When you consider the broad agreement among biblical scholars about who wrote all the other books of the New Testament, it’s a bit of a mystery that we don’t know who wrote Hebrews.
There are a handful of contenders. Let’s take a look at the reasons why each of them might be the author.
Did Paul write Hebrews?
It is possible that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. There are a couple of reasons why this might be the case.
First, in the first manuscript editions of the New Testament books, Hebrews is listed after Romans among the books written by the apostle Paul. This was taken as evidence that Paul had written it, and some Eastern churches accepted Hebrews as canonical sooner than the West.
Second, both Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 150 – 215) and Origen (AD 185 – 253) claimed a Pauline association for the book, but acknowledged that Paul himself probably did not write this book with pencil and paper, despite that they did not know the author’s name.
Clement of Alexandria suggests that Paul originally wrote the book in Hebrew and that Luke translated it into Greek, even though the Greek of Hebrews does not resemble the Greek translation (eg, the Septuagint).
The King James Version assumes Pauline authorship
The nuanced position on the issue of authorship by the Alexandrian fathers was obscured by later ecclesiastical tradition which confused the association Pauline with the authorship Pauline.
The hugely influential King James Bible was inspired by this tradition. In fact, in the KJV, you’ll find the title translated as it is found in some manuscripts: “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.” The tradition of Pauline authorship continued.
Parallels Between Hebrews and Paul’s Writings
It is certainly reasonable to conclude that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. Many of the thoughts in Hebrews are similar to those found in Paul’s writings:
The soteriology of Hebrews is quite consistent with Paul’s own teaching. For example, the statement in Hebrews 10:14 that those who have been “made perfect” are in the process of being “sanctified” closely resembles Paul’s teaching on justification (e.g., Rom. 3:21 ). -5:9) and sanctification (eg, Rom. 8:1-17). Furthermore, both Paul and the author of Hebrews thought of Abraham as the spiritual father of Christians in a similar way.
Reasons why Paul did not write Hebrews
In spite of all this evidence of Pauline authorship, few New Testament scholars today believe that Paul wrote it.
Both John Calvin and Martin Luther shared this judgment until the 16th century.
Even centuries earlier, in the fourth century, the church of Rome did not believe that Paul wrote Hebrews, possibly retaining a latent memory of the actual author (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.3.5; 6.20.3).
In other words, the rejection of the Pauline authorship of Hebrews is a long-standing position in the church.
What can we infer from the book of Hebrews itself?
The internal evidence presented by the book of Hebrews itself indicates a different author than Paul.
- The style of Hebrews, except for the final verses (13:18-25), is very different from any other surviving writing of Paul.
- According to style from a person well educated in formal rhetoric, the Greek of Hebrews is highly literary and highly ornate.
- The vocabulary it is sophisticated and includes 150 words found nowhere else in the New Testament and 10 that do not appear in any other Greek writing that has survived for our study.
- The structure of the epistle conforms to the conventions found in Greek rhetoric used when a speech was designed to persuade its audience to action. Much of this rhetorical achievement is lost when the original Greek of Hebrews is translated into modern language, but in the original it is elegant and euphonious Greek prose. The high rhetorical quality of Hebrews indicates that its author probably had the most advanced literary education of any of the New Testament writers.
- The author does not present himself as Paul typically did (cf. 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; and 2 Tim. 1:1).
- His theology, although very compatible with that of the Pauline letters, is very distinctive. The apostle Paul, for example, never alludes to Jesus as a priest, which is the main motif of Hebrews. In fact, Hebrews is the only New Testament writing that exposes Jesus as the Great High Priest and final sacrifice.
The most persuasive argument against Pauline authorship
An even more persuasive argument that the apostle Paul was not the author of Hebrews is the way the author refers to himself in Hebrews 2:3, asserting that the gospel was confirmed “to us” by those who heard the apostle Paul. Mister. announce salvation.
The apostle Paul always pointed out that although he was not one of the original twelve disciples who walked with Jesus during his earthly life, he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he often identifies himself as such in his letters. It seems unlikely that Paul here in 2:3 refers to himself simply as someone who received the gospel from those who had heard the Lord.
If not Pablo, who are the other possible authors? ?
We have established that someone other than Paul wrote the epistle.
But it is possible, even probable, that because of some of the parallels with Paul’s epistles, we know the following about the author:
- The author was probably a close associate of Paul
- The author could write in a rhetorically ornate Greek style
- The author had converted to Christianity from Judaism
- The author’s understanding of the doctrine of salvation was highly compatible with what the apostle Paul taught, though creatively distinctive.
Connection with Alexandria
Christianity came to Alexandria at a very early date. The missionary impetus for the Christian gospel arose in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen when great persecution broke out and the Christians began to scatter (Acts 8).
When Acts 6:1 mentions both Hellenistic and Hebrew Jews, the phrase pros tous hebraious used in that context, the exact phrase by which Hebrews is later known. A 20th-century scholar named William Manson suggested that like-minded Christians brought the Christian message to Alexandria, noting several elements common to Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 that are also shared by the book of Hebrews.
- his high rhetorical style,
- his use of the Septuagint, and
- its possible conceptual constructions
These connections make it highly likely that the author originally came from the church in Alexandria, regardless of where he was when he wrote the letter, and regardless of whom it was originally sent to.
Because of this, one possible author is Apollos, a native of Alexandria, according to Acts 18:24.
Why Apollos Might Have Been the Author of Hebrews
This is what we know about Apollos from the Bible:
- He was from Alexandria and traveled in the orbit of the apostle Paul (Acts 18:24).
- He was instructed by Paul’s companions, Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:24-28),
- Paul personally knew Apollos and encouraged him in his ministry (1 Corinthians 16:12).
- He was a highly educated Alexandrian who would have been educated in the literary style exemplified by Hebrews.
- Furthermore, as a Jewish believer (Acts 18:24), he had a complete knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures in their Greek version which the book of Hebrews uses exclusively.
- Apollos was a great defender of the Christian faith, vigorously refuting opposing Jews in public debates and proving from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 18:28).
- eventually he became as influential as the apostles Paul and Peter (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4 – 6, 22; 4:6; 16:12).
We also know from very early church history that Apollos would also fit into the memory passed down both to Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 150 – 215) and to Origen (AD 185 – 253), who claimed a Pauline association. Origin also recognized that Paul himself probably did not write Hebrews.
For these reasons, Apollos of Alexandria has been a major contender for the authorship of Hebrews at least since the great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, but he has not been the only contender.
Gracious
Eusebius, the great church historian, acknowledges that Clement’s letter from Rome to the Corinthian church at the end of the first century contained many allusions to and quotations from Hebrews and points out that on that basis some believed that Clement himself was the translator or author of Hebrews (Hist. eccl. 3.38.2).
However, scholarly examination shows that the Greek text of Hebrews could not be a translation of a Semitic text. — at least as we understand “translation” today — because its rhetorical features would only be possible when composed in Greek.
And so if Clement or Luke were involved in the production of the existing book of Hebrews, he would have had a great deal of freedom to work with Paul’s material, to the point that he would be an author, not a translator by any modern definition.
Barnabas
The church father Tertullian (AD 160? – 220?) mentioned that Barnabas, Paul’s traveling companion on his first mission to the Gentiles, wrote Hebrews (Pud. 20). Barnabas’s association with the book of Hebrews may be because he was described as a “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36), and Hebrews 13:22 describes the letter as a word of encouragement (or exhortation). Furthermore, Barnabas is referred to as an “apostle” (Acts 14:14) and, as a Levite (Acts 4:36), would have had the interest and knowledge about the priesthood that is such a pervasive theme in Hebrews.
Timothy
A recent theory suggests that Timothy wrote Hebrews, except for the final verses that Paul added where Timothy is mentioned by name.
Although Timothy was a close associate of Paul, he was from Lystra, a small town in Asia Minor where it is unlikely that he could have received the formal rhetorical training reflected in Hebrews.
Also, it is doubtful that Timothy had any connection to Alexandria, although that connection may not be necessary. What we know of Apollos coincides more closely with what we see in Hebrews than with what we know of Timothy.
Priscilla
The intriguing theory put forward in more modern times by German biblical scholar Adolf Harnack argued that Hebrews was written by Priscilla, the woman who, along with her husband, Aquila, was a close associate of Paul.
Although Harnack’s idea generated much discussion in his day, the author refers to himself in Hebrews 11:32, using a masculine participle in the original Greek, and there is no manuscript evidence of a variant reading…