the-bible-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls

HAROLD W. ATTRIDGE 211
High Priest, better than any angel, consummates his atoning sacrifice
(9:11–14). Yet Hebrews relies on such associations only to subvert
them. 37 The true sacrifice is one that takes place by submission to God’s
will in a body (10:10); access to the real presence of God is through a curtain
of flesh (10:19–20).
Portraits of angelic priests serving in the heavenly tabernacle/temple
may be relevant to the roots of Hebrews’ Christology. It is remotely possible
that the initial comparison between Christ and the angels forestalls
readers inferring from the later comparison with Melchizedek that Christ
is simply another priestly angel. If so, the point is subtle. The celebration
of the messianic event, not apologetics, dominates the initial comparison.
Parallels between Hebrews and the recipients of the letter of Paul or
Pseudo-Paul to Colossae have often been suggested, but such suggestions
usually amount to explaining obscurum per obscurius. Whatever the precise
problem with angels at Colossae, 38 both texts emerge from contexts
where Jewish traditions about heavenly worship played a role. The
scrolls provide abundant attestation of such traditions.
MESSIANISM IN THE SCROLLS AND IN HEBREWS:
SON AND HIGH PRIEST
The comparison between the Messiah and the angels in the first chapter
is ultimately a way of emphasizing the exalted character of the Son,
seated, in the words of Ps 110:1, “at the right hand of the Majesty on
high” (Heb 1:3). The roots of this complex portrait clearly lie in Jewish
traditions. 39 It was hardly unusual, therefore, that the scrolls, which have
contributed significantly to the illumination of the complex messianic
expectations of the late Second Temple period, 40 should enter into the
discussion of Hebrews.
37. The playfulness of Hebrews in dealing with traditional imagery has caused consternation
among commentators, particularly about how they are to construe the
notion of the heavenly tabernacle. For treatment of these issues, see Attridge, Hebrews,
222–24; and Koester, Dwelling, 152–83.
38. For some suggestions see Harold W. Attridge, “On Becoming an Angel: Rival
Baptismal Theologies at Colossae,” in Religious Propaganda and Missionary Competition in
the New Testament World: Essays honoring Dieter Georgi (ed. L. Bormann, K. Del Tredici,
and A. Standhartinger; NovTSup 74; Leiden: Brill, 1994), 481–98.
39. From the vast literature on the Christology of Hebrews, see especially Loader, Sohn
und Hoherpriester; and Mathias Rissi, Die Theologie des Hebräerbriefs: Ihre Verankerung in der
Situation des Verfassers und seiner Leser (WUNT 41; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1987), 45–92.
40. In general, see Jacob Neusner, William S. Green, and Ernest S. Frerichs, eds.,
Judaisms and Their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era (Cambridge: Cambridge