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Deuteronomy 1

Introduction.

1^* These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2It is a journey of eleven days from Horeb^* to Kadesh-barnea by way of the highlands of Seir.

3In the fortieth year,^* on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites according to all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to them,

4after he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon,^a and Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei.

5Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law:

Departure from Horeb.

6^{* b} The LORD, our God, said to us at Horeb:^* You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites^* and to all the surrounding regions, the Arabah, the mountains, the Shephelah, the Negeb and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon as far as the Great River, the Euphrates.

8See, I have given that land over to you.^c Go now and possess the land that the LORD swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.

Appointment of Elders.

9^d At that time I said to you, “I am unable to carry you by myself.^e

10The LORD, your God, has made you numerous, and now you are as numerous as the stars of the heavens.^f

11May the LORD, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times over, and bless you as he promised!

12But how can I, by myself, bear the weight, the contentiousness of you?

13Provide wise, discerning, and reputable persons for each of your tribes, that I may appoint them as your leaders.”

14You answered me, “What you have proposed is good.”

15So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable, and set them as leaders over you, commanders over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties and over tens, and other tribal officers.

16^g I charged your judges at that time, “Listen to complaints among your relatives, and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is a resident alien.

17In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no one, for the judgment is God’s. Any case that is too difficult for you bring to me and I will hear it.”

18Thus I charged you, at that time, with all the things you were to do.

The Twelve Scouts.

19^h Then we set out from Horeb and journeyed through that whole vast and fearful wilderness that you have seen, in the direction of the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD, our God, had commanded; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.ⁱ

20I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD, our God, is giving us.

21See, the LORD, your God, has given this land over to you. Go up and take possession of it, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

22Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and report to us on the road we should follow and the cities we will come upon.”

23Agreeing with the proposal, I took twelve men from your number, one from each tribe.

24They set out into the hill country as far as the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it.

25Then, taking along some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “The land the LORD, our God, is giving us is good.”

Threats of Revolt.

26^j But you refused to go up;^k you defied the command of the LORD, your God.

27You set to murmuring in your tents, “Out of hatred for us the LORD has brought us out of the land of Egypt,^l to deliver us into the power of the Amorites and destroy us.

28What shall we meet with up there? Our men have made our hearts melt by saying, ‘The people are bigger and taller than we, and their cities are large and fortified to the sky; besides, we saw the Anakim^* there.’”^m

29But I said to you, “Have no dread or fear of them.

30ⁿ The LORD, your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he acted with you before your very eyes in Egypt,

31as well as in the wilderness, where you saw how the LORD, your God, carried you, as one carries his own child, all along your journey until you arrived at this place.”

32Despite this, you would not trust the LORD, your God,

33who journeys before you to find you a place to camp—by night in the fire, and by day in the cloud, to show you the way to go.^o

34When the LORD heard your words, he was angry, and took an oath:

35Not a single one of this evil generation shall look upon the good land I swore to give to your ancestors,

36except Caleb,^* son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, for to him and to his descendants I will give the land he trod upon,^p because he has fully followed the LORD.

37The LORD was angered against me also on your account, and said, You shall not enter there either,^q

38but Joshua,^r son of Nun, your attendant, shall enter. Encourage him, for he is the one who is to give Israel its possession.

39Your little ones, who you said would become plunder, and your children, who as yet do not know good from evil—they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it.

40But as for yourselves: turn back and proceed into the wilderness on the Red Sea road.

Unsuccessful Invasion.

41^s In reply you said to me, “We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up ourselves and fight, just as the LORD, our God, commanded us.” And each of you girded on his weapons, making light of going up into the hill country.

42But the LORD said to me, Warn them: Do not go up and fight—for I will not be in your midst—lest you be beaten down before your enemies.

43I gave you this warning but you would not listen. You defied the LORD’s command and arrogantly went off into the hill country.

44Then the Amorites living in that hill country came out against you and put you to flight the way bees do, cutting you down in Seir as far as Hormah.

45On your return you wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.

46That is why you had to stay as long as you did at Kadesh.

Deuteronomy 2

Northward Along Edom.

1^a Then we turned and proceeded into the wilderness on the Red Sea road,^b as the LORD had told me, and circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time.

2Finally the LORD said to me,

3You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north.

4Command the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful

5not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.^c

6You shall purchase from them with money the food you eat; even the water you drink you shall buy from them with money.

7Surely, the LORD, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned^* about your journey through this vast wilderness. It is now forty years that the LORD, your God, has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.^d

8So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind us the Arabah route, Elath, and Ezion-geber.

Along Moab. Then we turned and passed on toward the wilderness of Moab.

9^e And the LORD said to me, Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.^f

10(Formerly the Emim lived there, a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim;^g

11like the Anakim they are considered Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.^h

12In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites;ⁱ the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and dwelling in their place, just as Israel has done in the land of its possession which the LORD gave it.)

13Now get ready to cross the Wadi Zered.

So we crossed the Wadi Zered.

14^j Now thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and the crossing of the Wadi Zered; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn they should.

15Indeed the LORD’s own hand was against them, to rout them from the camp completely.

Along Ammon.

16^k When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people,

17the LORD said to me,

18You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind.

19As you come opposite the Ammonites,^l do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.

20(This also is considered a country of the Rephaim; formerly the Rephaim dwelt there. The Ammonites call them Zamzummim,^m

21a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim. But these, too, the LORD cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place.ⁿ

22He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place down to the present.^o

23As for the Avvim, who once lived in villages in the vicinity of Gaza,^* the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared them away and dwelt in their place.)^p

Defeat of Sihon.

24^q Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession; engage him in battle.^r

25This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into the peoples everywhere under heaven, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.

26So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:

27“Let me pass through your country. I will travel only on the road. I will not turn aside either to the right or to the left.

28The food I eat you will sell me for money, and the water I drink, you will give me for money. Only let me march through,

29as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land the LORD, our God, is about to give us.”^s

30But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the LORD, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him into your power, as indeed he has now done.

31Then the LORD said to me, Now that I have already begun to give over to you Sihon and his land, begin to take possession.

32So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz;

33but since the LORD, our God, had given him over to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people.

34^t At that time we captured all his cities and put every city under the ban,^* men, women and children; we left no survivor.

35Our only plunder was the livestock and the spoils of the captured cities.

36From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the town in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead,^u no city was too well fortified for us. All of them the LORD, our God, gave over to us.

37However, just as the LORD, our God, commanded us, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.^v

deuteronomy 3

Defeat of Og.

1Then we turned and proceeded up the road to Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan,^a came out against us with all his people to give battle at Edrei.

2The LORD said to me, Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your power with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.

3And thus the LORD, our God, delivered into our power also Og, king of Bashan, with all his people. We defeated him so completely that we left him no survivor.

4At that time we captured all his cities; there was no town we did not take: sixty cities in all, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan—

5all these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars—besides a great number of unwalled towns.

6^b As we had done to Sihon, king of Heshbon, so also here we put all the towns under the ban, men, women and children;

7but all the livestock and the spoils of each city we took as plunder for ourselves.

8And so at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan the territory from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon

9(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir),

10all the towns of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11(Og, king of Bashan, was the last remaining survivor of the Rephaim. He had a bed of iron,^* nine regular cubits long and four wide, which is still preserved in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)^c

Allotment of the Conquered Lands.

12^d As for the land we took possession of at that time, I gave Reuben and Gad the territory from Aroer, on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, halfway up into the highlands of Gilead, with its cities.

13The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole Argob region, all that part of Bashan, was once called a land of the Rephaim.^e

14Jair, a Manassite,^f took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and named them—Bashan, that is—after himself, Havvoth-jair, the name it bears today.)

15To Machir^* I gave Gilead,

16and to Reuben and Gad the territory from Gilead to the Wadi Arnon—the middle of the wadi being its boundary—and to the Wadi Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites,

17as well as the Arabah with the Jordan and its banks from Chinnereth^* to the Salt Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18^g At that time I charged you: The LORD, your God, has given you this land as your possession. But all your troops equipped for battle must cross over in the vanguard of your fellow Israelites.

19But your wives and children, as well as your livestock, of which I know you have a large number, shall remain behind in the towns I have given you,

20until the LORD has settled your relatives as well, and they too possess the land which the LORD, your God, will give them on the other side of the Jordan. Then you may all return to the possessions I have given you.

21And I charged Joshua as well, “Your own eyes have seen all that the LORD, your God, has done to both these kings; so, too, will the LORD do to all the kingdoms into which you will cross over.

22Do not fear them, for it is the LORD, your God, who will fight for you.”^h

Moses Excluded from the Promised Land.

23ⁱ It was then that I entreated the LORD,

24“Lord GOD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. What god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and powerful acts like yours?

25Ah, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine hill country, and the Lebanon!”

26But the LORD was angry with me on your account^* and would not hear me.^j The LORD said to me, Enough! Speak to me no more of this.

27Go up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross this Jordan.^k

28Commission Joshua,^l and encourage and strengthen him, for it is he who will cross at the head of this people and he who will give them possession of the land you are to see.

29So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Hebrews 8

Heavenly Priesthood of Jesus.^*

1The main point of what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,^a

2a minister of the sanctuary^* and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.^b

3Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.^c

4If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.^d

5They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle. For he says, “See that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”^e

6Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry as he is mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises.^f

Old and New Covenants.^*

7For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second one.

8But he finds fault with them and says:^*

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,^g

when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

9It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers

the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt;

for they did not stand by my covenant

and I ignored them, says the Lord.

10But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds

and I will write them upon their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.^h

11And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen

and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

for all shall know me,

from least to greatest.

12For I will forgive their evildoing

and remember their sins no more.”

13^{* i} When he speaks of a “new” covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.

Hebrews 9: 1-10

The Worship of the First Covenant.^*

1Now [even] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.

2For a tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,^* in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place.^a

3^* Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies,^b

4in which were the gold altar of incense^* and the ark of the covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant.^c

5^* Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of expiation. Now is not the time to speak of these in detail.^d

6With these arrangements for worship, the priests, in performing their service,^* go into the outer tabernacle repeatedly,^e

7but the high priest alone goes into the inner one once a year, not without blood^* that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people.^f

8In this way the holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place.

9This is a symbol of the present time,^* in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper in conscience

10but only in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order.^g

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The complete Book of Deuteronomy

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

The title of Deuteronomy in Hebrew is Debarim, “words,” from its opening phrase. The English title comes from the Septuagint of 17:18, deuteronomion, “copy of the law”; this title is appropriate because the book replicates much of the legal content of the previous books, serving as a “second law.” It brings to a close the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch with a retrospective account of Israel’s past—the exodus, the Sinai covenant, and the wilderness wanderings—and a look into Israel’s future as they stand poised to enter the land of Canaan and begin their life as a people there.

The book consists of three long addresses by Moses. Each of these contains narrative, law, and exhortation, in varying proportions. In an expansion of the first commandment of the decalogue (Ex 20:5–6; Dt 5:9–10), Moses tells the Israelites how to make a success of their life as a people once they are settled in the land. The choice presented to Israel is to love the Lord and keep his commandments, or to serve “other gods.” That choice will determine what kind of life they will make for themselves in the land. Whichever choice they make as a people carries consequences, which Deuteronomy terms “blessing” and “curse.” Thus the book can be seen as a kind of survival manual for Israel in their life as a people: how to live and what to avoid. This gives the book its hortatory style and tone of life-or-death urgency.

One defining concern of the book is centralization of worship. As Israel’s God is one (6:4–5), so its worship must be focused in one place, which the Lord “will choose from among your tribes”; there the Lord will “make his name dwell” (see note on 12:5). Thus the privileged status of the Jerusalem Temple is asserted; all other places and all other modes of worship of the God of Israel (the local shrines, the “high places,” “under every green tree”) are proscribed.

The book was probably composed over the course of three centuries, from the eighth century to the exile and beyond. It bears some relation to “the Book of the Law” discovered in the Jerusalem Temple around 622 B.C. during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22:8–13). It gives evidence of later editing: cf. the references to exile in 4:1–40; 28:63–68; 29:21–28; 30:1–10.

Over the book looms the disaster of 722/721, the fall of the Northern Kingdom, Israel. The detailed description of siege (28:49–57) especially echoes the fate the North suffered at the hands of the Assyrian invader. The book draws the minds of its intended readers back to a time before disastrous mistakes were made and their disastrous effects felt, and serves to explain the political and theological dynamics that led to the destruction of the North as well as to warn the surviving Southern Kingdom, Judah, to reform by keeping faith with Israel’s covenant Lord.

The characteristic and highly recognizable language and theology of Deuteronomy are seen in editorial comments structuring the works that follow it in the Hebrew canon, the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Together with Deuteronomy, these present a history of Israel from Moses to the time of the Babylonian exile. Conventionally this great multivolume work is termed the Deuteronomistic History. The Book of Deuteronomy itself was also incorporated into the Torah as its fifth volume.

The book presents three discourses by Moses, as follows:

1. First Address (1:1–4:43)
2. Second Address (4:44–28:69)
   1. The Lord’s Covenant with Israel (4:44–11:32)
   2. The Deuteronomic Code (12:1–28:69)
3. Third Address (29:1–33:29)
4. The Death of Moses (34:1–12)

I. FIRST ADDRESS

The book of Hebrews

THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS

As early as the second century, this treatise, which is of great rhetorical power and force in its admonition to faithful pilgrimage under Christ’s leadership, bore the title “To the Hebrews.” It was assumed to be directed to Jewish Christians. Usually Hebrews was attached in Greek manuscripts to the collection of letters by Paul. Although no author is mentioned (for there is no address), a reference to Timothy (Heb 13:23) suggested connections to the circle of Paul and his assistants. Yet the exact audience, the author, and even whether Hebrews is a letter have long been disputed.

The author saw the addressees in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith. This danger was due not to any persecution from outsiders but to a weariness with the demands of Christian life and a growing indifference to their calling (Heb 2:1; 4:14; 6:1–12; 10:23–32). The author’s main theme, the priesthood and sacrifice of Jesus (Heb 3–10), is not developed for its own sake but as a means of restoring their lost fervor and strengthening them in their faith. Another important theme of the letter is that of the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem (11:10; 12:1–3, 18–29; 13:14). This theme is intimately connected with that of Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb 9:11–10:22).

The author calls this work a “message of encouragement” (Heb 13:22), a designation that is given to a synagogue sermon in Acts 13:15. Hebrews is probably therefore a written homily, to which the author gave an epistolary ending (Heb 13:22–25). The author begins with a reminder of the preexistence, incarnation, and exaltation of Jesus (Heb 1:3) that proclaimed him the climax of God’s word to humanity (Heb 1:1–3). He dwells upon the dignity of the person of Christ, superior to the angels (Heb 1:4–2:2). Christ is God’s final word of salvation communicated (in association with accredited witnesses to his teaching: cf. Heb 2:3–4) not merely by word but through his suffering in the humanity common to him and to all others (Heb 2:5–16). This enactment of salvation went beyond the pattern known to Moses, faithful prophet of God’s word though he was, for Jesus as high priest expiated sin and was faithful to God with the faithfulness of God’s own Son (Heb 2:17–3:6).

Just as the infidelity of the people thwarted Moses’ efforts to save them, so the infidelity of any Christian may thwart God’s plan in Christ (3:6–4:13). Christians are to reflect that it is their humanity that Jesus took upon himself, with all its defects save sinfulness, and that he bore the burden of it until death out of obedience to God. God declared this work of his Son to be the cause of salvation for all (Heb 4:14–5:10). Although Christians recognize this fundamental teaching, they may grow weary of it and of its implications, and therefore require other reflections to stimulate their faith (5:11–6:20).

Therefore, the author presents to the readers for their reflection the everlasting priesthood of Christ (Heb 7:1–28), a priesthood that fulfills the promise of the Old Testament (Heb 8:1–13). It also provides the meaning God ultimately intended in the sacrifices of the Old Testament (Heb 9:1–28): these pointed to the unique sacrifice of Christ, which alone obtains forgiveness of sins (Heb 10:1–18). The trial of faith experienced by the readers should resolve itself through their consideration of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and his perpetual intercession there on their behalf (Heb 7:25; 8:1–13). They should also be strengthened by the assurance of his foreordained parousia, and by the fruits of faith that they have already enjoyed (Heb 10:19–39).

It is in the nature of faith to recognize the reality of what is not yet seen and is the object of hope, and the saints of the Old Testament give striking example of that faith (Heb 11:1–40). The perseverance to which the author exhorts the readers is shown forth in the earthly life of Jesus. Despite the afflictions of his ministry and the supreme trial of his suffering and death, he remained confident of the triumph that God would bring him (Heb 12:1–3). The difficulties of human life have meaning when they are accepted as God’s discipline (Heb 12:4–13), and if Christians persevere in fidelity to the word in which they have believed, they are assured of possessing forever the unshakable kingdom of God (Heb 12:14–29).

The letter concludes with specific moral commandments (Heb 13:1–17), in the course of which the author recalls again his central theme of the sacrifice of Jesus and the courage needed to associate oneself with it in faith (Heb 13:9–16).

As early as the end of the second century, the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the view commonly held in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West into the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e.g., Barnabas, Apollos, or Prisc(ill)a and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author.

Among the reasons why Pauline authorship has been abandoned are the great difference of vocabulary and style between Hebrews and Paul’s letters, the alternation of doctrinal teaching with moral exhortation, the different manner of citing the Old Testament, and the resemblance between the thought of Hebrews and that of Alexandrian Judaism. The Greek of the letter is in many ways the best in the New Testament.

Since the letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, written about A.D. 96, most probably cites Hebrews, the upper limit for the date of composition is reasonably certain. While the letter’s references in the present tense to the Old Testament sacrificial worship do not necessarily show that temple worship was still going on, many older commentators and a growing number of recent ones favor the view that it was and that the author wrote before the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In that case, the argument of the letter is more easily explained as directed toward Jewish Christians rather than those of Gentile origin, and the persecutions they have suffered in the past (cf. Heb 10:32–34) may have been connected with the disturbances that preceded the expulsion of the Jews from Rome in A.D. 49 under the emperor Claudius. These were probably caused by disputes between Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not.

The principal divisions of the Letter to the Hebrews are the following:

1. Introduction (1:1–4)
2. The Son Higher than the Angels (1:5–2:18)
3. Jesus, Faithful and Compassionate High Priest (3:1–5:10)
4. Jesus’ Eternal Priesthood and Eternal Sacrifice (5:11–10:39)
5. Examples, Discipline, Disobedience (11:1–12:29)
6. Final Exhortation, Blessing, Greetings (13:1–25)