Language:
English
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Deciphering the Worlds of Hebrews
Angaben zur Quelle:
(2021) 92-112
Keywords:
New Testament. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
New Testament. Relation to the Bible
;
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Ninth of Av
Abstract:
This article offers a form-critical, historical, and intertextual analysis of Hebrews. It starts by acknowledging that Hebrews is frequently categorized formally as an ancient synagogue homily with its consequent Sitz im Leben within the Sabbath gathering. By considering the liturgical conventions in ancient production and reception aesthetics of synagogue homilies, it shows that Hebrews must have functioned as the interpretation, teaching, and application of a first reading from the Torah (sidrah) and a second reading from the Prophets (haphtarah). The article shows that the sidrah must stem from Exod 31:18–32:35 (breaking of the covenant) and the haphtarah from Jer 31:31–34 (covenant renewal). As is usual for homilies conforming to the petichta type, the sidrah in the introduction of the homily is not quoted but rather referred to in a midrashic manner, except that it quotes—as it should—the last verse prior to (or the first verse of) the sidrah, namely Exod 31:17b in Heb 4:4. As expected, the complementary haphtarah is quoted explicitly in the central part of the homily. The fact that these readings appear so central for the theme and structure of the homily, and moreover serve as its hermeneutical key, demonstrates the obvious importance and extraordinary quantity of quotations from the LXX in Hebrews. The two reconstructed readings are part of the liturgical reading cycle, the Palestinian Triennial Cycle in early form, and both of them hint at the most important day of fasting in Jewish tradition, Tisha be-Av. This suggestion is confirmed when the central quotations and the theological concepts in Hebrews are compared with extra-biblical texts and information on this fast day.
DOI:
10.1163/9789004460171_006
URL:
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