Resisting Empire

Rethinking the Purpose of the Letter to "the Hebrews"

Jason A. Whitlark

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9780567666765
• eBook ISBN:
  9780567008268
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Biography

This book offers a fresh reading about the purpose for which Hebrews was written. In this book Whitlark argues that Hebrews engages both the negative pressures (persecution) and positive attractions (honor/prosperity) of its audience's Roman imperial context. Consequently, the audience of Hebrews appears to be in danger of defecting to the pagan imperial context. Due to the imperial nature of these pressures, Hebrews obliquely critiques the imperial script according to the rhetorical expectations in the first-century Mediterranean world-namely, through the use of figured speech. This critique is the primary focus of Whitlark's project. Whitlark examines Hebrews's figured response to the imperial hopes boasted by Rome along with Rome's claim to eternal rule, to the power of life and death, and to be led by the true, victorious ruler. Whitlark also makes a case for discerning Hebrews's response to the challenges of Flavian triumph. Whitlark concludes his study by suggesting that Hebrews functions much like Revelation, that is, to resist the draw of the Christians' Roman imperial context. This is done, in part, by providing a covert opposition to Roman imperial discourse. He also offers evaluation of relapse theories for Hebrews, of Hebrews's place among early Christian martyrdom, and of the nature of the resistance that Hebrews promotes.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• Acknowlegments
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1 -- INTRODUCTION: HEBREWS AND ITS IMPERIAL CONTEXT
• I. Assumptions
• II. Method
• III. Arrangement
• Chapter 2 -- THE RHETORIC OF RESISTANCE: FIGURED SPEECH AND THE CRITIQUE OF IMPERIAL POWER
• I. General Definition of Figured Speech
• II. Types of Figured Speech
• III. Conditions for the Use of Figured Speech
• IV. Effectiveness of Figured Speech
• V. Detection of Figured Speech
• VI. Figured Speech and the Roman Imperial Context
• VII. Conclusion
• Chapter 3 -- RESISTING ASSIMILATION: THE WARNING AGAINST IDOLATRY
• I. Negative Pressures and Positive Attractions in Hebrews
• II. Idol Polemic Among Early Jews and Christians
• III. Figured Use of Idol Polemic in Hebrews
• IV. Conclusion
• Chapter 4 -- RESISTING ASSIMILATION: A BETTER HOPE
• I. Figured Comparisons and an Oblique Reference
• II. A Better Oikoumene
• III. A Better Patris
• IV. A Katapausis Free of “Works”
• V. Conclusion
• Chapter 5 -- RESISTING IMPERIAL CLAIMS: THE ETERNAL CITY AND ITS RULER
• I. A City That Does Not Remain in Hebrews 13:14a
• II. The Eternity of Rome and Its Emperor
• III. The Eternal City and Its Ruler in Hebrews
• IV. Conclusion
• Chapter 6 -- RESISTING IMPERIAL CLAIMS: JESUS’ DEFEAT OF THE DEVIL
• I. The Devil as One Having the Power of Death: A Figured Reference to Roman Imperium
• II. Jesus’ Defeat of the Devil: Resistance to Coercive Imperial Power
• III. Conclusion
• Chapter 7 -- RESISTING IMPERIAL CLAIMS: JESUS’ HERCULEAN LABOR OF LIBERATION
• I. The Herculean Jesus of Hebrews
• II. The Herculean Emperors of Rome
• III. The Anti-Imperial Implications of the Herculean Jesus of Hebrews
• Chapter 8 -- RESISTING IMPERIAL CLAIMS: ANSWERING THE THEODICAL CHALLENGE OF FLAVIAN TRIUMPH
• I. Multiple Aims of a Discourse and the Theodical Aim of Hebrews
• II. The Theodical Challenge of Flavian Victory
• III. Some Jewish and Christian Responses to Flavian Victory
• IV. Hebrews’s Figured Response to Flavian Victory
• V. Implications of Hebrews’s Figured Critique of Flavian Victory
• Chapter 9 -- CONCLUSION
• I. Summary
• II. Relapse Theories and Hebrews
• III. The New Testament and Hebrews
• IV. Christian Martyrdom and Hebrews
• V. Resisting Empire and Hebrews
• Bibliography
• Index of References
• Index of Authors