A Cloud of Witnesses: The Theology of Hebrews in Its Ancient Contexts

LI BRARY OF NEW TESTAM ENT STUDIES

387 f ormerly t he j ounMI for t hf'" Study of t he N c,ow Test.tmf'llr Supplemetlt se,.ic>s

Edicor

Mark Goodacre

Editorial Board Joh n M.G. Barela)•. Craig BlombC'rg, R. Alan Culpcpp: 1 ..-\ NI) CmusTI.·\N I fJEN' n 'fY IN HJ::JmEws Peter Grabe I I. Ml:.LCl-IIZI:Uii K W II HOU1. Si•ECL LATION:

H EUR€WS

J 18

7. 1-2 5 ANO

GENESIS

14.17-24 Gareth Lee Cockerill

128

12. ''f1-11::. T J{ UE TtN'r WHIC H t i.J E LoRu H As Pn's 0RActes IN SecoNu TE~ti'Lfi JuuAtSM ANU IN HJ:BRt:ws

145

Philip A. F. Church

13. Pts·rts ANO

'E.IIUNAH:

T1-u: NA ruRH. of F..\1 fi.J

IN tHE Ei•lsTI.E.1'o

158

I J.J£ H EhRF.WS

Dennis R. Lindsay 14 . T i·IE ANTI-I~ti'I!RIAL RI·IE'l'ORIC Of H l~URI:WS 1.3: xapaKT~P AS A · D ouBLE- t.:.O(if.J) SwoJ{u·

170

Steven Muir

15. HEuREws 5.7, JEsus· PRAYER o N'IJ.JE

Mou~n

CwusTI.-\NII y : H E.-\RING EMu.Y C HRis"! JAN

Of 0LJVEs ANO JEwisH

VotCJ!s tN CANONJ\L

187

ANO A POCR\' I'HAL T Ex"l s

Claire Clivaz 16. ' fi·IE

UNIVI!RS.'\L A:>:O E I'I! K NAL

VAuun'Yf hsus·

PR1Es·1LV SACRifiCE: T 1-1E E 1:o1sTLE '1'0 "HIE H EIHtr:ws IN SUI'I'OR'I of 0RKii: N·s T I·II!ORY P AI'KA1'As'rAsl s

210

llaria L. £. Rumelli Index o r A uthors

222

Index or Biblic-al Citations

227

Index or Other Citations

235

AUBR~VIATIONS

I En. 1- 2 Clem.

J £n. 3 Matf.

4 £:w

l. a co ntextua l examination of Gen. 14.1 7.24 oonllrms the legjtimacy of Hebrews· interpretation. Melchizedek"s origin o utside Abr~Lham·s llne-.tge. s urprising appearance in. and then disappearance from the texl a re appropriate Cor his Genesis ro le as d ispenser o f G oc.rs blessing. These elements. form the foundation o r He b. 7. 1-25. Philip Church mva. as opposed to the Jewish annual high priesthood. Precisely because Chlist•s priesthood is eterna l. he d id not need to perform many sacrifices: the unicity of his sacrifice is stressed by Ori~e-n agains t the multiplicity of lhe aiC>v;:5. Its power is s uch thal it is able to bring. a bout sah•ation both for all aic:)vEs and for a ll ra tional creatures. T his confirms the Christologjcal nature of Origen·s conception of the apokatasta!;is. Universal imlvation is made possible not by a melaphysic:al or
Hidden Stories in Hehrctrs

II

(cf. 51.6, 16) with Ps. 102.26-2710 a nd there is no reason to consider this impossible fo r the writer of Hebrews, unless we a re to exclude it deductively based on a genera l hypotheses. Psalm 8 speaks the destiny o f humanity and creation. and t he wriler of Hebrews develops this in 2.5-9 in such a way that t he creative pur~oses o f Genesis 1-2 are be-i n~ brought to fultltlment precisely in the Son. 1 In 2.10 it is said that 'all things· a re •for Ood' (Cit . Ov TCx ml vTa Kal Ot' oV TO n0:vTa). 12 underscoring again tha t creation h~1s a point. a goal. 'The divine intention to lead human beings lO the goal for which they were created appeared to be mocked by huma n experience . . . God who creates a nd preserves a1llhings is precisely the one who is able to :let in s uch a way that his desi(!,n lOr huma nkind will be-ac.:hieved'. 13 Or belle r. God will act.in such a that his desig_n lOr all Jhiugs thllf he created will be achieved. I am inclined lO see this point s ustained in 3.4. rather than to oonsider that line a mere 11ourish o r aside; indeed that line's very presence in 3.1-6 forces us to keep the theme or cosmos in mind . II' we ha ve noticed t he pla('e of t"'smo logy in all o f 1.1 3.6 then we a re not s urprised when it is fused (4.3-4) to the Ka n XrrauolS theme of Ps. 95 in 3.7-4.1 1. /u short. in Jhese rlwpters where !he cos/IUJS is

or

waY

direct~r

thenwth-ized llll emire~r posiJiw.• rieu: is wken of the t•osnws ami of thC!'OSIIWS' destiny . T he entire opening movement of 1.1--4. 13 is tapped with a n extended exhortation to listen in 3. 7-4.1 3. This la tter section provo is none o ther th.on the Mosl Holy Place of the hetm:nly temple: J'Jiellw1g •·qm ~ud:dtlic-hcn R11ltnJt1 int llebdierbn"t>f (\VUNT. II : Tubinb" to- Jhe l!f!brrW$ (N ICNT~ Gr:md Rapids: Ecrdm:uts. rev. cdn. 1990). pp. 228- 29: H. W.. Montcfiorc, The Epistle tu tht• 1/ebrt•ws 1()1\'l'f"C: London: A & C Hlac.k. 1964). p. 160. 28 ltmc:. //i•b•·f'lf.f 9-13. p. 485. tmnslates the: aorist :Ls future rdcrring here, 'he will complete'. 29 l :mc. 1/eb•·ew.,· 1-8. pp. 45-46: cf. also Ps. 93192).1: further. lan-e:. 1/ebJ·ews !1-l.J. pp. .185-86. 30 Cmura. e-.g.. M . lsaa~'$... Sar•·ed SpruY!: An Apprr}(trh Jo tilt' 71wology of Jht' EpiJtle fq tile 1/ebrr-wsUSr-..T Sup. 13: ShcOidd: JSOT Press.. t992). p·p. 65. 67. 8.2. 86: H. W. Auridge. The Epi.~lfp to tiU! ll.·bri'lr:t: A CommNIUtf)' 011 Jhe £pi.~lfr1 tu the Nrhrell'.s (Hcrmcncia: Phjludd phia: Fortn:ss. 1989). p. J81.

Hidden Stories in Hehrc1rs

15

and so fOrth. The fact that it exists a lready in heaven would presumably cause no more tro uble to this Christian thinke r than it did to the writer o r the a poc•ilypse (Rev. 21. 1-2). who could speak o f a passinS away and new creation and. in t he same bre-a th. of the (pre-existent) new Jerusalem coming down o ut o r heaven from God.31 T hat he thinks this way is