Epistle to the Hebrews

Definition and Meaning

Hebrews is the nineteenth book of the New Testament and consists of thirteen chapters. It teaches that Jesus Christ is superior to the angels, to Moses, and to the Levitical priests. It also explains that his death was a sacrifice offered "once for all" (Hebrews 9:12; 10:10), bringing to an end the repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament. Although the closing section takes the form of a letter, the text calls itself a "word of exhortation" (Hebrews 13:22). For this reason, many scholars regard it as closer to a sermon than to a letter.

Biblical and Historical Background

• Author: The text does not name its author. The Western church long regarded it as the work of Paul. Today, however, many scholars reject Pauline authorship because its style and thought differ from those of the Pauline epistles. Proposed candidates include Barnabas, Apollos (suggested by Martin Luther), and Luke. The third-century church father Origen is reported to have said that only God knows who wrote it.
• Audience and date: Many scholars hold that it was written to a community of Jewish Christians who, under persecution, were tempted to abandon their faith. Because the text refers to the temple sacrifices in the present tense, many scholars date it before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, although some disagree.
• Reception into the canon: The Eastern church accepted it early. The Western church, hesitant because of the question of authorship, is generally understood to have received it into the canon around the fourth century.
• Main contents: Its central themes include the high priest after the order of Melchizedek (chapter 7), the new covenant, drawing on Jeremiah 31 (chapter 8), and the roll call of faith that presents Old Testament believers one after another (chapter 11).

Practice in the Korean Church

• "The Faith Chapter": Chapter 11 is known as "the Faith Chapter" and is frequently used in preaching and Bible study. Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith," are widely known memory verses. Hebrews 4:12 and 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever," are also often used as mottos and as Scripture for New Year's Eve watch-night services.
• The verse on assembling together: Hebrews 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is," is often cited to encourage attendance at Sunday worship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was used as a proof text by those who emphasized in-person worship. By contrast, those who offered online worship alongside in-person services interpreted the verse as concerned with maintaining the community rather than with the form of gathering.
• Interpretation of the warning passages: Hebrews 6:4–6 and 10:26 are warnings to the effect that those who have fallen away cannot be renewed. Presbyterians in the Calvinist tradition interpret these passages in light of the perseverance of the saints (the doctrine that those who are truly saved will be kept to the end). That is, they regard them either as warnings addressed to those who are not genuine believers or as warnings that serve as a means by which believers are kept persevering. Methodists and Holiness churches that follow Wesleyan theology tend to read them as real warnings that even believers can fall from salvation if they willfully reject grace.
• Understanding of the Lord's Supper: Since the Reformation, Protestants have cited the expression "once for all" sacrifice as grounds for criticizing the understanding of the Mass as a repeated sacrifice. The Catholic Church explains that the Mass does not repeat the sacrifice of the cross but makes it present sacramentally.