vocabulary of Hebrews is unlike that of Paul's other epistles, but that can be

accounted for both from the nature of the subject, and the great amount of the

Old Testament that is quoted and referred to.  There are one or two features

that link Hebrews with Paul's other epistles which we will set out before going

on to the study of the epistle itself.

If Hebrews be written by Paul then he is the only writer in the New

Testament to quote from Habakkuk 2: `The just shall live by his faith'.  In

Romans the stress is laid upon the word `just' (Rom. 1:17).  In Galatians the

stress is laid upon `faith' (Gal. 3:11).  In Hebrews the stress is laid upon

`live' (Heb. 10:38).  No other writer in the New Testament  uses Psalm 8 in the

way that Paul and the author of the Hebrews does.  Notice the peculiar way in

which Paul seizes upon the universality of the subjection when the end comes,

`It is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him' (1

Cor. 15:27), and with this compare the peculiar argument of Hebrews 2, `For in

that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under

Him' (Heb. 2:8).  Surely the same mind is revealed at work in both of these

references to Psalm 8.  The only other reference is that of Ephesians 1:22,

where the theme is the ascended and seated Christ, Head over all things to the

church.  Here there are two Old Testament passages, handled in a way that

suggests a common author.

The way in which a writer quotes Scripture will often prove a guide, and

there is one passage, Deuteronomy 32:35, that will link the epistle to the

Hebrews with the epistles of Paul, by its very peculiar mode of quoting the

words `to Me belongeth vengeance and recompense' (Deut. 32:35).  Had Romans

12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 contained a literal quotation of the LXX, it would have

proved nothing as to common authorship, but if both passages depart from the

LXX, and in the same particulars, a very strong case is made out.  Here is the

LXX of Deuteronomy 32:35:

En

of vengeance

I will recompense'.

Here are the two quotations:

`For it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord'

(Rom. 12:19).

`For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will

recompense, saith the Lord' (Heb. 10:30).

The reader may demur, and object that the two passages are not exactly the

same.  In this way they are cheated by the English translators.  Here is the

Greek of Romans 12:19:

Emoi ekdikesis, ego antapodsoo, legei kurios.

It would be waste of print to repeat this line again as of Hebrews 10:30, for

the wording in both places is the same to the letter (in the Received Text).

If this is not proof of common authorship, what is?  We now draw attention to

the way in which certain words are used by Paul and which are used in the same

connections in Hebrews.

Agon, a word borrowed from the Greek games, and translated `conflict',

`contention', `fight' (Phil. 1:30; Col. 2:1; 1 Thess. 2:2; 1 Tim. 6:12 and 2