Deuteronomy’s concept of life in Hebrews

Albert J Coetsee

doi:10.4102/hts.v75i3.5374

Abstract

This article endeavours to contribute to the study of the influence and effect of Deuteronomy in the book of Hebrews. It investigates the possible influence of one of Deuteronomy’s key concepts on Hebrews, namely, the concept of ‘life’. The article starts off by defining the multifaceted concept of ‘life’ in Deuteronomy. This is followed up by combing through the text of Hebrews to identify traces of this concept in the words and arguments that the writer employs. The possible traces found are then investigated intertextually in detail. This includes references to ‘the living God’ (Heb 3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22), God’s ‘living and active’ word (Heb 4:12), ‘the new and living way’ Jesus opened through his death (Heb 10:20) and the command to ‘submit to the Father of spirits and live’ (Heb 12:9). The article concludes by synthesising the findings to discuss whether Hebrews deliberately employs Deuteronomy’s concept of life.

Highlights

As could be expected of a New Testament book drenched in references and allusions to the Old Testament, a legion of studies have been penned on the use of the Old Testament in Hebrews
This article endeavours to contribute to the study of the influence and effect of Deuteronomy in Hebrews
Steyn (2007:152–168) gives a synopsis of quotations, references and allusions attributed to Deuteronomy, as well as a brief discussion of certain motifs from Deuteronomy in Hebrews, namely, covenant, Moses and priesthood

Summary

Introduction

As could be expected of a New Testament book drenched in references and allusions to the Old Testament, a legion of studies have been penned on the use of the Old Testament in Hebrews. A number of studies contribute to this field by investigating the occurrence and function of individual Old Testament books in Hebrews. Because the influence of certain motifs from Deuteronomy in Hebrews has already been proven, the question arises whether traces of the influence of Deuteronomy’s concept of life can be found in Hebrews. This is the question the article aims to answer. This article starts off by defining the multifaceted concept of ‘life’ in Deuteronomy in both the MT and LXX This is followed up by combing through the text of Hebrews to identify traces of. The study finds that the 39 occurrences of ‘life’ in Deuteronomy are employed in the following eight ways: 1. Eleven such occurrences are found in Deuteronomy (4:1; 5:33; 6:24; 8:1; 16:20; 30:6, 15, 16, 193x)

YHWH has power over life

Data availability statement