who wrote the book of Hebrews, when was it written, to whom was it written?
As of 2026, the specific authorship of the
Book of Hebrews
remains officially unknown, as the text itself is anonymous. Authorship
While the author is not definitively identified, various candidates have been proposed over centuries of scholarship:
- Paul the Apostle: Traditionally attributed to Paul, though modern scholars often cite stylistic differences and the author’s self-identification as a second-generation believer as evidence against this.
- Luke: Suggested due to linguistic similarities between Hebrews and the Gospel of Luke/Acts.
- Other Candidates: Barnabas, Apollos, Silas, Priscilla and Aquila, and Clement of Rome have all been proposed by various researchers.
Date of Writing
Most scholars place the writing of Hebrews in the mid-to-late first century:
- Before 70 A.D.: Many experts argue it was written before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 A.D.) because the author refers to the Jewish sacrificial system in the present tense, implying the Temple was still standing.
- General Range: A common scholarly consensus is between 60 A.D. and 69 A.D..
Target Audience
The book was written to a specific community of Jewish Christians (Hebrews):
- Condition: These believers were likely facing significant persecution and were being tempted to abandon their faith in Christ to return to traditional Judaism.
- Purpose: The author wrote to encourage them by demonstrating the "superiority of Christ" over the Old Covenant, its prophets, and its sacrificial laws
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