The Rhetoric of the Book of Hebrews

. INTRODUCTION

The book of Hebrews is hailed by many scholars particularly for its Christology. The authorship of this great has been a complex puzzle that scholars are yet to provide the needed solution. Roger Haln confirmed the above when he said “The literary form of the book is uncertain. The author and time of writing are unknown. The logic and flow of thought are unusual for most modern people.” Some scholars even call Hebrews as a delight for the person who enjoys puzzles.

The rhetorical skills of the author coupled with the background of the addresses make the book of Hebrews instructive for understanding of mother tongue biblical interpretation. The book of Hebrews like any other work in mother tongue uses categories, examples, and cultural assumptions best understood by addressees to communicate profound truths. Mother tongue biblical interpretation enables indigenes to build their own theology without necessarily having to think and reflect about God; in other words doing theology through other people’s cultural assumptions and language. The book of Hebrew makes a strong case for mother tongue biblical interpretation that which this paper seeks to establishes and makes a case for mother tongue biblical interpretation in Ghana. The arguments will be made considering the literary form,

BACKGROUND TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS

The document was known and quoted before the end of the first century, but not under its traditional title ‘Pros Hebraious’; the title goes back to the last quarter of the first century.

Luke Timothy Johnson has observed that cotemporary scholars find Hebrews fascinating for the subtle combination it gives to diverse philosophical and religious symbols of the first century. Indeed Hebrews is a f...

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...influence on the letter . Hebrews made use of primal world views of both Jewish and the Greeks. For instance the book of Hebrews had a dual view of the cosmos, as consisting of the heavenly and spiritual realm and the material and the mundane world. As in the primal world view, the epistle regards material and spiritual reality as the sides of one coin with logoi of Jesus . Gatumu asserts that if Hebrews perceives reality from the perspective of the primal world view, it is appropriate to interpret it using primal resources, in view of its affinity with primal religion and world view.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bob Smith, ‘Basics of Bible Interpretation, Texas: Word Books, 1978

2. James Moffatt. The Epistle to the Hebrew

INTERNET SOURCE

1. http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Hebrews.html

2. www.search-the-scriptures.org/book_of_hebrews_pt1.htm