129 ANOTHER NOTE ON ΛΟΓΟΣ AS CHRIST IN HEBREWS 4,12-13 JAMES SWETNAM An article by the present writer in a previous number of Filologia Neo- testamentaria1 argued that the conventional interpretation of the λόγος of Heb 4,12-13 as signifying the word of God in Scripture was inadequate because it was inconsistent with the terminology of the context, with the imagery of the context, with the description of the context, and with the lan- guage of the context. In contrast, to take the word λόγος as meaning Christ as Word resolved each of these inconsistencies. The present note situates the proposed interpretation of Christ as Word in the context of Heb 3,7-4,11, arguing that this preliminary passage supposes some agency to account for the assurance of entry into God’s Rest for the People of God as such. 1. The Proposed Interpretation of Christ as Λόγος in Hebrews 5,12-13 Contemporary interpreters of Hebrews are almost unanimous in their view that the word λόγος in Heb 5,12-13 means the word of God in Scripture2. But this interpretation has a number of difficulties which are usually ignored: 1) The terminology is inconsistent. The word λόγος in v. 12 is nor- mally taken as referring to the word of God in Scripture, whereas the λόγος in v. 13 is taken as meaning “account”, i.e., to be rendered. But the two occurrences of λόγος in vv. 12-13, being found as they are at the beginning of v. 12 and the end of v. 13, would seem to act as a frame for the two verses, implying that there was a common element of meaning. Viewed in this way, the change in meaning seems bizarre. 2) The imagery is inconsistent. In v. 12 the image is about the pen- etrating power of the λόγος, whereas in v. 13 the image seems to be about a sacrifice. 3) The description is inconsistent. It is not clear how a “two-edged” sword is appropriate for a sacrifice. 1 J. Swetnam, “The Context of the Crux at Hebrews 5,7-8”, Filologia Neotestamentaria XIV (2001) 101-20. 2 Cf. Swetnam, “The Context”, 103-07. Filología Neotestamentaria - Vol. XVIII - 2005, pp. 131-135 Facultad de Filosofía y Letras - Universidad de Córdoba (España)