Abstract
The central issue of the thesis concerns the basic christological problem
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, namely, the relation between the pre-existent
language and the appointment language as they are applied to the Son. The
Epistle is distinctive because it contains one of the highest (if not the highest)
and one of the lowest (if not the lowest) christologies in the NT. On the one
hand, the author speaks of the Son's humanity in some of the most graphic
terms in the NT, while on the other hand, he also speaks implicitly and
explicitly of the Son as being equal with God, thus reflecting, at least, a
binitarian view of the Godhead. The Son is pictured as being not only
appointed Son, but also as the pre-existent Son. The questions I address are: (a)
Was the Son always Son or did he become Son? (b) If he was always Son,
how could he be appointed Son?
I review critically the various solutions offered to explain this apparent
dichotomy, such as the adoptionist, kenotic, contradictionist, Arian and orthodox
solutions. The orthodox solution seems to stand closest to the christology of
Hebrews. The purpose is to present that solution in a revised, clearer and a
more convincing manner
A secondary objective is to affirm the Jewishness of this Epistle to the
Hebrews, its author and its addressees. This is achieved, on the one hand, by
demonstrating that the letter is much more a pastoral and theological letter than
a polemical treatise against Judaism, and on the other hand, by highlighting
how Jewish the methodology, the phraseolgy, the titles, the ideas and concepts
are which the author employs. The Jewishness of the Epistle makes the central
issue of this thesis, namely, the divinity of the Son, more difficult for modern
scholarship. If it was a Hellenistic piece of literature, then there would be no
problem with it calling a second person 'God' because of Greek polytheism. But
that a Jewish literary work should do so is seen as contradicting Jewish
monotheism. It is my purpose to show that first century Judaism, despite its
later 'two powers in heaven' heresy polemic, had the foundations for a
binitarian view of God.
