Week #41 - Hebrews & Job 1-10

Week # 41 Study Page

Hebrews (1-13)
Job 1-10

About the Book(s)

Hebrews

Date of Authorship: We know very little about the historical context of the book of Hebrews. The fact that we’re unsure about the author and the destination of the letter make assigning a date super difficult. New Testament commentators usually lean on two textual clues to date this book. First, Hebrews discusses the sacrifices being offered at the temple in Jerusalem in the present tense. The Jerusalem temple was destroyed by Titus and the Roman army in 70 AD. Furthermore, the author’s case for the superiority of Christ over the temple sacrifices would be greatly aided by the fact that those sacrifices had ceased, but that is not brought up in the letter, indicating that the temple had not yet been destroyed. Second, it seems very likely that the Timothy referred to in Hebrews 13:23 was the same Timothy that traveled and ministered with Paul. Because we can date when Timothy began his own ministry (first in Ephesus) apart from Paul we can set a not-earlier-than date of 55 AD. Therefore Hebrews was very likely written between 55 and 70 AD

Author: As mentioned above, we don’t know who the author of Hebrews is. The most popular identification of the author through history is the Apostle Paul. Pauline authorship enjoyed considerable support among the eastern Church fathers including Clement of Alexandrea and Origen, but it was not supported by concurrent western Church fathers like Irenaeus and Hippolytus. While Pauline authorship was the most popular opinion for a number of centuries, almost no modern scholars believe that Paul was the author of this book. Too many differences in the vocabulary, Greek syntax, and Christology (an emphasis on Jesus’ role as priest) exist between Hebrews and the 13 letters that bear Paul’s name to believe that Paul wrote the letter. Of the author, we know that he (uses masculine pronouns to refer to himself) is a second-generation Christian (2:3), was likely a Hellenistic-Jew, and knew Timothy. For fun, here are some notable suggestions for who wrote Hebrews from the history of the Church

Tertullian (3rd century Church Father) believed it was written by Barnabas (this is actually Joel’s odds-on favorite)
Thomas Aquinas believed it was written by Paul in Hebrew but then translated by Luke into good Greek
Martin Luther believed it was written by Apollos (see Acts 18)
Other less notable guesses include, Priscilla (primarily) and Aquilla, Silas, Epaphras, the deacon Philip, or Mary the mother of Jesus

We simply don’t know with any sense of surety who wrote Hebrews.

Purpose: Even though the literary structure and lines of argument in Hebrews are dizzying, the purpose of the book is crystal clear. The author shows us in a number of ways that Jesus Christ is superior to any other competing being, person, or religious system. The general theme of Hebrews is the unqualified supremacy of God’s Son. The author makes this point repeatedly and at-length for a purpose. He uses this well-established truth to warn the readers to not turn from the Christian faith to any other form of piety. It seems that the recipients of Hebrews were facing external persecution and resistance, and much of the material in the book would indicate that this pressure was Jewish or advocating a return to Jewish customs and law. This very well could be because the Jewish religion was known and accepted throughout the Roman empire, while Christianity was relatively unknown and may have been met with fear and resistance by the authorities throughout the Roman empire; you could imagine these Romans telling the Christians to just act like Jews and fit in.

Job

Date of Authorship: Job is famously one of the most difficult books of the bile to date. Job reads like a play, it is appropriately classified as wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible because this writing has no intention of providing or describing history. Instead of providing us with a context of kings, kingdoms and ages, the author only briefly gives us hard-to-pin-down location/nation names, and instead focuses on the characters on the stage, and their dialogue. Early in the Church and even in BC rabbinical literature a tradition developed that Job takes place, and was written in the patriarchal era (the age before Moses, closer to, but after the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). This tradition is supported by the names that the author of Job uses for God (El and Eloah), the fact that Job’s wealth is measured by herd-size, and Job’ patriarchal role as priest (he was the one offering sacrifices for his children). While many modern scholars have skeptically viewed the prospect that such a complex and magnificent piece of literature could have such an early origin, 20th-century archaeology has uncovered similarly complex wisdom literature from the Sumerian/Akkadian civilizations which belongs to the 1700’s BC. Job is mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel alongside Noah and Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14,20), so the story of Job was well known and circulated in Israel by at least that date. I prefer the tradition of the early Church and rabbinical literature which dates job to the Patriarchal period, sometime between 1900-1500 BC.

Author: We know nothing of the Author of Job, but we can speculate about the place of origin. the names of the characters would seem to fit well into Edomite culture, and the names Eliphaz and Teman feature in the Chronology of Esau (from whom the lineage of the Edomites is traced) in Genesis 36 (see verses 4 & 11 - note, its very unlikely that the Eliphaz mentioned there is the Eliphaz in Job, but somewhat likely that this name continued to be used in the family of his son Teman, and that the Eliphaz in Job is a descendant of this son of Esau). The author’s and character’s Edomite heritage combined with a patriarchal period of authorship would well explain the understanding of God that is presented in this book.

Purpose: Job is a book about human suffering, and mankind’s quest for answers and explanations related to its presence. Far from a straight-forward treatise or theological explanation of this problem, Job is a drama, a play where the reader is invited to sit in the seat of the suffer and consider his words along with the words of his friends, as we join them in searching for truth about pain and why we suffer it. Its role in God’s word is to help God’s people explore and consider the problem of pain and begin to understand our suffering as it relates to God’s sovereignty and providence.

As You Read Notes:

Hebrews 1-2 & Job 1: Angels

Angels play a big role in this week’s reading (not Mike Trout, the other kind). Job opens with a divine council scene where the angels (Sons of God) come to present themselves before God, and Hebrews opens with the author showing how Jesus is superior to angels. Lets start with the basics; angels are spiritual beings, created by God, who serve Him by accomplishing His purposes. In Job the title used for the angels is “sons of God,” (more on that below), whereas in Hebrews, The Greek word literally means “messenger.” This Greek word meaning messenger in Hebrews is transliterated “angelos” and that is where we get the word. In Job we learn that these beings report to God. In Hebrews we’re asked a rhetorical question by the author that further clarifies what the angels do for God:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Did you know that it is the job of the angels to serve the saved? - it is! The larger point of Hebrews 1-2 is that God had previously revealed himself and his “message” (Hebrews 2:2) through angels. But now we have a greater message/revelation from God’s Son Jesus, so we must put our faith in Him, and leave behind the superseded revelation of the angels, which includes the Old Testament law.

Hebrews 5-7: Melchizedek

I hope you were paying attention when we read Genesis 14! But if you’re like me, you may need a refresher, and reading that chapter will help you understand what Hebrews is saying in these three chapters. After Abraham wins a military victory and rescues his nephew, Lot, he encounters Melchizedek who is both the king of Salem (most likely was the king of the city that would later be known as Jeru-salem), and a priest of God Most High (a title which connotes the superiority of Abraham’s God). The author of Hebrews is using the character of Melchizedek as a precursor to Jesus who is both a king, and a priest. The priesthood of Melchizedek is especially important to the argument of Hebrews as Melchizedek is not a descendant of Aaron, or even a Levite, and thus he was not a priest of the Sinai covenant or according to Mosaic Law, but he (Melchizedek) was a priest of an older order. The author of Hebrews had to explain how Jesus could be our great high priest even though he descended from the tribe of Judah (not priests). Because even* Abraham gave an offering to Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews is able to show that there is an order of priest, that is outside of and greater-than the descendants of Aaron and the Levites. The facts that Melchizedek is king in Jerusalem and that he brings bread and wine to Abraham (foreshadowing the Lord’s Supper) are amazing. The univocal early-Church reading of these correlations was to celebrate the truth that God knew all-along how he was going to bring salvation to the earth, and to treasure this incredible moment moment of foreshadowing in Genesis.

Hebrews 11: Faith

Hebrews 10:19-22 is a major turning point in the book, where the author shifts to exhortation in light of the teaching he had just provided. In this exhortation, we have a large section about faith. First the author tells us what faith is:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

As a matter of synonymous restatement you could say that faith is belief and trust, but this is not the center or the end of Hebrew’s teaching on faith. This definition provided by the author of Hebrews serves as an introduction to a list of Bible characters who behave in a certain way by (or according to) faith. The accounts of faith that follow are not* limited to the non-physical, mental or spiritual realm where “belief or trust” can be accomplished. Instead, the accounts that follow are marked by courageous decisions and actions taken by the heroes of the Bible. Abel provided a superior offering, Enoch pleased God, Abraham moved to Canaan when God told him to, Abraham was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice, Moses’ parents disobeyed Pharaoh, the Israelites walked through the Red Sea, and Rahab welcomed spies. The faith of these heroes was obedient, courageous, and active. When we understand faith according to Hebrews 11 we can not stop at verse 1 and call it good, we must also include the actions and behaviors recorded in verses 4-40. These are not just consequences of faith according to Hebrews, but the ‘stuff’ or ‘material’ of faith.

Job 1 & 2, The Council and the Accuser

It is most likely that the original readers of Job and even the people of Israel through the first-temple period did not understand Satan (the devil) in the full manner revealed to us in the New Testament. Much in the same way that the nature and identity of the Messiah (Jesus) is progressively revealed through scripture, and has come to be fully known through the incarnation and God’s Word now in the age of the Kingdom of God, so the devil, the prince of demons, was not fully known to the Old Testament readers. Even though, the devil is not fully known to the Old Testament people of God, he appears here in Job in one of the primary roles that scripture tells us he has: the accuser. In fact, the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word translated “the accuser” here is how we get the name “Satan.” He appears before Yahweh (God) as part of a divine council. In other Ancient Near Eastern cultures, there were subordinate gods that served the purpose of the primary God (which varied) and carried out his purposes. In Hebrew religion, there are no ‘subordinate gods’ but they still have the idea of spiritual beings that attend to God, meet with him in council as is depicted here, and carry out his purposes on the Earth - we know these beings as angels. Here in Job, the title translated “angels”(NIV) literally means “sons of God” (similar to what we see in Genesis 6). The author of Job includes Satan (the accuser) in this council, but is certain to make a distinction among them so that the original readers would not think that this individual is one of these “sons of God.” Additionally it is worth noting that Satan, in Job, is depicted as having no power but that which he is allowed to have by God. Satan is not depicted as a rival or competing deity, but as adversarial subject of the one God.

Job 2-10: Dialogue

After chapter 2, Job is a series of dialogues between Job, his friends, and later, God. These friends came to “sympathize with” Job (NIV), this word comes from the verb that would mean literally “to shake (the head)” and it is an expression of sorrow or pity. These are the characters that the author of Job will use to explore the problem of suffering in a dialogic manner.

“One of the marks of greatness that characterize this book is that after the prologue we are never able to identify fully and fixedly with Job or with the friends until the epilogue. By this skillful technique the author draws us into Job’s struggle, forcing us to look at all angles. So we need not be overcome by guilt when we on occasion cheer Job on as he challenges God, or by condemnation when we find ourselves nodding approvingly at the speeches of the friends… We should be aware that the dialogue does not proceed strictly by the method of point/counterpoint. Although one speaker would take strong exception to another’s words, they often responded more to what they believed themselves to hear than what the speaker actually said.” (C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. P. 104-109)

Because of the nature of this literature, we, as readers need to be extremely careful with how we regard the words that we’re reading. You can not take a verse from Bildad’s response in chapter 8 and declare that it must be true of God, the same way that we would be able to do with a verse from one of Isaiah’s prophecies. These are characters in a dialogue about Job’s suffering. To read their words as absolute theological constructions of truth simply because they are in the Bible is to ignore the nature of the literature of Job, and to mistreat God’s word. You must read their words (even Job’s) from the perspective of the characters and allow for the possibility that what they are saying may be incorrect, in fact, much of it is. God will eventually weigh in here, in a way that requires you to know what kind of trial and dialogue Job has been through, and we’ll certainly treat those words as true. But caution yourself as a reader, to hear the voice of the characters instead of God when you’re reading Job and his friends discuss his ordeal for most of the book of Job. We’ll talk more about what Job and each of his friends have to say next week.

Joel NielsenOctober 5, 2018Madison Church of Christ