The book of Hebrews has always been one that is
fascinated me, and like many of you we were led to believe that the Apostle
Paul was the author. However, with greater understanding and newer research we
know that it is not him. This still leaves the question of who is the author of
Hebrews. According to George H. Guthrie, “earlier suggestions include such
noteworthy people as Paul, Luke, Clement of Rome, and Barnabas. More recent
proposals set forth for Priscilla, Jude, Apollo’s, Philip, and capital Silvanus.”[1] We
come to understand that Paul did not write this book on several different
levels. According to Cockerill, “these many ways, therefore, in which Hebrews
differs from the Pauline letters and style, vocabulary, in content all but rule
out Pauline authorship.”[2]
There
is a great deal that can be learned from the writing found in the book of
Hebrews. Just like in our modern-day we can learn about the author of the
letter or some other material by the level of the vernacular use in said
material. As Guthrie has stated, “His use of the Greek language ranks at the
top of the New Testament authors; his rich vocabulary reveals the background of
one widely read… What is certain is that our writer brought numerous skills
gained through advanced education to his task.”[3] On
top of observing that the author is a highly educated person, and is one that
is highly versed in the Old Testament and his interpretations while being an
extremely dynamic preacher.[4]
It
is important to discuss the possible author of the book because it gives us a
greater insight into those he/she may have been writing to, and we could better
understand the theological background of the person writing. There are many
questions that could be answered if the human author of this work was known.
Ultimately we all should be able to agree God is the author. If I personally
were to make the pronouncement on who wrote the book I feel that it very easily
could have been Apollos. We know from Scripture that he was well educated, and
he was taught by others about the Gospel, unlike Paul who received it directly
from the Lord himself. Cockerill supports this suggestion when pointing out, “The
description of Apollos in Acts 18:24-19:1 is a descrition of the kind of person
who wrote Hebrews.”[5]
No comments:
Post a Comment