Notes on Hebrews - Plano Bible Chapel

1 Copyright 2022 by Thomas L. Constable Notes on Hebrews 2022 Edition Dr. Thomas L. Constable DATE The writer said that he and those to whom he had written had come to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of others who had heard Jesus (2:3-4). Apparently those preachers had since died (13:7). The original readers of Hebrews had been Christians over an extended period of time (5:12). So probably the earliest possible date of composition was about 60. Some scholars believe that the book must have been written before 70 since the writer spoke of the certain sacrifices as being offered at the time of writing (7:27-28; 8:3-5; 9:7-8, 25; 10:1-3, 8; 13:10-11).

2 However the writer showed no interest in the temple but described the sacrifices as those that the Israelites offered when the tabernacle stood. He evidently used the present tense to give these references a timeless quality rather than indicating that temple worship was still in practice. Nevertheless a date of composition before 70 seems "The best argument for the supersession [replacement] of the old covenant would have been the destruction of the Temple."2 The reference to Timothy's release from imprisonment (13:23) appears to date the book later in the life of that outstanding man.

3 Almost all scholars believe that the Timothy referred to in Hebrews is the same one named elsewhere in the New Testament. No other New Testament writer mentioned Timothy's imprisonment. The imprisonment of Christians seems 1 William L. Lane, Hebrews 1 8, pp. lxii-lxvi; Andrew H. Trotter Jr., Interpreting the Epistle to the Hebrews , pp. 27-38; Philip E. Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews , pp. 30-31. 2H. W. Montefiore, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews , p. 3. 2 Dr.

4 Constable's Notes on Hebrews 2022 Edition to have been a well-known fact of life (10:34; 13:3). This was true after Nero launched an empire-wide persecution in 64. All of these factors, when taken together, seem to point to a writing date near WRITER As to authorship, most students of this subject are not dogmatic or even certain, for good As early as Origen, the Alexandrian church father who died about 255, no one knew who the writer was for sure. After careful study of the authorship of Hebrews , Origen wrote: "But who it was that really wrote the epistle, God only knows.

5 "3 "The language of the Epistle is both in vocabulary and style purer and more vigorous than that of any other book of the New Testament.. The vocabulary is singularly copious. It includes a large number of words which are not found elsewhere in the apostolic writings, very many of which occur in this book only among the Greek Scriptures .."4 "All that can be said with certainty is that Hebrews was composed by a creative theologian who was well trained in the exposition of the Greek Scriptures.

6 He was surely a hellenistic Jewish-Christian."5 1 See Richard C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of The Epistle to the Hebrews and The Epistle of James, p. 22; Robert G. Gromacki, Stand Bold in Grace, p. 16; J. Paul Tanner, "The Epistle to the Hebrews ," in The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2:1032. 2 See Hughes, pp. 19-30; Trotter, pp. 39-57; or Donald A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An introduction to the New Testament, pp. 600-4; for good discussions of authorship. 3 Eusebius, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, p.

7 247. 4 Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews , p. xliv. Paragraph division omitted. See Trotter, pp. 117-43. 5 Lane, p. xlix. 2022 Edition Dr. Constable's Notes on Hebrews 3 Commentators have made cases for the writer being Paul,1 Apollos,2 Barnabas,3 Luke,4 Peter, Jude, Stephen, Silvanus (Silas), Epaphras (Epaphroditus), Philip the Evangelist, Priscilla,5 Mary the mother of Jesus, Clement of Rome, Aristion, and others. However, the masculine participle diegoumenon ("to tell"), which refers to the writer in 11:32, would seem to rule out a female writer.

8 Ancient testimony mentioned only four possibilities: Paul, Luke, Barnabas, and None of these suggestions has found enthusiastic general reception for various reasons. Probably we should be content to share Origen's agnosticism on this question and look forward to getting the answer in "The absence both of solid testimony, internal or external, and of any firm traditions means that, as things are, the riddle of the authorship of Hebrews is incapable of solution."8 The early Christians originally accepted all the New Testament books as inspired by God because they each contained teaching from an official apostle.

9 For this reason the writer was probably either an apostle or a close associate of at least one of the apostles (cf. 13:23). 1 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible , p. 1929; W. J. Conybeare, in The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, pp. 788-790; Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Practical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible , pp. 1393-95; J. N. Darby, Synopsis of the Books of the Bible , 5:269; G. Campbell Morgan, An Exposition of the Whole Bible , p. 518; Adolph Saphir, The Epistle to the Hebrews , 1:19, footnote 10; Arno C.

10 Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible , 4:1:230-32; William R. Newell, Hebrews Verse by Verse, p. 493; Arthur W. Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews , pp. 18-21; J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book, 6:275; Ray C. Stedman, What More Can God Say? p. 3; J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, 5:503. 2 Lenski, pp. 21-22; A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 5:329. 3 Tertullian, cited by Jamieson, et al., p. 1393. 4G. Campbell Morgan, The Unfolding Message of the Bible , p. 359; David L. Allen, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews .