Perfection Perfected: The Stoic "Self-Eluding Sage" and Moral Progress in Hebrews
Hebrews evinces the linked exegetical aporiae of, on the one hand, tension between the asserted perfection of the believer and exhortations to further perfection and, on the other, a similar tension between Christ’s exalted, preexistent nature and claims about his need for further perfection during...
| Published in: | Novum Testamentum |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2015
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| In: |
Novum Testamentum
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Hebrews
/ Christian ethics
/ Progress
/ Stoa
/ Wise person
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| RelBib Classification: | HC New Testament NCA Ethics TB Antiquity VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
Hebrews
Stoicism
moral progress
soteriology
Christology
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Hebrews evinces the linked exegetical aporiae of, on the one hand, tension between the asserted perfection of the believer and exhortations to further perfection and, on the other, a similar tension between Christ’s exalted, preexistent nature and claims about his need for further perfection during his earthly life. The paper proposes the Stoic figure of the “self-eluding sage” as a helpful contextual analogue for explaining the indicative-imperative problem in Hebrews. Originally a product of early epistemological debates among Hellenistic philosophical schools, the “self-eluding sage” (διαλεληθὼς σοφός) was deployed by Philo and Plutarch in Roman-era debates on the nature of moral progress. Terminological and structural similarities between discussions of the Stoic figure and discussions of progress in Hebrews (especially 5:14-6:3) help contextualize the speech’s concern for moral insight and improvement within a general Roman-era focus on moral progress toward filling communal roles. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5365 |
| Contains: | In: Novum Testamentum
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685365-12341493 |