# Who wrote Hebrews?



## etexas (May 29, 2007)

I do not know if this has been a PB thread before so forgive me if it has. In general the early church held that this was an Epistle of St. Paul. Many still held to this up to the textual criticism movement (both higher and lower.) Since we do not know I take the traditional view that is of Paul (by the Holy Ghost). But I thout it would be intersting to get a feel from the board on this topic. Grace and Peace.


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## Herald (May 29, 2007)

Max - I also subscribe to Pauline authorship, although I believe the actual author is not a major issue. Hebrews lacks some of the personal nature of the other New Testament epistles, whether they be Pauline, Petrine or Johannian. 

I view Hebrews as a thesis of sorts. It is a high and grand treatise of the supremacy of Christ over the Law. Given Paul's formal education and the fact that he was a Pharisee (Phil. 3:5), the knowledge of Law that is contained in Hebrews makes an argument for Pauline authorship more than plausible.


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## satz (May 29, 2007)

BaptistInCrisis said:


> Max - I also subscribe to Pauline authorship, although I believe the actual author is not a major issue. Hebrews lacks some of the personal nature of the other New Testament epistles, whether they be Pauline, Petrine or Johannian.
> 
> I view Hebrews as a thesis of sorts. It is a high and grand treatise of the supremacy of Christ over the Law. Given Paul's formal education and the fact that he was a Pharisee (Phil. 3:5), the knowledge of Law that is contained in Hebrews makes an argument for Pauline authorship more than plausible.


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## etexas (May 29, 2007)

BaptistInCrisis said:


> Max - I also subscribe to Pauline authorship, although I believe the actual author is not a major issue. Hebrews lacks some of the personal nature of the other New Testament epistles, whether they be Pauline, Petrine or Johannian.
> 
> I view Hebrews as a thesis of sorts. It is a high and grand treatise of the supremacy of Christ over the Law. Given Paul's formal education and the fact that he was a Pharisee (Phil. 3:5), the knowledge of Law that is contained in Hebrews makes an argument for Pauline authorship more than plausible.


That my freind has been a very traditional defense of Pauline authorship. In my mind it is a solid one. I agree with you that whether Paul wrote it or not is not a major issue. I do feel it remains an interesting topic to discuss it is actually one of my favorie Epistles. It is very well written and many consider it one of the more elegant Epistles in tearms of literary quality. Grace and Peace.


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## Answerman (May 29, 2007)

I have heard good arguments that it might be the Apollos that was mentioned in the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians. Most of this speculation is based on what is said about Apollos in the book of Acts. In Hebrews 2:3 the author states that the message of salvation was confirmed to us (including the author) by those who heard Him (which if Paul was the author, it would seem strange that he say this) and Paul claimed that he recieved his revelation directly from Christ (Gal 1:1,11,12).

I believe that this was Luther's position also, although I haven't actually read his arguments on this point.


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## NaphtaliPress (May 29, 2007)

There is an article by W. Gary Crampton defending Pauline authorship at The Blue Banner archive. See *Volume 12 Issue 1. January-March 2003.*


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## etexas (May 29, 2007)

NaphtaliPress said:


> There is an article by W. Gary Crampton defending Pauline authorship at The Blue Banner archive. See *Volume 12 Issue 1. January-March 2003.*


Thank you for the link Chris. Curious though, do you lean towards Pauline authorship?


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## MrMerlin777 (May 29, 2007)

I lean toward Paul. But simply put, we don't know for sure. In some places it reads like Paul. In other places it doesn't. At least the Paul we are familiar with in his other epistles. Of course it has been mentioned that Hebrews is a bit "academic" compared to some of the other letters so that could account for the difference in tone.


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## larryjf (May 29, 2007)

I think that Barnabas could have written it. He would have been familiar with Paul's theology. And the difference in style from Paul's other writings could be accounted for in this way as well. Also, it seems to be written by a second generation believer (Heb 2:3-4).


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## etexas (May 29, 2007)

larryjf said:


> I think that Barnabas could have written it. He would have been familiar with Paul's theology. And the difference in style from Paul's other writings could be accounted for in this way as well. Also, it seems to be written by a second generation believer (Heb 2:3-4).


Some do take the 2nd Generation Christian theory. However....that is a fairly new concept(in terms of the history of the church), many of the Early Fathers, held to Pauline authorship.......not saying they could not be wrong, but sometimes the farther back we go the closer we can get to the truth(key word...sometimes)!


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## larryjf (May 29, 2007)

Good point Max.

Tertullian did suggest that Hebrews was written by Barnabas.
See De pudicitia chapter 20

Also, other works attributed to Barnabus show similar style and skill as the book of Hebrews.


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## NaphtaliPress (May 29, 2007)

I follow Jesus said:


> Thank you for the link Chris. Curious though, do you lean towards Pauline authorship?


If we "have to" say an author that's who I would say, but neither is it something I have seen the need to spend a lot of time thinking about.


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## etexas (May 29, 2007)

NaphtaliPress said:


> If we "have to" say an author that's who I would say, but neither is it something I have seen the need to spend a lot of time thinking about.


LOL. Good enough, as I said Hebrews is my favorite Epistle so I guess I think about it and wanted to hear what my PB friends think.


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## KMK (May 29, 2007)

I have also heard conjecture that the reason we do not know is because the original introduction has been lost. If you think about it, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets..." is a rather abrupt beginning to a letter. Usually, you say, "Dear friends", or at least, "To Whom It May Concern." But the way that it appears in our Bibles seems a little curt and impolite.


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## bookslover (May 29, 2007)

BaptistInCrisis said:


> I view Hebrews as a thesis of sorts.



Some scholars consider Hebrews to be a sermon - the first complete Christian sermon that has been preserved for us, right there in the New Testament. I think this is right. It reads like a sermon, complete with its formal beginning (unlike a letter).

As to authorship, remember Origen's famous remark that only God knows who wrote Hebrews? Well, one of my old New Testament professors says that what Origen meant was "who wrote Hebrews down" - that is, who was the author's amanuensis. He says that Origen believed that Paul wrote Hebrews, but was wondering who his secretary was.

He once produced a list of quotations from Origen to demonstrate both these points (that Origen believed that Paul was the author/preacher and that someone else wrote it out for him). But I haven't seen that list in awhile.


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## turmeric (May 29, 2007)

Wouldn't Paul have signed it?


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## etexas (May 30, 2007)

turmeric said:


> Wouldn't Paul have signed it?


Well, that is one thing that makes the Pauline authorship difficult....it reads like a well done thesis rather than a "personal" letter. If yhis was the in intent of Paul, it woul explain why it lackd the salutations and benedictions found in Romans.


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## satz (May 30, 2007)

Another idea I read was that the false teachers had been smearing Paul's reputation amongst the Jews, so being wise as a serpent, he chose to let them have an excuse to discredit this letter.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (May 30, 2007)

William Gouge:



> Sec. 4. Of the author of this epistle.
> 
> The proofs before produced for the divine authority of this epistle give evidence that an apostle, or some other extraordinary minister, immediately inspired and infallibly insisted1 by the divine Spirit, was the author of it.
> 
> ...





> Sec. 27. Of confirming the gospel to them that then lived.
> 
> About confirming the gospel, this clause is added, ίίς ημ&ζ, ' to us.' Hereby the penman of this epistle includes himself in the number of those to whom the gospel is here said to be confirmed, as he did before in the number of those whom he exhorted to give diligent heed to the gospel, and to beware that they let not slip what they had heard; and whom he told, that they should not escape if they neglected so great salvation.
> 
> ...


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## Reformed Covenanter (Jul 27, 2007)

In my humble opinion it was probably Barnabas; while we can't be 100% certain, I think that the Pauline authorship must be rejected. Although the style is, in many places, Pauline - which may indicate that a person close to Paul wrote it - I find it incredible that Paul did not identify himself as the author, as he did in his other epistles. However, that is just my opinion.


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## christiana (Jul 27, 2007)

From the Exposition of Hebrews by Arthur W. Pink:
" This, we are fully assured, was the apostle Paul. Though he ws distinctly and essentially the "apostle of the Gentiles; (Rom 11:13), yet his ministry was by no means confined to them, as the book of Acts clearly shows. At the time of his apprehension the Lord said, "He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9:15) It is significant that Israel is there mentioned last, in harmony with the fact that his Epistle to the Hebrews was written after most of his others to Gentile saints. That this Epistle was written by Paul is clear from 2 Peter 3:15. Peter was writing to saved Jews as the opening verses of his first Epistle intimates; the first verse of chapter 3 in his second Epistle informs us that this letter was addressed to the same people as his former one had been. Then, in vv15 he declares that his beloved brother Paul "also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you". If the Epistle to the Hebrews be not that writing, where is it?"


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