the epistolary closing of hebrews and pauline imitation 283
demonstrate similar greetings, and paul seems to adapt various elements
from common greeting-types.72 a familiar feature in every instance of a
letter greeting—not just paul’s letters—is the use of the verb ἀσπάζομαι.73
a few instances of first-person greetings occur in paul’s letters, yet more
frequent are the second- and third-person greetings. hebrews 13:24
contains both a second- (“greet all your leaders and all the saints”) and
third-person greeting (“those from italy greet you”). The command to
greet all leaders and saints finds no parallel in the new Testament. The
third-person greeting has parallels not only in paul’s letters but in 1 peter,
2 John, and 3 John. in paul’s undisputed letters, he normally identifies
an individual (Timothy, lucius, Jason, and sosipater in rom 16:21; epa-
phras, mark, aristarchus, demas, and luke in phlm 23–24) or a group
as a “church” (rom 16:16b; 1 Cor 16:19) or “brethren” (1 Cor 16:20a; phil
4:21b). despite rothschild’s claim that hebrews follows a “clearly pauline”
formula of “all the [fill in the blank] greet you,” the greeting that we find
in hebrews is actually closer to 1 peter than anything pauline.74 The third-
person greeting in heb 13:24 (ἀσπάζονται [verb] + ὑμᾶς [recipient] + οἱ
[article] ἀπὸ [preposition] τῆς Ἰταλίας [location]) shares a similar struc-
ture as the greeting in 1 pet 5:13 (ἀσπάζεται [verb] + ὑμᾶς [recipient] + ἡ
[article] ἐν [preposition] Βαβυλῶνι [location]).75
a common feature of paul’s greetings is worth mentioning here for its
absence in hebrews. five of paul’s letter closings contain an autograph
statement where its author expresses that he is writing “with my own
hand” (τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ [Παύλου]; 1 Cor 16:21; gal 6:11; 2 Thess 3:17; phlm 19;
Col 4:18). in three of these occurrences (1 Cor 16:21; 2 Thess 3:17; phlm 19)
paul writes his name in this section. This practice was common in greco-
roman letters—especially when a secretary was used—and it was done
for a variety of reasons.76 since paul shows concern for the recipients
receiving letters falsely ascribed to him in 2 Thess 2:2, it is probable that his
72 weima, Neglected Endings, esp. 114–15.
73 aune points out that greetings using ἀσπάσασθε are frequently found in the closings
of hellenstic letters after the first century bce (New Testament in Its Literary Environment,
186). This somewhat deflates rothschild’s emphasis that “the imperative verb ἀσπάσασθε
is prevalent in pauline postscripts” (Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon, 79)—although she does
list its use in 1 peter and 3 John.
74 rothschild, Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon, 80.
75 The closest pauline equivalent is 1 Cor 16:19a (Ἀσπάζονται + ὑμᾶς + αἱ ἐκκλησίαι τῆς
Ἀσίας).
76 weima, Neglected Endings, 48–50, 126.