In many Bibles, Hebrews is called an epistle, or a letter. However, unlike the typical letters in the New Testament, Hebrews does not contain a greeting identifying the writer and the recipients. Neither does it contain the words of prayer and thanksgiving or the personal references that are typical in epistles.
Hebrews is more than a letter, it is a word of exhortation (13:22). As Acts 13:15 illustrates, a word of exhortation is a form of sermon that expounds the truth of Scripture. The introduction to Hebrews in 1:1–4 is much more appropriate as the formal opening sentence of a sermon than it is of a letter.
As a sermon, Hebrews is a spoken message that was written to be heard. Its intricate construction evidences that it was carefully thought out before it was written. The writer used language very skillfully so that the hearers would receive the full impact of his message. Consequently, he frequently employed the sounds of words and unusual word order to make the message more powerful.
Paul’s epistles typically teach doctrine first and then the duty that should result. Hebrews, however, alternates between exposition of truth and exhortation to obey. Hebrews mingles application throughout the message, rather than leaving it all for the end.
As a sermon, Hebrews endeavors to persuade the hearers. The writer persuaded in two ways: he reinforced the beliefs that the hearers already had, and he described the future benefits of following his exhortations. By combining these strategies, Hebrews provides a potent message designed to build up the Christian faith of the readers. 1Quoted entirely from Regular Baptist Press. https://www.rbpstore.org/Products/0011/a-better-way-learning-to-endure-bradult-leaders-guide.aspx
I think the best argument against Pauline authorship is the vocabulary and the sentence structure of the Greek. If you went to seminary and got a degree, either a Th.M. focused on Greek or a doctoral program where you basically have to translate the whole New Testament, you’re not going to be looking forward to working in Luke or Hebrews because the Greek is quite different than anything else. It’s very elevated. It’s literary. It has a higher literary quality. It’s like the difference between reading Shakespeare and Left Behind.2Naked Bible 173: Introducing the Book of Hebrews. https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/podcast/naked-bible-173-introducing-the-book-of-hebrews
Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a sermon or homily, although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing (13:20-25).[4] However, others suggest that it may once have contained an opening section more typical of a letter, which was later lost.3 https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews
This letter consists of two strands: an expositional or doctrinal strand (1:1–14; 2:5–18; 5:1–14; 6:13–9:28; 13:18–25), and a hortatory or ethical strand which punctuates the exposition parenthetically at key points as warnings to the readers (2:1–4; 3:1–4:16; 6:1–12; 10:1–13:17). The purity of its Greek was noted by Clement of Alexandria, and Origen asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and Paul’s (Eusebius, VI, xxv). 4https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Epistle_to_the_Hebrews
The author calls this work a “message of encouragement” (Heb. 13:22), a designation that is given to a synagogue sermon in Acts 13:15. Hebrews is probably therefore a written homily5a religious discourse that is intended primarily for spiritual edification rather than doctrinal instruction; a sermon., to which the author gave an epistolary ending (Heb. 13:22–25). https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/0
“Hebrews begins like a sermon…”
Hebrews 13:22 describes Hebrews as a ”word of exhortation”: This descriptive phrase recalls the invitation ex tended to Paul and Barnabas by synagogue officials at Antioch of Pisidia after the reading from the Law and the Prophets: “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, deliver it now” (Acts 13:15). The expression “word of exhortation” appears to have been an idiomatic designation for the homily, or edifying discourse, which followed the reading from the Law and the Prophets in the hellenistic synagogues.[4] When the writer of Hebrews says to the congregation he addressed, “I ask you to listen to the word of exhortation I have prepared for you,” he uses the customary designation for a sermon…The writer was a gifted preacher. Hebrews is characterized by a skillful use of alliteration, of oratorical imperatives, of euphonic phrases, of unusual word order, and of literary device designed to enhance rhetorical effectiveness. The alternation between exposition and exhortation and back again, which is characteristic of the literary structure of Hebrews,[5] provides an effective vehicle for oral impact. Hebrews was prepared for oral delivery as a sermon to a specific community…Hebrews is a carefully constructed homily of the type given in a Diaspora synagogue.6https://preachingsource.com/journal/hebrews-a-sermon-in-search-of-a-setting/
At the end the author calls the whole work a ‘word of exhortation,’ the technical term for a sermon or homily in the Jewish synagogue.
The book of Hebrews was, like Deuteronomy, originally delivered as a public address. It’s made up of four messages that were originally given in gatherings of Jesus’ followers. (At the end the author calls the whole work a “word of exhortation,” the technical term for a sermon or homily in the Jewish synagogue.) These messages were then collected into a book and sent out like a letter. The ending of Hebrews follows the form for letters in this period. (The usual opening of a letter is missing, however, and that’s why the author is unknown today.) This ending provides details that, together with other references in the book, help us identify its recipients.7https://understandingbooksbible.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/deuteronomy-hebrews.pdf
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