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The problem this dissertation addresses is at face a simple one: in the very specific case of Hebrews 7.1-3, what interpretive move is the author using to interpret the Old Testament, when he offers a comparison between Jesus and the mysterious figure of Melchizedek? However, the answer quickly becomes complicated due to the inadequacy of our terminology, where "typology" and "allegory" - the most common interpretive moves assigned to Hebrews 7.1-3 in the scholarship - take on medieval or modern meanings rather than definitions available to the ancient authors themselves. This dissertation explores the historical background to figural and non-literal readings of sacred texts, considering in turn Greek, Jewish, and Christian readers. Each group of readers considered provides necessary context for interpretive activity in Hebrews. Greek allegorists provide the idea of a religiously or philosophically encoded text via the Homeric allegorists and their critic Plato. They also provide the actual ancient definition of the term "allegory", as a rhetorical trope involving extended metaphor and poetic hinting by an author, which might include techniques ranging from metonymy to numerology to concept-for-concept substitution. Jewish allegorists - Aristeas, Aristobulus, and Philo - make the distinctive move to seeing a text as encoded not by a human poet like Homer or Orpheus, but by the great divine Author, God. When turning to Christian allegorists, a natural touchstone is Paul - who uses the term allegory in Galatians - but Jesus himself and (Pseudo)-Barnabas also provide very important context for distinctively Christian allegorical reading, particularly involving the Christological fulfilment of hints laid by God in the sacred history of the Old Testament (that is, "typology"). Trajectories in allegorical exegesis in early Christianity are considered, to examine the latent tendencies within the form. Finally, the definitions and understanding gained are turned to use in analysing exegesis in Hebrews, where 7.1-3 - and several other texts - are read against the background of Hellenistic literary allegory.

This thesis investigates the role of the consciousness of sin (suneidesis) within Hebrews' sacrificial argumentation. As a motif, consciousness of sin is a present problem for the recipients. It is a stain that causes dread, timidity, and restricted access. Hebrews' cultic framework naturally interprets this sin as conscious defilement, with this defiling force extending towards the heavenly tabernacle. Hebrews purposefully distinguishes between what Jesus achieves on earth and what he achieves in heaven. Jesus' earthly life of obedience, culminating in death, constitutes his own personal offering; for himself, and for his followers. It enacts a new covenant, redeems, and makes people holy; it deals with the objective issues of sin. Jesus' earthly achievements are many, but only his heavenly blood offering can purge the suneidesis and deal with the ongoing subjective consciousness of sin. Through a ritual and intertextual approach, this study engages, critiques, and advances recent discussions within Hebrews scholarship concerning the location, nature, and timing of Jesus' cultic offering. At the heart of this study is the question of why a heavenly offering is so vital. This thesis concludes that the answer lies in a greater understanding and appreciation of the motif of the "consciousness of sin," and how this is incorporated within Hebrews' cultic argumentation. Hebrews' sacrificial dialogue cannot be emptied of its ritual impact, especially regarding the recipients. Levitical sacrificial ritual--and the notion of asham--offers a conceptual link with Hebrews' notion of the consciousness of sin. Levitical offerings do purify the consciousness, yet they confront it too, by simultaneously reminding people of their sin. The problem of defilement and purgation is not an internal-external juxtaposition, but a qualitative type of purgation which is perpetually offered once by Christ's blood in the heavenly tabernacle. The recipients' consciousness of sin is purged, since they now have perpetual assurance through Christ's heavenly blood, which is speaking continually. This thesis begins with a brief diachronic exploration into the background of suneidesis, as well as outlining the different ways this concept has been interpreted throughout Hebrews scholarship. Part I centres around the problem of suneidesis and the centrality of defilement and the heavenly tabernacle within Hebrews' cultic argumentation. Part II examines Hebrews' cultic argumentation and the solution to a defiled suneidesis. It argues against an overarching Yom Kippur hermeneutic. Instead, Hebrews draws on different motifs to reveal that Jesus' earthly and heavenly soteriological achievements possess their own distinctive purposes. Only Jesus' heavenly blood offering obtains the purgation of the suneidesis. Levitical sacrifice is not supposed to be pitted against Jesus' sacrificial work, instead, it informs the consciousness of sin, as well as the rationality behind Jesus' heavenly blood offering. Part III differentiates between Jesus' session, present heavenly activity, and blood offering. Enthronement celebrates the Son, but Jesus' heavenly blood offering is an independent substance and solution for the consciousness of sin, speaking perpetual purgation over the people of God. Hebrews is concerned less with what Jesus' blood represents, and more with what his blood does and is doing. With boldness and full assurance, and their consciousness and memory of sin erased, the recipients receive perpetual assurance and divine help from their great high priest.

Despite receiving little direct attention, the theme of promise often features in scholars’ discussions of the central themes of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with some even asserting that promise is the foundational motif of the entire work. However, the way in which the author of Hebrews portrays divine promises and uses them to contribute to the structure of his theology has not yet been satisfactorily described. What the author means by promise, how promise relates to other types of divine commitments, and the content and timing of the promise’s fulfilment all need clarification and more precise attention. Through an exegesis of the relevant passages of Hebrews, this thesis provides a new reading of promise in Hebrews. After an exegesis of the epistle, I then describe Hebrews’ overall theology of promise. I argue that, unlike in previous analyses, rest is not the primary content of promise, nor is it the primary lens through which the other instances of promise language should be understood. On the contrary, I argue that the promise is most closely associated with the benefits promised to Abraham, and then mediated through the various subsequent covenants. Further, while previous studies have left it unclear how the divine promise relates to both the Old and New Covenants, I argue that Hebrews develops a view of salvation history in which covenants are founded upon promises and then bring those promises to fruition. This is true of both the Old and New Covenants, though in different ways. I then demonstrate the ways in which this understanding of promise sheds light on the author’s hermeneutic and on his method of achieving his hortatory purposes for the epistle. Finally, I conclude by re-asserting the consistency of the author’s thought regarding promise and by addressing questions raised by earlier studies of this theme.

The primary goal of this research is to produce a text-critical evaluation of the Pauline Epistles and Hebrews as represented in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, an early Christian theologian who lived ca. 200 AD. The result of such an undertaking will be a refined understanding of the transmission of the New Testament text at the end of the 2nd century, a time period for which we have very little textual data. Unlike our earliest New Testament manuscripts, the text of the early Church Fathers is preserved exclusively in later manuscripts. These manuscripts are often far removed from the original Patristic documents by both date and location. This results in an added layer of textual complexity for which the text critic must account, especially in the evaluation of a Church Father’s citation of New Testament manuscripts. Because of the multivalent nature of the research, the biblical data extracted from Clement of Alexandria’s writings will undergo several stages of statistical analysis comparing it to other early Greek New Testament manuscripts. The resulting data will reveal if the early text of the Pauline Epistles and Hebrews was stable (controlled) or if it underwent changes due to scribal additions and subtractions. It will also shed light on the citation techniques used by Clement of Alexandria, an early Christian reader. The combined data will allow New Testament scholars to generate a more precise critical edition of the Greek New Testament and come to a better understanding of how the earliest Christian communities transmitted the New Testament text.

This thesis is an analysis of the use of combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in some late Second Temple period Jewish and Jewish-Christian texts. In this thesis I investigate 1 and 2 Maccabees, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Hebrews, to see the various ways in which these Second Temple compositions have articulated the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood on the basis of their treatment of various biblical and extra-biblical traditions. The elaborate articulations of the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in these texts partly reflect the concern of the Second Temple Jewish authors: how significant the priestly institutions and priesthood were, not only in terms of cultic matters, but also in terms of political and identity concerns. By means of this study, I hope to demonstrate that the combined concept of covenant and priesthood is necessary for a better understanding of some Second Temple texts.

Scholarly study of the Letter to the Hebrews over the last century has devoted a great deal of attention to the use of the Old Testament within the Christian text. Such attention has focused upon diverse issues such as the source Vorlage available to the author, his exegetical and hermeneutical methodologies, and his treatment of themes such as priesthood, covenant, cult, rest or eschatology. Occasionally, scholars have produced substantive analysis of the use of particular texts, such as Ps 110, or Jer 31, but comparatively little attempt has yet been made to assess how an entire narrative or book functions within the letter. Bearing this in mind, this thesis examines the way in which the book of Deuteronomy operates within the paraenetic sections of Hebrews, both at a micro-level (in terms of citation or allusion to the prior text) and at a macro-level (how broad Deuteronomic themes are treated within the discourse). There is extensive treatment of Deuteronomic quotations and echoes, as well as analysis of Hebrews’ borrowing of Deuteronomy’s covenantal blessing/cursing imagery. The thesis also focuses on the way in which Hebrews shares Deuteronomy’s sermonic tone and paraenetic urgency, and how both texts rhetorically position their audience at the threshold of entry into their salvation goal, typified by the promised land. It discusses how Hebrews replays Deuteronomy’s use of the wilderness generation as the paradigm of covenantal disobedience and how both texts exhibit a complex interweaving of the past, present and future moments. Finally, it examines the extent to which Hebrews stands in the tradition of ‘re-presentations’ of Deuteronomy, echoing the way in which other 2nd Temple Jewish texts alluded to it for the purposes of their respective communities.

The authorship of Hebrews has been a point of contention for scholars for the past two millennia. While the epistle is traditionally attributed to Paul, many scholars assert that it carries thematic, structural, and stylistic differences from the remainder of his extant epistles; therefore, many other possible authors have been proposed. Of these, only Luke has other New Testament writings. Therefore, this project conducts a statistical comparison of Hebrews to the Pauline and Lukan corpora using stylometric authorial analysis methods. This analysis demonstrates that Hebrews is stylistically closer to Lukan literature than Pauline (but not to a significant degree), and thus concludes that Luke is a possible but not definite author (or possibly a co-author).

The Epistle to the Hebrews invites the followers of Jesus to enter God’s promised rest. Unlike the Israelites of the wilderness generation who failed to enter God’s promised rest, the followers of Jesus can enter that rest now and more fully in the future by obedience to God. This is possible because of God’s most recent intervention. God has sent his own son to become a sacrifice for their sins and a high priest for their intercession. Because the way to God is now open, the followers of Jesus can boldly approach God in prayer, gather regularly in worship, and serve one another in love. The recipients of Hebrews have suffered persecution in the past and may be experiencing more trouble because of their identification with Jesus Christ. The author encourages them to stay the course and he warns them of dire consequences if they fall away. His rhetorical strategy is to explain to them God’s provision for their salvation and help in times of need and to exhort or warn them in view of what he has just explained. He moves constantly between exposition and exhortation. The goal of this dissertation is to explore how the author of Hebrews uses classical rhetoric to demonstrate that the promised rest of God and the suffering of God’s people are compatible, in view of God’s great salvation through Jesus Christ who is both the sacrifice and the high priest.

A primary objective for the epistle to the Hebrews is to encourage the persecuted audience to persevere. The message of perseverance begins with a comparison between Jesus and the angels; and throughout the first two chapters of Hebrews angels are mentioned multiple times. This thesis suggests the frequency of angelic mentions in the introductory chapters of Hebrews utilizes the angels to introduce foundational themes discussed throughout the remainder of Hebrews. This claim is supported by first analyzing the utilization of angels in other New Testament epistles by separating the verses that mention angels into the following four categories: angels utilized to describe humanity’s relationship with God; angels utilized to elevate Christ and his message; angels utilized to promote peaceful human relations; and angels utilized to provide messages of warning. This categorical examination demonstrates there are similarities between the New Testament epistles and Hebrews based on genre, but ultimately notes the differences in the utilization of angels between the epistles and Hebrews. Secondly, a description on the occasion, literary structure, and rhetorical nature of Hebrews is provided in order to discuss the introductory nature of angels in regard to major themes in Hebrews. Thirdly, the verses that mention angels in Hebrews are analyzed to demonstrate the connection of angels to introducing major themes in Hebrews. This examination separates the verses that mention angels into three categories: angels utilized to introduce Christ; angels utilized to encourage humanity; and angels utilized to point towards the future. The analyzation of angels within these categories demonstrate angels are utilized in Hebrews to introduce major theological topics that are discussed throughout the epistle.

Different interpretative approaches (historical-cultural, social-scientific, intertextual, oral-critical, rhetorical) and methodologies are applied when the so-called warning passages in the book of Hebrews get interpreted. Inevitably, these different interpretative methodologies have created different perspectives or views that the original author may not have intended and that the audience may not have gathered. The author of Hebrews was seeking to help the audience of his writings understand a new position through his extensive use of the Greek word κρείττων (kreittōn). Similarly, a Greek background is also evident because of the tremendous use of classical rhetoric within the Epistle. In addition, it is also noticeable that the author massively used a classical Greek literary tool called the ὑπέρβατον (hyperbaton), which was prolific during the Hellenistic period within the classical Greek rhetorical genre. Finally, a Hebrew background is apparent in the readers because of the copiously used OT references. THE AUTHOR CHOSE these OT examples from the past purposefully to lead the audience to a specific future. As a result, a dual analysis of the Epistle should consider the two different backgrounds that the book of Hebrews enjoys (a blend of two distinct cultures) to arrive at a very different interpretation of the book other than where scholarship finds itself now. The Hebrew and Greek cultures blended into one just as the people needed to see themselves together in a new covenant position. The currents of biblical research show that blended exposition is feasible and the next logical step of exposition, particularly within debated passages.

This thesis will argue that rest in Hebrews is entering into humanity’s rightful place, ruling over creation with God, in the full image of God, as intended by God since the seventh day. Rest in the book of Hebrews is a vitally important theme. The word for rest in Greek is κατάπαυσίν and is used eight times in Hebrews 3–4. The definition of rest determines the crux of understanding the warning passage by the author of Hebrews. The basic lexical definition of this word is “rest” or “resting place.” While a basic gloss of the Greek term κατάπαυσίν is easy to find, the contextual meaning of “rest” in all its connotations in Hebrews 3–4 is much more difficult to ascertain. While the work of Beale and other recent scholarship has furthered our understanding of rest, there are still gaps in explanations of rest in the Bible as it pertains to κατάπαυσις and how various biblical authors, especially the author of Hebrews, understand that rest. This study will evaluate scholarship related to rest and develop a biblical theology of rest in order to bring clarity to how the theme is used by the author of Hebrews and the resulting implications for Christians today. There are several reasons to address the topic of rest in the book of Hebrews. The first reason is primarily exegetical. There is no question that rest plays a crucial role in Hebrews. Rest is also alluded to throughout the letter, especially in the warning passages as “the promise” (Heb 4:1; 6:12, 15, 17, 19-20; 7:6; 8:6; 9:15; 10:36; 11:9, 13, 17, 33, 39). The second reason is polemical or doctrinal. The way one understands rest in Hebrews 3–4 plays a significant role in understanding what is at stake in the warning passages, including the meaning of apostasy and the goal of perseverance. The third reason is practical. The theological implications of rest in the book are not merely for abstract knowledge but rather for motivating the audience to respond in how they live the Christian life. This thesis is a biblical-theological examination of rest in the book of Hebrews. The method of rhetorical analysis of Second Temple Judaism, primarily Hellenistic practices such as midrash as well as the Greco-Roman thought of Platonism, will be used to analyze Hebrews 3–4. In addition, it is necessary to examine the standard interpretive practices of the time. These include an understanding of typology, Targumim, and Midrashim because these Hellenistic interpretations of Scripture arguably influenced the ancient author. The intertextuality of the letter with other Old Testament and other early Jewish writings will be used to discern the author’s theology of rest. In order to analyze the rhetoric of Hebrews, exegesis of the relevant biblical data from the Old Testament passages that are quoted in Hebrews 3–4 must be done. Other biblical and extra-biblical texts that are linked textually through κατάπαυσις will also be analyzed to discover if they influence the author of Hebrews understanding of rest. Because the author of Hebrews uses other texts to shape his understanding of rest, evaluation of the author's consistency with the original meaning will play a part. I will provide exegesis of the Greek language of Psalm 95 and Genesis 2:2 since the author quotes exclusively from the Septuagint. With these background texts and practices discussed, exegesis of Hebrews 3–4 in light of these other passages will provide the answer to how the author of Hebrews understands rest. To understand the theme of rest, one must take a cumulative approach to all the various nuances. Rest, in the context of Hebrews 3–4, is an eschatological reigning with God that can be experienced partially in the present, but fully in the future. The rest is available to all those who put their faith in Christ’s work, who has already entered rest. Because of sin, the image of God has been broken, and therefore, sin must be dealt with through Christ’s atonement, allowing the restoration of the image of God in humanity. Responding to the promise of rest, now spoken through the Son, with unbelief like the wilderness generation results in the failure of attaining God’s rest.

The majority of exegetes agree that the so-called “Letter” to the Hebrews is actually a homily, meant to be read aloud to a Christian community gathered for worship. In The Context of the Text: Reading Hebrews as a Eucharistic Homily, I argue that the specific venue for the public reading of Hebrews was a celebration of the Eucharist. It is my contention that the author presumed and exploited this Eucharistic setting in order to bolster his claims about the superiority of Christ and his sacrifice to the sacrifices of the “first covenant”, as well as to entreat his readers to remain faithful to Christian Eucharistic worship. This dissertation begins in Chapter 1 by considering the “state of the question,” examining the positions of scholars who take – respectively – negative, agnostic and positive positions regarding Eucharistic references in Hebrews. Chapter 2 situates the question of Hebrews and the Eucharist within the broader milieu of the liturgical provenance of New Testament writings. Chapter 3 considers the issues of Hebrews’ authorship, date of composition, audience, rhetorical strategy, and literary structure as they pertain to my argument that the text was written for proclamation at the Eucharist. Chapter 4 offers an extensive study of several passages from Hebrews which appear to allude to the Eucharist without mentioning the sacrament explicitly (Hebrews 6:4; 9:20; 10:19-25; 12:22-24; 13:10; and 13:15), setting forth the claim that the allusive nature of these references is explained by the Eucharistic milieu for which the homily was written. In particular, I argue that a Eucharistic understanding of Hebrews 13:10 (“We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat”) is the linchpin for understanding other Eucharistic references in Hebrews and that this verse serves as a major reinforcement of the author’s earlier claims regarding the supreme efficacy of Christ’s redemptive work. I hold that the author’s mention of an “altar” in 13:10 is meant to be understood as a reference to the Eucharistic table and that, taken as such, this statement parallels the claim in 8:1 (“We have such a high priest”) in order to demonstrate that Christians have both a superior priest (Christ) and a superior cultic act (the Eucharist). Finally, Chapter 5 considers interpretive traditions (particularly patristic and Eastern) which bolster the case for a Eucharistic interpretation of Hebrews.

The book of Hebrews is a complex and intricate book full of Old Testament references.  Intertextuality, or the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament, plays an important role in Hebrews, specifically in the context of 3:7-4:11.  In this passage there occurs a phrase unique to the whole Bible, “Sabbath rest” (4:9).  While this phrase seems to point to some sort of eschatological reality, there are numerous factors which play a role in determining what this “Sabbath rest” actually is.  In order to come to a proper understanding of the meaning and significance of this phrase, an analysis of the author’s use of intertextuality must be conducted.

In a pair of separate studies, which originally appeared in the J. Alexander Kerns Memorial Vol. (1981) and Scripta Mediterranea III (1982) respectively, here provided with an Introduction and Conclusion, the author undertakes to examine and determine who the Hittites of the Abrahamic and Davidic periods were. He concentrates his investigations on toponyms specifically associated with Hittites in the Patriarchal period and on the anthroponym of Uriyah the Hittite of David's soldiery. The tools employed are primarily those of Indo-European and Semitic linguistics. In the first study the author attempts to determine what, if any, sense can be made of the two alternate biblical names of Hebron, viz. Mamre and (Qiryat) Arba. He reaches the conclusion, buttressed by a plethora of semantically nearly perfect cognates in numerous Indo-European languages, that both Mamre and Arba are toponyms deriving from Hittite words, both of which have quasi-identical covenantal significance. A similar function is appropriate for the N.W. Semitic name Hebron. This triad of names for the same site (a) refers to a significant event that occurred there and (b) the actors were Hebrews and actual Anatolian Hittites, not a local Canaanite quasi-homophonous tribe. In the second study the author examines 70 years of proposals concerning a supposed alien (for the most part, Hurrian) source for a name which appears like the Hebrew Uriyah (Yah is my Light) and which could have been the original form of Bath-Sheba's husband's name. He offers a detailed summary of all former proposals and concludes that none is sufficiently suitable for the facts. He ultimately proposes a Luwian source name which was intentionally altered to indicate that the bearer was a worshipper of David's God. The Abrahamic Hittites and the Davidic Hittites are both from people that in their respective periods were known by their neighbours as Hittites. In our present-day terminology, we recognize them as related peoples, but temporally separated by centuries of history and actually speakers of related languages of the Anatolian family. The (Neo-)Hittites of David's time were actually speakers of East Luwian.

Statement of the problem It is the purpose of this study to discover, if possible, the precise meaning assigned in Hebrews 6:19; 10:20 to "the veil" mentioned in each of these verses. This study is made in the belief that this epistle comes to us from the Apostle Paul and that, accordingly, though it may contain "some things hard to be understood," it was written "according to the wisdom given unto him" by God. On this account the investigation has been carried out with confidence in the ultimate possibility of determining (1) whether "the veil" of Hebrews 6:19 refers to the inner veil of the heavenly sanctuary or, as affirmed by the minority group of commentators, to the outer veil of this sanctuary; (2) whether "the veil" in Hebrews 10:20 refers to the flesh of Jesus, as is taught by the majority of commentators, or to the inner veil of the heavenly sanctuary or to the outer veil of this same sanctuary. Importance of the study Since this subject is so vitally connected with an understanding of the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, its importance is apparent to those who appreciate the greater excellence of His ministry as compared with all others. Among Seventh-day Adventists, proof that the veil referred to in Hebrews 6:19 is the outer, rather than the inner veil, of the heavenly sanctuary, is little short of a sine qua non for the defense of their system of doctrine. Certainly, any proof to the contrary would belie their greatest authorities in their doctrinal teaching and constitute an effective thrust at a number of their fundamental "pillars" of faith. This is made clear in the opening paragraphs of an editorial under the title The Vail of the Sanctuary, In this quotation all emphasis is supplied. Has the heavenly sanctuary but one vail? Did Christ, when he ascended from the earth, enter within that vail into the most holy place? Has he been carrying on the work of cleansing the sanctuary ever since his ascension? Those questions are equivalent to a few others which may be expressed as follows: Did the 2300 days, at the end of which the sanctuary was to be cleansed, end before or at the time of Christ's ascension? Did all prophetic time then end? Have the special movements based on prophetic time, Rev,10:6; 14:6,7, been fulfilled? In short, is all our present system of prophetic interpretation, and the whole advent movement, a farce and deception? If the first three questions can be answered in the affirmative, the rest must be. Nevertheless, regardless of consequences, some contend that there is no vail but that which divides the holy from the most holy place, and that Christ entered the most holy, when he ascended. The only text urged in favor of this position, is Heb.6:19,20: "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec." That this text refers to the entrance of our Lord into the sanctuary above, there is probably no question. And the only thing necessary to be shown to disprove the position above stated, is that the sanctuary has a vail at the entrance of the holy place, as well as the vail which divides between the holy and most holy, so that when Christ ascended and commenced his ministry in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, or holy place, he had then entered within the vail, as Heb.6:19,20, states.2 The following statement, taken, as it is, from one of the most important works of the Seventh-day Adventists' most outstanding writer, shows how closely their doctrine of the sanctuary is tied in with a definite and singular understanding of the phrase "within the veil" as found in Hebrews 6:19,20. Emphasis supplied. The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the first apartment of the sanctuary, "within the veil" which formed the door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension.