The New Testament model as a stage in the logos / paideia relationship: paideia as “educational suffering” in Hebrews

Abstract

There is a profound relationship between the educational process (paideia - paideuō) and the role of human suffering (pathēma - paschō). It is well known how Greek and Latin literature recognize a high educational value to suffering, with considerable philosophical implications. From a literary and stylistic point of view, the New Testament book closest to the sensitivity of the Judeo-Hellenistic world is the letter to the Hebrews, in which this theme stands out in all its originality. The educational model and the influence of Greek literature in Hellenistic Alexandrian and Palestinian Judaism, together with the Old Testament wisdom traditions are not alien to the author of Hebrews, who re-elaborates the concept of paideia and “educational suffering” by applying it to Christ (Heb 2, 5-18; 5: 1-10) and believers (Heb 12: 4-11). The contribution aims to deepen the argumentation of paideia in relation to the reason for “educational suffering” in Hebrews, highlighting a threefold perspective: a) Christological (cf. Heb 2: 5-18; 4: 15-16); b) soteriological (cf. Heb 5: 1-10); c) anthropological (Heb 12: 4-11).