Two Questions About ....

Logos was the Greek used here. Pretty plain.
God did not reveal the author to us because He did not reveal the author to us. A reason for doing so? Maybe, or possibly it was just not important. Paul is pretty widely accepted as the author of Hebrews.

 

There are other books whose author is not revealed and we know who wrote them only through tradition. Matthew and Mark are prime examples. The fact that Hebrews is unsigned suggests someone other than Paul. However, the failure to sign may have been intentional so as to present an epistle with an anonymous author to its readers, some of whom may have had "issues" with Paul.

The context of 4:12 suggests a LIVING WORD.

 

Many see this as saying someone who studied under the apostles wrote the book, Chapter 2 verse 3 "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;.

Notice it was confirmed to us who heard Him, not by those of us who heard Him! That could mean Paul but Paul was taught many believe by Jesus for three years in the wilderness.

God wanted the focus on Jesus that was more important than the human authors identity.

 

I scanned some Amazon reviews of N.T. Bible scholars who wrote books on Hebrews. Aside from David A. Black and the deceased Robert Reymond who contend that Paul wrote it --that opinion is in the minority. Since Reformation times most evangelical New Testament Biblical scholars are rather certain that Paul could not have been the author. But these scholars are not dogmatic about who might have written it.

S.Lewis Johnson's introductory sermon/lecture on Hebrews brings out the above too.

 

:thumbsup: Agree!

 

Personally, I believe that Heb. 4:12 is referring to the word of God as it is being preached. The word of God is the gospel as it is being preached through the Spirit.


The gospel is the sword of the Lord. Look at Genesis 3 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.[Gen. 3:24] For Adam to get back to the Tree of Life, he had to go through that flaming sword. Then in Revelation 1 we find In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.[Rev. 1:16]

I personally think the sword in Heb. 4:12 is the preached word.

 

According to the Zondervan study note concerning authorship, from about 400 AD to 1600 AD the majority did accept that Paul was the author. Prior to that there was "no agreement" concerning authorship. Tertullian (200 AD) suggests Barnabas. Martin Luther suggests Apollos. Only the Lord knows for sure.

As far as Hebrews 4:12, I agree that context points to the logos of God being the ascended Jesus. The circumcision of Christ separates our spirit/soul from the structure of our bodies (bones and joints).

 

Because it might not have been accepted by the church otherwise. I suspect Prisca/Priscilla may have written it herself, or with her husband, Aquila. Going along with that suspicion, I think the reason it was attributed to Paul for some of Christian history is that it originated within Paul's circle of the early church where Priscilla and Aquila were prominent teachers.

Given that the author of Hebrews continues this thought into verse 13 and uses the personal pronoun that is translated, "He," I would say that the context indicates it is Jesus.

 

many seem to hold for either Barnabus or Apollos as its author, but the truth is that the real author was the Holy spirit himself..