject. This work draws on diverse disciplines, including archaeology, ancient history, biblical criticism, and theological reflection, to explore the implications of Melchizedek’s role, culminating in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It meticulously examines the intricate themes of ancient biblical history, messiahship, and priesthood, weaving together a worldview from multiple perspectives. Unique, it explores a Jewish and Muslim (worldview) critique of Hebrews. This work is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand Melchizedek’s significance in a multifaceted and meaningful way. It encourages an open dialogue among traditions, fostering a deeper appreciation of this enigmatic figure and his enduring impact on faith and theology."

Review of Woo, Spaciotemporal Eschatology of Hebrews

Bryan J. Whitfield reviews Luke Woo, The Spatiotemporal Eschatology of Hebrews: Priestly Participation in the Heavenly Tabernacle, in RBL.

New Article: The Speaking God

Urga, Abeneazer G. “The Speaking God: Divine Revelation in Hebrews and Its Implications for African Biblical Hermeneutics.” Conspectus 40 (October 2025): 18–30.

Hebrews Highlights - December 2025 - February 2026

I am catching up on blog posts. Here are the Hebrews Highlights for December 2025 through mid-February 2026:

 

Ken Schenck continues his narrative journey through Hebrews:

          Remember the Good Times (Hebrews 6, 10)

          The Impossibility of Repentance (Heb. 6:3-8; 10:26-31)

          The Rhetorical Strategy of Hebrews

          An Eternal Priest (Hebrews 5, 7)

          The New Covenant (Hebrews 8)

          A Better Sacrifice and Sanctuary (Hebrews 9 and 10)

          The Cheering Witnesses (chapter 11)

          The Discipline of the Lord (Hebrews 12)

          Celebrating the Enthroned Christ (Hebrews 1)

          The Logic of Salvation (Hebrews 2)

Brian Davidson argues that Reading the OT Figurally Is Desperately Important and this is what Hebrews does.

He also sees a four-pattern match between Melchizedek and Jesus.

Phil Cecil and Ryan Meyer discusses The Use of Psalm 8 in Hebrews 2 in the Theologically Driven podcast

New Book: The Transcendent Christ

John P. Joy and Peter A. Kwasniewski, eds. The Transcendent Christ: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews. Os Justi Press, 2026.

 

"The Transcendent Christ makes available the conferences given by faculty at a summer study session sponsored by the Saint Albert the Great Center for Scholastic Studies and held in Norcia, Italy. The overarching theme was the Letter to the Hebrews. These conferences explored aspects of the text as well as its reception in Catholic theology and liturgy.

• Dr. John P. Joy speaks of “The Sacrifice of Christ as an Act of Vicarious Satisfaction.”
• Rev. Thomas Crean, O.P., explores “How Is the Mass a Sacrifice?”
• Rev. Yosyp Veresh considers “The Symbolism of the First Entrance of the Holy Synaxis in the Mystagogy of St. Maximus the Confessor.”
• Rev. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., presents “Biblical and Liturgical Typology in the Letter to the Hebrews.”
• Dr. Peter Kwasniewski expounds “The Christian Liturgy as Sacrificium Laudis in the Epistle to the Hebrews.”
• Br. Evagrius Hayden, O.S.B., addresses “Credere oportet accedentem ad Deum: On the Nature and Necessity of Faith.”
• Dr. Daniel Lendman discusses “Christ as Head of the Human Race.”
• Rev. Thomas Crean, O.P., presides over a Quæstiones Disputatæ in which three questions are debated: Whether he who performs the rites of the Old Law offends God?; Whether the shedding of blood is necessary for the remission of sins?; Whether to please God it is sufficient to believe that He exists and is a rewarder of those who seek Him?
• In a chapter specially commissioned for this new edition, Dr. Nathan Schmiedicke masterfully defends “The Pauline Authorship of Hebrews,” espoused by a dominant tradition in East and West.

Both scholars and the general public will find these proceedings full of new and valuable insights into one of the most majestic and mysterious writings in the New Testament—and will better understand the enormous influence it has wielded over the centuries."

Hebrews: The Whole Way

From Daniel Fulton:

"The Francis Asbury Society will be holding a Monday night Bible Study during the spring on the letter to the Hebrews! We're excited to have Dr John Oswalt leading our weekly Bible Study again. You can attend in person in Wilmore or join us online like I'll be doing most weeks. Sessions are recorded so if you're unable to join live you can go back later and rewatch the session!

 

Maybe you'd like to get a small group together from your church and go through the study together, if you are watching together as a church or small group let FAS know!"

 

WHEN: Starting Monday, January 26, 2026, 7:00–8:00 p.m. ET 

 

Register here:

 

Hebrews: The Whole Way. A Bible Study with Dr. John N. Oswalt

Unbound Book Review on Kevin McCruden's New Book

Unbound Book Review: A New and Living Way

Two Hebrews Articles in the Journal, Ultimate Reality and Meaning

I just learned about two articles on Hebrews in the University of Toronto Press' journal, Ultimate Reality and Meaning. I have linked to these two articles in the Articles page.

Spicq, Ceslaus. “The Epistle to the Hebrews.” Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1.3 (1978): 181–92.
 

Buchanan, George Wesley. “Evaluation of the ‘Epistle to the Hebrews’ by C. Spicq.” Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1.3 (1978): 193–201.

 

HT: Cliff Kvidahl

Proverbial Wisdom in Hebrews 12

New article:

 

Ch’ng, Adam. “Transposing Genre: Reading Hebrews 12:4–13 as Proverbial Wisdom.” Themelios 50.3 (2025): 512–26.

 

Abstract: 

"By citing Proverbs 3:11–12 (LXX) in Hebrews 12:5–6, the author of Hebrews transposes the wisdom genre of the proverb into his broader exposition (12:4–13). This article integrates and applies the theories of John Frow and Tremper Longman III, andargues that the strong literary connections between the proverb and Hebrews 12:4–13 indicate the incorporation of the wisdom genre. Accordingly, Hebrews 12:4–13 should be read as proverbial wisdom, and its characterisation of human suffering as divine discipline should be understood not as a universal theodicy but as a circumstantial truth."

Appropriating Hebrews's Scriptural Hermeneutic

Just published:

 

Dana M. Harris and J. David Stark. Appropriating Hebrews's Scriptural Hermeneutic for the Twenty-First Century. T&T Clark.

Description:

Twenty-first-century readers cannot interpret Israel's Scriptures identically to how the author of Hebrews did. The contours of twenty-first century worldviews are too different. That said, Hebrews invites those who “read after” it (in time) also to “reading after” it (in approach). For those who accept this invitation, this volume's essays surface four clusters in the overall mosaic of Hebrews's approach to Israel's Scriptures. First, Hebrews explicitly, if briefly and partially, states its hermeneutic orientation to Israel's Scriptures. Second, Hebrews understands history through the proclamation that the author accepts and commends about Jesus. Third, this proclamation creates numerous other implications that Hebrews may or may not explicitly state but that nonetheless shape how the author interprets his Scriptures. And fourth, Hebrews's exhortation fosters faithfulness in its audience through both encouragements and warnings drawn from Israel's Scriptures. Attention to Israel's Scriptures in light of these clusters helps readers to understand these Scriptures not identically to Hebrews's author but in the same way as that author-namely, in the way marked out by Jesus for those who would “come after” him.

 

What Is Man?

Abeneazer Urga: "What Is Man? African Traditional Religions, Christianity & Hebrews 2."

Hebrews Highlights - November 2025

Ken Schenck tries to put Hebrews into narrative form:

     Part 1: The Story of Hebrews

     Part 2: The Cast of Characters

     Part 3: Hebrews 13:22–25: The Context of Hebrews at Corinth/Ephesus

     Part 4: Hebrews Closing Clues (13:1–19) 

     Part 5: The Main Takeaway of Hebrews (4:14–16; 10:25–31) 

 

In How to Think about Hebrews's Use of Israel's Scriptures J. David Stark informs us of a forthcoming book by him and Dana M. Harris: Appropriating Hebrews's Scriptural Hermeneutic for the Twenty-First Century.

 

Cliff Kvidahl has some thoughts on Hebrews 2:17–18 in A Merciful and Faithful High Priest

Impossible to Be Restored?

I was waiting to get a copy of the book to see if it was worth posting about. Turns out this is an academic treatment of the topics of temptation and apostasy in the Book of Hebrews. 

 

Marcus A. Mininger. Impossible to Be Restored? Temptation and Warning in the Epistle of Hebrews. New Studies in Biblical Theology 64. Apollos/B&H Academic, 2025.

 

"The letter to the Hebrews contains and engages with some of the most perplexing passages of Scripture. Temptation and apostasy provide one way of reading this New Testament book. This volume in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series examines the Letter to the Hebrews, what temptation its audience was facing, and what Hebrews meant when it warned that some who fall away cannot be restored to repentance."

 

 

The Letter to the Hebrews according to the Oldest Papyrus

I want to thank Jordi Cervera for the gift of this beautiful book:

 

Rodolf Puigdollers i Noblom and Jordi Cervera i Valls. La Carta als Hebreus segons el Papir Més Antic. Centre de Pastoral Litùrgica, 2025.

 

Translation of the blurb:

"The edition of the Letter to the Hebrews that we offer in this volume was born from the conviction that biblical texts should not only be read and meditated on, but that it is also appropriate to approach them materially in their manuscripts – nowadays accessible in digital form – and to feel, if possible, the texture and shapes of the papyrus or parchment, and enjoy their studied calligraphy. Likewise, to savor the words in their sonority and their semantic content. For these reasons, we have started from a specific manuscript: Papyrus 46, dated around the year 200 AD, which is the oldest preserved of the Letter to the Hebrews. The New Testament writing is considered a brilliant homily that stands out for its literary and theological excellence, good and offering a precious content that is worthy of deeper study. It is with this enthusiasm that we offer this volume to the reader, with the conviction that 'appreciating the text directly' will discover the light of the most primitive and simple faith, which presents, according to the most original confessions of faith, Jesus, the Son of God, as the one who is God and Lord."

 

The book contains full-color pictures of the Chester Beatty Papyrus (P46) with transcriptions of the text in Greek and facing translation in Catalan. It also has notes on the Greek text and a commentary. When I have more time I will post pictures and comment further on this book.