The Epistle to the Hebrews (The New International Greek Testament Commentary | NIGTC)

by Paul Ellingworth

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1993

Overview

This commentary series is established on the presupposition that the theological character of the New Testament documents calls for exegesis that is sensitive to theological themes as well as to the details of the historical, linguistic, and textual context. Such thorough exegetical work lies at the heart of these volumes, which contain detailed verse-by-verse commentary preceded by general comments on each section and subsection of the text.

An important aim of the NIGTC authors is to interact with the wealth of significant New Testament research published in recent articles and monographs. In this connection the authors make their own scholarly contributions to the ongoing study of the biblical text.

The text on which these commentaries are based is the UBS Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland and others. While engaging the major questions of text and interpretation at a scholarly level, the authors keep in mind the needs of the beginning student of Greek as well as the pastor or layperson who may have studied the language at some time but does not now use it on a regular basis.

This superb volume in the New International Greek Testament Commentary series provides the most detailed, definitive, and distinctive commentary on 1 Corinthians available in English to date.

The study of the Epistle to the Hebrews has traditionally been hampered by a number of factors. For example, for most of Christian history, the attribution of Hebrews to Paul has made it more difficult for readers to hear this epistle's distinctive voice. Among Gentile Christians, it has also been wrongly assumed that Hebrews is of interest only to Jews. And it has sometimes been thought that Hebrews represents a compromise or halfway stage between Judaism and Christianity, in contrast with the pure message of the Gospels and the radical Christianity of Paul. These and other factors have tended to combine to give Hebrews an undeserved reputation for obscurity.

This excellent commentary by Paul Ellingworth adeptly removes such barriers to the meaning of Hebrews, revealing the value of this complex but immensely important New Testament epistle for all readers, past and present. Ellingworth begins with a detailed study of the Greek text before working outward to consider the wider context, linguistic questions, and the relation of Hebrews to other early Christian writings and to the Old Testament. Nonbiblical writings such as Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls, though less directly related to Hebrews, are considered where appropriate.

Unveiling the discourse structure of this carefully written letter, Ellingworth's commentary helps make coherent sense of the complexities of Hebrews. As a result of his exhaustive study, Ellingworth finds Hebrews to be primarily a pastoral, not a polemical, writing. Showing how Hebrews beautifully emphasizes the supremacy of Christ, Ellingworth concludes that the essential purpose of the epistle—which maintains the continuity of God's people before and after Christ—is to encourage readers to base their lives on nothing other and nothing less than Jesus.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Paul. The idea of Pauline authorship of Hebrews is now almost universally abandoned.” (Page 3)

“The ‘impossibility’ of a second repentance is thus not psychological, or more generally related to the human condition; it is in the strict sense theological, related to God’s saving action in Christ.” (Page 323)

“The author’s approach to the OT may be summarized as follows: Christ, by whom God has now spoken his final word (1:1f.), was alive and active in creation (1:2) and throughout Israel’s history. Any part of the OT may thus in principle be understood as speaking about Christ, or as spoken to or by him. Clues within the text may show to what parts of the OT it is most appropriate to apply this principle in practice. Indeed, since Christ was already at work in OT times, even an OT text without a future reference (such as Ps. 40:6–8 = Heb. 10:5–7) may be applied to Christ.” (Pages 41–42)

“ is generalized to ‘greater,’ and often includes the meaning ‘better’” (Pages 104–105)

“The mutual care which the author has commended to his readers in v. 24 cannot be sustained unless members of the Christian community meet to encourage and exhort one another. Failure to do so is associated with apostasy (vv. 26–28), though the author does not claim a direct causal link between the two.” (Pages 527–528)

Awards for the Print Edition

• Christianity Today: Number 3 Critics Choice for Commentaries (1994)

Endorsements

A gold mine of information for any New Testament scholar who has an interest in Hebrews...A superb volume.

—Themelios

Ellingworth offers a thorough survey of scholarship on introductory issues and informed, theologically sensitive commentary on the Greek text of Hebrews.

—The Bible Today

An ornament to The New International Greek Testament Commentary...A refreshing challenge to all who take the Greek text seriously.

—Reformed Theological Review

The commentary contributes to an understanding of the epistle, especially from the technical side...[The author] directs considerable attention to the matters of textual variants, manuscript evidence, and extra-biblical documents, with a resultant interruption of the flow of both text and context. The work's contribution can be significant, but probably only to more serious students.

—A Translator's Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews and author of the volume on Hebrews in the Epworth Commentaries

Product Details

• Title: The Epistle to the Hebrews
• Author: Paul Ellingworth
• Series: New International Greek Testament Commentary
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1993
• Logos Release Date: 2005
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. Hebrews › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9780802824202, 080282420, 080282420X
• Resource ID: LLS:29.63.17
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-24T16:08:54Z

About Paul Ellingworth

Paul Ellingworth is translation consultant for the United Bible Societies in the United Kingdom and an honorary lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen. He is also the coauthor of A Translator's Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews and author of the volume on Hebrews in the Epworth Commentaries series.