Question:
Hi brother Bon, I have watched your sermon about Paul being sent not only to the Gentiles, but also to the Jews. And there is now no division between the Jews and the Gentiles, but we are now one Church of Christ. You have mentioned there that you believe Paul was the author used by God to write the book of Hebrews. Can you elaborate on this? Why do you believe so?
Answer
Hi,
We know that all 66 books of the Bible were authored by God. He is the originator of them all. But He used human authors so that His Word will be written.
With regards to identity of the man whom God used to author the Book of Hebrews, this has been a subject of debate since the early days of the Church. The book is actually a letter to the Hebrews. While the ultimate author is God, many names have been proposed as the human author, including the Apostle Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Apollos, and others. However, based on both Biblical and historical evidence, I personally believe the Apostle Paul was the human author.
Here are the reasons why:
1. The Period the letter was written.
The use of the present tense in Heb. 5:1-4; Heb. 7:21, Heb. 7:23, Heb. 7:27-28; Heb. 8:3-5, Heb. 8:13; Heb. 9:6-9, Heb. 9:13, Heb. 9:25; Heb. 10:1, Heb. 10:3-4, Heb. 10:8, Heb. 10:11; and Heb. 13:10-11 suggest that the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system were still in operation when the book was written. Since the temple was destroyed by General (later Emperor) Titus Vespasian in A.D. 70, the letter must have been written prior to that date. In addition, Hebrews 13:23 mentioned that Timothy had just been released from prison and that persecution was becoming severe (Heb. 10:32-39; Heb. 12:4; Heb. 13:3). These details suggest that this letter was written around A.D. 67-69 which was when Paul’s ministry was active.
2. The Author was with Timothy in Italy (Hebrews 13:25)
Timothy was mentioned in the letter. This means that he is close to the author. The fact that Timothy was the adopted Son of Paul in Faith (1 Tim. 1:2), and he was always mentioned in Paul’s other letters (2 Cor. 1:1, Phi. 1:1, Col. 1:1, 1 The. 1:1, 2 The. 1:1, Phil.1:1), give us great possibility that the author of Hebrews is the Apostle Paul.
We also knew that Paul was imprisoned in Rome which is in Italy (Acts 28:16), and the author of the book of Hebrews is also in Italy as written in Hebrews 13:24:
“Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.”
Timothy here was also release in Italy (Heb. 13:23). Given the fact that the author is in Italy and knows the release of Timothy, this only means that the author has strong connection with Timothy and is with him in Italy. This again give us a clue that this letter was authored Paul and perhaps written through Timothy.
3. Many similarities with other books Authored by Paul
The tone of conclusion in Hebrews 13 is similar to Paul’s conclusions in his other letters like the in the books of Romans and Philippians where he mentioned those who are with him and the Church which he is located. He also never forgets to mention Grace.
The book of Hebrews also contains theological themes very similar to Paul’s other letters:
A. Christ as High Priest and Mediator (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5)
B. Superiority of Christ (similar to Colossians and Philippians)
C. The Old Covenant vs. New Covenant (see 2 Corinthians 3 and Galatians)
D. Emphasis on faith (compare Hebrews 11 with Romans and Galatians)
E. Like Paul, the author of Hebrews has deep rabbinic knowledge of the Old Testament, especially from the Greek Septuagint.
F. The allegorical use of Melchizedek, covenant imagery, and tabernacle theology are in line with Paul’s Jewish training (Acts 22:3).
4. According to Apostle Peter, Paul wrote a letter to the Jews
1 Peter and 2 Peter was written by the Apostle Peter to the Jews (1 Peter 1:1). In 2 Peter 3:15, Apostle Peter mentioned that Paul wrote a letter to the Jews:
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you.”
What letter do you think could this be? It is no other than the book of Hebrews!
5. Paul authored one third of the Epistles in the New Testament
There are 27 books in the New Testament. 21 of them are called “Epistles” or Letters. Including the letter to the Hebrews, Paul’s epistles will be 14 all in all which is one third of all the epistle in the New Testament. This creates a perfect numerical representation since 21 divided by 3 in 7 and 14 divided by 2 is also 7 which means spiritual perfection. If the book of Hebrews was not written by Paul, then this numeral significance of the epistle will be lost.
These 5 proofs here are enough evidence to tell us that the Book of Hebrews is authored by the apostle Paul.
OBJECTIONS TO PAULINE AUTHORSHIP
Most people who believe that Paul is not the writer of the Book of Hebrews are usually those who are hyper-dispensationalist or ultra-dispensationalist. They are the people who contend that Paul was only sent to the Gentiles and not to the Jews. This is due do their flawed understanding of the Grace Dispensation and the Church of Christ.
For them, Paul cannot be the author of the book Hebrews since he is only sent to the Gentiles and not to the Jews. This belief is actually the opposite of what the Bible is saying:
Acts 9:15 – says the Lord sent Paul both the Gentiles and the children of Israel.
Acts 19:10 – Paul was sent both the Jews and the Greeks
Acts 20:20-21 – Paul preached both the Jews and the Greeks. Another objection that they are pointing is the different writing style.
In Paul’s other letters, there is always these personal greetings from him and his signature introduction of “Paul, an apostle of Christ…” (Rom. 1:1, 1 Cor. 1:1, 2 Cor. 1:1, Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:1, Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:1, 1 The. 1:1, 2 The. 1:1, 1 Tim. 1:1, 2 Tim. 1:1, Tit. 1:1, Phi. 1:1). He always mentions His name first in all of his other letters. But in the Book of Hebrews, there’s no mention of it.
To answer this, we must remember that all of Paul’s other letters were addressed primarily to Gentile believers, while the Book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians. At the time, Paul was considered a fierce opponent by many legalistic Jews—especially the religious leaders—because he boldly preached the gospel of grace, which stood in direct contrast to the Law given to the Jews. This tension explains why Paul chose not to include his name in the letter. Had his name appeared at the beginning, the letter could have been rejected or even destroyed before reaching its intended audience. By omitting his name, the message had a better chance of being heard without immediate bias or resistance. It is important to remember what it meant for a Jew to believe in Jesus. It is very hard to be a Jew and at the same time, a follower of Christ at that time. According to Believer’s Bible Commentary, being a believer of Christ will suffer this:
“Now when a Jew left the faith of his forefathers, he was looked on as a turncoat and an apostate (meshummed), and was often punished with one or more of the following:
Disinheritance by his family, excommunication from the congregation of Israel, loss of employment, dispossession, mental harassment and physical torture, public mockery, imprisonment, martyrdom. Of course, there was always the escape route. If he would renounce Christ and return to Judaism, he would be spared from further persecution.”
This is the reason why the Apostle Paul needed to change his style in writing his letter to the Hebrews. And to a literary genius like Paul, it is not hard to change the writing style.
In conclusion, these are the reasons why I believe Paul is the true author of the Book of Hebrews. The evidence pointing to his authorship is far too compelling than the arguments against it.
God bless.
