INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Epistle (or Book) of Hebrews as I purpose to give you a chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse commentary study that carries eternal truths to help you gain a deeper knowledge of the Word of God.  This book is God the Father telling us about who God the Son really is!

This book of the Bible was once a course I taught on the college level to my theology students preparing for full-time ministry.  While you will be gaining a lot of knowledge in this study, you have to choose whether it will be simply an accumulation of facts or choose to gain that knowledge to receive deeper understanding in your pursuit of gaining God's wisdom for your life.  Ultimately, this study is meant to bring you into a greater depth spiritually with the Lord and ultimately change your life – all for the glory of God!

Background Knowledge

In doing an introduction, the purpose is to answer some of the "who, what, when, where, why and how" questions you may have so that when you study this book of the Bible, you will already have some background knowledge to help you understand and comprehend each chapter and verse in as much easier way. 

As Westerners here in the United States, we think different than Easterners of today and yesteryear.  In our minds, we try to fathom what life was like back then; however, we do so through the filters of the Western mind of today. 

To help remedy that problem in my teaching, I spent two years under the ministry of two Messianic rabbis some years back with the purpose of trying to get into the minds and hearts of the authors of the Bible.  I wanted to understand the Eastern minds of the Bible, for the authors wrote from a culture and geographical situation that is completely different from ours, in a period of time that dates back 2000-3500 years ago.  The political scene was different from us Westerners of today, along with the day-to-day sociological differences we face today are simply poles apart from those in Bible times.  My purpose is to portray this study as close to the original meaning in which the author intended his reader to understand.  If research is done in any other way, then the reader will put in his or her own meaning, based on individual presumptions and experiences into it - thus lacking the full truths of the Word of God.  Today, I still use and favor a lot of Messianic research material in my studies.

The Backdrop of Jewish Believers

The local synagogues throughout Israel were more than a place of worship.  They were social places where Jewish men and women met to socialize, settle disputes, gaves tithes and offerings, circumcised their children, and just congregated together as Jews.  The local synagogues were also places of learning for all Jewish boys from the ages of 5-14 years of age.  While they may not have learned to read or write, they memorized the whole Torah - word for word, meaning the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  At the temple in Jeruslem there were the sacrifices of animals, the celebrations of the various feasts and festivals, and places to congregate,  which brought hundreds of thousands of Jews to the Holy City from all over the empire to celebrate several times a year.  The synagogues in each city/town and the temple in Jerusalem were a very important part of the Jewish life. 

Both Jews who came to believe in Jesus and traditional orthodox Jews still centered their life around their local synagogue and the temple.  Believing Jews came to believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of their long-awaited Messiah, and as such, they considered themselves as fulfilled Jews, still observing their heritage. Up until the time of the fall of Jerusalem, both believing and traditional orthodox Jews gathered together at the local synagogue and at the temple, clinging to the observances of the law, even though believing Jews trusted in Jesus and their salvation rested in Him.  This caused great tension with the traditional orthodox Jews who rejected Jesus, causing great resentment toward the believing Jews.

• These 1^st century Jewish believers expected the imminent return of Christ and the immediate “salvation of national Israel.”  In other words, they were expecting Christ’s 2^nd coming at any time.  As such, they were zealous for preaching the Word, as the apostles had taught them.  Often, they used the temple grounds or local synagogues to preach the Word, especially during the times of feasts and festivals when Jews came by the thousands from all over Israel to celebrate at the temple.  As a result, more people could be reached for the Gospel.
• This caused even greater resentment from the traditional Jew who grew to hate this Christ whom the believing Jews were preaching wherever they went.

 There were some Jewish believers who gave up their physical observances of the Law retaining to the sacrifices, having come to the understanding that Jesus’ death on the cross replaced the Old Covenant requirements of the Law.  That, however, was not the norm.  Most Jews affectionately held to certain practices of their Jewish past.  After all, they were Jewish and proud of their heritage.  They continued to attend their synagogues on the Sabbath, but some would often join their Gentile believers on the 1^st day of the week for worship and fellowship. In that, they were hanging onto both the old and the new covenant.  This brought on the beginnings of persecution from family and friends, and especially those of Jewish authority.

The Judaizers

Many of these staunch traditional orthodox Jews began to spread rumors that this Apostle Paul, considering him a traitor to Judaism, was teaching the Jewish believers in Christ that they needed to forsake Moses and the Law and not walk according to any of the customs of Judaism.  

Acts 21:21  but they have been informed about you (Paul) that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the custom.

Gentile Believers Brought More Persecution

Once the Apostle Paul began his missionary journeys to the Gentile people throughout Asia Minor, which began around 42 A.D., the rapid growth of the Gentile church multiplied, which was independent of Judaism.  It resulted in a separation between the Jewish and the Gentile believers.  Even though the Apostle Paul, along with the church leadership in Jerusalem continuously preached unity between the believing Jews and Gentiles, the breach between them was widening that would be cemented for ages to come.[i] 

Increased persecution

The Apostle James, half-brother to Jesus, who was the bishop of the Church at Jerusalem was the cohesiveness that held both Jewish and Gentile believers together throughout Jerusalem in the 1^st century.  He was arrested in 62 A.D. for violating the Law (according to the Sanhedrin Council).  He was shortly thereafter martyred.  After James’ martyrdom, division between the Jews and Gentile believers grew, and persecution spread.  

In addition, with Emperor Nero’s persecution of Christians in Rome, beginning in 64 A.D., persecution quickly spread over to the Eastern Empire – as far as Israel.  Whether Jew or Gentile, persecution became common for all believers in Jesus Christ in the second half of the 1^st century A.D.  Sadly, this brought many Jewish believers to return to their Judaism.

Audience

Since this is an epistle written to the Hebrew believers in Jesus, this tells us who is the audience of this book.  The audience were Christians with a Jewish background who spoke Greek. 

• Some Messianic scholars say that the Book of Hebrews was originally written in Hebrew, but translated by Luke shortly thereafter into Greek.  Hebrews is deeply rooted in the Old Testament and the Greek Septuagint, which was the Scriptures the people of the 1^st century followed.  

 

• The Hebrew language was only used and spoken at that time by the learned, such as the scribes, Pharisees and the Sadducees.  That was their pride.
• Those living in small villages far from Jerusalem in Israel generally spoke Aramaic, such as in Galilee; however, the common language of the empire was Greek at that time.  Because they could not read nor speak Greek, they had to rely on the traditions of what they knew from their ancestry and the memories of memorized Scripture.

Many of the Jewish believers addressed to in this Book of Hebrews were still steeped in the rituals and regulations of the Mosaic Law and the Oral Traditions of the Elders. The Apostle Paul often called them Judaizers because a large portion of them insisted that in order to be saved, one had to be circumcised and follow after the Law in every respect. These Judaizers then followed after the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys undermining his apostleship, claiming he was a false teacher and that one had to follow the Law in order to be saved.  These Jewish Christians who were so steeped in the Law could not quite separate themselves from the Law and still tried to keep the sacrifices due to either severe persecution from the Traditional Orthodox Jews or they were still so accustomed to this system to where they had a difficult time ending the customs of their heritage.  

Acts 21:20  …many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law.

The Timing of This Writing

The timing of the writings of this epistle seems to fit best between 62-67 A.D. when persecution of Christians were all over the empire and the fall of the Jerusalem was imminent, which happened on August 1, 70 A.D.   At the time of the writings, scripture still showed the temple in Jerusalem intact, with the priests giving daily offerings and sacrifices being held (Heb 10:11 & 13:11). 

• In 62 A.D. the Apostle Paul was still in prison with Timothy at his side.  Timothy possibly could have delivered this letter back to Jerusalem.
• Shortly after Paul's release from prison, which was shortly after this writing. a turn of events occurred throughout the empire.
  
  
  • First, James, the bishop of Jerusalem was martyred for being Christian.  As such, persecution grew rapidly toward Christians grew in Jerusalem.
  • About that time, a huge fire broke out in Rome, and Emperor Nero blamed it on the Christians.   
  • In 63 A.D. Emperor Nero began massive persecution toward the Christians in Rome, and the persecution quickly spread throughout the empire - which included Jerusalem. 
  • By 68 A.D. full scale persecution, which included martyrdom, impacted the whole empire.
  • By August 1, 70 A.D. the walls of the temple had fell under Roman siege, thus, destroying the Levitical system and all of its sacrifices for the next 1900 years.

We do know for fact that the writings of this book could have been no later than the early part of 70 A.D. because the temple was still intact with the priests giving daily offerings and sacrifices.  

The Purpose of This Epistle

The believing Jews of Jerusalem, before this tragic event would have taken place were being treated as outcasts by their own people, and some of the Jewish believers were having second thought regarding their faith, settling for compromise, escaping to other parts of the empire, or even considering abandonment of their faith to again return to Judaism.[i]  Therefore, these Jewish believers needed encouragement to walk in their faith in spite of opposing forces in their lives.

• They needed a fuller understanding of Who Jesus was and His relationship with the Old and the New Covenant.
• They needed to know why Jesus’ death and resurrection gave them their salvation and that the Levitical system was no longer necessary for them.
• They needed to know that they no longer needed continual sacrifices because Jesus became the One and only sacrifice that would take away their sins forever.
• They needed to know that Jesus was their High Priest and Mediator of a new and better covenant.

Unbeknownst to everyone would be the Roman siege of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem within a few short years (Aug 1, 70 A.D.) that demolished the Sanhedrin Council and the Levitical system.   Everything that was important to all Jews in their adherence to the Law of Judaism would be completely destroyed.  Any survivors of this terrible siege then scattered away from Jerusalem to other parts of the empire.

Authorship

The Book of Hebrews begins with no mention of the author, except for God; however, in Hebrews 1:2 the author includes himself as being an eye witness for Jesus Christ. 

Heb 1:2  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

The King James Version acknowledges the Apostle Paul as its author.  Because of newer manuscripts, translations and speculations,  the authorship of this book as been as subject of debate for some time.   
Let's examine this chart carefully:

Think on this:

The Apostle Paul was well versed in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.  As well versed and knowledgeable as he was, he was still considered a traitor to the Jewish faith by all traditional orthodox Jews as well as many Jewish believers in Jesus who stayed within their Judaism as a way of life.  Remember, the Judaizers were continuously undermining Paul's credibility.  This was especially true in and around Jerusalem.  As such, not many Jews (believing or traditional) would have read anything written by him.  It would then have been very understandable why the apostle would not have identified himself in these writings like he did with his Gentile believers - especially those Jews throughout Jerusalem.  

And then consider this:  As a former Pharisee, and having a genuine love for his 70 former friends and colleagues of the Sanhredrin Council, the apostle may even have been trying to reach the leadership within Judaism with the Gospel, which would explain why Hebrews was first written in Hebrew.  They were smug, but would have read some spiritual doctrines written to scholars in Hebrew.  Paul knew he was hated by those he loved, with them thinking he had betrayed Judaism.  Regardless, he would have wanted those special in his life to come to know the truths of the Gospel, so it is definitely within the realm of possibility for him to attempt to disguise himself, writing in Hebrew to the leadership within Judaism with the hopes of reaching some of them.

• We do see, however, no matter how the author disguised himself in the writings, Paul's knowledge and expertise can be seen through and through in this letter, regardless of the style change.  It is so evident that the author had great knowledge and understanding of the Old Covenant and the Mosaic Law like that of a Pharisee or highly trained Jew as well as great insight in the New Covenant mysteries like that of the Apostle Paul, which he learned from the Holy Spirit, which he then taught it to others.  Because of the apostle's three-year experience with the Holy Spirit in Arabia (probably on Mt. Sinai), the Apostle Paul would be the only one qualified to write such an epistle to the Hebrew believers in Jerusalem. He knew those mysteries through and through, and then could write it so eloquently in Hebrew to the unbelieving learned, yet present it in such a way as to minister out in Greek to any Jewish believer in Jesus Christ.
  

The author uses quotes from the Septuagint (LXX) rather than the Hebrew Old Testament to reach the Jewish believers of the 1st century in Jerusalem.  All that to say - even Jesus quoted from the Septuagint because that was the accepted Scriptures to a Greek speaking people at that time.

• Remember, I also taught that early fathers claim that Luke quickly translated these Hebrew writings into Greek, so therefore, the ordinary Jewish believers throughout Jerusalem could them have access to the truth as well.  
• It all makes complete sense to me!

Tertullian (200 A.D.) called this book the Epistle of Barnabas.  According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Levite; therefore, was familiar with the Jewish way of life.  Since he spent so much time with the Apostle Paul on his mission trips, he would have understood the mysteries of the Kingdom that were given to Paul in Arabia that made up what we know of as the letters to the churches - the foundation of the Gospel.  He, however, was the only one who claimed Tertullian as the author.

______________

Conclusion

Since over 100 early church leaders claimed the Apostle Paul as the author of this book up until 700 A.D., as well as many church leaders until 1948 A.D. it becomes quite clear that early church fathers claimed Paul was the author of the Book of Hebrews.  While more fragments of Scripture became evident after the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, which holds some validity, the opinions are vasts and some completely so far off from what the early church fathers are claiming. 

I personally choose to believe the Apostle Paul as the author of the Book of Hebrews as he dictated his thoughts to Timothy who then wrote down what the apostle told him to write. The real author, however, was God spoken to the author/writer under the anointing and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and wrote in a style that fit the style of Jewish believers in the big city of Jerusalem, which would have been different than a letter written to Gentile believers throughout Asia Minor.  Two different cultures of people - the Jews and the Gentiles - in two different countries of the world - Israel and Asia Minor.  We must take that into consideration.  

Having this understanding, let’s advance to chapter 1 of the Book of Hebrews.

God bless!

Pastor Joyce Erickson
Believersbibleschool.com

 

Bibliography

Nelson Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1986): Electronic.

End Notes

[i] Tenney, Merrill C. New Testament Survey, Revised 1985

[ii] Tenney, Merrill C. New Testament Survey, Revised 1985