Who wrote Hebrews – and why it matters.
I promised my September resolution would be to get back to
blogging. One thing I plan to do is get
round to writing those posts that, over the years, I’ve promised: the ‘7 habits’ one, the ‘Liz Murray’ one (the video no longer works on this entry - try Youtube) – maybe even the dispensationalist one (but
it would be unwise to hold your breath for that!)
But first, a little piece on Hebrews. I’ve always believed that Paul wrote Hebrews,
and I still do – largely because the evidence against it is so flimsy. The ‘traditional’ view is that Hebrews was
written by the apostle Paul, sometime around 55-58 A.D. This view is now often regarded as outdated
and you may come across statements along the line of ‘Nobody nowadays believes
Paul wrote Hebrews.’ Well, I do; let me
give you some reasons (and you may also like to read Fred's).
1. Why ‘Pauline’ authorship is often denied
Remarkably few reasons are actually given, but they include:
a) the
Greek style is very different
b) there
is no opening greeting from Paul
c) When
Hebrews quotes the Old Testament, it quotes the Greek, Septuagint, version,
whereas Paul does not
d) 2:3
seems to suggest that the writer had heard the gospel second-hand; Paul insists
that he received the gospel personally from the Lord (see Galatians 1:11-12).
2. Why I still believe Paul wrote Hebrews
Starting with the ones above, then moving on:
a) Stylistic
differences may be easily accounted for.
For example, Hebrews may have been written in Aramaic for its Jewish
audience, and then translated into Greek.
Or it may simply reflect different times and circumstances. The Greek style of John’s gospel, 1,2 and 3
John and Revelation are said to be quite different, but they all come from
John’s pen.
b) The
missing greeting is interesting but not conclusive; circumstances may have
required it in some way. It's a strange argument anyway: 'It doesn't say Paul wrote it, so he didn't.' Hmm. It doesn't say anybody wrote it - perhaps nobody did?
c) If
Hebrews was first written in Aramaic and then translated (by Paul or someone
else) it would have been natural to include Scripture quotes from the Greek Old
Testament. And many writers on the Bible
quote different versions at different times.
d) This
is the strongest argument, but is equally easily turned in favour of Pauline
authorship. Galatians tells us that Paul
received the gospel directly from Jesus, but that it was confirmed by the other
apostles (Galatians 2:5-9). That’s just
what Hebrews 2:4 says!
e) The
writer of Hebrews is very close to Paul’s ‘son’ Timothy – 13:23.
f)
Ancient writers from as early as 150 AD say that Paul
wrote Hebrews (Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 AD, Origen, 185-253 AD). The early church historian Eusebius also
attributes it to Paul.
g) The
earliest collection of Paul’s writings, known as the Chester Beatty manuscript
and dated about 200 AD, includes all of Paul’s epistles except the Pastorals,
but does include Hebrews (between Romans and 1 Corinthians).
h) Peter
says clearly (2 Peter 3:15) that Paul had written ‘Scripture’ to Peter’s
(Jewish) readers. If that’s not Hebrews,
we don’t know what it is.
i)
Writings were only accepted as ‘canonical’ by the early
church if they had apostolic authorship or approval.
Why it matters
But does it matter?
I’ve always said ‘No’, but I’ve changed my mind. Let me tell you why.
As I've said, the church decided which of the many writings available were
‘Scripture’ on the basis of apostolic authority: did an apostle write it? If not, was an apostle behind it (as seems to
be the case with the gospel of Mark)? If
yes, it was Scripture, God’s word. If
no, then it wasn’t – full stop.
If Paul didn’t write Hebrews, then there is no evidence at
all of an apostle behind it. If that’s
true, it isn’t Scripture. The comments
we sometimes read (‘Oh, it’s so obviously God’s word; anyone can tell that…’)
are so subjective as to be worthless.
And they’re effectively the ‘burning bosom’ argument that Mormons use to
justify their own rubbish.
If you don’t think Paul wrote it – why is it still in your
Bible?
