Solidarity perfected beneficent christology in the Epistle to the Hebrews - McCruden, Kevin B. (W. de Gruyter, 2008)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Introduction -- The lexical and theological terms of the debate -- Perfection as glorification -- Perfection as cultic consecration -- Perfection as moral/ethical development -- Perfection as vocational/experiential qualification -- A new proposal : the material application of perfection as definitive attestation -- The techinical usage of tekeiom in the non-literary papyri -- Perfection as definitive attestation -- Perfection as definitive attestation in relation to the christology of Hebrews -- Beneficent christology : the son's solidarity with the faithful -- Heracles imagery and the motif of divine beneficence -- The relevance of Heracles imagery for Hebrews' portrait of Jesus -- Christ's perfection as the philanthropia of the son attested and displayed -- Philanthropia as christological key : preliminary remarks -- Philanthropia as a human virtue -- Philanthropia as a divine virtue : the testimonies of Asclepius -- Philo and Philanthropia : a precedent for Hebrews beneficent portrait of Christ -- Hebrews' relationship to Philo and hellenistic Judaism -- High priestly christology and divine beneficence -- A high priesthood of intimate presence -- Christ's self-commitment to the faithful and the perfection of divine solidarity -- The social setting and audience of Hebrews -- The literary character of Hebrews
This monograph examines the concept of Jesus' perfection in the Epistle to the Hebrews in relation to the broader theological themes of divine beneficence and divine "philanthropia". Three times in Hebrews Jesus is described as being perfected (Hebrews 2:10, 5:9, 7:28), and in two of these instances (Hebrews 2:10, 5:8-9) the author explicitly links the theme of Jesus' suffering to the content of his perfection. By examining representative selections of Greek non-literary papyri, this study argues that the customary application of the Greek verb te?e??? to denote the idea of legal not