Letter to the Hebrews

Letter to the Hebrews, anonymous New Testament letter traditionally attributed to St. Paul the Apostle but now widely believed to be the work of another Jewish Christian. Some traditions hold that the author may have been St. Barnabas or perhaps one of Paul’s other associates or later disciples. The letter was composed sometime during the latter half of the 1st century and is the 19th book of the New Testament canon. To judge from its contents, the letter was addressed to a Christian community whose faith was faltering because of strong Jewish influences.

To fortify Christian beliefs, the author describes the perfect priesthood of Christ, who, unlike the Jewish high priest, offered but one sacrifice as God’s own Son, thereby redeeming all of humankind once and for all. The office of the Jewish high priest, by contrast, was filled by a temporary appointee whose imperfect sacrifice had to be repeated over and over. The author concludes that Christianity is consequently superior to Judaism. The Christians are then warned against apostasy and the “fearful prospect of judgment” (10:27) that awaits “those who have spurned the Son of God” (10:29). They are urged to persevere in their faith following the heroic example of others well known to them. The emphasis on Christ’s priestly mediation and statements on faith and the Mosaic Law are not typical of other Pauline writings. Indeed, there are more Old Testament citations in Hebrews than in any other New Testament book. They are drawn mainly from the Pentateuch and some psalms.