I was researching the web for any clues I might gain as to the author of Hebrews, when it was written, etc. and I found your web page.<\/p>\n
As you know, there are many theories. I tend to believe that it was Paul, possibly Luke \u2014 translating Paul\u2019s Hebrew into Greek, while Paul was in prison in Rome. But the question that remains unanswered for me is: Hebrews refers to Timothy being released. Why was Timothy put in prison in Rome? He was obviously with Paul there when he wrote Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon, but for what and why was he imprisoned \u2014 and by the implication at the end of Hebrews, then released? (Almost, as it were, after Paul\u2019s release).<\/p>\n
If you have any plausible theory or explanation, I would be most grateful. Thanks.<\/p>\n\t
As you note, Timothy was with Paul during Paul’s imprisonment. The letters were written by Paul while he was a prisoner (Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon) mention Timothy. From Philippians 2:19-24, I would say that Timothy was released before Paul. And while “Know that our brother Timothy has been set free, with whom I shall see you if he comes shortly<\/em>” (Hebrews 13:23) indicates Timothy is already free, Hebrews 10:34 and Hebrews 13:19 indicates that the author was still in prison.<\/p>\n Albert Barnes argues that the writer is saying that Timothy was released from obligations to Paul while in prison to see congregations that Paul was concerned about, such as Philippi. But we know that Paul wasn’t the only prisoner. Aristarchus (Colossians 4:10) and Epaphras (Philemon 23) were both in prison with Paul, so it isn’t hard to imagine that Timothy was also arrested for a period of time.<\/p>\n As to why Timothy was in prison, we don’t know. The most likely is that it had something to do with teaching the gospel.<\/p>\n\t Thank you so much for your response. It was very helpful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I was researching the web for any clues I might gain as to the author of Hebrews, when it was written, etc. and I found your web page. As you know, there are many theories. I tend to believe that it was Paul, possibly Luke \u2014 translating Paul\u2019s Hebrew into Greek, while Paul was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1064,118,331],"class_list":["post-25660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-hebrews","tag-paul","tag-timothy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63239,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-imprisonment\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":0},"title":"Paul’s Imprisonment","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 2:17-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We all have a tendency to make assumptions about what does not appear \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Those assumptions help us to organize what we do know \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We do this whether we are trying to determine why someone walked by without saying \u201cHi!\u201d or when we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51921,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-last-years-of-pauls-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":1},"title":"The Last Years of Paul’s Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Philippians 2:17-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul had written the Roman brethren that he would like to go to Spain after seeing them - Romans 15:23-25, 28 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Things didn\u2019t go quite as Paul planned. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After going to Jerusalem, he was arrested, but he did go to Rome \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6914,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-paul-say-he-left-titus-in-crete\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":2},"title":"Why did Paul say he left Titus in Crete?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just discovered your website after searching the Internet for \u201cPaul\u2019s letter to the Laodiceans\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Your explanation\u00a0is very interesting and has merit.\u00a0 Thank you for providing answers to so many questions that arise from time to time. Now that I think about it, I have a question:\u00a0 How do you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-letters-to-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":3},"title":"Paul’s Letters to Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp In denominational commentaries, the apostle Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are grouped together as \"The Pastoral Epistles.\" The term \"pastor\" is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11 (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV). The word is translated as \"shepherds\" in the ESV. It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22754,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/inspiration-and-trivia\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":4},"title":"Inspiration and Trivia","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Short Talk \u00a0 Question:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How can the Bible claim to be from the mouth of God when it contains so much trivial information, such as Paul\u2019s request to bring his cloak in II Timothy 4:13? Surely, these things cannot be inspired! Answer: I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What superficially appears to be trivial may, upon deeper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12940,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-prison-letters\/","url_meta":{"origin":25660,"position":5},"title":"The Prison Letters","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 4:7-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Near the end of Paul\u2019s third journey, he visited churches to gather funds to relieve the famine stricken brethren in Judea. - I Corinthians 16:1-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Several of the churches sent representatives to travel with Paul - II Corinthians 8:16-24 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Several of these men are named in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Response:<\/h2>\n