General Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | This letter has historically been seen as having been written to Jewish believers. In the New Testament, Jews are often referred to as Hebrews. Thus, traditionally, this letter has been known as the Letter to the Hebrews. |
| Author and Date | Neither the date nor the author of Hebrews is known for sure. The dating of the letter is easier to estimate though. Due to the letter’s argument of the superiority of Jesus’ sacrifice to those at the temple, it is very likely that the destruction of the temple would have been mentioned, as it would have greatly strengthened this message, so the letter was likely written before A.D. 70. Further, it is commonly assumed the letter was written to the church in Rome. Since Hebrews is silent concerning the severe persecution Christians suffered there under Nero, the date of the letter is probably before A.D. 64. No one knows who wrote Hebrews. There is a very early church tradition that Paul wrote it, although several church fathers rejected Pauline authorship, including Origen. The letter is anonymous and doesn’t fit Paul’s vocabulary or style, so it is not likely he wrote it. Jerome thought Paul didn’t write the letter, but gave the ideas to another author, who composed the letter. Tertullian suggested Barnabas wrote it. Barnabus was from Cyprus and a Levite (Acts 4:36), so would have been a native Greek speaker, but knowledgeable concerning the Old Testament and its sacrificial system. However, historically, Hebrews seems to have appeared in Alexandria and was first accepted as canonical there, and there is no evidence it originated in Cyprus. Many others have suggested Apollos as the author, including Martin Luther and many other contemporary scholars. Apollis was an Alexandrian Jew who was said to be “eloquent” and “mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24). The only real opposition to this view is that none of the early church fathers mentioned Apollos. Recently, a few scholars have advanced Priscilla as the author. Priscilla was an important figure in the New Testament, along with her husband. They instructed Apollos (who was also educated), were close friends of Paul, and were in Rome until being forced out by Claudius in A.D. 49. These scholars argue for Priscilla rather than Aquilla because she is mentioned first a few times in Acts and Paul’s letters, which they say means she was the more prominent of the two. However, the personal pronoun used in Heb 11:32 is masculine. Proponents of the view argue that a woman’s writing would not have been accepted in the first century, so Priscilla intentionally used a masculine pronoun. Proponents also argue that the epistle being anonymous strongly suggests a female, saying that had the author been identified as Priscilla, it would have been rejected by the church. Since this view is based almost entirely on conjecture, there is no compelling reason to accept it. Moreover, if true, it would violate Paul’s admonition against women teaching men (1 Tim 2:12) |
| Audience | Although some have posited that Hebrews was written to a Gentile or mixed Gentile-Jewish congregation, most scholars hold that Hebrews was written to a Jewish audience. The letter assumes a deep and intimate knowledge of the Old Testament, especially the sacrificial system. Although it is likely written to Jewish believers, the location of those believers is less sure. The author does not mention where the audience is, outside of a reference to a greeting sent from those “from Italy.” Many have assumed Rome as the location of the audience, although again, this is based largely on conjecture. |
| Message and Occasion | Regardless of the author or audience, Hebrews stands as a powerful and vital work on Christology. Hebrews answers foundational questions regarding the purpose and extent of the atonement, as well as the superiority of Jesus over the Old Testament sacrificial system, Jesus’ mediatorial role before the Father, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. It also stresses faith in Jesus’ sacrifice as the means through which believers obtain eternal life. Because Hebrews ends like a letter, but starts like a sermon, some have forwarded that Hebrews was formed out of a number of sermons, then sent to a church as a letter. If the letter was written to Jews in Rome, it may have been written to bolster them and to exhort them not to return to Judaism in the face of growing opposition to Christianity in the city. |
Key Information | |
|---|---|
| Key Verses | 1:1-2 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” 4:14-15 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” 7:24-25 “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” 9:11-12 “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” |
| Key People | Jesus Old Testament Saints |
| Key Events | The Cross and Resurrection Hebrews stresses the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross throughout the letter, assuming it to have been an actual, historical event. Moreover, Hebrews assumes as true that Jesus rose from the dead and is now sitting “at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (1:1). |
Important Theology in Hebrews | |
|---|---|
| Jesus as High Priest | Hebrews says Jesus is our eternal high priest, who was tempted like us but did not sin, offered Himself as the perfect and last sacrifice for sins and who mediates on behalf of believers before the Father , presenting His sacrifice to the Father. |
| Limited, Substitutionary Atonement | Hebrews stresses that the atonement was substitutionary (in the place of sinners). Hebrews teaches that the Son was put to death in our place (2:9), had to take on humanity in order to be an appropriate sacrifice on their behalf (2:14-18) and alludes to Leviticus, saying that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission” of sins (9:22). He was like us in every way (except for sin), so as to fulfill the requirement of substitution (4:14-16). 9:28 says “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” Moreover, the atonement “purged our sins” (1:1), “obtained eternal redemption” (9:12) for “those who are called” so that they “may receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (9:15), “put away sin” (9:26) and “perfected forever those who are being sanctified (10:14). For these reasons, the atonement could not have been for those who do not believe. The atonement actually saves. It does not simply open the way for salvation. |
| Salvation by Faith | Hebrews spends an entire chapter using Old Testament examples to show that salvation is through faith in the perfect sacrifice for sins of Jesus on the cross, pointing to great figures and the example of their faith. |
General Outline | |
Introduction: Summary of the Letter (1:1-4)
The Superiority of Jesus (1:5-10:18)
The Superiority of the New Covenant (8:6-9:5)
|
Used by permission. ©2017 H. Wayne House, Charting the New Testament. All Rights Reserved.