The Sabbath and the Sanctuary: Access to God in the Letter to the Hebrews and its Priestly Context (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe)

Who can enter the sacred and heavenly presence of God? And how? Various ancient Jewish and emergent Christian groups disputed these questions in the first century CE. Jared C. Calaway states that the Letter to the Hebrews joined this debate by engaging and countering priestly frameworks of sacred access that aligned the Sabbath with the sanctuary. From the Hebrew Bible through late Second Temple Judaism, the sanctity of the sanctuary could be experienced through the Sabbath, sacred space through sacred time. In its sweeping vistas of Sabbath rest and the heavenly homeland, the heavenly sanctuary and the coming age, and the heavenly priesthood, Hebrews reworked this priestly framework, showing familiarity with its traditional and contemporary forms, such as the "Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice". In a manner resembling postwar layers of the emergent Christian tradition, instead of entering God's sacred and heavenly Presence through the weekly Sabbath, one could only experience the heavenly realities of the Sabbath and the sanctuary through faithfulness and obedience to Jesus, the faithful and obedient heavenly high priest who purifies, sanctifies, and perfects. Cover Preface Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: Accessing God through the Intersections of Sacred Space and Sacred Time in the Letter to the Hebrews and Its Priestly Context 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Trajectories of Research in Hebrews 1.3 The Place and Time of Hebrews in Current Scholarship 1.4 Seeking the Sabbath and the Sanctuary in Hebrews 1.4.1 Studies on Space and Time in Hebrews 1.4.2 Approaching (Sacred) Space and (Sacred) Time 1.4.3 The Sabbath and the Sanctuary in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism 1.4.4 Finding the Sabbath and the Sanctuary in Hebrews: The Argument of this Study Chapter 2: The Priestly Inheritance of Hebrews: Aligning the Sabbath and the Sanctuary in the Hebrew Bible 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Sabbath and Temple Construction: The Ancient Near Eastern Nexus 2.2.1 Emulating and Transforming the Ancient Near Eastern Narrative Pattern 2.2.2 Transforming Tradition within the Narrative Pattern 2.3 The Sabbath and the Sanctuary as Equivalent in Holiness 2.3.1 The Conjoined Veneration and Profanation of the Sabbath and the Sanctuary 2.3.1.1 Qualitative Discussion of Profanation in Ezekiel and H 2.3.1.2 Quantitative Discussion of Profanation in Ezekiel and H 2.3.2 The Punishments for Profanation: ברח, Death, and Exile 2.4 Sabbath Observance and Cultic Inclusion in Trito-Isaiah 2.5 Conclusion: Sacred Space, Sacred Time, and the Divine Presence Chapter 3: Entering God’s Sabbath Rest and the Heavenly Homeland in the Letter to the Hebrews 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Entering Sabbath Rest in Hebrews 3.2.1 Requirements for Entrance: The Faithless and the Faithful 3.2.2 The Promise Still Remains “Today” 3.2.3 From Space to Time: From Rest in the Land to Sabbath Rest 3.3 Sabbath, Land, and Rest in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism 3.3.1 Κατάπαυσις in Greek Biblical Literature 3.3.2 Extending the Sanctuary/Sabbath Correspondence: The Land and Its Sabbath 3.3.2.1 Impurity, Purgation, and the Land 3.3.3 The Sabbath as Access to the (Heavenly) Sanctuary 3.3.3.1 Philo of Alexandria: The Sabbath as Cosmic Harmony 3.3.3.2 Jubilees: The Sabbath as the Alignment between Heaven and Earth 3.3.3.3 The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: The Sabbath and the Heavenly Tabernacle 3.3.4 Sabbath, Land, and Entering Heavenly Sacred Space 3.4 Conclusion: Entering Sabbath Rest in Hebrews and Its Priestly Predecessors Chapter 4: Resituating Moses’ “Pattern” of the Tabernacle: God’s House, the Sanctuary, and the Heavenly Tent in the Letter to the Hebrews 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Heavenly Sanctuary in Hebrews 4.2.1 God’s Multivalent House 4.2.2 The Heavenly Tabernacle and Its “Pattern” in Hebrews 4.2.3 Two Tents: The Spacetime of the Tabernacle 4.2.4 Entering the Heavenly Holy of Holies 4.2.5 The Altar and Going “Outside the Camp” 4.3 The Heavenly Tabernacle in Second Temple Judaism and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 4.3.1 The Heavenly Temple in Second Temple Judaism 4.3.2 The “Pattern” of the Tabernacle in the Hebrew Bible 4.3.3 The “Pattern” of the Tabernacle in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 4.3.3.1 Song 7: The Tabernacle’s “Structure” 4.3.3.2 Song 10: The Tabernacle’s Veil: The Boundary of the Most Holy 4.3.3.3 Song 12: The Tabernacle and Structure of the Throne-Chariot 4.4 Conclusion: The Heavenly Tabernacle and Its “Pattern” in Hebrews and Its Priestly Predecessors Chapter 5: Rituals of Access: The High Priest(s) of the Heavenly Day of Atonement in the Letter to the Hebrews 5.1 Introduction: Jesus as High Priest and Priest-Maker 5.2 The Ritual Event: Coordinating Sacred Spacetime 5.3 Ritualizing Divine Access in Hebrews: Making the Heavenly High Priest(s) 5.3.1 Originator and Competer: Purifier, Sanctifier, and Perfected Perfecter 5.3.2 The Merciful and Faithful High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek 5.3.3 Spatiotemporal Implications 5.3.4 Exhortations to Heavenly Priestly Service 5.4 Ritualizing Sacred Access in the Hebrew Bible and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 5.4.1 The Day of Atonement as an Extension of the Sabbath/Sanctuary Equivalence 5.4.1.1 Impurity and Purgation: The Holy of Holies Meets the Sabbath of Sabbaths 5.4.1.2 The Day of Atonement in Festival Lists (Numbers 28–29 and Leviticus 23) 5.4.1.3 The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 5.4.2 The Ritual Alignment of Sacred Time and Heavenly Space in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 5.4.2.1 From Creation to Revelation 5.4.2.2 The Culminating Heavenly Sacrifice 5.5 Conclusion: Ritualizing Divine Access in Hebrews and Its Priestly Predecessors Chapter 6: Conclusions: The Intersection of the Sabbath and the Sanctuary in Hebrews and Its Priestly Social Contexts 6.1 How Hebrews Transforms and Heightens Sacred Spatiotemporality 6.1.1 Priestly Foundations and Adaptations in the Hebrew Bible 6.1.2 Priestly Reorientations in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 6.1.3 The Transformation of Priestly Patterns in the Letter to the Hebrews 6.2 Engaging the Contemporary Priestly Context: Hebrews and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 6.2.1 Important Differences 6.2.2 Striking Similarities 6.2.3 Implications for the Context of Hebrews: Models of Social Interactions 6.2.3.1 Scenario 1: Convulsions of War (c. 60–75 C.E.) 6.2.3.2 Scenario 2: Aftermath of War (c. 75–100 C.E.) 6.2.3.3 Scenario 3: Ongoing Priestly Conversation: The Social Implications of Who Has Access to the Sacred 6.3 Trajectories for Future Research 6.3.1 Accessing Sacred Spatiotemporality in the New Testament 6.3.2 Intersections of Sacred Space and Sacred Time in Early Christian Literature 6.3.3 Ongoing Jewish Priestly and Early Christian Interactions Bibliography Indices Index of Ancient Sources Ancient Near Eastern Texts Hebrew Bible Apocrypha New Testament Pseudepigrapha Texts from the Judean Desert Coptic Tractates Rabbinic Texts Early Church Texts Ancient Authors Index of Modern Authors Index of Hebrew Words Index of Greek Words Subject Index Who can enter the sacred and heavenly presence of God? And how? Various ancient Jewish and emergent Christian groups disputed these questions in the first century CE. Jared C. Calaway states that the Letter to the Hebrews joined this debate by engaging and countering priestly frameworks of sacred access that aligned the Sabbath with the sanctuary. From the Hebrew Bible through late Second Temple Judaism, the sanctity of the sanctuary could be experienced through the Sabbath, sacred space through sacred time in Jewish priestly writings. In a manner resembling postwar layers of the emergent Christian tradition, instead of entering God's sacred and heavenly Presence through the weekly Sabbath, one could only experience the heavenly realities of the Sabbath and the sanctuary through faithfulness and obedience to Jesus, the faithful and obedient heavenly high priest who purifies, sanctifies, and perfects. "Who can enter the sacred and heavenly presence of God? And how? Jared C. Calaway argues that the Letter to the Hebrews joined an ongoing debate between ancient Jewish and emergent Christian groups by engaging and countering priestly frameworks of sacred access that aligned the Sabbath with the sanctuary."--The jacket.