13:22

this word of encouragement: Paul may be concerned about how some of his readers will respond to this letter. So here he includes a gentle, warm invitation to listen patiently to, or bear with, this inspired message. The expression “word of encouragement” was also used when Paul was asked to speak in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch years earlier. The phrase may have been a common way to refer to a talk delivered after a reading from the Scriptures. (See study note on Ac 13:15.) This letter was likewise designed as a message of encouragement, or exhortation, to the Hebrew Christians. It powerfully reminded them of how blessed they were to be followers of Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God.​—Heb 8:1, 2.

a short letter: Hebrews is actually longer than most of Paul’s letters; only Romans and 1 Corinthians are longer. Here, then, Paul must mean “a short letter” in another sense. In this verse, he urges the Hebrew Christians to “listen patiently” to this letter, thus suggesting that it was intended to be read aloud in the congregations, as were some of his other letters. (Col 4:16 and study note; 1Th 5:27) To do so would likely have taken an hour or less. Paul might have described his letter as comparatively short because he had held back from explaining other important subjects that would have made the letter far longer. (Heb 5:11; 9:5; 11:32) Further, it was common for writers in ancient times to describe a letter as brief, which was a polite way to assure the readers and listeners that the writer had included only what was essential.​—Compare 1Pe 5:12.