Ιωβηλαίο έτος, Μελχισεδέκ και η προς Εβραίους Επιστολή: συμβολή στη διαμόρφωση της χριστιανικής σωτηριολογίας

Abstract

The study breaks down into two parts, comprising six chapters. There is also an introduction before Part I and after the final chapter of the book a few pages are devoted to the conclusions.Part Ι (chs. 1-3) is entitled “Jubilee year and Melchizedek in the pre-Christian era” and includes three chapters exploring the two basic aspects of the study (jubilee and Melchizedek) from their beginning to the New Testament period. Part ΙΙ (chs. 4-6) has the title “Jubilee year and Melchizedek in the Christian era” and includes three chapters, the first from which is devoted to the survey of the presentation of the jubilee in the writings of the New Testament and the other two have been focused in the epistle to the Hebrews. The “Introduction” of the work surveys the New Testament view of salvation or in other words, the way by which the New Testament authors understand the meaning of salvation in connection or not with the death of Christ. Then, the overall problem of the remission of sins in the New Testament is explored as is presented in its three conceptions. This work chose to explore the third one, the interpersonal remission of sins. “Jubilee year” is the theme of Chapter 1 that surveys essentially the origin and the development of the jubilee year, but also the presence of analogous social institutions in Near East during the ancient times. Here, jubilee is analyzed in direct relation with the Sabbath day and the sabbatical year. By this way of survey the confusion that occurs often because of the provisions of the sabbatical and the jubilee year is resolved, since the features of each institution are reported with an indicative method and the relative verses from Lev 25 are analyzed. In the units of this chapter are explored issues that have to do with the laws of the jubilee, etymology, calendar, origin and date of Lev 25. In the last unit there is an intercultural survey of analogous institutions of social justice in Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. From this survey arise very important social aspects that occur in the case of the remission of sins in the New Testament. Chapter 2 is entitled “The wholistic presentation of the jubilee year”. This chapter deals with the social, ritual and theological features of the jubilee. This analysis comprises the necessary presupposition in order to interpret correctly the influence of this institution to the understanding of the remission of sins in the New Testament. Firstly, there is a presentation of the conclusions of modern research about the social stratification of the Jewish society in a broader period of its history, from the era before the monarchy up to the return of the Babylonian exile, while then, Israel’s agrarian economy and method of production is presented in order to reveal the daily way of life, social and economic relations of the people and the problems that involved the destruction of the production and the bankruptcy. What follows are the ritual features of the jubilee. This unit comprises the necessary presupposition in order to interpret correctly the relation of jubilee with the Day of Atonement for a wholistic understanding of the remission. With a historical and ritual flashback to the New Year’s Day, Day of Atonement and the festival of Booths the ritual aspects that are contained in the provisions of the jubilee are displayed. The survey continues with the theological features of the jubilee. Land ownership, liberation from the enslavement of Egypt and the institution of the covenant has been chosen as the three basic theological axes that determine the life of the Jewish community in direct relation with Yahweh. The last two units are an attempt of quest references that are connected with sabbatical and jubilee year in the whole Old Testament and the intertestamental literature. Jubilee year was changed from a social institution to an eschatological symbol that was expected by the people and was related with the final salvation. The conclusion here is that the jubilee which was a responsibility of the people of God became a future interposition of Yahweh or his messiah. Chapter 3 has the title “Τhe mysterious figure of Melchizedek”. Here the survey of the figure and the role of Melchizedek are displayed through the intertextual analysis. This chapter explores firstly Melchizedek in the Old Testament, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, where we focused mainly on 11QMelch, because is a key text as it relates explicitly Melchizedek with the Jubilee year. The above exploration is being continued with Melchizedek in Philo and Josephus, because these writers represent ideas about the figure of Melchizedek during the first century C.E. The aim here is to observe what ideas could be possible known to the author of Hebrews who writes at the same period. We conclude that there were two different ideas about Melchizedek that were maintained also during the later centuries. The first tradition, obviously the premier one, views Melchizedek as a historical person. According to this view, the mysterious Melchizedek is illustrated as king-priest of Salem. The second tradition presents Melchizedek as a heavenly or angelic being and occurs in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Chapter 4, “Ιndirect references and allusions to the jubilee year in the Νew Τestament”, surveys mainly the way by which the image of the jubilee has been used by the several authors of New Testament books. Although we observed that there is not an explicit reference, several allusions and references to the provisions of jubilee occur in the text that are related with themes such as the remission of sins and salvation. The first category of texts includes passages where the provisions of the jubilee have been used mainly by the authors of the Synoptic Gospels into the way of the interpersonal remission of sins. The second category includes passages where the ideal of the social restoration is related with the coming of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. To conclude, in the first category of texts the remission of sins happens spontaneously, because it depends on humans’ social relation and interaction and so it is not related with the death of Jesus or the faith to him. In the second category of texts the same way of interaction between God and people is presented too, but here the coming of Jesus interplays a determinative role. We observed an impressive absence of this motive in the undisputed Pauline epistles. In the first case a more frequent use of the motive is being observed in the Gospel of Matthew and follows the Gospel of Luke, while in the second case occurs the reverse. Chapter 5 is entitled “Direct references to Melchizedek in the New Testament. The epistle to the Hebrews”. After the presentation of a historical and theological flashback of the previous research in the epistle to the Hebrews, the chapter discusses the theological ideas that occur from the whole of the New Testament only in Hebrews. Finally, there is a brief survey of the ideological background of the epistle, while the figure of Melchizedek is presented analytically under the focus of modern hermeneutics. Based on all the above issues we tried then to analyze the broader unit Heb 5:1-7:28. The interpretation of Heb 5:1-7:28 is divided into four subunits (5:1-10; 5:11-6:20;7:1-10 and 7:11-28).Chapter 6 has the title “Jubilee year, Melchizedek and salvation”. In the final chapter of the study we tried to evaluate the data from Hebrews about the presence of Melchizedek and jubilee year. Based on the Midrash on Melchizedek (11QMelch) we observed similarities and differences with Hebrews and especially with its soteriological views. In the first unit of the chapter features about the Melchizedek traditions that the author of Hebrews is aware about are described and the reason of Melchizedek’s choice is estimated. In the next pages what follows is a survey for the presence of a jubilary terminology within the text and this is supported that occurs in Heb 3:7-4:11. The survey goes on with the presentation of several redemptive figures with a role parallel to that of heavenly Melchizedek. Through the intertextual approach we analyzed several texts in which the role of the messiah appears similarities with that of Melchizedek in 11QMelch. These texts are: Testament of Levi, Aramaic Apocalypse, 4QCatenaa and Messianic Apocalypse. This survey follows the continuity of the tradition that attributes a redemptive role to the heavenly Melchizedek in later Gnostic texts (NHC IX,1, 2 Ieū, Pistis Sophia) and 2 Enoch. We concluded that although new features have been added in these views about Melchizedek, the basic tradition is the old Judaic one which is originated from 11QMelch.The presentation of texts continues in the next unit too, where the analysis is restricted now to those texts that relate the jubilee year with the expected liberator. Based to this category of texts we concluded that this relation was part of a particular Judaic tradition, which in the theological production of the Qumran community had taken a special importance. Signs of this tradition occur in the New Testament too. We think that every writer of the particular texts that we examined related the period of salvation with the messianic figure he wants, attributing to him acts that are related with the jubilee year. The chapter is concluded with a reference to the soteriological role of Christ in Hebrews and of Melchizedek in 11QMelch and to the contribution of Hebrews to the formation of Christian soteriology. Special focus has been added to issues such as high priesthood, judgement and salvation that appear similar to both texts. Beside this, we observed also a different presentation of Melchizedek in the two texts and the emergence of the only soteriological figure in Hebrews that is not other from Christ, the new high priest. Very important is the conclusion that what is said in 11QMelch illuminates several issues that in Hebrews just occur without further explanation. The jubilary terminology is also present in the text of the epistle with the broader meaning of Sabbath rest (4:9). Two motives appear in Hebrews that are related with the salvation of the believers, but have a different direction. The first one has a horizontal eschatological perspective and is related with the Sabbath rest that still remains for the people of God. The second, in anticipation, is a christological one, has a vertical perspective and is related with the once for all sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of people. This has to do with the problem that theological process had to overcome within the ancient Christian community and was not other than the death of Christ. The author of Hebrews tried to correct theologia gloriae through a theologia crucis in order to determine to his readers the figure and the work of their liberator. The last pages of the book are devoted to the “conclusions” of this study. We summarize them below:1. It is obvious that the issue of the remission of sins and mainly the way it happens in a few but efficient amounts of occurrences in the New Testament without any expiatory reference, it comes from the worldview of the jubilee year. On the other way, Paul’s theologia crucis functions catalytically into his undisputed epistles and it doesn’t leave any place for a jubilary way of remission of sins.2. The author of Hebrews is aware of both traditions about Melchizedek. Although a direct relation between the author of Hebrews and the Midrash on Melchizedek is not possible to be supported, it seems that some ideas that occurred in the document from the Dead Sea illustrate many analogous ideas which in Hebrews are only mentioned without explanation.3. A jubilary understanding of salvation is observed by the use of the idea of Sabbath rest that still remains for the Christian community to which the epistle to the Hebrews is addressed. The problems that the text report are not irrelevant with the presence of the King of Righteousness. Though, the idea of the expectance of the future salvation has a parenetic purpose: to proclaim its fulfilment in both social and spiritual level.

Οι διατάξεις του ιωβηλαίου έτους και το κοσμοείδωλο που ο συγκεκριμένος θεσμός οραματιζόταν σχετικά με την κοινωνική και θρησκευτική αποκατάσταση συνθέτουν στο χώρο της ερμηνείας της Αγίας Γραφής μια ομιχλώδη εικόνα που εδώ και καιρό ζητά απεγνωσμένα να ξεκαθαρισθεί. Από την άλλη, εξίσου ομιχλώδης είναι και η παρουσία της μυστηριώδους προσωπικότητας του Μελχισεδέκ, ο οποίος στη γραφίδα των βιβλικών συγγραφέων εμφανίζεται από το πουθενά και εξαφανίζεται αμέσως μόλις ολοκληρώσει το έργο του. Στην παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρούμε να ξεδιαλύνουμε το τοπίο γύρω από το μυστήριο που περιβάλλει το θεσμό του ιωβηλαίου έτους και την προσωπικότητα του Μελχισεδέκ, να εξετάσουμε βήμα προς βήμα την εξέλιξη του ρόλου τους για τη σωτηρία του λαού του Θεού και να εξηγήσουμε τον όποιο συνδυασμό τους σε εξωβιβλικά αλλά και πιθανώς καινοδιαθηκικά κείμενα. Στην πα­ρα­τή­ρη­ση ό­τι η προς Ε­βραί­ους ε­πι­στο­λή δι­α­κρί­νε­ται α­πό τα υ­πό­λοι­πα βι­βλί­α της Κ.Δ. ε­ξαι­τί­ας της ι­δι­ό­μορ­φης θε­ο­λο­γι­κής της δι­δα­σκα­λί­ας, αλ­λά και της ε­ξάρ­τη­σής της α­πό την Π.Δ. προ­στί­θε­ται και το γε­γο­νός ό­τι δι­α­σώ­ζει την ε­κτε­νέ­στε­ρη α­να­φο­ρά στον Μελ­χι­σε­δέκ στην Α­γί­α Γρα­φή. Με­τά την κα­θι­έ­ρω­ση στη σύγ­χρο­νη βι­βλι­κή έ­ρευ­να της νέ­ας ει­κό­νας του Μελ­χι­σε­δέκ με βά­ση τα δη­μο­σι­ευ­μέ­να χει­ρό­γρα­φα του Κουμ­ράν, ό­που και εν­το­πί­ζε­ται έ­νας συν­δυα­σμός του λυ­τρω­τι­κού ρό­λου του ου­ρά­νιου πλέ­ον Μελ­χι­σε­δέκ με το ε­σχα­το­λο­γι­κό ι­ω­βη­λαί­ο που θα ση­μά­νει τη σω­τη­ρί­α του λα­ού του Θε­ού, η πρό­κλη­ση για την α­να­ψη­λά­φη­ση των α­παρ­χών της χρι­στι­α­νι­κής σω­τη­ρι­ο­λο­γί­ας ή­ταν α­να­πό­φευ­κτη. Κα­τά συ­νέ­πεια, η α­να­ζή­τη­ση της σύν­δε­σης αυ­τής της σχέ­σε­ως με την προς Ε­βραί­ους ε­πι­στο­λή, ε­νός δη­λα­δή κει­μέ­νου που δι­α­δρα­μά­τι­σε ση­μαν­τι­κό ρό­λο στη ι­στο­ρί­α της Εκ­κλη­σί­ας για την τε­λι­κή δι­α­μόρ­φω­ση του χρι­στο­λο­γι­κού προ­βλή­μα­τος, αλ­λά και της λει­τουρ­γι­κής της ζω­ής ι­δι­αί­τε­ρα στην Α­να­το­λή, α­παι­τεί κρι­τι­κή ε­πι­στη­μο­νι­κή α­νά­λυ­ση για τη δι­α­λεύ­καν­ση της μο­να­δι­κής σω­τη­ρι­ο­λο­γι­κής θέ­σε­ως αυ­τού του κει­μέ­νου α­πέ­ναν­τι στο γε­γο­νός «Χρι­στός».