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Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews
This commentary is the first to fully apply the resources of socio-rhetorical analysis to Hebrews. Insights into the cultural and social world of the audience are combined with analysis of the author's rhetorical strategy and ideology to create a rich, three-dimensional reading that helps unravel key issues in the interpretation of the epistle. David deSilva's reflections on application concluding each section also make his commentary valuable to seminarians and pastors seeking to make Hebrews relevant to today's world.
580 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2000
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About the author
David A. deSilva
88 books71 followersDavid A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. His numerous books include Introducing the Apocrypha and An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 11, 2025
Having taught through the book of Hebrews for a year up to the end of chapter 10, it would be an under statement to say that it has been a challenge but also a tremendous blessing.
deSilva’s commentary is one of a dozen that I have been reading through during my exposition. As the title explains, this is a “socio-rhetorical commentary.” I do not adhere to the kind of hermeneutics that brings the cultural background to the foreground in order to interpret the text of inspired scripture. The attempt to map a cultural, social, rhetorical background onto the text can lead to eisegesis instead of exegesis. Obviously, this is not the author’s intention with his commentary. The ways I benefited from this commentary were not directly linked to the hermeneutic of its author.
Instead, I enjoyed the narrative approach he uses to communicate his insights. It was an enjoyable read. It’s easy to get lost in the trees of Hebrews and miss the overall forest. deSilva enabled me to grasp the overall theme and argument of the book between passages, while not fully buying into his patron-client blueprint. For example, he accurately ties the fourth warning passage in 10:26-31 to the previous context of 10:19–25 in a way that many commentaries fail to do. deSilva also makes many refreshing applicational observations.
Reviewing commentaries is not easy. I would not make this one my first recommendation for a pastor-teacher going through Hebrews. But I do recommend it because it does help make connections for better preaching and teaching of the book. It would be a great commentary to read through in advance of teaching the book.
deSilva’s commentary is one of a dozen that I have been reading through during my exposition. As the title explains, this is a “socio-rhetorical commentary.” I do not adhere to the kind of hermeneutics that brings the cultural background to the foreground in order to interpret the text of inspired scripture. The attempt to map a cultural, social, rhetorical background onto the text can lead to eisegesis instead of exegesis. Obviously, this is not the author’s intention with his commentary. The ways I benefited from this commentary were not directly linked to the hermeneutic of its author.
Instead, I enjoyed the narrative approach he uses to communicate his insights. It was an enjoyable read. It’s easy to get lost in the trees of Hebrews and miss the overall forest. deSilva enabled me to grasp the overall theme and argument of the book between passages, while not fully buying into his patron-client blueprint. For example, he accurately ties the fourth warning passage in 10:26-31 to the previous context of 10:19–25 in a way that many commentaries fail to do. deSilva also makes many refreshing applicational observations.
Reviewing commentaries is not easy. I would not make this one my first recommendation for a pastor-teacher going through Hebrews. But I do recommend it because it does help make connections for better preaching and teaching of the book. It would be a great commentary to read through in advance of teaching the book.
March 3, 2021
One of the era's premier commentaries on the letter to the Hebrews.
No one will consider the author's commentary to be "brief," as the Hebrews author asks his audience to bear with his "brief" exhortation. The commentary is wide-ranging but does focus on its theme: socio-rhetorical.
The "rhetorical" part features deSilva's continual reference to the various forms of rhetoric in use in the Greek world with ample quotations from Aristotle and others, all to display just how elevated the Hebrews author's Greek rhetoric proves to be.
The "socio" part involves well and deep researched understanding of the letter in a first century Greco-Roman milieu. deSilva provides plenty of evidence to buttress his major patron-client thesis, that the Hebrews author exhorts his audience to behave as if they were the clients of God the patron, replete with references from Seneca and others about the nature of the patron-client relationship. He is sensitive to the honor-shame dynamic in ancient society.
deSilva particularly excels at embracing the ambiguities inherent in the letter's situation: the author and audience know each other, but we do not know who they are in specifics. For instance, deSilva, of all the commentaries I read, brought out how the audience is expected to know and feel affinity for Timothy, and that is a major strike against the Jerusalem hypothesis, and much more in favor of Italy, Asia Minor, Greece, or somewhere else more firmly within the Pauline circle. And yet deSilva does well at not imposing a framework based on assumptions of audience and author, but allows the substance of the letter to inform its purpose: to encourage Christians who were starting to grow weary to persevere, always expressing gratitude to God for all He has done for them (and thus the title).
The author's exegesis is valuable. He is very much in conversation with the other commentators on Hebrews. His modern applications are uncomfortably apt.
It's a major endeavor to read and absorb this commentary, but it deserves its standing. If you are interested in Hebrews, or preaching/teaching through it, this is an essential read.
No one will consider the author's commentary to be "brief," as the Hebrews author asks his audience to bear with his "brief" exhortation. The commentary is wide-ranging but does focus on its theme: socio-rhetorical.
The "rhetorical" part features deSilva's continual reference to the various forms of rhetoric in use in the Greek world with ample quotations from Aristotle and others, all to display just how elevated the Hebrews author's Greek rhetoric proves to be.
The "socio" part involves well and deep researched understanding of the letter in a first century Greco-Roman milieu. deSilva provides plenty of evidence to buttress his major patron-client thesis, that the Hebrews author exhorts his audience to behave as if they were the clients of God the patron, replete with references from Seneca and others about the nature of the patron-client relationship. He is sensitive to the honor-shame dynamic in ancient society.
deSilva particularly excels at embracing the ambiguities inherent in the letter's situation: the author and audience know each other, but we do not know who they are in specifics. For instance, deSilva, of all the commentaries I read, brought out how the audience is expected to know and feel affinity for Timothy, and that is a major strike against the Jerusalem hypothesis, and much more in favor of Italy, Asia Minor, Greece, or somewhere else more firmly within the Pauline circle. And yet deSilva does well at not imposing a framework based on assumptions of audience and author, but allows the substance of the letter to inform its purpose: to encourage Christians who were starting to grow weary to persevere, always expressing gratitude to God for all He has done for them (and thus the title).
The author's exegesis is valuable. He is very much in conversation with the other commentators on Hebrews. His modern applications are uncomfortably apt.
It's a major endeavor to read and absorb this commentary, but it deserves its standing. If you are interested in Hebrews, or preaching/teaching through it, this is an essential read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews