WHO WROTE THE LETTER OF HEBREWS?
By Ezekiel Kimosop
The Letter of Hebrews does not mention its author. Some Bible scholars say that Paul possibly wrote sections of the Letter. They claim that traces of Pauline writing styles are notable in the Letter. But why would Paul fail to identify himself in this Letter if indeed he was its author? That would be uncharacteristic of him.
Another school of thought holds that the author may have deliberately chosen to conceal his identity owing to the persecutions against Jewish believers at the time of writing. They identify the mention of Christian suffering in the Letter as evidence of this fact. This claim is difficult to corroborate from Scripture. If this argument is admitted, then Paul's authorship will be discounted since the letter will inevitably fall into the early period of the New Testament Church during which a Pauline authorship would be out of question. Besides, a number of other Pauline Epistles reveal that Christian persecution was prevalent and that Paul himself suffered for his faith (cf. 2 Corinthians 12).
Some early church theologians such as Augustine of Hippo attributed the authorship of Hebrews to Paul. Other scholars have however expressed serious doubts on this postulation since it is not backed by internal evidence.
A section of modern scholars including Daniel Wallace have disputed Pauline authorship of Hebrews even as some such as R C Sproul insist that Paul wrote the Letter. There is therefore divided opinion on Pauline authorship.
We now turn to internal evidence.
Three times in Hebrews 13:23-24, the author speaks in the first person. He encourages the recipients to bear with his words of exhortation and discloses that he would shortly be visiting them in the company of Timothy who had reportedly been released or set free.
The author does not disclose the nature of confinement that Timothy had been subjected to. Barnes Commentary however suggests that Timothy was not confined in prison but had possibly been inconvenienced by heavy ministry diaries.
This passage suggests that the author was a close confidant of Timothy [unless of course another Timothy is contemplated in this context] and that the recipients were familiar with Timothy. Some scholars have cited this passage as pointing to a possible Pauline authorship.
Was Timothy, a Gentile Christian from Lystra and Derbe, familiar with traditional Jewish system of worship? Was he possibly part of Jewish synagogue community?
This is highly unlikely because Timothy was uncircumcised prior to joining Paul. His Greek lineage ruled out his involved in levitical priesthood in a local Jewish synagogue.
Timothy served in Ephesus and was Paul's emissary to several churches including Corinth (cf. 1 Timothy 4:17, 16:10) and Philippi (Philippians 2:19). There is no evidence of his ministry in the Jerusalem Church or of his familiarity with Levitical priesthood. However, the influence of Timothy's Jewish maternal heritage cannot be entirely ignored.
It is instructive that Paul wrote the Letter of Philemon from Rome and in the presence of Timothy but no mention is made of Timothy's confinement by Paul (see Philemon 1:1).
Is it possible then that Timothy may have been imprisoned by the Roman authorities shortly after Paul's martyrdom? (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Some scholars suggest that if Paul wrote the Letter of Hebrews, then the works may have been compiled by members of a Pauline school after his martyrdom.
Still other scholars identify the authorship with the early part of the New Testament period when the Jerusalem church was predominantly Jewish and was severely persecuted by Rome (cf. Acts 12:1-2). This rules out a Pauline authorship.
The mention of Timothy suggests that the Gentile ministry was already established by then and this rules out the Jerusalem dispersal period as a possible background of the writing.
Timothy was taken up by Paul during his missionary journey in Acts 16, shortly after his sharp disagreement with Barnabas concerning John Mark accompanying them in ministry. The two split up with Barnabas and Mark sailing to Cyprus, while Paul and Silas traveled to Syria and Cilicia (see Acts 15:36-41).
So who may have been the author of the Letter of Hebrews beside Paul?
Some scholars suggest that Barnabas may have been the author of this Letter since he was a close confidant of Paul and may have served with Timothy at some point in time. I am persuaded by this view for the following reasons:
1) Barnabas served with Paul and possibly linked up with Timothy during and after Paul's imprisonment and subsequent martyrdom.
There is evidence in Scripture that Barnabas visited the Colossians as Paul's emissary (see Colossians 4:10). Colossae was about 100 miles (160km) from the port city of Ephesus where Timothy served. It is therefore possible that both Barnabas and Timothy served together in Asia Minor during Paul's imprisonment.
2) Barnabas, who was a cousin to Mark, was Jewish and possibly a Levite by descent. If he is the same person described in Acts 4:36, then this could explain his mastery of Levitical ritual practices mentioned in the Book of Hebrews.
3) Barnabas was not an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He was a Christian missionary who served with Paul. If he was the author of Hebrews, then he may have subordinated his works to the glory of God and declined to identify himself as its author.
4) If the Letter was written by more than one author as suggested by some scholars, then the multiple authorship may have been the reason for the silence on the author(s).
Again these arguments are largely informed by theological suppositions rather than internal evidence. The fact remains that it is impossible to precisely identify the author(s) of the Book of Hebrews. This issue should perhaps be left to divine resolution.
The canonicity of the Letter of Hebrews [or the basis for its inclusion among the Biblical Scriptures] is however not open to dispute. It is part of the inspired body of Biblical Scriptures whose message and theological faithfulness is sound.
It is instructive that Paul wrote the Letter of Philemon from Rome and in the presence of Timothy but no mention is made of Timothy's confinement by Paul (see Philemon 1:1).
Is it possible then that Timothy may have been imprisoned by the Roman authorities shortly after Paul's martyrdom? (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Some scholars suggest that if Paul wrote the Letter of Hebrews, then the works may have been compiled by members of a Pauline school after his martyrdom.
Still other scholars identify the authorship with the early part of the New Testament period when the Jerusalem church was predominantly Jewish and was severely persecuted by Rome (cf. Acts 12:1-2). This rules out a Pauline authorship.
The mention of Timothy suggests that the Gentile ministry was already established by then and this rules out the Jerusalem dispersal period as a possible background of the writing.
Timothy was taken up by Paul during his missionary journey in Acts 16, shortly after his sharp disagreement with Barnabas concerning John Mark accompanying them in ministry. The two split up with Barnabas and Mark sailing to Cyprus, while Paul and Silas traveled to Syria and Cilicia (see Acts 15:36-41).
So who may have been the author of the Letter of Hebrews beside Paul?
Some scholars suggest that Barnabas may have been the author of this Letter since he was a close confidant of Paul and may have served with Timothy at some point in time. I am persuaded by this view for the following reasons:
1) Barnabas served with Paul and possibly linked up with Timothy during and after Paul's imprisonment and subsequent martyrdom.
There is evidence in Scripture that Barnabas visited the Colossians as Paul's emissary (see Colossians 4:10). Colossae was about 100 miles (160km) from the port city of Ephesus where Timothy served. It is therefore possible that both Barnabas and Timothy served together in Asia Minor during Paul's imprisonment.
2) Barnabas, who was a cousin to Mark, was Jewish and possibly a Levite by descent. If he is the same person described in Acts 4:36, then this could explain his mastery of Levitical ritual practices mentioned in the Book of Hebrews.
3) Barnabas was not an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He was a Christian missionary who served with Paul. If he was the author of Hebrews, then he may have subordinated his works to the glory of God and declined to identify himself as its author.
4) If the Letter was written by more than one author as suggested by some scholars, then the multiple authorship may have been the reason for the silence on the author(s).
Again these arguments are largely informed by theological suppositions rather than internal evidence. The fact remains that it is impossible to precisely identify the author(s) of the Book of Hebrews. This issue should perhaps be left to divine resolution.
The canonicity of the Letter of Hebrews [or the basis for its inclusion among the Biblical Scriptures] is however not open to dispute. It is part of the inspired body of Biblical Scriptures whose message and theological faithfulness is sound.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
For more articles by this author, visit www.ezekielkimosop.blogspot.com
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