The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is uncertain; most modern scholars generally agree that it was not written by Paul, and doubts have been raised about the true author since the third century AD. It is one of the Antilegomena, New Testament books whose canonicity has been disputed.[1]
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The text as it has been passed down to the present time is internally anonymous, though some ancient title headings attribute it to the Apostle Paul. The Epistle to the Hebrews was thought by some in antiquity such as Clement of Alexandria (Fragments from Eusebius Ecclesiastical History Book VI)[2] to be by Paul, though it does not identify itself as such.
Some traditions attribute the letter to Paul, but the style is notably different from the rest of Paul's epistles. Eusebius reports that the original letter had a Jewish audience and was written in Hebrew, and later translated into Greek, "some say [by] the evangelist Luke, others... [by] Clement [of Rome]... The second suggestion is more convincing, in view of the similarity of phraseology shown throughout by the Epistle of Clement and the Epistle to the Hebrews, and in absence of any great difference between the two works in the underlying thought."[3]
Moreover, the writing style is substantially different from that of Paul's authentic epistles, a characteristic first noticed by Clement of Alexandria (c. 210). In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he forcefully defends his claim that he received his gospel directly from the resurrected Jesus himself.
Nevertheless, in the fourth century, the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul. Jerome and Augustine of Hippo were influential in affirming Paul's authorship,[4] and the Church affirmed this authorship until the Reformation.
However, even in antiquity doubts were raised about Paul's alleged authorship. The reasons for this controversy are fairly plain. For example, his letters always contain an introduction stating authorship, yet Hebrews does not.[5] Also, while much of its theology and teachings may be considered Pauline, it contains many other ideas which seem to have no such root or influence.
Tertullian (On Modesty 20) indicates that Barnabas is the author of the epistle to the Hebrews - "For there is extant withal an Epistle to the Hebrews under the name of Barnabas – a man sufficiently accredited by God, as being one whom Paul has stationed next to himself…". Internal considerations suggest the author was male (Hebrews 11:32), he was an acquaintance of Timothy (Hebrews 13:23), and was located in Italy (Hebrews 13:24).
Barnabas, to whom other noncanonical works are attributed (such as Epistle of Barnabas), was close to Paul in his ministry, and exhibited skill with the Midrash; the other works attributed to him bolster the case for his authorship of Hebrews with similar style, voice, and skill.
In response to the doubts raised about Paul's involvement, other possible authors were suggested as early as the third century CE. Origen of Alexandria (c. 240) suggested that either Luke the Evangelist or Clement of Rome might be the author.[6]
An early statement on the authorship of Hebrews comes from Clement of Alexandria, who said that Paul wrote it in Hebrew and Luke translated into Greek (Eusebius, History 6.14.2).[7]
Martin Luther proposed Apollos, described as an Alexandrian and "a learned man" (Acts 18:24), popular in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:12), and adept at using the scriptures and arguing for Christianity while "refuting the Jews" (Acts 18:27–28).
In more recent times, some scholars have advanced a case for the authorship of Hebrews belonging to Priscilla. Perhaps the most thoroughly presented argument that Priscilla authored Hebrews came from Berlin Prof. Adolph Von Harnack in 1900.[8] Starr's book[9] contains Harnack's summary of his research:
Harnack gives four reasons for his conclusion that Priscilla wrote the Letter to the Hebrews:
Nevertheless, other commentators have observed that the self-reference in Hebrews 11:32 employs the masculine participle διηγούμενον ("describing in full"), implying that Priscilla could not have been the author; or else she was masquerading as a male in order to gain credibility.[10]
In general, the evidence against Pauline authorship is considered too solid for scholarly dispute. Donald Guthrie, in his New Testament Introduction (1976), commented that "most modern writers find more difficulty in imagining how this Epistle was ever attributed to Paul than in disposing of the theory."[11] Harold Attridge tells us that "it is certainly not a work of the apostle";[12] Daniel Wallace simply states, "the arguments against Pauline authorship, however, are conclusive."[13] As a result, few supporters of Pauline authorship remain.
As Richard Heard notes, in his Introduction to the New Testament, "modern critics have confirmed that the epistle cannot be attributed to Paul and have for the most part agreed with Origen's judgement, 'But as to who wrote the epistle, only God knows the truth.'"[14]