Authorship and purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews

Job Fair Summary

Clues from Date and Place

Popular Theories

Political Issues and Theoretical Opinion

Modern Analyses

Authorship of Hebrews

The Letter to the Hebrews culminates the beliefs of Christianity. It established Jesus Christ as the author and founder of the Christian movement. It establishes Christ's position as a divine entity that humbled himself to become human. Hebrews is one of the most important books in the New Testament for modern and ancient Christians alike. However, its origins, authorship, audience, and the date of its writing are an area of much debate in ecumenical circles. This research will analyze the merits of popular viewpoints on the origin of the Letter to the Hebrews.

It is a common misconception that Paul was the sole author of Hebrews. This is largely because of the book title used in the King James Version of the Bible. However, the first clue that Paul is not the author is in Chapter 2, verses 3 and 4 when it is stated,

This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Hebrews 2:3-4).

Had Paul been the author, there would have been a reference to the direct transmission of the gospel by Christ himself. As this reference indicates, Hebrews is a third person account, rather than a first person account, as one would expect from Paul. The author was a person who was obviously old enough to learn from those that witnessed the events, but who was not present himself. His tone is more elegant Greek than Paul's writing.

Hebrews is divided into two distinctive sections. The beginning of the text is much like a sermon, or formal speech to convince Hebrews not to turn from their faith. The scripture ends like a letter with personal references. There are several theories as to what the purpose of the works might have been. The most apparent purpose in writing was to convince Jewish Christians of the importance of keeping their faith. Another purpose might have been to demonstrate the relevance of the Old Testament to a world influenced by Greek ideas.

The most obvious purpose in writing is to convince the Hebrews that they now have a new covenant with God, one that is built on more solid ground than the one contained in the Old Testament. The author continuously references the Old Testament and emphasized why Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Hebrews focuses on the many roles of Christ within the church and with the lives the of the worshipper. It summarized many of the teachings found in other books of the Bible.

Clues from Date and Place

Often we can look to the recipients to determine who authored a particular works. However, in this case, the recipients are as much a mystery as the author himself. The phrase, "To the Hebrews" never appears in the text. There are several clues within the text that might point in the correct direction. For instance, in Chapter 13, the author writes, want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you. Greet all your leaders and all God's people. Those from Italy send you their greetings" (Hebrews 13:22-23).

The reference to Italy may infer that the audience consists of Roman citizens, either in Rome, or situated in other areas of the world.

There are internal clues that Paul may have written this letter from his prison cell. He states in Hebrews 13:23 that "I shall see you." In Hebrews 13:18-19 Paul requests that his addressees pray for hum that "I may be restored to you sooner." Paul wrote Philemon and Phillippians from his prison cell. In both of these instances, he made similar requests. These passages indicate that they may have been written near the end of his prison time around AD 62 or 63.

There are other references that might give us clues as to the recipients of the letter and their whereabouts, but these too are vague and could have many possibilities. For instance, the text references that the audience has been persecuted, although none of them have been killed as of yet. The audience is familiar with Greek Old Testament and that there is no turning back to their former Judaism. They are obviously Jewish Christians who are recent converts. The recipients speak Greek. The writer of Hebrews is concerned that these new Jewish converts are disillusioned with Christianity and is afraid that they will return to their former religion. This places them somewhere in the Mediterranean, possibly Rome, but not for certain.

The date of the text is also vague, but is a necessary factor in determining whom the writer may have been. The writer speaks of temple sacrifices, which means that it is prior to the fall of Jerusalem. The destruction of the temple and end to sacrifices occurred in 70 AD. The persecution that was referenced may have occurred under Nero around 65 AD. This time period is a likely candidate for this writing. We now have a close approximation of the time period and possible location of the person writing the script. This might not provide any clues as to who this person might be, but one can at least rule out those authors that were not close to the proper location and time of the writing.

Popular theories

The question of authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the most perplexing questions in New Testament study. It is apparent that the text was not written by Paul due to the third person reference. However, there have been many proposed authors. These possible authors are drawn from a pool of Paul's known friend and acquaintances. They include:

Silas, companion of Paul (Acts 15:40)

Aquila and Priscilla, fellow tent makers with Paul (Acts 18:2)

Luke, friend and traveling companion of Paul (Timothy 4:11)

Barnabas, Paul's friend and fellow minister (Acts 13:2)

Political Issues and Theoretical Opinion

Authorship issues with Hebrews raises many more questions that it resolves. Accuracy is lost the further one strays from the actual date of the writing. According to the early scholars, particularly Eusebius (263-340 AD) and Clement of Alexandria (150-215 AD), Paul authored the work and Luke translated it. Eusibius was a historian who spoke of fourteen epistles written by Paul. Jerusalem author, Jerome (347-420 AD) and Augustine (354-430 AD) also considered Hebrews to be to Pauline origin.

There appears to be a consensus among ancient scholars that the writings are of Pauline origin. In Greek manuscripts, Hebrews is located among other Pauline epistles. In modern Christian Bibles it is located after Phulimon, and not included in the Pauline works. However, in light of the argument that those closer to the source are more accurate, one would have to consider the Greek placement of the writing to be more accurate than modern translations would have one to believe. There is a consensus among ancient scholars that Hebrews was the work of Paul, whether it is via translation, or influence and guidance by Paul in its writing. No one knows for certain, but these are the most plausible explanations for the similarity to Pauls' writing.

There are a number of other early historians who felt that there was sufficient evidence to consider Hebrews the work of Paul. They included Hilary, Ambrose, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, and Athanasius. Several ancient councils accepted the Pauline authorship of Hebrews including the synod of Antioch (a.D. 264), the council of Nicea (a.D. 315), the council of Laodicea (a.D. 360), the council of Hippo (a.D. 393), the third council of Carthage (a.D. 397), and the sixth council of Carthage (a.D. 419). These authorities round out an impressive consensus that Hebrews is the work of Paul. The views of these credible individuals obviously had an influence on the opinion that Paul was the true author, but whatever means, of Hebrews.

The early church received Hebrews into the Canon of the Scripture due to the belief that it was the work of Paul. If the work had been of other than Paul, the early church makes it clear that the work would not have been considered to be authoritative enough for inclusion. None the less, the anonymity of the book did represent an area of concern in the debate on whether to include it or not. If it were not the work of Paul, then it could not be considered apostolic. However, the final consensus placed more weight on the similarities to other works of Paul than on the differences. Paul's influence was considered to be sufficient for the work to be considered apostolic in nature. Therefore, it was included in the Canon.

Hebrews was accepted as the work of Paul by the early church by consensus of an impressive number of supporters that felt the work was that of Paul. However, this brings us to the question of whether consensus is enough to prove authorship. This leads to the question of the early councils were in error in their decision to include Hebrews in the canon of what would later become the Bible.

There was an explosion of writings about the foundations of the Christian church throughout approximately 300-400 AD. The church was still young and having growing pains. There was a desperate need to reach a consensus and establish a foundation that would carry the Christian church into a new, more stable era. Early writers were highly motivated to come to a consensus and produce a document that would unify the church. This need was not addressed in any of the writings examined by the authors consulted in this research. Yet, this cultural need for stability is apparent throughout an examination of this time period.

The early writers of the Bible were under pressure to bring stability to the Church. They were contemporaries and would have been aware of the writings of their peers. They would have been privy to the decisions of other learned scholarly institutions. It is not likely that all of these sources came to the same consensus completely independently. They would have had a considerable degree of influence on one another. This driving need for stability may have undermined the ability to one authority to question the decision of previous authorities. It might have hampered the ability of one author the questions the authority of a previous author. There were many political considerations between these various entities that may have influenced their decisions as well.

Numerous scholars throughout history agree that Paul was the author of Hebrews, including Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century. One can find an impressive number of supporters for Paul as the author of Hebrews. This continues up to and including the first edition of the King James Bible, which was the first to title the Book "The Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews." Once again, the church was in turmoil during this time and there was a need to establish a sense of consistency in religion. Various factions were fighting to gain control, both politically and spiritually.

Politics and religion were more closely tied than they are in today's society. This is another consideration that is often ignored by early Biblical scholars. Agreement with authorities was an important concept throughout the Rennaissance. Agreement could be construed as loyalty to a certain cause. If one were to raise a valid argument as to the authorship of the writing, it would be viewed as an opposition to the authority of the powers that be. Those that had achieved political power, had often done so by an association to the church, and therefore were considered to be closer to God. There was a perceived connection between power and Godliness.

Modern scholars often ignore he political connection between religion and power throughout the Middle Ages and Rennaissance. The early church of 300-400 AD was faced with many of the same political and structural challenges that were being faced throughout the 1400-1600s. The adoption of the King James Bible had the same effect of quelling religious turmoil that the adoption of the original Canon had on the early church. Therefore, one must question if consensus equates truth, especially in the religious climate that prevailed during this these time periods. There are an impressive number of sources that consider Paul to be the author of Hebrews, yet one has to question their motives for doing so. Were the early adopters of the Paul's letter to the Hebrews doing so based on scholarly merit, or were they politically motivated? Only they know the answer to this question.

Modern Analyses

Writers of antiquity agree that the "Letter of Paul to the Hebrews" is the writing of Paul himself. They tend to lean towards the translation theory, rather than the separate authorship theories. The following are the opinions of several modern scholars and their conclusions.

John Brown summarized this viewpoint when he wrote:

That tradition ascribes the epistle to the apostle Paul as its author.... After considering with some care the evidence on both sides of this question, I am disposed to think that, though by no means absolutely certain, it is in a high degree probable, that this epistle was written by the apostle Paul."

Robert Reymond concludes that, "there is nothing in the content of the letter that Paul could not have written." These opinions represent arguments based on the content and stylistic similarities between Hebrews and the other known writings of Paul. If one borrows from legal terminology, one would have to conclude that the preponderance of popular opinion is that Paul is the author of Hebrews. If this were a jury trial, then the verdict would have to conclude that Paul is the author of Hebrews.

However, when one looks at internal evidence one can find a different opinion. For instance, Calvin stated,

I, indeed, can adduce no reason to show that Paul was its author; for they who say that he designedly suppressed his name because it was hateful to the Jews, bring nothing to the purpose.... But the manner of teaching, and the style, sufficiently show that Paul was not the author; and the writer himself confesses in the second chapter that he was one of the disciples of the apostles, which is wholly different from the way in which Paul spoke of himself."

This opinion highlights the signals within the text that point to authorship other than Paul. The first evidence presented in this exposition pointed to references that indicate that the knowledge was handed down from an eyewitness to someone that knew the eyewitness. This evidence is ignored by those that support Paul as the author of Hebrews. Calvin points out that some support the idea the Paul withheld his name because he was hated by the Jewish community. However, this is inconsistent with Paul's teachings in other Epistles. It is unlikely that Paul would have been fearful of being hated by the Hebrews, or that he would have feared that they would not believe him. Paul would not have resorted to trickery or deception in order to get his message across to the Hebrews. Paul would not have used someone less authoritative than himself to spread the message. These actions are simply not consistent with the Paul that we know from other writings. Therefore, the argument that Paul withheld his name or asked someone else to write the letter for him simply does not stand on the merits of the argument.

This brings us to the final conclusion that either Paul authored Hebrews, or someone else is responsible for this text. Notwithstanding the opinions of numerous authorities in the past that almost unanimously attribute the writings as being the authentic works of Paul, we have presented some convincing internal clues that Paul was not the original author of the text. The only truly plausible explanation is the translation theory. However, one must then ask why the author chose to represent the work as if he were the author? One must also wonder why the author did not announce that this was a translation and give the original author credit. There are as many inconsistencies with the translation theory as with theories that claim Paul is indisputably the author of the text, in its entirety.

Paul signed every other epistle, one must wonder why he would choose not to sign this one. In 2 Thessalonians 3;17-18, Paul tells his audience how they will know that it is him writing. Paul tells us that he will signal his authorship with the phrase, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." This salutation is found at the end of every one of Paul's epistles. At the end of Hebrews 13:25, we find the phrase "Grace be with you all. Amen." This has been said to suffice as the proper salutation. However, Paul was always careful to place the glory on Jesus Christ. It would seem an unlikely on the part of Paul to simply say "Grace" rather than "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."

There are many explanations that have been proposed for these inconsistencies. For instance, if Paul were speaking to a different audience, one less sophisticated than the usual, it could account for these minor differences. A translation could certainly account for them. There are too many similarities to the other epistles of Paul to be the work of another. One might use a few key phrases of another person, but they are unlikely to be able to duplicate their diction with the precision found in Hebrews.

As a final piece of evidence that Paul authored Hebrews, one can point to evidence found in 2 Peter 3:15, "and account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation - as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you." In the case of the authorship of Paul as the sole writer of Hebrews, the only thing that one can ascertain for certain is that only the writer and God know for sure who authored the works. However, it is up to us as individuals to determine who we believe to be the author of Hebrews.

External evidence supports that Paul was the author. This was certainly the decision made by centuries of Biblical scholars and the founders of the Christian church. The internal clues that Paul was not the author have plausible explanations. If Paul wrote this letter from while incarcerated in Rome, it could explain the differences between this and his other epistles. Although wide acceptance of an idea does not make it the truth, there are a large number of arguments that are based on solid reason. When one examines these arguments, it is difficult to determine that anyone but Paul of Tarsus wrote the Letter to the Hebrews at the end of his prison sentence in 62 or 63 AD.