The readers were exhorted, therefore, to “pay greater attention to what we have heard” (2:1) because it “was attested to us by those who heard [the Lord]” (2:3). They were advised to “consider” (3:1; 12:3), to “take care” (3:12), to “exhort one another” (3:13), to hold their confidence “firm” (3:14), to hold fast to their “confession” (4:14; 10:23). They were instructed to “recall” and “remember” (10:32), and urged to “go on toward perfection” (6:1), to show “diligence” (6:11), and to maintain faith (10:39). They were exhorted to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely” (12:1), to “run with perseverance” (12:1), to look steadily to Jesus (12:2), and to pursue peace with everyone (12:14). They were to continue exercising mutual love (13:1) and to remain free from “love of money” (13:5). Some persons had already abandoned the fellowship (10:25), and the writer cautioned the rest against neglecting to assemble. The conditions the group faced demanded such instruction, and the writer sent it in an encouraging letter flavored with the evident caring of a pastoral heart.
The Letter to the Hebrews is a dynamic restatement of the Christian faith. The message is in a sequence that reminds, informs, illuminates, warns, encourages, and challenges. The structural pattern of Hebrews is unique among the New Testament writings. Unlike the Pauline letters, which are mainly twofold in structure, with one extensive doctrinal section followed by an application section, Hebrews has several sections in which doctrinal segments alternate with exhortational application sections:
Viewed thematically, however, the letter may be outlined as follows:
Introduction: A Doctrinal Manifesto about Jesus (1:1-4)
1 God’s Son as His Supreme Agent (1:5–4:13)Superiority of the Son over Angels (1:5–2:18)The Son’s Relation to God (1:5–14)Exhortation Based on the Contrast (2:1–4)The Son’s Relation to Believers (2:5–18)Superiority of the Son over Moses and Joshua (3:1–4:13)The Son Greater than Servants in the Household (3:1–6)Exhortation Based on the Contrast (3:7 –19)The “Rest of God” Explained (4:1–10)Exhortation to Full Obedience (4:11–13)
2 Jesus the Great High Priest (4:14–10:39)The Priesthood of Jesus Introduced (4:14–10:39)The High Priestly Ministry Explained (5:1–4)Jesus as Divinely Appointed High Priest (5:5–10)Exhortation to Become Mature (5:11–6:3)The Awesome Problem of Apostasy (6:4–8)A Call to Diligence in Faith and Service (6:9–12)The Surety of Hope Set on Jesus (6:13–20)Melchizedek as Type of the Son’s Priesthood (7:1–28)Melchizedek Preceded Levitical Priesthood (7:1–10)Imperfections of the Levitical Order (7:11–19)The Perfection of Jesus as High Priest (7:20–28)The Old Covenant Contrasted with the New One (8:1–13)The Earthly Sanctuary Contrasted with the Heavenly One (9:1–28)Animal Sacrifices Contrasted with Jesus’ Death (10:1–18)Animal Sacrifices as a “Shadow” (10:1–4)Jesus’ Offering of Himself Brings Reality (10:5–18)Exhortation to Gain Real Access to God (10:19–31)Exhortation to Faith and Perseverance (10:32–39)
3 The Meaning and Necessity of Faith (11:1–12:29)Faith Defined (11:1–3)Faith Illustrated (11:4–40)Faith and Disciplined Living (12:1–11)Exhortation to Steadfastness in Faith (12:12–17)The Privileged Position of the Believer (12:18–29)
4 Concluding Remarks (13:1–25)Christian Relationships (13:1–6)Christian Duties (13:7–17)Personal Expressions (13:18–25)
1. Irenaeus of Lyon (ca. 175–ca. 202) referred to Clement as Bishop in Rome “in the third place from the apostles” (perhaps meaning that after the apostolic leadership supplied there by Peter and Paul, Clement followed Linus and Anacletus). See his Against Heresies, III.iii.3.
2. For an extended study of all the scriptures Clement used in his writing, see Donald A. Hagner, The Use of the Old and New Testament in Clement of Rome (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1973); see especially pp. 179–95 for Clement’s use of the Hebrews letter. See also Edgar J. Goodspeed, New Solutions of New Testament Problems (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1927), pp. 110–15; Ceslas Spicq, L’Epitre aux Hebreux, Vol 1 (Paris: J. Gabalda, 1952), pp. 177–78.
3. Tertullian, Prescription of Heretics 32:1–2.
4. Quotations from First Clement are from The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1, trans. by Kirsopp Lake (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912), Loeb Classical Library edition.
5. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III:iii.3. One of the better study editions is supplied by Loeb Classical Library: Vol. 1, English translation by Kirsopp Lake (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1926); Vol. 2, English translation by H. J. Lawlor and John E. L. Oulton (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932).
6. Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III.iii.5.
7. In Bk. VII.l, Eusebius referred to Dionysius as “the great bishop of the Alexandrians,” a clear indication of his esteem for that church leader whom he quoted so often and approvingly. Interestingly, Dionysius of Alexandria had been a favorite pupil of Origen, and Origen a prized pupil of Clement of Alexandria; all three had been head of the Catechetical School there, Clement from 190 to 202, Origen for twenty-eight years, and Dionysius for fourteen.
8. Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III.xxxviii.1–3.
9. Ecclesiastical History, Bk. III.xxxvii.4.
10. See the Introduction, Eusebius, The Ecclesiastical History, Vol. I, especially pp. xxxiii–xxxiv. See also J. B. Orchard, “Some Guidelines for the Interpretation of Eusebius’ Hist Eccl. 3:34–39,” in The New Testament Age: Essays in Honor of Bo Reicke, edited by William C. Weinrich (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1984), Vol. 2, pp. 393–403.
11. Alexander Souter, The Text and Canon of the New Testament (London: Duckworth, 1912), p. 178.
12. Ibid., pp. 182–97. See also Brooke Foss Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (London: Macmillan and Co., 1881 fifth edition), especially pp. 337–50, 428–55.
13. For an extract from the Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter of Athanasius, see Souter, The Text and Canon of the New Testament (London: Duckworth, 1912), Appendix E, pp. 213–17.
14. Hebrews has been positioned in many different orders within the letters of Paul. It is positioned between 2 Thessalonians and 1 Timothy in the Greek Codex Sinaiticus (4th cent.), Codex Vaticanus (4th cent.), Codex Alexandrinus (5th cent.), and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (5th Cent.). Other arrangements have been between Philippians and Philemon, after Philemon, after Titus, but always associated in some way with Paul’s works. In the earliest papyrus manuscript of Hebrews (p. 46), usually dated c. ad 200, Hebrews is positioned between Romans and 1 Corinthians. On these different positionings, see Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The Greek Text with Notes and Essays (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980 reprint = 1892), pp. xxx–xxxii. See also W. H. P. Hatch,