Category: Epistle of the Hebrews
Ceslas Spicq’s L’Épitre aux Hébreux available in English.
Now in English!
I received an email from Cliff Kvidahl of Logos Software informing me that they have translating the influential commentary on the Book of Hebrews by French scholar Ceslas Spicq into English for the first time. I have a functional knowledge of reading French so I’d like to try to read Spicq’s work in its original language, but this makes it even more accessible, especially since I’ve heard it is quite difficult to find a French copy since it is out of print.
Why does it matter that Spicq’s work be available to English audiences. Here is an eye-opening apologetic: “At Long Last!”
Kvidahl was one of the main people behind the project. He wrote a post on his personal blog explaining why this translation is important here.
If you’d like to order this product, go here.
In the Mail
Lukan Authorship of Hebrews (New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology), by David L. Allen
I have always had an interest in this subject, and I have heard David Allen lecture on this before, so I am glad that this is finally in book form. I read through the introduction and I appreciate the tone on the subject already.
Before I offer a summary of the theory to be presented, the reader should be cautioned to keep in mind several things throughout the discussion. First, any theory that pretends to be able to answer all questions and to neatly categorize all data so that everything fits snugly into place is immediately suspect. David L. Allen, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews, p2
Look for his new Commentary on Hebrews, not yet released.
Book Review: Tyndale Life Application Bible Studies: Hebrews
I received a free review copy of the Life Application Bible Studies: Hebrews booklet from Tyndale. If I had anything to do with teaching and/or organizing a church small group I would use this resource. It is perfect for that type of teaching setting. It can also be useful for a mid-week Bible study at your local church.
The Life Application Bible Studies series includes the New Living Translation of the biblical text (in this case the Book of Hebrews). There are study footnotes provided along with the text for when you are reading along either in preparation to teach a lesson, leading a small group, or just participating in some sort of Bible study.
Next you will find thirteen lessons on the Book of Hebrews with a guide on how to use this section. The lessons include the following:
Lesson 1: God’s Best: Hebrews Introduction
Lesson 2: No Escape: 1:1-2:4
Lesson 3: Man Alive! 2:5-18
Lesson 4: Hardening of Hearts: 3:1-19
Lesson 5: Rest Stop: 4:1-5:10
Lesson 6: Get Growing: 5:11-6:12
Lesson 7: A Priest Forever: 6:13-7:28
Lesson 8: Direct Line: 8:1-13
Lesson 9: Real Forgiveness: 9:1-10:18
Lesson 10: Hold On!: 10:19-39
Lesson 11: Faithfully His: 11:1-40
Lesson 12: Get in the Race! 12:1-29
Lesson 13: Don’t Forget! 13:1-25
As you can see there is a lesson for every section of the book. Once you have gone through each lesson you will have taught the entire Book of Hebrews. If you are thinking about doing a study like this you should consider purchasing Tyndale’s resource.
For information regarding the reception of the book go here.
Ignoring the Eschatology of Hebrews?
A couple of months ago I mentioned a book that is scheduled to be released from Eerdmans on June 29th that I am highly anticipating. It is titled, “The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology” (Amazon.com). In my recent reading of Hebrews I have noticed an underlying eschatological framework that shapes much of the book. So I decided to go back to the ‘Table of Contents’ listed on Nijay K. Gupta’s blog to see what essay(s) were written on this subject. Read it and let me know what is missing:
Preface
Contributors
Introduction (Nathan MacDonald)
The Christology of Hebrews
The Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Richard Bauckham)“With Loud Cries and Tears”: The Humanity of the Son in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Bruce L. McCormack)
One Who Is Son: Theological Reflections on the Exordium To the Epistle to the Hebrews (John Webster)
God in Hebrews (Harold W. Attridge)
The Problem of Hebrews’s Cosmology
A Scientist looks at the Epistle to the Hebrews (John Polkinghorne)The Cosmology of Hebrews (Edward Adams)
The Seal of Approval: An Interpretation of the Son’s Sustaining Action in Hebrews 1:3 (Terry J. Wright)
The Problem of Hebrews’s Supersessionism
“Here We Have No Lasting City”: New Covenantalism in Hebrews (Richard B. Hays)Does the Letter to the Hebrews Articulate a Supersessionist Theology? A Response to Richard Hays (Oskar Skarsaune)
New or Renewed Covenantalism?: A Response to Richard Hays (Mark D. Nanos)
Christ, the “End” of the Cult (Morna Hooker)
Leviticus and Hebrews…and Leviticus (Nehemia Polen)
The Soteriology of Hebrews
Death in the Afternoon: Hebrews, Sacrifice and Soteriology (Stephen R. Holmes)Soteriology in Hebrews (I. Howard Marshall)
Hebrews and the Modern World
Melchizedek and Modernity (Douglas Farrow)
The Sacrifice of Christ and Ganda Sacrifice: A Contextual Interpretation in Relation to the Eucharist (Edison M. Kalengyo)
Hebrews’s Theology of Scripture
God Has Spoken: Hebrews’s Theology of the Scriptures (Ken Schenck)
Speech Acts, Hearing Hearts, and Other Senses: The Doctrine of Scripture Practiced in Hebrews (Daniel J. Treier)
The Call to Faith in Hebrews
Exemplars of Faith in Hebrews 11: Abel (R. Walter L. Moberly)Abraham’s Faith in Hebrews 11 (Markus Bockmuehl)
By Faith Moses (Nathan MacDonald)
Rahab Outside the Camp (Carl Mosser)
Behind the Seen – Prophets and Martyrs as Exemplars of Faith: Towards a Theological Exegesis of Hebrews 11:32-40 (Loveday Alexander)
Reexamining Faith: A Study of Hebrews 10:19–12:14 and James 1–2 (Mariam Kamell)
The Conquest of Faith and the Climax of History (Hebrews 12. 1-4, 18-29) (Ben Witherington)
The Mystery of Corporate Worship: Insight from Thomas G. Long
In Thomas G. Long’s commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Hebrews, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997) he writes some of the most amazing words on corporate worship, inspired by 10:25, that I have ever read. Let me quote a couple paragraphs:
…we just get tired, tired in worship and tired of worship. It is not only that the sermon may ramble on for a tad too long or that the pace of the service can sometimes lag; the weariness of worship is a deeper fatigue, a jaded sense that nothing of real significance happens here. The local video store has better drama; television has more interesting stories; the pool club has friendlier people; the park has a nice view; the Sunday paper has more intrigue, and sleeping in provides a more profound Sabbath rest. What is more, nobody at the beach or backyard barbecue is going to hand us a pledge card, call us to pray for people in a country whose name we cannot pronounce, or ask us to teach the junior high youth.The only thing about that, says the Preacher*, is that while we are in the beach chair filling out the crossword puzzle, the faithful in the sanctuary doing the best they can with their off-key voices to belt out, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” have been gathered by a mystery beyond their own seeing and knowing into the great choir of angels in festal garb and the saints singing ceaseless praised to God (12:22-23). Things are not what they seem. What looks like leisure turns out in the end to be exhausting, and what appears to be the labor of prayer leads to “a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at last.” (p.108)
* The Preacher is a reference to the author of the Book of Hebrews.
The Epistle to the Hebrews: Not So Subtle Eschatology
As I have been studying through the the Epistle to the Hebrews I have noticed something about this book that I had never thought to look for before: it is eschatologically dense! The opening statements in 1:1-3 begin the theme showing that God has spoke through the Son in these last days. I have usually read this and moved along without thinking twice about it, but this was a mistake. I am beginning to read it with fresh eyes and I am noticing that much of what the author has to say has eschatological overtones.
Is there anyone who knows of a book dedicated to the eschatology of the Book of Hebrews, or a book on the epistle that has some good essays on the subject?
In the Mail: Tyndale Life Application Bible Series: Hebrews
Tyndale will be sending me a copy of Life Application Bible Series study guide for the Book of Hebrews. This is the blurb that they provide:
Whether you are teaching a class, leading a small group, or just looking for a challenging personal study, these Life Application Bible Studies are for you. With thought-provoking questions, complete lesson format, the full text of the book of Hebrews, and the most extensive commentary available in a Bible-study booklet, this study guide gives you everything you need for understanding God’s Word and applying it to your life.
An in-depth examination of the book of Hebrews in 13 lessons. Includes the full NLT text and Life Application notes for Acts. Ideal for those looking for an application oriented approach to Bible study. Special application questions at the end of each lesson to help you map out your personal action plan.Study notes that are easy to use and understand, covering background, history, geography, and culture. Charts, maps, and profiles of Bible people that present biblical truths in unique and helpful ways. Everything you need in one place! Over 1 million sold in the series (NLT and NIV).
I will review this product once it arrives.
Commentaries: The Book of Hebrews
A friend asked me today via txt message:
…what’s a good commentary on the Book of Hebrews?
Since I am not all that fond of sending long text messages I told him I would e-mail him a few options as well as place some more on this blog. I will first premise that I have read the Book of Hebrews several times, but until this forthcoming semester at Western Seminary, I will never have delved very deep into this homily/epistle. Therefore, I also recommend visiting Polumeros kai Polutropos for further questions on the Book of Hebrews, since the author of this blog is doing his doctoral research on the epistle.
Bruce, F.F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. NICNT. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990.
Ellingworth, Paul. The Epistle to the Hebrews. NICNT. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993.
Koester, Craig R. Hebrews: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible, 2001.
Lane, William. Word Biblical Commentary, V. 47a: Hebrews 1-8. Thomas Nelson, 1991.
Lane, William. Word Biblical Commentary, V. 47b: Hebrews 9-13. Thomas Nelson, 1991.
If anyone else out there has a commentary that you believe to be a must-have resource for the Epistle to the Hebrews, please leave a comment.
"God Loves You and has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life": Corrective Tract for the Prosperity Gospel
I know this picture has been floating around for sometime, but I wanted to post it here for anyone who has not seen it yet. It is, of course, a picture of Christians in the Roman coliseum about to become martyred for their faith. If you read Hebrews 11:35b-38 you can see that people of faith sometimes end this life in a fashion that is less than desirable. The error of the ‘prosperity gospel’ is that those who proclaim it appear to think that vv. 33-35a where the author’s only word on the subject of living by faith.
This picture is courtesy of DesiringGod.org.
HT: New Leaven
Habakkuk 2:4 in 1QpHab
In Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians the author, Ben Witherington III, argues that the author of Hebrews is more faithful to the original meaning of Habakkuk 2:4 when he quotes it (10:38) that the Apostle Paul is in Galatians 3:11 and Romans 1:17 (p. 291). When I read Habakkuk 2:4 in the setting of the Book of Habakkuk and I read Hebrews 10:38 in the setting of Hebrews I tend to agree with Witherington. In both Habakkuk and Hebrews the concept of faith is better understood as “faithfulness”.
It may be argued that the Apostle Paul does include the idea of faithfulness in Romans and Galatians, but it is not as evident, especially since Hebrews deals with longevity of faith and avoiding apostasy while the Apostle Paul appears to be arguing that faith, as in trust in the Messiah, is how Habakkuk 2:4 is applied. If the Apostle is not reading Habakkuk 2:4 as the author of Hebrews is reading it, is there a model of such a reading of Habakkuk 2:4? It seems to me that the Apostle reads Habakkuk 2:4 much like the Qumran community read it.
In 1QpHab, the pesher of Habbakuk found in cave 1 of Qumran, the author commentary made on Habakkuk 2:4 is this: “This refers to all those who obey the Law among the Jews whom God will rescue from the place of judgement, because of their suffering and their loyalty to the Teacher of Righteousness.” (Col. 8, translated in Wise, Abegg, and Cook, A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls, p.85). The Qumran community understood the prophecy of Habakkuk to apply to their community in a new way, namely that adherance to the Law, as well as obedience to the Teacher of Righteousness, is what this passage meant in the new eschatological situation.
It may be that the Apostle Paul had a similar way of approaching this text. Faith, or faithfulness, to the God of Israel now meant moving beyond the Law of Moses (contrary Qumran) and follow Messiah (like the Teacher of Righteousness). As in Habakkuk the context is a judgement that is coming and a means of escaping. For Habakkuk this meant fidelity to the covenant as Babylon swooped in, for Qumran this meant fidelity to the Law and the Teacher of Righteousness when the Romans invaded, for the Apostle Paul this means following and trusting Messiah in light of the eschatological judgement inaugurated by the resurrection.
Forthcoming: The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology
In late July Eerdmans is publishing The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology edited by Richard Bauckham, Daniel R. Driver, Trevor A. Hart, and Nathan MacDonald. I am excited to read this book. It has many articles of interest under the general topics of Christology, Cosmology, Supersessionism, Soteriology, modern application, and the call to faith in the book.
Nijay K. Gupta was provided the table of contents by Nathan MacDonald and he posted that here.
You can obtain further information from Eerdmans.com here.
