Culture & Context: Hebrews & James

Welcome to Culture and Context, a blog that will flesh out the context of the PATH journal and other content that we study here at True North.

Hebrews- a letter whose origins are a mystery. No one knows for sure who wrote it. We do know that the author knew Timothy (see Hebrews 13:23), was an Old Testament scholar and quoted the Greek Septuagint (a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible), meaning he was likely a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian. Hebrews 2:3 tells us that the author was discipled by eyewitnesses of Jesus:

“...how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard...” (ESV)

Paul wrote many New Testament letters but is not believed to be the author of Hebrews. F.F. Bruce (1910- 1990) was a Scottish evangelical scholar, author and educator and a leading evangelical who believed in rigorous academic study of the Bible for all evangelicals. In his writings on Hebrews, he is quoted as saying:

“We may say with certainty that the thought of the epistle is not Paul’s, the language is not Paul’s, and the technique of OT quotations is not Paul’s.”

Early church fathers opined that the letter could have been authored by Barnabas because he was known to be an encourager/exhorter, and Hebrews 13:22 reads: “I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly.” Other possible authors include Apollos, Silas or even Priscilla, wife of Aquila.

Wait, a woman might have written Hebrews? It is a theory and might explain why the author remains anonymous (Eerdman’s Companion to the Bible). Priscilla’s name is often placed before her husband’s, implying that she was better educated and of higher status. She and Aquila corrected and instructed Apollos in their house church in Rome (Acts 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.). Again, an interesting theory but there is no real proof that Priscilla authored Hebrews.

Not only is the author of Hebrews unknown; it’s precise audience is also unknown. Books like Galatians and Ephesians are written to a church in a certain city. We don’t know the people or city for whom the Letter to the Hebrews was written, other than their status as Hebrews. Another mystery!

The author of Hebrews may have been writing to a group of Jewish Christians who should have been mature in their faith and capable of leading others to the gospel. We know that not long after becoming Christians they experienced persecution with imprisonment and ridicule (Heb. 10:32-36). Judaizers were actively working against the Hebrews in the hopes of getting them to abandon their new faith and new leaders, and return to Judaism. The author was trying to bring them back to the basics- Jesus is the Messiah and greater than Moses and all the high priests. The author writes about Jesus, faith and brotherly love.

Another mystery is the date that Hebrews was written. Since Timothy was mentioned as still being alive at the time of writing, most scholars believe it was written prior to AD 70. The letter also lacks reference to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, further strengthening the argument that it was written prior to AD 70.

Something that is not a mystery is the purpose of the letter to the Hebrews. The author did not want its recipients to abandon their faith and return to Judaism. He encouraged them to remain patient despite persecution and reminded them that followers of Jesus suffered as Jesus suffered (Heb. 12:12 “Therefore lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees.”). He proclaimed the judgment of those who turned their back on Jesus.

Why should we study Hebrews? After all, we are not Jewish Christians. We do not experience persecution as the Hebrews did. And yet, do we not live in a time when false teachers, old friends, family members and co-workers try to entice us to give up our faith, especially if they knew us before we found Jesus? The letter to the Hebrews is jam-packed with Jesus, salvation, Jesus, sacrifice and JESUS. Hebrews is more than a letter; it is a sermon of encouragement and exhortation.

The book of James is not mysterious! We know the author – James, the brother of Jesus. James the son of Zebedee was martyred in 44 AD and thus could not have authored the letter. James the brother of Jesus was an elder in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18-24). He was a Jew and an expert in the law. James wrote about the gospel as it related to the law, something Jews understood.

James may have been the first son born after Jesus. James did not accept the authority of Jesus while he was alive (see John 7:5). His conversion story is not told, but by Acts 12 we see that he was the head of the church in Jerusalem. Galatians 1:19 mentions James as an apostle, even though he was not one of the original twelve apostles; some scholars speculate that he took the place of James the son of Zebedee after he was martyred. He presided over the first Council of Jerusalem. His love for Jewish Christians is spelled out in Acts 21:18-25. He was known as “James the Just” because of his adherence to Jewish law and his austere lifestyle. Josephus wrote that James was martyred in AD 61.

This letter, also known as an epistle, was probably written between AD 45-49, prior to the Jerusalem council of AD 50. That council addressed the clashes between Gentile and Jewish Christians. The earliest date reflects that the Jewish people were dispersed after persecution by Herod Agrippa, after AD 44.

The letter is addressed to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion. We know they were Jewish Christians from James 2:1, which refers to their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Tyndale Bible Dictionary states that they were poor farm laborers who worked under rich landowners and suffered inequity as a result.

The purpose of this epistle was to encourage these Jewish Christians who were living through various trials. He wanted to turn their thinking around; rather than wallowing in the misery of a trial, he wanted them to find the meaning and teaching that a trial can provide. James also addressed a misunderstanding of justification by faith. He was concerned with ethics, faith, works and temptations, and even touched on the doctrine of the End Times and God’s judgment.

The book of James is relevant to us today because it is full of wisdom about living authentic lives. James covers perseverance, faith, the damage of gossip, patience and submitting to God’s will. He wanted to help the readers grow in their Christian maturity and build a healthy community, and that is something we all should be working on in today’s church.

A very wise friend once told me to go through the entire short letter of James and substitute my name for the terms of address in the letter. It is very humbling and educational to write out statements like “count it all joy, Donna, when you meet trials of various kinds,” or “If Donna has bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in her heart, she should not boast and be false to the truth.” By the end of the exercise I was begging forgiveness and thanking Jesus for His grace. Try it out and see what God can teach you.

Works Cited

• Beetham, C. A., & Erickson, N. L., eds. (2024). The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible (One-Volume Edition). Zondervan Academic.

• The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2025). Crossway Bibles.

• Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale House Publishers.

• Fee, G. D., & Hubbard, R. L., Jr., eds. (2011). The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

• Guthrie, D., & Motyer, S. (2017). The Letters: Romans to Revelation. In P. Alexander & D. Alexander (Eds.), Zondervan Handbook to the Bible (Fifth Edition, pp. 674–777). Zondervan.

• Koester, C. R. (2008). Hebrews: a new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 36). Yale

  University Press.