The Epistle to the Hebrews ()The Greek New Testament, Edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, 2nd edition, United Bible Societies, 1973, often referred to as Hebrews, is one of the books of the New Testament.

The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitta 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."some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying that it is disputed by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written by Paul." Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.3.5 (text); cf. also 6.20.3 (text). Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown,Alan C. Mitchell, Hebrews (Liturgical Press, 2007) p. 6. with Pauline authorship mostly rejected. A minority views Hebrews as written in deliberate imitation of the style of Paul,Clare K. Rothschild, Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon: The History and Significance of the Pauline Attribution of Hebrews (Mohr Siebeck, 2009) p. 4. with some contending that it was authored by Apollos 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 who lived in Jerusalem.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 had played a legitimate role in the past but was superseded by a New Covenant for the Gentiles (cf. ; ; , ). However, a growing number of scholarsC. P. Anderson, N. Beck, Bibliowicz, L. Freudman, J. Gager, M. E. Isaacs, T. Perry, S. Sandmel, Williamson 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" (). The epistle presents Jesus with the titles "pioneer" or "forerunner", "Son" and "Son of God", "priest" and "high priest".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.Mackie, Scott D. "Confession of the Son of God in the Exordium of Hebrews". Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 30.4 (2008)

Composition

Hebrews uses Old Testament quotations interpreted in light of first-century rabbinical Judaism.Utley, R. J.: The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews. Bible Lessons International; Marshall, Texas: 1999, Volume 10, p. 1. New Testament and Second Temple Judaism 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 Qumran 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",Oegema, Gerbern S. "You Are a Priest Forever" book review. Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Oct 2009, Vol. 71 Issue 4, pp. 904–905. 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, Barnabas, Paul the Apostle, Luke the Evangelist, Silas, Apollos, and Priscilla and Aquila as possible authors.Utley, R. J.: The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews. Bible Lessons International; Marshall, Texas: 1999, Volume 10, p. 3.Adolf Jülicher, An Introduction to the New Testament (Janet Penrose Ward, transl.), p.169, (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1904).

In the 3rd century, Origen 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 to compose the letter. He points out that in other writings and quotations of Hebrews, Origen describes Paul as the author of the letter.Thomas, Matthew J. (2019-10). «Origen on Paul's Authorship of Hebrews». New Testament Studies 65 (4): 598–609. . .

In the 4th century, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo supported Paul's authorship: the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the Reformation. 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."Introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews". Accessed 17 Mar 2013 The difference in style is explained as simply an adjustment to a distinct audience, to the Jewish Christians who were being persecuted and pressured to go back to traditional Judaism.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.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. 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.Attridge, Harold W.: Hebrews. Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989, pp. 1–6.

The original King James Version of the Bible 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 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 in 1900,Adolph von Harnack, "Probabilia uber die Addresse und den Verfasser des Habraerbriefes, " Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche (E. Preuschen, Berlin: Forschungen und Fortschritte, 1900), 1:16–41. 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.See Lee Anna Starr, The Bible Status of Woman. Zarephath, N.J.: Pillar of Fire, 1955, pp 187–182.

Donald Guthrie's commentary The Letter to the Hebrews (1983) mentions Priscilla by name as a suggested author.Donald Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983, reprinted 1999, p. 21

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.Hoppin, Ruth. Priscilla's Letter: Finding the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Lost Coast Press, 2009.

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 terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before the destruction of the temple, 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 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 being the priests who are offering according to the law, the gifts, who unto an example and shadow do serve of the heavenly things" ( YLT)

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 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."Adolf Jülicher, An Introduction to the New Testament (Janet Penrose Ward, transl.), pp.162-163, (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1904).