Richard D. Draper - Epistle to the Hebrews

Contents

Abbreviations

For ancient works, the footnotes follow the style of Patrick H. Alexander and others, The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern Biblical and Early Christian Studies (Peabody Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999).

Preface

The nascent Christian community did not develop in a vacuum. It matured in a specific historical and multicultural sphere, one interestingly not particularly favorable for its growth and advancement. The Christian movement developed around neither philosophical nor theological constructs but through events that took place between BC 6 and AD 100 that affected the first through the third generations of converts. During that period, they came to understand who they worshiped, including both how and why. In the process, they discovered who they were as a people, of what their belief system consisted, and how they were to apply those beliefs in the world they lived in.

The ground of their faith was Jesus Christ, and the structure of that faith was his teachings. However, the doctrines that grew out of his teachings developed line by line, here a little and there a little, as inspiration and revelation came and understanding increased. The Savior gave the responsibility for the doctrinal development and its practical application to the Apostles and prophets. In so doing, he kept the responsibility within the bounds of those who had his personal authority to declare his word and perform his ordinances.

These authorized followers were met with many challenges and worked diligently to overcome them. One of the ways they did so was through the power of the epistle. Written texts could do what the individual could not, namely reach across distances and bring instruction to disparate congregations. Admittedly, personal visits were imperative, but written communications conveyed teachings and instructions in a way that could be shared broadly and lay the ground work that made the visits all the more productive. Further, at least initially, on these letters rested the institutional memory the Christian community.

One of the major responsibilities of these leaders, then, was to teach the doctrine of the kingdom. Paramount among the teachings was detailing the importance of the life, ministry, work, and identity of the Savior. Among those who took up this remarkable if somewhat overwhelming task was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He wrote to a certain body of Christians facing specific problems. Every word, phrase, and sentence that he wrote had both a historical and a social context. He wrote to his fellow Saints in a language that they could understand and did so with singular beauty and power.

This intent is the starting point of our work. We have tried diligently and to the highest degree possible to capture the thrust and trajectory of his ideas so the modern reader can understand the writings of this deeply spiritual and profoundly insightful leader in their context.

We spend little time addressing the relevance of the authors writings to the modern reader. That is not say we believe any relevance is absent. It is there! The authors writings contain insights, instructions, and admonitions that are grounded in revelation and testimony that transcends time and culture and therefore can meaningfully address similar conditions and situations met by the modern Saint. Our focus, however, as noted above, is on understanding the text as the author and his readers understood it. We fully believe, however, that one of the most important purposes of scripture is for the application of those who read it. But we also feel that when a text is understood in its context, it can then be better applied to conditions today. Otherwise, it is possible to give a passage a greater significance or make it have a different application than the original text warranted or the author intended.

The Book of Mormon does encourage its readers to liken all scriptures unto themselves that these timeless teachings might be for their profit and learning (1 Ne. 19:23), but it also warns that it is possible for people to wrest [the scriptures] to [their] own destruction (Alma 13:9). Likewise, as the Doctrine and Covenants points out, many err because they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them (D&C 10:63). Placing a scripture in its context mitigates this problem. It is our hope that by placing the scriptures in their theological, historical, social, and cultural settings, modern readers can readily see their relevance and desire to apply the principles and doctrines in their lives. Believing that to be the case, we leave it up to the readers to make the proper application. When that happens, the underlying intent and primary motivation behind our writing of this commentary will be realized.