The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

HAROLD W. ATTRIDGE 205
figures of speech such as alliteration and assonance embellish the discourse,
9 and at the level of structure, where devices such as synkrisis, or
comparison, are used to organize large sections of an exercise of epideictic
oratory. 10
The resulting encomium focuses on the person and work of Christ. In
a creative application of various early Christian traditions, 11 the author
portrays the eternal Son (1:3), enfleshed in order to perfect 12 his human
brethren (2:10–11), and exalted, in the language of Psalm 110, to heavenly
glory at God’s right hand (1:3). 13 The process of perfecting begins
with Christ’s death, understood by Hebrews to be a sacrifice with two
interrelated functions. 14 Foreshadowed by the rituals of Yom Kippur, it
provides effective atonement for sin by cleansing consciences from guilt
(9:14). At the same time, it inaugurates the “new covenant” promised by
Jeremiah (Heb 8:7–13; 10:1–10). Using conceits inspired both by Jewish
speculative traditions and by Platonic philosophy, 15 the homilist suggests
that the new covenant guarantees believers access to ultimate reality, the
9. The incipit is a prime example of both: polumerw= j kai\ polutro/pwj pa&lai
(Heb 1:1), etc.
10. Thus, the comparisons of Christ and the angels (chs. 1–2), Christ and Moses
(chs. 3–4), Christ and Aaron (ch. 5), Christ and Melchizedek (ch. 7).
11. On the traditions underlying the text, see William R. G. Loader, Sohn und
Hoherpriester: Eine traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zur Christologie des Hebräerbriefes
(WMANT 53; Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag, 1981); and Mikeal C. Parsons,
“Son and High Priest: A Study in the Christology of Hebrews,” EvQ 60 (1988):
195–216.
12. On the theme of perfection, see David Peterson, Hebrews and Perfection: An
Examination of the Concept of Perfection in the “Epistle to the Hebrews” (SNTSMS 47;
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
13. Allusions to the motif of enthronement and Ps 110:1 recur at Heb 1:13; 8:1;
10:12; 12:2.
14. On the key themes of Hebrews 8–10, see John Dunnill, Covenant and Sacrifice in
the Letter to the Hebrews (SNTSMS 71; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1992).
15. James W. Thompson in The Beginnings of Christian Philosophy: The Epistle to the
Hebrews (CBQMS 13; Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association, 1982) highlights
the philosophical categories deployed by Hebrews, but Hebrews remains rhetoric,
not philosophy. Debates about the relationship between eschatology and
philosophy in the conceptual world of Hebrews appear frequently in modern scholarship.
The resemblance of Hebrews to Philo, stressed by Ceslas Spicq, L’Épître aux
Hébreux (2 vols.; Paris: Gabalda, 1952–53), was criticized by Ronald Williamson, Philo
and the Epistle to the Hebrews (ALGHJ 4; Leiden: Brill, 1970). More recent attempts to
find philosophy in Hebrews elicit a critical response in Hurst, Epistle to the Hebrews.
Some of the critical acumen in these debates is misplaced. The homilist playfully
exploits elements from different conceptual schemes; his aims are rhetorical, not analytical;
his methods evocative and affective, not definitive and expository.