Mentioning the possibility that Apollos and the Christians in Rome knew each other is admittedly tenuous, since there is no clear evidence that they did, but mentioning that possibility is also necessary because the Hebrews letter reflects the author’s knowledge of (or about) the godly leaders (apostolic figures?) who had nurtured their faith (2:3–4; 13:7), a knowledge of their background learning as Hebrews (6:1–2), an awareness that they were a closely knit fellowship (6:10; 10:24–25), and knowledge that some of them had suffered persecution and losses because they were ardent Christians (10:32–34).
The mention of Rome is also necessary, because of all the places suggested as the destination of the letter (Jerusalem, Corinth, Alexandria, Colossae, Ephesus, et al.), Rome best suits what seems indicated in the letter as the locale of its intended recipients.42 The reference in 10:32 to the group’s “hard struggle with suffering” could suggest either the time when Claudius exiled Jews from Rome (ad 49–50, several years after the Christian faith had taken root there) or the period of severity under Nero during the mid- to late-60s. Given the circumstance that further problems were anticipated (12:3–4, 7, 12–13), the author wrote to remind the believers about the meaning and guaranteed future of a maintained faith in Jesus (10:15–19; 13:6, 20–21).
Timothy, whom Paul had introduced to the church at Rome (Rom 16:21), had just been “set free” (Heb 13:23), presumably from imprisonment in or near the place of writing. The author shared this news, aware that those acquainted with Timothy would appreciate it. The author also shared greetings from those with him who were “from Italy” (Heb 13:24b), knowing that many would be encouraged by word from them. “Those from Italy” is usually taken as an indication that he was writing to Rome or to some place in Italy.43 And since the author made no mention of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem—an event that would have strengthened his argument—the Letter to the Hebrews should be dated probably after ad 64 but certainly before ad 70.44
Rome, the center of the empire, was the city of cities, even for a man like Paul whose Jewish heritage made Jerusalem, the Holy City, a treasured place in his heart. A great populace was active there. The metropolitan area was vast, the population was polyglot, and different ethnic and cultural groups existed side by side in diversity, social distance, and in spiritual need. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (54 bc–ad 39) in one of his Moral Essays wrote revealingly about how Rome’s vast populace had changed the face of the city, lamenting, “Here reside more foreigners than natives.”45 “Have all of them summoned by name and ask of each: ‘Whence do you hail?’ You will find that there are more than half who have left their homes and come to this city, which is truly a very great and a very beautiful one, but not their own.”46
Some of those foreigners were Jewish, but so were some of the natives. Aquila and Priscilla were known to have lived in Rome (Acts 18:2), part of a Jewish community that was there as early as 139 bc.47 The Jews in Rome enjoyed a constituted freedom there. Helped by the influence of Herod the Great (47–4 bc), whom Caesar favored, Jews throughout the Diaspora organized their own community life, enjoyed religious freedom, and were exempt from military service.48 Julius Caesar even permitted the Jews in Rome to send money back to Jerusalem to support the temple system. But there were times when Jews in Rome suffered from repressive measures, as in ad 19, and Suetonius reported about how Claudius expelled Jews from Rome in ad 49–50 (which Acts 18:2 reflects).49
Rome was home to many Jews, and the social differences their religious beliefs demanded was not usually a problem for the authorities. It is believed that Claudius rescinded religious toleration regarding Jews when social strain developed within Rome’s Jewish community after Christian Jews began aggressively evangelizing about Jesus as the Christ. As Suetonius reported it, “Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome.” When Claudius died in ad 54, Jewish exiles returned to the city, but conflict between church and synagogue doubtless continued, and, in time, conflict between church and state. Historian E. Mary Smallwood has written:
The recognition of Christianity as a religion distinct from and hostile to its parent Judaism seems to have been made in Rome by the 60s, but precisely when and how the Roman authorities made the distinction is not known.50
Whenever that distinction was made, the Christian Jews felt the brunt of its consequences, and the writer of Hebrews sent his letter to address the believers who were experiencing strain (10:32–39; 12:3–13, 28–29) and the temptation to return to radical Judaism so as to avoid economic pressures and property loss, since Mosaic Jews normally enjoyed legal standing.51 The reference in Hebrews 10:32–34 states that some Christian Jews had experienced imprisonment. This letter anticipated further troubles, so it must have been written far enough after ad 49 for that earlier time of trouble under Claudius to be referred to as “those earlier days.”
The title “To Hebrews” appears in all manuscripts of that letter, both papyrus and vellum, from at least the third century. Whether that title is original or was added by scribes to indicate the contents and presumed audience of the letter is not known, but no manuscripts of Hebrews have an alternative title.
Given the title of the letter, it is necessary to state that the particular Hebrews being addressed in this letter were Jews who had acknowledged Jesus as Lord (2:3). They not only knew “the basic teaching about Christ” (6:1) but they were part of a community with memories of the preaching and happenings associated with the active presence of one or more apostolic figures (2:3–4).52 Some members of the community could be described as radical Hebrews: they were persons who regularly spoke Aramaic or Hebrew and were still influenced by Judaism’s feasts, laws, circumcision, and so forth, even though they believed that Jesus is the Christ. Some other members could be described as relational Hebrews: they were Hellenists rooted in Greek culture, steeped in Judaism but using Greek as their daily language and the Septuagint (LXX) as their Bible. Acts 6:1 and 7:48–50 shed light on the distinction made here between the two classes of Hebrews who had become followers of Jesus. Given the elegant Greek used to write this letter and the fact that all of the Old Testament texts quoted in it are from the Septuagint (LXX) rather than the Hebrew text or Aramaic Targums, the author of Hebrews wrote with Hellenistic Jews in focus but with concern for the entire Christian community there in Rome.
IV. Argument and Outline of the Letter
Intent on helping his readers understand the meaning and significance of Jesus, the writer exhorted them to stop thinking in cultic terms and to stop trusting cultic forms, because through his death Jesus opened “the new and living way” (10:20), which grants believers an “eternal redemption” (912). He reported that the old covenant offered to Jews has been superseded by a new one offered to all people (Heb 10:16–18 = Jer. 31:33, 34b). He reminded them of Jesus’ status as God’s Son (1:1–2; 4:14)), the promised Christ (3:6, 14), and he interpreted passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that announce his person and work. Thoroughly informed by both the Hebrew Scriptures and the apostolic message, the writer explained that the old covenant regimen of animal sacrifices represented and foreshadowed the offering Jesus made to God of himself, and he urged the readers to understand that by that deed all believers