The Epistle To The Hebrews By Bart D.
Page 1
Introduction
The Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews) is commonly believed to be that of homily nature ,
meaning it was written as sermon to fortify faith and not as doctrine to dictate or guide. Bart D. Ehrman,
author of The Bible a Historical and Literary Introduction, points out that the text is read more like a
“word of exhortation” (Heb 13:22), which the author of Hebrews asserts it to be, and does not actually fit
the description of a letter as we will see shortly . This view of homily nature becomes evident given the
structure of the text and the purpose it is meant to fill. In order to understand and describe the objective
of Hebrews, context for when it was written and by who it was written is critical. This will …show more content…
We acknowledge the importance of
the Old Testament but have replaced it with God’s new promise. Turning back now (to what is the matter
at hand (Paganism? Judaism?)) to the old way is not a satisfying option for salvation. This is the message
of the remaining text in Hebrews. Hebrews 11-12 cites to the audience passage from the Old Testament
that illustrates how unwavering faith is the only course of action. Persecutions are trials of faith like their
ancestors received and the people are reminded that God is a disciplinary figure who is quick to correct in
harsh. “They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep
or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.” The more urging message in the aforementioned chapters is
perhaps the penalty for disobedience which again, uses the Old Testament scripture to cite those who
defied divine message (and those that followed); this idea highlights faults in the scripture of old and
gives a reason for the necessity of Christ …show more content…
Before we make a final conclusion as who the
audience of the text was written for, it is important to realize that religious documents have personal
meaning to the individuals who ingest them, and things that were written with a certain purpose can
always define new meaning in different moments in time. Despite that some scholars will disagree with
me, based on my research, Hebrews was written before the destruction of the second temple with Jewish
Christian in mind. The reverence to which Jewish scripture is spoken about, the isolated feeling the
author seems to convey about his audience (as if they are estranged from a familiar family member), and
the theme of Christ as the only salvation with a return to old habits being the road to damnation. I urge
anyone who reads this that is unsatisfied with the final conclusions of this paper to do their own research
and make their own interpretation of what they find. If what they find is in stark contrast to what we have
discussed today then they can only be that much more assured in their initial assessment of the text
Introduction
The Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews) is commonly believed to be that of homily nature ,
meaning it was written as sermon to fortify faith and not as doctrine to dictate or guide. Bart D. Ehrman,
author of The Bible a Historical and Literary Introduction, points out that the text is read more like a
“word of exhortation” (Heb 13:22), which the author of Hebrews asserts it to be, and does not actually fit
the description of a letter as we will see shortly . This view of homily nature becomes evident given the
structure of the text and the purpose it is meant to fill. In order to understand and describe the objective
of Hebrews, context for when it was written and by who it was written is critical. This will …show more content…
We acknowledge the importance of
the Old Testament but have replaced it with God’s new promise. Turning back now (to what is the matter
at hand (Paganism? Judaism?)) to the old way is not a satisfying option for salvation. This is the message
of the remaining text in Hebrews. Hebrews 11-12 cites to the audience passage from the Old Testament
that illustrates how unwavering faith is the only course of action. Persecutions are trials of faith like their
ancestors received and the people are reminded that God is a disciplinary figure who is quick to correct in
harsh. “They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword’s point; they went about in skins of sheep
or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented.” The more urging message in the aforementioned chapters is
perhaps the penalty for disobedience which again, uses the Old Testament scripture to cite those who
defied divine message (and those that followed); this idea highlights faults in the scripture of old and
gives a reason for the necessity of Christ …show more content…
Before we make a final conclusion as who the
audience of the text was written for, it is important to realize that religious documents have personal
meaning to the individuals who ingest them, and things that were written with a certain purpose can
always define new meaning in different moments in time. Despite that some scholars will disagree with
me, based on my research, Hebrews was written before the destruction of the second temple with Jewish
Christian in mind. The reverence to which Jewish scripture is spoken about, the isolated feeling the
author seems to convey about his audience (as if they are estranged from a familiar family member), and
the theme of Christ as the only salvation with a return to old habits being the road to damnation. I urge
anyone who reads this that is unsatisfied with the final conclusions of this paper to do their own research
and make their own interpretation of what they find. If what they find is in stark contrast to what we have
discussed today then they can only be that much more assured in their initial assessment of the text