HEBREWS 1-2

 WHERE in the Bible is this book positioned? It is the first and largest of the general epistles (not addressed to any one person or congregation). But many of the ideas in Hebrews are similar to those of Paul so it acts as a sort of bridge to finish off Paul's epistles also.

Authorship Proposals 

Paul: Hebrews 13:23 does indicate that the author was in contact with Timothy and therefore probably a close friend of Paul's also.

Barnabas was Tertullian's candidate since his name translates as “son of consolation.” (see Hebrews 13:22). In addition, Barnabas was a levite (knowledge of Jewish rituals) from Cyprus (explaining his excellent command of the Greek language).

Apollos (Luther's vote)

Aquilla and Priscilla, Philip the deacon, and Stephen have also been proposed without much proof.

Luke (according to Clement and Origen)

Peter (due to some similarities with I Peter). However, it is highly unlikely that someone as prominent as Peter would not have been remembered as the author.

Of the many names proposed over the years for the authorship of this letter, one of the few who has left 

other existing compositions for comparison is Luke. As early as Clement (writing in 90-100AD), Luke 

was said to be the author. The early church historian Eusebius quotes the church father Clement as 

saying that Hebrews was written to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language but that Luke carefully 

translated it into Greek for a wider audience. Working against this idea is the fact that there are 

several plays on words in the epistle which only work in the Greek, not in Hebrew. In addition, 

Eusebius also quotes Origen as saying that opinion in the church is divided among Paul, Luke or 

Clement himself as to the author of the book.

Luke’s Gospel and the Letter to the Hebrews are said to contain “some of the best Greek in the NT.” 

Also, close similarities in specific vocabulary employed in Hebrews and Luke-Acts have also been 

noted by scholars. One prominent thematic similarity between Hebrews and Acts is the unique notion 

that angels were involved in the giving of the law. Much more proof can be found in the book Lukan

Authorship of Hebrews by David L. Allen.

Purpose and Audience These are related issues.

The title is traditional; the book itself doesn't really state who the audience is.

Hebrews 1:1a Note “our” ancestors, which probably indicates it was written for a Jewish audience.

Hebrews 13:24a seems to show three groups who were being addressed: primary audience of a small group in the church who are not the leaders (former priests have been suggested), their leaders, and the larger body of the church.

Hebrews 1:1-2 This is the first indication of a replacement theme which runs throughout the book. Reading between lines, it is probably addressed mainly to a Jewish Christian congregation where some members were abandoning their new faith and returning to Judaism.

Verse 1 in Greek translates to “many parts” and “many ways.” The first phrase indicates the revelation was fragmentary or that it occurred in different geographical settings; the second alludes to different forms of prophecy – OT types, preaching, acted out parables, etc. “Prophets” may refer to all the writers of OT.

If you turn to the last verses in the book, you will see hints as to how God speaks through Christ today: Bible, local church leaders, evangelists, fellow church members, etc.

Time The time of writing is unknown. The text seems to assume that temple practices are still alive (before 70 AD). Others feel it could be anywhere from 60-100 AD. Hebrews 13:23 could provide a clue, but we do not have any other record of Timothy's imprisonment and cannot use this verse to date the letter.

Genre Another controversy surrounding the book is what kind of book it is. It doesn't have the standard format of almost all ancient Greek letters (i.e., greeting, prayer, thanksgiving, special contents, special greetings and/or doxology).

Hebrews 13:22 tells it is a “word of consolation/exhortation.” A similar term appears in Acts 13:15 referring to a message Paul delivered to a synagogue. So it is similar to a sermon – the author himself labels his work a sermon rather than an epistle.

The proposal has therefore been made that it is a sermon to which someone else attached Chapter 13 to make it appear to be a letter by Paul. The Anchor Bible commentary states, “This is a scissors-and-paste composition.” A rebuttal to this point will be presented in a minute.

Hebrews 13:22 says that this is a brief writing. However, that seems to be a strange definition for a book that would have taken about one hour to read. But the Jewish writer Josephus uses the same term for one of his works which is twice as long.

Place of Writing

Hebrews 13:24b does not really say that the letter was written from Italy, but perhaps so. It may also indicate greetings to those in Italy from those accompanying the author who originally came from Italy.

Literary Structure

Some of above questions can be answered by looking at the overall organization of Hebrews. It is so 

highly organized that it only took me about two hours to figure out the detailed structure. (By 

comparison, 1 John took about three months).

 

I. Introduction: God's New Revelation (1:1-3a)

II. Angels and their Message (1:3b-2:18) angels

III. Israel Tested in the Wilderness (3:1-4:13) Moses

IV. Apostasy and Confidence (4:14-6:20) Abraham

V. Old and New Priesthood (7:1-28) high priest

V'. Old and New Sacrifice (8:1-10:18) high priest

IV'. Apostasy and Confidence (10:19-12:1) Abraham

III'. Perseverance and Testing of Believers (12:2-29) Moses

II'. Exhortations (13:1-21) angels

I'. Conclusion: God's New Revelation (13:22-25)

The perfect symmetry of whole book shows that chapter 13 was part of the original document and not 

added later.

Significance of the Number Ten

Note that there are ten major sections to the book, and actually each of the major sections contains 

exactly ten sub-sections. Is there any significance to the author's use of the number ten as an organizing 

principle for the book? It is instructive to consider some of the ways in which this number is utilized in 

the Bible.

1. The Ten Commandments, the background for much of the discussions in sections II and II'.

2. On several occasions the number appears in a setting of testing or tribulation for God's people 

(Sections III and III')

a. Numbers 14:22 mentions that ten times that the Jews in the wilderness rebelled

b. Parable of ten wise and ten foolish virgins.

c. Parable of the talents.

d. Tribulation of Christians at Smyrna in Revelation 2:22 for ten days.

3. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, many commentators have felt that the biblical authors used the 

number in a symbolic sense to denote completeness or fullness. If so, what more perfect number to use 

for a treatise on the fulfilling work of Jesus Christ, the main theme of V and V'.

Turning back to the question of authorship, there is only one book in the New Testament besides 

Hebrews that is structured using divisions which each contain the same number of subdivisions. This is 

the Gospel of Luke (6 in each of the 15 major sections). Also, Hebrews has same number of sub-

divisions (90) as Luke's Gospel.

Structure of Hebrews 1-2

Theme: Jesus' Atonement for Sin (1:3c)

A. Christ is Superior to Angels (1:4)

        B. Scriptural Evidence (“did God say..or again..or again”) (1:5-13)

                C. Conclusion (1:14-2:4)

A'. Son of Man Superior to Angels (2:5)

        B'. Scriptural Evidence (2:6-8a)

            C'. Conclusion (2:8b-9)

A''.We Share Christ's Nature (2:10-11)

        B''.Scriptural Evidence (“saying..and again..and again”) (2:12-13)

                C''.Conclusion (2:14-18)

Psalm 2:7 is quoted or paraphrased at the start and end of these chapters; the theme of Christ's atonement for sin is also found in these two locations.

Why the emphasis on proving Christ's superiority to angels?

1:2b-14 .

There are actually seven OT passages quoted in these verses. Each passage is linked to the previous one through common catchwords using common Jewish principle of verbal analogy (e.e., two texts having similar wording could be used to interpret one another.) These quotes come from all three branches of the OT.

Psalm 2:7-8:  David's words were interpreted given a messianic interpretation by the Jews since the promises were not fulfilled by David himself. This passage doesn't indicate that Jesus was a created being, but the “today” event refers to Him being openly proclaimed by God as the messianic king (an induction ceremony). This may refer to Jesus' resurrection—Read Acts 13:33.

2 Samuel 7:12-14a: Nathan giving the word of God to King David. Some, but not all of the II Samuel prophecies were fulfilled by Solomon.

Deuteronomy 32:43:There are many textual problems with the Greek and Hebrew original. In fact, this may not even be a quote from this particular verse. Other passages have been proposed instead. In any case, the OT understanding was that the angels will adopt a worshipful attitude toward God. This thought is extended in Hebrews to worship of the Son.

Psalm 104:1-4:Angels are again characterized by obescience. This quote comes from the Greek version of Psalms.

Psalm 45:6-7: Originally addressed to an ideal king such as David or Solomon. However, in verse 6 he is called God and has an eternal reign. By contrast, in v. 7 the king is distinguished from God.

Psalm 102:25-27: In Hebrew, the whole of this Psalm is addressed to God by the author. In the early Greek version, the prayer ends with verse 22, and the rest is spoken by God to someone He calls God.

Psalm 110:1:This OT text is the most quoted in the NT (22 times, five times in Hebrews alone). It is usually applied to Christ's resurrection. Context—King David says that his Lord (superior) is being addressed by God, who sets him at his right hand.

This passage ends with idea of ministering angels to help us. But next chapter will show another aspect of angels.

2:1-4

2:2 The law was declared through angels. What do you think about that idea? It is also found in Deuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:38, 53; Galatians 3:19 and Josephus. The verse in Galatians implies that the law was secondary since it came by way of angels and Moses as mediators, rather than coming directly from God.

2:2b indicates that the author did not himself see or hear Jesus.

2:5-9  The relative positions of man, the angels and Jesus are seen to change with time. That explains the subjection of the Son to the Father while on earth. This is a ready rebuttal to Jehovah Witnesses who use those verses to prove that Christ is not equal to God. Also see Philippians 2:6-11.

2:10-18 describes the necessity of Jesus to put on a human nature and our identity with him.

v. 10 The same language is applied to both God and Jesus (see 1:2). This also introduces the theme of human suffering and persecution which will be discussed later in the book.

v. 17 A later section of Hebrews will concentrate on Jesus' role as High Priest, but it is interesting that in this verse he is both the High Priest and the sacrifice.