Author:

The author of the book does not identify himself, but he was obviously well known to the believers he was writing to.  From 400 AD to 1600 AD, it was thought that Paul had written the letter.  However, scholars have never found evidence to support that people from the time it was written thought the letter was authored by Paul.  Consequently, people today generally think Paul isn’t the author.   The writer in 2:3 says, “This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.”  So this would lead us to believe that the writer was a strong Christian in the early church, who was saved by the apostles or Paul.  Barnabas and Apollos are the leading candidates for the credit of Hebrews.  Both were mentioned in Bible as being strong Christians.  Both knew Paul very well and both would have had a good understanding of the Greek language (Barker 1895).

Audience:

The letter was intended primarily for Jewish converts who were familiar with the Old Testament.  They were being tempted to revert back to Judaism or a Judiazed form of Christianity.  Some scholars think that these Christians might have been considering merging with a Jewish sect.  People also believe the letter could have been to a large number of the priests who had been converted to Christianity (Shaultz 1785).

Date of Authorship:

It is not certain exactly what the date was, but it must be at least before 70 AD.  The writer would have definitely mentioned the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans and the end of the Jewish sacrificial system.  The temple was definitely still there because the author uses the Greek present tense whenever referring to the temple (Barker 1895 – 1896).

Main themes of the Book:

The main theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as our high priest and revealer of God.  The Book of Hebrews starts off by saying that Jesus is the final revelation from God spoken about in the Old Testament (Lightfoot 35).   Hebrews then goes through and shows how Jesus fulfilled the Requirements as our high priest, and that he has the ability to save us once and for all (Barker 1895).

Main characters in the book:

The book of Hebrews is an instruction letter written by an unknown author to a group of Hebrews.  There really aren’t any characters in the book of Hebrews because that was not the point of the book.  The point of the book is teaching so people like Moses, Abraham, and other people of great faith are mentioned, but they really are not characters.  They are just mentioned as examples.

 

Main teachings of the Book:

One of the main teachings of the book is the old Jewish system no longer saves you and there can be no turning back to it.  A lot of the Jewish people wanted to go back to their old way of living, and the author clearly tells them that they need to trust that Jesus dying on the cross will save them.  The writer also warns against not believing and being like their forefathers who rejected the prophets (Lightfoot 53 – 68).    The writer talks about how the high priest has to make a sacrifice for the sins of the Jewish nation yearly, because he is sinful and will die.  Jesus, however, is eternal and perfect; therefore he only had to pay for the sins of the world once, which he did by dying on the cross.  The book of Hebrews teaches us that since Jesus took away our sins, we should now draw near to God with confidence, and know that we are justified.   That last part of the statement brings the reader to one of the main teachings of Hebrews that we need to have faith in Jesus.  Faith that we are saved, faith that we are justified, and faith that we should live by (Lane 105 – 155).

Significant theologies in the book:

The book starts off by explaining how Jesus was spoken about in the Old Testament.  How he is the heir of all things.  The author then goes on to say that Jesus is also the Lord of all, and God made him lower then angels, ie when Jesus became man, and now He is superior to all, and sits at the right hand of God.  The writer then goes on to talk about why Jesus needed to be made human was so “that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17).”  The fourth theology explains how the Old Covenant verses the New Covenant and Moses compared to Jesus and how the newer one is far superior to the old one(Lane 33 – 50).   Finally, the writer talks about how Jesus lineage does not come from the line of Levi, but through the order of Melchizedek.

What is the relationship of these books to the people of God, viz Israel?

The book is an epistle so it was written to help out a group of Jews that were struggling with their faith.  It specifically helps Jews deal with idea of Jesus being our new high priest, and the end of tabernacle worship.  It also shows how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and did not just throw it away (Lane LV – LXX).

Give either the internal or external evidence for these books being included in the canon.

The book of Hebrews was canonized at the counsel of Canon in the fourth century.  It was, however, accepted as a part of the Bible long before that.  In 140 AD Clement wrote in a letter in which he mentioned many of the books currently in the New Testament.   Ignatius in second century wrote a letter in which he mentioned the epistle of Barnabas which some scholars feel is Hebrews.  Ignatius also said things like “as it is written” which shows how the epistle was in available to be read and accept as part of the scriptures (Tenney 125-156).

Basic Outline:

I.            Prologue: The superiority of God’s new revelation(1:1-4)

II.            The Superiority of Christ to leading figure under the old convent(1:7-7:28)

1. Christ is superior to the angels (1:5 – 2:18)

1)Scripture proof of his superiority (1:5-14)

2)Exhortation not to ignore the revelation of God in his son (2:1-4)

3)Jesus was made a little lower than the angels (2:5 – 9)

4)Having been made like us, Jesus was enabled to save us (2:10-18)

2.  Christ is Superior to Moses (3:1 – 4:13)

1)Demonstration of Christ’s superiority (3:1 – 6)

2)Exhortation to enter salvation – rest (3:7 – 4:13)

3.  Christ is Superior to the Aaron’s priests (4:14 – 7:28)

1)Jesus is the great high priest (4:14-16)

2) Qualifications of a priest (5:1 – 10)

3)Exhortation to press on toward maturity (5:11 – 6:12)

4)The certainty of God’s promise (6:13 – 20)

5)Christ’s superior priestly order (ch 7)

III.            The Superior Sacrificial work of our High Priest (8:1 – 10:18)

1. A new Sanctuary and a New Covenant (Ch 8)
2. The Old Sanctuary (9:1-10)
3. The better Sacrifice (9:11-10:18)

IV.            A call to follow Jesus Faithfully  and with perseverance (10:19 – 12:29)

1. Having Confidence to enter the Sanctuary (10:19 – 25)
2. A warning against persistence in Sin (10:26 – 31)
3. Persevering in Faith under pressure (10:32- 12:3)

1) As in the past, so in the future (10:32-39)

2)Faith and its many outstanding example (ch. 11)

3)Jesus, the supreme example (12:1-3)

1. Encouragement to preserve in the face of hardship (12:4 – 13)
2. Exhortation to holy living (12:14-17)
3. Crowning motivation and warning (12:18 – 29)

V.            Conclusion (ch 13)

1. Rules for Christians Life (13:1 – 17)
2. Request for prayer (13:18 – 19)
3. Benediction (13:20-21)
4. Personal Remarks (13:22 – 23)
5. Greetings and Final Benediction (12:24-25)

 

 

List of Resources:

In my opinion one of the best study material for the Book of Hebrews is the Zondervan NIV application Commentary by George H. Guthrie.  It is extremely thorough and it is solidly balanced on its interpretation of the Bible.  Hebrews is an extremely complicated book and you can get into some very questionable teaching. I think the NIV Application Commentary does a great job of just trying to present the truth and backing it up with facts and mentioning areas that are in debate among Christians. This book would be extremely helpful for anyone looking to do some serious studying on the book. Click here if you would like to order it from Amazon they have some of the most competitive prices on the internet selling both new and used copies.

Barker, Kenneth L., ed. Zondervan: NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. 1387-1393.

Lane, William L., ed. World Biblical Commentary: Hebrews 1 – 8. Vol. 47a. Dallas: World Book Publisher, 1991.

Lane, William L., ed. World Biblical Commentary: Hebrews 9 – 13. Vol. 47b. Dallas: World Book Publisher, 1991.

Lightfoot, Neil R. Jesus Christ Today. 6th ed. Abilene: Bible Guides, 2001.

Tenney, Merrill. “Canon of the New Testament.” The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. 3rd ed. 1 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 1976.

Shaultz, John, ed. Life Application Study Bible. Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 1997.