Jason Whitlark | Baylor University - Academia.edu

The primary thesis for this paper is that the author of Hebrews presents Christ-followers as citi... more The primary thesis for this paper is that the author of Hebrews presents Christ-followers as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem who are being naturalized by the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus, the priest-king of the coming city. The author emphasizes the new-covenant promise that God will write his laws on the hearts and minds of his people. By representing the heavenly Jerusalem’s polity in this manner, Hebrews appears to participate in idyllic expectations of the ancient Mediterranean world where ideal citizens are portrayed as spontaneously responsive to the divine law without the need for written laws. To demonstrate this thesis, I examine how pagans represented idyllic pasts or utopian hopes of law-abiding citizens who did not require written codes. Furthermore, early Christians, like Paul and Justin Martyr, represent new-covenant realities among Christ-communities in terms that resemble these idyllic and utopian expectations for law-abiding citizenry. Additionally, the author of Hebrews employs a common motif that an ideal society of law-abiding citizens is formed and empowered by the presence of the ideal king. This study, then, shows how Hebrews elevates the status of its marginalized community, understands divine transformation among its audience, presents Jesus as the ideal king of the new-covenant community, and provides a perspective for modern refugee crises.

This essay looks at select issues on the reception of the Letter to the Hebrews up to the post-Re... more This essay looks at select issues on the reception of the Letter to the Hebrews up to the post-Reformation era. The topics considered in the essay are readmittance of the lapsed, Christian speculation about Melchizedek, the humanity of Christ, and influence upon art and literature.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2024

In this study, we survey six factors encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of Heb 13:9–10: (1)... more In this study, we survey six factors encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of Heb 13:9–10: (1) the broader context of Hebrews and its warning against idolatry; (2) the understanding of βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν in 13:9 as literal nourishment; (3) the conceptualization of the table of the Lord’s Supper as a θυσιαστήριον in early Christianity; (4) the similar triangulation in 1 Corinthians 10 of the Lord’s Supper and the Levitical altar over against food associated with idols; (5) the story of the wilderness generation’s craving for the foods of Egypt as background; and (6) the social function of the Lord’s Supper as an instrument for addressing hunger in early Christianity. Considered collectively, these factors suggest that Heb 13:9–10 encourages looking to the Lord’s Supper, and not idolatrous, pagan “foods,” for nourishment. The passage highlights through a comparison with Levitical priests the reasons for doing so all the more. In these regards, Heb 13:9–10 recapitulates in brief form the a minore ad maius comparative argument featured at length throughout the speech. Thus, these considerations, in addition to encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of these verses, contribute to the thesis that Hebrews is concerned not with reversion to non-Christian Judaism but, rather, reversion to pagan, imperial culture.

Novum Testamentum, 2023

This study interprets the numerous veiled references of Hebrews 13:7-14 against the general probl... more This study interprets the numerous veiled references of Hebrews 13:7-14 against the general problem addressed in the body of the speech, namely, the temptation to apostasy posed by the idolatrous, imperial culture. Specifically, the authors of this study argue that Heb 13:9 warns against idolatry and allegiance to pagan, imperial power broadly, and that the whole of 13:7-14 is a summons to embrace suffering by rejecting such identification in view of God's promised future. Βρώματα, the authors argue, is shorthand for foods associated with pagan tables and imperial largesse. βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν is an expression commonly used to depict literal nourishment, and in contexts where hunger was a real threat. Due to the perennial problems of food scarcity and chronic hunger, and to the critical role that foods derived from pagan and imperial sources played in alleviating these problems, the recipients of Hebrews likely were tempted to eat of these foods.

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2023

Mark’s portrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane has been a source of theological reflection and consterna... more Mark’s portrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane has been a source of theological reflection and consternation from the beginning. This essay has a limited purpose to reexamine Mark’s account of Jesus in Gethsemane from the perspective in which Jesus’s emotional struggle over his destiny could have had an elevating effect for ancient audiences inclined to see Jesus as their hero. Sandnes connects this portrayal to the righteous sufferer in the Hebrew Scriptures and other Second-Temple Jewish texts. If we also consider the Markan Jesus in light of Virgil’s epic depiction of Aeneas’s own struggles with his destiny and the rhetoric of praise surrounding difficult acts, then we may further see an amplification of the Markan Jesus’s piety in Gethsemane.

Journal of Theological Studies, 2022

This study examines the debated questions of whether and to what extent the author of Hebrews emp... more This study examines the debated questions of whether and to what extent the author of Hebrews employs Greco-Roman rhetorical topoi of praise in the speech's various theological portraits. The study compares and contrasts five epideictic pieces in Hebrews, demonstrating the common topical template employed in their composition, the compositional tendencies evident among them, and the conformity of these tendencies to Greco-Roman rhetorical convention. The evidence points to a writer who is consciously following rhetorical convention at every turn. In the light of these findings, the study then addresses several questions that collectively contribute to scholarly doubt about the author's use of topoi.

This essay will first look at Greco-Roman associations and highlight three typical characteristic... more This essay will first look at Greco-Roman associations and highlight three typical characteristics of associations—namely, cultic elements and honors, Roman imperial expressions of allegiance, and surveillance and discipline of their members. Second, Greco-Roman associations often met in neighborhoods and from there drew their membership. We will specifically consider vici (neighborhoods) in Rome after the Augustan reforms in 7 BCE. The reason for this is that this essay works with the assumptions that the community addressed in Hebrews is made up of converted pagans who lived and gathered in one of the Roman neighborhoods in the latter half of the first century, likely post-70 CE. Finally, we will consider what may have proved problematic to these Christ followers, who heard the Christ-exalting, deliberative focus of Hebrews and are living in one of these neighborhoods with its resident associations. Moreover, we will consider what recourse these neighborhoods with their associations might take towards a dissident group in their midst that would explain the type of encounters with suffering which are described in Hebrews.

This essay is an adaptation of a previously published essay with an eye toward performance critic... more This essay is an adaptation of a previously published essay with an eye toward performance criticism.

Practicing Intertextuality: Ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman Exegetical Techniques in the New Testament, 2021

One area from the Greco-Roman world that has proven illuminating to the study of Hebrews has been... more One area from the Greco-Roman world that has proven illuminating to the study of Hebrews has been classical rhetoric.  Several dimensions of classical rhetoric have been explored in Hebrews—arrangement, characterization, style, vivid descriptions, and figured critique to name only a few. Notably, one area in the examination of classical rhetoric and Hebrews that has gained little attention has been humor and its role in declamation. The topic is treated at length by the Latin theorists Cicero and Quintilian. According to rhetorical theorists, humor was an effective strategy in rousing emotions, attacking an opponent, or targeting foolish actions. One topic of humor was the incongruity of exchanges. In addition to its characterization in the rhetorical handbooks, incongruous humorous exchanges are found in Homer’s Iliad, Lucian's Toxaris, and especially Aristophanes’s comedy, Aves. Similar tendencies are present in Hebrews 12:16. In Hebrews 12:16, the author of Hebrews possibly engages in a little bit of humor through the example of Esau. Specifically, through a clever choice of words and emphasis upon the foolish incongruity in the exchange of Esau's birthright for temporary relief of hunger, the author of Hebrews wittily points out the absurdity of apostasy. Moreover, this engagement with the emotions comes at a point where the theorists specifically recommend the arousing of emotions—in a peroratio or, in the case of Heb 12:16, a secondary peroratio. The function of such a shaft of wit in the very serious discourse of Hebrews would have been to diminish the temptation to leave the community because it is ridiculed as an absurd choice in light of the “birthright” that the community has through the Son. This strategic use of humor supports the deliberative focus of the discourse of Hebrews that encourages perseverance in the confession of the Son and ongoing identification with the suffering of the community. Additionally, modern studies of humor have emphasized that shared humor helps create and maintain community identity and solidarity.

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2021

Among early Christian iconography, the anchor appears in catacombs of the imperial city from the ... more Among early Christian iconography, the anchor appears in catacombs of the imperial city from the end of the second century through the third century. Many observers of this phenomenon have assumed a connection between the use of anchors as a Christian symbol in the Roman catacombs and Heb 6:18-20a. There has, however, been some recent contestation of this assumed association. This article will attempt to place on firmer footing the association between Hebrews and funerary anchors in Rome, namely that the presence of anchors in the catacombs of Rome can reasonably be attributed to the influence of Hebrews among Christ-followers in Rome.

Updated version with pictures found in “Hope for Life after Death: Hebrews and the Origin of Christian Funerary Anchor Iconography in the Catacombs of Rome." Pages 107-142 in Early Christians and Their Art. Edited by Mikeal C. Parsons and Robin M. Jensen. Emory Studies in Early Christianity 27. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2023.

Journal of Biblical Literature, 2012

Journal for The Study of The New Testament, 2012

The Letter to 'the Hebrews' is concerned with the ultimate allegiance of its Christian audience. ... more The Letter to 'the Hebrews' is concerned with the ultimate allegiance of its Christian audience. Scholarship on Hebrews, however, is not unanimous regarding the nature of the pressures and temptations which endangered that allegiance. An intertextual examination of many of the septuagintal quotations and allusions used in the warnings against infidelity in Hebrews can provide a fresh perspective on this debate. These quotations and images from the Septuagint draw upon texts that warn against idolatry. Jewish and Christian polemic against idolatry was typically employed to resist compromise with the pagan milieu. This article will argue that by employing these septuagintal texts against idolatry, the author of Hebrews is fortifying his audience against assimilating to its pagan context.

New Testament Studies, 2012

New Testament Studies, 2011

Getting Saved: The Wole Story of Salvation in the New Testament, 2011

This essay examines the soteriology of “getting in” and “staying in” in Hebrews. What will be dem... more This essay examines the soteriology of “getting in” and “staying in” in Hebrews. What will be demonstrated is that “getting in” is grounded in God’s gracious election while “staying in” is grounded in God’s enablement of fidelity foretold in Jeremiah’s prophecy of a new covenant. Hebrews, however, interprets the accomplishment of the inward empowerment promised in the new covenant through Jesus’ purification of the conscience that brings the believer into God’s presence where he or she finds ongoing grace and mercy. The association of divine enablement for faithfulness with inward purification is not new in Hebrews but is grounded in the Jewish scriptures that are central to the thought world of Hebrews.

Horizons in Biblical Theology, 2010

The primary thesis for this paper is that the author of Hebrews presents Christ-followers as citi... more The primary thesis for this paper is that the author of Hebrews presents Christ-followers as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem who are being naturalized by the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus, the priest-king of the coming city. The author emphasizes the new-covenant promise that God will write his laws on the hearts and minds of his people. By representing the heavenly Jerusalem’s polity in this manner, Hebrews appears to participate in idyllic expectations of the ancient Mediterranean world where ideal citizens are portrayed as spontaneously responsive to the divine law without the need for written laws. To demonstrate this thesis, I examine how pagans represented idyllic pasts or utopian hopes of law-abiding citizens who did not require written codes. Furthermore, early Christians, like Paul and Justin Martyr, represent new-covenant realities among Christ-communities in terms that resemble these idyllic and utopian expectations for law-abiding citizenry. Additionally, the author of Hebrews employs a common motif that an ideal society of law-abiding citizens is formed and empowered by the presence of the ideal king. This study, then, shows how Hebrews elevates the status of its marginalized community, understands divine transformation among its audience, presents Jesus as the ideal king of the new-covenant community, and provides a perspective for modern refugee crises.

This essay looks at select issues on the reception of the Letter to the Hebrews up to the post-Re... more This essay looks at select issues on the reception of the Letter to the Hebrews up to the post-Reformation era. The topics considered in the essay are readmittance of the lapsed, Christian speculation about Melchizedek, the humanity of Christ, and influence upon art and literature.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2024

In this study, we survey six factors encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of Heb 13:9–10: (1)... more In this study, we survey six factors encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of Heb 13:9–10: (1) the broader context of Hebrews and its warning against idolatry; (2) the understanding of βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν in 13:9 as literal nourishment; (3) the conceptualization of the table of the Lord’s Supper as a θυσιαστήριον in early Christianity; (4) the similar triangulation in 1 Corinthians 10 of the Lord’s Supper and the Levitical altar over against food associated with idols; (5) the story of the wilderness generation’s craving for the foods of Egypt as background; and (6) the social function of the Lord’s Supper as an instrument for addressing hunger in early Christianity. Considered collectively, these factors suggest that Heb 13:9–10 encourages looking to the Lord’s Supper, and not idolatrous, pagan “foods,” for nourishment. The passage highlights through a comparison with Levitical priests the reasons for doing so all the more. In these regards, Heb 13:9–10 recapitulates in brief form the a minore ad maius comparative argument featured at length throughout the speech. Thus, these considerations, in addition to encouraging a eucharistic interpretation of these verses, contribute to the thesis that Hebrews is concerned not with reversion to non-Christian Judaism but, rather, reversion to pagan, imperial culture.

Novum Testamentum, 2023

This study interprets the numerous veiled references of Hebrews 13:7-14 against the general probl... more This study interprets the numerous veiled references of Hebrews 13:7-14 against the general problem addressed in the body of the speech, namely, the temptation to apostasy posed by the idolatrous, imperial culture. Specifically, the authors of this study argue that Heb 13:9 warns against idolatry and allegiance to pagan, imperial power broadly, and that the whole of 13:7-14 is a summons to embrace suffering by rejecting such identification in view of God's promised future. Βρώματα, the authors argue, is shorthand for foods associated with pagan tables and imperial largesse. βεβαιοῦσθαι τὴν καρδίαν is an expression commonly used to depict literal nourishment, and in contexts where hunger was a real threat. Due to the perennial problems of food scarcity and chronic hunger, and to the critical role that foods derived from pagan and imperial sources played in alleviating these problems, the recipients of Hebrews likely were tempted to eat of these foods.

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2023

Mark’s portrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane has been a source of theological reflection and consterna... more Mark’s portrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane has been a source of theological reflection and consternation from the beginning. This essay has a limited purpose to reexamine Mark’s account of Jesus in Gethsemane from the perspective in which Jesus’s emotional struggle over his destiny could have had an elevating effect for ancient audiences inclined to see Jesus as their hero. Sandnes connects this portrayal to the righteous sufferer in the Hebrew Scriptures and other Second-Temple Jewish texts. If we also consider the Markan Jesus in light of Virgil’s epic depiction of Aeneas’s own struggles with his destiny and the rhetoric of praise surrounding difficult acts, then we may further see an amplification of the Markan Jesus’s piety in Gethsemane.

Journal of Theological Studies, 2022

This study examines the debated questions of whether and to what extent the author of Hebrews emp... more This study examines the debated questions of whether and to what extent the author of Hebrews employs Greco-Roman rhetorical topoi of praise in the speech's various theological portraits. The study compares and contrasts five epideictic pieces in Hebrews, demonstrating the common topical template employed in their composition, the compositional tendencies evident among them, and the conformity of these tendencies to Greco-Roman rhetorical convention. The evidence points to a writer who is consciously following rhetorical convention at every turn. In the light of these findings, the study then addresses several questions that collectively contribute to scholarly doubt about the author's use of topoi.

This essay will first look at Greco-Roman associations and highlight three typical characteristic... more This essay will first look at Greco-Roman associations and highlight three typical characteristics of associations—namely, cultic elements and honors, Roman imperial expressions of allegiance, and surveillance and discipline of their members. Second, Greco-Roman associations often met in neighborhoods and from there drew their membership. We will specifically consider vici (neighborhoods) in Rome after the Augustan reforms in 7 BCE. The reason for this is that this essay works with the assumptions that the community addressed in Hebrews is made up of converted pagans who lived and gathered in one of the Roman neighborhoods in the latter half of the first century, likely post-70 CE. Finally, we will consider what may have proved problematic to these Christ followers, who heard the Christ-exalting, deliberative focus of Hebrews and are living in one of these neighborhoods with its resident associations. Moreover, we will consider what recourse these neighborhoods with their associations might take towards a dissident group in their midst that would explain the type of encounters with suffering which are described in Hebrews.

This essay is an adaptation of a previously published essay with an eye toward performance critic... more This essay is an adaptation of a previously published essay with an eye toward performance criticism.

Practicing Intertextuality: Ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman Exegetical Techniques in the New Testament, 2021

One area from the Greco-Roman world that has proven illuminating to the study of Hebrews has been... more One area from the Greco-Roman world that has proven illuminating to the study of Hebrews has been classical rhetoric.  Several dimensions of classical rhetoric have been explored in Hebrews—arrangement, characterization, style, vivid descriptions, and figured critique to name only a few. Notably, one area in the examination of classical rhetoric and Hebrews that has gained little attention has been humor and its role in declamation. The topic is treated at length by the Latin theorists Cicero and Quintilian. According to rhetorical theorists, humor was an effective strategy in rousing emotions, attacking an opponent, or targeting foolish actions. One topic of humor was the incongruity of exchanges. In addition to its characterization in the rhetorical handbooks, incongruous humorous exchanges are found in Homer’s Iliad, Lucian's Toxaris, and especially Aristophanes’s comedy, Aves. Similar tendencies are present in Hebrews 12:16. In Hebrews 12:16, the author of Hebrews possibly engages in a little bit of humor through the example of Esau. Specifically, through a clever choice of words and emphasis upon the foolish incongruity in the exchange of Esau's birthright for temporary relief of hunger, the author of Hebrews wittily points out the absurdity of apostasy. Moreover, this engagement with the emotions comes at a point where the theorists specifically recommend the arousing of emotions—in a peroratio or, in the case of Heb 12:16, a secondary peroratio. The function of such a shaft of wit in the very serious discourse of Hebrews would have been to diminish the temptation to leave the community because it is ridiculed as an absurd choice in light of the “birthright” that the community has through the Son. This strategic use of humor supports the deliberative focus of the discourse of Hebrews that encourages perseverance in the confession of the Son and ongoing identification with the suffering of the community. Additionally, modern studies of humor have emphasized that shared humor helps create and maintain community identity and solidarity.

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2021

Among early Christian iconography, the anchor appears in catacombs of the imperial city from the ... more Among early Christian iconography, the anchor appears in catacombs of the imperial city from the end of the second century through the third century. Many observers of this phenomenon have assumed a connection between the use of anchors as a Christian symbol in the Roman catacombs and Heb 6:18-20a. There has, however, been some recent contestation of this assumed association. This article will attempt to place on firmer footing the association between Hebrews and funerary anchors in Rome, namely that the presence of anchors in the catacombs of Rome can reasonably be attributed to the influence of Hebrews among Christ-followers in Rome.

Updated version with pictures found in “Hope for Life after Death: Hebrews and the Origin of Christian Funerary Anchor Iconography in the Catacombs of Rome." Pages 107-142 in Early Christians and Their Art. Edited by Mikeal C. Parsons and Robin M. Jensen. Emory Studies in Early Christianity 27. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2023.

Journal of Biblical Literature, 2012

Journal for The Study of The New Testament, 2012

The Letter to 'the Hebrews' is concerned with the ultimate allegiance of its Christian audience. ... more The Letter to 'the Hebrews' is concerned with the ultimate allegiance of its Christian audience. Scholarship on Hebrews, however, is not unanimous regarding the nature of the pressures and temptations which endangered that allegiance. An intertextual examination of many of the septuagintal quotations and allusions used in the warnings against infidelity in Hebrews can provide a fresh perspective on this debate. These quotations and images from the Septuagint draw upon texts that warn against idolatry. Jewish and Christian polemic against idolatry was typically employed to resist compromise with the pagan milieu. This article will argue that by employing these septuagintal texts against idolatry, the author of Hebrews is fortifying his audience against assimilating to its pagan context.

New Testament Studies, 2012

New Testament Studies, 2011

Getting Saved: The Wole Story of Salvation in the New Testament, 2011

This essay examines the soteriology of “getting in” and “staying in” in Hebrews. What will be dem... more This essay examines the soteriology of “getting in” and “staying in” in Hebrews. What will be demonstrated is that “getting in” is grounded in God’s gracious election while “staying in” is grounded in God’s enablement of fidelity foretold in Jeremiah’s prophecy of a new covenant. Hebrews, however, interprets the accomplishment of the inward empowerment promised in the new covenant through Jesus’ purification of the conscience that brings the believer into God’s presence where he or she finds ongoing grace and mercy. The association of divine enablement for faithfulness with inward purification is not new in Hebrews but is grounded in the Jewish scriptures that are central to the thought world of Hebrews.

Horizons in Biblical Theology, 2010

Inventing Hebrews examines a perennial topic in the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, its struc... more Inventing Hebrews examines a perennial topic in the study of the Letter to the Hebrews, its structure and purpose. Michael Wade Martin and Jason A. Whitlark undertake at thorough synthesis of the ancient theory of invention and arrangement, providing a new account of Hebrews' design. The key to the speech's outline, the authors argue, is in its use of 'disjointed' arrangement, a template ubiquitous in antiquity but little discussed in modern biblical studies. This method of arrangement accounts for the long-observed pattern of alternating epideictic and deliberative units in Hebrews as blocks of narratio and argumentatiorespectively. Thus the 'letter' may be seen as a conventional speech arranged according to the expectations of ancient rhetoric (exordium, narratio, argumentatio, peroratio), with epideictic comparisons of old and new covenant representatives (narratio) repeatedly enlisted in amplification of what may be viewed as the central argument of the speech (argumentatio), the recurring deliberative summons for perseverance. Resolving a long-standing conundrum, this volume offers a hermeneutical tool necessary for interpreting Hebrews, as well as countless other speeches from Greco-Roman antiquity.
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1. Structuring Hebrews: modern approaches to an ancient text

Part I. Laying the Foundation – Syncrisis in Hebrew:
2. Comparing covenants: the syncritical backbone of Hebrews
3. Choosing the advantageous: deliberative syncrisis and epideictic syncrisis in Hebrews

Part II. Arranging the Speech – The Ancient Rhetorical Design of Hebrews:
4. Arranging an ancient speech: ancient compositional theory and a proposal for modern analysis
5. Proving the case: argumentatio in Hebrews
6. Presenting the facts relevant to the case: narratio in Hebrews
7. Beginning with favor: exordium in Hebrews
8. Ending with recapitulation and emotion: Peroratio in Hebrews
9. Putting it all together: the rhetorical arrangement and aim of Hebrews
10. Examining implications: Early Christian sermons and apostasy in Hebrews.

This book offers a fresh reading about the purpose for which Hebrews was written. In this book Wh... more 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.

1. Introduction: Hebrews and Its Imperial Context
2. Rhetoric of Resistance: Figured Speech and the Critique of Imperial Power
3. Resisting Assimilation: The Warning against Idolatry
4. Resisting Assimilation: A Better Hope
5. Resisting Imperial Claims: The Eternal City and Its Ruler
6. Resisting Imperial Claims: Jesus' Defeat of the Devil
7. Resisting Imperial Claims: Jesus' Herculean Labor of Liberation
8. Resisting Imperial Claims: Answering the Theodical Challenge of Flavian Triumph
9. Conclusion

Interpretation and the Claims of the Text combines the writings of more than a dozen prominent bi... more Interpretation and the Claims of the Text combines the writings of more than a dozen prominent biblical scholars to elucidate the theological building blocks for the New Testament. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Mikeal C. Parsons, Jason A. Whitlark, Loveday Alexander, Warren Carter, Sharyn Dowd, Amy-Jill Levine, Bruce W. Longenecker, Frank J. Matera, David P. Moessner, Alicia D. Myers, Lidija Novakovic, Todd D. Still, C. Clifton Black, and R. Alan Culpepper chart the waters of creation and humanity, the problems of sin, Christ’s redemptive power, and God’s overarching plan for humankind. Students and scholars alike will benefit from their exegetical groundwork, perceptive discussion, and enlightening conclusions. Interpretation and the Claims of the Text illuminates multiple points of departure for further exploration of the depths of New Testament texts. 

1 Interpreting the Claims of the New Testament: The Life and Scholarship of Charles H. Talbert
Sharyn Dowd and Alicia D. Myers

Claims about God
2 The God Who Raised Jesus from the Dead: Toward a Theology of Resurrection
Lidija Novakovic

3 The “Glory of God” in Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Beverly Roberts Gaventa

Claims about the Human Condition
4 “The World Was My Oyster but I Used the Wrong Fork” (Oscar Wilde): The Parable of the Pearl Reopened
Amy-Jill Levine

5 The Problem of Evil in the Gospel of John
R. Alan Culpepper

6 Placing Pain in a Pauline Frame: Considering Suffering in Romans 5 and 8
Todd D. Still

Claims about Creation and Human Destiny
7 Endzeit als Urzeit: Mark and Creation Theology
C. Clifton Black

8 Conformed to the Image of God’s Own Son: The Goal of God’s Redemptive Plan according to the Pauline Epistles
Frank J. Matera

9 Cosmology and the Perfection of Humanity in Hebrews
Jason A. Whitlark

Claims about the Christian Community
10 Luke and the Heritage of Israel
Mikeal C. Parsons

11 The Love of God (Romans 5:5): Expansive Syntax and Theological Polyvalence
Bruce W. Longenecker

12 Diakonia, the Ephesian Comma, and the Ministry of All Believers
Loveday Alexander

13 The Living Resources of Early Christology: Papias and the Gospel of Mark
David P. Moessner

Claims about Empire
14 The Question of the State and the State of the Question: The Roman Empire and New Testament Theologies
Warren Carter

What does it mean to "get saved"? Is conversion a gift of God's grace but the post-conversion Chr... more What does it mean to "get saved"? Is conversion a gift of God's grace but the post-conversion Christian life in our own hands? Is the covenant relationship sustained by a sense of personal gratitude for God's past gift of conversion -- or is post-conversion faithfulness itself an ongoing gift from God? In this book Charles H. Talbert and Jason A. Whitlark, together with Andrew E. Arterbury, Clifford A. Barbarick, Scott J. Hafemann, and Michael W. Martin, address such questions about God's role in the Christian's life. Through careful, consistent exegesis of relevant New Testament texts, they show that "getting saved" involves both God's forgiveness and God's enablement to obey -- or "new covenant piety" -- from initial conversion to eschatological salvation.

Introduction
Jason A. Whitlark

Part I. Pauline Corpus
Charles H. Talbert, Paul, Judaism, and the Revisionists

Jason A. Whitlark, Enabling Χάρις: Transforming of the Convention of Reciprocity by Philo and in Ephesians

Charles H. Talbert, Between Two Epiphanies: Clarifying One Aspect of Soteriology in the Pastoral Epistles

Jason A. Whitlark, Fidelity and New Covenant Enablement in Hebrews

Part II. Gospels
Charles H. Talbert, Indicative and Imperative in Matthean Soteriology

Michael W. Martin, Salvation, Grace, and Isaiah’s New Exodus in Mark

Andrew E. Arterbury, “I Have Prayed for You”: Divine Enablement in the Gospel of Luke

Charles H. Talbert, The Fourth Gospel’s Soteriology between Birth and Resurrection

Part III. Catholic Epistles
Jason A. Whitlark, Ἔμφυτος Λόγος: A New Covenant Motif in the Letter of James

Clifford A. Barbarick, Milk to Grow on: The Example of Christ in 1 Peter

Scott J. Hafemann, The (Un)conditionality of Salvation: The Theological Logic of 2 Peter 1:8–10a

Part IV. Revelation
Charles H. Talbert, Divine Assistance and Enablement of Human Faithfulness in the Revelation of John Viewed within Its Apocalyptic Context

In Enabling Fidelity to God, Jason Whitlark has produced a stunningly fresh reading of Hebrews in... more In Enabling Fidelity to God, Jason Whitlark has produced a stunningly fresh reading of Hebrews in its larger Greco-Roman context. Recent scholarship tends to read the soteriology of Hebrews as reflecting, indeed embracing, the Greco-Roman practice of benefaction and the assumptions of reciprocity that undergird it. In the reading of Hebrews, humans respond in gratitude to God's merciful and beneficent acts in an interdependent, mutually reinforcing circle of salvation. Through a remarkable mastery of primary and secondary sources, Whitlark shows rather that Hebrews, in a direct challenge to the reciprocity system, argues that human fidelity to God is utterly and absolutely predicated upon God's divine enablement.

Chapter 1 - Introduction
                    Two Means of Fidelity: Reciprocity and Enablement
                    Benefaction and Partronage: Previous Applications to Interpretation
                    Method: Reading with the Authorial Audience                 
Chapter 2 - The Historical Context of Hebrews
                    A Characterization of Reciprocity
                    The Anthropological Assumption of Reciprocity
Chapter 3 - The Religious Background of Hebrews
                      Divine -Human Reciprocity Relationship in the Jewish Milieu
                      Consequences of Anthropological Assumptions in the Jewish Milieu
Chapter 4 - Fidelity in Hebrews
                      Hebrews and Its Milieu: Echoes of Benefaction in Hebrews
                      The Religious Appropriation of Benefaction/Patronage: Two Models
                      Interpreting Fidelity in Hebrews: A Critique of the Reciprocity Model
                      Interpreting Fidelity in Hebrews: Divine Enablement and Anthropological
                          Assumption in Hebrews
Chapter 5 - Conclusion

The core argument of this book can also be accessed in the book chapter "Fidelity and New Covenant Enablement in Hebrews."