Unexpected Light on Heb 13.1-6

7/31/2019 Unexpected Light on Heb 13.1-6

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UNEXPECTED LIGHT ON

HEBREWS 13:1-6 FROM A

SECOND CENTURY

SOURCE

WILLIAM L LANE

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

The second century writer, Lucian of Samosata, prepared a caustic

account of the death of the Cynic teacher Peregrinus Proteus. In the

explanatory remarks offered for the benefit of his correspondent, Cro-

nius, a Platonist, Lucian includes a number of statements which shed

unexpected light on the paraenetic instruction in Hebrews 13:1-6. What is

striking is that incidental parallels are offered for the entire paragraph,

with the exception of verse 4 which addresses marriage and sexual

morality. Nothing that Lucian recorded touched upon these topics of

Christian concern.

Although other writers of the second century mentioned Peregrinus,1

what is known of his life is drawn almost entirely from Lucian's TheDeath of Peregrinus.2 Peregrinus was born to wealthy parents in Parium

1 Aulus Gellius 12.11 ; Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists 2.1.33; Tatian, Oration to theGreeks 25; Athenagoras, Legation of the Christians 26.

2See K. von Fritz, "Peregrinus (Proteus)," RE 19.1 (37th Halbband, 1937) 656-63; M.Croiset, "Un ascte paien au sicle des Antonius, Prgrinus Prote," Acadmie desSciences et Lettres de Montpellier, Mmoires de la section des Lettres 6 (1878) 455-91; J.F. Aerts, Peregrinus Proteus, een Kynieker uit de 2e eeuw na Kristus (DissertationLwen, 1931-32). For the translation of The Death of Peregrinus 11-13 I have relied on F.C. Grant in Hellenistic Religions (Indianapolis, 1953) 98-99; for 16 I have adapted the

translation of A. M. Harmon in The Loeb Classical Library edition of the text (Vol. 5,1913).


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268 PERSPECTIVES IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES

(14), a small Greek town in the Hellespont. As a young man he was

involved in disreputable love affairs and in violent quarrels at home. He

left Parium under the suspicion of having strangled his father. His travelsbrought him to Palestine, where he was introduced to Christianity. In

time he became recognized as a prophet and leader in Christian circles,

attaining a considerable reputation as an interpreter of the Scriptures and

a defender of the Christian faith (11).

When Peregrinus was imprisoned for his activities as a Christian,

churches in Palestine and elsewhere rallied to his support (12-13). Follow

ing his release he returned to Parium, but soon found it expedient to

resume his travels. Everywhere he was able to depend on local Christians

for hospitality and provisions, until a rupture occurred in his relationship

with the churches. When the churches withdrew their support Peregrinus

was reduced to petitioning, unsuccessfully, for the return of his estate,

which he had deeded to the town of Parium for charitable purposes. He

subsequently went to Egypt, where he studied with the Cynic Agathobu-

lus and adopted many of the grosser traits of Cynic behavior.3 From

Egypt he made his way to Italy, but was banished from Rome by the city

prefect for his verbal abuse of the emperor. That incident encouraged

some individuals to rank Peregrinus with reputable philosophers like

Musonius Rufus, Dio of Prusa, and Epictetus who had also been placed

under a decree of banishment (18). Peregrinus then traveled to Greece,where he attempted to instigate a rebellion against the Roman adminis

tration. There he publicly insulted the philanthropist, Herodes Atticus.

He finally crowned his career by a sensational suicide. He cast himself

into the flames of a blazing funeral pyre as a means of apotheosis before

an admiring crowd at the Olympic Festival of A.D. 165 (35-36).4

Subsequently, Peregrinus became the object of a cult.5 A statue that

was set up in his honor was credited with miracles and attracted large

numbers of pilgrims.6

Lucian, who was personally acquainted with Peregrinus, was present

at the Olympic Festival. He had witnessed the self-immolation of Peregri-

3H. M. Hornsby, "The Cynicism of Peregrinus Proteus," Hermathena 23 (1933) 65-84.

4P. Franchi de' Cavalieri, "Zu Peregrini 36," Studi Romanil (1914) 208; M. Nilsson,

"Der Flammentod der Herakles auf dem Ohe," ARW2 (1922) 310-16; R. Pack, "The'Volatilization'of Peregrinus Proteus,"Am Journ Philoldl (1946) 334-45; D. M. Pippidi,"Apothoses imperiales et apothose de Peregrinos," Studi e materiali di Storia dellaReligion 21 (1948) 77-103.

5H. D. Betz, Lukian von Samosata und das Neue Testament, religionsgeschichtlichewrtdpflrnetische Parallelen. Ein Beitrag zum Corpus Hellenisticum (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1961) 124-30.

6Athenagoras, Legation 26; cf. Lucian, Death of Peregrinus 41.


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LIGHT ON HEBREWS 13:1-6 269

nus and wrote his account of the incident soon after the event. Lucian felt

only contempt for Peregrinus Proteus and regarded him as a subject for

ridicule.7

He presents him as an exhibitionist who staged his own death onthe occasion of the Olympic Games in order to assure himself a vast

audience and an enduring reputation. Lucian was convinced that Peregri

nus' sole concern was for theatrical prominence. The speeches he had

made at the Festival and the letters he circulated announcing his intention

to consign himself to the flames were calculated to create a lasting

impression for the present and the future, according to Lucian.

Although Lucian's primary purpose is to convey a sense of the drama

surrounding the death of Peregrinus, he introduces into his account an

unnamed speaker, who is almost certainly Lucian himself, who provides a

sketch of the life of Peregrinus. The portion of the sketch which coversPeregrinus' association with the Christian movement is of particular

interest because of the incidental witness it offers to Christian faith and

practice in the second century. Lucian was far from sympathetic toward

Christianity.8

He knew little about Christian convictions and cared less.

Lucian's lack of sympathy for Christianity is evident in the sarcasm

with which he introduces the Christian phase of Peregrinus' career:

It was then that he learned the marvelous wisdom of the Christians, byassociation with their priests and scribes in Palestine. And how? He madethem look like children; for he was a prophet and a leader of the cult and head

of the synagogue and everything, all by himself. Some of their books heexpounded and interpreted, but many of them he wrote; and they stood inawe of him as before a god, used him as their lawgiver, and inscribed him astheir protectornext to that other one, of course, whom they still worship,the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this newmystery initiation into the world (ll).9

It is evident that Lucian's knowledge of Christianity was far from

precise. While he knew that Jesus had been crucified in Palestine, he had

no knowledge of the circumstances that had led to his execution. He

appears to have regarded the Christian movement as an aberrant offshoot

7E. Zeller, "Alexander und Peregrinus, ein Betrger und ein Schwrmer, " Vortrage

und Abhandlungen 2 (1877) 154-88.8E. Zeller, "ber eine Berhrung des jngeren Cynismus mit dem Christentum, "SA

(1897) 129-32; P. de Labriolle, "Lucien et les Chrtiens," Les Humanits, Classe deLettres 4 (1929) 148-53; C. Curti, "Lucian e i Cristiani," in Miscellanea di Studi di

Letteratura Cristiana antica (Cartania, 1954) 86-109; V. Daumer, "Lucien de Samosate etla secte chrtienne," Cahiers du cercle E. Renan 13 (1959); E. Betz, "Lukian von Samosataund das Christentum," Nov Test 3 (1959), 226-37.

9This passage attracted early attention; see C. Buttinghausen, "Observationes Miscel-laneae. II. Primo Christianorum legislatore apud Lucianum in Peregrino," BibliothecaHagana Hist.-Philol-Theol. Classis tenia, fase, primus (Amsterdam, 1777) 178-84, whocomments on The Death of Peregrinus 11 and 13.


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of Judaism because he confuses the church with the synagogue in de

scribing the leadership of the movement. His presentation of Christianity

as a rival to the mystery cults, and of Peregrinus as cult leader and head of

the synagogue, certainly reflects confusion. If Peregrinus actually wrote

any pamphlets of an expository or apologetic nature at this time, they

have left no trace in the extant record.

Lucian's intention did not demand precision. He regarded the Chris

tian phase of Peregrinus' pilgrimage as just one incident among others.

Lucian cited it because of the enthusiastic reception Peregrinus found

among the Christians, whom Lucian regarded as "simple-minded people

. . . without precise belief." His caustic attitude both toward Peregrinus

and the Christians becomes clear when he concludes this portion of hisaccount with the remark, "And so if any charlatan or clever trickster,

capable of taking advantage of every occasion, comes among them, he at

once gets rich by imposing upon simple-minded people" (13).

The value of Lucian's account to the Christian interpreter can be seen

when he comments on Peregrinus, penetration of Christian circles. With

out intending to do so he provides a suggestive rationale for the structure

of Hebrews 13:1-6, which begins on the note of brotherly love {Philadelphia, verse 1) and concludes on the note of freedom from the love ofwealth (aphilarguos, verses 5-6). Lucian explains to Cronius that the

relationship among Christians is unusual; they are to regard one anotheras "brothers." He illustrates his point by calling attention to their attitude

toward material possessions and traces the willingness of Christians to

share what they own with one another to the teaching of Jesus.

Moreover, their original lawgiver persuaded them that they should be likebrothers to one another, after they have once broken the law by denying theGreek gods and by worshiping that crucified sophist of theirs and livingaccording to his laws. Therefore they despise all things equally, and viewthem as common property, accepting such teachings by tradition and without any precise belief (13).

Lucian's remarks reflect the fact that an educated person in the secondcentury was quite unprepared for the Christian concept of Philadelphiaexpressed in the exhortation, "keep on loving each other as brothers"

(Heb. 13:1 NIV). In ordinary usage, as well as in the Septuagint, the

Greek term Philadelphia was restricted to the love of those who actuallywere brothers and sisters. The extension of the term to include men and

women beyond the immediate family was something new. Lucian's choice

of the Christian attitude toward property to illustrate Jesus'teaching that

Christians were to regard themselves as brothers10

is interesting. It was

10Cf. Matt. 23:8, ". . . and all of you are brothers."


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appropriate precisely because the willingness to share possessions unself-

ishly is characteristic of the relationship between members of the same

family. It demonstrated that new attitudes concerning personal relationships would have implications for attitudes toward personal wealth (Heb.

13:5-6).

One expression of brotherly love was hospitality. Early Christian

documents indicate that itinerant teachers relied upon a network of

Christian homes for shelter and provisions and that the extension of

hospitality was regarded as an expression of brotherly love.11

It is suf-

ficient to recall the commendation of a certain Gaius who had

distinguished himself in this way:

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even

though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love.You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy ofGod. It wasfor the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from thepagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we maywork together for the truth (3 John 5-8 NIV).

The integral connection between brotherly love and hospitality is under

scored in Hebrews 13:1-2, when the instruction, "keep on loving each other

as brothers," is qualified by the reminder, "Do not forget to entertain

strangers, . . . "12

Peregrinus had been served well by the provision that

Christians made for traveling brothers, as Lucian observed at a later

point in his account:He left home, then, for the second time, to roam abut, possessing an amplesource of funds in the Christians, through whose generosity he lived inunalloyed prosperity (16).

Lucian, of course, regarded this as one more example of the ease with

which an unscrupulous Peregrinus had been able to capitalize upon his

association with the Christians.

That Peregrinus took advantage of the Christian commitment to

hospitality is not itself remarkable. But Lucian's statement becomes a

valuable source of insight when he reports the manner in which the

Christian communities responded when Peregrinus was imprisoned.13

The detail that meals were prepared which were shared with Peregrinus in

his cell confirms that the early Church regarded a ministry to Christian

brothers in prison as a corollary of the responsibility to practice hospital-

11 Cf. D. W. Riddle, "Early Christian Hospitality," JBL 57 (1938) 141-54.12An inscription on a portico beside the road near Oenoanda in Lycia preserves a

similar statement attributed to the Epicurean Diogenes of Oenoanda (ca. A. D. 200): "lovefor mankind bids us render aid to strangers passing by." See Diogenis OenandensisFragmenta, ed. J. William, II (Leipzig: Deichert, 1907), 5 (Column 2 line 7),

,3See G. Bagnani, "Peregrinus Proteus and the Christians," Historia 4 (1955) 107-12.


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ity. The response of the churches to Peregrinus' imprisonment reflects a

sensitivity to the paraenetic concerns expressed in Hebrews 13:1-3, i.e.,

the sustaining of brotherly love, the extension of hospitality, the remembering of those imprisoned.

Other elements in Lucian's account provide insight on the formula

tion of Hebrews 13:3, "Remember those in prison as if you were their

fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were

suffering" (NIV). Lucian writes:

Then Proteus was arrested for this and thrown into prison, which fact in itselfprovided him with no small reputation for his future career When he hadbeen imprisoned, accordingly, the Christians, viewing the fact as a misfortune, moved heaven and earth in their efforts to release him. Then, since this

was impossible, every other kind of ministration was showered upon him, notincidentally, but with great zeal; from the break of dawn elderly widows andorphan children could be seen waiting outside the prison, while some of theirmore accomplished leaders slept inside with him, after bribing the guards.Then elaborate meals were brought in, and their sacred books were readaloud and the most excellent Peregrinusfor he was still called by thatnamewas hailed by them as "the new Socrates." Indeed, people came evenfrom the cities of Asia, being sent by the Christians at common expense forthe purpose of supporting, defending, and encouraging the man (12-13).

The account conveys a vivid impression of the extent to which Christians

in the second century rallied their resources to support one of their

number who had been imprisoned as a confessor. The elderly widows

who arrived at the prison by dawn must have particular reference to those

women who constituted an order of widows and who devoted themselves

to ministerial tasks (cf. 1 Tim. 5:3-16). The orphans may also have been

enrolled among those who received their entire support from the

churches. The detail that certain leaders slept inside Peregrinus' cell is

suggestive of the manner in which the second century Church attempted

to honor the admonition to remember those in prison as if they werefellow-prisoners (hos sundedemenoi). Christians were prepared to participate in the actual living conditions of an imprisoned brother.14 The

reference to shared meals, the reading of the Scriptures and their exposition indicates that Christians were eager to extend to a prisoner the

communal experiences of the house church. The arrival of Christians

from Asia who were delegated to travel to Palestine "at common expense

for the purpose of supporting, defending, and encouraging" Peregrinus is

consistent with the measures of support Paul had received from churches

in Macedonia and Asia when he was imprisoned.15 The details of Lucian's

I4Is this the meaning of Rom. 16:7: "Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives whohave been in prison with me"?

15Cf. Phil. 2:25-30; 4:10-18; Tit. 3:13; 2 Tim. 1:16-18.


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account permit a more precise reading of the pastoral instruction in

Hebrews 13:3, with its repeated summons to identification with those in

prison and those who are mistreated.At one other point Lucian's remarks on the response of the Christian

community to Peregrinus sheds light on the paraenetic instruction in

Hebrews 13:1-6. Lucian explained to Cronius that the Christian attitude

toward material possessions is based on the conviction that they will

enjoy eternal life:

They manifest an uncanny speed whenever any such public action is to betaken; for they promptly spend all they possess. And so it was with Peregrinus; he received a considerable amount of money from them on account ofhis imprisonment. . . . For the poor devils have persuaded themselves thatthey are going to be entirely immortal and live forever and ever, and for thisreason they despise death and willingly give themselves up when arrestedthat is, most of them do. . . . Therefore they despise all things equally, andview them as common property, accepting such teachings by tradition andwithout any precise belief" (13).

Lucian recognized a correlation between the willingness of the Christians

to spend everything to aid a brother and their attitude toward life and

death. They were willing to spend whatever they possessed because they

did not place an ultimate value on wealth. They surrendered themselves

to imprisonment and ordeal when arrested because they had no fear of

death.

A similar emphasis upon the absence of material concerns and the

absence of the fear of death when threatened in a hostile environment is

found in Hebrews 13:5-6. The admonition, "keep your lives free from the

love of money and be content with what you have" (13:5) is supported by

the divine promise, "I will never leave you, I will never forsake you,"

derived from Deuteronomy 31:6. Isolated from its context, the verse

could be read as a summary of Jesus'teaching that God's people are not to

worry about what they will eat or drink or wear because a loving Father

will provide for their needs (Matt. 6:25-34 par). But in Hebrews the pledge

of God's presence prompts the response of faith, "So we say with confidence, Th e Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to

me?' "(13:6 NIV). The response of faith is a biblical quotation taken from

Psalm 118:6-7, which has the effect of establishing a rather sober context

for the instruction of verse 5. The writer's concern is not limited to the

provision of daily needs. It extends to the confrontation with hostility

that the people of God experience in the world. The assurance that the

Lord is the divine enabler permits the Christian to affirm, "I will not be

afraid. What can man do to me?" The logical shift from the monetary

concerns expressed in verse 5 to the matter of confident dependence upon

the Lord when threatened in a hostile world finds striking illustration in


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the explanation provided by Lucian for the Christians' readiness to spendall they possess in order to assist one of their members. The conviction

that God's people will enjoy eternal life freed Christians in the secondcentury both from a love of money and from the fear of death.

The parallels which have been drawn between Lucian's The Death ofPeregrinus and Hebrews 13:1-6 are interesting because they were unintentional. Lucian was not aware that the explanations he offered his friendconcerning Christian faith and practice would provide light upon earlyChristian paraenetic tradition. But in unexpected fashion he commentson the brotherly love, the hospitality, the concern for an imprisonedbrother, the attitude toward wealth, and the confidence in the face ofdeath which distinguished the Christian communities of his day. Hisincidental witness to Christian attitudes and practice suggests that theparaenetic tradition expressed in Hebrews 13:1-6 became a vital force inshaping the response of the churches in the second century to the socialdynamics of the hellenistic-Roman world.


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Unexpected Light on Heb 13.1-6