Hebrews Carnival September 2013

Clifford Kvidahl reminds us that Ceslas Spicq's two-volume commentary, L'Épître aux Hébreux, is being translated into English and is available for prepublication purchase at Logos Bible Software.  Spicq' commentary is still the most important French commentary on Hebrews, Samuel Bénétreau's two-volume commentary notwithstanding, even though it was published in 1952–1953.

Abram Kielsmeier-Jones posted his sermon on hospitality based on Hebrews 13:1–5: "A Ministry of Interruptions."

Andy Naselli posted an outline of his sermon, "Training Children for Their Good," partially based on Hebrews 12:4–11.  The full article appears in The Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry 3.2 (Spring/Summer 2013): 48–64.  The audio file of his sermon can be found here.

Matthew Montonini announces that Gary Cockerill delivered the Scripture and Ministry Lecture at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School entitled "Do not Refuse the One Who Is Speaking (Heb 12:25): Hebrews and Contemporary Preaching."  A video of the lecture is available for streaming.

Henry Neufeld announces that David Alan Black's new book, The Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Paul, is off to the printer.  He has created a new blog/book site to generate discussion about The Authorship of Hebrews.  I will include a link to this new site on the sidebar.

Kevin Jackson queries, Who Was the Author of Hebrews?  He then enumerates the usual candidates for authorship.

Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham

Andrei Orlov asked me to post information about his new book, Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham, which ponders connections with the theology of Hebrews.

Andrei A. Orlov, Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham (Cambridge University Press, 2013) 224 pages. ISBN: 110703907X, 9781107039070.

Description from the publisher: The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story - the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic.

About the author from the publisher: Andrei A. Orlov is Professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University. His recent publications include Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Selected Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2011) and Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (2011).

Partial previews are available at Google Books and Amazon.

Hebrews in The Story of God Bible Commentary

Zondervan is announcing yet another new commentary series, The Story of God Bible Commentary.  Their description of the series is as follows:

"Emphasizing the historical distance between the contexts of the biblical world and contemporary culture, Zondervan’s highly anticipated The Story of God Bible Commentary series provides pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and small group leaders with a clear and compelling exposition of the biblical text in the context of the Bible’s overarching story. The Story of God Bible Commentary series moves away from “application” language, which has been criticized as being too simplistic; instead it encourages discussion of how the Bible’s story can be lived today.

Offering a new type of application commentary for today’s context, The Story of God Bible
Commentary series explains and illuminates Scripture as God’s Story, with each biblical text
examined as embedded in its canonical and historical setting, in order to foster discernment
in living the story faithfully and creatively with and for the church in the 21st century.
New Testament."

For the interests of this blog, the author for the volume on Hebrews is Radu Gheorghita, who is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of The Role of the Septuagint in Hebrews.