Abstract
For some, Hebrews’ eschatological framework is found within Philonic/middle Platonic categories, whereas others locate the text within a Jewish apocalyptic milieu. Jody Barnard’s volume, a reworking of his doctoral thesis, resists this simplistic distinction, yet still pitches Hebrews’ tent essentially within the apocalyptic camp. His contribution, however, is to move beyond the purely eschatological contours of the Philonic/apocalyptic debate, and focuses instead on Hebrews’ roots within mystical, apocalyptic traditions, drawing out the manifold connections between the letter and contemporary mystical discourse. In so doing, Barnard further ventures that Hebrews’ (mystical) discourse may be more than just a literary technique, deriving instead from actual mystagogical experience and function.
After some initial scene setting and methodological explanation, the work breaks up into three distinct sections or units. In the first of these, Barnard effectively sets Hebrews to one side, and enters into a discussion of the major sources and themes of the Jewish mystical tradition. In so doing, he both reviews the content of a number of relevant texts, and also identifies key genre concepts, notably the heavenly temple, the role of the ‘ascender’, the varying function of angels and the portrait of the enthroned God. This section is a useful survey in its own right, and readers previously unversed in Jewish apocalyptic mysticism will benefit from its discussions. The second section, though, returns to Hebrews itself, and is effectively the heart of the thesis. Treating themes of the mystical tradition in turn, Barnard examines their function and significance within the epistle. In a sequence of four chapters, he considers various features, including the function and layout of the heavenly Temple and the investiture of the Son as high priest. The latter, Barnard suggests, occurs within the heavenly arena rather than on earth, and involves the inheritance of the divine name (Heb 1:4). The volume makes much of the heavenly progression of the Son, concluding: ‘although Hebrews does not express Christ’s otherworldly journey in narrative form, a narrative of ascent is clearly presupposed’ (116). The Son’s heavenly enthronement at the climax of this narrative of ascent, along with the filial/angelic comparison, also comes under consideration. The middle section finishes with a discussion on how the mystical tradition might impact on the concept of Sabbath rest, and especially the audience’s present access to it.
The final unit of the work considers Heb 1:5-13 as a window onto the mystical orientation of the letter, and addresses specifically that unit’s use of Scripture. Challenging recent scholarship for viewing Hebrews’ exegesis here as text-orientated and contextually sensitive, Barnard proposes instead that 1:5-13 manifests a detextualized appropriation of Scripture, with the respective texts marshalled to portray God’s speech to the enthroned, divine Son, who is thus greater than angels. This is a brave and thoughtful analysis, though one might query whether the Scriptural recontextualisation of Hebrews 1 necessarily requires detextualisation, as Barnard seems to imply.