Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 03:2 (Fall 1999)
Article: The Original Readers of Hebrews
Author: Rodney J. Decker

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JMAT 3:2 (Fall 99) p. 20

The Original Readers of Hebrews

Rodney J. Decker

Associate Professor Of New Testament
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Introduction1

Hebrews is like “the great Melchizedek of sacred story, of which its central portion treats. Like him it marches forth in lonely royal and sacerdotal dignity, and like him is ἀγενεάλογητος; we know not whence it cometh nor whither it goeth.”2 The purpose of this article is to probe the frontiers of “whence it cometh” and “whither it goeth” with a view to establishing what can and cannot be said about such matters. If a possible setting can be determined—one that is not based on mere conjecture and which is not accompanied by unanswerable objections, then a working hypothesis may be suggested as a background against which Hebrews may be expounded.

There are actually two questions that relate to identifying the original readers of Hebrews: first, what was their socio-ethnic identity, and second, where did they live? Although these two questions are somewhat related, they should be considered separately.3 The second cannot be resolved with any significant degree of certainty. The first can be specified with greater

JMAT 3:2 (Fall 99) p. 21

confidence. Although “few exegetical issues depend on determining the geographical location of the addressees,”4 their socio-ethnic identity and situation is more critical.5 A tentative conclusion to these questions can serve to sharpen the focus of the letter6 by postulating the specific circumstances that the writer assumes. In light of the multiple exegetical perplexities of the book, such a focus is highly desirable even if the final conclusion must remain somewhat tenuous.

It can be said that the author of Hebrews wrote to a specific group of readers; this is not a general treatise intended for a broad audience. This is substantiated by the specific life-experiences of the readers that may be seen, e.g., in the reference to a particular instance of persecution in Hebrews 10:32–34.7

JMAT 3:2 (Fall 99) p. 22

Internal Evidence Relevant To
The Readers’ Identity

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