Abstract
Karen H. Jobes has produced a historically grounded, exegetically sound, theologically rich, and evangelically confessional introduction to Hebrews and the General Epistles (James, Jude, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John). Jobes's contribution to the genre of New Testament introduction shares affinities with popular evangelical predecessors (Carson and Moo, Guthrie) in regard to the traditional questions of New Testament introduction (authorship, date, provenance, and destination). Traditional authorship is defended (except of course, for Hebrews), pseudonymity is rejected (although, see below), and early dates, within the New Testament authors’ lifetimes, are defended. Beyond these similarities, Jobes is able to give significantly more attention to the content and theological themes of the books by limiting the scope of the work to Hebrews and the General Epistles instead of trying to cover the entire New Testament in a single volume.
Jobes begins with an introductory chapter focusing on the general historical setting of the first century, a lengthy discussion of the issues surrounding pseudonymous authorship in the ancient world, the occasional nature of the letters, and the place of Hebrews and the General Epistles in the development of the canon. Jobes spends four chapters on Hebrews (on introduction, divine revelation, Christology, and soteriology) and three chapters each on James and 1 Peter (on introduction, Christology, and ethics). Jude, 2 Peter, and 1 John each receive one chapter while Jobes discusses 2 and 3 John together in her final chapter.
In addition to the main chapter topics, Jobes deals with a multitude of sub-themes along the way. In regard to Hebrews she discusses God the father, the Holy Spirit, the new covenant, the reality of heaven, dualism, faith, angelology, the use of the Old Testament, the nature, activity, superiority, and priesthood of the Son, salvation, eternal life, “perfection,” Sabbath rest, perseverance, and apostasy. Jobes's discussion of James covers the notable minor themes of testing and trials, poverty and oppression, favoritism, godly speech, faith and good deeds, the Torah, wisdom from above, echoes of the teaching of Jesus, and the Christian nature of James.
In regard to Jude, Jobes gives additional attention to Jude's use of the Old Testament and Pseudepigrapha and Jude's relationship to 2 Peter. She is surely correct to note that Jude's use of 1 Enoch does not prove that Jude viewed 1 Enoch as inspired but rather indicates its familiarity and value to his readers (p. 258). Jobes, however, does not give adequate attention to Jude's description of Enoch as “the seventh from Adam.” While this description may simply reflect accommodation to the beliefs of his readers it also seems to tie the quotation to the purported historical referent.
Jobes explores several themes in 1 Peter: the hermeneutical foundation and context of Christology, crucifixion and resurrection, the living stone, the suffering servant, the victorious savior, and the Christian's new identity and relationship to pagan society. Jobes's discussion of 2 Peter is dominated by the question of pseudonymity and although she favors Petrine authorship she is open to the possibility of a form of pseudonymous authorship. “Even the most conservative doctrine of Scripture does not allow us to prejudge whom the Holy Spirit may or may not have inspired to write, so the evidence for pseudonymous authorship needs to be seriously considered” (p. 357). Jobes seems later to nuance this statement by noting that it may apply if a close personal associate of Peter (perhaps Linus, an early Bishop of Rome) wrote to disseminate Peter's farewell sermon but would not fit the scenario of a pseudonymous author chronologically and geographically removed from Peter (pp. 366–67).
Each chapter shares a similar structure and begins with a list of learning goals for the chapter, an introduction entitled “Why this Chapter is Important to You,” a list of key verses, and a chapter outline. Each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a list of key terms, questions for review or discussion, and a brief bibliography for further study. Additionally, each chapter that introduces a new biblical book includes a section on text and canonicity and an outline of the biblical book. Jobes concludes her introduction with a student-friendly glossary, and Scripture, ancient text, author, and subject indexes. The student-friendliness of the textbook is accented by helpful maps, sidebars, and an extensive glossary of terms at the end of the book. The study questions at the end of each chapter are well thought out and would be suitable for small group discussions in class, homework assignments, or short answer exam questions.
Jobes indicates that she views Christian students to be her target audience and assumes that if unbelievers read her textbook it would be to learn more about what Christians believe the New Testament says (pp. xv, 324). Despite this limitation in target audience, Jobes exemplifies excellence in her scholarship by acknowledging her convictions while building her interpretive arguments on publically accessible, historical data, and sound historical methodology. Her textbook will be valuable for any student interested in the content, historical context, and theological meaning of these New Testament documents regardless of their religious orientation.