One of the most asked questions about the Letter to the Hebrews is, "Who wrote it?" In the early Eastern Church, the answer was always Paul, largely because Clement of Alexandria, when putting together his collection of New Testament works, put Hebrews in between Romans and 1 Corinthians.

However, in the Western Church, Hebrews was never considered to be Pauline (and wasn't necessarily seen as part of the canon) until Jerome, who was greatly influenced by Alexandrian thoughts, included it in the Vulgate under the assumption that it was written by Paul.

This of course brings up the question of how Hebrews ended up in the Bible. Of course, it's not the only book that prompts this question. The New Testament, like the Old, can be divided into three categories (the Gospels, Paul's Epistles, and the Catholic Epistles). Of these groups, all of the books in the Catholic Epistles (Hebrews through Revelation), have been questioned at various points.

What this also means is that the bulk of the New Testament, has never been historically questioned as being part of the Bible. In fact, all of Paul's letters were bound together and being passed around as an authoritative collection before the end of the First Century. Similarly, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were bound as an authoritative collection by 150 AD at the latest (which means they were the authoritative Christian Scriptures before the Gnostic Gospels were even written).

So, in the case of Hebrews, how did it make it in? Truthfully, it's largely because of Jerome crediting the work to Paul and the assumption that the book was part of the Apostolic record (connection to the Apostles was an important criteria when identifying Scripture).

Of course, today, it would be hard to make a legitimate argument that Paul wrote Hebrews, primarily because the text itself seems to deny this. Hebrews 2:2-4 reads:

For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The section I have in bold makes reference to the author of the book as a secondhand witness, somebody who was taught by one of the Apostles. This of course rules out Paul who was a direct witness of Christ and was taught by Christ Himself (this is the grounds on which Paul argues his apostleship in Galatians).

So, who wrote the letter to the Hebrews? We don't really know. What we do know, is that by the Spirit's guidance it ended up in Scripture and therefore, like all of Scripture, it is worth studying.

In the case of Hebrews, it is specifically valuable because of how carefully it treats the Old Testament and, in the process, teaches us how we as Christians are to understand all of Scripture in light of Christ.

Given it's name, we can assume that Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were struggling to reconcile their Jewish history with their Christianity. Most likely these Christians live in Rome before 70 AD. In Rome because the author has Italian friends of the readers with him (Hebrews 13:24) and it is known by early Roman leaders like Clement of Rome and Hermas.

It was most likely written before 70 AD because it refers to the sacrifices in the temple in the present tense and, the greatest proof the author could have of his point that Christ fulfills the Old Testament, would be that the Temple was no longer functioning (this of course is a point that is never made).

Discussion Questions:
1. What did you already know, or what is new concerning formation of the Bible? Do you find the truth comforting or disconcerting?

2. What has guided your understanding of the Old Testament in the past? Have you seen it as something that points to Christ?