The New Testament

A Historical and Theological Introduction

Materials available for professors by request only

Chapter

35. The Book of Hebrews

Questions for Research and Discussion

  1. For what purpose does Hebrews appear to be written? Defend your answer in some detail.
  2. What are the various suggestions for where the readers of Hebrews were located? Which one seems most probable to you and why?
  3. What is the basic flow of the argument in Hebrews? Provide a fairly detailed outline.
  4. How often is the OT quoted or alluded to in Hebrews? Why might the author have relied on the OT this much? What might this tell us about the original readers, if anything?
  5. How might we responsibly interpret the passages of Hebrews that seem to emphasize very strongly the newness of Christianity over against Judaism? How can we hold Hebrews as Scripture while avoiding attitudes that could be confused with anti-Judaism?