More than this: he was a Levite. The particular line of argument adopted in the main part of the Epistle to the Hebrews is one which would have occurred to few, and scarcely to any who was not familiar with the temple ritual. There is no evidence that this was the case with Apollos; but with Barnabas the temple service was a matter of professional duty, as well as the prompting of his devout heart. Indeed, an objection to the authorship of Barnabas has been based on this very point;--it is said that the author does not show that nicely accurate precision in his statements which might be expected from one personally familiar with the temple. The points referred to admit of easy explanation on other grounds; but were they better taken, considering that the service of the Levites was altogether subordinate to that of the priests, and did not lead them into the naos itself, the objection seems hypercritical. But one of the actual duties of the Levites, and a very prominent one, was that of chanting in the Levitical choirs in the courts of the temple. This would have led to a special familiarity with the Psalms. Now it is a curious fact that about one-half of all the quotations from the Old Testament in the Epistle to the Hebrews are taken from the Psalms, and that the author cites that book, relatively, nearly four times as often as St. Paul, and eight times as often as St. Luke or the other writers. This fact is at once explained by the supposition that the author of the Epistle was a Levite. [2663] It is not unlikely that when that "great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" ( Acts vi. 7 ), Barnabas, as one of their attending Levites, was influenced by their example and with them accepted the faith of Christ.
The only important objection urged against the authorship of Barnabas is, that since the time of Tertullian until recently, there has never been any considerable weight of opinion in its favor. But this is accounted for by the almost universal acceptance in the meantime of the spurious Epistle of Barnabas as his genuine work. The two certainly could not have been written by the same person. The fact, however, that the spurious Epistle was attributed to him may be an indication of a belief that he had left to the Church some legacy of written teaching. Since that Epistle has been found not to be his, and is probably of a somewhat later day, there remains nothing to hinder the belief that the devout Levite of Cyprus, the early convert to Christianity while still in strong sympathy with the Christian Jews, the man of benevolence and wealth, and therefore probably of education, by birth the appointed servant of the temple, the man of independence and dignity, and yet of such tender sympathy as to be surnamed "Son of consolation," the long and intimate companion of St. Paul, and for years in the position of his superior,--there is nothing to hinder the acceptance of the early ecclesiastical statement that he was also the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Frederic Gardiner.
[2649] Tertull. De Pud. c. 20, Ed. Migne, 1021. Exstat enim et Barnabae titulus ad Hebraeos, adeo satis auctoritatis viro [viri], ut quem Paulus juxta se constituerit in abstinentiae tenore :...[1 Cor. ix. 6].... Et utique receptior apud Ecclesias Epistola Barnabae illo apocrypho Pastore moechorum. Monens itaque discipulos, omissis omnibus initiis, ad perfectionem magis tendere,...[After quoting Heb. vi. 4-8, he goes on] Hoc qui ab Apostolis didicit et cum Apostolis docuit, etc.
[2650] Eusebius' Eccl. Hist. vi. 14 (Crusé's translation, p. 213). "But now, as the blessed presbyter used to say, since the Lord who was the Apostle of the Almighty, was sent to the Hebrews, Paul by reason of his inferiority, as if sent to the Gentiles, did not subscribe himself an apostle of the Hebrews; both out of reverence for the Lord, and because he wrote of his abundance to the Hebrews, as a herald and apostle of the Gentiles.'"
[2651] Ibid . The Epistle to the Hebrews he asserts was written by Paul to the Hebrews in the Hebrew tongue, but that it was carefully translated by Luke and published among the Greeks. Therefore one finds the same character of style and of phraseology in the Epistle as in the Acts. "But it is probable that the title, Paul the Apostle, was not prefixed to it. For as he wrote to the Hebrews, who had imbibed prejudices against him and suspected him, he wisely guards against diverting them from the perusal by giving his name."
[2652] Eusebius' Eccl. Hist. vi. 25. Extended quotations from the various writers above referred to, and from many others, may be found in almost any of the innumerable treatises on the subject, and are given with especial fullness and clearness in Alford's Prolegomena.
[2653] Godet in The Expositor, April, 1888, p. 262.
[2654] Bp. George Burgess.
[2655] Journal of the Soc. of Bibl. Literature and Exegesis for June, 1887, pp. 1-27.
[2656] See Thayer's Grimm's N.T. Lexicon, Appendix iv. pp. 698-710, for lists of words peculiar to each New Testament writer.
[2657] "The Optative Mode in Hellenistic Greek," by Prof. H. M. Harman, D.D., LL.D. Journal of Soc. of Bibl. Lit. and Exegesis, Dec. 1886, p. 10.
[2658] The word hi erourgounta (ha p. leg.) in the highly figurative passage, Rom. xv. 16, is no exception, being derived not from hi ereus, but from hi eros
[2659] But that the style indicates that the Epistle was not actually written by an Alexandrian may be gathered from the non-use of the optative mood. See the reference to Dr. Harman on p. 348.
[2660] If the question be asked how Clement of Rome should have been so familiar with this Epistle, the sufficient answer is, that if this Clement be the same with the Clement mentioned in Philip. iv. 3 , as is altogether probable and as is generally asserted in the fathers, they were both companions of St. Paul, though whether they were with him at the same time is not known, and so one of them was likely to know and value the work of the other. Moreover, nearly all the varying traditions about Barnabas concur in speaking of his preaching at Rome, where he would have become personally known to Clement, and whence he may have written this Epistle. If he planted the Church at Milan, as is asserted in the title and proper preface for St. Barnabas Day, in the Ambrosian liturgy, he must have passed through Rome on his way.
[2661] Tertullian De Pudicitia, c. 20, Tom. II., fol. 1021, ed. Migne. It is well known that the Pauline authorship of the Epistle was rejected by many of the ancients. Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. vi. 20) mentions that in the list of Caius, Presbyter at Rome (cir. 200), only thirteen epistles of Paul are enumerated, and this is omitted. It is also omitted in the Muratonian fragment, if that be not the same. The Codex Claromontanus (6th cent.) was copied from a ms. not containing Hebrews, but gives at the end of Philemon a stichometrical catalogue of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, and then gives our Epistle. In the catalogue, however, before Revelations and Acts, and immediately after Jude, is mentioned the "Epistle of Barnabas," having 850 lines. It has been conjectured that by this may be meant the Epistle to the Hebrews; for 1 Corinthians is put down at 1060 lines, and this would give, in proportion, very nearly the right length for our Epistle, making Hebrews 820 instead of 850 lines, whereas the spurious "Epistle of Barnabas" is nearly one-half longer. (See Salmon, Introd. to the N.T., note at end of xxi., 2d ed., pp. 453, 454.) This conclusion is controverted by Lünemann, Introd. to Heb., sect. i., p. 23, ed. T. & T. Clark.
[2662] The following memorandum of the authorities for and against the genuineness of the Epistle of Barnabas, and for its date, has been kindly furnished by the Rev. E. C. Richardson, Librarian of the Hartford Theological Seminary:-- Genuineness, etc . For : Origen, Clement of A., Eusebius, Hieron., Apost. const., Voss, Hammond, Pearson, Bull, Cave, Du Pin, Grynaeus, Wake, Lardner, Fleury, Le Nourry, Russel, Galland, Less, Rosenmüller, Muenscher, Stäudlin, Danz, Bertholdt, Hemsen, Schmidt, Henke, Bleek, Rördam, Gieseler, Näbe, Credner, Bretschneider, Guericke, Francke, Gfrörer, Möhler, Baumgarten-Crusius, De Wette (?), Rysewyk, Schneckenburger, Sprinzl, Alzog, Nirschl, Sharpe. Against : Rivet, Usher, Menard, Daillé, Papebroch, Calmet, Cotelerius, Le Moyne, Tenzel, Natalis Alex., Ittig, Spanheim, Tillemont, Basnage, Oudin, Ceillier, Stolle, Pertsch, Baumgarten, Walch, Mosheim, Semler, Schroekh, Rössler, Starke, Lumper, Michaelis, Gaab, Lange, Hänlein, Winter, Neander, Ullmann, Mynster, Hug, Baur, Winer, Hase, Ebrard, Semisch, Kayser, Reithmayr, Hefele, MacKenzie, Lipsius, Weizäcker, Donaldson, Roberts and D., Riggenbach, Westcott, Braunsberger, Cunningham, Funk, Alford. Interpolated : Schenkel, Heydecke. Date : Reign of Vespasian, Menardus, Ewald, Weizäcker, Milligan; 71-73, Galland; 70-100, Tischendorf (at first); reign of Domitian, Wieseler, Hilgenfeld, Riggenbach. Donaldson, Reuss, Ewald, Dressel, and Ritschl also put it in the first century. Papebroch pronounces for some time later than 97, Hefele for 107-120. Volkmar, Tischendorf (later), Baur, and others, for 119; Tentzel for the reign of Trajan; and Hug, Ullmann, Lücke, Neander, Winer, Zeller, and Köstlin for some time early in the 2d century, while Heydecke distinguishes into a genuine B., 70-71, and an interpolator, 119-121.
[2663] The large proportion of quotations from the Psalms in this Epistle is noticed in the article upon it in Smith's Bible Dictionary (where the proportion is stated as 16 out of 32); but my attention was first called to the bearing of this upon the question of authorship by the quick observation of Rev. Hermann Lilienthal. It is not easy to give a precise numerical statement of the proportion because of the large number of historical allusions which can hardly be reckoned as quotations, and also because the New Testament writers often clothe their thoughts in the familiar words of the Old Testament, apparently without any conscious quotation. This matter, however, which cannot be tabulated, is quite in accord with the rest, and the whole Epistle is saturated with the language and the historical allusions of the Psalms. Taking only what may fairly be considered as designed quotations, the relative numbers taken from the Psalms are: Hebrews, 200; St. Luke, 25; St. Paul, 39; all others, 25. The Apocalypse is omitted from the calculation. In the comparatively few quotations in St. Luke less than one-third (17 out of 55) are from the Psalms, and every one of these in recording the words of others; less than one-fifth in St. Paul (16 out of 89); and in the others 22 out of 116. In Hebrews almost exactly one-half.
homilies of St. John Chrysostom,
archbishop of constantinople,
on the
epistle to the hebrews
Published after his Falling Asleep, from Notes by Constantine, Presbyter of Antioch.
------------------------
Argument.
and Summary of the Epistle.
[1.] The blessed Paul, writing to the Romans, says, "Inasmuch then as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: if by any means I may provoke to emulation them that are my flesh": [2664] and again, in another place, "For He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles." [2665] If therefore he were the Apostle of the Gentiles, (for also in the Acts, God said to him, "Depart; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles," [2666] ) what had he to do with the Hebrews? and why did he also write an Epistle to them?
And especially as besides, they were ill-disposed towards him, and this is to be seen from many places. For hear what James says to him, "Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe...and these all have been informed of thee that thou teachest men to forsake the law." [2667] And oftentimes he had many disputings concerning this.
Why therefore, one might ask, as he was so learned in the law (for he was instructed in the law at the feet of Gamaliel, [2668] and had great zeal in the matter, and was especially able to confound them in this respect)--why did not God send him to the Jews? Because on this very account they were more vehement in their enmity against him. "For they will not endure thee," [2669] God says unto him; "But depart far hence to the Gentiles, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." [2670] Whereupon he says, "Yea, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee; and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him."
And this he says [2672] is a sign and proof of their not believing him. For thus it is: when a man goes away from any people, [2673] if he be one of the least and of those who are nothing worth, he does not much vex those from whom he went; but if he be among the distinguished and earnest partisans and those who care for these things, he exceedingly grieves and vexes them beyond measure, in that [2674] he especially overthrows their system with the multitude.