Difference between revisions of "Epistle to the Hebrews" - New World Encyclopedia

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The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Though traditionally credited to the Apostle Paul, the letter is anonymous and most modern scholars, both conservative and critical, believe its author was not Paul himself but some other member of his Pauline community.

Authorship

Paul of Tarsus, the traditional author, as dipicted by Rembrandt. Most scholars today do not believe Paul was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which was written anonymously.

The author of Hebrews is not known. The text as it has been passed down to the present time is internally anonymous, though ancient title headings often attribute it to the Apostle Paul.^[1] However, even in antiquity doubts were raised about Paul's alleged authorship.

The reasons for this controversy are fairly plain. All of Paul's other his letters—whether disputed as authentically Pauline or not—contain an introduction stating authorship, yet Hebrews does not. Also, while much of its theology and teachings are considered Pauline, Hebrews contains many other ideas which seem to have no such root or influence. Moreover, the writing style is substantially different from that of Paul's authentic epistles, a characteristic first noticed by Clement of Alexandria (c. 210). In particular, Hebrews claims to have been written by a person who received the Christian message from others,^[2] while in his letter to the Galatians Paul forcefully defends his claim that he received his gospel directly from the resurrected Jesus himself.

In response to the doubts raised about Paul's involvement, other possible authors were suggested as early as the third century C.E. Origen (c. 240) suggested that either Luke the Evangelist or Clement of Rome might be the author.^[3] Tertullian proposed Paul's companion Barnabas.

Nevertheless, in the fourth century, the church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul. Jerome and Augustine of Hippo were influential in affirming Paul's authorship,^[4] and the Church affirmed this authorship until the Reformation. Arguing in favor of Paul's authorship are such factors as the letter's basic Pauline theology, many Pauline themes, the use of language very similar or the same as Paul's, and a reference to Paul's frequent companion Timothy in the closing lines.

Martin Luther proposed Apollos—"a learned man" (Acts 18:24), popular in Corinth (1 Cor 1:12), and adept at using the scriptures and arguing for Christianity while "refuting the Jews" (Acts 18:27–28)—as its author. In more recent times, some scholars have advanced a case for the authorship of Hebrews belonging to Priscilla or Silas.

In general, the evidence against Pauline authorship has convinced most scholars that the letter is not by Paul.

Audience and date

The King James Bible 1611 ed. ends the Epistle to the Hebrews with "Written to the Hebrewes, from Italy, by Timothie"

Hebrews was written to a an audience facing very specific circumstances:

The original readers of the letter were conversant in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, as the author's usage shows.
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).
Some had stopped assembling together because of persecution (10:25).
As the author saw it, at least some among them were being tempted to avoid severe persecution by "shrinking back" [10:32-39] from the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. It is debated whether the anticipated persecution was from secular (i.e., Roman) authorities or Jewish authorities, or both.
In 13:24 the author says that those from Italy greet the readers, implying this as the place of writing.

The letter's audience is thought to be Jewish Christians. It emphasizes that non-Jewish followers of Jesus do not need to convert to Judaism to share in all of God's promises to Jews.

Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the Pauline epistles were collected and began to circulate, c. 95 C.E.

Style

Hebrews is a very consciously "literary" document. The purity of its Greek was noted by Clement of Alexandria, and Origen asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and Paul's (Eusebius, VI, xxv). However, Hebrews does not fit the form of a traditional Hellenistic epistle, lacking a proper prescript. Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a sermon or homily, although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing (13:20-25).^[5]

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), and 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).

References
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↑ A number of mss., namely the earliest extant (P46), bear the title of simply, "To the Hebrews," without Paul's name.
↑ Heb 2:3–4
↑ Eusebius, Church History 6.25.11-14
↑ Lane, William L. Hebrews 1-8 (Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47A. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1991), Introduction page cliv.
↑ Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford. ISBN 0-19-515462-2.

External links

Online translations of the Epistle to the Hebrews:

Online Bible at GospelHall.org

Credits

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[1] A number of mss., namely the earliest extant (P46), bear the title of simply, "To the Hebrews," without Paul's name.

[2] Heb 2:3–4

[3] Eusebius, Church History 6.25.11-14

[4] Lane, William L. Hebrews 1-8 (Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47A. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1991), Introduction page cliv.

[5] Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford. ISBN 0-19-515462-2.

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 {{Started}}{{Contracted}}
- Dan Fefferman
 {{Books of the New Testament}}
-The '''Epistle to the Hebrews''' (abbr. '''Heb''' for [[citation]]s) is one of the books in the [[New Testament]]. Though traditionally credited to the [[Apostle Paul]], the letter is anonymous and most modern scholars, both conservative and critical, believe its author was not Paul himself but some other member of his [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline community]].
+The '''Epistle to the Hebrews''' is one of the books in the [[New Testament]]. Though traditionally credited to the [[Apostle Paul]], the letter is anonymous and most modern scholars, both conservative and critical, believe its author was not Paul himself but some other member of his [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline community]].
-The letter has carried its traditional title since [[Tertullian]] described it as ''Barnabae titulus ad Hebraeos'' in ''De Pudicitia'' chapter 20 ("Barnabas's Letter to the Hebrews".)
 ==Authorship==
 [[Image:Paul de tarse rembrandt.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Paul of Tarsus, the traditional author, as dipicted by [[Rembrandt]]. Most scholars today do not believe Paul was the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which was written anonymously.]]
+The author of Hebrews is not known. The text as it has been passed down to the present time is internally anonymous, though ancient title headings often attribute it to the Apostle Paul.<ref>A number of mss., namely the earliest extant (P46), bear the title of simply, "To the Hebrews," without Paul's name.</ref> However, even in antiquity doubts were raised about Paul's alleged authorship.
-{{main|Authorship of the Pauline Epistles}}
+The reasons for this controversy are fairly plain. All of Paul's other his letters—whether disputed as authentically Pauline or not—contain an introduction stating authorship, yet Hebrews does not. Also, while much of its theology and teachings are considered [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline]], Hebrews contains many other ideas which seem to have no such root or influence. Moreover, the writing style is substantially different from that of Paul's authentic epistles, a characteristic first noticed by [[Clement of Alexandria]] (c. 210). In particular, Hebrews claims to have been written by a person who received the Christian message from others,<ref>Heb 2:3–4</ref> while in his letter to the Galatians Paul forcefully defends his claim that he received his gospel directly from the [[Resurrection appearances of Jesus|resurrected Jesus]] himself.
-The author of Hebrews is not known. The text as it has been passed down to the present time is internally anonymous, though ancient title headings often attribute it to the Apostle Paul.<ref>A number of mss., namely the earliest extant (P46), bear the title of simply, "To the Hebrews," without Paul's name.</ref>  However, even in antiquity doubts were raised about Paul's alleged authorship. The reasons for this controversy are fairly plain. For example, his letters always contain an introduction stating authorship, yet Hebrews does not. Also, while much of its theology and teachings may be considered [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline]], it contains many other ideas which seem to have no such root or influence. Moreover, the writing style is substantially different from that of Paul's authentic epistles, a characteristic first noticed by [[Clement of Alexandria|Clement]] (c. 210). In particular, Hebrews claims to have been written by a person who received the Christian message from others,<ref>Heb 2:3–4</ref> while in his letter to the Galatians Paul forcefully defends his claim that he received his gospel directly from the [[Resurrection appearances of Jesus|resurrected Jesus]] himself.
-Nevertheless, in the fourth century, the church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul. [[Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]] were influential in affirming Paul's authorship,<ref>Lane, William L. ''Hebrews 1-8'' (Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47A. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1991), Introduction page cliv.</ref> and the Church affirmed this authorship until the Reformation.
+In response to the doubts raised about Paul's involvement, other possible authors were suggested as early as the third century C.E. [[Origen]] (c. 240) suggested that either [[Luke the Evangelist]] or [[Clement of Rome]] might be the author.<ref>Eusebius, Church History 6.25.11-14</ref> Tertullian proposed Paul's companion [[Barnabas]].
-In response to the doubts raised about Paul's involvement, other possible authors were suggested as early as the third century C.E. [[Origen]] (c. 240) suggested that either [[Luke the Evangelist]] or [[Clement of Rome]] might be the author.<ref>Eusebius, Church History 6.25.11-14</ref> Tertullian proposed Paul's companion [[Barnabas]]. (Barnabas, to whom other noncanonical works are attributed (such as [[Epistle of Barnabas]]), was close to Paul in his ministry, and exhibited skill with midrash of Hebrew Scripture; the other works attributed to him bolster the case for his authorship of Hebrews with similar style, voice, and skill.)
+Nevertheless, in the fourth century, the church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul. [[Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]] were influential in affirming Paul's authorship,<ref>Lane, William L. ''Hebrews 1-8'' (Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 47A. Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1991), Introduction page cliv.</ref> and the Church affirmed this authorship until the Reformation. Arguing in favor of Paul's authorship are such factors as the letter's basic Pauline theology, many Pauline themes, the use of language very similar or the same as Paul's, and a reference to Paul's frequent companion Timothy in the closing lines.
-[[Martin Luther]] proposed [[Apollos]], an Alexandrian (Acts 18:24), "a learned man" (Acts 18:24), popular in Corinth (1 Cor 1:12), and adept at using the scriptures and arguing for Christianity while "refuting the Jews" (Acts 18:27–28). In more recent times, some scholars have advanced a case for the authorship of Hebrews belonging to [[Priscilla (Christian)|Priscilla]] or [[Silas]].
+[[Martin Luther]] proposed [[Apollos]]—"a learned man" (Acts 18:24), popular in Corinth (1 Cor 1:12), and adept at using the scriptures and arguing for Christianity while "refuting the Jews" (Acts 18:27–28)—as its author. In more recent times, some scholars have advanced a case for the authorship of Hebrews belonging to [[Priscilla (Christian)|Priscilla]] or [[Silas]].
-In general, the evidence against Pauline authorship is too solid for scholarly dispute.  Donald Guthrie, in his ''New Testament Introduction'' (1976), commented that "most modern writers find more difficulty in imagining how this Epistle was ever attributed to Paul than in disposing of the theory".<ref>http://www.experiencegrace.com/Authorship_of_Hebrews.html Jeffrey S. Bowman, "The Authorship of the Book of Hebrews"</ref>  Harold Attridge tells us that "it is certainly not a work of the apostle";<ref>http://earlychristianwritings.com/hebrews.html Peter Kirby, EarlyChristianWritings.com</ref> Daniel Wallace simply states, "the arguments against Pauline authorship, however, are conclusive".<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20000830073548/http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/hebotl.htm Daniel Wallace, "Hebrews: Introduction, Argument and Outline"</ref>  As a result, few supporters of Pauline authorship remain. As Richard Heard notes, in his ''Introduction To The New Testament'', "modern critics have confirmed that the epistle cannot be attributed to Paul and have for the most part agreed with Origen’s judgement, ‘But as to who wrote the epistle, God knows the truth’".<ref>http://religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=531&C=563 Richard Heard, ''Introduction To The New Testament''</ref>
+In general, the evidence against Pauline authorship has convinced most scholars that the letter is not by Paul.
+==Audience and date==
 [[Image:Author Hebrews.jpg|thumb|252px|right|The King James Bible 1611 ed. ends the Epistle to the Hebrews with "Written to the Hebrewes, from Italy, by Timothie"]]
+Hebrews was written to a an audience facing very specific circumstances:
-==Audience==
+*The original readers of the letter were conversant in the [[Septuagint]] translation of the [[Old Testament]], as the author's usage shows.
-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 types of sins listed in chapter 13 suggest they lived in a city.
-*The original readers of the letter were conversant in the [[Septuagint]] translation of the Old Testament, as the author's usage shows.
+*They had once faced persecution (10:32–34), but not to the point of shedding blood (12:4).
-*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 opposition.
 *Some had stopped assembling together because of persecution (10:25).
-*As the author saw it, at least some among them were being tempted to avoid severe persecution by "shrinking back" [10:32-39] from the eschatalogical fulfilment of the true hope and faith of the Old Testament proclaimed by the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. It is debated whether the anticipated persecution was from secular (i.e., Roman) authorities or Jewish authorities. Perhaps there were elements of both, or as we see elsewhere in the New Testament, the Jewish authorities may have stirred up the secular authorities to suppress the Christians. The author exhorted them to encourage "love and good works" (10:24) and warned them that if they "sin willfully" by denying Jesus' sacrifice it will become ineffective for them(26). But for non-Jews, these loving actions are sufficient for "great recompence of reward" (35) as long as they "hold fast the profession of our faith [in Jesus] without wavering" (23), and thus do not need to convert to Judaism.
+*As the author saw it, at least some among them were being tempted to avoid severe persecution by "shrinking back" [10:32-39] from the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. It is debated whether the anticipated persecution was from secular (i.e., Roman) authorities or Jewish authorities, or both.
-*In 13:24 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.
+*In 13:24 the author says that those from Italy greet the readers, implying this as the place of writing.
-Traditional scholars have argued the letter's audience was [[Jewish Christians]], as early as the end of the second century (hence its title, "The Epistle to the Hebrews"). However, Hebrews is part of an internal New Testament debate between the extreme [[Judaizers]] (who argued that non-Jews must [[Conversion to Judaism|convert to Judaism]] before they can receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus's Jewish covenant) versus the extreme [[Antinomianism|lawless ones]] (who argued that Jews must reject God's commandments and that God's eternal [[Torah]] was no longer in effect). Peter and Paul represent the moderates of each faction, respectively. The Epistle emphasizes non-Jewish followers of Jesus do not need to convert to Judaism to share in all of God's promises to Jews. Liberal American theologian [[Edgar Goodspeed]] notes, "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 of Jesus|Aramaic-speaking Jews]] or Christians of Jewish blood."
+The letter's audience is thought to be [[Jewish Christians]]. It emphasizes that non-Jewish followers of Jesus do not need to convert to [[Judaism]] to share in all of God's promises to Jews.
-Hebrews is often erroneously named as one of the [[General epistles|general (or catholic) epistles]]. But since it was written to a specific group  of Jewish-Christians, it is not technically a general epistle.
+Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the [[Pauline epistle]]s were collected and began to circulate, c. 95 CE.
-==Date==
-Although the author is unknown, Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the [[Pauline epistle]]s 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 and 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. The use of tabernacle terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|destruction of the temple]], the idea being that knowing about the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple would have influenced the development of his overall argument to include such evidence.
-==Purpose for writing==
-[[Image:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Christians]] believe that '''[[Jesus]]''' is the mediator of the [[New Covenant]] (see [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=65&chapter=8&version=47 Hebrews 8:6]). His famous [[Sermon on the Mount|sermon from a hill]] representing [[Mount Zion]] is considered by many Christian scholars to be the [[Typology (theology)|antitype]]<ref>See also [[Expounding of the Law#Antithesis of the Law|Antithesis of the Law]].</ref> of the proclamation of the [[Ten Commandments|Old Covenant]] by [[Moses]] from [[Mount Sinai]].]]
-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 possibly Jewish-Christian audience, the apostasy in this sense may be in regard to Jewish-Christians leaving the Christian assembly to return to the synagogue. In light of Pauline doctrine, the epistle dissuades non-Jewish Christians from feeling a need to convert to Judaism. Therefore the author writes, "Let us hold fast to our confession" (Heb 4:14).
-The Bible's Epistle to the Hebrews affirms [[special creation]]. It affirms 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" (Hebrews 1:1-2).  The epistle also states that the worlds themselves do not provide the evidence of how God formed them. "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" (Hebrews 11:3).
-According to the [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07181a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Epistle to the Hebrews]:
-:"... the Epistle opens with the solemn announcement of the superiority of the [[New Testament]] Revelation by the Son over [[Old Testament]] Revelation by the [[prophets]] ({{bibleverse||Hebrews|1:1-4}}). It then proves and explains from the Scriptures the superiority of this [[New Covenant]] over the Old by the comparison of the Son with the [[angels]] as [[mediator]]s of the [[Covenant (biblical)#Mosaic Covenant|Old Covenant]] ({{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|1:5-2:18}}), with [[Moses]] and [[Joshua|Josue]] as the founders of the Old Covenant ({{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|3:1-4:16}}), and, finally, by opposing the high-priesthood of Christ after the order of [[Melchisedech]] to the [[Levite|Levitical priesthood]] after the order of [[Aaron]] ({{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:1-10:18}})."
 ==Style==
-Hebrews is a very consciously "literary" document. The purity of its Greek was noted by [[Clement of Alexandria]], according to [[Eusebius of Caesarea|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).
+Hebrews is a very consciously "literary" document. The purity of its Greek was noted by [[Clement of Alexandria]], and [[Origen]] asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and Paul's (Eusebius, VI, xxv). However, Hebrews does not fit the form of a traditional [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] [[epistle]], lacking a proper prescript. Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a sermon or homily, although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing (13:20-25).<ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D.|authorlink=Bart D. Ehrman |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford |location=New York |id=ISBN 0-19-515462-2 |page=p.411 }}</ref>
 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), and 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 does not fit the form of a traditional [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] [[epistle]], lacking a proper prescript. Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a sermon or homily, although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing (13:20-25).<ref>{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D.|authorlink=Bart D. Ehrman |title=The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford |location=New York |id=ISBN 0-19-515462-2 |page=p.411 }}</ref>
-Hebrews contains many references to the [[Old Testament]]&mdash;specifically to its [[Septuagint]] text. It has been regarded as a treatise supplementary to the [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] and [[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]],{{Fact|date=May 2007}} and as a kind of commentary on the book of [[Leviticus]] and [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] worship in general.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
 ==See also==

Difference between revisions of "Epistle to the Hebrews" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 05:29, 9 November 2007

Contents

Authorship

Audience and date

Style

See also

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Further reading

External links

Credits

Difference between revisions of "Epistle to the Hebrews" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 05:29, 9 November 2007

Authorship

Audience and date

Style

See also

ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Further reading

External links

Credits

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees