Hebrews

Exegetical Study Notes on the Greek Text

THESE DRAFT NOTES AWAIT COMPLETION

Hebrews is somewhat of a mystery. We know little of the writer, origin, destination and date. Even the title "To the Hebrews" is a later addition. Tradition doesn't help us very much and so we are stuck with the text itself. What we have is a rhetorical homily, "a word of exhortation", 13:22, a word which addresses laxity in the Christian life and encourages faithful endurance. The theology of the book is grounded on a high Christology. Christ is the high priestly Son of God who makes access to the living God possible through his sacrificial death.

The structure of Hebrews has been a matter of conjecture for some time and so numerous literary units have been suggested. The two most popular structural schemes are as follows:

Thematic structures are very popular giving up to 7 divisions with an introduction and conclusion. See, Ellingworth, Kistemaker, Bruce ...

Albert Vanhoye in La structure proposed a structure which has gained some critical acclaim. He suggests an elaborate five-part concentric chiastic composition around the theme of Christ's priesthood:

Attridge uses this approach and develops it further, noting that "any structural scheme captures only a portion of [the] web of interrelationships [of themes] and does only partial justice to the complexity of the work."

Koester, in his commentary, follows the classical rhetorical approach adopted by Watson (Rhetorical) and others. He argues that Hebrews functions as a rhetorical "word of exhortation", 13:22; a speech / sermon, rather than a letter / epistle. He proposes the following structure using a classical rhetorical schema, a schema used in the proposed structure above:

The proposition that Christ, our Great High Priest, was glorified through suffering and in him we are glorified, is presented in the form of an exposition of Psalm 8:4-6, and points to themes "that will be developed in the remainder of the speech: Christ's movement from suffering to glory, his suffering on behalf of others, and the idea that one can see the fulfillment of God's promises in Christ, despite their apparent nonrealization in human experience", Koester. Transitional elements exist between the literary units in the speech and also between the major elements within the argument. These transitional elements are often hortatory, appeals and warnings against neglecting God's word, calls to faithfulness, encouraging perseverance, ....

The where is probably not that important; Jerusalem was the favored destination, but then many scholars have swung toward Rome, eg., Kistemaker. The statement "those from Italy send you greetings", 13:24, probably means that those Italians who were living outside Italy are sending greetings back home. As Koester notes, Hebrews is the only letter in the NT that states that it is impossible to restore to repentance someone who has fallen away. Only the Shepherd of Hermas, a Roman text, runs this line.

Yet, the who is more important. Some argue that Hebrews is a letter written to Gentiles, while others argue it is written for Jews. A Jewish Christian destination is the more traditional view, possibly non Palestinian and non conformist - a Hellenist church that has undergone persecution for their Christian faith, but is now tending to slip back into the safety of legally recognized Judaism. The congregation is looking again for the safety and security of established religion.

So, the favoured position these days is for a Gentile church, possibly in Rome, made up of second generation Christians. They are disaffected through external pressures and are waning in commitment.

As to the author, again little is known. By the fourth century it was accepted that Paul had written the letter, but there is no evidence to support this view. Obviously, it was written by a second generation Christian who had not seen Jesus, but had certainly met his disciples. He (she?) was a learned person, a Hellenist in the mould of Stephen and Phillip. Origen (185-253), one of the leading theologians in the catechetical school in Alexandria, stated that "who wrote the epistle, in truth God knows." He related suggestions circulating at the time, namely, Luke, or Clement of Rome. Origen noted that the book was not in Paul's style, although the truth was Pauline, but not expressed in a Pauline way. Tertullian (155-220) suggested Barnabas, while Luther suggested Apollos. The book was first accepted as Pauline in the East by the mid to late 2nd. century, and was initially included after Romans. All that can really be said of the author is that he was a 2nd. generation Christian (not an eyewitness), a Greek thinker, had rhetorical training, knew the Greek Bible well, and was most likely a Hellenistic Jew of the dispersion, rather than Palestinian.

With the date of writing there is again little to go on. Chapter 12, verse 4, seems to imply that the church had been roughed up by persecution, but there had been no deaths. This would suggest a date prior to AD 64, or some years after, that is assuming that the church was in Rome, or the environs where persecution was implemented by the Roman authorities. In 1 Clement, written possibly in AD. 96, Clement does seem to have a knowledge of Hebrews in a similar fashion to his knowledge of Paul's epistles, or at least shares the writers ecclesiastical tradition. The destruction of Jerusalem is often used as a cut-off point for the letter, but it is possible to argue either a pre AD. 70 date, or post AD. 70 date. Koester suggests a date between AD. 60 to 90 is plausible, Attridge extends that to 100. Kistemaker opts for between AD. 80-85. A date between AD. 60 and 70 is particularly likely given the writers desire to once-and-for-all replace Israel's temple cult with the cult of Christ the High priest.

The subject of this letter (it finishes up like a letter, but is more a homily / sermon / speech in three parts) is the person of Christ who is the supreme and final revelation of God to mankind, and mediator between God and man.

Christ, our Great High Priest, was glorified through suffering, and in him we are glorified Henrietta Mears describes the letter in these terms: "The glories of our Savior are exhibited in this epistle. Our eye is fixed upon Jesus, the "author and finisher of our faith", 12:12. He is set before us "crowned with glory and honor" in the heavens, 2:9. This Christology is established by the careful exegesis of scripture, in particular the LXX version of the Old Testament. Points are supported by scriptural texts and are often expressed in Biblical terminology.

The indicative moves very quickly to the imperative in the terms of "let us approach", and "let us hold fast", expressing a dynamic, as well as a static, response to the indicative that Christ is our Great High Priest, glorified through his suffering, and that in him we are glorified. So our author encourages us to strive to enter God's eternal rest and to carry on to maturity. "The book is a timely warning and a word of comfort to all, especially in this day when many have so little instruction in the things of Christ and are inclined to be led astray by so many fads and cults. Hebrews shows skill in dealing with discouraged Christians. The writer reminds us of what we have in Christ", Mears.

Level of complexity:

1, non-technical, to 5, requiring a workable knowledge of Greek.

Deceased: D. For publications no longer in print

Other identifiers: Recommended R; Greek Technical G; Theology T

Hebrews: Expositions

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