While all of the New Testament writings offer windows into the personal religious experiences of their authors, says Kevin McCruden, the Letter to the Hebrews affords us a truly exquisite example of a particularly creative interpretation of such religious experience. It also supplies us with something all too rare in many of the documents of the New Testament: a glimpse into the personal experiences of the ancient persons who first heard this text. Partially obscured beneath the author's characteristic emphasis on the superiority of transcendent realities is the indelible imprint of the real-life experiences of early Christians who suffered emotionally and physically for the countercultural commitment that they placed in Jesus. For such persons, Hebrews vividly celebrates the unseen vindication of Jesus and, in this way, provides a hope-filled portrait of the victorious Son of God. At the same time, Hebrews is also very much concerned with what we might call the life of Christian discipleship-that is, what it means to journey this side of the age to come in a manner that is faithful to the countercultural character of God's kingdom embodied by Jesus. This brief study will help illumine for readers something of this creative balance between the transcendent and the concrete that Hebrews illustrates so well.

"Reading the Epistle to the Hebrews" A Resource for Students addresses major issues in the interpretation of this important but complex biblical text and provides an introduction to contemporary scholarship on Hebrews. With contributions from leading scholars on Hebrews and in related fields, this volume reflects the most recent trends in the study of Hebrews and is designed for classroom use by students in both undergraduate and graduate programs. The various chapters emphasize the importance of interpreting Hebrews in light of its ancient Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman contexts and address major interpretive issues, including genre, conceptual backgrounds, Hebrews use of Scripture and biblical themes, the theology of the letter and major theological issues in its reception, emerging interpretive approaches, and the use of the book in the history of Christian thought and worship. The contributors are Harold W. Attridge; Gabriella Gelardini; Patrick Gray; Rowan A. Greer; Craig R. Koester; Eric F. Mason; Frank J. Matera; Kevin B. McCruden; Alan C. Mitchell; David M. Moffitt; Jerome H. Neyrey, SJ; Kenneth Schenck; James W. Thompson; and Mark A. Torgerson.