Did Peter Write Hebrews?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: Is it possible that Peter wrote Hebrews?

Answer: Let’s ask the question a different way, “Who wrote Hebrews?” Quite often, people assume it was the Apostle Paul. This, itself, is unlikely. It is quite notable that the language of Hebrews is vastly different from what we see in Paul’s letters. It is pretty well accepted that the internal evidence leans against Paul.

There are a few people who think that Peter wrote it. However, the biggest obstacle against Peter writing Hebrews has to do with the eloquent Greek used. Most scholars doubt that Peter could have (or would have) written in that manner. There does seem to be definite similarities in vocabulary between 1 Peter and Hebrews, but not enough to warrant Peter as the author.

Paul Ellingworth (in his commentary on Hebrews) put forth some thoughts on the possibility of Peter being the author (although he did not take this position). The biggest proponent of the Peter position is (or was, since he died in 1943) Adam Cleghorn Welch.

There are some clues that give us additional insight. Hebrews 13:19-23 indicates that the author knew the believers he was writing to. When we look at the witness of the early Church, we see that Hebrews was included in the canon among the handwritten manuscripts in Paul’s letters. It is, therefore, commonly assumed that the author of the document was a close associate of the Apostle Paul. This is certainly bolstered by the conclusion of Hebrews which mentions the imprisonment of Timothy (another close associate of Paul). We do know that the author was male. The masculine participle “tell” (diēgeomai) in 11:32 proves this. Further, the internal evidence strongly suggests he was Jewish, but these facts do not help us to conclusively identify the writer. Ultimately, Hebrews (like all of Scripture) is given by inspiration of God (2 Tim. 3:16). The debate of which man was used by God to write it will never be settled until glory.