The Background Revisited

We may not know who wrote the Book of Hebrews, but the unknown author’s opening declaration is crystal clear. God has spoken through the prophets–the Old Testament. But in these last days (the present era) God has finally and definitively spoken in and through the person of his son, Jesus Christ. Since Jesus is creator and sustainer of all things, Jesus is superior to Moses. Since Jesus has completed his work of redemption, he is superior to Israel’s priesthood. Since Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, he possesses a greater name and a greater authority than any angel. [Given the fascination with angels typical of many first century Hellenistic Jews, the author of this epistle must deal with the role of angels in redemptive history, and in doing so, make his case that Jesus Christ is superior to all angelic beings.]

Previously, we addressed the difficult questions surrounding the authorship, destination, and date of this epistle–so I encourage you to read the prior exposition which can be found here. We do not know who wrote this epistle, nor do we know when it was written. We do not even know to which church this epistle was originally addressed. But based upon the contents of the Epistle to the Hebrews, we do know a great deal about the original recipients.

The author very likely knew the people to whom he was writing, and he was quite familiar with their current situation. The recipients were Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenistic Jews), who believed that the Old Testament was God’s self-revelation. They lived in a large city (most scholars think Rome or Alexandria), and probably were a small congregation meeting in someone’s home. Many in the church which received this letter were recent converts to Christianity from that type of Judaism found throughout the major cities of the first century Mediterranean world. Not as legalistic as the Judaism found in Palestine (closer to the temple in Jerusalem, and home to many Pharisees), the Judaism in which the recipients of this letter were raised and the synagogues in which they worship were probably as much Greek in ethos, as they were Jewish in theology. This form of Judaism focused upon speculative topics like angels, and made Moses (not Abraham), the center of Old Testament religion. This kind of Judaism would be as distant from traditional Judaism as mainline Protestant liberalism is from the Protestant Reformation.

To read the rest of this exposition, follow the link below

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