At a first glance the Epistle to the Hebrews presents itself to the reader as a riddle, as an enigma or as an anonymous document. In this paper I will examine the internal evidences which gives us some clues about the real author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The author of Hebrews says very little about himself. Yet, the epistle holds myriad of evidences, and as they are fitted together into a whole, the picture of the author becomes clearer.
1. The author was a man
One passage from the Epistle of Hebrews discovers us the gender of the author: he was a man. Hebrew 11:32 – “For the time would fail me to tell of…” [ἐπιλείψει με γὰρ διηγούμενον ὁ χρόνος περὶ...]. We can see that the present middle participle [διηγούμενον] “recounting, telling” has a masculine, accusative, singular suffix (-ov) – thus we can say that the author of the Epistle to Hebrew is a man.
2. The author was approximately fifty years old
It seems that the author of the Epistle ot the Hebrews communicated with a great authority, and this suggests that he was an older man. It would have been too arrogand for a young man to warn, to reprove, to exhort, to command, and bless the people of his own church (Hebrews 13:22, 24). In addition, the Epistle to the Hebrews is included in the Canon of the New Testamet Scriptures and this is an acknowledgment of the authorʼs authority.
Another evidence is that all of the other New Testament authors (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James, and Peter) were fifty or more years old in AD 64: – AD 64 in this case being the generally accepted year for the writing of the Epistle to the Hebrews. These two internal evidences suggest that the author should be at least fifty years old at the time of the writing of this letter.
3. The author was an intelligent man
Many theologians state that the author of Hebrews was an educated or an intelectual man.[1] His Jewish education focused on the law. Usually at the age of ten, boys were studying the Mishnah, and at fifteen, the Talmud. Superior pupils attended academies, and studied with inteligent Rabbis. Very advanced students observed meetings of the Sanhedrin. A very well known New Testament commentator called Raymond Brown has written about this subject sayng that “by all standards this Epistle of Hebrews is one of the most impressive works in the entire New Testament. Consciously rhetorical, carefully constructed, ably written in quality Greek.”[2]
Because the author of Hebrews was an inteligent and thaught man he alluded to eight apocryphal or pseudepigraphical works: 1. 1-2 Maccabees, 2. 4 Maccabees, 3. Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah, 4. Psalms of Solomon, 5. Sirach, 6. Testament of Levi, and 7. Wisdom of Solomon.[3] It seems to me that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was very proficient in history. When we read the epistle we can notice that it unfolds like an outline of history. The same truth we discover in Hebrews 11, where the author mentions by name Old Testament characters: Aaron, Abel, Abraham, Barak, Cain, David, Enoch, Esau, Gideon, Isaac, Jacob, Jephthah, Joseph, Joshua, Judah, Levi, Melchizedec, Moses, Noah, Rahab, Samson, Samuel, and finally the matriarch Sarah.
Steinsaltz says also that the author was very learned in hermeneutics because he used Jewish principles of interpretation from the Old Testament Scriptures. “When the ancient rabbinical scholars expounded upon biblical texts, they drew out numerous legal rulings, moral lessons, and theological teachings.”[4]
Finally I would add the words spoken by James Moffatt. He once said: “there is also a notable predilection for technical philosophical terms, or for words and phrases which were specially employed by earlier philosophical writers from Plato and Aristotle to Philo.”[5]
4. The author had proficient teachers
Many scholars view the Epistle to the Hebrews as masterpiece or a work of literary excellence: Harold W. Attridge for example describes it as “a product of rhetorical art.”[6] Raymond E. Brown writes in the same manner, “by all standards this is one of the most impressive works in the NT.”[7]
As a short conclusion we can say that the literary excellence of Hebrews suggests that, when the author was a student, he had proficient teachers.
5. The author was a Jew
The author state in the introduction of his letter that “God at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Thus he made a clear reference to his fathers which were recepients of a devine revelation and which were Jews as he was.
Reading the entire letter to Hebrews we can descover that the author had a profound knowledge of Judaism and wrote Hebrews in the style of a homiletical Midrash, a distinct type of Jewish literature.[8] Another clue is that the author knew and used the Hebrew language. These things are evidence that the author was of Jewish heritage.
6. The author possesed Pharisaic beliefs
If we compare the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews with the Pharisees, just like the Pharisees the author of Hebrews believed in: the resurrection of the dead – Hebrews 6:2; 13:20; angels – Hebrews 1:4-7, 12: 22; 13:2, spirit beings – Hebrews 1:7, 2:4; 6:4; 11:27; 12:9, 23), the immortality of the soul – Hebrews 11:5; 12:23; in a judgment – Hebrews 9:27; in a retribution after death – Hebrews 2:2-3; 9:27; 12:29; and in free will – Hebrews 2:1-3; 10:26.[9]
7. The author was a leader in the Early Church
When we read the entire Epistle to the hebrews we can notice that the author of Hebrews wrote with authority to his readers: he warned them (Hebrews 2:1-3;13:4), taught them, commanded them (Hebrews 3:1; 13:1-3, 5), exhorted them (Hebrews 4:1, 11), and reproved them (Hebrews 5:11-12). It is very important for us today to see that the author had such authority even though he wrote from a different location, and even though his readers had their own leaders. We can witness with surety that the author was not a layperson. He had a deep knowledge of the Scriptures; he preached and taught with authority; and his epistle was delivered by private courier. These things indicate that he was a great leader in the Early Church.
8. The author was an apostle
Only nn apostle could issue orders like these: “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” (Hebrews 13:7) “Or Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. (Hebrews 13:17)
9. The author was a friend of Timothy
The author of Hebrews mentioned a personcalled Timothy: “Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. (Hebrews 13:23). This would appear to be the same Timothy who is mentioned in the book of Acts and in ten of the Pauline Epistles (Acts 16:1; 18:5; Romans 16:21; 1 Timothy 1:2; 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:2; Philemom 1).
According with the above-mentioned evidences WE CONCLUDE that the apostle Paul was the author of The Epistle to the Hebrews.
(1) Frederick Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 20; Donald Guthrie, The Letter to the Hebrews (Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1981), 5; Andrew H. Trotter, Interpreting the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), 44.
(2) Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 681.
(3) Lee M. McDonald, The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1995), 265.
(4) Adin Steinsaltz, The Talmud: The Steinsaltz Edition (New York: Random, 1989), 147.
(5) James Moffatt, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Edinburgh: Clark, 1924), 426.
(6) Harold W. Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989), 14.
(7) Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, 683.
(8) George Wesley Buchanan, To the Hebrews (Garden City: Doubleday, 1972), 21-22.
(9) Even if the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, angels, immortality of the human soul, judgment and retribution after death, an afterlife, or fate (Acts 23:8), the author of Hebrews believed in all these things.
