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‘You are a Priest Forever’: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews

‘You are a Priest Forever’: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the... 102 Book Reviews / Dead Sea Discoveries 18 (2011) 91–108 ‘You are a Priest Forever’: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Chris- tology of the Epistle to the Hebrews . By Eric Farrel Mason. STDJ 74. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008. Hardcover. Pp. xiii + 229. US$ 118.00. ISBN 9789004149878. This book is the published version of a dissertation written under the director- ship of James C. VanderKam and accepted in 2005 by the University of Notre Dame. The author treats the complex issue of a possible Jewish messianic back- ground of the High Priest and Melchisedek Christology in the letter to the Hebrews in a thorough and systematic way. The chapters are, after an Introduction (1–7): 1. Hebrews’ Presentation of Jesus as High Priest (8–39); 2. Previous Theories of the Background of the Motif (40–63); 3. Messianic Priest Traditions in Second Temple Judaism (64–137); 4. Melchizedek Traditions in Second Temple Judaism (Melchizedek in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Septuagint, in Nonbiblical Second Temple Jewish Literature, and in the Texts of the Qumran Community; 138–90); 5. The Priestly Christol- ogy of Hebrews and Qumran Traditions (191–204). The book is concluded with a bibliography (205–24) and an Index of Authors (225–29). Whereas it is obvious that the author is not able to establish any dependency on Hebrews of any early Jewish tradition, as we simply do not know enough about Hebrews or its background, the author’s comparisons with eschatological or messianic priestly and Melchisedek traditions in especially the Dead Sea Scrolls are an important contribution to a much neglected field of research. It is in these traditions that we find a shared conceptualization between a heavenly Melchisedek figure together with that of an eternal priesthood from the line of Levi and the Christology of Hebrews. Whereas it will be impossible to trace any historical link between Qumran and Hebrews, the parallels with Jesus as a heav- enly high priest in the line of Melchisedek are most noteworthy. The book is especially valuable because of its in-depth analysis of both Hebrews and the Qumran writings Rule of the Community ; Damascus Document ; Rule of the Congregation ; Rule of the Blessings ; War Scroll ; Florilegium (4Q174) and Catena (4Q177), Testimonia (4Q175); as well as of Aramaic Levi Document ; Jubilees , and Testament of Levi . It is in these detailed analyses and the careful drawing of possible parallel line of thoughts that the author excels. McGill University Gerbern S. Oegema © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/156851711X551626 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Dead Sea Discoveries Brill

‘You are a Priest Forever’: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Oegema, Gerbern S.
Dead Sea Discoveries , Volume 18 (1): 102 – Jan 1, 2011
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0929-0761
eISSN
1568-5179
DOI
10.1163/156851711X551626
Publisher site
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Abstract

102 Book Reviews / Dead Sea Discoveries 18 (2011) 91–108 ‘You are a Priest Forever’: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Chris- tology of the Epistle to the Hebrews . By Eric Farrel Mason. STDJ 74. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008. Hardcover. Pp. xiii + 229. US$ 118.00. ISBN 9789004149878. This book is the published version of a dissertation written under the director- ship of James C. VanderKam and accepted in 2005 by the University of Notre Dame. The author treats the complex issue of a possible Jewish messianic back- ground of the High Priest and Melchisedek Christology in the letter to the Hebrews in a thorough and systematic way. The chapters are, after an Introduction (1–7): 1. Hebrews’ Presentation of Jesus as High Priest (8–39); 2. Previous Theories of the Background of the Motif (40–63); 3. Messianic Priest Traditions in Second Temple Judaism (64–137); 4. Melchizedek Traditions in Second Temple Judaism (Melchizedek in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Septuagint, in Nonbiblical Second Temple Jewish Literature, and in the Texts of the Qumran Community; 138–90); 5. The Priestly Christol- ogy of Hebrews and Qumran Traditions (191–204). The book is concluded with a bibliography (205–24) and an Index of Authors (225–29). Whereas it is obvious that the author is not able to establish any dependency on Hebrews of any early Jewish tradition, as we simply do not know enough about Hebrews or its background, the author’s comparisons with eschatological or messianic priestly and Melchisedek traditions in especially the Dead Sea Scrolls are an important contribution to a much neglected field of research. It is in these traditions that we find a shared conceptualization between a heavenly Melchisedek figure together with that of an eternal priesthood from the line of Levi and the Christology of Hebrews. Whereas it will be impossible to trace any historical link between Qumran and Hebrews, the parallels with Jesus as a heav- enly high priest in the line of Melchisedek are most noteworthy. The book is especially valuable because of its in-depth analysis of both Hebrews and the Qumran writings Rule of the Community ; Damascus Document ; Rule of the Congregation ; Rule of the Blessings ; War Scroll ; Florilegium (4Q174) and Catena (4Q177), Testimonia (4Q175); as well as of Aramaic Levi Document ; Jubilees , and Testament of Levi . It is in these detailed analyses and the careful drawing of possible parallel line of thoughts that the author excels. McGill University Gerbern S. Oegema © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/156851711X551626

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Dead Sea Discoveries – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2011

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