Letter 14 of 14 · Overview available
Hebrews
Jesus is God's final word and our great High Priest — so hold fast and do not drift away.
Hebrews opens with Christ, not with a greeting: God, who spoke through the prophets, has now spoken by his Son, who is the radiance of his glory (1:1–3). The letter then shows, point by point, that the Son is greater than angels, Moses, Joshua, and Aaron.
At its centre is Christ's priesthood "in the order of Melchizedek" (ch. 7). His one sacrifice, offered once for all, accomplishes what the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant could only foreshadow (chs. 8–10).
Woven through the letter are urgent warnings and encouragements (2:1–4; 6:4–12; 10:19–39), the great roll call of faith (ch. 11), and a call to run with endurance, looking to Jesus (12:1–2).
- Date
- c. AD 63–64
- Written from
- Italy
- Recipients
- Hebrew believers in Christ
- Chapters
- 13
- Stage
- After first Roman imprisonment
- Author
- Paul the Apostle
Written before the temple's destruction in AD 70, while sacrifices were still offered (Heb 8:4–5; 10:1–2), after Timothy's release (13:23).
Scholarly note: The letter opens without Paul's usual greeting. Clement of Alexandria held that Paul wrote it for Hebrews and Luke rendered it into Greek; Origen said the thoughts are the apostle's, and the ancients handed it down as Paul's (Eusebius, Church History 6.14; 6.25). It stands among Paul's letters in the oldest manuscript collection (P46) and in Athanasius's list of AD 367. Many modern scholars leave the author unnamed. Sources
Why Paul wrote it
Believers facing pressure and loss were tempted to drift back to the old covenant; the letter calls them to hold fast to Christ.
Why it matters today
It shows how the whole Old Testament points to Jesus and gives weary believers reasons to endure.
Related Acts passages
- Acts 6:7 (many priests become believers)
- Acts 28:30–31 (Paul in Rome)
The World Behind the Letter
The Jerusalem temple and its sacrifices were still operating; its destruction in AD 70 is never mentioned.
Hebrew believers had already endured public insult and loss of property (10:32–34).
Purpose and Problems
Literary Structure
- 1
The Son greater than angels · 1–2
God's final word in his Son.
- 2
Greater than Moses; the promised rest · 3–4
- 3
Our great High Priest · 5–7
Melchizedek and a better priesthood.
- 4
A better covenant and sacrifice · 8–10
Once for all.
- 5
The life of faith and endurance · 11–13
Faith's heroes, discipline, and final exhortations.
Passage-by-Passage
Theological Themes
My Notes
Sources
- Eusebius, Church History 2.22; 3.3; 6.14; 6.25 (c. AD 325)
- F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews (NICNT, rev. 1990)