The powerful exhortation offered by the author at this point depends upon an illustration drawn from Psalm 95:7–11 (cf. Num. 14:22ff.), and in particular upon an analogy that is drawn between the experience of Israel and that of the church. We encounter in this passage, therefore, an example of exodus typology* that effectively directs the readers’ attention to the seriousness of rejecting Jesus. In the extended exegesis and application that follow the first quotation the author again reveals skillful midrashic exegesis wherein the phraseology of the quotation is used in elaborating the meaning that he has discovered for his readers in this passage of Scripture. The author also develops a unique concept of “rest,” which he understands as the true position of the church in and through what …