Session 1 Summary

Topics covered lay the groundwork for discussion of the epistle in the weeks to come:

1. The process of Hellenization: the impact of the Greek civilization on the Hebrew culture of Israel over 300 years.

2. The economic aspects of living in the first century: Herodian architecture, local economy of Galilee and Jerusalem. A rich trading area as part of the fertile crescent.

3. The languages of scripture: Hebrew and Aramaic in Judea and Galilee, but strong Greek influence (and Latin in the Roman period). Greek in the Diaspora - the Septuagint used as the source for all quotes in Hebrews.

4. The symbolism of the temple - the body of Christ is developed in Paul's letters as a 'temple' of the Holy Spirit independent of any 'building' long before the destruction of Herod's temple in 70 CE.

5. The characters of the Bible and the Diaspora - names like Prisca imply a real personal history derivable from even the few texts that we have.

6. The unknown author and the unknown addressees - perhaps communities of Jewish Christ-believers in the Diaspora - 10% of the Roman empire by population; 6 times the population of Jews in Israel.

7. The images of sacrifice - how shall we approach the gift of love - not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6 - spoken to the one who was rebuilding the temple after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.)

Class list: Kitty Johnson, Beryl Roundhill, Brenda McKivett, Peter Elcoate, James Nesbitt, Jae Cooper, Liz Elgin, Frank and Arden Moretti, Brenda Morton, Ayla Lepine, Bob and Diana MacDonald, David Streat, Chris Bugslag.

Also interested persons are being copied on this correspondence. Because it is quite possible to 'catch up' and since we will reread chapter 1-4 in the next session, please feel free to invite others to the session on May 1.

Bob lectured almost without a break for nearly 2 hours (he is grateful for your patience and blessed in your presence). On May 1, he intends to lecture Much Less and to encourage questions and discussion after our reading out loud of the first four chapters.