Texts in Conversation
In Hebrews 12, readers are urged to run with endurance by looking to Jesus as inspiration, language that echoes 4 Maccabees where martyrs are described as contestants in a cosmic arena who endure by looking to God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
4 Maccabees 17:14
Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
9 “Here lie buried an aged priest, an old woman, and seven sons, because of the violence of a tyrant who wanted to destroy the way of life of the Hebrews. 10 They vindicated their nation, looking to God and enduring tortures to the death.” 11 For it was truly a divine contest that they fought. 12 For on that day virtue was the judge of the contest, testing them for endurance, and the prize was immortality in endless life. 13 Eleazar fought first, the mother of the seven sons competed, and the brothers fought. 14 The tyrant was the opponent, and the world and all humanity were the spectators. 15 Reverence for God was victorious and crowned its own athletes.
Date: 19–100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Hebrews 12:1
New Testament
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons? “My son, do not scorn the Lord’s discipline or give up when he corrects you.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Scholars never fail to observe that the Maccabean martyrs stand among the exemplars of faith in the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:35), referring consistently and correctly to 2 Maccabees 6:18–7:42 (resurrection is featured in both, but is absent from 4 Maccabees; the verb used in Hebrews 11:35 for “torture” recalls specifically the τύμπαvov upon which Eleazar is executed in 2 Maccabees 6:19, 28; while “release” from torture is also prominent in 4 Maccabees 6:12–23; 9:16, it is not absent from 2 Maccabees, as in 7:1–2, 7). However, there are numerous connections with the tradition of the martyrs in 4 Maccabees as well throughout the sermon. Both conceive of πίστις in terms of faithfulness toward God and fixedness in regard to God’s promises, and all this specifically within the context of the inviolable obligations of beneficiaries to their benefactor (4 Maccabees 16:18–22; Hebrews 6:4–8, 12; 10:29–31, 39; 11:6; 12:28; 13:17). Hebrews also introduces the categories of “temporary” (πρόσκαιρov) versus “eternal” (usually in terms of “abiding,” “lasting”) throughout his discourse (see especially Hebrews 11:24–27), reflecting the same antithesis that figures so prominently in the martyrs’ deliberations (4 Maccabees 13:14–17; 15:2–8, 27). Pushing beyond conceptual to verbal parallels, the author of Hebrews calls his audience to enhance their endurance by looking away to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1–2), just as the martyrs had endured by looking away to God (εἰς θεòv ἀφoρῶvτες ... ὑπoμείvαvτες, 4 Maccabees 17:10). The example of Jesus, “who endured a cross, despising shame” (ὑπέμειvεv σταύρov αἰσχύvης καταφρovήσας, Hebrews 12:2), parallels Eleazar’s bold stance as he “endured the pains and scorned the compulsions” ..."
David A. DeSilva, 4 Maccabees: Introduction and Commentary on the Greek Text in Codex Sinaiticus, SEPT (Leiden: Brill, 2006), xxxiii.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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