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Hebrews

About this book
Chapter 12

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.⁠ 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”⁠ 7 Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline, something all sons have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from our earthly fathers and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits⁠ and receive life?⁠ 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees,⁠ 13 and make straight paths for your feet,⁠ so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed. 14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord.⁠ 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up and causing trouble,⁠ and through it many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing with tears. 18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind⁠ 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words such that those who heard begged to hear no more. 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”⁠ 21 In fact, the scene was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”⁠ 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect,⁠ 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. 25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”⁠ 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Hebrews uses Deuteronomy’s image of God as a consuming fire, shifting it from a warning about idols to a call for reverence. The brief reference suggests the author draws on remembered tradition rather than quoting the text directly.

Passages

Deuteronomy 4:24

Hebrew Bible
22 So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess that good land. 23 Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; he is a jealous God. 25 After you have produced children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, if you become corrupt and make an image of any kind and do other evil things before the Lord your God that enrage him, 26 I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely and swiftly be removed from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be annihilated.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Hebrews 12:29

New Testament
26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

References

"... Here perhaps is a good juncture to deal with the varied use of Deuteronomy in the book of Hebrews ... (Hebrews 1:6; Deuteronomy 32:43, Hebrews 10:28; Deuteronomy 17:6, Hebrews 12:3; Deuteronomy 32:35, Hebrews 12:15; Deuteronomy 29:17, Hebrews 12:18; Deuteronomy 4:11, Hebrews 12:21; Deuteronomy 9:19, Hebrews 12:29; Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6) ... Notice that all the quotations here are short, even fragmentary, and so Gert Steyn is right to ask: Is the author quoting from memory? And if so, should we be spending so much time trying to figure out which version of the OT he is using, when he could be paraphrasing in his own language? Importantly, Steyn points out that unlike his Psalms and Jeremiah quotations, the use of Deuteronomy does not involve extended quotations, nor are the Deuteronomy quotations cited with reference to divine authority. Could this be because our author, while recognizing Deuteronomy as Scripture believes the Mosaic covenant is no longer binding on his audience per se, and particularly because he doesn’t want these Jewish Christians retreating back into non-Christian Judaism under pressure or persecution is being careful how he uses the Law? In any case, he clearly believes the Mosaic covenant has been superseded by a better covenant, the new covenant. Further, what explains the fact that apart from Hebrews 1:6, all of the citations come between Hebrews 10:28 and 13:5? Even of these nine found within those parameters, only four are clearly explicit quotations, Deuteronomy 32:43 (LXX Ode 2) in Hebrews 1:6; Deuteronomy 32:35–36 in Hebrews 10:30–31; Deuteronomy 9:19 in Hebrews 12:21; and Deuteronomy 31:6 in Hebrews 13:5 ..."
Ben Witherington, Torah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018), 328.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29

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