This thesis deals with the Christology of the book of Hebrews, specifically the relationship between the Christological categories of "Son" and "high priest". It is argued here that the rationale for the introduction of a priestly Christology has been insufficiently considered in previous scholarly work on Hebrews Furthermore, in previous studies insufficient consideration has been given to the way in which the interrelationship of the categories of sonship and priesthood functions in the rhetorical structure of Hebrews. This thesis argues that a form of "second Adam" Christology lies behind the Christological thought of Hebrews. It consequently endeavours to establish the rationale for the introduction of priestly Christology by exploring those "second Adam" ideas. Until the 1970s historical-critical methodologies dominated in the study of Hebrews. This is one of the reasons for the lack of scholarly consideration of the interrelationship of the priestly and filial Christological categories in the rhetoric of Hebrews. This thesis underscores the deficiencies of the historical-critical approaches to Hebrews as highlighted by the paucity of results such approaches have produced. It is argued that rhetorical criticism is an appropriate methodology for supplementing more historical-oriented methodologies. A survey of previous rhetorical-critical work on Hebrews is undertaken with a view to showing the potential of rhetorical-critical study of the book. It is argued that the rhetorical purposes of Hebrews is the bolstering of the community's confidence in their confession of faith. Acceptance of such an understanding of purpose leads naturally to the further question of the content of that confession, and specifically to the issue of whether or not it contained a statement of the priesthood of Christ. It is argued that the confession of the Hebrews did not refer to the priesthood of Christ, but can rather be summarized as "Jesus is the Son of God". The core of this thesis is found in a careful exegesis of Heb 2 which is crucial for understanding the relationship of the sonship and priesthood of Jesus in Hebrews. This chapter is introduced by explicit references to Jesus as Son (in Hebrews 1:5-14) and ends with the first explicit application of the word "priest" to him (2:17). It is argued that the underlying Adamic and Edenic themes in the chapter provide the key to understanding the relationship. The significance of such Adamic/Eden themes lies at the heart of this thesis. The rest of Hebrews is then examined with a view to ascertaining if such Adamic/Edenic themes are utilized elsewhere in the work. The rhetorical significance of the Adamic/Edenic allusions found throughout Hebrews is also explored. It is argued that the pattern of usage strongly suggests that Adamic/Edenic themes constitute "common ground" between Auctor and his recipients, which is presupposed in the overall argument of Hebrews rather than being argued in detail. The thesis concludes with a summary of the work as a whole, a statement of conclusions arrived at and an outline various implications arising from it.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/254067 |
| Creators | David Thiele |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
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