The Letter To The Hebrews In Social-Scientific Perspective Summary

The author of The Letter to the Hebrews in Social-Scientific Perspective, David deSilva, is a New Testament scholar who earned his PhD in New Testament studies at Emory University in 1995; deSilva went on to teach at Ashland Theological Seminary, where, since 2005, he has been titled as the Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek. In his book on Hebrews, deSilva presents the argument that the Letter (sermon) to the Hebrews is best understood through looking at the social scientific background of the culture, author, and audience during the time period (exact date unknown) the book was authored. By looking in depth at the social scientific background, the intention behind the text, as well as the implications of the Letter to the Hebrews, can be discovered, even when the audience, and author, and date of authorship remain uncertain. In the introduction, deSilva asserts that “The question of primary importance for interpreting any occasional text [like Hebrews] . . . concerns what was going on in the community’s situation to occasion such a response?” (deSilva p.). The rest of the book, then, goes on to answer that
I would argue that David deSilva tactfully set up his argument and confirmed it with ample evidence. Prior to reading the book, I did not fully understand what social-scientific perspective even meant. However, from the introduction, the author clearly explained what he was trying to accomplish, and went on to accomplish his task in the following five chapters. The author claims that in order to properly understand The Letter to the Hebrews, one must discover the social background of the text; not particularly the exact audience or author, rather the situation they lived in, which gives us an great deal of insight into the book of