Hebrews Highlights September 2014

Durham University has announced a conference on Neglected Texts and Early Christian Identities. These texts include Hebrews.

Chuck Grantham has assembled antique commentary quotes on Hebrews 1:1–4, Hebrews 2:1–4, and Hebrews 2:14–18, Hebrews 3:7–15.

Denny Burk comments on What the Bible teaches about spanking. The discussion includes seven propositions about discipline from Hebrews 12:4–11.

Thomas Schreiner's New Commentary on Hebrews

Thomas Schreiner informed me that his non-techncial commentary on Hebrews will be coming out in February 2015:

Commentary on Hebrews. Biblical Theology Christian Proclamation Commentary (Holman).

Part of the blurb on the Amazon website:

In his volume on Hebrews, Thomas R. Schreiner says, "The words of Jesus on the cross, 'it is finished' (John 19:30) capture the theology of Hebrews.

"My aim in this commentary is to focus on the biblical theology of the letter. The emphasis on biblical theology shows up especially in the introduction and conclusion where theological structures and themes are considered. In the introduction I will examine four different structures that are woven into the entire letter: 1) promise/fulfillment; 2) eschatology; 3) typology; and 4) spatial orientation (which can also be described as the relationship between heaven and earth in the letter). The commentary will conclude, after presenting an exegesis of each chapter, with a discussion of some major theological themes in Hebrews.

"Most modern commentaries consist of significant introductions and then conduct an intensive exegesis of the text, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. By way of contrast, the introduction and the commentary are relatively brief and non-technical.  With the proliferation of commentaries today, a new commentary should have a distinctive approach. We now have many excellent commentaries on Hebrews which examine the letter in some detail. Many of these commentaries provide a useful function in that they draw on other parallels from both Jewish and Hellenistic literature to illuminate Hebrews. The advantage of such an approach is that the reader is plunged into the cultural world of the author. On the other hand, the careful sifting of various traditions may cause the reader to lose track of the argument of the letter. At the same time, the theology of the author may be muted, not because it isn’t recognized but because it may be difficult to follow in the welter of information given to readers. I hope a commentary that probes the theology of Hebrews will prove to be helpful. I have been helped by many scholars in preparing this commentary, especially those who have written in depth commentaries and those who have written monographs on the letter. No one writes from an objective standpoint, and hence I should state up front that I write as an evangelical Christian who believes that the scriptures are the living and authoritative word of God."

Amy Peeler's New Book on Hebrews

Amy Peeler's dissertation is now published as a book:

Amy L. B. Peeler. You Are My Son: The Family of God in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Library of New Testament Studies. Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2014.

Blurb from the web page:

"The author of Hebrews calls God 'Father' only twice in his sermon. This fact could account for scholarship's lack of attention to the familial dynamics that run throughout the letter. Peeler argues, however, that by having God articulate his identity as Father through speaking Israel's Scriptures at the very beginning and near the end of his sermon, the author sets a familial framework around his entire exhortation. The author enriches the picture of God's family by continually portraying Jesus as God's Son, the audience as God's many sons, the blessings God bestows as inheritance, and the trials God allows as pedagogy. The recurrence of the theme coalesces into a powerful ontological reality for the audience: because God is the Father of Jesus Christ, they too are the sons of God. But even more than the model of sonship, Jesus' relationship with his Father ensures that the children of God will endure the race of faith to a successful finish because they are an integral part of comprehensive inheritance promised by his Father and secured by his obedience. Because of the familial relationship between God and Jesus, the audience of Hebrews - God's children - can remain in the house of God forever."

Amy and I attended classes together at Princeton. We were working on our dissertations simultaneously and we had articles published in the same issue of Perspectives in Religious Studies in 2012. I am happy to endorse her book.