There are many who say that he did. One of them was Eusebius who lived at Caesarea Maritima in the fourth century, where there was a great library containing many volumes no longer available to us. The library was founded by Origen. It was an extensive library housing as many as 30,000 volumes. It was a center of great scholarship as well as a city of Christianity in spite of the persecution against Christians that took place there. The library was destroyed either during the Persian or Saracen invasions. Many books available to Eusebius are no longer extant, having been destroyed with the library. Eusebius, with access to many fine literary and historical works srote that Paul was the author of Hebrews.

The Epistle to the Hebrews is a book that comes to us with an unsettled past. We are not told who wrote it or to whom it was written, nor are we sure what language in was written in. Eusebius attributed the Epistle to Paul, as did Clement of Alexandria. There are many Eastern authorities who thought the Epistle was written by Paul. But the Western authorities, those in association with Rome, did not regard Paul to be the author. Yet the modern Catholic Encyclopedia does very much attribute the Epistle to Paul, stating that "these doubts as to the Apostolic origin of the Epistle to the Hebrews gradually became less marked in Western Europe."

One thing that is certain is that from the earliest dates the Epistle to the Hebrews was accepted as inspired and as scripture by virtually all of the early churches. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Iraneaus, Hyppolitus, and Eusebius all attest to its inspiration, though all do not agree that Paul wrote it. All of these are early church authorities (from the first through the third centuries AD).

Perhaps the most stated argument against Pauline authorship is that the style of the other Pauline Epistles is markedly different (that is not my assessment, for I disagree with that argument) to that of the Epistle to the Hebrews. And yet, as one reads the Epistle there are noticeable similarities in the styles. Clement of Alexandria, quoted by Eusebius, explains the differences in style between the Epistle to the Hebrews and the other Pauline Epistles. He contends that the Epistle was written by Paul in Hebrew to those of Jewish descent and that because of his notoriety, he did not name himself. Clement said that our Greek copy was translated out of the Hebrew by Luke, hence the different style. He went on to point out that there are similarities in the style of Luke in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles. The quote by Eusebius does not explain these similarities; he just recorded what Clement had written.

It seems that since the earliest times the authorship has not been settled. Yet there are enough ancient authorities to convince me that Paul is the author. This is an opinion and there is little definite proof that this is true. My main reason to believe in Pauline authorship is that Eusebius stated that Paul wrote the Epistle. He seems quite sure of Pauline authorship, though he admits not all agree. Eusebius was a learned man who studied in the school of Origen (after Origen's death) under Pamphilus. He was Bishop of Caesarea, a city that was a place of great learning and many written works. The library there provided Eusebius with many documents not available to us today. Eusebius' access to these ancient works and his general belief in Paul as the author have convinced me.

There is a deep similarity, in my opinion, between this Epistle and the other Epistles of Paul. The most striking of these can be summed up in Paul's words in another of his epistles: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (Romans 10:4). Of course, Paul is telling us that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the law. The Greek word rendered end is telos (τελος).

From my studies in philosophy, I learned that telos is the ultimate end of a thing. Aristotle believed the world to be in perfection. He saw that the world around him, however, was in constant instability or turmoil. In order to merge his belief and his observation, he concluded that the physical world universe around him was headed toward some specific goal or purpose. This philosophy is known as teleology from the Greek word telos, the same word applied by Paul to Christ. Again, telos is an ultimate end or purpose. Aristotle believed it to be the ultimate good that men strive for. It is amazing how close Aristotle came to the truth.

Aristotle theorized that the potential of a thing, that is, what a thing was to ultimately become, was caused by factors outside of the thing. For example, the weather system that cools the air and causes water to become snow is the factor that causes the ultimate outcome that water would become snow. The factor (in this case the weather) is outside the water itself, but causes the ultimate destiny of that water associated with that weather front. If that is the case, thought Aristotle, then there must be an ultimate source for every physical thing. He is correct, but stopped short of completely attributing this to Yehovah. St. Thomas Aquinas took Aristotle's teleology and employed the philosophy in his rational arguments for the existence of God.

In inspired scripture Paul tells us that Christ is the ultimate goal of the Law. Christ is the end of the Law, that is, He is the purpose of and for the Law. The Law was given to look forward to Christ. The Law was a shadow of things to come—of the advent of Christ. Paul uses the theme that Christ fulfilled the Law in several Epistles. Using Aristotle's premise, we might argue that Paul's teleology was Christ, though Paul would not use the philosophy of teleology himself. He simply asserted, under divine inspiration, that Christ fulfilled the Law. In fact, Christ Himself made a similar statement:

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

This is the basic theme of Paul's entire Gospel. Paul's theme is that Christ fulfilled all things and only Christ can save us. The Law, the religious ceremonies, the ordinances and the rites were all fulfilled in Christ and He is superior to all of those things. Paul tells us that none of those things can have any affect on our salvation. One can only be saved by belief in Christ and not by works. Obedience to the Law, the prophets, the Psalms, the ordinances, and the religious rules has no effect on our salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul said, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

An entire section of the Epistle to the Hebrews is devoted to those Old Testament heroes that had faith in God and their faith, and not their works, is what saved them. Chapter Eleven is known by many as the Hall of Faith.

The Epistle to the Hebrews undertakes to fully explain all of these things, specifically, in an orderly manner, and in great detail. The Epistle reveals Jesus as Creator, and as far superior to all things created, including the Law, the angelic hosts, and the priesthood. This very theme lends itself greatly to the provision that Paul is indeed the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Finally, there are the ending words of the Epistle, Hebrews 13:22-25, "And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. {23} Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. {24} Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. {25} Grace be with you all. Amen." Sounds like Paul to me!

I cannot prove that Paul is the author. It is an opinion. For an alternative opinion, I received a letter for an individual that disagrees with my opinion. It is a very good letter with well taken points. If you wish to view it, he has graciously allowed me to post it. Read it here. I encourage you to write me whenever you disagree with what I've written.