Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 71:2 (NA 2020)
Article: The Punctuation Of Hebrews 10:2 And Its Significance For The Date Of Hebrews
Author: Philip A. F. Church

TynBull 71:2 (2020) p. 281

The Punctuation Of Hebrews 10:2 And Its Significance For The Date Of Hebrews

Philip Church

(pchurch@laidlaw.ac.nz)

Summary

The significance of Hebrews 10:2 for the date of the letter has been the subject of debate, with some scholars finding it decisive for a pre-70 CE date and others denying it any importance, proposing (rightly) that the writer is arguing theoretically about sacrificial activity extending since the time of Aaron. The 2017 publication of the Tyndale House Greek New Testament brings the debate into sharp focus with Hebrews 10:2a punctuated as a statement (‘If the sacrifices were effective, they would not have ceased to be offered’) rather than a question (‘If the sacrifices were effective, would they not have ceased to be offered?’). Reading the clause as a statement implies that the temple has fallen and sacrifices have ceased, leading to the conclusion that Hebrews postdates this event. An examination of the manuscript evidence, the history of interpretation, the syntax, and the context shows that the clause should be read as a rhetorical question expecting a positive answer from the readers: ‘Yes, the sacrifices would have ceased if they were effective.’ Even if the writer were arguing theoretically, this would be a difficult answer had the temple been destroyed. This makes a pre-70 date more likely than a post-70 date.

1. Introduction

Hebrews 10:2 reads in the NRSV ‘Otherwise, would … [the sacrifices] not have ceased being offered, since the worshippers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin?’ While this is clear enough, debate has swirled around its relevance for the date of Hebrews. In my 2017 monograph I wrote

TynBull 71:2 (2020) p. 282

Hebrews 10:1–4 is a single sentence concluding with the declaration that animal sacrifices cannot remove sins. Verse 2 claims that the same sacrifices, continually offered year after year would have ceased being offered if they could make the worshippers perfect, and since they have not ceased, the people are still conscious of sin. I have deliberately paraphrased the sentence in this way, supplying the positive answer that the [rhetorical] question in v. 2 (οὐκ ἂν ἐπαύσαντο προσφερόμεναι; ‘would they not have ceased being offered?’) demands … In the context of Heb 10:1–4, the question about the cessation...