New Testament

====Hebrews====
The [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] addresses a Jewish audience who had come to believe that Jesus was the [[Messiah in Judaism|Anointed One]] (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ—transliterated in English as "Moshiach", or "Messiah"; Greek: Χριστός—transliterated in English as "Christos", for "[[Christ]]") who was predicted in the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. The author discusses the superiority of the new covenant and the ministry of Jesus, to the [[Mosaic covenant|Mosaic Law Covenant]]<ref>{{Bibleref2|Heb.|1:1–10:18}}</ref> and urges the readers in the practical implications of this conviction through the end of the epistle.<ref>{{bibleverse|Heb.|10:19–13:25}}</ref>

The book has been widely accepted by the Christian church as inspired by God and thus authoritative, despite the acknowledgment of uncertainties about who its human author was. Regarding authorship, although the Epistle to the Hebrews does not internally claim to have been written by the [[Paul of Tarsus|Apostle Paul]], some similarities in wordings to some of the Pauline Epistles have been noted and inferred. In antiquity, some began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work an explicit apostolic pedigree.<ref>[[Harold W. Attridge|Attridge, Harold W.]] (1989). ''Hebrews''. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress. pp. 1–6.</ref>

In the 4th century, [[Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]] supported [[Authorship of the Pauline epistles|Paul's authorship]]. The Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. The letter to the Hebrews had difficulty in being accepted as part of the Christian canon because of its anonymity.<ref>[[William L. Lane|Lane, William L.]] (1991). ''Hebrews 1–8''. Word Biblical Commentary series, Vol. 47A. Dallas, Texas: Word Books. p. cliv.</ref> As early as the 3rd century, [[Origen]] wrote of the letter, "Men of old have handed it down as Paul's, but who wrote the Epistle God only knows."<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm |author=Eusebius |title=Church History, Book VI |chapter=Chapter 25}}</ref>

Contemporary scholars often reject Pauline authorship for the epistle to the Hebrews,{{sfn|Ehrman|2004a|p=323|ps=: "Scholars in the ancient world went about detecting forgeries in much the same way that modern scholars do. They looked to see whether the ideas and writing style of a piece conformed with those used by the author in other writings, and they examined the text for any blatant anachronisms, that is, statements about things that could not have existed at the time the alleged author was writing (like the letter reputedly from an early seventeenth-century American colonist that mentions "the United States")- Arguments of this kind were used by some Christian scholars of the third century to show that Hebrews was not written by Paul or the Book of Revelation by John the son of Zebedee. Modern scholars, as we will see, concur with these judgments. To be sure, neither of these books can be considered a forgery. Hebrews does not claim to be written by Paul (it is anonymous), and the John who wrote Revelation does not claim to be the son of Zebedee (it is therefore homonymous). Are there other books in the New Testament, though, that can be considered forgeries?"}} based on its distinctive style and theology, which are considered to set it apart from Paul's writings.{{sfn|Powell|2009|pp=[https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00powe/page/431 431–32]}}