But how should σωμα and
its designation as an ‘offering’ (προσφορα) be understood? Most interpreters read σωμα as a ‘body’ being offered (on earth or in heaven), yet
σωμα could also symbolize Jesus’ earthly life of obedience,
for several reasons.
First, σωμα, as
well as θελημα and προσφορα are
unusual terms for Hebrews in reference to purgative and sacrificial language are
only imported here via Ps. 40. Generally, when Hebrews speaks of an offering (προσφορα) in
a literal cultic sense it refers to either ‘sacrifice/gifts” (5.1, 3;
7.27, αναφερω; 8.3, 4; 9.9; 10.1, 2, 8, 11, 12, 18, προσφορα;
11.4, 17), ‘blood’ (9.7, cf. 9.25), or Jesus (9.14, 25, 28). But ‘offering’ is
also used to denote obedience (5.7) and praise (13.15, αναφερω,
cf. 12.7). Reading the ‘offering’ of Jesus’ σωμα in
a literal cultic sense would seem odd, given that elsewhere Hebrews puts so
much emphasis on the offering of blood . . .
Elsewhere in Hebrews σωμα is used in contexts that describe suffering obedience
and faithfulness. In 10.22, the washed ‘body’ is essentially a ‘vehicle of
obedience’. In 13.3 σωμα refers to imprisonment and those who were tortured. Finally,
σωμα is used in suffering outside the gate, that is, on
earth (13.11-12). Following this analogy, Hebrews exhorts the recipients to
offer (αναφερω) a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of their lips, as
they, like Jesus, continue to suffer outside the gate, that is, on earth
(13.11-12). Following this analogy, Hebrews exhorts the recipients to offer (αναφερω) a
sacrifice of praise, the fruit of their lips, as they, like Jesus, continue to
suffer outside the camp (παρεμβολη, 13.13-15). Outside of Hebrews, Paul uses similar
cultic language metaphorically to describe a life of obedience with exhortation
‘to present your bodies as a living sacrifice’ (παραστησαι τα σωματα υμων θυσιαν ζωσαν, Rom.
12.1). As Richard Longenecker writes, Paul is not referring to a ‘killed,
bloody, or dead sacrifice, as were the animal sacrifices at the Jewish
tabernacle and temple, but as the sacrifice of one’s entire person in all its
created vibrancy and aliveness’.
By drawing on Ps. 40,
Hebrews contrasts the many ‘sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and
sin offerings (10.8) with the greater sacrifice of a life lived in obedience to
God and his will—the offering of Jesus’ σωμα (10.10). Reading σωμα as a reference to Jesus’ earthly life of obedience
fits the logic of Ps. 40: obedience trumps sacrifice offerings. There is not
necessarily anything abhorrent with rendering σωμα as ‘body’, but it is what ‘body’ signifies that
matters. Jesus has come to live a life of obedience and he has come to do this
within the σωμα prepared
for him (10.5). The ‘offering’
of Jesus’ σωμα should
not be limited to his death, but it is broader and concerns his ‘entire somatic
existence’.
Accordingly, rather
than juxtaposing the obedience spoken of in Ps. 40 with a literal cultic
offering, Hebrews, at least initially uses sacrifice language to describe
obedience to God’s will. Some of Eberhart’s conclusions can be critiqued, but
he is right in stating that when Hebrews uses sacrifice language, it is not exclusively
cultic, but also ‘points to Christ’s whole life as an example of Christian love’.
(Joshua
D. A. Bloor, Purifying the Consciousness in Hebrews: Cult, Defilement and
the Perpetual Heavenly Blood of Jesus [Library of New Testament Studies 675;
London: T&T Clark, 2024], 85-86)
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