282 bryan r. dyer
use of παρακαλέω, while commonly used in paul’s closings, also finds a stron-
ger parallel in this passage from 1 peter. in paul, παρακαλέω is always used
in the hortatory sections of the closings to address a relationship between
the congregation and an individual or group.67 so, for example, in romans,
paul writes: “i urge you [παρακαλέω], brothers and sisters [ἀδελφοί], to keep
an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses” (rom 16:17; cf. 1 Cor
16:15; phil 4:2; 1 Thess 5:14). in hebrews it is used more generally to urge the
readers concerning the letter. first peter uses παρακαλέω in a similar sense,
with reference to the content of the epistle.
hebrews 13:23 contains a reference to Timothy along with travel plans.
while Τιμόθεος was a fairly common name in the first century, within the
context of early Christian writings it is always Timothy the coworker of
paul who is meant.68 in fact, the description of Timothy as “our brother”
(τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν) is a common description by paul (2 Cor 1:1; 1 Thess 3:2;
phlm 1:1). as mentioned before, this reference to Timothy is often cited in
support of the author intending to appear pauline. if this is understood
as the same Timothy—and this is the obvious option—then there is defi-
nitely a connection to paul here. yet, is it necessarily the case that this ref-
erence to Timothy implies pauline pseudepigraphy? attridge argues that
this mention of Timothy is “too casual” to imply the work of a pseudepig-
rapher.69 others identify a strong connection with the name of Timothy
to pauline pseudepigraphy since it is Timothy who is the named recipient
of 1 and 2 Timothy.70 it is possible that this is a subtle grab at pauline
authority, but it seems more likely that the author and recipients knew
Timothy and were somehow connected with a circle of paul. The travel
plans that make up the second half of heb 13:23 find parallels in numerous
letters in the new Testament (rom 15:22–29; 2 John 12; 3 John 13).
in all of paul’s undisputed letters, except galatians, he includes some
form of greeting between the peace and grace benedictions.71 greetings
also appear in 1 pet 5:13–14, 2 John 13, and twice in 3 John 15. as weima has
shown, both hellenistic and semitic letters prior to the first century bce
67 weima, Neglected Endings, 145 n. 1, who cites C. J. bjerkelund, Parakalô: Form, Funk-
tion und Sinn der parakalô-Sätze in der paulinschen Briefen (oslo: universitetsforlaget,
1967), 128–29.
68 Koester, Hebrews, 580; attridge, Hebrews, 408–409.
69 attridge, Hebrews, 409. see rothschild’s response in Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon,
77–78.
70 rothschild, Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon, 77–78, who also cites gillman, “Timo-
thy,” ABD 6:558. This, of course, assumes pauline pseudepigraphy for these two pastoral
letters.
71 weima, Neglected Endings, 104–35.