The book of Hebrews was written in Rome about 68 A.D., along with Galatians and 2 Timothy. Even though an author is not clearly stated, the arguments for Paul’s authorship are: [1] The thoughts and reasonings are Paul’s. Any difference in style is due to his writing to Jews as a Jew and not to Gentile congregations as in other epistles. Furthermore, the translation of the book into Greek by Luke may account for some change in style. [2] Peter confirms the fact that Paul wrote an epistle to Jews (2Pet. 3:15-16). [3] The book of Hebrews is ascribed to him by over 100 ancient writers in both Greek and Latin, from 70 to 73 A.D. [4] It was received as Paul’s by the council of Laodicea (363 A.D.), and by the council of Carthage (397 A.D.). [5] Paul is named as the author of the Alexandrian manuscripts (500 A.D.). [6] Some Latin churches questioned it only because Paul’s name is not used in the introduction as in all his other epistles, but this was for two reasons: (1) Eusebius, the father of congregational history, explains that Paul wrote the epistle in Hebrew, leaving his name off so that it would be read and received more readily by Jews who hated him and would not want to listen to anything he had to say. Luke translated it into Greek, hence it is similar to Acts in expression. (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 579). (2) In the oldest manuscripts the epistle follows Galatians with the title “To the Hebrews,” indicating that it was part of the Galatian letter. If this is true, the authorship stated in Galatians 1:1 applies to both books. This would explain why Paul speaks of Galatians as “a large letter” (Heb. 6:11). “The Israel of God” of Galatians 6:16 would be an appropriate introduction to the book of Hebrews.
To be continued…
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