The "Cosmic Covenant" in the Letter to the Hebrews

The Topic The "cosmic covenant" in Hebrews reflects three main ideas: There exists a close affinity between the letter and Enochic Judaism; the letter is a product of Roman Gentile Christianity that emerged as a response to Jewish particularists in the Second Temple covenantal debate; and the writer's cosmic perspective had the simultaneous effect of supplanting and universalizing the Jewish covenantal concept. The Purpose The thesis offered here is that Hebrews presupposes a notion of "cosmic covenant" similar to that found in Enochic Judaism. Conclusions What has emerged is support for how the universalistic scope of 1 Enoch and its strong cosmic-eschatological outlook are framed by a reformulation of the Jewish covenant and undergirded by a critical stance toward the national cultus. These theological tendencies in the works provide an important framework for understanding the distinctiveness of the new "cosmic covenant" elaborated in the Letter to the Hebrews.