Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 29:4 (Dec 1986)
Article: What Is The Literary Form Of Hebrews 11?
Author: Merland Ray Miller

JETS 29:4 (December 1986) p. 411

What Is The Literary Form Of Hebrews 11?

Merland Ray Miller*

C. Spicq has called the eleventh chapter of Hebrews “famous and moving…, eloquent and majestic.”1 Its attraction for preachers, theologians and literary critics has indeed been great. The purpose of this article is to propose a literary form for Hebrews 11. A beginning assumption will be that chap. 11 is not a complete unit in itself but is tied to the first two verses of chap. 12.

As the basis for determining the literary form of Heb 11:1—12:2, the passage was compared with prior extant texts whose literary structure and characteristics are similar to Hebrews 11. The result of this comparison was the discovery that texts in the Jewish background of the NT illustrate the literary elements of the passage but not its literary form. It is the Greco-Roman world that is the source of the literary form, the encomium, to be proposed for this passage.

Three literary elements are found in common in Heb 11:1—12:2 and canonical and extra-canonical Jewish literature: historical summary, example-series, and catchword.2 The historical summary as a literary convention in Scripture goes at least as far back as Moses. In Deuteronomy 1—4 Moses reviews the history of the relationship between the Lord and his people. After tracing this relationship from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab in the first three chapters, Moses applies this history in an exhortation to the people: “And now, Israel, hear… !” (4:1). God’s covenant people are to observe the stipulations of his covenant so that they may possess the land and demonstrate his holy character to the surrounding nations. Doubtless this historical summary reflects the prologue of Near Eastern treaties recounting past relationships of suzerain and vassal and requiring submission of the vassal to certain stipulations. By framing such declarations in a theological context, however, a sense of salvation history was impressed on the hearts and minds of God’s people. This historical summary form is found in such passages as Psalm 78; 3 Macc 2:2–20, and the attitude that God’s hand is guiding in history influenced Jewish writers into the NT era.

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