“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” – Romans 11:33
Not only is the author not clearly stated in Hebrews, but we also don’t know exactly what kind of literature it is. In the New Testament, the epistles follow the classic ancient pattern of a letter with an introduction by the author, a mention of the recipients, a body of the letter, and a customary conclusion. However, this format is not the case with Hebrews. As a Bible Dictionary says it,
Lacks typical introduction with author and audience as is common in NT In both ancient and modern titles, Hebrews is commonly designated as a letter or an epistle. Origen (ca. ad 185–254), an early church father trained in classical rhetoric, characterized it as an “epistle”… In more recent years, it, “further notes that it has been classified as an epistle for most of its history…” (1)
Some Bible scholars have argued that Hebrews reads like the written manuscript of a magnificent sermon and that it may have been written with the intent of being read in its entirety as a sermon in various local churches. Perhaps it is best to regard Hebrews as a combination of sermon and letter, having originally been a sermon that was sent as a letter to be read from the pulpit in local churches.
To add to the mystery of this remarkable book of the Bible, we also don’t know exactly when it was written. There are no clear historical details contained within Hebrews that help us narrow the window of possibility on when it was written.
However, we do know that Hebrews is incredibly deep, rich, and profound. As one Bible dictionary says,
Hebrews is a theologically rich document. Frank J. Matera considers the author of Hebrews “one of the great theologians of the New Testament, comparable to Paul and John in the depth of his theological insight”…Luke Timothy Johnson observes that “Hebrews is one of the most beautifully written, powerfully argued, and theologically profound writings in the New Testament…” (2)
Even though we don’t know many details about who wrote Hebrews or when it was written, we can trust that it is a part of God’s spoken Word to us. Prepare your heart to dive deep into this incredible book and let God reveal new aspects of His character to you.
Come back for tomorrow’s devotional on the timeliness of Hebrews for us today.
What are you most looking forward to studying about Hebrews?
(1) James P. Sweeney, “Hebrews, Letter to the,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
(2) Ibid.
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