Thursday, May 25, 2017

New Hebrews Commentary by Jon Laansma

Jon Laansma informed me that his commentary on Hebrews will be coming out soon. It is entitled The Letter to the Hebrews: A Commentary for Preaching, Teaching, and Bible Study. It will be published with Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf & Stock. The commentary was originally slated to be part of Baker's Teach the Text series, but that series has been cancelled.

Laansma is Associate Professor of Ancient Languages and New Testament at Wheaton College. He is the author of "I Will Give You Rest"  The Rest Motif in the New Testament with Special Reference to Mt 11 and Heb 3-4 in the WUNT series published by Mohr Siebeck; and is the co-editor of Christology, Hermeneutics, and Hebrews. Profiles from the History of Interpretation, published with T&T Clark.

He has sent me an electronic copy of his commentary for review. Stay tuned.



Friday, May 12, 2017

Jesus' Heavenly Sacrifice in Early Christian Reception of Hebrews

Here is the latest article on Hebrews to appear:

David M. Moffitt. "Jesus’ Heavenly Sacrifice in Early Christian Reception of Hebrews: A Survey." Journal of Theolical Studies 68.1 (2017): 46–71.

Abstract:
"Modern readings of Hebrews tend to reduce the text’s language of Jesus’ sacrificial offering to the event of his crucifixion. In my book, Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews, I argue that such a reduction does not adequately account for either the presence or significance of Jesus’ resurrection and bodily ascension for Hebrews’ Christology and soteriology. The book’s claims have rightly raised questions about why Hebrews has not been read this way in the past. This article offers an initial exploration of some early Christian reception of Hebrews. I demonstrate that, while not universal, a variety of texts from the early centuries of Christianity interpret Hebrews’ language of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice as referring to Jesus’ post-resurrection offering of himself to the Father in the heavens. These findings suggest that early Christian reflection on Hebrews, Jesus’ sacrifice, and atonement could approach these interrelated concerns more holistically—that is, orientated towards the full, creedal narrative of the incarnation, than do some accounts of the atonement that reduce Jesus’ sacrifice to his death on the cross."


Tuesday, May 9, 2017

New Book Honoring Gary Cockerill

In their latest catalog, Wipf & Stock has announced the publication of this book:

Caleb T. Friedeman, editor. Listen, Understand, Obey: Essays on Hebrews in Honor of Gareth Lee Cockerill.

"This volume brings together a diverse group of scholars, including biblical, systematic, and historical theologians, to honor Gareth Lee Cockerill, longtime professor of New Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary (Jackson, MS) and distinguished scholar of the book of Hebrews. The essays focus on various aspects of Hebrews’ theology, ranging from the nature of “rest” in Hebrews to the interpretation of Hebrews in early Methodism. Readers will find resources to hear and comprehend Hebrews afresh and will be challenged to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16)."

Congratulations, Gary!

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Hebrews on Genesis 1–11

New article:

Casey Croy. "Humanity as City-Builders: Observations on Human Work from Hebrews’ Interpretation of Genesis 1–11." Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies 2.1 (2017): 32–41.

"Hebrews 11:10 claims that Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (ESV). The Genesis narrative, however, seems devoid of any indication that Abraham was looking for a city, leading some modern interpreters to conclude that the author of Hebrews was allegorizing the Genesis narrative. On the contrary, reading Genesis 1–11 (the preceding context of the Abraham narrative) from the perspective of the author of Hebrews reveals details which indicate that he is making a valid inference from the text of Genesis. Specifically, the text of Genesis presents the city of Babel (Gen 11) as the antithesis of God’s original plan for human flourishing. The author of Hebrews’s reading of the Genesis narrative reveals his theological perspective on God’s original purpose for humanity, which has several implications for how Christians should reconsider the divide often assumed between sacred and secular work."

The entire issue is available online here.