Who Wrote the Book of Hebrews?  

“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” – 2 Peter 1:21 

In most of the New Testament books, the human author and the intended first recipients of each book are clearly stated. However, that is not the case with Hebrews. There are numerous mysteries with Hebrews and several particular ways it’s unique among books in the New Testament.  

First, we don’t know who the human author is that the Holy Spirit wrote through. The author does not claim to be an Apostle (or eyewitness) to Jesus’ earthly ministry. The only hint we have is that the author of Hebrews was a second-generation believer, as Hebrews 2:3 says, “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard…” The debate over who wrote Hebrews has been ongoing throughout church history.  

In addition, we don’t know exactly who the original audience was. Whoever penned Hebrews was known to its recipients (Hebrews 13:18-19, 22-23b). The relationship between the author and recipients is warm enough that they are called brothers (Hebrews 2:11, 10:19) and “beloved” or “dear” friends (Hebrews 6:9). Furthermore, the author on one occasion in the letter refers to himself in the male gender (Hebrews 11:32). Also, the author is close with Timothy, who was also part of Paul’s ministry (Hebrews 13:23).  

Therefore, it seems best to conclude that a well-known, respected, male early Church leader wrote the letter that was received as authoritative and ultimately from the Holy Spirit by the believers who first read it.  

In tomorrow’s devotional, we will look at when Hebrews was written and what kind of literature it is.  

Who do you think wrote the book of Hebrews? 

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