Hebrews is profound, distinctive, rewarding, and puzzling. Its impassioned and polished argument for the superiority of Christ captures the imagination even in a quick reading, and its theological depths continue to reward faithful reflection over a lifetime of study.
Author
Hebrews includes no explicit claim of authorship. The writer certainly knew the readers and vice versa (5:11–12; 6:10; 10:32–34; 13:23–24), but identifying information was lost as the book was widely circulated. Patristic tradition about its author was divided early on. The Eastern church thought the ideas were from Paul but that the writer was one of his associates. The Western church did not accept it as Pauline until widespread use in the East convinced them that it must be apostolic, and they eventually concluded Paul was the author. However, this was called into question from the Reformation forward, and very few scholars accept it as Pauline today. The Greek style and its characteristic themes are quite different from Paul’s, and at least one verse presents nearly insuperable difficulties (2:3 indicates the author received the gospel indirectly; cf. Gal 1:11–17). From the small group of first-century Christians known to the later church, other potential authors have been suggested across the centuries with varying degrees of plausibility (e.g., Luke, Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Apollos, Priscilla, Silas, Epaphras, Timothy). The evidence for these is so thin that they are little more than guesses, particularly since we have no writing sample from most of them to base comparisons on. And it is a mistake to assume that the author must be someone already familiar to us. It is best to acknowledge that we do not know who the author is.
Date
As with other features of the book’s original situation, the date of composition is uncertain. The original readers were second-generation Christians (2:3–4), and some time had passed since their conversion (5:12), enough time for prior experiences of suffering to be a fading memory (10:32–34). It seems that persecution against them had not meant loss of life (12:4). But none of these factors lends much clarity to its dating. A bit more definitive is the lack of any mention of Jerusalem’s destruction and the end of the temple’s priestly ritual, which occurred in AD 70 (see note on 8:4 for the relevance of present-tense usage). In view of the book’s argument for Christ’s superiority to the Mosaic order, this silence makes it difficult to think it was written after AD 70. A date in the mid-60s seems most likely.
Place of Composition and Destination
Hebrews gives no indication of the location or circumstances of its author, except that he hoped to return to the readers quite soon (13:19, 23). Many have understood the original readers’ location to be the area around Jerusalem or somewhere in Syria-Palestine, assuming that attention to the priesthood and sacrificial ritual would be more relevant to readers closer to Jerusalem. But Hebrews actually never mentions the temple itself (Solomon’s or Herod’s). Its descriptions always pertain to the tabernacle and its service as stipulated in the OT (see note on 8:4). The author pursues this line of argument not because of the readers’ location near the temple but to remind them of God’s final sacrifice for sin accomplished by Christ (see Occasion and Purpose). The location of the original readers is indicated rather clearly in 13:24: former residents of Italy (companions of the writer, wherever he is) send their greetings to the readers, presumably in Italy, the area around Rome (see note on 13:24 for mention of an alternative view).
Occasion and Purpose
Although the title “To the Hebrews” was used in the second century AD and reflects the book’s recipients, it was not part of the original work and likely arose from a genuine insight into the major content of the book (extensive treatment of OT priestly themes to show the superiority of Christ) and its central exhortation based on that content (the readers must not turn away from Christ—presumably back to Judaism). The author never explicitly warns against returning to Judaism, and his exhortations could be taken more generally (i.e., not forsaking Christ or the true God by reverting to paganism). But the author is not explicit about a pagan background either, and there would be less reason to pursue the detailed argument he presents based on the promises and institutions of the OT for an audience that had no prior loyalty to them. His insistence that the readers maintain faith in Christ because of that which God has done in Christ strongly implies that they were tempted to return to that prior system. The only modification of this early view would be that the ethnic background of the readers could certainly have been broader than “Hebrews” only. Gentiles in the first-century Mediterranean world were often drawn to the synagogue and its ancient roots in the OT; from there they sometimes converted to Christianity. Informed loyalty to the OT, such as Hebrews assumes, was not limited to ethnic Jewish converts.
Genre and Structure
Hebrews has traditionally been labeled a letter, but the main part of it does not read that way. It ends like a letter (see the epistolary features in 13:20–25) but begins more like a theological treatise or essay. The author himself describes the book as “my word of exhortation” (13:22), which clarifies things quite a bit. In Acts 13:15 the same phrase describes a synagogue sermon and a message of encouragement and challenge based on Scripture. This matches what we find in Hebrews as a whole: theological and practical exposition of OT passages urging the readers to remain faithful to Christ. It is carefully crafted and rhetorically powerful, mixing interpretation of several central OT passages (Pss 8; 95; 110; Jer 31)—with a variety of others cited in support—along with five sections of intense appeal, based on the exposition, for the readers to endure in their faith (Heb 2:1–4; 3:6—4:13; 5:11—6:20; 10:19–39; 12:14–29). The other indication that the book is composed to be a sermon is the consistent use of “say” or “speak” instead of “write” when the author refers to his work (2:5; 5:11; 6:9; 8:1; 11:32). Even though he has of necessity sent it to them in written form and he clearly has specific recipients in mind (5:12; 6:9–10; 10:32–34), its genre is sermonic through and through. Since it is now in written form, the study notes that follow refer to the recipients as “readers” rather than “hearers.”
Differing schemes have been suggested for outlining the argument of Hebrews. The Outline shows Hebrews arranged in a symmetrical pattern that is centered on a long section of crucial exposition at the heart of the book—Christ’s high priestly ministry (5:11—10:39)—and bracketed by the strongest passages of exhortation. Two main sections prepare the way for this central exposition (1:5—2:18; 3:1—5:10) and two wind down the argument (11:1—12:12; 12:14—13:21). The transition into each main section is signaled by key words at the end of the previous unit that announce the topic of the section to follow (see notes on 1:4; 2:17, 18; 5:10; 10:35–39; 12:12–13).
Canonicity
Early opinion about who wrote Hebrews was mixed (see Author), and this naturally affected its early acknowledgment as canonical. It is not listed in the Muratorian Canon (late second century in the West), but the Eastern church widely accepted it. It is included in an early and important papyrus manuscript (P46) with eight of Paul’s letters (ca. AD 200). Hesitation about its canonicity eventually faded in the West based on its evident orthodoxy and widespread use in the East.
Themes and Argument
One of the most important contributions of Hebrews is its balance of continuity and advance in relating the OT and NT to each other. The same God who spoke in former times has now revealed himself fully and finally in his Son (1:1–2). Hebrews argues for the superiority of Christ and his saving work and supports its argument from OT Scripture, viewed as God’s revelation by the Spirit (3:7; 9:8; 10:15). The author often does this by quoting an OT passage and then explaining a few key words to draw out their theological meaning in context (2:8–9; 8:13; 10:8–10).
A distinctive dimension of Hebrew’s balance of continuity and advance in God’s redemptive plan is how it traces the relationship of OT to NT by means of pattern and escalation. The OT presents God-intended patterns, or types (9:8–10), to foreshadow in incomplete ways (10:1) certain NT parallels that are true in a heightened or ultimate sense (a “how much more” fulfillment). Hebrews has typologies of covenant and sacrifice (8:6; 9:1–14, 18–23), of judgment and deliverance (2:1–4; 3:6—4:11; 10:28–29; 12:25), and of sonship and priesthood (1:5–13; 2:5–18; 5:1–10; 7:11–28). In many of these the OT type is true only metaphorically or in a manner of speaking, while the NT counterpart has come to be so in profound reality (see notes on 1:5, 8–9; 7:3, 9–10; 9:13–14). Of course, this does not diminish the experience of OT believers, who by God’s grace respond with faith and obedience to the provision God made for them, a provision whose core reality still lay ahead.
The central theme of Hebrews is that Jesus Christ as exalted Son and high priest is God’s final revelation and provides full cleansing from sin and open access to God—the reality that the OT anticipated but was never meant to accomplish. This view of the exalted Christ is the focal point at which the major theological themes of Hebrews converge: its teachings on who Christ is, all that he has accomplished for human salvation, and how God’s prior revelation to Israel and his restoration of all things will be fulfilled through Christ. Based on these themes, the central argument of Hebrews is that Christians can and must hold firmly to their faith in Christ’s high priestly work in spite of adversity.
Outline
I. Prologue: The Son as God’s Final Revelation (1:1–4)
II. The Son as Superior to Angels (1:5—2:18)
A. The Son as Exalted Royal Messiah (1:5–14)
B. Warning: Pay Careful Attention to the Gospel (2:1–4)
C. Jesus and the Destiny of Mankind (2:5–18)
III. The Son as Merciful and Faithful High Priest (3:1—5:10)
A. Jesus and Moses (3:1–6)
B. Warning: Respond to God’s Word With Enduring Faith (3:7—4:13)
C. Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest (4:14—5:10)
IV. Central Exposition: The Son’s Melchizedekian Priesthood (5:11—10:39)
A. Introductory Exhortation: Moving Toward Maturity (5:11—6:20)
B. Christ as Priest in Melchizedek’s Order (7:1–28)
C. Christ as Heavenly High Priest of a Better Covenant (8:1–13)
D. Christ’s Priestly Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary (9:1–28)
E. Conclusion of the Exposition: Contrast of the Old and New Sacrifices (10:1–18)
F. Concluding Exhortation: Draw Near Through Christ in Enduring Faith (10:19–39)
V. The Need for Faith and Endurance in the Struggle (11:1—12:13)
A. Examples of God-Pleasing Faith (11:1–40)
B. Endure Suffering as Fatherly Discipline (12:1–13)
VI. Final Warning and Instructions About Community Life (12:14—13:21)
A. Final Warning: Do Not Refuse God’s Gracious Word Through Jesus (12:14–29)
B. Instructions About Community Life (13:1–21)
VII. Epilogue: Epistolary Closing (13:22–25)
Remains of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
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