The Book of Hebrews

Over the coming weeks I will be sharing some insight found in the book of Hebrews. Today I will start with a few notes about this book of the Bible.

Hebrews has traditionally been classified as an epistle (letter) like many of the other New Testament books. However, there are some differences in the structure. In the other epistles, such as the one Paul wrote to the Philippians, the author(s) and recipient(s) are stated in the beginning of the letter. In Hebrews we don’t have those pieces.

With that being said, we don’t know the author of this book. There have been many guesses over the years. Paul is unlikely due to the sophisticated Greek style, which differs from Paul’s letters.

(Based on several commentaries and studies that I referenced, these are the conclusions that I have come to. Although they are still vague. And some spectators have not completely ruled out Paul as the author.)

Silas and Apollos are good candidates due to their education levels. However, we don’t have enough evidence to attribute it to a given person. And we cannot rule out other options, such as Luke or Barnabas. But we can trust that this book was written with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as part of God’s Holy Word.

All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]. – 2 Timothy 3:16 AMP

We are also uncertain of the targeted audience. The book doesn’t reference gentiles, and therefore it is believed that the epistle was primarily directed to Hebrews (Jews), who had converted to Christianity. And it appears that in their midst were also some people who had heard the gospel, but had not yet made a full commitment to Christianity. The audience possibly lived in the Mediterranean area. Rome and Alexandria are two places that many scholars have suggested.

It appears the audience was very familiar with the Old Testament. And they did not see Jesus personally, but were converted by testimonies they heard.

These Christians were facing persecution, and therefore they were tempted to turn from their belief in Jesus. The writer of this letter emphasized how Jesus is supreme over the old law, due to Jesus’ perfect sacrifice.

“The book of Hebrews may briefly be summarized in this way: Believers in Jesus Christ, God’s perfect sacrifice for sin, have the perfect High Priest through whose ministry everything is new and better than under the covenant of law.” [1]

This letter was likely written around AD 67-69. The temple was destroyed in AD 70, but there is nothing in this book that indicates that had happened yet. The Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system were spoken of in this book in a way that implies they were still standing. Another thing that points to this timeframe was Timothy’s recent release from prison. Assuming Paul is not the author, his lack of being mentioned in this book is another clue to the timeframe it was written, because it is believed that Paul died somewhere between 64 and 67 AD.

There is much to explore in this book of the Bible. Next time I will dig into chapter 1. I’m looking forward to the journey ahead, and I pray God leads the way!

© 2018-2026 Bridget A. Thomas. All rights reserved.

[1] MacArthur, John. Hebrews: Christ: Perfect Sacrifice, Perfect Priest (MacArthur Bible Studies). Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2007.