The writer of Hebrews as a reader of Hebrew: an inquiry into the linguistic and hermeneutical use of the Old Testament quotations in the Epistle to the Hebrews

de Jong, Adam (2011) The writer of Hebrews as a reader of Hebrew: an inquiry into the linguistic and hermeneutical use of the Old Testament quotations in the Epistle to the Hebrews. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews is regularly considered to depend on the Greek text of the Old Testament for his quotations, also when the translation diverges from the Hebrew. In addition, he is at times found to use hermeneutical techniques associated with Second Temple hermeneutics, which do not always respect the Old Testament context.

Examples are his alleged use of gezerah shawah in Hebrews 4:4-9 in connecting one concept of rest in Psalm 95 (menuchah) with a different one in Genesis 2:2 (shabat) relying on the Greek which translates both with katapausis and the dependency in his use in Hebrews 10:5-7 of the quotation from Psalm 40 on a LXX translation of the Hebrew oznayim with sooma.

Through a review of selected quotations, their Old Testament context, any differences between the Hebrew and Greek text and the writer’s possible amendments and his hermeneutical use of these quotations, this study test the hypothesis that the writer did have an understanding of Hebrew and did respect the Old Testament context of his quotations.

It is concluded this hypothesis provides a good explanation of the analysed evidence.

• Item Type: Thesis (MTh(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Hebrews, Old Testament quotations, LXX dependency, hermeneutics.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BS The Bible
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Theology and Religious Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Macleod, Professor John Angus
• Date of Award: 2011
• Depositing User: Mr Adam de Jong
• Unique ID: glathesis:2011-2329
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 28 Jan 2011
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 13:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/2329