My other websites: Catholic, Prophets today, For Kids

Read Today’s Bible Verses following here:

Joshua 10

The Siege of Gibeon.

1Now when Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured Ai and put it under the ban, and had done to that city and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king,^a and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made their peace with Israel, remaining among them,

2there was great fear abroad, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, greater even than Ai, and all its men were warriors.

3So Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon, with this message:

4“Come and help me attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”^b

5The five Amorite kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon,^* gathered with all their forces, and marched against Gibeon to make war on it.

6Thereupon, the Gibeonites sent an appeal to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up here quickly and save us. Help us, because all the Amorite kings of the mountain country have joined together against us.”^c

Joshua’s Victory.

7So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with all his army and all his warriors.

8The LORD said to Joshua: Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your power. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.

9After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua made a surprise attack upon them,

10and the LORD threw them into disorder before Israel. The Israelites inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon and pursued them down the Beth-horon slope, attacking them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

11While they fled before Israel along the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD hurled great stones from the heavens^* above them all the way to Azekah, killing many.^d More died from these hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

12It was then, when the LORD delivered up the Amorites to the Israelites, that Joshua prayed to the LORD, and said in the presence of Israel:

Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

Moon, in the valley of Aijalon!

13The sun stood still,

the moon stayed,

while the nation took vengeance on its foes.^e

This is recorded^* in the Book of Jashar. The sun halted halfway across the heavens; not for an entire day did it press on.

14Never before or since was there a day like this, when the LORD obeyed the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.

15Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Execution of Amorite Kings.

16The five kings who had fled hid in the cave at Makkedah.

17When Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found, hiding in the cave at Makkedah,”

18he said, “Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and post guards over it.

19But do not remain there yourselves. Pursue your enemies, and harry them in the rear. Do not allow them to reach their cities, for the LORD, your God, has delivered them into your power.”

20Once Joshua and the Israelites had finally inflicted the last blows in this very great slaughter, and the survivors had escaped from them into the fortified cities,

21all the army returned to Joshua and the camp at Makkedah in victory; no one uttered a sound against the Israelites.

22Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring me those five kings from the cave.”

23They did so; they brought out to him from the cave the five kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

24When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he summoned all the army of Israel and said to the commanders of the soldiers who had marched with him, “Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came forward and put their feet upon their necks.

25^f Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed, be firm and steadfast. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.”

26^g Thereupon Joshua struck and killed the kings, and hanged them on five trees, where they remained hanging until evening.

27At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees and be thrown into the cave where they had hidden; over the mouth of the cave large stones were placed, which remain until this very day.

Conquest of Southern Canaan.

28^h Makkedah, too, Joshua captured and put to the sword at that time. He put the city, its king, and every person in it under the ban, leaving no survivors. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.

29Joshua then passed on with all Israel from Makkedah to Libnah, and attacked it,

30and the LORD delivered it, with its king, into the power of Israel. He put it to the sword with every person there, leaving no survivors. Thus he did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho.

31Joshua next passed on with all Israel from Libnah to Lachish, where they set up a camp during the attack.

32The LORD delivered Lachish into the power of Israel, so that on the second day Joshua captured it and put it to the sword with every person in it, just as he had done to Libnah.

33At that time Horam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his people, leaving him no survivors.

34From Lachish, Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; encamping near it, they attacked it

35and captured it the same day, putting it to the sword. On that day he put under the ban every person in it, just as he had done at Lachish.

36From Eglon, Joshua went up with all Israel to Hebron, which they attacked

37and captured. They put it to the sword with its king, all its cities, and every person there, leaving no survivors, just as Joshua had done to Eglon. He put it under the ban and every person in it.

38Then Joshua and all Israel turned back to Debir and attacked it,

39capturing it with its king and all its cities. They put them to the sword and put under the ban every person in it, leaving no survivors. Thus he did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron, as well as to Libnah and its king.

40ⁱ Joshua conquered the entire land; the mountain regions, the Negeb, the Shephelah, and the mountain slopes, with all their kings. He left no survivors, but put under the ban every living being, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

41Joshua conquered them from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen^* to Gibeon.

42All these kings and their lands Joshua captured all at once, for the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

43Thereupon Joshua with all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua 11

Northern Confederacy.

1When Jabin, king of Hazor,^* learned of this, he sent a message to Jobab, king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,

2and to the northern kings in the mountain regions and in the Arabah near Chinneroth, in the Shephelah, and in Naphath-dor to the west.^a

3These were Canaanites to the east and west, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the mountain regions, and Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.^b

4They came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots.^c

5All these kings made a pact and together they marched to the waters of Merom,^* where they encamped to fight against Israel.

6The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for by this time tomorrow I will present them slain to Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”

7Joshua with his whole army came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom and fell upon them.

8The LORD delivered them into the power of the Israelites, who defeated them and pursued them to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth-maim,^d and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them all down, leaving no survivors.

9Joshua did to them as the LORD had commanded: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

Conquest of Northern Canaan.

10At that time Joshua, turning back, captured Hazor and struck down its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the chief of all those kingdoms.

11He also struck down with the sword every person there, carrying out the ban, till none was left alive. Hazor itself he burned.

12All the cities of those kings, and the kings themselves, Joshua captured and put to the sword, carrying out the ban on them, as Moses, the servant of the LORD, had commanded.^e

13However, Israel did not destroy by fire any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

14All the spoil and livestock of these cities the Israelites took as plunder; but the people they put to the sword, until they had destroyed the last of them, leaving none alive.

15As the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly.^f He left nothing undone that the LORD had commanded Moses should be done.

Survey of the Conquest.

16So Joshua took all this land: the mountain regions, the entire Negeb, all the land of Goshen, the Shephelah, the Arabah, as well as the mountain regions and Shephelah of Israel,^g

17from Mount Halak that rises toward Seir^h as far as Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. All their kings he captured and put to death.

18Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.

19With the exception of the Hivites who lived in Gibeon, no city made peace with the Israelites; all were taken in battle.ⁱ

20For it was the LORD’s doing to make their hearts obstinate to meet Israel in battle, that they might be put under the ban without mercy, and be destroyed as the LORD had commanded Moses.^j

21^* At that time Joshua penetrated the mountain regions and exterminated the Anakim in Hebron,^k Debir, Anab, the entire mountain region of Judah, and the entire mountain region of Israel. Joshua put them and their cities under the ban,

22so that no Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites. However, some survived in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.

23^l Thus Joshua took the whole land, just as the LORD had said to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as their heritage, apportioning it among the tribes. And the land had rest from war.^*

Joshua 12

Lists of Conquered Kings.

1These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites conquered and whose lands they occupied, east of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern section of the Arabah:

2^a First, Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His domain extended from Aroer, which is on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, to include the wadi itself, and the land northward through half of Gilead to the Wadi Jabbok at the border with the Ammonites,

3as well as the Arabah from the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth, as far south as the eastern side of the Salt Sea of the Arabah in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth,^b southward under the slopes of Pisgah.

4Secondly, the border of Og, king of Bashan, a survivor of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei.^c

5He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all Bashan as far as the boundary of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and over half of Gilead as far as the territory of Sihon, king of Heshbon.

6It was Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites who conquered them; Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave possession of their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.^d

7This is a list of the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered west of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley to Mount Halak which rises toward Seir; Joshua apportioned their land and gave possession of it to the tribes of Israel;

8it included the mountain regions and Shephelah, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites:

9The king of Jericho, one;^e the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one;

10the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

11the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;^f

12the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;^g

13the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;^h

14the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

15the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;ⁱ

16the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;^j

17the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;^k

18the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;^l

19the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;^m

20the king of Shimron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;ⁿ

21the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;^o

22the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam, at Carmel, one;^p

23the king of Dor, in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goyim at Gilgal, one;^q

24and the king of Tirzah, one—thirty-one kings in all.

Joshua 13

Division of Land Commanded.

1When Joshua was old and advanced in years, the LORD said to him:^a Though now you are old and advanced in years, a very large part of the land still remains to be possessed.

2This is the remaining land: all Geshur^* and all the districts of the Philistines

3(from the stream adjoining Egypt to the boundary of Ekron in the north is reckoned Canaanite territory, though held by the five lords of the Philistines in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron);

4also where the Avvim are in the south;^b all the land of the Canaanites from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, and the boundaries of the Amorites;^c

5and the Gebalite territory; and all the Lebanon on the east, from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.

6All the inhabitants of the mountain regions between Lebanon and Misrephoth-maim, all Sidonians, I will drive out before the Israelites;^d at least include these areas in the division of the Israelite heritage, just as I have commanded you.

7Now, therefore, apportion among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh the land which is to be their heritage.

The Eastern Tribes.

8^e Now the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, as well as the Reubenites and Gadites, had taken as their heritage what Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given them east of the Jordan:

9from Aroer on the bank of the Wadi Arnon and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland of Medeba and Dibon,

10with the rest of the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the boundary of the Ammonites;

11also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah,

12the entire kingdom in Bashan of Og, who was king at Ashtaroth and Edrei (he was a holdover from the remnant of the Rephaim). These Moses defeated and dispossessed.

13But the Israelites did not dispossess the Geshurites and Maacathites, so that Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

14^f However, Moses assigned no heritage to the tribe of Levi; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as the LORD had promised them.

Reuben.

15^g This is what Moses gave to the tribe of the Reubenites by their clans:^h

16Their territory reached from Aroer, on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland about Medeba,

17to include Heshbon and all its towns on the tableland, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,

19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the knoll within the valley,

20Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth,

21and the other cities of the tableland and of the whole kingdom of Sihon. This Amorite king, who reigned in Heshbon, Moses had defeated, with the princes of Midian, vassals of Sihon who were settled in the land: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba;ⁱ

22Balaam, son of Beor, the diviner, the Israelites killed with the sword, together with those they struck down.^j

23The boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan. These cities and their villages were the heritage of the Reubenites by their clans.

Gad.

24^k This is what Moses gave to the tribe of the Gadites by their clans:

25Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, toward Rabbah

26(that is, from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the boundary of Lo-debar);

27and in the Jordan valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, the other part of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the bank of the Jordan to the southeastern tip of the Sea of Chinnereth.

28These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the Gadites.

Manasseh.

29^l This is what Moses gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh; the half-tribe of the Manassites, by their clans, had

30territory including Mahanaim, all of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are sixty cities in Bashan.

31Half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, royal cities of Og in Bashan, fell to the descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, to half the Machirites, by their clans.

32These are the heritages which Moses gave when he was in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.

33But Moses gave no heritage to the tribe of Levi: the LORD, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as he had promised them.^m

Joshua 14

The Western Tribes.

1These are the portions which the Israelites received as heritage in the land of Canaan.^a Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites determined

2their heritage by lot, as the LORD had commanded through Moses concerning the remaining nine and a half tribes.^b

3To two and a half tribes Moses had already given a heritage beyond the Jordan; to the Levites he had given no heritage among them:^c

4the descendants of Joseph formed two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. But the Levites were given no share of the land except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for the herds and flocks.^d

5As the LORD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did: they apportioned the land.

Caleb’s Portion.

6^e When the Judahites approached Joshua in Gilgal, the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, said to him: “You know the word the LORD spoke to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and concerning me in Kadesh-barnea.

7^f I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to reconnoiter the land; and I brought back to him a frank report.

8^g My fellow scouts who went up with me made the people’s confidence melt away, but I was completely loyal to the LORD, my God.

9On that occasion Moses swore this oath, ‘The land where you have set foot shall become your heritage and that of your descendants forever, because you have been completely loyal to the LORD, my God.’

10Now, as he promised, the LORD has preserved me these forty-five years since the LORD spoke thus to Moses while Israel journeyed in the wilderness; and now I am eighty-five years old,^h

11but I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth, with no less vigor whether it be for war or for any other tasks.^{* i}

12Now give me this mountain region which the LORD promised me that day, as you yourself heard. True, the Anakim are there, with large fortified cities, but if the LORD is with me I shall be able to dispossess them, as the LORD promised.”^j

13Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his heritage.^k

14Therefore Hebron remains the heritage of the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to the present day, because he was completely loyal to the LORD, the God of Israel.

15Hebron was formerly called Kiriath-arba, for Arba, the greatest among the Anakim.^l And the land had rest from war.

1 Peter 4:12- 19

Trial of Persecution.^*

12Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you.^g

13But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.^h

14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.ⁱ

15But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.

16But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name.

17For it is time for the judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, how will it end for those who fail to obey the gospel of God?^j

18“And if the righteous one is barely saved,

where will the godless and the sinner appear?”^k

19As a result, those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful creator as they do good.

• Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers

The complete Book of Joshua

THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

The Book of Joshua presents a narrative of the way Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, making it the land of Israel. This process is swift and inexorable, and is followed by an orderly division and disposition of the land among the twelve tribes, with a concluding ceremony of covenant renewal.

The theological message of the book is unmistakable. God has been faithful to the promise of the land. If Israel relies totally on the Lord for victory; if Israel is united as a people; if the law of herem is kept and no one grows rich from victory in war—then and only then will Israel possess the land.

The Israelites are led by Joshua, the successor of Moses, and the book is at pains to show not only how Joshua carries on the work of Moses but how the “conquest” of Canaan is continuous with the exodus from Egypt. This is seen in the repeated insistence that, as the Lord was with Moses, so he is with Joshua; and, especially, in the crossing of the Jordan River, which is patterned after the crossing of the Red Sea.

The book preserves older traditions of Israel’s settlement in the land, especially in the division of the land among the tribes. As with Deuteronomy and the whole Deuteronomistic History (see introduction to Deuteronomy), the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722/721 B.C. shows its influence throughout. As addressed to the needs of a late preexilic audience, then, the book should be read not so much as imparting information about how Israel took over the land of Canaan, many centuries before the composition of the book, as teaching a lesson about how Israel is to avoid losing the land.

Modern readers may be put off by the description of battles and their aftermath, the destruction of everyone and everything in the cities taken under the “ban” (herem). The ban was practiced in the ancient Near East, in Israel and elsewhere, but in Joshua the wholesale destruction of the Canaanites is an idealization of the deuteronomic idea that pagans are to be wiped out so they will not be an occasion for apostasy from the Lord (cf. Dt 7:1–6); note in particular the artificial, formalized description of destruction of towns in Jos 10:28–39. It should be remembered that by the time the book was written, the Canaanites were long gone. Progressive revelation throughout Israel’s history produced far more lofty ideals, as when the prophets see all the nations embracing faith in Yahweh, being joined to Israel, and living in peace with one another (Is 2:2–4; 19:23–25; 45:22–25; Zec 8:22–23), and the New Testament teaches us to love even our enemies (Mt 5:43–45).

A comparison of Joshua with the account of Israel’s early history found in the first chapter of the Book of Judges shows that Israel’s emergence as the dominant presence in the land was a slow and piecemeal affair, not achieved at one stroke and with great ease: the Book of Joshua, with its highly idealized depiction of the “conquest,” is a theologically programmatic cautionary tale about what the people are to do and not do in order to avoid the fate of the Northern Kingdom in losing the land.

The Book of Joshua may be divided as follows:

1. Conquest of Canaan (1:1–12:24)
2. Division of the Land (13:1–21:45)
3. Return of the Transjordan Tribes and Joshua’s Farewell (22:1–24:33)

The book of 1 Peter

THE FIRST LETTER OF PETER

This letter begins with an address by Peter to Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor (1 Pt 1:1), including areas evangelized by Paul (Acts 16:6–7; 18:23). Christians there are encouraged to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct in spite of threats of persecution. Numerous allusions in the letter suggest that the churches addressed were largely of Gentile composition (1 Pt 1:14, 18; 2:9–10; 4:3–4), though considerable use is made of the Old Testament (1 Pt 1:24; 2:6–7, 9–10, 22; 3:10–12).

The contents following the address both inspire and admonish these “chosen sojourners” (1 Pt 1:1) who, in seeking to live as God’s people, feel an alienation from their previous religious roots and the society around them. Appeal is made to Christ’s resurrection and the future hope it provides (1 Pt 1:3–5) and to the experience of baptism as new birth (1 Pt 1:3, 23–25; 3:21). The suffering and death of Christ serve as both source of salvation and example (1 Pt 1:19; 2:21–25; 3:18). What Christians are in Christ, as a people who have received mercy and are to proclaim and live according to God’s call (1 Pt 2:9–10), is repeatedly spelled out for all sorts of situations in society (1 Pt 2:11–17), work (even as slaves, 1 Pt 2:18–20), the home (1 Pt 3:1–7), and general conduct (1 Pt 3:8–12; 4:1–11). But over all hangs the possibility of suffering as a Christian (1 Pt 3:13–17). In 1 Pt 4:12–19 persecution is described as already occurring, so that some have supposed the letter was addressed both to places where such a “trial by fire” was already present and to places where it might break out.

The letter constantly mingles moral exhortation (paraklēsis) with its catechetical summaries of mercies in Christ. Encouragement to fidelity in spite of suffering is based upon a vision of the meaning of Christian existence. The emphasis on baptism and allusions to various features of the baptismal liturgy suggest that the author has incorporated into his exposition numerous homiletic, credal, hymnic, and sacramental elements of the baptismal rite that had become traditional at an early date.

From Irenaeus in the late second century until modern times, Christian tradition regarded Peter the apostle as author of this document. Since he was martyred at Rome during the persecution of Nero between A.D. 64 and 67, it was supposed that the letter was written from Rome shortly before his death. This is supported by its reference to “Babylon” (1 Pt 5:13), a code name for Rome in the early church.

Some modern scholars, however, on the basis of a number of features that they consider incompatible with Petrine authenticity, regard the letter as the work of a later Christian writer. Such features include the cultivated Greek in which it is written, difficult to attribute to a Galilean fisherman, together with its use of the Greek Septuagint translation when citing the Old Testament; the similarity in both thought and expression to the Pauline literature; and the allusions to widespread persecution of Christians, which did not occur until at least the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81–96). In this view the letter would date from the end of the first century or even the beginning of the second, when there is evidence for persecution of Christians in Asia Minor (the letter of Pliny the Younger to Trajan, A.D. 111–12).

Other scholars believe, however, that these objections can be met by appeal to use of a secretary, Silvanus, mentioned in 1 Pt 5:12. Such secretaries often gave literary expression to the author’s thoughts in their own style and language. The persecutions may refer to local harassment rather than to systematic repression by the state. Hence there is nothing in the document incompatible with Petrine authorship in the 60s.

Still other scholars take a middle position. The many literary contacts with the Pauline literature, James, and 1 John suggest a common fund of traditional formulations rather than direct dependence upon Paul. Such liturgical and catechetical traditions must have been very ancient and in some cases of Palestinian origin.

Yet it is unlikely that Peter addressed a letter to the Gentile churches of Asia Minor while Paul was still alive. This suggests a period after the death of the two apostles, perhaps A.D. 70–90. The author would be a disciple of Peter in Rome, representing a Petrine group that served as a bridge between the Palestinian origins of Christianity and its flowering in the Gentile world. The problem addressed would not be official persecution but the difficulty of living the Christian life in a hostile, secular environment that espoused different values and subjected the Christian minority to ridicule and oppression.

The principal divisions of the First Letter of Peter are the following:

1. Address (1:1–2)
2. The Gift and Call of God in Baptism (1:3–2:10)
3. The Christian in a Hostile World (2:11–4:11)
4. Advice to the Persecuted (4:12–5:11)
5. Conclusion (5:12–14)

I. Address

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)