We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
In this chapter we will deal with the letters of the New Testament which are not attributed to Paul or John. This means that we shall consider 1 Peter, 2 Peter, James, Jude and Hebrews. I shall leave the Johannine writings until the next chapter.
Hebrews
Hebrews is a difficult piece of work which leaves us at first sight feeling lost. But there are at least some things that we can say quite clearly about it. Hebrews is not early. It seems to be sub-Pauline and was known to the author of 1 Clement. It is not Jewish-Christian in origin and seems definitely Gentile. It is very obviously third generation. This is revealed especially in the anxieties about falling away. The date to which I assign Hebrews is c.110 CE because it must be before 1 Clement.
It is odd that Hebrews contains no reference to the resurrection. But this is not the only oddity in Hebrews. Schenke shows that the picture of the cult is odd: it reflects neither the Old Testament nor contemporary Jewish ritual. This means that it must be based on a tradition that was interested in cultic matters.
The dependence on Paul is certain. Hebrews shows dependence on Romans and 1 Corinthians at least; possibly also 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, just possibly Ephesians. There is also a relationship with the Apocalypse; in my view, it is likely that the author of the Apocalypse (c.150 CE) knew Hebrews.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
