Who wrote Hebrews?

[Qnts2]

Fair enough Butero. Ignoring internal and external evidence because of the title assigned to a book by the KJV seems... Well anyway.

Of note: The KJV's attribution to Paul was only a guess and not a very good one according to internal and external factors.

Pauline writings are more like common letters (private; personal) while Hebrews was written more for public use and the Church in general.

 

 

Perhaps then we CAN agree though on the theme and purpose of the book then?

Theme:

The main point of the book is to show the supremecy and finality of Jesus Christ.

He was and is both the Son of God and the High Priest.

Purpose:

It was a warning against relapsing into Judaism and avoiding apostacy. 

It was also a challenge to break out of a restricted Jewish outlook.

A challenge to break out of a restricted Jewish outlook.

Finally, it was a polemic against a heresy like in Colossians.

God bless,

GE

 

My viewpoint,

 

I agree that one of the main points is to point out the supremacy and finality of Jesus. 

While it is useful for the church in general, it deals primarily with Jewish views and concerns. More specifically, diaspora Jewish issues. The use of the LXX points to diaspora Judaism rather then Jerusalem Judaism issues, since diaspora Jews were more influenced by Greek languages .

 

It was dealing with those who did not yet understand the finality and full meaning of Jesus death. 

There is nothing wrong with a Jewish outlook, as a Jewish outlook of Jesus and what He did is throughout the NT.

It was not so much a polemic against heresy as it was an explanation of the basics of Christianity, to move forward, leaving the Mosaic covenant behind and on to a fuller understanding of what Jesus did bring.  

 

 

Since these were Hellenized Jewish believers, the book starts with expressing the greatness of Jesus, what He did, and what difference that makes in a believers life, to establish the difference between the life in the Mosaic covenant, vs. the New Covenant.

 

The actual issue concerning the audience being addressed is expressed in Hebrews 5.

 

¹² For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

¹³ For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

 

So in a nutshell, that was the problem. They needed a refresher of the basics, or a better understanding of the very basics of the faith. Hebrews 6 encourages them to move on from the basic foundational principals of the New Covenant.

 

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

² Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

³ And this will we do, if God permit.

 

So, having explained Who Jesus is, who that makes them, and that they are still arguing or misunderstanding the basics, the most rudimentary principals, the book continues into some of the confusion of these basic principals, and spends time explaining again why Mosaic law, sacrifices for sin, are no longer necessary.

 

I do not call these heresies, since the Mosaic law is not a heresy. It was a misunderstanding of the basics of what Jesus did, as it appears when certain situations came up, they were dealing with them as they had been used to under the Mosaic law, which they had lived by for years, but continued because they did not understand the fullness of what Jesus had done and brought into the New Covenant.     

 

 

[Butch5]

 

Given the evidence I believe there is ample evidence to suggest that Paul is the author of the epistle.

 

 

The full title of the book is "The Epistle Of Paul To The Hebrews."  It says that in my 1611 King James Bible and my Authorized King James Bible.  I have no reason to doubt that is the case. 

 

 

 

What about the specific issues mentioned here

 

Evidence Against (internal):

a. The letter is anonymous, yet all 13 of Paul’s NT letters mention him as the author in the first sentence.

b. The writer made no claim to apostolic authority, unlike Paul. Instead, the writer appealed to eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry (Heb. 2:3).

c. Hebrews has a highly polished Greek, which is different from Paul's abrupt style.

d. The theological emphasis is not characteristically Pauline (such as saying Jesus was the great high priest: Heb. 4:14-16).

e. OT quotations in Hebrews are usually from the LXX, but Paul did not always follow this practice.

f. Hebrews’ place in NT seems to question authorship.

Evidence Against (external):

a. Both the Council of Hippo (AD 393) and the 3^rd Council of Carthage (AD 397) listed Hebrews separately from Paul’s 13 letters.

b. During the Reformation, Calvin claimed Clement of Rome or Luke wrote Hebrews.

c. Lea says virtually no NT scholar today proposes Pauline authorship.

 

God bless,

GE

 

Hi Golden Eagle, 

 

I don't think those elements provide to much of a hurdle for Pauline authorship.

 

Evidence Against (internal):

a. The letter is anonymous, yet all 13 of Paul’s NT letters mention him as the author in the first sentence.

 

The letter being anonymous doesn't really surprise me. Paul had real issues with the Judaizers and had been rejected by the Jews on numerous occasions so I wouldn't be surprised if he did begin the letter with his typical opening. Also, many Jews had seen the 12 with Jesus but Paul wasn't there, so they may not question what the 12 said but Paul's claim was that he saw Christ on the way to Damascus, they didn't see him with Jesus. In his other epistles to the Gentiles Paul was on equal footing with the other apostles because the Gentiles hadn't seen any of the apostles with Jesus.

 

b. The writer made no claim to apostolic authority, unlike Paul. Instead, the writer appealed to eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry (Heb. 2:3).

 

I think the answer to A. also answers this. Paul hadn't been with Jesus so he may have been rejected by Jewish believers. The Jews knew the 12 were apostles of Jesus.

 

 

c. Hebrews has a highly polished Greek, which is different from Paul's abrupt style.

 

I think this can be explained by Paul dictating to Luke

 

d. The theological emphasis is not characteristically Pauline (such as saying Jesus was the great high priest: Heb. 4:14-16).

 

I would submit that the audience is primarily Jewish and not Gentile and would be approached from a different perspective. I would site Romans as evidence of this. In Romans 2:17 Paul begins to address the Jewish believers in the church at Rome. He continues this discourse through to chapter 11:13 where he turns his attention to the Gentiles. If one reads the address to the Jews and the address to the Gentiles I think they will see the differences in Paul's approach. In the address to the Jewish believers Paul cites the Law repeatedly, however, when addressing the Gentiles he only cites the law twice and in both cases explains that love is the fulfillment of the Law. Since all of Paul's other epistles are written to primarily Gentiles I wouldn't be surprised to see the epistle to the Hebrews as the only one of his epistles that is different from the others.

 

e. OT quotations in Hebrews are usually from the LXX, but Paul did not always follow this practice.

 

I don't think this is a legitimate claim. Just because Paul may not have quoted from the LXX exclusively doesn't mean he didn't some times. In Paul's day the LXX was the Bible of the day. This claim also suggests that we know Paul quote from the Hebrew.

 

f. Hebrews’ place in NT seems to question authorship.

 

 

I don't consider this evidence at all. I would ask at what time as it's placement has changed. Also, it presumes to know what the compiler was thinking.

[Butch5]

The full title of the book is "The Epistle Of Paul To The Hebrews."  It says that in my 1611 King James Bible and my Authorized King James Bible.  I have no reason to doubt that is the case.  I do think that we get too carried away worrying about the human author of any of the books of the Bible, given that God is the true author, and that he only used these individuals to pen his words. 

I think it's very important. If we don't know the human author how do we know that God is the true author? 

[Inchrist1]

I do think that we get too carried away worrying about the human author of any of the books of the Bible, given that God is the true author, and that he only used these individuals to pen his words.

It is really more of just an interest. I don't think anyone on the thread is questioning that the Holy Spirit inspired the book of Hebrews...

God bless,

GE

This ^

[Butch5]

I don't see any connection Butch, unless you are disputing whether or not Hebrews belongs in the Bible.  I will never accept any claim by anyone that it doesn't, regardless of whatever so called evidence they bring up.  If the human author was Luke, God is still the author.  If the human author is Paul, God is still the author.  If the human author is Peter, James or John, God is still the author.  It doesn't matter. 

What if the author was a Gnostic teacher? 

 

I'm not challenging the book of Hebrews in any way. I'm merely suggesting that if we don't know who the author is how can we know it's from God? There is in existence a Gospel of Peter and a Gospel of Judas both give the supposed authors name, should we accept these as God breathed? Mathew, Mark, and John didn't put their names on their gospels either. We accept them as coming from God because the early Christians testify that the books were written by the men whose names they bear. The early Christians tell us that Mathew was written by the apostle as was John, They tell us that Mark was written by Peter's nephew who traveled with him. We accept these books as coming from God based on the testimony of men. We are told that the Gospel of Peter was not written by the apostle and as such we reject the book as coming from God.

 

My point is that if we're going to say the books are from God we should know that the ones who wrote them knew God.

[Guest shiloh357]

 

I don't see any connection Butch, unless you are disputing whether or not Hebrews belongs in the Bible.  I will never accept any claim by anyone that it doesn't, regardless of whatever so called evidence they bring up.  If the human author was Luke, God is still the author.  If the human author is Paul, God is still the author.  If the human author is Peter, James or John, God is still the author.  It doesn't matter. 

What if the author was a Gnostic teacher? 

 

I'm not challenging the book of Hebrews in any way. I'm merely suggesting that if we don't know who the author is how can we know it's from God? There is in existence a Gospel of Peter and a Gospel of Judas both give the supposed authors name, should we accept these as God breathed? Mathew, Mark, and John didn't put their names on their gospels either. We accept them as coming from God because the early Christians testify that the books were written by the men whose names they bear. The early Christians tell us that Mathew was written by the apostle as was John, They tell us that Mark was written by Peter's nephew who traveled with him. We accept these books as coming from God based on the testimony of men. We are told that the Gospel of Peter was not written by the apostle and as such we reject the book as coming from God.

 

My point is that if we're going to say the books are from God we should know that the ones who wrote them knew God.

 

Not knowing who the author is, isn't a problem.  We know the book of Hebrews is inspired particularly because of the unity it shares with the rest of the biblical canon. There is no gnostic content in the book of Hebrews and could not have been written by a gnostic.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Butch,,,,

 

Christians believe that ultimately the entire Bible was authored by the Holy Spirit. The authors of each book were divinely inspired. In fact many scholars that favor divine inspiration state that the Bible has dual authorship. This does not mean that human and divine worked together. It does mean that the works are all human and all divine at the same time. The divine author kept the human author from any errors.

As stated before I believe Moses was involved with writing the Pentateuch. He had the knowledge, he had the skills, and he had a direct line to the Lord.

The word of God has consistently confirmed the validation of the Word of God by the Word of God..........many debate that Mose wrote the Pentateuch but again,it is confirmed in the NT by the Word of God

 

Many scholars accept the testimony of scripture at face value, as I do, and therefore affirm Moses authored the first five books of the Old Testament. Christian as well as Jewish tradition also agrees that Moses wrote the books. Jesus and Paul both confirm Moses authored the book (Jn. 7:19 and Romans 10:19). The Old Testament claims he wrote it as seen in Exodus (17:14, 24:4, and 34:27). Other Old Testament validations occur at Numbers (33:2) and Deut (31:19). New Testament claims are made at Luke (24:44) and 1 Corinthians (9:9). However, for some people references in the Bible are not enough for scholarship on the Moses question.

So,as Shiloh has stated.......

 

We know the book of Hebrews is inspired particularly because of the unity it shares with the rest of the biblical canon.

  It does not matter that we do not know who the Book of Hebrews is written by                                                                                                                                                           With love in Christ,Kwik

[Butch5]

 

 

I don't see any connection Butch, unless you are disputing whether or not Hebrews belongs in the Bible.  I will never accept any claim by anyone that it doesn't, regardless of whatever so called evidence they bring up.  If the human author was Luke, God is still the author.  If the human author is Paul, God is still the author.  If the human author is Peter, James or John, God is still the author.  It doesn't matter. 

What if the author was a Gnostic teacher? 

 

I'm not challenging the book of Hebrews in any way. I'm merely suggesting that if we don't know who the author is how can we know it's from God? There is in existence a Gospel of Peter and a Gospel of Judas both give the supposed authors name, should we accept these as God breathed? Mathew, Mark, and John didn't put their names on their gospels either. We accept them as coming from God because the early Christians testify that the books were written by the men whose names they bear. The early Christians tell us that Mathew was written by the apostle as was John, They tell us that Mark was written by Peter's nephew who traveled with him. We accept these books as coming from God based on the testimony of men. We are told that the Gospel of Peter was not written by the apostle and as such we reject the book as coming from God.

 

My point is that if we're going to say the books are from God we should know that the ones who wrote them knew God.

 

Not knowing who the author is, isn't a problem.  We know the book of Hebrews is inspired particularly because of the unity it shares with the rest of the biblical canon. There is no gnostic content in the book of Hebrews and could not have been written by a gnostic.

 

That's a non sequitur.  Just because a book has unity with the Scriptures doesn't mean it's inspired. 

[Butch5]

Blessings Butch,,,,

 

Christians believe that ultimately the entire Bible was authored by the Holy Spirit. The authors of each book were divinely inspired. In fact many scholars that favor divine inspiration state that the Bible has dual authorship. This does not mean that human and divine worked together. It does mean that the works are all human and all divine at the same time. The divine author kept the human author from any errors.

As stated before I believe Moses was involved with writing the Pentateuch. He had the knowledge, he had the skills, and he had a direct line to the Lord.

The word of God has consistently confirmed the validation of the Word of God by the Word of God..........many debate that Mose wrote the Pentateuch but again,it is confirmed in the NT by the Word of God

 

Many scholars accept the testimony of scripture at face value, as I do, and therefore affirm Moses authored the first five books of the Old Testament. Christian as well as Jewish tradition also agrees that Moses wrote the books. Jesus and Paul both confirm Moses authored the book (Jn. 7:19 and Romans 10:19). The Old Testament claims he wrote it as seen in Exodus (17:14, 24:4, and 34:27). Other Old Testament validations occur at Numbers (33:2) and Deut (31:19). New Testament claims are made at Luke (24:44) and 1 Corinthians (9:9). However, for some people references in the Bible are not enough for scholarship on the Moses question.

So,as Shiloh has stated.......

 

We know the book of Hebrews is inspired particularly because of the unity it shares with the rest of the biblical canon.

  It does not matter that we do not know who the Book of Hebrews is written by                                                                                                                                                           With love in Christ,Kwik

How do you know it's inspired? What about Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John? What about the Epistles? The Epistles are said to be written by Paul, how do you know it was the apostle Paul? The Gospel of Judas is said to be written by the apostle Judas, it wasn't. The Gospel of Peter was said to have been written by the apostle Peter, it wasn't . 

 

I'm amazed that people just accept what others say without verification. 

[Butch5]

Then you have a problem Butch, because nobody knows who the author of Hebrews is.  That is the point of this thread.  There is no absolute proof.  I know there are books attributed to the apostles that are gnostic.  I have a huge book with many of those writings in it.  I know they are not scripture, but this is the Biblical canon we are speaking of.  I have no doubt it is God's Word.  So what now?  You said, "if we're going to say the books are from God we should know that the ones who wrote them knew God."  Who wrote Hebrews? 

I don't doubt that Hebrews is God's word either, but not just "because". There is a reason I believe that it is God's word even though the author is not given. The reason I believe it is God's word is because it is attested to by reliable men among the earliest Christians. The same men that tell me the Gospel of Mathew was written by the apostle Mathew, likewise with Mark and John. Also those writings of the apostle Paul. Anyone could have written something and put an apostle's name on it. Therefore the writing we have have to be validated and they were by these early Christians. However, I don't think we can simply say I believe Hebrews is God's word "because". I'm seeing posts in this thread that say it doesn't matter that we don't know who wrote it. If you don't know who wrote it then you can't know it was from God. However, we can know because it is attested to by those who ere there early one. However, without their attesting to it we would have no way of knowing one way or the other.