A Different Priest: The Epistle to the Hebrews by Albert Vanhoye

Abstract

Albert Vanhoye was Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Biblical Institute in Rome and Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission (1). Vanhoye is widely known among the biblical scholars as a great contributor and one of the most prolific authors on the Epistle to the Hebrews. His book, A Different Priest: The Epistle to the Hebrews, is part of the Rhetorica Semitica Series and was produced in collaboration with the International Society for the Study of Biblical and Semitic Rhetoric (1). Vanhoye subjects the book of Hebrews to rhetorical analysis. He believes that this epistle is a homily that was delivered to several communities by an itinerant preacher (19). The book preserves one instantiation of this sermon to a specific community, as indicated by the epistolary ending of 13:22–25 which was attached to the homily. Vanhoye claims that Hebrews utilizes biblical or Semitic rhetoric which is vastly differ-ent from Classical Greco-Roman rhetoric (1). He notes some differences: 1) In Greco-Roman rhetoric one announces the subject and then treats the themes in the order that they were announced. Hebrews, by contrast, treats the themes in reverse order because of its affinity for chiastic structures. 2) Greco-Roman rhetoric recommends the avoidance of verbal repetitions. The author’s most important contribution in this commentary is his analysis of the rhetorical structure of Hebrews. The book is outlined under five parts with varied headings and composition.