1After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth. 2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; 15but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” 16So he drove them from the judgment seat.
17Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
18Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; 21but taking his leave of them, he said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23Having spent some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Hebrews is one of the most theologically profound books of the New Testament, masterfully bridging the Old and New Covenants. It presents Christ as both High Priest and God, fulfilling and surpassing the Levitical system. Its literary sophistication and doctrinal depth make it a cornerstone of Christian theology.
Though it proclaims the superiority of the New Covenant in Christ, Hebrews contains more Old Testament quotations, allusions, and references—proportionally—than any other New Testament book, even surpassing Romans and Matthew in intertextual depth. This remarkable density reflects the author’s profound grasp of God’s covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David, and reinforces his authority to declare how the New Covenant fulfills and surpasses the Old.
The authorship of the Book of Hebrews has been a subject of debate for centuries. The author does not explicitly identify himself in the text, which has led to various theories. Some of the most prominent suggestions are:
Paul: Many in the early church traditionally attributed Hebrews to the Apostle Paul due to the letter’s theological depth and focus on Christ as the High Priest. However, many modern scholars doubt Paul’s authorship for several reasons, including the style of his Greek, the lack of a typical Pauline greeting, and the absence of his usual references to his apostleship.
Barnabas: Some early church fathers, including Tertullian, proposed that Barnabas, a companion, might have written Hebrews. Barnabas was a Levite, which could account for the author’s deep appreciation of Jewish customs and priesthood.
Apollos: Martin Luther suggested Apollos, a learned man from Alexandria who was known for his eloquence and knowledge of the Scriptures, and as a potential author. The argument is based on the fact that the author of Hebrews demonstrates a profound understanding of Jewish Law, which fits with Apollos’ reputation as a learned, eloquent missionary (Acts 18:24-28; 1 Cor 3:5-6; Titus 3:13), as well as a profound knowledge of classical Greek.
Priscilla: Some scholars, including the early church theologian Origen, suggested that Priscilla, a prominent early Christian figure, could have written the book. This theory is less common but is considered due to the text’s lack of gender-specific references and the intellectual skill in explaining complex theology.
Unknown Author: There is no direct evidence to support authorship by any of these candidates. The most widely accepted view among modern scholars is that the author of Hebrews remains unknown. Despite Origen’s speculation about Priscilla as the author, he also wrote that “only God knows” who wrote the epistle. He acknowledged its canonicity, however, writing, “The church has received the book, and it is read in the churches.”
There are compelling reasons to believe that Paul composed the letter, with Luke serving as his scribe during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome.
One key objection to Pauline authorship is Hebrews 2:3: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.” Critics argue that this verse implies the author was not an eyewitness of Christ’s ministry, whereas Paul received direct revelation from the risen Jesus, who spoke with Paul seven times (Acts 9:4-6; 18:9-10; 22:7-8, 17-21; 18:9-10; 20:35; 23:11; 26:14-15; Galatians 1:11-12; 1 Cor 11:23; 2 Cor 12:9). However, Paul did interact with Jesus post-resurrection. This verse can, therefore, be interpreted as simply acknowledging Paul’s lack of firsthand experience with Christ before the resurrection, rather than excluding him as the author.
Paul’s letters consistently open with his name—yet Hebrews is anonymous. Why? One possible reason is Paul’s strained relationship with many of the Jews. Throughout Acts, Paul’s teachings led to controversy, riots, and rejection among Jews (Acts 21:27-36). If he had placed his name at the start of the letter to the Hebrews, Jewish readers opposed to Paul might have dismissed it before reading it. By leaving it anonymous, he allowed the message to stand on its own merits.
While Hebrews differs stylistically from Paul’s, this could be explained if Luke served as Paul’s scribe or translator:
Paul’s, that is, was written to people in response to specific events or questions; Hebrews is pure theology, and thus, it is understandable that its author would adopt a more formal rhetoric. This theory would account for both the Pauline thought and the Lukan Greek style.
Hebrews 13:24 states, “Those from Italy send you greetings.” This strongly suggests that the author wrote the letter from Rome. There is no evidence from the apostolic age claiming that Barnabas or Apollos ever went to Italy. Certainly, Priscilla and Aquila did, for they were originally from Italy (Acts 18:2), and in AD 54, Paul addressed his book of Romans to the believers there, including them (Rom 16:3-5). The greetings from Italy fit neatly with Paul’s first or second imprisonment in Rome, where Luke was present.
Given its themes of endurance under persecution and the superiority of Christ over the Mosaic Law, Hebrews aligns well with Paul’s concerns. If he were the author, this would be his fourteenth New Testament letter. (Three of his epistles—his first and third letters to Corinth and one to Laodicea—are lost.)
While Hebrews does not bear Paul’s name, its theological depth, connection to Timothy (see below), and alignment with Paul’s circumstances make it plausible that he conceived the letter, with Luke refining and writing it down.
Another subtle clue points to Paul: his self-identification as “Hebrew of Hebrews”(Phil 3:5), together with the linguistic pattern of the New Testament, which overwhelmingly refers to the people of Judea as “Jews” (190 times) or “Israel” (68 times). The term “Hebrews” appears only three times (Acts 6:1;2 Cor 11:22; Phil 3:5)—two of which are in Paul’s writings. This suggests that if Paul wrote Hebrews, he may have intentionally chosen the rare term “Hebrews” to address his Jewish audience in a distinct way.
Hebrews provides a key historical reference, mentioning Timothy’s release (Heb 13:23), suggesting Timothy was either imprisoned and then freed or “released” on a specific mission, probably by Paul. Hebrews states in four places that the Levitical priesthood was still active at the time of writing (Heb 7:8; 8:3-5; 9:6-9; 10:1-3), affirming that the book was written before AD 70 when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
If the Temple had already been destroyed, the author could have made a compelling argument against reverting to Judaism—namely, that the entire sacrificial system had ceased to exist. Instead, the warnings against returning to the Old Covenant system imply that it was still an active and available option. Hebrews was thus written before the fall of Jerusalem on 10 Av, August 3, AD 70 (Josephus, The War of the Jews, 6:4:5).