Epistle to the Hebrews
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The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbreviated Heb. for citations) is one of the two most consciously "literary" books in the New Testament. The purity of its Greek was noted by Clement of Alexandria, according to Eusebius, (Historia Eccl., VI, xiv), and Origen asserted that that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and Paul's (Eusebius, VI, xxv). Although the author is unknown, Hebrews has been dated to shortly after the Pauline epistles were collected and began to circulate, ca 95 A.D.
The letter has carried its traditional title since Tertullian described it as Barnabae titulus ad Hebraeos in De Pudicitia ch.20.
This letter consists of two parts:
- Doctrinal (1 - 10:18)
- Practical (10:19 - 13).
There are found in it many references to the Old Testament— specifically to its Septuagint text— and references to all but two of the canonical letters of Paul. It has been regarded as a treatise supplementary to the Romans and Galatians, and as a kind of commentary on the book of Leviticus and Temple worship in general. Its numerous references to Temple worship in the present tense have been used to date the epistle before the destruction of the Temple (AD 70), but the evidence is not conclusive.
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