Letter to the Hebrews

I. Introduction

The Letter to the Hebrews was one of the most sophisticated treatises in the Christian canon, on the level of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans. It certainly was unusual for it lacked a "greeting." Instead, the author wrote with two purposes in mind. First, he asserted the superiority of Christ over the cosmos and over Judaism. Second, in the face of such, he exhorted his audience to remain faithful. Beneath these themes, he constructed a multi-layered structure that was primarily chiastic in form. The author displayed a fairly elegant writing style in Greek and a deep knowledge of Hebrew Scripture.

In form, it hued closer to a sermon than a letter. And its audience remains an open question. Was it addressed to Jewish-Christians? Or was it meant for a mixed Jewish-Gentile assembly where the former pagans had a deeper knowledge of Hebrew Scripture than their non-believing brethren? Since the letter was not named until the second century CE, how can we call its readers the "Hebrews?" So, the title to the document is somewhat of a misnomer.

Overview

II. Dating

Determining possible dates for the composition of Hebrews depends upon external and internal factors. The former were thematic. How did the theses of the "letter" coincide with those from outside sources? The later consisted of verses that indicated who wrote the work, who was its audience and which historical clues could believers glean from the text.

A. Scriptural and Secular Themes

1. Superiority of the Christ Over the Angels

The author emphasized the superiority of Christ on many levels, over angels and the priests of Aaron. To understand the former, let's dive into the place of Christ in the relationship between God and his creation.

a. Order of the Cosmos and Divine Wisdom

Jews living in the first century CE envisioned the universe in three layers: the heavens, the surface of the earth and beneath the earth (underground). The heavens also contained three sub-levels from nearest to farthest. First, the pocket of air existed as the realm for the birds. Second, the blue sky formed a hard barrier that held back the waters like a bowl covering the flat earth; clouds acted as gates in the sky to open and allow rain to fall. Finally, above the sky and the waters was the third heaven, the heavenly court of God himself.

Ancient people did not consider the flow of existence in terms of natural cause and effect. Instead, they saw change as the agency of spirits. "Blessings" were the results of benevolent spirits, "curses" were the results of evil spirits. Pagans based their spirituality as a journey through life bargaining with these spiritual forces, offering the right prayer or ritual for the desired result. Jews, however, did not place their faith in such reciprocity but they did see forces of nature as God's will exercised through spiritual beings called angels.

Notice the parallel between the above-surface-below view of the universe and the activity of spirits within that tiered structure. For Jews, YHWH ruled supreme above creation and his angels fulfilled his will downward from heaven to earth in an orderly fashion. Evil, however, rose up from beneath the earth ("hell") to create distraction, discord and destruction. In a sense, the faithful saw themselves caught in a struggle between these forces. Thus, they had to make a choice of allegiance.

In this uncertain existence, could the faithful hold onto something solid? Something that could weather the test of time and lead them to God? Writers in the second century BCE held up a virtue that they insisted answered that challenge: wisdom. They envisioned it possessing divine-like qualities. It was begotten by God and a partaker in creation (Prov 8:22-31, Sirach 24:9). Indeed, it was the Spirit and a mirror of God himself (Wisdom 7:25-26). As time went on, Jewish writers began to consider wisdom not merely as an attribute of God but as something distinct from the Almighty and an instrument of his will.

In the first century CE, Jewish views of wisdom dovetailed with those of Middle Platonism. Jews and Greeks both hailed it as the highest virtue since it enabled people to navigate an uncertain world (see 1 Cor 12:8 for a hierarchy of spiritual gifts). For example, the philosopher Plutarch (45-120 CE) saw the universe as created in an orderly fashion but upset by the pollution of evil; only wisdom could give people the hope of seeing into the mind of a pure, untouched God.

b. Philo and the Logos

The intersection between Jewish and Hellenistic thought found a home in Philo (20 BCE-50 CE), an influential Jewish philosopher and civic leader in Alexandria. His reputation spilled outside parochial circles since he led a delegation of Egyptian Jews to Rome (38 CE). He hoped to intercede with Caligula concerning a brutal pogrom committed by the pagan population there.

As a thinker, Philo developed a unique worldview. He also proposed a mediator between a totally transcendent God and his creation, the "Logos" or "Word of God." Since the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translated "word" as "logos," Diaspora Jews connected the "Logos" with personified wisdom (Job 28:12). He envisioned the Logos as divine wisdom and the organizing principle of matter. In Platonic terms, the Logos contained the "forms" (ideas) which were the templates of creation; people recognized a thing in the world according to these "logos" templates. Living in a culture of ideas, Philo saw the Logos less in personal terms and more as a principle of organization.

How did Philo address the discrepancies between Scripture and Hellenistic culture? He was the first to interpret Scripture as an allegory, a method that became popular among Christian intellectual circles. In this way, he could fit particular passages into a philosophic worldview. For example, he equated the Logos as the "Angel of the Lord" (Gen 16:7-13, Gen 32:24-28; Exo 23:20; Hos 12:4-5; Mal 3:1). Thus, he could explain revelation between a transcendent God and humanity through the Logos.

Did Philo's thought have an immediate effect on early Christians? While that question remained highly speculative, no doubt the man's reputation in the largest Diaspora community and beyond helped to spread his ideas. And they spread about the same time missionaries began to preach the Good News in the first century CE. While we can't prove causation, we can reasonably assume some coherence in ideas.

c. Place of Christ

By the mid-first century, disciples held Christ was more than just a man. They saw him in terms of a heavenly entity:

Divine Wisdom: In First Corinthians (55-56 CE), St. Paul stated " Christ (crucified) is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:24) and "Christ Jesus became for us the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:30). While Hebrews does not specifically refer to Christ as divine wisdom, it did describe him with its attributes.

Divine Image and the Instrument of Creation: In Philippians (60-62 CE), he wrote "Christ Jesus, being in the form of God..." (Phil 2:5). And, in Colossians (60-70 CE), the author explained:

(Christ) is the image of the unseen God, firstborn of all creation, because in him everything was created, everything in heaven and on the earth, seen and unseen, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; everything was created through him and in him. He is before everything and everything stands together in him...(Col 1:15-17)

In his introduction (1:2-4), the author of Hebrews wrote:

...in these last days spoke to us through the Son, whom he set as heir to all things, through whom he made the ages, who, being the radiance of divine glory and engraved impression of his substance, indeed bringing forth everything by the power of his word, having made a cleansing of sins, sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, such as One who is better than the angels, as much as he inherited a name far superior to theirs.

In other words, Christ stood above all others in the order of the cosmos. As THE mediator, he was the icon of the Father since helped to create and save. His intimacy with the Father and his agency in the universe outstripped any other.

2. Superior to the Priests of Aaron

First, the author held that Christ had the highest place in the cosmos. Now, he asserted his second thesis: Christ' sacrifice on the cross was superior to those in the Temple. He did this by tying Christ to the figure of Melchizedek. In chapter seven, the author presented Melchizedek as a "priest of God Most High" (Heb 7:1; Gen 14:18-20). Heb 7:3 described the holy man as an heavenly entity. The other worldly role of Melchizedek had some cache among first century Jews. For example, Dead Sea Scroll 11Q13 depicted him as an angelic leader of the hosts against the forces of evil in the end times. In this scroll, he replaced the figure of Michael the Archangel.

Other figures took on legendary status among first century Jews. Since there was no record of his death ("...for God took him..."; Gen 5:24), they saw Enoch (Gen 5:22-24) as a heavenly figure with authority among the angels. Since Elijah was swept into heaven on a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11-12), they expected his return to announce the arrival of the end times (Malachi 4:5-6). So, many ancient Jews considered righteous ancestors as close to God, even raised to places of honor in heaven. These believers also lived in anticipation of the end times.

The author of Hebrews spent much of his effort explaining his thesis on the priesthood of Melchizedek (5:11-10:39). Based upon contrasts, his logic was simple. Just as heaven was superior to the earth, worship in God's court out showed ritual in the earthly Temple at Jerusalem. So the heavenly high priest and his sacrifice stood above those priests of Aaron (7:23-10:18). The former were eternal while the latter were temporal. One introduced the new covenant (9:11-28) while the other held on to the old (9:1-10).

The author's argument was more than the celestial vs. the earthly. It assumed the end times were imminent and the latter would soon give way to the former. The book began with this theme (Heb 1:1-2). Not only would the Kingdom replace the temporal realm, worship directly before God would replace the Temple cult.

The key to this transition was the Incarnation. The Son became human so he could suffer in his Passion and raise up the rest of humanity to glory (Heb 1:10-12). Indeed, by rising from the dead, Christ conquered death for his followers, thus taking away the barrier between heaven and earth, that of sin (Heb 1:14-17). The Resurrection, then, implied the transition from the earthly era to that of heaven had begun.

So, Christ's self-giving sacrifice and victory over death had two effects. First, it broke the cycle of earthly sacrifice by raising it to the level of heaven. Priest of Aaron offered atonement sacrifices year after year without effect (Heb 9:9), for the priests would die only to be replaced by others. Second, it allowed the faithful to worship in the presence of God as if they, too, were in heaven (Heb 12:1-2, Heb 12:22-24, Heb 13:10-16). Why? Because they enjoyed the presence of the Risen Christ and the power of the Spirit. No longer did the faithful need to worship YHWH at a distance with the Temple priests as temporal mediators. Now, they could stand before God himself with the eternal High Priest partaking the everlasting sacrifice that destroyed death and, by extension, all sin.

3. Faith

How could people partake in the worship of heaven? Through faith. In Heb 11:1, the author defined it as "...the assurance of things expected and conviction of things not seen." Notice two components of the definition. "Assurance of things expected" referred to anticipation of the end times. "Conviction of things not seen" referred to the spiritual dimension of Christian life. A belief that the Risen Christ was present and God worked in and through the community. Certainty, believers stood before God himself.

The author defended his definition when he portrayed Hebrew ancestors as people of faith. Descendants of these people realized the promises God made (Heb 11:4-13). But, for the author, the primary promise the ancestors hoped for was not manifest, the Resurrection (Heb 11:13-40). In this way, the author presented faith as the righteous means to realize a relationship with God. The community of the saved possessed such a relationship.

B. Clues from Hebrews Itself

What clues does the document itself possess? One way we can answer that inquiry is to ask the "big picture" questions. Who wrote it? Who was it written for?

We can ascertain three facts about the author. First, he had an education in composition based upon the elegant Greek style and in rhetoric based upon the layered themes of his work. Second, he had a deep knowledge of Jewish Scripture based upon the number of verses he quoted directly or alluded to. Third, he was "in tune" with the cultural beliefs about the Logos, both inside and outside the Christian movement.

A few scholars have proposed various figures that fit that mold. Tradition holds that St. Paul wrote it but most modern scholars reject that belief based upon mismatched vocabulary and writing styles. The only verse that could refer to Paul was Heb 10:34. But textual scholars see the addition of a first person possessive ("my imprisonment") as a variant. Still, some tout figures who might have such a background, like Apollos or Aquila (Rom 16:3-4, Acts 18:26). Ultimately, these others fall short for the lack of evidence. The short answer is, we don't know who wrote Hebrews.

Who was the intended audience? Heb 6:1-3 implied the audience had absorbed the basic theology of the Jesus movement and was ready for a deeper understanding. In other words, the intended community was well established.

Now let's address two particular verses in Hebrews, specifically the farewell in 13:23-24:

Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.

Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. The Italians greet you.

A few details stand out. The author knew Timothy personally, he implied Timothy was imprisoned and he related greetings from the "Italians." Let's begin with the figure of Timothy. St. Paul recruited him on the apostle's second missionary trip (Acts 16:1) as a travel companion and helper. He was circumcised (Acts 6:1-3) to assist Paul's evangelization efforts among the Diaspora Jews. Acts and many of the Pauline letters mentioned the relationship between the men. Yet, Timothy's imprisonment was only mentioned in Heb 13:23.

Even from ancient times, the various ethnic and cultural groups on the boot-shaped peninsula referred to themselves as "Italians." However, did 13:24 indicate the source of the document came from an Italian church? Or was the author simply passing along greetings from a self-described community of Diaspora Italians? The text does not clarify the issue.

C. Dating Hebrews

Let's draw the various threads of theme and possible evidence together to establish a date range for authorship. The writer wrote in a time when people envisioned the cosmos in three tiers, heaven, earth and beneath the earth. They attributed causality to the activity of spirits, some good, some evil. For monotheistic Jews, God directed his angels from heaven towards the earth. But, rebellious spirit spread evil from below.

Where did Christ fit into this worldview? By the dawn of the post-apostolic era, disciples asserted Jesus was more than human. He was the image of God and the instrument of creation. Both secular writers like Philo and New Testament writings like 1 Corinthians, Philippians and Colossians attested to a belief that a purely transcendent God employed an intermediary to fulfill his will. This view had both Scriptural and Hellenistic roots.

The author of Hebrews asserted the superiority of Christ over the created realm and over the faith of the Jews. In the latter sense, he stated that Christ was superior to Abraham (Heb 7:1-4), Moses (Heb 3:1-6) and the priests of Aaron because his status and ministry was of heaven, not of earth. The only way to partake in this heavenly ministry was through faith, "...the assurance of things expected and conviction of things not seen." As noted above, the definition, indeed much of the text, implied a belief in the Second Coming as imminent.

If we shift to possible evidence, two items stand out: the writer personally knew Timothy and the document's intended audience had a more mature faith. But a third piece of evidence might exist. Heb 10:18 implied a cessation of effective sin offering in the Temple. And Heb 9:8 implied the means to heavenly worship by disciples could not exist when the Temple still stood. But throughout the document, the author insisted believers received divine mercy and could praise God in his heavenly presence. If that was true, then the Temple was no more.

Following this logic, we can propose a time frame in the post-apostolic age after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE yet within the lifetime of Timothy. Such a frame would cohere with the religious and philosophic beliefs of the era, allow for the maturity of an established local church and still exist in an environment of eschatological fervor. So, we come to a possible time span of two decades: 70-90 CE.

We must consider one last point. Many scholars point to a letter written by Clement, the bishop of Rome, to the church of Corinth as a stop point for a possible date of authorship. Eight possible references of Hebrews exist in 1 Clement along with those of other New Testament writings. Some point to the persecution late in the reign of the emperor Domitian (95-96 CE; see 1 Clem 1:1) as the date for 1 Clement. Yet, even this dating is not without controversy. Others contend the language in 1 Clem 1:1 is too vague and other passages (1 Clem 44:2-3, 1 Clem 47:6, 1 Clem 63:3) point to a later date possibly in the second century CE.

III. Structure

In his web page, "The Epistle to the Hebrews," Felix Just SJ succinctly laid out its main theme: the superiority of Christ and his priesthood. He also presented three different outline possibilities for the "letter," thematic (from Raymond Brown), structural (from Albert Vanhoye) and rhetorical (from P. Perkins).

Why did these scholars have different outlooks on Hebrews? It was, quite simply, the nature of good Hellenistic Greek composition. An author depended upon the aural nature of ancient culture. While the majority of people were semi or completely illiterate, that did not mean they were uneducated. They depended upon their ability to hear an idea and keep it in mind while the speaker continued. In this way, the author could layer themes and recall others in long, complex sentences. We moderns with our short attention spans would have no patience for lengthy treatises. In a culture that reveled in an ideas-rich environment, people gathered to hear political and philosophical debates as entertainment.

Brown analyzed the book along the themes of Christ's superiority and disciples' response to his status. After a brief introduction (1:1-3) the author asserted Christ was superior over the angels (1:4-4:13), superior in his priesthood (4:14-7:28) and superior in his sacrifice which led to the new covenant (8:1-10:18). In response, he insisted disciples hold fast to faith (10:19-12:29) and exhorted them to live it sincerely (13:1-19). He finished with a blessing and farewell (13:20-25). See the "Dating" above for more details on the themes of Hebrews.

As a thought experiment, I decided to pursue a hybrid analysis of Hebrews, combining Vanhoye's structural analysis along with Perkins' rhetorical. The linked commentary is the fruit of my efforts. I hold the author structured his document in a simple chiasmus with an introduction and farewell; he weaved in exhortations along the way.

A. Introduction: The Son of God (1:1-4)

B. Step A1: Place of Christ Before God and a Warning Against Apostasy (1:5-2:18)

1. Inferiority of the Angels (1:5-14)

2. Exhortation: Do Not Drift Away (2:1-4)

3. The Son Subjecting Himself (2:5-9)

4. Raising Up Humanity Through Suffering (2:10-17)

C. Step B1: Challenge to Believe (3:1-4:16)

1. Jesus Greater Than Moses (3:1-6)

2. Exhortation: Comparison of the Disciples with the Hebrews in Exodus (3:7-4:16)

D. Step C: The Son as High Priest and His Sacrifice (5:11-10:39)

1. Son as High Priest (5:1-10)

2. Exhortation Despite Apostates (5:11-6:12)

3. Priesthood of Melchizedek (6:13-7:10)

4. High Priest of Aaron's line vs the Risen Christ (7:23-10:18)

5. Exhortation Despite Apostates (10:19-39)

E. Step B2: Faith and Those Who Believed (11:1-13)

1. Definition of Faith (11:1-3)

2. Faith of the Ancestors: Promises Realized (11:4-13)

F. Step A2: Faith and the Place of the Believer Before God (11:13-19)

1. Faith of the Ancestors: Unrealized Promise of Eternal Life (11:13-39)

2. Exhortation: Persevere in the Divine Presence (12:1-13:19)

G. Conclusion: Benediction and Farewell (13:20-25)

Steps A considered one's place before God. Step A1 presented as superior to the angels in the order of the cosmos yet humble enough to become human and suffer for the good of everyone. Step A2 focused on believers in the presence of God and argued for the purity of the faithful. Both steps contained exhortations; the one in Step A1 was brief, the one in Step A2 was longer.

All of the steps contained exhortation except Step B2. Indeed, Steps B contrasted with each other. Step B1 consisted of a lengthy exhortation, urging disciples not to emulate the Hebrews in the Exodus. Yet, Step B2 presented faith as the key to a relationship with God and ancestors who believed in the promises of God that were realized.

Step C contained two exhortations that acted as bookends to the main thesis of the book, the priesthood of Christ.

Note the exhortations focused upon three subjects: apostasy, sexual immorality and a lack of communal discipline.

As we make our way through the commentary, notice the use of chiastic structures, parallels and linear thought the author employed to construct his treatise.