Christology and Hermeneutics

I just learned about a book on Hebrews that is in the works:

Jon C. Laansma and Daniel J. Treier are editing a collection of essays: Christology and Hermeneutics: Hebrews as an Interdisciplinary Case Study. Library of New Testament Studies. London T & T Clark International. Due out: May 2012.

This is what I have been able to ascertain about the contents thus far:

D. Jeffrey Bingham - a chapter on Irenaeus and Hebrews

Mickey L. Maddox - a chapter on Luther and Hebrews? (I'm guessing)

Kelly M. Kapic, "A Theological Reading of the Book of Hebrews in the Seventeenth Century: John Owen."

Daniel J. Treier and Christopher Atwood, "The Living Word versus the Proof Text? Hebrews in Modern Systematic Theology."

Audio of the 2010 Advanced Expository Preaching Conference

Audio messages from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's 2010 Advanced Expository Preaching Conference featuring the book of Hebrews are now available.  These will be added to the multimedia page.

Messages include:

David Allen: Introduction and Structure of Hebrews
Herbert Bateman: Warning Passages in Hebrews
Matthew McKellar: Hebrews 13
Calvin Pearson: Rhetorical Techniques in Hebrews
Steven Smith: Preaching Plan for Hebrews   

On a personal note, David Allen mentioned me and my blog at the conference (around the 3:50 mark).

HT: Charles Savelle

Two New Acquisitions

I took advantage of the Wipf & Stock SBL discount to purchase two books on Hebrews:

Annang Asumang. Unlocking the Book of Hebrews: A Spatial Analysis of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

"While the intensely captivating language of the Epistle to the Hebrews may stir and invigorate modern New Testament readers to renewed spiritual energy, readers often remain clueless as to the book's overall theme and message. Despite the tendency for preachers to use various verses of the book of Hebrews as proof texts, few preachers today systematically expound the passages of Hebrews so that its general thesis is more clearly understood, so that it is practically applied for daily Christian living and witness. The different proposals about the epistle's uniting argument have not resulted in scholarly consensus; neither have they diminished the common impression about the epistle's difficulty. For such an important book of the Bible, given that the book of Hebrews skillfully bridges our understanding of the two testaments into one whole, such a situation is, to say the least, unsatisfactory.

The Epistle to the Hebrews utilizes the language of spaces in its expositions and the language of movement in its exhortations, with powerful rhetorical effects; yet few studies have attempted to analyze the book from this perspective. In this study, Asumang employs models from the interdisciplinary social-science investigative methodology of spatiality to analyze Hebrews. He demonstrates that the author of Hebrews interpreted the migrating camp of the Israelites in the wilderness, depicted in the book of Numbers, through a Christ-tinted lens and that the Hebrews writer applied these lessons to the grave pastoral condition of his congregation. When examined from this perspective, the Epistle to the Hebrews proves to be a most potent recipe for spiritual formation and Christian discipleship today."

Timothy W. Seid. The Second Chance for God's People: Messages from Hebrews.

 "For centuries the New Testament book of Hebrews has been interpreted as though it had been written for Jewish Christians in danger of lapsing back into legalism and religious ceremony. This view is now being challenged by current scholarship. Rather than attacking the Old Testament and Judaism, the author of Hebrews praises the person and work of Jesus through a series of comparisons on which he bases exhortations and warnings to the present people of God. Hebrews urges God's people to learn from past mistakes and failures, and to take up the challenge in difficult times to live faithfully in the new relationship to God through Jesus, God's Son.

In The Second Chance for God's People: Messages from Hebrews, Quaker pastor and professor Timothy W. Seid encourages today's church to respond to the challenge of Hebrews: first individually by progressing in spiritual and moral maturity, and second collectively by being God's faithful people in the world. In the light of ancient Greek language and rhetoric after having extensively researched Hebrews, Seid interprets the text of Hebrews section by section in an accessible and nontechnical way while also illustrating and applying the meaning of the text for the contemporary church."

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society Articles Available

Two new JETS articles have been added:

Bateman, Herbert W. “Two First-Century Messianic Uses of the OT: Heb 1:5-13 and 4QFlor 1.1-19.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38 (1995): 11-27.

Carr, G. Lloyd. “The Old Testament Love Songs and Their Use in the New Testament.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 24.2 (1981): 97-105.
-Deals with Psalm 45 in Hebrews 1:8-9

Albert Vanhoye, L'Epistola agli Ebrei

Bibbiablog has a synopsis of Albert Vanhoye's book L'Epistola agli Ebrei: Un sacerdote diverso.

  

Albert Vanhoye, born in 1923 in Hazebrouck (France), entered the Society of Jesus in 1941. He was licensed in literature at the Sorbonne, in philosophy and theology in the school of his order, and earned his Doctor of Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, with a thesis on the literary structure of Hebrews. He taught biblical exegesis in Chantilly (France) and then, from 1963 to 1998, New Testament exegesis and theology at the Biblical Institute, where he was also rector. He was a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1984 to 2001, serving as secretary from 1990 to 2001. He is the honorary president of the International Society for the Study of Biblical and Semitic Rhetoric. In 2006 he was created cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.

Timothy Winder Dissertation on Hebrews

European dissertations can be found at the following link:  DART-Europe E-theses Portal.

I have found the following dissertation which has now been added to the dissertations page:

Winder, Timothy J. "The Sacrificial Christology of Hebrews: A Jewish Christian Contribution to the Modern Debate about the Person of Christ." Ph.D. diss., Leeds University, 2005.

Update: I have a few more entries to the dissertations page.  Several of these dissertations are found on EThOS which requires one register with their service, but the registration is free and so are the electronic downloads.

David Moffitt's Dissertation Online

The following dissertation is now available online:

David McCheyne Moffitt. "A New and Living Way: Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews." Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 2010.

This one is worth looking at.  I thought his paper at SBL was outstanding.

Update

I have updated the New & Forthcoming page.  You have to scroll to the bottom for the forthcoming titles.  I have added Cynthia Westfall and Herbert W. Bateman.  I know of another volume that is in the works, but I have been sworn to secrecy regarding that one (how's that for a tease?).  If you know of any other volumes on Hebrews that are in the works, I would appreciate anyone letting me know.

Hebrews Carnival November 2010

This is late because my computer was down for the last week and a half in November.

Interest in Hebrews among the biblioblogs seems to have diminished to a trickle the last few months.

However, Charles Savelle is commenting,  identifying Five Contributions of the Book of Hebrews.  He then offers A Brief Summary of Hebrews 1:1-10:18 and some thoughts on Hebrews 1:1-3.

T.C.R. can only shake his head at the note that the Reformation Study Bible makes on the "Warning Passages" in Hebrews.

Jim Allman comments on Access to God in Hebrews 10 here, here, and here.

David Larsen summarizes Silviu Bunta's SBL paper, "The Convergence of Adamic and Merkabah Traditions in the Christology of Hebrews."  (I missed this paper, unfortunately, because the paper was not given at the time stated in the program book).

Newest Acquisition

At SBL I only purchased one book (a new record low): Peter O'Brien's commentary on The Letter to the Hebrews with the Pillar commentary series.  Gary Cockerill told me that he thought it was the best commentary on Hebrews to date (that is, until Dr. Cockerill's commentary is published).  ;-)

Jordi Cervera Articles

One of the fun things about going to SBL is meeting people from all over the world.  After the second section on Hebrews I met Jordi Cervera, who is a professor with the Facultat de Teologia de Catalunya in Barcelona.  I discovered that he has written a dissertation on Hebrews, which I never heard of before--that's because it is written in Catalan.  His 1999 dissertation is entitled:

"Esaú, el rebutjat de la comunitat: tradicions jueves en He 12, 16-17."

Well, I discovered some online articles of his, which will posted under electronic articles:

"Hebreus, una exhortació a perseverar." Revista Teologia 23.3 (1998): 299-328.

"Jesús, gran sacerdot i víctima, a Hebreus. Una teologia judeocristiana de la mediació i de l’expiació."

Now to go brush up on my Catalan . . .

SBL Group 2010 Annual Meeting

If you are attending the SBL annual meeting in Atlanta this year (and even if you are not), I notice that a couple of papers have already been posted on the Hebrews Group website.  It would be worthwhile to check this site to see if any additional papers are added before the meeting.  You can also access older papers reaching as far back as 2005.

Hebrews Carnival October 2010

Stephen Carlston has a discussion of Case Attraction and the Text of Heb 6:10.

Bill Heroman muses about whether Priscilla wrote Hebrews.

New Arrival

I want to thank David Allen, as well as Jim Baird of Broadman & Holman, for a copy of Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.  I will probably work my way through the book during Christmas break and post the review here.

Forthcoming Commentaries

I just checked out Bestcommentaries.com to see what commentaries on Hebrews are forthcoming.  This is the list:

• Steve Motyer in THNTC
• Robert Jewett in NCBC
• R. Hall in RRA
• Scott Hahn and Mary Healy
• John of Damascus and Theodore of Mopsuestia in ACT
• Barry Joslin in FB
• Kevin L. Anderson in NBBC
• Ron Rittgers in RCS
• David Hart in BTC
• D. A. Carson in BECNT
• Cindy Westfall in BHGNT
• Douglas J. Moo in ZEC
• Scott Hahn and Mary Healy in CCSS
• D. Stephen Long in Belief
• Tom Thatcher in NCCS ~2012
• Buist Fanning in EEC ~2015

This list does not even include commentaries by Philip & Loveday Alexander (ICC), Gareth Cockerill (NICNT) and Wolfgang Kraus.  That is a lot of commentaries!

Of making many books there is no end (Ecc 12:12)!  The writer of Ecclesiastes had no idea how true that statement is!

New Article Added

The following article has been added:

Sharp, Jeffry R. "Philonism and the Eschatology of Hebrews: Another Look." East Asia Journal of Theology 2.2 (1984): 289-98.

Robert Gordon Book Available In PDF

The following book is now available as a PDF download:

Gordon, Robert. Hebrews. Readings: A New Biblical Commentary. 2d ed. 2002.

Karrer Review of O'Brien

Review of Biblical Literature has posted a new review of Peter O'Brien's commentary on Hebrews.  The review is done by another Hebrews scholar Martin Karrer.  The review is in German.

O'Brien, Peter. The Letter to the Hebrews. Pillar New Testament Commentay. 2010.  Review by Martin Karrer.

Sermons/Bible Studies/Devotionals Page Tab Added

I have added the final resources tab to this blog (since blogger apparently only allows a maximum of 10 pages), entitled, "Sermons, Bible Studies, Devotionals."  This resource blog has heavily emphasized scholarly materials, but since pastors and laypeople may also be accessing this site, I have decided to add this final tab which consists of links to church and ministry resources that include sermons, Bible studies, devotionals, some online commentaries and so forth.  These resources are generally more popularized in nature.

At this point, I feel I need to add a disclaimer (I have included a disclaimer on the sidebar as well).  This blog is intended to provide a service to the church and academia.  I have provided links to resources that obviously range widely in terms of quality and theological perspective.  Posting resources on this blog does not constitute an endorsement of all the views expressed in these resources, nor does it guarantee that all of the sources provided are of equally high quality.  This caveat especially applies to the resources provided under this final heading.  Many of these resources have been developed by individual, churches, and/or ministries that--generally speaking--do not have the same kind of quality control usually found in most academic circles.  I trust that my learned readers will be able to use these resources appropriately and to be able to make their own judgments regarding the quality and accuracy of these resources.

New Articles Added

The following articles have been added, thanks to this site.

Barclay, William. "The Letter to the Hebrews." Chapter 5 of Many Witnesses, One Lord.

Heard, Richard. "The Epistle to the Hebrews." Chapter 19 of An Introduction to the New Testament.  

Just, Felix. "The 'Epistle' to the 'Hebrews.'" Catholic-resources.org.

Koester, Craig. "Conversion, Persecution, and Malaise: Life in the Community for Which Hebrews Was Written." Hervormde Teologiese Studies 61 (2005): 231-51.

Steyn, Gert J. "Addressing an Angelmorphic Christological Myth in Hebrews?" Hervormde Teologiese Studies 59 (2003): 1107-28.

Steyn, Gert J. "Some Observations about the Vorlage of Ps 8:5-7 in Heb 2:6-8." Verbum et ecclesia 24 (2003): 493-514.

Wallace, Daniel B. "Hebrews: Introduction, Argument, and Outline." Bible.org.

Worledge, Paul. "The Centrality of 'Conscience' Terminology in Hebrews 9-10." The Theologian: The Internet Journal for Integrated Theology (2005).

New Pages

I have added new pages to the blog.  First, I have created an Electronic Books page that contains limited preview or partial books on Hebrews.  Second, I have created a Scholars page containing links to web pages featuring prominent scholars on the book of Hebrews.  By "prominent" I mean anyone who has published a commentary, monograph, and/or numerous articles on Hebrews.  Obviously, it is impossible to be comprehensive and it is a work in progress.  Any help for this page would be greatly appreciated.

Reflections on Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop

Yesterday I attended the Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.  The workshop was held in their impressive new conference center, the Riley Center.

David Allen began with "Introduction and Structure of Hebrews."  He briefly discussed the leading candidates for authorship of Hebrews before concluding with the most likely candidate (in his view), Luke.  He then went over the structure of Hebrews, beginning with an outline based on the linguistic structures of Hebrews, which becomes the basis for the thematic outline.  The thematic outline then can become the framework upon which to build one's expository preaching.  Allen is of the conviction that exegesis must precede theology.  Hence, when preaching through a book of the Bible, one should determine the overall flow of thought to see how the individual passages fit within the larger argument of the book.  Steven Smith built upon Allen's outline to provide a "Preaching Plan for Hebrews."  He also provided examples of how to use expository preaching to preach a series based on key words or on thematic elements. 

After an outstanding lunch, Herbert Bateman discussed the "Warning Passages in Hebrews."  When preaching the warning passages, one should consider the historical context for Hebrews, the literary challenges of Hebrews, before considering the pastoral concern in Hebrews.  One must understand how the author of Hebrews weaves together exposition and exhortation.  Despite what one might think is going on in the warning passages, Jesus is the focus.  He is the regal priest and turning away from him will result in undesirable consequences for the believer.  Many of his handouts are pre-published material that will appear in his forthcoming book (2011), Charts on the Book of Hebrews, which will be part of the Kregel Charts of the Bible and Theology series. 

Calvin Pearson discussed "Rhetorical Techniques in Hebrews."  He contends that "rhetoric is the study of how we are persuaded, based upon how God structure our minds."  He identified a few rhetorical techniques and illustrated them in Hebrews.  Understanding rhetorical techniques helps us not only to understand what is going on in Hebrews, but also can help us improve our proclamation of the Word of God.

Finally, Matthew McKellar, modeled expository preaching with a sermon on Hebrews 13:9-16 entitled, "We Have An Altar!".  He argued that the revolutionary sacrifice of Jesus for you demands a radical surrender from you.

I felt somewhat of a celebrity there.  David Allen recognized my name from this blog and then he introduced me and announced this blog to the attendees and so I had a bunch of people come up to me asking for my blog address.  So, if you are new to this blog and are reading this, welcome.  I will eventually add a tab for links to preaching resources on Hebrews.

Afterward, I had a nice chat with Dr. Allen and we got to know one another a little and we discussed his commentary and some theology.  Since, I will be reviewing his commentary shortly, I discussed some of my critiques of his book, and he took it all very graciously.  Dr. Allen is not a Calvinist, but he does believe in the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.  I am, of course, an Arminian and don't believe in that doctrine (although I do believe that the saints should persevere).  But we were able to discuss our differences amicably.  Dr. Allen is a gracious man, who combines confidence with humility--something that more academics should learn to do.  I hope that it is the beginning of good friendship with Dr. Allen.  I guess this means I'll have to be nice to him when I critique his commentary ;-)

Hebrews Papers at ETS 2010

This year's Evangelical Theological Society meeting has several papers related to the book of Hebrews:

Wednesday, November 17:

Wesleyan Studies
11:00-11:40 am
Gareth Lee Cockerill (Wesley Biblical Seminary)
‘Justification’ or ‘Perfection’? Salvation in the Letter to the Hebrews

Justification in the NT and Early Fathers
3:40-4:20 pm
Gareth Lee Cockerill (Wesley Biblical Seminary)
More than Paul: the Justification: Debate and the Letter to the Hebrews

Thursday, November 18:

Letter to the Hebrews Section
Moderator: Herb Bateman (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)

2:50-3:30 pm
Paul Hartog (Faith Baptist Theological Seminary)
Hebrews 2:9 and the “Orthodox Corruption of Scripture”

3:40-4:20 pm
Joseph R. Dodson (Ouachita Baptist University)
Ethical Exhortations in the Letter to the Hebrews and the writings of Seneca

4:30-5:10 pm
Todd R. Chipman (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Where is Exhortation in Hebrews? Discourse Analysis and Genre Division in the Epistle to the Hebrew

5:20-6:00 pm
Panel Discussion

Friday, November 19:

Letter to the Hebrews Section
Moderator: Jon Laansma (Wheaton College)

1:40-2:20 pm
Daniel J. Treier and Christopher Atwood (Wheaton College (IL)
The Living Word versus the Proof Text? Hebrews in Modern Systematic Theology

2:30-3:10 pm
Mickey L. Mattox (Marquette University)
Martin Luther and Hebrews

3:20-4:00 pm
Kelly M. Kapic (Covenant College)
Typology, Christology, and John Owen’s Theological Reading of Hebrews

4:10-4:50 pm
Panel Discussion

Justification in Paul

1:40-2:20 pm
Benjamin J. Ribbens (Wheaton College)
Forensic-Retributive Justification in Romans 3:21-26: Paul’s Doctrine of Justification in Dialogue with Hebrews 

John Paul Heil - Hebrews: Chiastic Structures and Audience Response

I have just discovered the publication of this new book on Hebrews:

Heil, John Paul. Hebrews : Chiastic Structures and Audience Response. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 46. Washington, DC : Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2010.

John Paul Heil is professor of New Testament at The Catholic University of America.

Jeffrey Khee - Lecture Notes on Hebrews

Recently, a new Facebook group, entitled "New Testament Scholarship Worldwide," was started by Johnson Thomaskutty, a former colleague of mine when I was at Princeton Theological Seminary. He states that "The paramount concern of this group is the "integration of Eastern and Western New Testament Scholarship." I recently sent an inquiry out requesting links to any articles or books by scholars from the global south or east. I have not received any responses yet from this inquiry, but I did stumble across the following:

Jeffrey Khoo. Hebrews. Lecture Notes. Far Eastern Bible College, Singapore.

A link to these notes has been added to the electronic articles page.

New Hebrews Consultation

I just got word from Eric Mason:

The new Hebrews consultation for the International SBL has just been approved.  David Moffitt and Eric F. Mason are co-chairs.  The group begins with the 2011 meeting in London, and the call for papers will appear on the SBL website shortly.

Steve Motyer on Physical Community in Hebrews

The following article has been added to electronic articles:

Motyer, Steve. “‘Not Apart from Us’ (Hebrews 11:40): Physical Community in the Letter to the Hebrews.” Evangelical Quarterly 77 (2005): 235-47.

David Gooding, Unshakeable Kingdom

I have added a link to the following book which is available electronically:

Gooding, David. Unshakeable Kingdom: An Exposition on the Epistle to the Hebrews. 1989.

David Willoughby Gooding, MA, PhD, professor emeritus of Old Testament Greek at Queen's University Belfast, is a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Professor Gooding travels extensively, giving lectures and, besides academic works, is the author of expository books on Luke, John 13-17, Acts and Hebrews.

Interview with David Allen

Charles Savelle has a brief interview with David Allen about the upcoming Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop featuring the book of Hebrews.

New Articles Added

The following articles have been added to the electronic articles page:

Redden, Lester. "Hebrews a Petrine Document." Bibliotheca sacra 68.272 (1911): 684-92.

Riley, I. Woodbridge. "The Letters of Junius and the Epistle to the Hebrews: A Comparative Study in Higher Criticism." Bibliotheca sacra 58 (1901): 607-31.

Review of Lloyd Kim, Polemic in the Book of Hebrews

Review of Biblical Literature has added a new review on:

Lloyd Kim. Polemic in the Book of Hebrews: Anti-Judaism, Anti-Semitism, Supersessionism? Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2006.

The review is by Lars Kierspel

New Article in NTS

New article on Hebrews:

Joshua W. Jipp. "The Son's Entrance into the Heavenly World: The Soteriological Necessity of the Scriptural Catena in Hebrews 1:5-14." New Testament Studies 56 (2010): 557-75.

Abstract

Hebrews 1.5-14 has proved difficult to integrate within the author's larger literary project. More recent scholarship has emphasized rightly that the catena centers upon the Son of God's royal enthronement, but the question as to why the author should begin his argument this way has yet to be answered. In this essay I argue that the event which the catena describes, namely the Son's enthronement to the heavenly world, is critical for the entire logic of the author's argument regarding how humanity's salvation is accomplished. The likelihood of this conclusion is bolstered by the rarely recognized inclusio between 1.5-14 and 12.18-29. Finally, I briefly examine four texts which suggest that the author envisions the Son's narrative, particularly his entrance into God's heavenly realm as described in 1.5-14, as a soteriological necessity, and pattern, for humanity.

The Son's Entrance into the Heavenly World: The Soteriological Necessity of the Scriptural Catena in Hebrews 1.5-14

Joshua W. Jipp (2010).

New Testament Studies, Volume 56, Issue 04, October 2010 pp 557-575

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=7889762

Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop On Hebrews

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will be hosting an Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop featuring the book of Hebrews.

Thinking about attending ...

HT: Charles Savelle

SBL 2010 Annual Meeting

I received my SBL annual meeting guidebook today, so I thought it was a good time to mention the papers on Hebrews that will be given at this year's annual meeting (click on the links for the abstracts):

S20-221 
Hebrews
11/20/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Room TBD - Hotel TBDEkkehard Stegemann, Presiding

Fritz Graf, Ohio State University
“You Have Become Dull of Hearing”: Hebrews 5:11 and the Rhetoric of Conversion (30 min)
Pamela Eisenbaum, Iliff School of Theology, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (10 min)

David M. Allen, Queen's Foundation, Birmingham
Faithfulness in the Things before God: Caleb Typology in the Letter to the Hebrews (30 min)
Gabriella Gelardini, University of Basel, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (10 min)

James W. Thompson, Abilene Christian University
Strangers on the Earth: Philosophical Perspective on the Promise of God (30 min)
Kenneth Schenck, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (10 min)

S21-116 
Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism
11/21/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Hanover Hall F - Hyatt RegencyTheme: Possible Provenances of Merkavah Mysticism

Silviu Bunta, University of Dayton
The Convergence of Adamic and Merkabah Traditions in the Christology of Hebrews (25 min)
Discussion (10 min)

S21-139 
Sabbath in Text, Tradition, and Theology
11/21/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: A705 - Marriott MarquisTheme: The Sabbath in the First and Second Century

Michael Allen, Knox Theological Seminary
Is Hebrews a Supersessionist Text? Sabbath Theology in 3:7-4:13 as Test Case (30 min)

S21-320 
Hebrews
11/21/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Room: Hanover Hall E - Hyatt RegencyTheme: Emerging Studies
Kenneth Schenck, Presiding

Matthew D. Larsen, Church of the Incarnation (Episcopal), Dallas, TX, USA and Michael Svigel, Dallas Theological Seminary
The First Century Two Ways Catechesis as the Background of Hebrews 6.1–6 (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)

David M. Moffitt, Duke University
Blood, Life, and Purification: Reassessing Hebrews’ Christological Appropriation of Yom Kippur (20 min)
Break (5 min)

Eric F. Mason, Judson University
Hebrews and Second Temple Jewish Traditions on the Origins of Angels (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Scott D. Mackie, Independent Scholar
Early Christian Eschatological Experience in the Warnings and Exhortations of Hebrews (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)

D. Jeffrey Bingham, Dallas Theological Seminary
Irenaeus and Hebrews (20 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Discussion (25 min)

S23-113 
Ecological Hermeneutics
11/23/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Room TBD - Hotel TBDTheme: Ecology and the New Testament

Jeffrey S. Lamp, Oral Roberts University
"We Have an Altar" (Hebrews 13:10): The Reclamation of Reinterpreted Liturgy for Ecological Responsibility (30 min)

Hebrews Carnival August 2010

For this month's carnival two themes have emerged. First, I will introduce two blogs of fellow Baylor colleagues who had brief posts on Hebrews:

Scott Rushing, a Ph.D. candidate in theology with a specialization in Patristics, has a lectionary reflection on Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16.

Keith Reich, with his newly-minted Ph.D. in New Testament, has a newly-minted blog on the Rhetoric and the NT. He identifies the rhetorical figures in Hebrews 1:1-4.

The other major theme that emerged this month is the issue of authorship of Hebrews:

Derek Ouellette has an Interview with Ruth Hoppin, Author of Priscilla's Letter. Ruth Hoppin also has a guest post on Hebrews 11:32, the controversial passage often used to dismiss the possibility of a female author for the book. You can read my critique of her argument and our subsequent exchange there.

Derek Ouellette also has a review of David L. Allen's book, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.

Christianbook.com is doing a Read In for Allen's new book:
Part 1: the Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.
Part 2: Whose [sic] Your Author?.
Part 2 Supplemental.
Linguistics and the Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.
Part 2: Linguistics and the Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.
Stenography in Hebrews?
Allen's "Independent" Hypothesis and Lukan Methodology.
Some Reflections

General posts:

Michael Bird considers some Central Themes in Hebrews.

Steven Coxhead proposes that the Perfecting of Jesus as High Priest took place upon the cross.

Alan Knox has a brief post on the translation of Hebrews 10:24.

Dave Spotts has posted a couple of sermons on Hebrews 11:1-16 and Hebrews 13:1-17.

Helps from Hebrews

I have just added the following book to the electronic books listing:

Boatman, Don Earl. Helps from Hebrews: A New Commentary, Workbook, Teaching Manual. 1960.

Boatman was the President of Ozark Bible College in Joplin, Mo.

HT: Joel

New Commentary on Hebrews by David L. Allen

Today I found a surprise package on my doorstep. Broadman & Holman sent me a complimentary review copy of David L. Allen's commentary on Hebrews. I am thrilled! I want to thank Jim Baird from B & H for the review copy.

Currently, I am working my way through about 65 commentaries or so on Hebrews for my dissertation (all lined up in one long row on my tables in my home office), so the arrival of this commentary is quite timely. In due course I will post a thorough review of this commentary. I also plan to post my recommendations on the best commentaries on Hebrews once I have worked my way through them sometime in the future.

I currently teach a Sunday school class at my local church and we are working our way through the historical books of the OT. I have been generally impressed with the quality of the commentaries in the New American Commentary series. They are readable and thorough in their comments, so they are ideal for pastors to use, yet they are scholarly enough that scholars can benefit from them too. In my estimation it is one of the best overall series on the OT there is (and I have been using commentaries from other series like the AB, OTL, WBC, Interpretation, Tyndale etc.), perhaps matched only by the NICOT. Other series may be more thorough in technical matters, but for preparation for teaching and preaching, this series is tops. So, I expect some good things from this commentary.

The book weighs in at 671 pages so it is quite meaty. The 72-page introduction includes topics on the nature of the book, historical circumstances (authorship, recipients, location, date), purpose, theology, use of the OT, and an outline and structure of the book. The author is dean of the School of Theology, professor of preaching, and director of the Center for Biblical Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. I have heard him speak and he is quite an engaging speaker so I hope his commentary will be equally engaging.

Typology and the Message of Hebrews

The following article is now available online:

Jeffrey R. Sharp. "Typology and the Message of Hebrews." East Asia Journal of Theology 4.2 (1986): 95-103.

HT: Rob Bradshaw

Hebrews Carnival July 2010

William Varner talks about his experience of seeing the oldest extant manuscript of the book of Hebrews, P46, in the Chester Beatty Papyrus collection. He notes that even in this oldest of manuscripts the title was "To the Hebrews." He gives a picture of it here.

Steven Coxhead has a discussion on The Eternal Nature of the Eternal Covenant in Hebrews.  He has a follow-up discussion on When Jesus Became Our Great High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek.

Zondervan has posted an excerpt of the complete chapter on Hebrews from Carson, Moo, and Naselli, Introducing the New Testament.

Arminian Today has a meditation on Hebrews 7:23-28 entitled, Jesus, My Faithful, Perfect High Priest.

New Swetnam Article

New article on Hebrews:

James Swetnam. "The Crux at Hebrews 2,9 in Its Context." Biblica 91 (2010): 103-11.

Hebrews Carnival June 2010

Jason reflects on Hebrews 6:4-8 and the tensions he finds with his own Calvinistic theology.

William Varner reposts his piece on Jude the Author of Hebrews.

Charles Savelle has a description and table of contents on David L. Allen's book, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews.

Derek Ouellete also reflects on Who Wrote Hebrews?

Peter Head discusses the nomen sacrum at Hebrews 4:8 in P46.

In Memoriam: Robert McLachlan Wilson

I received this email today:

It is with deep regret we report the passing of Prof. emeritus Robert McLachlan Wilson who suffered a major stroke last week and died on Sunday at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. He was 94 years old and hadbeen active virtually up to the end of his life. Prof Wilson had been on the staff at the University of St Andrews between 1954 and 1983, when he retired from the chair of Biblical Criticism. A Fellow of the British Academy, he was also awarded its Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies. In 1981-2 Robin was elected President of SNTS. His scholarship focussed on Nag Hammadi studies, New Testament Apocrypha and the New Testament itself (with his commentary on Colossians & Philemon appearing in 2005!). But equally significant was his work in translation and editing. He was associate editor and then editor of the SNTS Monograph Series and its journal (New Testament Studies) for many years. There were many other significant roles he performed (member of the International Committee for the publication of the Nag Hammadi codices, member of the editorial board of the Nag Hammadi Studies monograph series, and English translator of Hennecke-Schneemelcher's NT Apocrypha).

Wilson also wrote the Hebrews commentary for the New Century Bible Commentary

New Books by Mohr Siebeck

I received the newest catalog from Mohr Siebeck today and noted the following new books relevant to the study of Hebrews:

Marius Heemstra. The Fiscus Judaicus and the Parting of the Ways.

Marius Heemstra argues that the "harsh" administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96) and the reform of the Fiscus under the emperor Nerva (96-98), accelerated the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, resulting in two separate religions. From 96 CE onwards, Roman authorities used a more pointed definition of "Jew", which made it easier for them to distinguish between Judaism (an accepted religion within the empire) and Christianity (an illegal religious movement). This parting should primarily be interpreted as a break between Jewish Christians and mainstream Judaism. Both parties claimed to be the true representatives of the continuing history of Israel. In this study, the author pays special attention to the Roman and Jewish context of the Book of Revelation, the Letter to the Hebrews, and the Gospel of John, including the debate about the birkhat ha-minim.

The book is based on his 2009 Ph.D. dissertation from the University of Groningen.

Christopher A. Richardson. Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith: Jesus' Faith as the Climax of Israel's History in the Epistle to the Hebrews.

By providing a detailed exegetical examination of the references to Jesus' faith in Hebrews, Christopher A. Richardson demonstrates that this epistle makes a profound contribution to our understanding of the early church's christology. Rather than engaging with the pistis Christou debates in Paul, the author reveals that Jesus' own faith in God in terms of theology is most clearly articulated in Hebrews. He argues that the author of Hebrews has integrated Jesus' example of faith throughout the epistle, with Heb. 12.2 being the climactic illustration of his faith; consequently, the reader is compelled to compare Jesus' perfect example of steadfast confidence with the ancestors of faith in Hebrews 11. It is evident that these have been recapitulated in order to amplify the person and work of Christ, and thus to present the former exemplars as true yet imperfect anticipations of the one who perfectly embodied and expressed the virtue of faith.

This book is based on Richardson's 2009 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Aberdeen.

Expected August 2010.

Getting Copies of PRS

Anyone interested in obtaining the latest issue of Perspectives in Religious Studies can contact the senior editor Scott Nash. As noted in my previous post this most recent issue is a special thematic issue on the book of Hebrews. Copies should be around $10 a piece including shipping.

My First Publication!

I wanted to wait until actually seeing it in print before announcing my first publication:

Brian C. Small, "The Use of Rhetorical Topoi in the Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews." Perspectives in Religious Studies 37.1 (Spring 2010): 53-69.

Here is an abstract of the article:

"This essay examines how the author of Hebrews employs rhetorical topoi to develop the characterization of Jesus. Aelius Theon’s Progymnasmata and Cicero’s De Inventione provide lists of the properties or attributes of persons which can be used in the argumentation of epideictic speeches. By utilizing the rhetorical topoi derived from these lists, a taxonomy is created which helps us organize the author’s conception of the character of Jesus. The author employs these rhetorical topoi to demonstrate Jesus’ excellency and to exalt him above all other human beings. The author urges his audience to adopt his characterization of Jesus so that they could have the confidence and boldness to persevere in their Christian faith."

The article reflects a portion of my dissertation which is examining the characterization of Jesus in Hebrews from a rhetorical and literary perspective. The dissertation of course greatly expands upon what is contained in the article.

I want to publicly thank my advisor, and editor of PRSt, Mikeal Parsons, in whose class I first conceived the topic for this essay; Eric Mason, the editor of this special thematic issue on Hebrews, who accepted my article for publication and made helpful suggestions in editing the article for publication; and Alicia Myers, associate editor of PRSt, who did much of the formatting work to prepare the article for publication.

As noted, this issue of PRSt is a thematic issue on Hebrews. Eric Mason has an introductory essay entitled "Emerging Voices on the Epistle to the Hebrews." Other articles in the issue are:

Eric F. Mason, "The Epistle (Not Necessarily) to the 'Hebrews': A Call to Renunciation of Judaism or Encouragement to Christian Commitment."

Bryan J. Whitfield, "The Three Joshuas of Hebrews 3 and 4."

Amy L. B. Peeler, "The Ethos of God in Hebrews."

David M. Moffitt, "Unveiling Jesus' Flesh: A Fresh Assessment of the Relationship Between the Veil and Jesus' Flesh in Hebrews 10:20."

Mark A. Jennings, "The Veil and the High Priestly Robes of the Incarnation: Understanding the Context of Heb 10:20."

I personally know some of these other people and am proud to have my article appear in the same issue with them.

NT Pod 37 - The Purpose of Hebrews

Mark Goodacre has posted his next installment of the NT Pod:

NT Pod 37: What Is the Purpose of the Epistle to the Hebrews?

What I found most intriguing in his discussion is that he views Hebrews as a kind of circular letter developed out of a sermon. He thinks the exhortations in the book are much too general to be targeted for just one audience. I am not fully persuaded by this as there are places where he appears to know the situation of his audience (e.g., 5:11-12; 10:32-34; 12:4). Also the author expresses a desire to be restored to his readers (13:19) and they have a common acquaintance in Timothy (13:23) and he sends greetings from those from Italy. All this suggests to me that the audience is more specific.

Dunnill Review of The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology

RBC has a new review by John Dunnill on The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology, edited by Richard Bauckham, Daniel R. Driver, Trevor A. Hart, and Nathan MacDonald.

Even More Books Added

The following books have been added to the electronic books page:

Bauer, Georg. Der Schlüssel zum rechten und vollen Verständnisse des paulinischen Hebräer-Briefes. 1867.

Blasche, Johann Christian. Systematischer Commentar über den Brief an die Hebräer. Vol. 1. 1782.

Blasche, Johann Christian. Systematischer Commentar über den Brief an die Hebräer. Vol. 2. 1782.

Cannegieter, Tjeerd. Christologie volgens den brief aan de Hebreën. 1869.

Moll, Carolus Bernardus. Christologiae in Epistola ad Hebraeos scripta proposit. 1854.

Palacio, Miguel de. Enarrationes in Epistolam B. Pauli Apostoli ad Hebraeos .... 1590.

Rollock, Robert. Analysis logica in epistolam ad Hebraeos. 1610.

Zachariae, Gotthilf Traugott. Paraphraseische Erklärung des Briefes an die Hebräer. 1771.

Zwingli, Ulrich. Sermones triginta in undecimum caput epistolae ad Hebraeos: in quo de iustificatione per fidem .... 1592.

Hebrews Carnival May 2010

It has been a slow month for the book of Hebrews:

Alan Knox offers a meditation on Hebrews 2:9-11.

Ruth Ann Reese gives recommendations on building a NT Library for Hebrews-Revelation. Her recommendations for Hebrews includes commentaries by David deSilva, Craig Koester, and Luke Timothy Johnson.

David Alan Black draws attention to an interview with David Allen about his forthcoming books on Hebrews.

New Books Added

The following books have been added to the electronic books page:

Coccejus, Johannes. Epistolae ad hebraeos Explicatio. 1659.

Majus, Johann H. Epistolae ad Hebraeos paraphrasis. 1700.

Pareus, David. In divinam ad Hebraeos S. Pauli Apostoli epistolam Commentarius. 1613.

Peirce, James. Paraphrasis et Notae Philologicae atque Exegeticae in Epistolam ad Hebraeos. 1747.

Claire Clivaz on P126

The first issue of the new journal Early Christianity is now available in PDF form. Of interest to this blog is the article by Claire Clivaz:

Claire Clivaz. "A New NT Papyrus: P126 (PSI 1497)." Early Christianity 1 (2010): 158-162.

P126 is the newly discovered manuscript containing portions of Hebrews 13.

HT: Peter Head

NT Pod 36 - The Epistle to the Hebrews: First Look

Mark Goodacre has posted his newest NT Pod:

NT Pod 36: The Epistle to the Hebrews: First Look

New ETS Articles Added

I have just discovered that ETS has their journal articles archived online. Hence, I am able to add some new articles to my page:

Burns, Lanier. "Hermeneutical Issues and Principles in Hebrews as Exemplified in the Second Chapter." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39.4 (1996): 587-607.

Charles, J. Daryl. “The Angels, Sonship and Birthright in the Letter to the Hebrews.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 33 (1990): 171-78.

Dahms, John V. “The First Readers of Hebrews.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 20.4 (1977): 365-75.

Kaiser, Walter C. “The Old Promise and the New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 15.1 (1972): 11-23.

Longenecker, Richard N. “The ‘Faith of Abraham’ Theme in Paul, James and Hebrews: A Study in the Circumstantial Nature of New Testament Teaching.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 20.3 (1977): 203-12.

Miller, Merland Ray. “What Is the Literary Form of Hebrews 11?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29.4 (1986): 411-17.

Rhee, Victor (Sung-Yul). “Christology and the Concept of Faith in Hebrews 5:11-6:20.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43.1 (2000): 83-96.

Scott, J. Julius. “Archēgos in the Salvation History of the Epistle to the Hebrews.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29.1 (1986): 47-54.

Spencer, William David. “Christ’s Sacrifice as Apologetic: An Application of Heb 10:1-18.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40.2 (1997): 189-97.

Wallis, Wilber B. “The Use of Psalms 8 and 110 in I Corinthians 15:25-27 and in Hebrews 1 and 2.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 15.1 (1972): 25-29.

Gaffin Article on Sabbath Rest

The following article has been added:

Gaffin, Richard B., Jr. “A Sabbath Rest Still Awaits the People of God.” Pages 33-51 in Pressing toward the Mark: Essays Commemorating Fifty Years of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Edited by Charles G. Dennison and Richard C. Gamble. Philadelphia: Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1986.

Bibledex Video on Hebrews

The University of Nottingham has produced a new Bibledex video on the Book of Hebrews:



I am quite surprised that Anthony Thiselton chose to give so much attention to the unlikely hypothesis that Priscilla may be the author of Hebrews.

Richard Gaffin's Lectures on the Theology of Hebrews

Thanks to Clifford Kvidahl for drawing attention to Richard Gaffin's 20 lectures on the Theology of Hebrews. Richard Gaffin is Emeritus Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. The lectures require downloading the iTunes software. The lectures are free and able to be downloaded once you have the software. I will be adding the link to multimedia resources.

Hebrews Carnival April 2010

Stephen Hebert finally continued his series on the text-critical reading of Hebrews 2:9. In part 6 he reviews the variant reading of choris theou in Origen and Ambrose. He argues that choris theou was changed to chariti theou because of the christological debates in the early church. In part 7 he notes that Irenaeus was also dealing with the same christological issues. Part 8 appears to be the conclusion of the series.

Ken Schenck has a discussion about Hebrews and Hermeneutics. He argues that the author took Psalm 40 which had an original meaning in its context and gave it a new meaning within a next context.

Ken also gives an outline of the Christology of Hebrews.

Ken also opines on what kind of midrash Hebrews 7 is.

Tommy Wasserman announces the publication of his New Commentary on Hebrews in Swedish.

Michael Bird announces the arrival of Peter O'Brien's Commentary on Hebrews. He provides a quote on O'Brien's take on 6:4-6.

Peripherally related to Hebrews, Torrey S announces the publication of Gard Granerod's dissertation, Abraham and Melchizedek: Scribal Activity of Second Temple Times in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110. I am going to ask my library to purchase it.

Scot McKnight endorses Edward Fudges' new book Hebrews: Ancient Encouragement for Believers Today.

Jason reflects on Hebrews 4:1-10 in his post God's Rest and the New Creation. He muses that "entrance into the new creation (the Sabbath that remains for God's people) is not so much an eternity of relaxing, but of one ruling over creation."

Peter Head has two notes on P126.

Rob Bowman does an exegesis of Hebrews 1:1-13 in part 3 of The Great Trinity Debate.

New Article Added

I have just added the following article:

Thayer, J. Henry. "Authorship and Canonicity of the Epistle to the Hebrews." Bibliotheca sacra 24.96 (1867): 681-722.

New Arrival

I just received the following book today:

Kenneth L. Schenck. Cosmology and Eschatology in Hebrews: The Setting of the Sacrifice. SNTSMS 143. 2007.

New Book in French

It is rare to see new books on Hebrews come out in French anymore, but Bibbiablog is announcing the publication of the following book:

Jean-Marie Carrière. «Tenez bon !» Relire la lettre aux Hébreux.

Here is the blurb from their blog:

"Les circonstances historiques de la lettre aux Hébreux restent obscures. Sommes-nous après la guerre juive de 70 et le Temple de Jérusalem est-il déjà détruit ? Quoiqu’il en soit, c’est sur fond de graves bouleversements qu’un auteur anonyme décide d’écrire une lettre de « consolation » où il approfondit le mystère du Christ. C’est en fonction de la nouveauté radicale de l’événement «Christ» qu’il repense l’ancien système du sacerdoce et des sacrifices. Voici une lecture pas à pas de sa lettre. Pour entrer dans un mouvement qui, loin de la nostalgie des splendeurs passées, nous tire en avant : «Tenez bon !»"

Jean-Marie Carrière (Né en 1948) est professeur d’Écriture sainte au Centre Sèvres (Facultés jésuites de Paris).

Two New Articles Added

I have added two new articles:

Ladd, Daniel. "Explanation of the ΤΗΣ ΠΡΩΤΗΣ ΣΚΗΝΗΣ, Heb. 9:8." Bibliotheca sacra 14.53 (1857): 46-61.

Mitchell, Edward C. "Whence Came the Quotation in Hebrews I.6?: Και προσκυνησατωσαν αυτω παντες αγγελοι θεου." Bibliotheca sacra 20.78 (1863): 301-11.

HT: Rob Bradshaw

New Arrival

Today I received in the mail a used copy of a book I recently learned about:

Gerald Thomas Kennedy. St. Paul's Conception of the Priesthood of Melchisedech: An Historico-Exegetical Investigation. 1951.

The book is a publication of a dissertation submitted to the Catholic University of America in partial fulfillment for the Doctor of Sacred Theology. As can be seen from the title, the author presumes Pauline authorship. Chapter 1 examines the person and role of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Chapter 2 gives an interpretation of Psalm 110:4. Chapter 3 investigates the priesthood of Melchizedek in Hebrew 7. Chapter 4 and 5 deal with Melchizedek in the early church fathers and the ancient Jews respectively.

Hebrews within Its First-Century Contexts

Guthrie, George H. "Hebrews in Its First-Century Contexts: Recent Research." Pages 414-443 in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research. Edited by Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.

George Howard Guthrie (1959- ) is professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, TN (1990-). He has written several monographs, commentaries, and articles on the book of Hebrews.

Guthrie provides a very fine survey of recent research on Hebrews. This essay is much broader, considering the research on Hebrews within its first-century context. Guthrie begins with an overview of overviews! The authors he highlights are McCullough, Feld, Hurst, and Koester. Standard critical commentaries also deal with many important background issues and interact with secondary literature. He highlights the commentaries of Lane, Attridge, and Weiss.

A number of studies have given attention to Hebrews’ use of rhetorical conventions, for example, the use of synkrisis (Seid), exempla (Cosby; Bulley; Eisenbaum), paideia (Croy), honor and shame language (deSilva), as well as a host of stylistic devices (Guthrie). Considerable discussion has centered around identifying the type of rhetoric Hebrews employs, whether it be deliberative or epideictic. Some scholars have attempted to identify the rhetorical structure of Hebrews according to Greco-Roman categories (Übelacker; Nissilä). Others have structured Hebrews by highlighting key literary devices (Vanhoye; Guthrie).

With respect to Hebrews’ relationship to Judaism, attempts to see connections with Merkabah mysticism (Schenke; Williamson; Hofius), Gnosticism (Käsemann; Grässer; Theissen) or Qumran (Yadin; Fensham; P. E. Hughes; Kistemaker; Kosmala) must be seen as largely a failure. Spicq is the most prominent advocate for seeing Platonic or Philonic influence on Hebrews, but Spicq’s thesis has been increasingly dismantled by the works of Barrett, Hanson, Schröger, Williamson, and Hurst. It has been increasingly recognized that Jewish apocalyptic is largely responsible for Hebrews’ thought world. Scholars have also attempted to demonstrate that Hebrews exemplifies characteristics of an early homily (Thyen; Wills; Black). Guthrie also surveys research on Hebrews’ use of the OT and its hermeneutical approach. This part of the survey is a distillation of Guthrie’s earlier survey, which I covered in my previous post. Scholars have also tried to note connections with emergent Christianity, for example, the Stephen tradition (W. Manson), Pauline Christianity (Windisch, Hurst, Koester), and First Peter (Koester, Attridge, Hurst). Very little progress has been made on discerning the specific circumstances (authorship, recipients, date) of the book and a variety of occasions have been proposed by different scholars (e.g., Lane; Isaacs: Lindars; deSilva).

Guthrie concludes his survey by noting some important work done on the theology of Hebrews. In addition to Lindars’ general overview of the theology of Hebrews, Guthrie highlights works devoted to “sacred space” (Isaacs), rest (Laansma), the “cloud of witnesses” (Rose), God’s speech (Wider), faith (Rhee), covenant renewal rites (Dunnill), and repentance and sin (Löhr).

Recent Trends in Research on Hebrews' Use of OT

Guthrie, George H. “Hebrews’ Use of the Old Testament: Recent Trends in Research.” Currents in Biblical Research 1 (2003): 271-94.
George Howard Guthrie (1959- ) is professor of Bible at Union University in Jackson, TN (1990- ). He has written several monographs, commentaries, and articles on the book of Hebrews.
This is the first of two surveys by Guthrie that we will be looking at. This survey is more focused on current trends on the study of Hebrews’ use of the OT. This allows Guthrie to provide adequate summaries and evaluations of the works reviewed. Guthrie’s essay is divided into two unequal parts:
The first part is an introduction “detailing the phenomena surrounding Hebrews’ use of the Old Testament” (272). He first notes that no consensus has arisen regarding the number of OT quotations in Hebrews since the author also employs allusions, usages of biblical language, and general references to the OT. Scholarship needs to bring some sort of clarification to the various appropriations of the OT by Hebrews. Guthrie then offers his own definitions of quotations, allusions, summaries, and echoes (273). He comes up with the following numbers: 35 quotations, 34 allusions, 19 summaries, and 13 echoes (274). Hebrews does not use introductory formulas like Paul; instead the author places scripture in the mouths of God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit.
The second part of the article deals with four trends in Hebrews research:
Text Form: Bleek argued that Hebrews uses a form of the LXX similar to Codex Alexandrinus. Katz questioned Bleek’s argument. Thomas contended that the author used a more primitive text behind Codices Alexandrinus and Vaticanus. Howard claimed that the author used a form of the Hebrew text older than the MT. McCullough argued that one needs to evaluate the recensions used by the author on a book-by-book basis (275). Numerous other explanations can account for the differences in Hebrews’ quotations, including intentional changes by the author for stylistic or theological reasons. Numerous scholars have explored this possibility in recent years (Silva; Leschert; Bateman; Hughes; Enns; Jobes). (276)
Structural “Framing”: Caird suggested that Hebrews is organized according to expositions of OT passages: “Heb. 2 is build around Ps. 8, chs. 3-4 develop from Ps 95, chs. 5-7 play off Ps. 110, and Jer. 31 governs Heb. 8-10" (278). Caird’s suggestion was expanded by R. Longenecker, France, and Walters.
Exegetical Methods: A number of scholars have tried to identify the author’s exegetical methodology. Scholars have explored the following methods: midrash (Leschert; Hayes; Bateman; Ellis; Fitzmyer; Guthrie), chain quotations or haraz (Bateman), example lists (Cosby; Bulley; Eisenbaum), dispelling confusion, reinforcement, implications, capitalizing on the literal sense of the word or phrase, verbal analogy or Gezerah shavah and argument from lesser to greater or Kal vahomer.(Guthrie).
Hermeneutic: Spicq’s contention that Hebrews employs a neo-Platonic dualism has now been called into question (Barrett; Williamson; Hurst). At least seven approaches have arisen exploring Hebrews’ hermeneutical system: 1) Proof-texting: Hebrews disregards the original context of scripture and forces them into the service of Christian proclamation (Weiss). Motyer raised objections to this view; 2) Sensus plenior: the Holy Spirit gives the “understanding of the deeper, christological meaning of the Old Testament text” (284) (Beale); 3) Dialogical Hermeneutics: “Exegesis is for the author of Hebrews the hearing participation in the dialogue that goes on within God and between God and man” (quotation from M. Barth, p. 64; 285); 4) Christ’s preexistence as hermeneutical key (Ellingworth); 5) hermeneutic of permission: “the Old Testament forms ‘permit’ to the new covenant interpreter the meanings that may be found in light of Christ” (287) (G. Hughes); 6) hermeneutic of the living voice: “God is speaking; he speaks old words with new meanings at points” (288) (Blackstone); 7) typology: “correspondences in biblical history between persons, institutions and events” (288) (Enns; Ellis; Caird; France; Motyer).