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  • From: Bob MacDonald <bobmacdonald AT shaw.ca>
  • To: 'Corpus-Paul' <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Hebrews
  • Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 10:11:04 -0800

Thanks to respondents for general comments on dating and the difficulties.

 

Re Gnostic or pre-Gnostic influence, Hurst summarizes the case for and Gnostic influence under the titles Wandering, pilgrimage, Sabbath rest, the redeemed redeemer, Faith, and Dualism. None of these subjects requires that we see such influence behind them. He argues convincingly, I think, that the words of Hebrews are rooted in the experience of the story of Israel. Perhaps the late tag ‘to the Hebrews’ has this sense of the wanderings in the desert in the presence of the tabernacle. It is very ‘real life’ and tangible – not a denial of the sarkikos nature of humanity. The phrase ‘through the veil, his flesh,’ suggests to me a reality of fleshly entrance into a fullness of experience, not an escape from an evil world. There is enough of the invitation and warning in Hebrews to call forth perseverance and, without denying any reward in ‘this life’, to encourage by the past tenses (You have come to etc in chapter 12) a hope that is as well grounded in present experience as Paul encourages in his undisputed letters.

 

(I do not think that Paul wrote Hebrews, though it shows many affinities with his work. In spite of the male pronoun in the singular reference to authorship in one place, I think Prisca is the best candidate for authorship – the male pronoun in 11:32 can be the other half of the we. Chapter 11 feels like a new voice speaking – we have suddenly shifted from the focus on Christ and his priesthood and action to a catalogue of previously satisfied customers of faith who without us would be incomplete – apart from the connecting word of completeness, I wondered if others feel that there are multiple hands/hearts in the making of this ‘letter’…)

 

Bob

 

Bob MacDonald

Victoria BC

http://gx.ca

http://bmd.gx.ca

 




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