Scott D. Mackie

This volume honors James R. Royse on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday and celebrates his scholarly achievement in the fields of New Testament textual criticism and Philonic studies. An introductory section contains a biographical notice on the honoratus and a complete list of his scholarly publications. Part one contains nine articles on New Testament textual criticism, focusing on methodological issues, difficult passages and various textual witnesses. Part two presents eight studies on the thought, writings, textual record, and reception of Philo of Alexandria. This wide-ranging collection of articles will introduce the reader to new findings in the scholarly fields to which Prof. Royse continues to make such an outstanding contribution.

The Letter to the Hebrews is one of the most extraordinary texts in the New Testament. This anonymous sermon offers what is perhaps the highest Christology, the most comprehensive soteriology and realized eschatology, the clearest view of the costs and benefits of the Christian life, the deepest immersion in the Old Testament, as well as the most passionate exhortation and refined literary-rhetorical skills in the NT canon. After suffering years of neglect, Hebrews has recently attracted an abundance of critical attention, and keeping abreast of this growing corpus is becoming increasingly difficult. Though representing a welcome development, this rapid growth is leading to the neglect of older critical works, despite their foundational role. Contributing to this neglect is the fact that many of these works are in out-of-print books, discontinued journals, and other hard to find sources. This collection attempts to remedy both situations, rapid growth and regrettable neglect, by selectively gathering into one handy volume some of the very best English language essays on Hebrews from the last sixty years.
    In this volume of critical readings, edited by Scott D. Mackie, the essays are organized thematically, addressing such topics as theology, Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, authorship, audience, structure, Greco-Roman rhetoric, the OT, Hebrews’ relationship with contemporaneous Judaism, and soteriology. Each section is prefaced by an introduction and summary of the particular theme in Hebrews. At the end of each section is an annotated bibliography to point researchers towards further readings in these key themes.

This monograph analyzes the interface of eschatology and exhortation in Hebrews, paying special attention to the manner in which the author's eschatological convictions have shaped and empowered his hortatory effort. The author's eschatological thought-world coheres around two organizing principles: (1) Two-age eschatology : the Christ event has inaugurated the eschaton (9:26) and the end of the ages is imminent (10:26-39); (2) Heavenly Sanctuary eschatology : the Christ event culminates within this heavenly locale (9:11-12, 24; 10:19-21) and it also where the exalted Son reigns (1:3-13; 8:1; 10:12-13). The exhortations appearing in contexts where two-age eschatology is prominent emphasize urgency, immediacy, and existential irrevocability - conditions that naturally evoke calls for steadfast commitment (2:1-3; 3:14; 6:9-12; 10:35-39). Recitations of the community's experience of the eschaton are also prominent in these passages (2:4; 3:14; 6:4-5; 10:26-32). The hortatory agenda accompanying Heavenly Sanctuary eschatology is cultic in nature, focusing on the soteriological benefits of Jesus the high priest’s sacrificial self-offering (1:3; 4:16; 5:9; 7:25, 27; 8:6; 9:12, 14-15, 24, 26, 28; 10:10, 12, 14, 18-25, 29). These soteriological benefits are intended to facilitate access to God in the Heavenly Sanctuary. The two exhortations to enter the Heavenly Sanctuary, 4:14-16 and 10:19-23, are then of strategic importance. It is there that the author's ultimate hortatory goal is reached, in the recipients' sacral confession of the Son of God, which forms and solidifies their identity as the family of God (3:1-6, 14; 4:14-16; 10:19-25).

Despite his core theological convictions that God is incorporeal, formless, invisible, and unchangeable, in some of his most carefully crafted visio Dei texts Philo portrays God "changing shape" and temporarily adopting a human form. However, these are only "seeming appearances" and actually involve God projecting a human-shaped "impression," or "appearance" (φαντασία) from his shapeless, immaterial being. By accommodating the overwhelming reality of God's being to the perceptual and conceptual limitations of the human percipient, these docetic theophanies allow humans to more confidently relate to the deity, while at the same time preserving God's absolute transcendence and apophatic otherness.

Scholars often have speculated about Philo’s possible influence on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Though a connection between Hebrews and Philo may never be conclusively proven, in this essay I argue that Philo’s De congressu 157–180 and Hebrews 12:5–17 offer remarkably similar theodicies while pursuing the same rhetorical goal: to defend the necessity of trials and tests, and the benefits of enduring adversities. A number of linguistic and conceptual links joining the two texts also are identified, including the contrast between appearance and reality, the need to correctly interpret the significance of adverse circumstances, the nature and role of παιδεία (“education”/“discipline”), confessing “kinship” with God, “looking ahead” to a punishment or reward, turning away from God, life as an agonistic/athletic contest, and gymnastic training.

Philo of Alexandria’s treatise De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini offers a rich example of his theology and soteriology. The majestic God of De sacrificiis is transcendent, omnipresent, and absolutely unique. Anthropomorphic and anthropopathic conceptions of God also are memorably discussed and dismissed. Standing in tension with these ontological characteristics are relational attributes of God, which often are expressed in redemptive acts. Thus, the merciful God of De sacrificiis ‘transcends his transcendence’, and compassionately reaches out to humans in need. A full array of soteriological themes populate the pages of the treatise, including the war against the passions, the allegory of the soul, transformative revelatory experiences, salvific worship, contemplative ascent, and the vision of God. Furthermore, the agential acts and roles played by God and humans are complexly intertwined, demonstrating a sophisticated, experientially-informed soteriology. Though these important Philonic themes typically are interpreted thematically and systemically, thus ‘ironing out’ any idiosyncrasies, this essay closely attends to the particular thought of this treatise. As a consequence, unique elements and emphases emerge, which in addition to distinctive depictions of divine compassion and soteriological agency, include a Stoic emphasis on reason, the relative absence of mediatorial figures, and a rare portrayal of an unequivocal visio Dei.

In “‘Behold! I Am with the Children God Has Given Me’: Ekphrasis and Epiphany in Hebrews 1–2,” Mackie considers ways in which Heb 1–2 encourages a mystical vision of the ascended Christ’s enthronement in the heavenly realms and sets the scene for the later passages of the homily that exhort the audience to approach God. Identifying rhetorical elements in Hebrews that parallel techniques in the wider Greco-Roman world that make up an ekphrasis (which intends to produce visual and emotional experiences in hearers), Mackie argues that Hebrews aims to make the heavenly tabernacle and divine presence visually accessible to the community. They can approach God, enter the tabernacle that is manifest to them in their gathered worship, and experience a vision of the risen and exalted Jesus. This experience forms a central aspect of the exhortation and encouragement the author uses to help persuade his audience to remain faithful to Jesus, as they have their identity as his siblings reconfirmed.

Though a "vision-centered " perspective is apparent in a variety of contexts in Greco-Roman life and literature, of particular interest to this essay are the visually oriented rhetorical techniques that Greco-Roman authors and orators used to appeal to the visual imaginations of their audiences. Through these well-theorized techniques, authors and orators hoped not only to engage their audiences' visual imaginations but also to transport them emotionally into the described scene. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was to all appearances well versed in these techniques, and perhaps this is nowhere more evident than in Heb 12:1-4. Enlisting the language and imagery of agonistic sport and spectacle, this visually evocative text helps the community reenvision their current situation. Their sufferings are thus reconfigured as normative to the athletic sphere, while their commitment to Christ and his community is translated into a test of endurance in a footrace. Integral to this agonistically shaped exhortation is the vivid portrayal of Jesus as the "forerunner" and victorious "finisher" of the same contest of faith in which the community is presently competing. Ekphrasis and epiphany coalesce in this mimetic portrayal, signaled by the author's exhortation to "fix our gaze" on the one who has triumphed over adversity and adversaries.

The origin of Hebrews' high priest Christology has been the topic of much speculation. This is due, in part, to the fact that the writer of Hebrews, like most other NT authors, was "more concerned to proclaim Christ's significance and to express…devotion to him than to provide explanations of how" he arrived at "the convictions that prompted [him] to do so." Nevertheless, a number of possible influences and sources have been identified, including early Christian sacrificial and intercessory imagery, heavenly/angelic priestly figures in ancient Jewish texts and traditions, mystical visionary experience, the addressed community's crisis of commitment, the author's hortatory response, and especially the author's exegesis of the OT. Despite the substantial interpretive effort expended in this pursuit, one possible source has yet to be considered: powerfully transformative soteriological experiences which were perceived as essentially cultic in nature. These cultic soteriological experiences permeate Hebrews from beginning to end, and are thoroughly integrated with almost every significant aspect of the author's "word of exhortation," influencing and attending his hortatory agenda, cosmology, eschatology, pneumatology, comparative critique of the tabernacle/Temple cultus, the "new" and "better" covenant, and of course his high priest Christology. Though conclusive evidence of their generative influence on Hebrews' high priest Christology is lacking, their cumulative impact suggests a degree of significance comparable to the previously suggested sources.

"Philo of Alexandria’s allegorical interpretation of the biblical account of Hannah’s prayer for a son, in Ebr. 143-152, is surely one of the most remarkable texts in his corpus. In this passage he draws upon a number of philosophical resources, including Platonic sense perception, Stoic and Platonic psychologies and theories of emotion, and the dualisms that are integral to these philosophic topics: sense perception and reason, the physical and noetic realms, mind and psyche, reason and non-rationality, and passion and apathetic virtue. Ebr. 143-152 also features three significant Greco-Roman mystical themes: Bacchic ecstasy, sober inebriation, and contemplative ascent. This essay focuses on the extraordinary manner in which Philo adapts and even subverts these philosophic and mystical themes, particularly the aforementioned dualisms, and the remarkable fact that this boundary breaking allegorical interpretation comes to focused expression in a woman. Philo has been accused of espousing a “virulent misogyny,” an accusation amply justified by his pervasive negative characterizations of sense perception and passion as essentially feminine in nature. However, in his portrayal of Hannah in Ebr. 143-152, we encounter the uncharacteristic approval and embrace of the sensuous and passionate mystical praxis of an adept female mystic. This exceptional text therefore affords us a rare opportunity to mitigate Philo’s misogyny, and along with it his largely negative attitude towards the senses, emotions, and embodied existence.

In two passages in 1 Corinthians, 6:12-20 and 10:23–11:1, Paul affords us a unique opportunity to observe the reasoning processes whereby his ethical principles are ascertained and practically applied. Both texts begin with what appears to be a quotation of a community slogan, “all things are permitted for me,” which was seemingly proffered in defense of an antinomian, libertine lifestyle (6:12; 10:23). Though this maxim was quite possibly deduced from Paul’s teaching, those espousing it in the Corinthian community apparently had failed to recognize the absolute claim of Jesus on the lives of his followers, as well as his servant ethos. In 6:12 and 10:23 Paul dialogues with and qualifies the bold assertion, and then applies the now severely conditioned “freedom to do all things” to two pertinent issues: sex with prostitutes (6:13-20) and the consumption of food offered to idols (10:24–11:1). In the ensuing matched pair of ethical enquiries, Paul, the self-professed “Apostle to the Gentiles,” shapes and defines the Christian ethic according to the two tables of the Mosaic law (possibly as mediated by the double love command of the Jesus tradition: Mark 12:29-30). In so doing, he shifts the focus from the “rights” of the autonomous individual to the duties and responsibilities inherent in the Christ-oriented community. He also thereby provides the Corinthians with a paradigmatic reasoning process for making ethical choices.

For Philo of Alexandria, seeing God represents the pinnacle of human experience. This essay examines three important aspects of that experience: the effectual means of the vision, the methods employed in evoking it, and the function and influence of Philo’s mysticism in the experience. While in some contexts Philo emphasizes the singular role of God in empowering the contemplative ascent and affording the vision, many others highlight the part played by human effort. Philo’s accounts of the practices that evoke the ascent and vision of God are also varied. Though Platonic philosophical contemplation and the practice of virtue are occasionally implicated, in most cases exegetical text work is instrumental. Finally, while some have attempted to divorce Philo’s mystical praxis from the vision of God, contending that “seeing” is simply a metaphor for “knowing” (i.e., “achieving a rational awareness of God’s existence”), a number of factors indicate the importance of Philo’s mysticism in the experience and suggest that an actual, mystical visual encounter underlies and informs these textual representations.

This essay examines the characteristics and rhetorical function of the many eschatological experiences found in Hebrews’ warnings against apostasy and exhortations to persevere. In these two contexts we see the vital connection of the author’s hortatory effort to the community’s eschatological experiences. Warnings of the dire consequences of forsaking the community are often substantiated by appeals to the community’s eschatological experiences, both past and present. Similarly, exhortations to persevere are frequently supported by reminders of past and present supernatural experiences. The primary experiential motif found in these exhortations pertains to the community’s identity as the family of God. This essay concludes with the novel claim that the author’s Christological doctrine, hortatory effort, and the community’s eschatological experiences are mutually interdependent.

A number of motifs found in ancient Jewish accounts of the heavenly throne room appear in the Epistle to the Hebrews. These elements include the throne of God, the temple veil, the glory of God, and participation in angelic worship. Though in ancient Jewish texts they are all depicted as presenting nearly insurmountable obstacles to the presence of God, the author of Hebrews transforms these conceptions, and instead depicts them as encouraging, facilitating, and even ensuring access to a welcoming God. This is especially apparent in the passages promoting the author’s ultimate hortatory goal: the community’s entry into the heavenly sanctuary (2.5-10; 4.14-16; 6.18-20; 10.19-23; 12.22-24).

This essay focuses on the supernatural experiential elements and events that attend the Epistle to the Hebrews’ portrayal of the heavenly sanctuary, and attempts to demonstrate the integral relationship of these elements and events to the author’s overarching hortatory effort. Hebrews’ narratival construction of the heavenly sanctuary is not simply an ‘updated and expanded’ version of the tradition, intended to stir the addressed community’s imagination; rather, the author’s goal is for the community actually to be present in that sacred place, to benefit truly from Christ’s actions performed there, and to participate in the Son’s exaltation. Their presence and participation is effected via the author’s repeated calls to ‘draw near’ and enter the heavenly sanctuary (4:14–16; 6:18–20; 10:19–23; 12:22–4), which have as their goal a transformative encounter with God and his Son, as well as their involvement in a divine adoption ceremony (2:12–13). Mystical visuality, working in concert with the rhetorical practices of ekphrasis and enargeia, together provide crucial assistance to this effort: besides a number of vivid descriptions of the heavenly sanctuary and Jesus’ sacral actions therein, the author exhorts the community to ‘see’ the exalted Son (2:9; 3:1; 9:24–6; 12:2) and their involvement in the adoption ceremony (2:13; 10:24–5). This visual programme directly serves the author’s ultimate hortatory purpose: just as Moses ‘persevered by seeing him who is invisible’ (11:27), so also the community’s waning commitment will be reversed when they actualize their true identity as the family of God, and ‘see’ in Jesus that their steadfastness in suffering will surely result in vindication (2:6–10).

This essay surveys selected Philonic visio Dei passages and demonstrates the presence of four recurring elements in all three of the commentary series. (1) The identity of the object of sight varies, not only from passage to passage in a treatise, but even within the same passage. Nevertheless, in all three commentary series there are clear statements of the visibility of the “Existent One” (τὸ ὄν). (2) A hierarchy of visionary accomplishment, based on the spiritual advancement of the noetic philosopher, often determines who is seen, and quite often it is τὸ ὄν who is seen by the highest category of mystic philosopher. (3) The intermediaries operate as autonomous agents, conceptually distinct from τὸ ὄν, both in passages promoting a hierarchy of visionary accomplishment, as well as those depicting the Logos as the ἀναγωγός, the “means and guide” of the noetic ascent. (4) Philo occasionally allows his allegiance to divine transcendence to direct the discussion, and τὸ ὄν is then said to be absolutely “non-visible.” It is also apparent that “intermediary-free” visio Dei passages are not as commonly encountered as those populated by intermediaries, and are most prevalent in the Exposition.

At the heart of Hebrews' exordium (1.3ab), Jesus is said to be `the radiance of God's glory, the express image of his being, and upholding all things by his powerful word'. These three predications have not as yet been meaningfully connected to the rest of the epistle. This article emphasizes the nuanced shifts from passive to active imagery in 1.3ab and argues that they forecast the reciprocal pronouncements of family relatedness that the Father and the Son exchange in the author's dramatization of Jesus' exaltation (1.5; 2.12-13). Furthermore, they locate within the very being of the Son an orientation towards family identification that will be paradigmatic for the author's hortatory agenda, as the recipients are called to respond to the Son's conferral of family membership (2.12-13) with reciprocative confessions of Jesus' sonship (4.14-16; 10.19-23).

Hebrews is addressed to a community whose waning commitment may lead to a complete abandonment of their Christian identity. In response, the author crafts an imaginative and powerful exhortation that centers on Jesus' identity as the Son of God. The author first dramatizes the Son's exaltation, emphasizing the Father's declaration of Jesus' sonship, the Son's reciprocal confession of the Fatherhood of God, and the Son's conferral of family membership upon the recipients. The recipients are then called upon to participate in this pattern of mutual familial confession in two strategic hortatory passages: 4.14–16 and 10.19–25. These two exhortations to confess Jesus as the Son of God are intended to bring a halt to their wavering commitment and solidify their identity as siblings of the Son.