Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Well this is exciting news.The Epistle to the Hebrews has long been a highly regarded part of the Christian canon. Over the years, many different authors have been proposed, from Paul to Luke to Barnabas to Apollos. But none of those have been fully convincing.
But now we know just who the author is. The news broke in both today's New York Times and NPR. The news is buried in their articles about George Whitman, the Paris bookseller and cultural beacon.
Here's the Times:
He welcomed visitors with large-print messages on the walls. “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise,” was one, quoting Yeats. Next to a wishing well at the center of the store, a sign said: “Give what you can, take what you need. George.” By his own estimate, he lodged some 40,000 people.
There you have it. William Butler Yeats wrote Hebrews! I'll admit it. I'm a bit surprised by this news.
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Oct '11
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Not to sound all snotty, but I totally already knew that.
;-)
Jun '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
I'm glad to have this finally settled.
Oct '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
There is nothing new under the sun, as Mark Twain said.
May '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
How embarrassing.
Aug '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Think of all the Bible commentaries that will now have to edited and re-published.
Jul '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Biblical illiteracy is nothing new in America. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people state things like "Cleanliness is next to godliness" and "God helps those who help themselves" are straight from the Bible.
Nov '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
We were just talking about this subject in our weekly church Bible study as we were reading through the epistle. It would have been so helpful to know given the author (other than being Divinely inspired) was also a great poet of the 19th & 20th century that was somehow able to get himself published in the 1st century. This is truly Divine intervention.
Jul '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Wow . . . Yeats is an immortal! Wonder where he is now?
Oct '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
If you Google for this phrase the vast majority of hits show that it is by Yeats, or even famously by Yeats, or even one of Yeats' famous hymns. Of course, all of these are from the last 24 hours. (There are verses from Yeats on Sh&Co's wall - just not this one.) Before the NYT (or whoever) it was just a phrase Whitman liked.
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Slightly tangentially, George Whitman was a nasty old lunatic.
May '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Divine inspiration, and time travel. A double miracle!
Nov '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Well he did write a poem The Second Coming.
;-)
Nov '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Well he did write a poem The Second Coming.
;-)
Aug '11
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
I visited SH & Co. almost exactly 36 years ago. I was studying literature at University College London, the proverbial junior year abroad, and during winter break with Eurail Pass and Hostel Guide in hand, backpacked through Europe. I knew of Whitman's place - literally right across from the NotreDame - and having limited funds, sought a cheap palce to stay. Whitman was a strange little man, meager and discheveled like his store, but he liked me. He grew up in Salem, MA and I was from Beverly, its harbormate. I stayed in that cold, nasty little store for two nights and slept on a couch that was really just a pile of rags covered with an old bedspread. I swept the place and washed the floors in return for free lodging. Then I met an American girl there, a graduate student, and my lodging immediately improved. I bid au-revoir to Whitman and said thanks. His place, with its reputation as a haven for writers and poets, should have been a warning to me; this was indicative of the literary man's reward. I paid no attention, obviously.
Jan '11
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
OK, I know this must be wrong .... because I wrote it.
Sep '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Why am I not surprised?
Mar '11
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Though shaking my already facepalmed head at the idiocy of NPR and NYT, I'd like to hear Claire's story about George Whitman, if she had firsthand (or even good second hand) experience and is willing to share.
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
One day, but not right after the man died. That's just not tasteful.
Jun '10
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
I thought the author was T. S. Eliot.
Apr '11
Re: Unknown Author of Hebrews Is Discovered!
Goodness! Who knew it was Yeats? I certainly didn't. I guess the NYT and NPR are both great experts on my faith after all!
Oops. My apologies. My sarcasmostat was set to "High."