HEBREWS: AN EPISTLE TO THOSE WHO ACCEPT APOCRYPHA?
HEBREWS: AN EPISTLE TO THOSE WHO ACCEPT APOCRYPHA?
Now let’s take a deep dive into the Epistle of the Hebrews and see if that indicates anything about the Apocrypha and the Jews. After all, it is a letter to the Jews, and many of them were converted Jewish Priests (Acts 6:7).
According to the KJV, the very first reference from the Epistle to the Hebrews[1] to any “Old Testament” book is to Apocrypha, and it occurs in 1:3:
Who [Jesus] being the brightness of his [the Father’s] glory, and the express image of his person…;
This is seen as an allusion to Wisdom 7:26:
For she [the Divine Wisdom] is the brightness of the everlasting light … and the image of his goodness.[2]
For context, the full quote in Hebrews is:
1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
It starts with a mention of messages from the prophets in (1), ends with a claim that Jesus is higher than the angels in (4), and in between, uses words taken from the Book of Wisdom—words used to describe the Divine Wisdom—as part of establishing His status above the angels. Perhaps this is a claim that Jesus “fulfills” the description of the Divine Wisdom in the Book of Wisdom. However, that topic is beyond the scope of the present discussion, which is the Jews and their relationship to the Book of Wisdom. We will discuss the “fulfillment” piece of this reference in detail later.
As for the Jews:
Some scholars believe [the Epistle to the Hebrews] was written for Jewish Christians who lived in Jerusalem… certain believers were considering turning back to Judaism and to the Jewish system of law … However, a growing number of scholars …posit that Hebrews was written for a Jewish audience, and is best seen as a debate between Jewish followers of Jesus and proto-rabbinical Judaism. In tone, and detail, Hebrews … attempts a more complex, nuanced, and openly adversarial definition of the relationship.[3]
According to the KJV, it is that Epistle which starts with a reference to the Book of Wisdom as part of making a claim about Jesus’ divinity. Note that the Book of Wisdom declares itself to be Divinely-inspired Scripture (see Wisdom 7:15-21, so that declaration occurs shortly before the verse being referenced by the Epistle to the Hebrews).
This possible reference to Wisdom 7:26 is not a minor part of our theology, either. It is absolutely crucial to our understanding of Christ. The First Epistle of Clement of Rome (1 Clement), a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth, is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, extra-Biblical Christian writing still extant. It may even have been written when some Disciples were still alive and before several books of the New Testament were penned.[4] Acts 18:8 tells us that in Corinth “Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house”—perhaps he was part of the intended audience of the Epistle. Regardless, in Chapter 36, Clement references Hebrews 1:3, the very verse that alludes to Wisdom 7:26, according to the King James Version: “Him the Lord has willed that we should taste of immortal knowledge, who, being the brightness of His majesty, is by so much greater than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”[5] Notice how Clement mentions immortal knowledge (Divine Wisdom?) while making this reference.
In fact, in 325 AD, the first ever ecumenical council adopted the Nicene Creed, which defines Jesus as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.”
The closest New Testament reference to “light from light” is found in the Epistle to the Hebrews. … Verse 3 describes the pre-incarnate Son’s relationship to the Father: “[the Son]… is the refulgence of his [the Father’s] glory, the very imprint of his being.” “Refulgence,” or “brightness” (Greek, apaugasma), is a very rare Greek word in the Bible. In fact, the Greek Bible only uses it twice, here in Hebrews 1:3 and in Wisdom 7:26. This is no accident. The chapter in Wisdom is a lengthy description of God’s Wisdom and its relationship to God and creation. Wisdom (the Son) is the artificer of all (cf. Hebrews 1:2 and Wisdom 7:22). Wisdom (the Son) holds all things in being (cf. Hebrews 1:3 and Wisdom 4:1). But most importantly, Wisdom’s relationship to God is likened to the splendor of light: “the refulgence of [God’s] eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness” (Wisdom 7:26). Since the Eternal Son is elsewhere identified as God’s wisdom and power (1 Corinthians 3:24), it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see the author of Hebrews using this illustration from Wisdom to describe the Son’s relationship to the Father.[6]
Note the many ways that Hebrews seems to reference Wisdom in these first few verses, which strengthens the case that this is, indeed, a reference the Jewish audience was expected to understand and appreciate. More:
…The early Church fathers understood these texts to teach that both the Father and the Son existed eternally; they are co-eternal. Why? Could a flame exist without its refulgence or brightness? No, of course not. The flame and its brightness co-exist. Wisdom 7:26 likens God to an eternal light, a light with no beginning and no end. If God’s Wisdom is the eternal light’s brightness, than God’s Wisdom is eternal as well. The Father was never without the Son, nor was the Son without the Father. The early fathers repeatedly used this text against a heresy that denied that the Son was co-eternal with the Father. St. Augustine mocked such an idea. After quoting Wisdom 7:26, Augustine wrote, “Are you seeking for a Son without a Father? Give me a light without brightness…” (Sermons on Selected N.T. Lessons, 68, 2).[7]
We will discuss Hebrews 1:3 at even more length below, but our point here is the possible Jewish acceptance of the Book of Wisdom, so let’s first cover the rest of the Epistle. Because the author did not stop referring to the Book of Wisdom after verse 1:3. Anglican Divine E. H. Plumptre posited the theory that Apollos (mentioned in the Book of Acts, 1 Corinthians, and Titus) wrote the Book of Wisdom (which declares itself to be Divinely inspired Scripture) when he was a Jew; then, he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews[8] after he had converted to Christianity. The claim of dual authorship is just an unprovable theory, but regardless, Plumptre’s work is an indication of how deeply connected and similar the thinking behind the two works is.[9] Plumptre found “words either characteristic themselves, or used in a characteristic sense… that … tend to establish such a close affinity of thought and language as may best be explained by the hypothesis of identity of authorship” in verses 1:1, 1:3, 1:6, 2:10, 2:14, 2:15, 3:4, 3:5, 3:6, 3:13, 3:14, 4:6, 4:10, 4:12, 5:12, 5:13, 6:1, 6:6, 6:20, 7:25, 7:26, 9:1, 10:1, 10:19, 10:36, 11:1, 11:5, 12:10, 12:17, 13:7, and 13:20. That is 31 possible references to the Book of Wisdom in a 13-chapter Epistle to Jews or Jewish Christians, in every chapter except Chapter 8. They are made to 15 of the 19 chapters of the Book of Wisdom.[10]
Others—including the KJV—have found even more possible references to Apocrypha, e.g., in 1:2, 3:1, 4:13, 4:15, 8:2, 11:7, 11:35, 12:2, 13:8, and 13:21. With that reference in Chapter 8, notice that it would be a reference to Apocrypha in every single chapter of the Epistle of the Hebrews and brings us to 41 references in 13 chapters—a constant drumbeat of reference after reference, at a pace even faster than Matthew made them.
Earlier, we saw that the KJV cross-references the Book of Wisdom with the New Testament 24% more often (per verse) than any “canonical” Poetic Book (and three times as often as two of the books, and 10 times as often as one of the books). That was a stunning result—and yet, the KJV has only one cross-reference from the Epistle to the Hebrews to the Book of Wisdom. Opinions on references differ, of course, but bear in mind that the already stunning result for the Book of Wisdom in the KJV data set might actually be a massive undercount.[11]
Also bear in mind, of course, that these references were being made for the audience of Hebrews, among whom were many converted Jewish Priests.
[1] The KJV has cross references from the Epistle to the Hebrews to other Apocrypha as well, including Sirach, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. In addition, while I focus on the Epistle to the Hebrews, other Epistles from Paul seem to draw heavily from the Book of Wisdom as well. See below, especially regarding the Epistles to the Romans (see note at Wisdom 11:15 below, in the discussion of the Book of Wisdom), Ephesians (see note at Wisdom 5:20 below), 1 Corinthians (see note at Wisdom 9:17 below), and Colossians (see note at Wisdom 9:2 below).
[2] A second Epistle of Paul’s (Colossians 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God”) also seems to reference this exact verse (Wisdom 7:26).
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews .
[4] Clement is thought to have been a disciple of Peter (as Luke was a disciple of Paul; plus possibly he is also the Clement mentioned as working with Paul in Philippians 4:3) and eventually became the fourth Bishop of Rome/Pope. One reason to think that the Epistle dates to before 70 AD is that it mentions the Temple and its sacrifices in the present tense (Sections 40-41: www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm). One occasionally reads a claim that this background is a myth, but on the other hand, many also rely on this history when trying to prove the case for the Resurrection. Michael R. Licona, Professor at Houston Baptist University, appreciates this conflict and goes into both sides of the issue in depth in his “The Resurrection of Jesus,” Section 3.2.5.1. Notably, there is no evidence of any contrary historical beliefs; e.g., the Orthodox do not recognize Clement as Pope and, yet, have always claimed the background to be true. They even sometimes include “Clementine” documents (especially 1 Clement) in their canons.
[5] Chapter 3 makes a reference to Wisdom 2:24 as well. There are also many other references to Apocrypha, e.g., explicit mention of Judith in Chapter 55, followed by a quote from the “additions” to Esther. www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm
[6] Behind the Bible, Gary Michuta, Nikaria 2017, p. 62-64.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Martin Luther also proposed Apollos as author of Hebrews. All agree that it had to have been written by an educated Jewish Christian and that “Both Apollos and Barnabas [another possible author] were Jewish Christians with sufficient intellectual authority.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollos
[9] He also delineates just how indebted 1 Clement (the Epistle to the Corinthians discussed above) is to the Book of Wisdom, citing two clear references and four less-clear references to the Book of Wisdom. As previously noted, Michael R. Licona’s book The Resurrection of Jesus discusses 1 Clement at length, and he believes that “it seems more probable than not that the Clement of this letter personally knew the Apostles…[he would then be] one who had known some of those who had walked with Jesus and perhaps had been ordained by not only one of the three top leaders of the Jerusalem Church but one of Jesus’ closest disciples: Peter.” This is interesting both for proving the Resurrection (Licona’s purpose) but also for our purposes, since it would also show the views held by “one who learned directly from the Apostles” about the Book of Wisdom (and the other Apocrypha (Judith, Sirach, Tobit) referenced in 1 Clement). In fact, if we accept the early date, it would show the thinking even before some of the New Testament had been written (and may still show it with the later date, if later dates are also given to New Testament Books). See the below discussion of the specific references in 1 Clement to the Apocrypha.
[10] See his paper at www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/expositor/series1/01-329.pdf. And feel free to accept his “crazy” theory that the same person wrote both Hebrews and Wisdom. Personally, I find it too convenient to really take it seriously as an explanation, and I am not aware of anyone else who actually accepted the idea. My point in bringing it up is to show how interconnected the Books are. I treat Plumptre’s findings as possible references and leave them for you to judge individually; but as Plumptre notes, the point is that the “cumulative character of the evidence” is something to consider as well.
[11] And if you look at data sets beyond the KJV, you would find that the KJV missed a very large number of references from John (a Jew at the center of Judaism, known unto the high priest: John 18:15-16) and the Epistle of James the Brother of the Lord (“the Jews regarded him as one of themselves. … He was the leader of what might be called Jewish Christianity; he was the head of that part of the Church which remained centered in Jerusalem. There must have been a time when the Church was very close to Judaism and it was more a reformed Judaism than anything else. …The letter of James may well represent a kind of Christianity which had remained in its earliest form”—William Barclay, Daily Study Bible), etc. The comparison between Matthew’s “additions” to Mark and the “original” Mark shows the focus on Apocrypha, but the other Evangelists are actually more comparable to Matthew (with his Apocrypha-focus) than to Mark (with less of one).
