Authorship, audience, and purpose in the Epistle to the Hebrews

Theology: An Analysis of the Book Of Hebrews

An Analysis of the Book of Hebrews: Theology

The book of Hebrews is one of the most controversial books in the New Testament. The controversy derives largely from the fact that the book's author is yet to be identified. This text presents the various arguments that have been put forth about the book's authorship, intended audience, destination, and date.

Analysis of the Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the most controversial writings in the Bible. It is unique, convincing and elaborate in the way it speaks about priesthood and the superiority of Christ. It presents Christ as the High Priest that God sent to get mankind closer to Him. The controversy surrounding the book, however, stems from the fact that it does not conclusively state who the author is. Most scholars have thus come to accept that only God knows who the true author of the epistle is. This text covers the various arguments that have been put forth about authorship and other historical matters including who the audience was, their ethnic background, what they were going through at the time, and the purpose that the epistle was meant to serve.

Part 1: Composite Profile of Hebrews

Why was the Epistle Written?

Jewish Christians were facing intense persecution from their unconverted counterparts, and had been separated from the things that symbolized their God-authored heritage: the temple, the Mosaic Law, and the priesthood. They had been cut off from their people and their Jewish heritage as a result of clinging their faith to Jesus as the Messiah. Their tribesmen considered them worse than Gentiles, who had lost the knowledge of God and become idol worshipers. Owing to this, these Christians were beginning to lose their faith in Christ, and were beginning to doubt whether Christ indeed was the Messiah. The book of Hebrews was written to strengthen them and proclaim the superiority of Christ over everything, including any Old Testament sacrifice, ritual, institution or person (1: 1-2) .

Who Wrote the Epistle?

The question of who wrote the book of Hebrews remains a subject of controversy. He was a deeply spiritual person; wholly committed to Christ and with deep knowledge of things concerning Jesus as evidenced in Hebrew 13: 24. Some scholars attribute the book's authorship to Paul given that it is included after Romans among the Pauline epistles (XXX). Others such as Clement of Alexandria suggest that Paul wrote the book in Hebrew, but it was Luke who translated it to Greek (XXX). Appolos, Priscilla and Aquila, Silas, Jude, Philip, Barnabas and Aristion have been identified as other likely authors of the book of Hebrews.

The book of Hebrews was written to the Jewish Christians in Palestine to strengthen them to remain strong in the face of adversity and persecution (10: 32-34). These Christians had been separated from their Mosaic heritage, the temple, and the priesthood as a result of their choice to abandon the Jewish traditions and follow Christ's Gospel. Ananias, the high priest, had banned them from the holy places. As a result, they could not go into the temple to offer sacrifices, and neither could they communicate with the priests. Their suffering had driven them to begin questioning whether Christ indeed was the Messiah, and whether He was worth their choice to abandon their God-given heritage. The author of Hebrews wrote to assure them that Christ is superior to everyone and everything, including any Jewish traditions, institutions or people. He is superior to the angels who revealed the first covenant (Hebrews 1: 1-2), Moses, the mediator of that first covenant (Hebrews 3: 1-19), and Joshua (4: 1-13). Further, he warns them against apostasy, arguing that anyone who failed to persevere would perish (5: 11; 6: 12).

Part Two: Outline of Hebrews

The structure of Hebrews can be presented as follows (Philips, 2002):

i) Jesus better than the ultimate man and the angels (1:5-2:18)

Jesus the Son of God is superior to all beings on the earth and beyond, including the angels who revealed the first covenant

ii) Jesus better than Moses and Joshua (3: 1-7: 4: 1-13)

Moses received the Ten Commandments from God; the Jews treasured him and thought of him as the mid factor in their covenant with God. Joshua led the people to the Promised Land; however, even these were inferior to the Messiah. Christians had to persevere being denied the heritage of priesthood because otherwise, they would perish

iii) Jesus the Great High Priest (4:14-9:22)

God appointed His Son, Jesus, as a unique high priest to come as a deacon of hope to all those who obey and live by His word. Although they had been denied the privilege of enjoying the earthly priesthood, the Christian Jews had the hope of seeing this Great High Priest. They would enter into a New Covenant with the Great High Priest, which was superior to the Old Testament Covenant in all perspectives: offering, approach, place and sanctuary.

iv) Perseverance and Faithful Endurance (10: 19-12: 29)

Christians are encouraged to draw nearer to God and hold unswervingly to the Hope that they possess. They are warned against falling back to their old ways and practices and rejecting He who speaks in the voice of the Lord because any such doing would cause them to perish. The message in this section is clear: persevere or perish.

Hebrew's Use of the Old Testament

The author of Hebrews draws several direct quotations and references from passages in the Old Testament. In verse 4 of chapter 2, for instance, he mentions that the Son's name is superior to that of the angels. He then quotes passages from Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7: 14 to show the status accorded to the Son by the Father; a status that no angel can claim. A quick check at the Old Testament references in their original context, however, reveals that the passages do not talk directly about Jesus. In its original context, Psalm 2: 7 refers to either David or Solomon; whereas 2 Samuel 7: 14 refers specifically to David, when he was seeking permission to build God's temple.

The book of Hebrews demonstrates the theme of Christ's superiority above the angels as well as any Mosaic traditions. It draws several references, in the form of direct quotes from the OT. However, the contexts within which these are used differ significantly from their original contexts in the Old Testament.