It is certain that this
letter was written to the
Christians of Jewish origin
as the subject matter is
directly related to the
relation between Jewish
contemporary thought of the
period. The question is what
kind of Jews were they and
where did they live.
A. It was written to a
well-established church
(Heb. 5:12)
B.which had suffered
persecution some time in
the past (Heb. 10:32-34)
C. It was possibly
written to Hebrew
Christians in Italy. The
most direct hint is from
Heb. 13:24: "Those who
come from Italy send you
greetings." Another
translation says:
"Greetings to you from
our Italian friends".
This evidently is not
conclusive as it could
be interpreted as a
letter written to Italy
or from Italy.
D. It was intended for a
scholarly group of
Christians who were well
versed in the knowledge
of the Old Testament and
the Gnostic thought both
of the Jews and the
Greek.
E. This may have been
directed to a group of
Christians who were
preparing to become
teachers (Heb. 5:12).
F. This was a church
which was financially
well off and was famed
for their generosity.
(Heb 10:32-35)
|
Overwhelming
evidence from the
letter points to a
community of Jews
who were most
probably highly
hellenized. Most of
the quotations are
taken from the
Septuagint as
against the Hebrew
Bible. By the time
of writing the
letter all Jews
whether in Palestine
or elsewhere were
all highly
hellenized. This
will therefore will
not pin point the
territory. Most
people however
prefer a
geographical
territory within the
Rome as against a
territory within
Palestine. |
|
-
The letter was
first known in
Rome and was
quoted by
clement in AD 95
from Rome.
-
The closing
Salutation in
13:24 indicates
a large Italian
community in the
place where the
letter was
written (most
probably Rome)
and the letter
was written to a
community who
knew the Italian
community.
-
Timothy (13:24)
was known to the
Roman Christians
(Col. 1:1;
Philemon 1--both
of which are
written from
Rome) and to the
Palestinian
Christians.
-
The description
of the leaders
in 13:7, 17, 24
is similar to
that in 1
Clement 1:3
-
The generosity
of the readers
mentioned in
Heb. 6:10-12;
10:32-34 would
match that which
was true of the
Romans
-
The reference to
meats in Heb.
13:9 my be
similar to
Romans 14
-
The spoilation
of goods
referred to in
Rom. 10:32 could
be explained by
Claudius' edict
in AD 59.
|
|
|
It was most probably
written to Galatian
Hebrew Community.
 |
|
IV
WHY? THE PURPOSES OF THE BOOK:
Soon
after the resurrection and ascension
of Jesus, the Church struggled to
find the meaning of it in the
context of faith. Who is Jesus? Is
he a man, a man of God, an Anointed
Mesia, or a son of God or God
incarnate. Various shades of
teachings began to sprout - which we
today call heresies. They were
simply people trying to understand
Jesus in the context of their
religious climate.
The
first problem was the question of
Jewish and Semitic monotheism of the
period. The foundation of jewish
faith was "Hear Oh Israel, the Lord
your God is One God." This was
taken to be a declaration of a
monadic God. God is one. All the
rest are God's creation. So we only
have a God, and his creations. To
call a human like Jesus, God would
be blasphemy. Who can Jesus be?
Jesus called God, Father. So Jesus
cannot be God. Where are we going to
place Jesus in such a way that it
will not contradict the monotheism
of the traditional Jewish faith. Is
there a place in the Old Testament
theology for Jesus? Paul certainly
was a scholar in all Jewish
theologies including the Kabbalah.
From his letters we can realize that
he was aware of the problems
involved in finding the suitable
position. Conversion of Saul to Paul
was simply the realization of this.
Having found the correct place for
Jesus in the Jewish Kabbalah, he
insists that any other teaching even
if it comes from an Angel is wrong
teaching. Why did he make mention of
the angels as teachers? Gnostic
teaching of secret knowledge
(Gnosis) was atributed to the
Masters in the higher realms of
existences. The book of Hebrews
therefore clearly defines this
stand.
Alongside of this was the repungent
pagan panthiesm with generations of
gods. Is Jesus a part of it? This
question was all the more pertinent
to the Jews in exile in a pagan
world. At the same time there was
the more sophisticated Gnostic
counterpart in every religion in
existence. It was so all through
history. Gnosticism was not
restricted to any particular history
or location. Gnosticism was a highly
developed science within Hebrew,
Egyptian, Persian and Hindu
cultures. Even in Islam which is the
most monadic faiths has sufism which
is the product of Gnostic
interaction. These placed Jesus as a
high spiritual being but not that of
a God. We have evidence of strong
Gnostic influence within
Christianity and it still lingers
on.
Then
there was the conflict between two
traditions - Priestly Tradition and
the Elohim Traditions within the
Hebrew faith. Is there a conflict
here. Was Yahvh the god of Israel
different from the God of the
cosmos? What exactly is the
difference between the God of Israel
and the Christian God. How do you
explain the rituals and sacrifices
in view of Jesus' teachings?
There
were the issuses of the period and
these were the issues that the Book
of Hebrews attempts to tackle.
These
problems still persist within the
church and without in the world.
Hence the Book of Hebrews is as
relevant today as it was relevant
then.
-
CONCLUSIONS
Thus
we may conclude:
-
The place of composition was
Italy (xiii, 24), and more
precisely Rome (inscription at
end of the Codex Alexandrinus),
where Paul was during his first
imprisonment (61-63).
(2)
The date of its production should
certainly be placed before the
destruction of Jerusalem (70),
(3)
and previous to the outbreak of the
Jewish War (67),
(4)
but after the death of James, Bishop
of Jerusalem (62).
According to Heb. 13:19, 23, this
letter was written when Paul was no
longer a prisoner. The most probable
date for its composition is,
therefore, the second half of the
year 63 or the beginning of 64.
It was
written to clearly define the stand
of the Christian faith in terms of
the who the Person of Jesus was, so
that heresies can be dealt with. |
