Year: 1996
Type: article
Abstract: £Author's note' 1he following paper was origina//y read at the 1989 Christmas Conference of the john Wesley Fellowship, held at Candler School of Theology.Since that time, numerous requests have been made for access to the paper, and it has now been dted in several published sources.The author has decided to make the paper available as originally delivered in order to remain consistent with its citations in the published literature, and an addendum has been attached to bn'ng the article more up to date.IThe Epistle to the Hebrews presents a number of critical challenges and complexities.Authorship, date of composition, literary genre, intended audience, purpose, and plan are debated with no real consensus to be found.This article attempts to further our understanding of the arrangement of Hebrews by way of examining the author's rhetorical use of biblical texts in this "word of exhortation" (13 :22). A. A SURVEY OF SCHOLARSHIPScholars have produced markedly different results in the attempt to define the arrangement of this epistle.A brief survey of the analytical variety is offered to show both the limitations and the consensus of our scientific probing to date.Following that survey, another proposal will be offered.A generation ago the common approach was to divide Hebrews into two portions, didactic and admonitory, much like the divisions seen in the letters of the pauline corpus.Nairne saw the argumentative core (5:1-10:18) enclosed by a prelude ( 1: 1-4: 16) and an exhortation (I 0: 19-13 :25).' Westcott took the theme of the epistle to be the finality of Christianity and divided its argument into five parts, the first four didactic and the final one admonitory.'Moffatt traces the argument of the epistle and notes the exhortations by way of digression.The
Author: J. R. Walters
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1432274193