of one or more apostolic figures (2:3–4).52 Some members of the community could be described as radical Hebrews: they were persons who regularly spoke Aramaic or Hebrew and were still influenced by Judaism’s feasts, laws, circumcision, and so forth, even though they believed that Jesus is the Christ. Some other members could be described as relational Hebrews: they were Hellenists rooted in Greek culture, steeped in Judaism but using Greek as their daily language and the Septuagint (LXX) as their Bible. Acts 6:1 and 7:48–50 shed light on the distinction made here between the two classes of Hebrews who had become followers of Jesus. Given the elegant Greek used to write this letter and the fact that all of the Old Testament texts quoted in it are from the Septuagint (LXX) rather than the Hebrew text or Aramaic Targums, the author of Hebrews wrote with Hellenistic Jews in focus but with concern for the entire Christian community there in Rome.
IV. Argument and Outline of the Letter
Intent on helping his readers understand the meaning and significance of Jesus, the writer exhorted them to stop thinking in cultic terms and to stop trusting cultic forms, because through his death Jesus opened “the new and living way” (10:20), which grants believers an “eternal redemption” (912). He reported that the old covenant offered to Jews has been superseded by a new one offered to all people (Heb 10:16–18 = Jer. 31:33, 34b). He reminded them of Jesus’ status as God’s Son (1:1–2; 4:14)), the promised Christ (3:6, 14), and he interpreted passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that announce his person and work. Thoroughly informed by both the Hebrew Scriptures and the apostolic message, the writer explained that the old covenant regimen of animal sacrifices represented and foreshadowed the offering Jesus made to God of himself, and he urged the readers to understand that by that deed all believers are “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). Because of this, animal sacrifices are no longer necessary, nor the priesthood that administered them. This Christ-centered hermeneutic is fully in line with the apostolic teaching they had heard and known, and the writer warned that forsaking Jesus to trust in an obsolete ritualistic order was to commit apostasy (6:4–6; 10:26–31).
The readers were exhorted, therefore, to “pay greater attention to what we have heard” (2:1) because it “was attested to us by those who heard [the Lord]” (2:3). They were advised to “consider” (3:1; 12:3), to “take care” (3:12), to “exhort one another” (3:13), to hold their confidence “firm” (3:14), to hold fast to their “confession” (4:14; 10:23). They were instructed to “recall” and “remember” (10:32), and urged to “go on toward perfection” (6:1), to show “diligence” (6:11), and to maintain faith (10:39). They were exhorted to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely” (12:1), to “run with perseverance” (12:1), to look steadily to Jesus (12:2), and to pursue peace with everyone (12:14). They were to continue exercising mutual love (13:1) and to remain free from “love of money” (13:5). Some persons had already abandoned the fellowship (10:25), and the writer cautioned the rest against neglecting to assemble. The conditions the group faced demanded such instruction, and the writer sent it in an encouraging letter flavored with the evident caring of a pastoral heart.
The Letter to the Hebrews is a dynamic restatement of the Christian faith. The message is in a sequence that reminds, informs, illuminates, warns, encourages, and challenges. The structural pattern of Hebrews is unique among the New Testament writings. Unlike the Pauline letters, which are mainly twofold in structure, with one extensive doctrinal section followed by an application section, Hebrews has several sections in which doctrinal segments alternate with exhortational application sections:
Viewed thematically, however, the letter may be outlined as follows:
Introduction: A Doctrinal Manifesto about Jesus (1:1-4)
1 God’s Son as His Supreme Agent (1:5–4:13)Superiority of the Son over Angels (1:5–2:18)The Son’s Relation to God (1:5–14)Exhortation Based on the Contrast (2:1–4)The Son’s Relation to Believers (2:5–18)Superiority of the Son over Moses and Joshua (3:1–4:13)The Son Greater than Servants in the Household (3:1–6)Exhortation Based on the Contrast (3:7 –19)The “Rest of God” Explained (4:1–10)Exhortation to Full Obedience (4:11–13)
2 Jesus the Great High Priest (4:14–10:39)The Priesthood of Jesus Introduced (4:14–10:39)The High Priestly Ministry Explained (5:1–4)Jesus as Divinely Appointed High Priest (5:5–10)Exhortation to Become Mature (5:11–6:3)The Awesome Problem of Apostasy (6:4–8)A Call to Diligence in Faith and Service (6:9–12)The Surety of Hope Set on Jesus (6:13–20)Melchizedek as Type of the Son’s Priesthood (7:1–28)Melchizedek Preceded Levitical Priesthood (7:1–10)Imperfections of the Levitical Order (7:11–19)The Perfection of Jesus as High Priest (7:20–28)The Old Covenant Contrasted with the New One (8:1–13)The Earthly Sanctuary Contrasted with the Heavenly One (9:1–28)Animal Sacrifices Contrasted with Jesus’ Death (10:1–18)Animal Sacrifices as a “Shadow” (10:1–4)Jesus’ Offering of Himself Brings Reality (10:5–18)Exhortation to Gain Real Access to God (10:19–31)Exhortation to Faith and Perseverance (10:32–39)
3 The Meaning and Necessity of Faith (11:1–12:29)Faith Defined (11:1–3)Faith Illustrated (11:4–40)Faith and Disciplined Living (12:1–11)Exhortation to Steadfastness in Faith (12:12–17)The Privileged Position of the Believer (12:18–29)
4 Concluding Remarks (13:1–25)Christian Relationships (13:1–6)Christian Duties (13:7–17)Personal Expressions (13:18–25)
1. Irenaeus of Lyon (ca. 175–ca. 202) referred to Clement as Bishop in Rome “in the third place from the apostles” (perhaps meaning that after the apostolic leadership supplied there by Peter and Paul, Clement followed Linus and Anacletus). See his Against Heresies, III.iii.3.
2. For an extended study of all the scriptures Clement used in his writing, see Donald A. Hagner, The Use of the Old and New Testament in Clement of Rome (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1973); see especially pp. 179–95 for Clement’s use of the Hebrews letter. See also Edgar J. Goodspeed, New Solutions of New Testament Problems (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1927), pp. 110–15; Ceslas Spicq, L’Epitre aux Hebreux, Vol 1 (Paris: J. Gabalda, 1952), pp. 177–78.
3. Tertullian, Prescription of Heretics 32:1–2.
4. Quotations from First Clement are from The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1, trans. by Kirsopp Lake (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912), Loeb Classical Library edition.
5. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III:iii.3. One of the better study editions is supplied by Loeb Classical Library: Vol. 1, English translation by Kirsopp Lake (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926); Vol. 2, English translation by H. J. Lawlor and John E. L. Oulton (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932).
6. Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III.iii.5.
7. In Bk. VII.l, Eusebius referred to Dionysius as “the great bishop of the Alexandrians,” a clear indication of his esteem for that church leader whom he quoted so often and approvingly. Interestingly, Dionysius of Alexandria had been a favorite pupil of Origen, and Origen a prized pupil of Clement of Alexandria; all three had been head of the Catechetical School there, Clement from 190 to 202, Origen for twenty-eight years, and Dionysius for fourteen.
