Eusibius was a historian who spoke of fourteen epistles written by Paul. Jerusalem author, Jerome (347-420 AD) and Augustine (354-430 AD) also considered Hebrews to be to Pauline origin.
There appears to be a consensus among ancient scholars that the writings are of Pauline origin. In Greek manuscripts, Hebrews is located among other Pauline epistles. In modern Christian Bibles it is located after Phulimon, and not included in the Pauline works. However, in light of the argument that those closer to the source are more accurate, one would have to consider the Greek placement of the writing to be more accurate than modern translations would have one to believe. There is a consensus among ancient scholars that Hebrews was the work of Paul, whether it is via translation, or influence and guidance by Paul in its writing. No one knows for certain, but these are the most plausible explanations for the similarity to Pauls' writing.
There are a number of other early historians who felt that there was sufficient evidence to consider Hebrews the work of Paul. They included Hilary, Ambrose, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, and Athanasius. Several ancient councils accepted the Pauline authorship of Hebrews including the synod of Antioch (a.D. 264), the council of Nicea (a.D. 315), the council of Laodicea (a.D. 360), the council of Hippo (a.D. 393), the third council of Carthage (a.D. 397), and the sixth council of Carthage (a.D. 419). These authorities round out an impressive consensus that Hebrews is the work of Paul. The views of these credible individuals obviously had an influence on the opinion that Paul was the true author, but whatever means, of Hebrews.
The early church received Hebrews into the Canon of the Scripture due to the belief that it was the work of Paul. If the work had been of other than Paul, the early church makes it clear that the work would not have been considered to be authoritative enough for inclusion. None the less, the anonymity of the book did represent an area of concern in the debate on whether to include it or not. If it were not the work of Paul, then it could not be considered apostolic. However, the final consensus placed more weight on the similarities to other works of Paul than on the differences. Paul's influence was considered to be sufficient for the work to be considered apostolic in nature. Therefore, it was included in the Canon.
Hebrews was accepted as the work of Paul by the early church by consensus of an impressive number of supporters that felt the work was that of Paul. However, this brings us to the question of whether consensus is enough to prove authorship. This leads to the question of the early councils were in error in their decision to include Hebrews in the canon of what would later become the Bible.
There was an explosion of writings about the foundations of the Christian church throughout approximately 300-400 AD. The church was still young and having growing pains. There was a desperate need to reach a consensus and establish a foundation that would carry the Christian church into a new, more stable era. Early writers were highly motivated to come to a consensus and produce a document that would unify the church. This need was not addressed in any of the writings examined by the authors consulted in this research. Yet, this cultural need for stability is apparent throughout an examination of this time period.
The early writers of the Bible were under pressure to bring stability to the Church. They were contemporaries and would have been aware of the writings of their peers. They would have been privy to the decisions of other learned scholarly institutions. It is not likely that all of these sources came to the same consensus completely independently. They would have had a considerable degree of influence on one another. This driving need for stability may have undermined the ability to one authority to question the decision of previous authorities. It might have hampered the ability of one author the questions the authority of a previous author. There were many political considerations between these various entities that may have influenced their decisions as well.
Numerous scholars throughout history agree that Paul was the author of Hebrews, including Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century. One can find an impressive number of supporters for Paul as the author of Hebrews. This continues up to and including the first edition of the King James Bible, which...
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