Teaching Notes HEBREWS Background of Book
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BOOK OF HEBREWS
God’s Final Message to Judaism
Christ the Author of a New Covenant
The Glorious Destiny of Man
To Whom is the Book Addressed
This Epistle does not name the Persons to whom it is addressed.
Its unmistakable tenor is to Jews, inasmuch as it is a discussion
of the Relation of Christ to the Levitical Priesthood and the
Temple Sacrifices. It continually quotes the Old Testament to
confirm its affirmations. The traditional, and commonly accepted,
view is that it was addressed
to the Jewish Christians of
Palestine, especially those in Jerusalem.
Author
Martin Luther and F.F Bruce assert that the author is probably
Apollos of Alexandria - an Alexandrian Hellenistic Jew who
traveled with Paul. The Alexandrian characteristics of thought,
style, word usage and syntax point to Apollos - as opposed to Paul.
Erasmus (author of Textus Receptus (Latin: "received text") is an
edition of the Greek texts of the New Testament 1516) thought
that Apollos wrote Hebrews.
citation: F.F. Bruce. The New International Commentary on the
New Testament, Hebrews. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. (1991)
at 14 - 20.
In the King James Version it is called, in the title, The Epistle
of Paul. In the American Revised Version it is anonymous, be-
cause in the oldest manuscripts, found since the King James
Translation was made, its Author is not named. The NIV
does not name the author of Hebrews.
Early Church Fathers Guess at Authorship
The Eastern Church accepted its Pauline Authorship from the
beginning. Not until the 4th century did the Western Church
accept it as the work of Paul. Eusebius considered Paul the
author, Tertullian called it the Epistle of Barnabas. Clement of
Alexandria thought that Paul wrote it in Hebrew, and-that Luke
translated it into Greek (it is written in most excellent Greek).
Origen considered Paul as the probable author. Luther guessed
Apollos, for which opinion there is no ancient evidence. Ramsey
suggests Phillip. Harnack and, Rende] Harris suggest Prisca.
Ferrer Fenton thinks nobody but Paul could have written it,
and that he wrote it originally in Hebrew, and had it translated
by one of his helpers into Greek.
On the whole, the traditional view, held through the centuries,
and still widely held, is that Paul was the Author.
Date of Writing of Hebrews
Unmistakably it was written before the Destruction of" Jerusa-
lem, which occurred 70 A D. If Paul wrote it, it seems likely that
it must have been written from Rome, 61-63 A D.
The natural, though not necessary, meaning of “They of Italy
salute you", 13:24, is that it was written from Italy.
Timothy was with the writer, 13:23. He had gone with Paul
to Jerusalem, Acts 20:4, from whence he had accompanied Paul
to Rome, Col 1:1. He had just been released, and Paul was
sending him back east, Pps 2:19,24; and hoping soon to come
himself. And it looks as if he and Timothy were planning to
return to Jerusalem, 13:23,19.
It happens that that was just about. the time that James the
Overseer of the Jerusalem Church was killed, 62 AD, see page
546. Paul and James were beloved friends. Paul, some three-years
before, had been in Jerusalem. It' is thought, possibly, that, on.
hearing of the Death of James, Paul wrote this Epistle to the
Leaders of the now pastorless Judean Church, to help them
steady their flock for the terrible times ahead.
If this is correct, then there was reason for the Epistle being
sent without Paul’s name; for Paul was not very popular in
Jerusalem. While the Leaders knew who wrote it, the Epistle
would have more weight if it were read in the Churches without
Paul's Name. New Testament Epistles were written to be read
in the churches, a practice now generally overlooked.
Purpose of Book of Hebrews
One of the objects of this Epistle was, we think, to Prepare
Jewish Christians for the approaching Fall of Jerusalem. After
accepting Jesus as their Messiah, they continued to be zealous
for the Temple Rites and Sacrifices, thinking, we suppose, that
their Beloved City, under their Messiah’s Reign, was about to
become Capital of the World. Instead, they were to receive the
shock of their lives; By one stroke of the Roman Army the Holy
City was to be wiped out, and the Temple Rites cease.
This Epistle was written to explain to them that Animal Sacri-
fices, to which they were so zealously attached, were no longer
of any use, that the killing of a bullock or a lamb could never
take away sin; that those Sacrifices had never been intended to
be Perpetual; that they had been planned to be a sort of Age-
Long Picture of the Coming Sacrifice of Christ; and now that
Christ had come, they had served their purpose.
A Counterpart to the Epistle Io Romans
Romans was addressed to the Capital of the Gentile World;
Hebrews, to the Capital of the Jewish Nation. God had founded,
and nourished the Jewish Nation through long centuries, for the
purpose of through the One Nation Blessing All Nations, through
a Great King who would arise in the One Nation, and Rule
over All Nations. But now the King had come. Romans has to
do with the relation of the King to His Universal Kingdom, the
Basis of their Allegiance to Him. Hebrews has to do with the
relation of the King to the One Nation out of which He came.
Its Literary Excellence
Whoever the Author, as a Literary Gem, it is superb; orderly
and logical; “in balanced and resonant sentences of remarkable
precision, rising to wonderful heights of eloquence”.
The Destruction of Jerusalem
Jewish Wars. in revolt against Rome, began 66 A D. Titus with
his Roman Army arrived before the walls of. Jerusalem on the
day of Passover, 70 A D. Banks of earthwork were built, batter
ing rams were placed, and the siege began.
The Roman Army numbered 30.000; the Jewish Army, 24,000.
The city was crowded with 600,000 visitors, according to Tacitus.
After 5 months the walls were battered down, the Temple burned,
and the city left ruined and desolate, except Herod’s three great
towers at the N W corner, which
were left standing as a memorial
of the massive strength of the
fortifications which Titus had de
molished.
The Roman Army moved down to Caesarea. Over 1,000,000 Jews
were killed. 95,000 captives were taken, among them Josephus.
Eusebius says that Christians, on the appearance of the Roman
Army, through Prophetic warning fled to Pella.
Later History of Jerusalem
For the 50 years following, Jerusalem disappeared from his
tory. In 135 A D, Barcocheba, (Bar-Kochba)
a pretended Messiah,
led a revolt,
got possession of the city, and attempted to re-build the Temple.
The revolt was suppressed by the Roman Army. 580,000 Jews
were killed, and Judah desolated. Jews were forbidden to re
enter Jerusalem, on pain of death. A temple to Jupiter was
erected where the Temple of. God had stood.
Under Constantine, 326 AD, the temple of Astarte was torn
away from the site of the present Holy Sepulchre; and the city
again became a leading Christian
center.
In the 5th century it became the seat of one of the Five
Patriarchs who quite largely dominated Christendom, the other
cities being Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria.
In the year 637 A D Jerusalem fell to Islams, and re
mained an Islamic city, except for about 100 years in the
Crusade Period, till 1917 it
returned to control of Christendom.
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement
issued by the British government in 1917 during the
First World War announcing support for the
establishment of a "national home for the
Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman
region with a small minority Jewish population.
Wiki.
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New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Some content adapted from Halley, Henry H., Bible Handbook, Grayson Publishing, Minneapolis, MN. © 1927 - 1959.
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Hugh C. Wood, Atlanta, Georgia
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