Introduction to Hebrews

Paul wrote this letter most likely about 61 C.E. while he was in Rome. The letter must have been written before Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E. because it indicates that worship was still being carried out at the temple there. Paul also mentions that he hoped to travel to Judea soon with Timothy, so he seems to have written the letter shortly before or immediately after release from his first imprisonment (c. 59-61 C.E.).—Heb 13:23.

The letter was written to the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem and Judea. About 33-34 C.E., those Christians had suffered persecution. (Ac 8:1, 4) About 55 C.E., they had fallen into poverty, and in 56 C.E., they had received relief aid from their fellow Christians in Galatia, Macedonia, and Achaia. (1Co 16:1-3; 2Co 9:1-5) When the Hebrew Christians received this letter about 61 C.E., they were enjoying comparative peace. (Heb 12:4) Yet, the letter proved to be timely. They were still facing ongoing opposition and harassment from the Jewish community. In addition, they needed to prepare themselves for the imminent destruction of the Jewish system of things, as foretold by Jesus. (Lu 21:20-24) Neither Paul nor the Christians in Judea knew when that would happen. Therefore, they needed to use the available time to build up such qualities as faith and endurance.—Heb 12:1, 2.

One purpose of the letter was to show the superiority of the Christian way of worship over Judaism. Some Jews might have tried to prove that their worship was superior to Christianity by pointing to physical things, such as their temple, their priesthood, their ancestors, and their long history as a nation. The letter to the Hebrews equipped the Christians with masterful arguments to strengthen their faith and to help them answer objections raised by the Jews. This letter shows the superiority of Christianity by outlining how Jesus Christ was superior:

• Position: Jesus is greater than the angels (Heb 1:4-6), greater than Abraham (Heb 6:20; 7:1-7), greater than Moses (Heb 3:1-6), and greater than the prophets (Heb 1:1, 2).

• Mediator of a better covenant: Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant, “a correspondingly better covenant” than the Law covenant mediated by Moses.—Heb 8:6-13.

• Priesthood: Jesus’ priesthood “in the manner of Melchizedek” is better than the Aaronic priesthood. (Heb 5:4-6, 10; 6:13-20; 7:5-17, 20-28) Jesus is a superior High Priest because he lives forever and needs no successors. Further, he is merciful, sinless, and able to sympathize with the weaknesses of Christians, having been tested in all respects.—Heb 2:17, 18; 4:14, 15; 7:23-25.

• Sacrifice: Under the Law, each year the high priest entered the Most Holy of an earthly sanctuary, bringing with him the blood of bulls and of goats. By contrast, Jesus appeared in the presence of Jehovah in the heavens. There he presented the value of his own blood that atoned for the sins of all mankind. (Heb 8:1-3) Jesus did not need to offer sacrifices repeatedly; rather, he gave his life as a perfect sacrifice “once for all time.”—Heb 7:26-28; 9:24-28.

• Kingship: Jesus sits as King, not in earthly Jerusalem, but on a heavenly throne. His Kingdom cannot be shaken.—Heb 1:8, 9; 12:28.

In this letter, Paul quotes often from the Hebrew Scriptures. In the first chapter alone, he uses at least seven such quotations to prove that Jesus as God’s Son is superior to the angels. (Heb 1:5-13) To emphasize or clarify a point, Paul often isolates one word or a short phrase and then shows its significance. (Heb 10:37, 38; 12:26, 27; see also Heb 3:7–4:11, where he quotes from Ps 95:7-11.) In his quotations, he often uses wording from the Septuagint.—See, for example, study notes on Heb 1:6, 10; 2:13; 4:7; 8:9; 10:5; see also Glossary, “Septuagint.”

One of the key words in the book of Hebrews is “better,” emphasizing the superiority of the Christian way of worship. In fact, of the 19 occurrences of the Greek term most often rendered “better” in the Christian Greek Scriptures, 13 are found in the book of Hebrews.—See, for example, Heb 1:4; 7:19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24.

The letter to the Hebrews is valuable because it helps readers to understand that the sacred service carried out under the Law foreshadowed greater realities involving the spiritual temple.—Heb 9:7-14, 23-28; 10:1.

This letter helps Christians to build up their faith, not only by defining that quality but also by illustrating it with many real-life examples.—Heb 11:1–12:2.

The letter contains much encouragement and exhortation, as well as some stern warnings.—Heb 2:1-4; 3:12, 13; 4:11-13; 6:1-6; 9:13, 14; 10:22-31; 12:1, 2; 13:1-7, 9, 17.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews does not identify himself by name, but the evidence—both internal and external—strongly points to the apostle Paul:

• The writer sends greetings from “those in Italy,” so he must have written it while there, most likely in Rome. Paul spent about two years in Rome under house arrest.—Heb 13:24; Ac 28:30.

• The writer shows that he was closely associated with Timothy. (Heb 13:23) His comment to that effect adds to the evidence that Paul is the writer. In several letters that Paul wrote during his first imprisonment in Rome, he mentions that Timothy was with him.—Php 1:1; 2:19; Col 1:1, 2; Phm 1.

• The arguments in the letter are developed in a manner characteristic of Paul. In view of the target audience, the writer presents the material from a Jewish viewpoint—writing as a Jew to Jews. (1Co 9:20, 22) This is fitting, since Paul was to bear witness not only to Gentiles but also to “the sons of Israel.” (Ac 9:15) Though the general style of the letter is somewhat different from that of Paul’s other letters, the purpose of this letter was also different. It was intended as a “word of encouragement” rather than a letter from a traveling overseer to one of the congregations he served or to one of the overseers he had appointed.—Heb 13:22.

• The letter to the Hebrews was accepted as a letter of Paul by early writers, such as Pantaenus (second century C.E.), Clement of Alexandria (second century C.E.), and Origen (third century C.E.).

• It is included among nine of Paul’s letters in the papyrus codex referred to as P⁴⁶ (c. 200 C.E.).—See Media Gallery, “Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews.”

• Hebrews is listed among “fourteen letters of Paul the apostle” in the writings of Athanasius (fourth century C.E.).