Hebrews, tHe General epistles, and revelation This volume from ForTress CommenTary on The BiBle: The neW TesTamenT includes commentary on hebrews through revelation, a general introduction to these books, and general articles on reading the new Testament through the lenses of the contemporary world, the Jewish heritage of early Christianity, the ancient and modern contexts of diaspora, and the apocalyptic legacy of early Christianity. eXaMininG . . . › anCient teXts › interpretive traditions › ConteMporarY QUestions The ForTress CommenTary on The BiBle: The neW TesTamenT sets each book of the new Testament in its his- torical and cultural context, discusses the themes in each book that have proven most important for the Christian interpretive tradition, and introduces the most pressing questions facing the responsible use of the Bible today. The result is a commentary created by renowned biblical scholars that is comprehensive and useful for gaining insights on the texts for preaching, teaching, and research. Contains introductions, notes, and comprehensive bibliogra- phies for each book. Praise for Fortress Commentary on the BiBle: the new testament “Very impressive—the best one-volume scholarly commentary on the new Testament available today.” M a rc u s J . Borg oregon state University “While most biblical commentaries of the past have focused either on the text in its original context or in contem- porary interpretation or attempted to combine the two with very little in between, this new approach takes on the three aspects of ancient context, contemporary discussion, and the middle ground of the interpretive tradition. in response to recent interest in the history of interpretation, this represents a welcome new approach that gives readers an introduction to the rich interpretive tradition that has happened over the centuries between the biblical writings and our own interaction with them.” c a roLY N o s I E K , rs c J Brite Divinity school “Unlike many commentaries, this one is more interested in stimulating a critical encounter with the biblical text than in providing a set of answers about what it once may have meant. it offers to be particularly useful to intelligent modern readers of the Bible, who respect its role as a formative text in the development of the Christian tradition, but who also approach the text sensitive to its potential dysfunction. The commentary not only invites but insists on a thoughtful response to the text. it promises to be a welcome tool for pastors and teachers seeking to encourage a thoughtful but critical engagement with the Bible.” H a roL D W. aT T r I D g E yale Divinity school The VolUme eDiTors margareT aymer, austin Presbyterian Theological seminary CynThia Briggs KiTTreDge, seminary of the southwest DaViD a. sanChez, loyola marymount University religion / BiBle / reFerenCe Fortress Commentary Hebrews, tHe General epistles, on the BiBle and revelation study edition Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation FORTRESS COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE STUDY EDITION Margaret Aymer Cynthia Briggs Kittredge David A. Sánchez Editors Fortress Press Minneapolis HEBREWS, THE GENERAL EPISTLES, AND REVELATION Fortress Commentary on the Bible Study Edition Copyright © 2016 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/ copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Excerpted from the Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Te New Testament (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014); Margaret Aymer, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, David A. Sánchez, volume editors. Fortress Press Publication Staf: Neil Elliott and Scott Tunseth, Project Editors Marissa Wold, Production Manager Laurie Ingram, Cover Design. Copyeditor: Jefrey A. Reimer Typesetter: PerfecType, Nashville, TN Proofreader: David Cottingham and Linda Maloney Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available ISBN: 978-1-5064-1593-2 eISBN: 978-1-5064-1594-9 Te paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329, 48-1984. Manufactured in the U.S.A. CONTENTS Publisher’s Note about Fortress Commentary on the Bible Study Editions vii Abbreviations ix Series Introduction 1 Reading the Christian New Testament in the Contemporary World Kwok Pui-lan 5 Negotiating the Jewish Heritage of Early Christianity Lawrence M. Wills 31 Rootlessness and Community in Contexts of Diaspora Margaret Aymer 47 T e Apocalyptic Legacy of Early Christianity David A. Sánchez 63 Introduction to Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation Neil Eliott 621 Hebrews David A. deSilva 625 James Timothy B. Cargal 655 1 Peter David L. Bartlett 667 2 Peter Pheme Perkins 685 1, 2, 3 John Jaime Clark-Soles 691 Jude Pheme Perkins 71 Revelation Barbara R. Rossing 715 v PUBLISHER’S NOTE About the Fortress Commentary on the Bible Study Editions In 2014 Fortress Press released the two-volume Fortress Commentary on the Bible. See the Series Introduction (pp. 1–3) for a look inside the creation and design of the Old Testament/Apocrypha and New Testament volumes. While each comprehensive commentary volume can easily be used in classroom settings, we also recognized that dividing the larger commentaries into smaller volumes featuring key sections of Scripture may be especially helpful for use in corresponding biblical stud- ies courses. To help facilitate such classroom use, we have broken the two-volume commentary into eight study editions. Please note that in this study edition the page numbers match the page numbers of the larger Fortress Commentary on the Bible volume in which it fi rst appeared. We have intentionally retained the same page numbering to facilitate use of the study editions and larger volumes side by side. Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation was fi rst published in Fortress Commentary on the Bible: T e New Testament. vi i ABBREVIATIONS General AT Alpha Text (of the Greek text of Esther) BOI Book of Isaiah Chr Chronicler DH Deuteronomistic History DI Deutero-Isaiah Dtr Deuteronomist Gk. Greek H Holiness Code Heb. Hebrew JPS Jewish Publication Society LXX T e Septuagint LXX B Vaticanus Text of the Septuagint MP Mode of production MT Masoretic Text NIV New International Version NRSV New Revised Standard Version OAN Oracles against Nations (in Jeremiah) P. papyrus/papyri P Priestly source PE Pastoral Epistles RSV Revised Standard Version TI Trito-Isaiah Books of the Bible (NT, OT, Apocrypha) Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Gen. Genesis Exod. Exodus Lev. Leviticus Num. Numbers Deut. Deuteronomy ix