Hebrews at Regional SBL Meetings

The following are papers that will be delivered at regional SBL meetings this spring, as far as I can ascertain. I will be attending the Southwest regional meeting.

Midwest Region

Saturday, February 8, 9:00-10:30

HEBREWS & CATHOLIC EPISTLES
Burke 411
Chair: Amy L. B. Peeler, Wheaton College

Carl Mosser, Eastern University (Visiting Scholar, Univ. of Notre Dame)
Synagogue Instruction, “Word of Exhortation,” and the Genre of Hebrews
"Many assert that the phrase “word of exhortation” in Acts 13:15 formally designates a synagogue sermon. Hebrews is commonly identified as a sermon based on the coincidence of this phrase in Hebrews 13:22. However, extant first-century evidence consistently suggests that sermons or homilies were not yet typical forms of synagogue instruction. This paper argues that “word of exhortation” instead refers to a form of prophetic utterance. In Acts it is Paul’s speech which took place after the regular teaching on the Law and Prophets. In Hebrews it likely refers to an oracle
alluded to in 12:25-26, not the epistle itself."

Nicholas A. Elder, Marquette University
The Hortatory and Performative Function of Hebrews 6:4-12
"Hebrews 5:11-6:20, 10:26-39, and 12:25-39 have been labeled second calls for attentive listening, deliberate shifts for refocusing and refreshment, digressions, or respites from a sustained argument. The typographic bias of historical criticism has too often diminished these sections because they are
thought to be reprieves from the rigors of rational argument. In a performative and oral framework, however, hortatory and emotive appeals function as essential rhetorical tools for affecting the audience and causing them to make a decision. This paper argues that the performative function
of Hebrews 6:4-12, far from serving as mere reprieve, is essential to the overall purpose of the text of Hebrews."

Hans Moscicke, Wheaton College
Anti-Imperial Rhetoric in Hebrews 1:5-9
"This paper will examine Heb 1:6 in the broader context of Hebrews 1 as a gateway into the examination of anti-imperial rhetoric via hidden transcripts and figured speech in the Epistle to the Hebrews. I will consider the author’s use of elliptical language in Heb 1:6, such as πρωτότοκος
and οἰκουμένη, and the nature of sonship and adoption in the imperial cult. The aim of the paper is to shed light on the author’s use of elliptical rhetoric aimed against the Emperor’s many exalted roles and titles, not least Pontifex Maximus."

Sunday, February 9, 9:00-10:30

HEBREWS & CATHOLIC EPISTLES
Burke 411
Chair: Amy L. B. Peeler, Wheaton College

Wesley Dingman, Loyola University Chicago
Melchizedek Traditions and Hebrews
"Scholars have long puzzled over the apparent diversity of functions ascribed to Melchizedek in the second temple period. It is often held that the disparate portrayals cannot successfully be integrated to form a coherent whole. But this is not the case. Melchizedek served as a conventionalized warrant for justifying the importance of Jerusalem, its temple, its leaders, and its people. He functioned in this way both for the priests operating the temple and for the community at Qumran. At issue was not if Melchizedek legitimized the priesthood, but which branch of the tribe of Levi was his legitimate heir. Hebrews’ use of Melchizedek therefore constitutes a novel appropriation of Melchizedek."

Lee Zachary Maxey, First Baptist Church, North Chicago
Classical Rhetoric and the Epistle to the Hebrews: The Ergasia of Hebrews 12:4–13
"Over the last twenty years the rhetorical criticism of Hebrews has occasioned a lively scholarly conversation. One of the directions in which this conversation has moved has involved the rhetorical critical readings of shorter units (3–10 verses), and larger constituents within Hebrews (e.g., chs. 3–4, 7, and 11). My presentation aims to contribute to this direction in the conversation by arguing that Hebrews 12:4–13 is an ergasiaor an elaboration of a chreia. Analysis of 12:4–13 as a chreia elaboration will ultimately allow for advancing a set of important conclusions regarding Hebrews and classical rhetoric, Auctor’s education, and his hermeneutical methods."

Pacific Coast Region

Monday, March 31, 1:30-3:00

S31-5 New Testament: Epistles and Apocalypse II
Joseph Hyung S. Lee, Regent College
“‘Yet Once More’ (eti hapax): Exodus and the ‘Shaking’ Use of the Old Testament in Hebrews 12:25–29”

Southeastern Region

Sunday, March 9,  9:00-11:00

New Testament V
Peachtree Room
Theme: Judaism and Hellenism
Annie Tinsley, Shaw University, presiding

Ken Vandergriff, Campbell University
διαθήκην καινήν–New Covenant As Jewish Apocalyptic in Hebrews 8

Southwest Region

Saturday, March 8
Theme: Hebrews and Johannine Traditions
Presiding: James Thompson, Abilene Christian University

1:30 Michael Martin and Ron Guzman, Lubbock Christian University
Is Hebrews 5:11-6:20 Really a Digression?

2:00 Warren Johnson, East Texas Baptist University
A Disciplinary Theodicy in the Epistle to the Hebrews: A Window into the Homiletical Purpose