Interestingly enough, The Rule of the Community and the War Scroll at Qumran give a great deal of attention to these and similar matters in ways that differed from the mainstream of Palestinian Judaism. In the third place, the literature at Qumran helps us understand the focus on angels in the book of Hebrews.
The book of Hebrews addressed beliefs about angels in a number of passages. Apparently, the original audience of Hebrews had become attracted to these kinds of teachings. In the fourth place, the documents at Qumran help us understand the unusual interest that the author of Hebrews had in the Old Testament character Melchizedek.
For the longest time, interpreters had difficulty explaining why the comparisons between Melchizedek and Jesus were so important to the author of Hebrews. But one text found at Qumran, often called 11QMelchizedek or The Midrash on Melchizedek , falsely taught that Melchizedek was a heavenly figure who was going to appear in the last days to proclaim the Day of Atonement and make final atonement for God's people.
From all appearances, the original audience of Hebrews was tempted to hold these or similar false beliefs. Identifying the kinds of false teachings that circulated within Jewish communities helps us to understand why the author of Hebrews exhorted his audience to resist these teachings and remain faithful to Jesus.
There's a number of interesting parallels between the teaching of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the teaching in Hebrews. The most significant would be perhaps that both communities recognized that they were, or believed they were, living in the end times, that God's final salvation was about to take place. Of course, the difference is in Hebrews we see that God's salvation has arrived, whereas at Qumran — or the Dead Sea Scrolls — they're expecting it to happen at any time.
But perhaps the most interesting comparison between the two is the role of the figure of Melchizedek. Melchizedek, of course, in Hebrews, the author develops this theology of Melchizedek as Jesus' high priesthood is not according to the order of Aaron, not the traditional Old Testament one, but according to the order of Melchizedek, because we see Melchizedek was a legitimate high priest who met Abraham in the book of Genesis — and so, this Melchizedek comparison.
Well, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, there is one of the Dead Sea Scrolls — known as 11Q Melchizedek because it was discovered in cave 11 of the Dead Sea Scrolls — portrays a figure, this Melchizedek, as a mighty heavenly, glorious, Messiah-like figure who brings salvation.
So, it's an interesting comparison since, of course, Melchizedek is a type of Christ in the book of Hebrews, that in the Dead Sea Scrolls he becomes a messianic figure.
And so scholars puzzle over this relationship between the Melchizedek figure in Hebrews and Melchizedek as he appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Interesting comparison. The goal of Hebrews' exhortations was not only to urge the audience to reject the local Jewish teachings.
Even more, the author wanted them to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah. To accomplish the goal of calling his audience to faithful service to Jesus, the author of Hebrews organized his exhortations into five major divisions. We'll look in some detail at each of these divisions in our next lesson. But at this point it will help to summarize the central issues in each. In Hebrews —, the author of Hebrews called on his audience to affirm the supremacy of Christ over angelic revelations.
We mentioned earlier in this lesson that the book of Hebrews spoke against false beliefs about angels. A number of Jewish writings often exalted angels as powerful, glorious creatures who brought divine revelations to inferior human beings. This honor for angels raised a serious challenge against those who followed Christ.
Jesus was flesh and blood. How then could anyone follow what he said instead of the revelations of angels? The author of Hebrews responded to this local Jewish teaching by demonstrating from the Old Testament, and from Jesus' life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return in glory, that he is actually superior to the angels. The second major division of Hebrews, in —, demonstrates that Jesus is to be held above Moses' authority.
It was obvious to everyone that followers of Jesus were not observing the sacrificial services God had ordained through Moses. The local Jewish community called for Christians to return to Moses and his ways. The author of Hebrews responded by affirming that Moses was God's faithful servant.
But Jesus was even greater because he was God's royal Son. After dealing with angels and Moses, the author of Hebrews turned to Melchizedek's priesthood in — In this division, the author argued that Jesus was the supreme Royal Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Apparently, the local Jewish community wanted the original audience to reject Jesus as the Messiah because of their beliefs about the appearance of Melchizedek as the great royal high priest in the last days.
In response, the author of Hebrews demonstrated that Jesus was the true Royal Priest who appeared in the last days to provide eternal atonement for sin. The teachings of the local Jewish community raised doubts about the Christian claim that Jesus had come to mediate the new covenant promised by Jeremiah. But the author of Hebrews pointed out that Jesus is, in fact, the mediator of the new covenant. In the last major division, in —, the book of Hebrews elaborates on a number of ways that the audience needed to exercise practical perseverance.
This division consists of a long series of exhortations, as well as explanations for these exhortations. In light of so many challenges to their faith from the local Jewish community and elsewhere, the author wrote to inspire and energize his audience. He exhorted them to remain faithful to Jesus as the Messiah by reminding them of God's promises and blessings in Jesus.
By his many exhortations, the writer to the Hebrews, to put it positively, is encouraging his readers to persevere. And some of his language is very gentle, entreating, encouraging, but some of it is, quite frankly, blisteringly frightening. That starts as early as Hebrews 2 — "If Old Testament saints fell away, how much more dangerous is it if we, who are the heirs of the new covenant, who do know the Lord Jesus, ignore the great salvation that has been provided to us?
And then there are two passages that are often referred to as "apostasy passages" in Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 that warn against the danger of those who have professed profound faith in Christ — and apparently followed for some time — falling away. And so, even in reading the Old Testament narrative, as in the end of Hebrews 3, the author says, don't be like the Old Testament saints who were rescued from Egypt and escaped slavery but never did get into the Promised Land precisely because they didn't persevere.
They fell away in the desert. A whole generation was wiped out more or less. And, those are the sorts of pastoral parallels that show that his incentive to encouragement is not merely soft or cuddly, that there is warmth and encouragement and holding up the glories of Christ so as to be drawn to him. But there is also threat and warning that this is serious business and you don't want to play around with it. In this lesson on the background and purpose of Hebrews, we've looked at the background of the book of Hebrews, including the author, the audience and the date of composition.
We've also focused on the original purpose of Hebrews by examining how the author wrote his book to exhort his audience to turn from local Jewish teachings and to reaffirm their loyalty to Jesus as the Messiah. The book of Hebrews is one of the most challenging books of the New Testament.
It offers so much that we may never uncover more than a small portion of what it teaches. Yet, we can benefit in many ways from these complex teachings. As modern followers of Christ, we also face temptations to avoid troubles in this life by compromising our commitments to Jesus. But if we'll open our hearts to hear how the author of Hebrews urgently exhorted his original audience, we'll see how crucial it is that we stand strong in our faith, no matter what opposition we may face.
Um earned his Th. Keener is the F. Eckhard Schnabel is the Mary F. Advanced Search Go. Search Term Type any of these words all of these words exact phrase. Results should display: full details author names only. More search tips. The Background and Purpose of Hebrews Lesson 1 in the series The Book of Hebrews Introduces perspectives on the author, audience, date and purpose of the book of Hebrews that can help us interpret the original meaning and apply this book to our modern world.
Authorship From the earliest times, there have been a variety of positions on the authorship of Hebrews. Identity Identifying the author of Hebrews is not as simple as it is with many other New Testament books because the author never identified himself. As we read there: But as to who wrote the epistle [of Hebrews], God knows the truth of the matter.
Listen to the words of Hebrews This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him Hebrews Witmer] We've explored the authorship of the book of Hebrews and seen that the author's identity remains unknown.
Profile For the sake of time, we'll point out just two rather obvious features of the author's life. Keener] Even though the author of Hebrews should be considered an intellectual, he was not a cold, detached academic. Listen to the way he empathized with his audience in Hebrews Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
In a similar way, in he showed his passion for Christ when he said: Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Eckhard Schnabel] So far in our discussion of the background of the book of Hebrews we've focused on the book's authorship. Original Audience The book of Hebrews doesn't clearly identify its audience by name, city or region. Hebrews makes this clear: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways Hebrews Immature Third, the original audience of Hebrews was immature.
Listen to the way the author described them in Hebrews Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again Hebrews This suggestion is confirmed by Hebrews where the author told his audience: Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. Persecuted Fourth, the original audience of Hebrews was persecuted. In , the author drew attention to the suffering that at least some in the audience had experienced in the past: Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering… So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded Hebrews In the author also referred directly to present persecutions when he said: Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering Hebrews Listen to this exhortation: Consider Christ who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Johnson] Near Apostasy Fifth, as the audience of Hebrews faced persecution, at least some of them were near apostasy. For instance, in Hebrews we read this warning: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God Hebrews Date Although the exact date for Hebrews remains uncertain, the earliest and latest dates for this book can be established rather firmly.
In this verse the author wrote: I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. But for this study, we'll describe the original purpose of Hebrews in this way: The author of Hebrews wrote to exhort his audience to reject local Jewish teachings and to remain faithful to Jesus.
Listen to the way the author himself characterized his book in Brothers, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation Hebrews Fredrick Long] Every epistle or letter in the New Testament contains exhortations to its audience.
Intensity of Exhortations To look further at what we mean by the intensity of the author's exhortations, we'll look at two issues: first, the frequency of exhortations in the book, and second, the author's rhetorical style associated with his exhortations. Frequency The frequency of the author's exhortations helps us understand the urgency of his message.
For instance, in , 16 we read two such exhortations: Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess… Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence Hebrews , For example, in we read this series of exhortations: Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Rhetorical Style The book of Hebrews has often been characterized as highly rhetorical.
Strauss] One rhetorical device, called synkrisis in Greek, is a detailed comparison between two or more things designed to convince audiences to affirm the speaker's point of view. Listen to the way this rhetorical device appears in Hebrews Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Goal of Exhortations We saw earlier that the overarching purpose of the book of Hebrews can be defined in this way: The author of Hebrews wrote to exhort his audience to reject local Jewish teachings and to remain faithful to Jesus.
Reject Local Teachings We've noted that the audience of Hebrews had suffered persecution and that this persecution was tempting them toward apostasy. Listen to what the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.
Sean McDonough] For this lesson, we'll briefly mention just four topics found in both the book of Hebrews and the documents at Qumran. Ark of Covenant. Baal Worship. Bar Kochba Revolt. Barcelona, Disputation of. Ben Sira, Alphabet of. Birth and Evolution of Judaism. Chronicles of Kings of Israel. Coins and Currency. Cult of Moloch. Dead Sea Scrolls.
Egypt and Wanderings. Episcopus Judaeorum. Great Assembly. Great Revolt. Great Synagogue. Hannah and her Seven Sons. Herodian Dynasty. Hillel and Shammai. Jewish High Priests. Jewish Links to Holy Land. Jews of Middle East. Judges of Bet Din. Judges of Israel. Juramentum Judaeorum. Kedemites or Easterners. Kings of Israel. Kings of Judah. Land of Hebrews. Laws Affecting Jews CE. Leather Industry and Trade. Lydia, Lydian. Maimonidean Controversy. Manuscripts, Hebrew. Oath More Judaico. Occupation of Canaan.
Ossuaries and Sarcophagi. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Phoenicia, Phoenicians. Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire. Polish Literature. Portraits of Jews. Practice and Procedure. Return to Zion. Rulers of Ancient Middle East. Sefer Raza Rabba. Servi Camerae Regis.
Shewbread or Showbread. Shimon Bar-Kochba. Sibyl and Sibylline Oracles. Talmud and Middle Persian Culture. Teacher of Righteousness. Ten Lost Tribes. Timeline for History of Jerusalem. Timeline for History of Judaism. Translation and Translators. Travelers and Explorers.
Twelve Tribes of Israel. We know his seed was scattered all over the world when ten of the twelve tribes were exiled by Assyria in BC after God turned them into "gentiles" for their idolatry see Hos. So the ones whom the Father leads to Jesus for salvation John ,44 , who are not Jewish, must be that scattered seed.
Once this understanding is gained it is readily seen throughout Scripture, unifying the whole Bible into one story about the promises made to one man - Abraham. Galatians says it most succinctly: "If you belong to Messiah, you ARE Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.
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Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why is the book of Hebrews named that? Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 1 month ago.
Active 7 years, 6 months ago. Viewed 5k times. Improve this question. Dale Dale 4 4 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Written To: Hebrew Christians who were wavering in their faith and all future readers of the Bible. Improve this answer. David Stratton David Stratton It seems that one reason that this book was named Hebrews was due to: the earliest form of the text that has come down to us, P 46 , this book had the title Greek won't display here - Pros Hebraious, "To[the]Hebrews".
Jordan Jordan 3 3 bronze badges. Brian Hennessy Brian Hennessy 11 2 2 bronze badges. There is a link with Judah, the man, and then the tribe, which became the small biblical country of David and finally the area the Romans called Judea. Today, we assume that the Judeans became what we know as the Jews, but the fact is that the word Jew does not appear in English until There are centuries when Latin, Old French, Old English are developing in various spellings and pronunciations what will finally become the word Jew.
Judah and his brothers have returned to Egypt because the famine in Canaan was dangerously severe. During their first trip for supplies Simeon was kept as a hostage by Joseph who remains unknown to his brothers. Judah steps forward never looking back to see if he is alone. Nor is he the widower who buried two sons but refused his daughter-in-law the right to her identity.
Judah did not step forward to apologize, he engaged to protect Benjamin. Judah is our namesake because he understood that he could not repeat the indifference that had defined him.
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