Believers Church Bible Commentary on Hebrews

Debra J. Bucher and Estella Boggs Horning. Hebrews. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Herald Press.

Description:

"What constitutes a faithful life? At its most basic level, the New Testament book of Hebrews considers this essential question and pleads with its audience to find in faithful living the rest that Christ offers. The book begins with a poetic reflection on the one who lived the most faithful of lives—Jesus—and concludes with words of exhortation to go and do likewise.  

In the 37th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, scholars Debra J. Bucher and Estella Horning examine at great length one important aspect of Hebrews: Jesus as the “new covenant” and the “once for all,” better sacrifice who replaces the daily and yearly sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem. The authors give attention to the ways this idea has been used to minimize the value of other religious traditions and even to legitimize the horrors of the mid-twentieth century. They carefully unpack the language around sacrifice and covenant based on the saving work of Jesus, drawing out encouragement found in Hebrews to live as individuals and as a community led by Jesus, the pioneer and high priest. 

Bucher and Horning don’t shy away from the difficult language in Hebrews, but rather help readers understand its historical context and then how to use the text with love within our own context. 

About the Believers Church Bible Commentary series 

This readable commentary series is for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today—Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. —From the Series Foreword."

Consolatory Rhetoric in Hebrews (and Other Hellenistic Literature).

Christine R. Trotter. Hellenistic Jews and Consolatory Rhetoric: 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, 1 Thessalonians, and Hebrews. Mohr Siebeck.

Abstract:
"Christine R. Trotter elucidates how Hellenistic Jewish writers attempted to comfort those living in the midst of and in the wake of persecution and violence. While past scholarship has explored this question primarily in terms of the development of Jewish apocalypticism and afterlife beliefs, Christine R. Trotter takes a comprehensive approach by investigating how Hellenistic Jewish authors engaged with ancient consolatory rhetoric, that is, the means of persuasion intended to move a suffering person out of grief and into joy. Through studies on 2 Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, 1 Thessalonians, and Hebrews, the author explicates how Hellenistic Jewish authors navigated the diverse traditions of consolation within their biblical heritage and Greco-Roman culture. Her work has important implications for the genre of 1 Thessalonians and the dates of composition of the Wisdom of Solomon and Hebrews."

Robert Wall on Reading Hebrews

I have just discovered this book which is newly published:

Robert W. Wall. Reading Hebrews (Second Series):A Literary and Theological Commentary. Smyth & Helwys.

Book Description

The New Testament’s letter “To the Hebrews” presents one of Scripture’s most influential interpretations of Jesus as God’s Son and exalted Messiah, who is both the essential revelation of a covenant-keeping God and the faithful agent of God’s eternal salvation. Yet Hebrews is routinely neglected in its study and proclamation in part because of its exclusion from either of the two canonical collections of apostolic letters, Pauline and Catholic. But context matters. This commentary argues that the context that matters most for a close reading and careful practice of Hebrews as Scripture is the one that surrounds the letter within the final edition of the New Testament canon. Rather than a rival of Paul’s crucified Christ or someone other than the exemplary Jesus of the Catholic Epistles, the priestly Christ Jesus of Hebrews, both divine and yet “made like his human sisters and brothers in every respect” (2:17), is received as their canonical complement to provide a more complete inspired interpretation of the church’s Lord and Savior than is possible by one or another biblical witness.

Bible Study Method and the Key to Hebrews

Here is a new podcast with Andy Miller and Rick Boyd on the topic of "Bible Study Method and the Key to Hebrews."