Papyrus 13 - British Library Papyrus 1532 - Epistle to the Hebrews - 2

The Epistle to the Hebrews () is one of the books of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitto and some of the Old Latin manuscripts place the epistle to the Hebrews among Paul's letters. However, doubt on Pauline authorship in the Roman Church is reported by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

. Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown, with Pauline authorship mostly rejected. A minority view Hebrews as written in deliberate imitation of the style of Paul, with some contending that it was authored by

Apollos Apollos () was a 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish Christian mentioned several times in the New Testament. A contemporary and colleague of Paul the Apostle, he played an important role in the early development of the churches of Ephesus and Cori ...

or Priscilla and Aquila. Scholars of Greek consider its writing to be more polished and eloquent than any other book of the New Testament, and "the very carefully composed and studied Greek of Hebrews is not Paul's spontaneous, volatile contextual Greek." It has been described as an intricate New Testament book.Mackie, Scott D. ''Eschatology and Exhortation in the Epistle to the Hebrews.'' Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. Some scholars believe it was written for

Jewish Christians Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Roman Judea during the late Second Temple period, under the Herodian tetrarchy (1st century AD). These Jews believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and t ...

who lived in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

.Powell, Mark A. ''Introducing the New Testament: a historical, literary, and theological survey''. Baker Academic, 2009. Its essential purpose was to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. At this time, certain believers were considering turning back to Judaism and to the Jewish system of law to escape being persecuted for believing Jesus to be the Messiah. The theme of the epistle is the teaching of the person of Jesus Christ and his role as mediator between God and humanity. According to traditional scholarship, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, following in the footsteps of Paul, argued that

Jewish Law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

had played a legitimate role in the past but was superseded by a

New Covenant The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...

for the Gentiles (cf. Romans 7:1–6; Galatians 3:23–25; Hebrews 8, 10). However, a growing number of scholars note that the terms Gentile, Christian and Christianity are not present in the text and posit that Hebrews was written for a Jewish audience, and is best seen as a debate between Jewish followers of Jesus and proto-rabbinical Judaism. In tone, and detail, Hebrews goes beyond Paul and attempts a more complex, nuanced, and openly adversarial definition of the relationship. The epistle opens with an exaltation of Jesus as "the radiance of God's glory, the express image of his being, and upholding all things by his powerful word" (Hebrews 1:1–3). The epistle presents Jesus with the titles "pioneer" or "forerunner", "Son" and "

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

", "priest" and "

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

".Mason, Eric F. ''You Are a Priest Forever: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews.'' (STDJ 74; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2008). The epistle casts Jesus as both exalted Son and High Priest, a unique dual

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

Composition

Hebrews uses Old Testament quotations interpreted in light of first-century rabbinical Judaism. New Testament and

Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism is the Judaism, Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destruction of Jerusalem in ...

scholar Eric Mason argues that the conceptual background of the priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews closely parallels presentations of the messianic priest and

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

in the

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

scrolls. In both Hebrews and Qumran, a priestly figure is discussed in the context of a Davidic figure; in both cases a divine decree appoints the priests to their eschatological duty; both priestly figures offer an eschatological sacrifice of atonement. Although the author of Hebrews was not directly influenced by Qumran's "Messiah of Aaron", these and other conceptions did provide "a precedent... to conceive Jesus similarly as a priest making atonement and eternal intercession in the heavenly sanctuary".

Authorship

By the end of the first century there was no consensus on the author's identity. Over the ensuing centuries, scholars have suggested

Clement of Rome Clement of Rome (; ; died ), also known as Pope Clement I, was the Pope, Bishop of Rome in the Christianity in the 1st century, late first century AD. He is considered to be the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church. Little is known about ...

Barnabas Barnabas (; ; ), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christians, Christian, one of the prominent Disciple (Christianity), Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jews, Cyprio ...

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

, and Priscilla and Aquila as possible authors. In the 3rd century,

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

wrote of the letter: Matthew J. Thomas argues that Origen was not denying Paul's authorship of Hebrews in that quote, but that he was only meaning that Paul would have employed an

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

to compose the letter. He points out that in other writings and quotations of Hebrews, Origen describes Paul as the author of the letter. In the 4th century,

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

supported Paul's authorship: the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Scholars argued that in the 13th chapter of Hebrews, Timothy is referred to as a companion. Timothy was Paul's missionary companion in the same way Jesus sent disciples out in pairs. The writer also states that he wrote the letter from "Italy", which also at the time fits Paul. The difference in style is explained as simply an adjustment to a distinct audience, to the

who were being persecuted and pressured to go back to traditional

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

.Hahn, Roger. "The Book of Hebrews". Christian Resource Institute

Accessed 17 Mar 2013] Many scholars now believe that the author was one of Paul's pupils or associates, citing stylistic differences between Hebrews and the other

Pauline epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...

.Fonck, Leopold. "Epistle to the Hebrews". ''The Catholic Encyclopedia. '' Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Web: 30 Dec. 2009. Recent scholarship has favored the idea that the author was probably a leader of a predominantly Jewish congregation to whom they were writing. Because of its anonymity, it had some trouble being accepted as part of the Christian canon, being classed with the

Antilegomena ''Antilegomena'' (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) are written texts whose authenticity or value is disputed. Eusebius in his ''Church History (Eusebius), Church History'' (c. 325) used the term for those Christian scriptures that were "disputed", lite ...

. Eventually it was accepted as Scripture because of its sound theology, eloquent presentation, and other intrinsic factors. In antiquity, certain circles began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work with an explicit apostolic pedigree. The original

King James Version of the Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, b ...

titled the work "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews". However, the KJV's attribution to Paul was only a guess, and is currently disputed by recent research. Its vastly different style, different theological focus, different spiritual experience and different

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

vocabulary are all believed to make Paul's authorship of Hebrews increasingly indefensible. At present, modern scholarship does not ascribe Hebrews to Paul. A.J. Gordon ascribes the authorship of Hebrews to Priscilla, writing that "It is evident that the Holy Spirit made this woman Priscilla a teacher of teachers". Later proposed by

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

in 1900, Harnack's reasoning won the support of prominent Bible scholars of the early-20th century. Harnack believes the letter was written in Rome – not to the Church, but to the inner circle. In setting forth his evidence for Priscillan authorship, he finds it amazing that the name of the author was blotted out by the earliest tradition. Citing Hebrews 13, he says it was written by a person of "high standing and apostolic teacher of equal rank with Timothy". If Luke, Clement, Barnabas, or Apollos had written it, Harnack believes their names would not have been obliterated. Donald Guthrie's commentary ''The Letter to the Hebrews'' (1983) mentions Priscilla by name as a suggested author. Believing the author to have been Priscilla, Ruth Hoppin posits that the name was omitted either to suppress its female authorship, or to protect the letter itself from suppression. Also convinced that Priscilla was the author of Hebrews, Gilbert Bilezikian, professor of biblical studies at Wheaton College, remarks on "the conspiracy of anonymity in the ancient church," and reasons: "The lack of any firm data concerning the identity of the author in the extant writings of the church suggests a deliberate blackout more than a case of collective loss of memory."

Date

The use of

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before the

destruction of the temple Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

, the idea being that knowing about the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple would have influenced the development of the author's overall argument. Therefore, the most probable date for its composition is the second half of the year 63 or the beginning of 64, according to the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

''. The text itself, for example, makes a contrast between the resurrected Christ "in heaven" "who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord" and the version on earth, where "there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." (Hebrews 8:5 NIV) Despite this, some scholars, such as Harold Attridge and Ellen Aitken, hold to a later date of composition, between 70 and 100 AD.

Audience

German scholar

Adolf Jülicher Adolf Jülicher (26 January 1857 – 2 August 1938) was a German scholar and biblical exegete. Specifically, he was the Professor of Church History and New Testament Exegesis, at the University of Marburg. He was born in Falkenberg near Berlin an ...

rejected the traditional view that the epistle was directed to a Hebrew congregation in Israel, concluding instead that the "only supposition that is really encouraged by the Epistle itself... is that Hebrews was addressed to the place where it first made its appearance, i.e. to Rome." Scholars have suggested that Hebrews is part of an internal New Testament debate between the extreme

Judaizers The Judaizers were a faction of the Jewish Christians, both of Jewish and non-Jewish origins, who regarded the Levitical laws of the Old Testament as still binding on all Christians. They tried to enforce Jewish circumcision upon the Gentile ...

(who argued that non-Jews must convert to Judaism before they can receive the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

of Jesus'

) versus the extreme antinomians (who argued that Jews must reject God's commandments and that Jewish law was no longer in effect). James and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

represent the moderates of each faction, respectively, and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

may have served as moderator. It sets before the Jew the claims of Christianity – to bring the Jew to the full realization of the relation of Judaism to Christianity, to make clear that Christ has fulfilled those temporary and provisional institutions, and has thus abolished them."Introduction to Hebrews". ''The New Analytical Bible and Dictionary of the Bible (KJV). '' Chicago: John A. Dickson Publishing Co., 1950. p. 1387 This view is commonly referred to as

supersessionism Supersessionism, also called replacement theology by its detractors and fulfillment theology by its proponents, is the Christian theology, Christian doctrine that the Christian Church has superseded the Israelites, Jewish people, assuming Jews a ...

. According to the theology of supersessionism, the church replaces Israel, and thus the church takes the place of Israel as the people of God. The dominant interpretation in modern Hebrews scholarship has been that the epistle contains an implicit supersessionist claim (that the Levitical sacrifices and the Levitical priests have been replaced/superseded by Christ's sacrifice). Per Bibliowicz, Hebrews scholars may be divided into those that are supportive-sympathetic to the epistle's theological message, those that are critical of the epistle's supersessionary message, and those attempting a middle ground. Due to the importance of Hebrews for the formation of future Christian attitudes toward Jews and Judaism, a distinction must be made between the author's intent and the way in which the text was interpreted by future generations. The impact of the deployment and implementation of supersession theology is difficult to convey and grasp. The implementation of this theological claim eventually led to the negation and disenfranchisement of Jewish followers of Jesus, and later, of all non-Christian Jews.

Purpose for writing

Those to whom Hebrews is written seem to have begun to doubt whether Jesus could really be the Messiah for whom they were waiting. The Book of Hebrews argues that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold that the Messiah would be a priest (although of a different sort than the traditional Levitical priests) and Jesus came to fulfill this role, as a sacrificial offering to God, to atone for sins. His role of a king is yet to come, and so those who follow him should be patient and not be surprised that they suffer for now. Some scholars today believe the document was written to prevent

apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...

. Some have interpreted apostasy to mean a number of different things, such as a group of Christians in one sect leaving for another more conservative sect, one of which the author disapproves. Some have seen apostasy as a move from the Christian assembly to pagan ritual. In light of a possibly Jewish-Christian audience, the apostasy in this sense may be in regard to Jewish Christians leaving the Christian assembly to return to the Jewish

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

. The focus on "purifying" the "conscience/consciousness" (9:9; 9:14; 10:2; 10:22) has also been viewed as key for the writing of Hebrews. The author writes, "Let us hold fast to our confession". The epistle has been viewed as a long, rhetorical argument for having confidence in the new way to God revealed in Jesus Christ. The book could be argued to affirm special creation. It says that God by his Son, Jesus Christ, made the worlds. "God ..hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son ..by whom also he made the worlds". The epistle also emphasizes the importance of faith. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear".

Style

Hebrews is a very consciously "literary" document. The purity of its Greek was noted by

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

, according to

, and

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises i ...

asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and those of Paul. The letter consists of two strands: an expositional or doctrinal strand, and a hortatory or strongly urging strand which punctuates the exposition parenthetically at key points as warnings to the readers. Hebrews does not fit the form of a traditional

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

epistle An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

, lacking a proper prescript. Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ...

, although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing. Hebrews contains many references to the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

– specifically to the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

text.

Christology

The Epistle to the Hebrews is notable for the manner in which it expresses the divine nature of Christ. As A.C. Purdy summarized for ''The Interpreter's Bible'': Mikeal Parsons has commented:

Notes

References

External links

Online translations of the Epistle to the Hebrews:
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
*
NET Bible
* Various versions Other:
The letter to the Hebrews
in "biblical literature", Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

1908 at earlychristianwritings.com

BibleProject Animated Overview (Evangelical Perspective)

Free Online Seminary Class from BiblicalTraining on Hebrews (Registration required; Evangelical Perspective)

Epistle to the Hebrews
Holiness in Hebrews – Wayne G. McCown
p. 58
Hebrews from the Biblical Resource Database

5 includes comment by

on canonicity of Hebrews and also extensive note by

Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Life and career Schaff was ...

on topic * {{DEFAULTSORT:Epistle To The Hebrews 1st-century Christian texts

Hebrews The Hebrews (; ) were an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic-speaking people. Historians mostly consider the Hebrews as synonymous with the Israelites, with the term "Hebrew" denoting an Israelite from the nomadic era, which pre ...

Jewish Christianity Luther's Antilegomena Melchizedek

Works of unknown authorship Antilegomena Hebrews Barnabas

Composition

Authorship

Date

Audience

Purpose for writing

Style

Christology

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Exegetical commentaries

Other books

Articles

External links