Constructing “Janus-Faced” Exhortations 407 these leaders of the past offer to the hearers a continuation of the roll call of faith they had heard in chapter 11. They not only ‘spoke the word of God’ but enacted it through their faithful way of life” (24). This echo back to chapter 11 is also enhanced by the author’s choice of language, e[kbasi" (13,7) perhaps evoking further memories of the triumph of the exodus narrative (25). It is also worth stressing that the trajectory of 11,1–12,2 is replicated in 13,7-8. In the great faith discourse, Christ, the author and perfector of faith, comes at the climax of the parade of heroes, the true witness par excellence. The same approach comes forth in chapter 13; Jesus Christ is, in Hebrews, the consummate heroic leader, and his succession to verse 7 comes as no surprise. Although leaders fade away, Jesus Christ does not. He remains (cf. 13,1), he is faithful over God’s house (3,6). The transition then from 13,7 to 13,8 is therefore less abrupt than many have otherwise suggested. At the risk of circular thinking, once the minatory role of the OT heroes is understood, verses 1-8 seem the most logical unit under discussion; the pattern of chapter 11 of heroic behaviour whose ultimate manifestation is found in Jesus Christ, is replicated in chapter 13,1-8. The laudatory exhortations, premised upon the actions of those who have gone before them in Israel’s story, and is found in their own leaders (13,7), reaches its climax in 13,8, with Jesus, the one who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The rhetorical pattern is common to both discourses. IV. Conclusions What can one say in conclusion? Is there some bigger rhetorical framework operational within this pericope? Our analysis of this fairly consistent use of OT figures as implicit characters within the discourse testifies to an ongoing structure premised upon recollection of OT narratives. One might draw out several conclusions: 1) There does seem to be a continued use of OT figures and narratives as the basis for ethical instruction. Though not limited to this, the shared narrative is primarily between the familiar texts of Heb 11 and Heb 13; just as the heroes of chapter 11 are commended for their faithfulness, so the audience are similarly exhorted to that same commendable faithfulness in the knowledge that the heroes were able to demonstrate that kind of model, faithful behaviour. This may perhaps explain why the exhortations of chapter 13 have often been dismissed as being so “unrevolutionary” or lacking innovation; Pamela Eisenbaum notes, for example, that “Hebrews does not appear interested in defining or scripting Christian behaviour. It is certainly not designed to introduce Christians to new rules of behaviour” (26). The (24) JOHNSON, Hebrews, 345; see also KOESTER, Hebrews, 559: “the listeners are to imitate these leaders, just as they are to imitate Abraham, who was not a martyr (6,12)”. (25) See THEISSEN, “Hebrews,” 355-360 for the view that Hebrews retells Israel’s history as a prolonged exodus narrative terminated by the Christ event. (26) P. EISENBAUM, “The Virtue of Suffering, the Necessity of Discipline, and the Pursuit of Perfection in Hebrews”, Asceticism and the New Testament (eds. L.E. VAAGE – V.L. WIMBUSH) (London 1999) 332.