Re: Hebrews 12:1-2 and MARTUS

From: Edgar Foster (questioning1@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jul 09 1998 - 10:42:46 EDT


Dear Eric,

Carl Conrad has brought out many good points which thoroughly address
your question. I have a little different tack I want to take here.

---Eric Weiss wrote:

> Is it possible that from the usage of MARTUREW in chapter 11, it is
because God bore witness (MARTUREW) to their faith that they are
called MARTUS - witnesses - i.e., those who have obtained a
witness/testimony from God because of their faith, and that they
surround us in the sense that the testimony of their faith always
"surrounds" us as we strive to show the same perseverance? This, as
opposed to the usual idea that they are "witnesses" because they are
watching us run our race?<

Your suggestion is, of course, possible and plausible. MARTUREW
undoubtedly is an important component in helping unravel the "meaning"
of MARTUS in Heb. 12:1. But, there are also reasons I would suggest an
alternate view.

(1) MARTUS can refer to "any kind of human witnessing by eye and ear"
(BAGD 494).

hUMEIS MARTURES KAI hO QEOS-1 Thess. 2:10

ENWPION POLLWN MARTURWN-1 Tim. 6:12

(2) In the preceding chapter (11), the writer of Hebrews reviews the
many acts of faith performed by individuals in the OT. He then
concludes his majestic historical sojourn with the observation that
the pre-Christian holy ones, will not be made perfect apart from
hEMWN. Subsequently, 12:1 opens with the words TOIGAROUN KAI hEMEIS .
. . TREXWMEN ("therefore we also . . . we should run").

Heb. 11:1-12:1 indicates that the reason David, Abel, Noah, Enoch, et.
al., are MARTURWN is because of their examples (they thus "surround"
Christians in this way). These multitudinous examples cheer hEMIN on.
The writer says of Abel:

DI' AUTES APOQANWN ETI LALEI (Heb. 11:4).

(3) The force of PERIKEIMAI must not be ignored here. It can properly
refer to "a crowd of people surrounding someone" (BAGD 648). If we are
to understand MARTURUS in the sense of "spectatorship" here, the
spectatorship could be figurative, however.

> In the next verse, 12:2, the author states: "turning away from all
else and looking to Jesus, the author/pioneer and perfector/finisher
of our faith." If we "down here" are to keep our eyes on Jesus, would
not those who are around the throne or in Paradise or wherever they
are do the same thing? He (Jesus), not we, is the one that is going to
complete this thing. For the "witnesses" to be cheering us on would
mean that they are fixing their eyes on us, trusting in us and our
perseverance to make them perfect (11:40).<

Again, I think the context does not require that the "witnesses"
literally cheer us on. Prior to his mention of the witnesses
surrounding us, the writer of Hebrews reviews their exploits. This
could very well be the way in which they aid Christians in the race
for life. The writer would thus be saying: "They have run the race, so
can you."

Edgar Foster

Classics Major

Lenoir-Rhyne College

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