Editing Epistle to the Hebrews (section)

== Composition ==
[[File:20110515Ehrental_Saarbrucken4.jpg|thumb|Memorial to French soldiers of the [[Franco-Prussian War]]: it quotes Heb 11:16, "they desire a better country."]]
Hebrews uses Old Testament quotations interpreted in light of first-century rabbinical Judaism.<ref>Utley, R. J.: ''The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews''. Bible Lessons International; Marshall, Texas: 1999, Volume 10, p. 1.</ref> New Testament and [[Second Temple Judaism]] scholar Eric Mason argues that the conceptual background of the priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews closely parallels presentations of the messianic priest and [[Melchizedek]] in the [[Qumran]] scrolls.<ref name="Mason" /> In both Hebrews and Qumran, a priestly figure is discussed in the context of a Davidic figure; in both cases a divine decree appoints the priests to their eschatological duty; both priestly figures offer an eschatological sacrifice of atonement. Although the author of Hebrews was not directly influenced by Qumran's "Messiah of Aaron",<ref>Oegema, Gerbern S. "You Are a Priest Forever" book review. ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly, '' Oct 2009, Vol. 71 Issue 4, pp. 904–905.</ref> these and other conceptions did provide "a precedent... to conceive Jesus similarly as a priest making atonement and eternal intercession in the heavenly sanctuary".<ref name="Mason" />{{rp|199}}

=== Authorship ===
{{main|Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews}}

By the end of the first century there was no consensus on the author's identity. Over the ensuing centuries, scholars have suggested [[Clement of Rome]], [[Barnabas]], [[Paul the Apostle]], [[Luke the Evangelist]], [[Silas]], [[Apollos]], and [[Priscilla and Aquila]] as possible authors.<ref>Utley, R. J.: ''The Superiority of the New Covenant: Hebrews''. Bible Lessons International; Marshall, Texas: 1999, Volume 10, p. 3.</ref><ref>[[Adolf Jülicher]], ''An Introduction to the New Testament'' ([[Janet Trevelyan|Janet Penrose Ward]], transl.), [https://archive.org/details/anintrodnewtesta00juliuoft/page/169/mode/1up?view=theater p.169], (London: [[Smith, Elder & Co.]], 1904).</ref>

In the 3rd century, [[Origen]] wrote of the letter:

{{Blockquote|In the epistle entitled ''To The Hebrews'' the diction does not exhibit the characteristic roughness of speech or phraseology admitted by the Apostle [Paul] himself, the construction of the sentences is closer to the Greek usage, as anyone capable of recognising differences of style would agree. On the other hand the matter of the epistle is wonderful, and quite equal to the Apostle's acknowledged writings: the truth of this would be admitted by anyone who has read the Apostle carefully... If I were asked my personal opinion, I would say that the matter is the Apostle's but the phraseology and construction are those of someone who remembered the Apostle's teaching and wrote his own interpretation of what his master had said. So if any church regards this epistle as Paul's, it should be commended for so doing, for the primitive Church had every justification for handing it down as his. Who wrote the epistle is known to God alone: the accounts that have reached us suggest that it was either Clement, who became Bishop of Rome, or Luke, who wrote the gospel and the Acts.|Origen, quoted in Eusebius, ''The History of the Church''<ref>A. Louth ed. & G. A. Williamson trans. [Origen quoted in] Eusebius, The History of the Church (London: Penguin, 1989), 202 [book 6.25].</ref>}}

Matthew J. Thomas argues that Origen was not denying Paul's authorship of Hebrews in that quote, but that he was only meaning that Paul would have employed an [[amanuensis]] to compose the letter. He points out that in other writings and quotations of Hebrews, Origen describes Paul as the author of the letter.<ref>Thomas, Matthew J. (2019-10). [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/abs/origen-on-pauls-authorship-of-hebrews/EE7CB61DBFC2EF4C7667E1B3B03D8654 «Origen on Paul's Authorship of Hebrews»]. ''New Testament Studies'' '''65''' (4): 598–609. {{ISSN|0028-6885}}. {{doi|10.1017/S0028688519000274}}.</ref>

In the 4th century, [[Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]] supported [[Authorship of the Pauline epistles|Paul's authorship]]: the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the [[Reformation]]. Scholars argued that in the 13th chapter of Hebrews, [[Saint Timothy|Timothy]] is referred to as a companion. Timothy was Paul's missionary companion in the same way Jesus sent [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]] out in pairs. The writer also states that he wrote the letter from "Italy", which also at the time fits Paul.<ref>"Introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews". [http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/NewTestament/Hebrews/Introduction.htm#I213] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020104005/http://www.mycrandall.ca/Courses/NewTestament/Hebrews/Introduction.htm#I213|date=2013-10-20}} Accessed 17 Mar 2013</ref> The difference in style is explained as simply an adjustment to a distinct audience, to the [[Jewish Christians]] who were being persecuted and pressured to go back to traditional [[Judaism]].<ref name="Hahn">Hahn, Roger. "The Book of Hebrews". Christian Resource Institute. [http://www.crivoice.org/biblestudy/bbheb1.html] Accessed 17 Mar 2013]</ref>

Many scholars now believe that the author was one of Paul's pupils or associates, citing stylistic differences between Hebrews and the other [[Pauline epistles]].<ref name="NewAdvent">Fonck, Leopold. "Epistle to the Hebrews". ''The Catholic Encyclopedia. '' Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Web: 30 Dec. 2009.</ref> Recent scholarship has favored the idea that the author was probably a leader of a predominantly Jewish congregation to whom they were writing.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rhee|first=Victor (Sung-Yul)|title=The Author of Hebrews as a Leader of the Faith Community|journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society|date=June 2012|volume=55|series=2|pages=365–375|url=http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/55/55-2/JETS%2055-2_365-375_Rhee.pdf|editor1-first=Andreas|editor1-last=Köstenberger|editor1-link=Andreas J. Köstenberger|issn=0360-8808|access-date=2012-11-17}}</ref>

Because of its anonymity, it had some trouble being accepted as [[Development of the Christian Biblical canon|part of the Christian canon]], being classed with the [[Antilegomena]]. Eventually it was accepted as Scripture because of its sound theology, eloquent presentation, and other intrinsic factors.<ref name="Powell"/>{{rp|431}} In antiquity, certain circles began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work with an explicit apostolic pedigree.<ref>[[Harold W. Attridge|Attridge, Harold W.]]: ''Hebrews''. Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989, pp. 1–6.</ref>

The original [[King James Version of the Bible]] titled the work "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews". However, the KJV's attribution to Paul was only a guess, and is currently disputed by recent research.<ref name="Powell"/> Its vastly different style, different theological focus, different spiritual experience and different [[Koine Greek|Greek]] vocabulary are all believed to make Paul's authorship of Hebrews increasingly indefensible. At present, modern scholarship does not ascribe Hebrews to Paul.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellingworth|first1=Paul|title=The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle to the Hebrews|date=1993|publisher=Wm. B. Eardmans Publishing Co.|location=Grand Rapids, MI|page=3}}</ref><ref name="Ehrman 2011 p. 22">{{cite book | last=Ehrman | first=Bart D. | title=Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are | publisher=HarperOne | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-06-207863-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hFNBDTS5HY0C&pg=PA22 | page=22}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ehrman|2011|ps=: "The anonymous book of Hebrews was assigned to Paul, even though numbers of early Christian scholars realized that Paul did not write it, as scholars today agree."}}
[[File:Salinelles-Cimetière_protestant.jpg|thumb|Inscription at [[Salinelles]] cemetery, Hebrews 9:27; "After death, judgment."]]
[[Adoniram Judson Gordon|A.J. Gordon]] ascribes the authorship of Hebrews to Priscilla, writing that "It is evident that the Holy Spirit made this woman Priscilla a teacher of teachers". Later proposed by [[Adolf von Harnack]] in 1900,<ref>Adolph von Harnack, "Probabilia uber die Addresse und den Verfasser des Habraerbriefes, " Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche (E. Preuschen, Berlin: Forschungen und Fortschritte, 1900), 1:16–41.</ref> Harnack's reasoning won the support of prominent Bible scholars of the early-20th century. Harnack believes the letter was written in Rome – not to the Church, but to the inner circle. In setting forth his evidence for Priscillan authorship, he finds it amazing that the name of the author was blotted out by the earliest tradition. Citing Hebrews 13,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Hebrews|13}}</ref> he says it was written by a person of "high standing and apostolic teacher of equal rank with Timothy". If Luke, Clement, Barnabas, or Apollos had written it, Harnack believes their names would not have been obliterated.<ref>See Lee Anna Starr, ''The Bible Status of Woman''. Zarephath, N.J.: Pillar of Fire, 1955, pp 187–182.</ref>

[[Donald Guthrie (theologian)|Donald Guthrie]]'s commentary ''The Letter to the Hebrews'' (1983) mentions Priscilla by name as a suggested author.<ref>Donald Guthrie, ''The Letter to the Hebrews'', [[Tyndale New Testament Commentaries]], Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983, reprinted 1999, p. 21</ref>

Believing the author to have been Priscilla, Ruth Hoppin posits that the name was omitted either to suppress its female authorship, or to protect the letter itself from suppression.<ref>Hoppin, Ruth. ''Priscilla's Letter: Finding the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.'' Lost Coast Press, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1882897506}}</ref>

Also convinced that Priscilla was the author of Hebrews, [[Gilbert Bilezikian]], professor of biblical studies at Wheaton College, remarks on "the conspiracy of anonymity in the ancient church," and reasons: "The lack of any firm data concerning the identity of the author in the extant writings of the church suggests a deliberate blackout more than a case of collective loss of memory."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Priscilla's Letter|last1=Hoppin|first1=Ruth|last2=Bilezikian|first2=Gilbert|publisher=Lost Coast Press|year=2000|isbn=1882897501|url=https://archive.org/details/priscillasletter00hopp}}</ref>

===Date===
{{See also|Dating the Bible}}
The use of [[tabernacle]] terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of the temple]], the idea being that knowing about the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple would have influenced the development of the author's overall argument. Therefore, the most probable date for its composition is the second half of the year 63 or the beginning of 64, according to the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''.<ref name="NewAdvent" />

The text itself, for example, makes a contrast between the resurrected Christ "in heaven" "who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord" and the version on earth, where "there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." (Hebrews 8:5  NIV)

Despite this, some scholars, such as [[Harold W. Attridge|Harold Attridge]] and [[Ellen Bradshaw Aitken|Ellen Aitken]], hold to a later date of composition, between 70 and 100 AD.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Epistle to the Hebrews|last=Attridge|first=Harold W.|publisher=Fortress|year=1989|location=Philadelphia|pages=9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Hebrews: Contemporary Methods New Insights (ed. Gabriela Geraldini, Harold W Attridge)|last=Aitken|first=Ellen Bradshaw|publisher=Brill|year=2008|isbn=978-1589833869|location=Atlanta|pages=131–148|chapter=Portraying the Temple in Stone and Text: The Arch of Titus and the Epistle to the Hebrews}}</ref>