Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbreviated Heb. for citations) is a very consciously "literary" document in the New Testament. The purity of its Greek was noted by Clement of Alexandria, according to Eusebius (Historia Eccl., VI, xiv), and Origen asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and Paul's (Eusebius, VI, xxv).

The letter has carried its traditional title since Tertullian described it as Barnabae titulus ad Hebraeos in De Pudicitia chapter 20.

This letter consists of two strands:

An expositional or doctrinal strand (1:1-14, 2:5-18, 5:1-14, 6:13-9:28, 13:18-25)

A hortatory or ethical strand which punctuates the exposition parenthetically at key points as warnings to the readers (2:1-4, 3:1-4:16, 6:1-12, 10:1-13:17)

Hebrews contains many references to the Old Testament—specifically to its Septuagint text—and references to all but two of the canonical letters of Paul. It has been regarded as a treatise supplementary to the Romans and Galatians, and as a kind of commentary on the book of Leviticus and Temple worship in general.

Authorship

A number of candidates for the authorship of Hebrews have been advanced from earliest times, most famously, the Apostle Paul. However, the epistle makes no internal claim of authorship, which is inconsistent with the rest of Paul's epistles. Also, while many of the letter's ideas are Pauline, the writing style is substantially different from that of Paul's epistles. For example, the Epistle does not open with the preamble typical of Paul. In particular, Hebrews claims to have been written by a person who received the Christian message from others (see Hebrews 2:3-4). But Paul in his letter to the Galatians forcefully defends his claim that he received his gospel directly from Jesus.

Two leading candidates for the authorship of Hebrews are Barnabas, the companion of Paul, first suggested by Tertullian (see above); and Apollos, first suggested by Martin Luther. Apollos was Alexandrian (Acts 18:24), “was a learned man,” (Acts 18:24) he was popular in Corinth, (1 Corinthians 1:12) and he was adept at using the scriptures and arguing Christianity while ‘refuting the Jews.’ (Acts 18:27-28) For these reasons and others, Apollos has in the past been seen as a strong candidate for authorship. Other candidates for the authorship of Hebrews include Paul's other companion Silas; Pope Clement I, the traditional author of the First Epistle of Clement; Luke; or some unknown Alexandrian Christian. In more recent times, some scholars have advanced a case for the authorship of Hebrews belonging to Priscilla. Modern scholarship has reached no strong consensus. The letter has, however, always been accepted as part of the New Testament canon.

Audience

Hebrews was written to a specific audience facing very specific circumstances. We can discern various facts about the recipients of Hebrews through a careful mirror reading of the letter:

The readers were conversant in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, as the author's usage shows.
The contrast in 13:14 and the types of sins listed in chapter 13 suggest they lived in a city.
They had once faced persecution (10:32-34), but not to the point of shedding blood (12:4). It is possible that 12:1-3 and 13:12-13 imply that they would soon face renewed oppostion.
Some had stopped attending the worship services (10:22), and those who remained struggled with apathy and indifference, and ran the risk of abandoning their Christian faith (see the warning sections).
Specifically they were Jewish Christians who ran the risk of reverting to a Judaism that rejects Christ. The author warned them that if they reject the sacrifice of Christ's death on the cross, there remains no other sacrifice to which they can turn. The animal sacrifices of first-century Judaism would not be able to help them(10:26). They must follow Christ "outside the camp" (that is, outside Judaism).
In 13:14 the author says that those from Italy greet the readers. This could mean that the author is writing from Italy or that the author is writing to recipients in Italy, and that Italians present with the author are greeting those back home.

However, the preceding description of the audience as Jewish Christians is not unanimously received. While this interpretation has been held from as early as the end of the second century to the present (hence its title, "The Epistle to the Hebrews"), Liberal American theologian Edgar Goodspeed was not of this view; he wrote, "But the writer's Judaism is not actual and objective, but literary and academic, manifestly gained from the reading of the Septuagint Greek version of the Jewish scriptures, and his polished Greek style would be a strange vehicle for a message to Aramaic-speaking Jews or Christians of Jewish blood..."

Hebrews is often erroneously named as one of the General or catholic epistles. But since it was written to a specific group of Jewish-Christians, it is not technically a general epistle.

Date

Although the author is unknown, Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the Pauline epistles were collected and began to circulate, c. 95. This date is dependent on a traditional date for I Clement of 96. Harold W. Attridge claims only a general dating is possible and places the letter as being written between 60 - 100.

Some, such as John A.T. Robinson, place the entire New Testament at a much earlier date. Robinson argues, for example, that there is no textual evidence that the New Testament authors had knowledge of the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70. Hebrews' numerous references to Temple worship in the present tense have been used to date the epistle before the destruction of the Temple, but the evidence is not conclusive.

Purpose for writing

Most scholars today believe the document was written to prevent apostasy. Apostasy is the abandonment of a political or religious belief. 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 in which the author disapproves. Some have seen apostasy as a move from the Christian assembly to pagan ritual. In light of a probably Jewish-Christian audience, it is most likely that apostasy in this sense was in regard to Jewish-Christians leaving the Christian assembly to return to the synagogue. Therefore the author writes, "Let us hold fast to our confession..." (Hebrews 4:14)

Another possible reason for writing Hebrews, was to demonstrate a new interpretation of the true end and meaning of Mosaic law and assert its symbolical and transient character. He declares that the Levitical priesthood was a foreshadowing of the mission of Jesus, and that the legal sacrifices prefigured the Crucifixion. Therefore the gospel was designed not to modify the law of Moses, but to supersede and abolish it. This was written partly to counter the Ebionites, Jewish Christians who continued Jewish practices while accepting Christ. The emphatic text of the epistle reiterates the view of Pauline Christianity that the new covenant has superseded the old.

External links

Online translations of the Epistle to the Hebrews:

Online Bible at GospelHall.org

Goodspeed's introductory analysis of Hebrews, 1908 at earlychristianwritings.com
Catholic Encyclopedia: Epistle to the Hebrews
Easton's Bible Dictionary 1897: Epistle to the Hebrews
Holiness in Hebrews by Wayne McCown
Biblaridion magazine: A critical examination of the destination, authorship and dating of the Epistle to the Hebrews
Hebrews from the Biblical Resource Database

References

Attridge, Harold W. Hebrews. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1989.
Hagen, Kenneth. Hebrews Commenting from Erasmus to Beze. Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1981.
Heen, Erik M. and Krey, Philip D.W., eds. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Hebrews. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2005.
Hughes, P.E. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977.

Books of the New Testament
Preceded by: Philemon	Epistles	Followed by: James

New Testament books | Jewish Christian topics