Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 39:4 (Dec 1996)
Article: Hermeneutical Issues And Principles In Hebrews As Exemplified In The Second Chapter
Author: J. Lanier Burns

JETS 39:4 (December 1996) p. 587

Hermeneutical Issues And Principles In Hebrews As Exemplified In The Second Chapter

Lanier Burns*

When our successful classes and conferences on hermeneutics at school or church come to a close, the homily of Hebrews will come back to haunt us. F. F. Bruce began his commentary with this caveat: “Since, however, neither that community nor the writer is expressly identified in the text as it has been preserved to us, the document presents us at the outset with a number of critical problems to which no agreed solution has been found.” 1 The critical problems have not evaporated:

The Epistle to the Hebrews is often said to be the most “Greek” book in the Jewish-Christian Bible. Indeed, to some it might seem that the epistle itself is something of a joke—a joke played upon a church obsessed with finding complete certainty about its origins. That the most elementary facts concerning this “final word” on the Christian faith may be arrived at only through a fancy tapestry of guesswork is what punctuates the joke with its required—and exquisite—irony. 2

In other words, we do not have the information that we would seem to need for an accurate interpretation of Hebrews.

We will come to Hebrews—the book, or epistle, or sermon—to discuss the author, audience, circumstances and literary details of its composition. We will learn that the writer was obviously a dedicated, articulate Jewish-Christian leader who was trained in Hellenistic rhetoric and theological nuances. Even though we are aware that Hebrews was accepted in early manuscripts as a Pauline epistle between Romans and 1 Corinthians, we also know that it has neither the form of an epistle nor Paul’s style. Concerning epistolary form we may note the summarizing introductory sentence of Heb 1:1–4 in lieu of the customary salutation. With respect to Pauline style the author uses legein with reference to God’s speaking rather than Paul’s characteristic graphein to introduce OT quotations. On the other hand, the mention of Timothy (13:23) and the early association of Hebrews with Paul suggest a member of the Pauline circle. One is attracted to someone like Apollos, an anēr logios, “an eloquent (“learned,” NIV) man” (Acts 18:24). The

* Lanier Burns is professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, 3909 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, TX 75204

JETS 39:4 (December 1996) p. 588...