8/9/2019 The Notion of Mediator in Alexandrian Judaism and the Epistle to the Hebrews -- By- Ronald h. Nash

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Journal: Westminster Theological Journal

Volume: WTJ 40:1 (Fall 1977)

Article: The Notion Of Mediator In Alexandrian Judaism And The Epistle To The Hebrews

Author: Ronald H. Nash

The Notion Of Mediator In Alexandrian Judaism And The Epistle To TheHebrews

Ronald H. Nash

In the ninth chapter of the book of job, the afflicted patriarch

laments the great gulf between himself and God. job cannot answer back to God because, of course, God is

not a finite, sinful mortal. Therefore, job ponders, how can he and God meet in trial? As if the distance

between God and himself were not bad enough, the situation is aggravated by the absence of a mediator

(mesite  s̄ in the LXX) between them who might lay his hand upon them both (Job 9:33). 1

Job’s yearning for a mediator who might stand between him and God is finally satisfied in the New

Testament proclamation of the “one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

(I Tim. 2:5). The use of mesite   ̄s in this affirmation is one of four instances in the New Testament when the

term is applied to Jesus, the other three occurring in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24).

My intention is to explore several dimensions of the mediatorial work of Christ, with special reference to the

account given in the Epistle to the Hebrews. I propose to do this by noting similarities and differences

between the notion of Mediator in Hebrews and notions prominent in the philosophical and theological world

of discourse in Alexandrian Judaism, a background shared by both the anonymous writer of Hebrews and

his audience.

Many Christians think of Christ’s mediatorial work only in one of its New Testament dimensions, that of his

sacrifice for

WTJ  40:1 (Fall 1977) p. 90

men’s sins, his work of redemption and reconciliation. A study of the thought-world of Hebrews reveals other

aspects to Christ’s mediatorial work. Even though the term mesite  s̄ is applied to Jesus only four times in the

New Testament, this study will draw attention to several related features of the work of Christ that are

manifestations of his work as The Mediator.

I. The Epistle to the Hebrews and Alexandrian Judaism

Alexandria was a dominant locale of the Jewish Diaspora and the chief center of Hellenistic thought at the

beginning of the Christian era. It is not surprising that those Jews who lived there were open to influencefrom new ideas, especially from concepts in Greek philosophy that seemed consistent with and supportive

of, their religious beliefs. The compatibility of Judaism with both Platon...

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