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Authorship: It is one thing to see that the Council of Trent (DS
1503) declared this Letter is inspired or canonical; another thing
to say it is by St. Paul.

In the first centuries there were doubts about the authorship. The
churches of Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Cappadocia considered it
Pauline, but there were doubts in the Latin church. The Muratorian
Canon, St. Irenaeus, St. Hippolytus and Gaius of Rome did not
consider it Pauline; Eusebius says it is clearly by Paul. A bit
later Ambrosiaster did not include Hebrews among the Pauline
Epistles on which he wrote commentaries.

St Jerome and St. Augustine seem to have swayed opinion in the west
to considering it was by Paul. Augustine said he was influenced by
the prestige of the Eastern churches. After the 6th Synod of
Carthage in 419, it became usual in the west to consider it by
Paul.

Many today would favor the view of Origen, who notes that the Greek
is more literary than is usual for Paul, and that the style and
composition differs from Paul's though the teaching is Paul's. We
know at least often Paul dictated his Letters. For certain he would
have had to do that with 2 Timothy, if we consider it his, for then
Paul was in prison with no facilities for writing. But Popes and
Presidents and other important people have often, in our time and
before, used others to write documents for them, after telling them
what content they want. Then they would go over it, perhaps make
changes, and sign it. The names of Jude, Luke, Silvanus (Silas),
Barnabas, and Apollo have been suggested as actual writers.

Recipients: If it was originally intended for Hebrew Christians, it
should have been written before the fall of Jerusalem, especially
since the writer speaks of the Temple ritual as still in effect --
though later rabbinic writings also do make rules as if the temple
were at hand. It also presupposes that the first readers were
familiar with the temple and its rituals.

In view of the fact that 13. 24 says those in Italy send greetings,
it may have been written in Rome.

Genre of writing: It is very important to note that the literary
genre, the pattern of writing, of this Letter is homiletic, that
is, preaching style. In that style, many speakers will allow
themselves some freedom, exaggeration, and lack of exactness. The
Letter itself gives an indication, since it calls itself "a word of
exhortation (in 13. 22). Also, it makes considerable use of a
device common in Greek and Roman rhetoric called synkrisis, that is
placing one person along side of another in order to praise the
first one. So Jesus is compared to Moses and to angels. Also, when
the Letter says that Jesus was tempted or tried in all things as we
are, we should not conclude He had various diseases, nor that He
was ignorant of many things. The Second General Council of
Constantinople (DS 424) in 553 condemned "wicked Theodore of
Mopsuestia" for "insanely" saying Jesus had disorderly emotions.
The Church has repeatedly taught that Jesus was not ignorant in His
human mind: DS 3812, 3905, 3924, and AAS 58 (1966) 659-60. And in
5:8 we read that Jesus "learned obedience from the things He
suffered." Of course this cannot mean He had been disobedient
before. We will explain this line in the course of our comments
below.

Also the way the Epistle comments on Melchizedek as being without
father or mother or end of days, is homiletic freedom. And the
comments on Esau in chapter 12 lean heavily on some loose rabbinic
writings. These things are of course permissible in the homiletic
genre, would not be likely to be used otherwise. We will notice
these and other features in the course of our comments.