Hebrews 1–8 (Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 47a | WBC)

Top Highlights

“The cumulative weight of the evidence points to men and women who participate in a small house fellowship, loosely related to other house churches in an urban setting, whose theological vocabulary and conceptions were informed by the rich legacy of hellenistic Judaism.” (Page lv)

“The social and religious roots of this community are almost certainly to be traced to the Jewish quarters and to participation in the life of a hellenistic synagogue.” (Page liv)

“The force of the expression in Hebrews is to characterize the Son as the one through whom God spoke his final and decisive word.” (Page 11)

“The purpose of Hebrews is to strengthen, encourage, and exhort the tired and weary members of a house church to respond with courage and vitality to the prospect of renewed suffering in view of the gifts and resources God has lavished upon them. The writer’s intention is to address the sagging faith of men and women within the group and to remind them of their responsibility to live actively in response to God’s absolute claim upon their lives through the gospel. He urges his listeners to hold loyally to their confession of Jesus Christ as the sole mediator of salvation in a time of crisis and warns them of the judgment of God they would incur if they should renounce their Christian commitment.” (Page c)

“The allusions to Num 14 are significant because they indicate that unbelief is not a lack of faith or trust. It is the refusal to believe God. It leads inevitably to a turning away from God in a deliberate act of rejection.” (Page 86)