Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Master's Theses Graduate Research 2006 The "Cosmic Covenant" in the Letter to the Hebrews Jeffrey P. Walker Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses Recommended Citation Walker, Jeffrey P., "The "Cosmic Covenant" in the Letter to the Hebrews" (2006). Master's Theses. 58. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses/58 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary THE "COSMIC COVENANT" IN THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Jeffrey P. Walker 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1438229 Copyright 2006 by Walker, Jeffrey P. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 1438229 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © Copyright by Jeffrey P. Walker 2006 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE “COSMIC COVENANT” IN THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts by Jeffrey P. Walker APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: Richard-Choi, Ph.D., Adviser 3 , 3JDOC Date approved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT THE "COSMIC COVENANT" IN THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS by Jeffrey P. Walker Adviser: P. Richard Choi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Thesis Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE "COSMIC COVENANT" IN THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS Name of researcher: Jeffrey P. Walker Name and degree of faculty adviser: P. Richard Choi, Ph.D. Date completed: May 2006 The Topic The "cosmic covenant" in Hebrews reflects three main ideas: There exists a close affinity between the letter and Enochic Judaism; the letter is a product of Roman Gentile Christianity that emerged as a response to Jewish particularists in the Second Temple covenantal debate; and the writer's cosmic perspective had the simultaneous effect of supplanting and universalizing the Jewish covenantal concept. The Purpose The thesis offered here is that Hebrews presupposes a notion of "cosmic covenant" similar to that found in Enochic Judaism. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Conclusions What has emerged is support for how the universalistic scope of 1 Enoch and its strong cosmic-eschatological outlook are framed by a reformulation of the Jewish covenant and undergirded by a critical stance toward the national cultus. These theological tendencies in the works provide an important framework for understanding the distinctiveness of the new "cosmic covenant" elaborated in the Letter to the Hebrews. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To Hannah and Esther— that you may become daughters of the "new covenant" iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE............................. vi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 Enochic Judaism and the Cosmicization of Covenant.............................. 8 The Enochic Critique of Temple and Cult............................................. 14 'Calendar'as a Symbol of Covenant in Enochic Judaism................... 17 "Sectarianism in the Context of Universalism".................................... 23 Enochic Judaism and H ebrew s ............................................................. 27 Statement of Problem.................................................................................. 31 Purpose of the Study.................................................................................... 31 II. THE COSMIC AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE AND ITS PRIESTHOOD.................................................................. 32 The Zadokite Worldview .............................................................................. 34 The 'Cosmic' T em ple.............................................................................. 35 The 'Cosmic' Priesthood.......................................................................... 41 Ritual and the Maintenance of a Symbolic Universe................................ 51 III. THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL SITUATION OF THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS......................................................................................... 62 The Roman Provenance of Hebrews........................................................... 64 Hebrews as a Product of Roman Gentile Christianity................................ 71 Temple and Priesthood in First-Century Judaism...................................... 75 IV. CHRISTIAN BAPTISM AND THE COSMIC DIMENSIONS OF THE NEW COVENANT............................................................................ 80 The Cosmic and Eschatological Significance of Christian Baptism 82 Hebrews 10:19-22 and the Typology of Baptism.................................. 84 The Cosmic Implication of Baptism in the New Testament................. 88 Baptism and the "Clothing Change" M otif................................................. 95 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V. THE "CLOTHING CHANGE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH" AND THE FORMULATION OF THE NEW 'COSMIC COVENANT’ IN HEBREWS . 102 The First Shaking of Heaven and Earth: Hebrews 1:10-12 ....................... 108 The Structure and Purpose of Hebrews 1:10-12.................................... 109 Angels, Creation, and the Two-Covenant Contrast.............................. 120 The Covenantal Significance of naAmoco in Hebrews 1:11 and 8:13 . 130 Recapitulation and Extension of the "Clothing Change" Theme 146 The Sanctuary 'Parable' in the Context of Hebrews 9:6-10....................... 151 The Scope of Hebrews 9:1-10.................................................................. 153 The Significance of the 'Parable' in Hebrews 9:9-8a .............................. 158 Christian Baptism Revisited: The New 'Cosmic' Priesthood..................... 181 VI. THE FINAL SHAKING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH: HEBREWS 12:26-28 ......................................................................................... 192 The Scope of Hebrews 12:18-29.................................................................. 194 The Coming Cosmic Quake and "Unshakable Kingdom" .......................... 197 VII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..................................................................214 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................. 224 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE In keeping with the tradition of Hebrews, this study has its own rather lengthy and complex history. After beginning studies in the Seminary, I soon became intrigued with many of the unique aspects of the letter—including its powerful language and imagery, evocative religious and philosophical symbols, unique Christology, and strong 'Jewish' ethos. As I also discovered, the "history-of-religions" tradition had produced almost a whole scholarly subdiscipline aimed at situating Hebrews within a considerable range of possible ancient religious and cultural traditions. The problem with this approach, however, was that its obsession with finding the 'right' conceptual framework of interpretation tended to cause the interpreter to overlook the text itself. Only gradually, and after several unfruitful attempts to apply theReligionsgeschichte approach to the text, did I realize the importance of reading Hebrews based on its own eclectic background. One major insight that emerged from adopting