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Texts -- Hebrews 9:1-9 (NET)

Context
The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary
9:1 Now the first covenant, in fact , had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary . 9:2 For a tent was prepared , the outer one, which contained the lampstand , the table , and the presentation of the loaves ; this is called the holy place . 9:3 And after the second curtain there was a tent called the holy of holies . 9:4 It contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold . In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna , Aaron’s rod that budded , and the stone tablets of the covenant . 9:5 And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat . Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail . 9:6 So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties . 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance . 9:8 The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing . 9:9 This was a symbol for the time then present , when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper .

Pericope

NET
  • Heb 9:1-10 -- The Arrangement and Ritual of the Earthly Sanctuary

Bible Dictionary

  • Tabernacle

    [ebd] (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., "Siccuth"). (3.) The human body (2 Cor. 5:1, 4); a tent, as opposed ...
    [smith] The tabernacle was the tent of Jehovah, called by the same name as the tents of the people in the midst of which it stood. It was also called the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the congregation. The first ordinance given to ...
    [nave] TABERNACLE One existed before Moses received the pattern authorized on Mount Sinai, Ex. 33:7-11. The one instituted by Moses was called Sanctuary, Ex. 25:8; Tabernacle, Ex. 27:21; 33:7; 2 Chr. 5:5; of Testimony, Ex. 38:21; ...

  • ALTAR

    [ebd] (Heb. mizbe'ah, from a word meaning "to slay"), any structure of earth (Ex. 20:24) or unwrought stone (20:25) on which sacrifices were offered. Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (Gen. 22:9; Ezek. 6:3; 2 Kin...
    [isbe] ALTAR - ol'-ter (mizbeach, literally, "place of slaughter or sacrifice," from zabhach, which is found in both senses; bomos, (only in Acts 17:23), thusiasterion): I. CLASSIFICATION OF HEBREW ALTARS Importance of the Distinct...

  • High priest

    [ebd] Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides those garments which he wore...

  • HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

    [isbe] HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE - he'-brooz, I. TITLE II. LITERARY 1. The Author's Culture and Style 2. Letter, Epistle or Treatise? 3. A Unity or a Composite Work? III. THE AUTHOR 1. Tradition (1) Alexandrian: Paul (2) African: Bar...

  • Symbols and Similitudes

    [nave] SYMBOLS AND SIMILITUDES Trees of life and knowledge, Gen. 2:9, 17; 3:3, 24; Rev. 22:2. Rainbow, Gen. 9:12, 13. Circumcision, of the covenant of Abraham, Gen. 17:11; Rom. 4:11. Passover, of the sparing of the firstborn, an...

  • Types

    [nave] TYPES. Miscellaneous Bride, a type of the Church, Rev. 21:2, 9; 22:17. The sanctuary a type of the heavenly sanctuary, Ex. 40:2, 24; Heb. 8:2, 5; 9:1-12. The saving of Noah and his family, of the salvation through the go...

  • Offerings

    [nave] OFFERINGS Offered at the door of the tabernacle, Lev. 1:3; 3:2; 17:4, 8, 9; of the temple, 2 Chr. 7:12; 1 Kin. 8:62; 12:27. All animal sacrifices must be eight days old or over, Lev. 22:27. Must be salted, Lev. 2:13; Ezek....

  • Works

    [nave] WORKS. Good Jesus an example of, John 10:32; Acts 10:38. Holy women should manifest, 1 Tim. 2:10; 5:10. God remembers, Neh. 13:14, with Heb. 6:9, 10. Shall be brought into judgment, Eccl. 12:14, with 2 Cor. 5:10. In th...

  • Ark

    [ebd] Noah's ark, a building of gopher-wood, and covered with pitch, 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Gen. 6:14-16); an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof....
    [nave] ARK 1. Noah's. Directions for building of, Gen. 6:14-16. Noah and family preserved in, Gen. 6:18; 7:8; Matt. 24:38; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20. Animals saved in, Gen. 6:19, 20; 7:1-16. 2. Of Bulrushes, Ex. 2:3. 3. In the Tab...

  • Ordinance

    [isbe] ORDINANCE - or'-di-nans: 1. Old Testament Use: This word generally represents chuqqah, something prescribed, enactment, usually with reference to matters of ritual. In the King James Version the same word is frequently trans...
    [nave] ORDINANCE A decree, Ex. 12:14, 24, 43; 13:10; 15:25; Num. 9:14; 10:8; 15:15; 18:8; Isa. 24:5; Mal. 4:4; Rom. 13:2; 1 Pet. 2:13. Insufficiency of, For Salvation Isa. 1:10-17; Gal. 5:6; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14, 20-23...

  • Blood

    [nave] BLOOD Is the life, Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11, 14; 19:16; Deut. 12:23; Matt. 27:4, 24. Forbidden to be used as food, Gen. 9:4; Lev. 3:17; 7:26, 27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Deut. 12:16, 23; 15:23; Ezek. 33:25; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25. Pla...

  • Holy of Holies

    [isbe] HOLY OF HOLIES - ho'-liz (qodhesh ha-qodhashim, Ex 26:33, debhir, 1 Ki 6:16, etc.; in the New Testament, hagia hagion, Heb 9:3): The name given to the innermost shrine, or adytum of the sanctuary of Yahweh. 1. In the Taberna...
    [nave] HOLY OF HOLIES Ex. 26:33, 34; Lev. 16:2, 16, 17, 20, 23, 27, 33; 1 Kin. 6:16; 7:50; 8:6; 1 Chr. 6:49; 2 Chr. 3:8, 10; 4:22; 5:7; Psa. 28:2; Ezek. 41:4, 21, 23; 45:3; Heb. 9:3, 8, 12, 25; 10:19; 13:11

  • Priest

    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • Censer

    [ebd] the vessel in which incense was presented on "the golden altar" before the Lord in the temple (Ex. 30:1-9). The priest filled the censer with live coal from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt-offering, and having carried ...
    [smith] A small portable vessel of metal fitted to receive burning coals from the altar, and on which the incense for burning was sprinkled. (2 Chronicles 26:19; Luke 1:9) The only distinct precepts regarding the use of the censer...
    [nave] CENSER Used for offering incense, Lev. 16:12; Num. 4:14; 16:6, 7, 16-18, 46; Rev. 8:3. For the temple, made of gold, 1 Kin. 7:50; 2 Chr. 4:22; Heb. 9:4. Those which Korah used were converted into plates, Num. 16:37-39. Us...

  • ATONEMENT, THE DAY OF

    [smith] I. The great day of national humiliation, and the only one commanded in the Mosaic law. [FASTS] The mode of its observance is described in Levi 16, and the conduct of the people is emphatically enjoined in (Leviticus 23:26-32...

  • Propitiation

    [ebd] that by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders ...
    [isbe] PROPITIATION - pro-pish-i-a'-shun: 1. Terms and Meaning: The word is Latin and brings into its English use the atmosphere of heathen rites for winning the favor, or averting the anger, of the gods. In the Old Testament it re...
    [nave] PROPITIATION, Rom. 3:25; 5:1, 10, 11; 2 Cor. 5:18, 19; Col. 1:20-22; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Heb. 9:5. See: Atonement.

  • Law

    [nave] LAW. Psa. 19:7-9; Psa. 119:1-8; Prov. 28:4, 5; Matt. 22:21 Luke 20:22-25. Luke 16:17; Rom. 2:14, 15; Rom. 7:7, 12, 14; Rom. 13:10; 1 Tim. 1:5, 8-10; Jas. 1:25; 1 John 3:4; 1 John 5:3 See: Litigation; Commandments; Duty to G...

  • Mercy-seat

    [ebd] (Heb. kapporeth, a "covering;" LXX. and N.T., hilasterion; Vulg., propitiatorium), the covering or lid of the ark of the covenant (q.v.). It was of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, or perhaps rather a plate of solid gold, 2 ...

  • HOLY PLACE

    [ebd] one of the two portions into which the tabernacle was divided (Ex. 26:31; 37:17-25; Heb. 9:2). It was 20 cubits long and 10 in height and breadth. It was illuminated by the golden candlestick, as it had no opening to admit t...
    [isbe] HOLY PLACE - (ha-qodhesh, Ex 26:33, ha-hekhal, 1 Ki 6:17, etc.; he prote skene, Heb 9:6 f): 1. The Terms: The tabernacle consisted of two divisions to which a graduated scale of holiness is attached: "The veil shall separate...

  • Table

    [isbe] TABLE - "Table" is derived from the Latin tabula, meaning primarily "a board," but with a great variety of other significances, of which "writing-tablet" is the most important for the Biblical use of "table." So in English "...
    [nave] TABLE 1. An article of furniture, Judg. 1:7; 1 Sam. 20:29, 34; 2 Kin. 4:10; John 2:15. Made of silver, 1 Chr. 28:16. Figurative Of the altar, Mal. 1:7, 12; of the Lord's supper, 1 Cor. 10:21; of idolatrous feasts, 1 Cor. ...
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Arts

Questions

  • The following comments from The Bible Knowledge Commentary should answer your questions. 27:51-53 (Mark 15:38; Luke 23:44-45). At the time of Jesus' death, three momentous events occurred. First, the curtain of the temple...
  • The Ark of the Covenant was definitely real and was a part of the tabernacle, being placed in the Holy of Holies behind the curtain. I will include articles below from three Bible Dictionaries that will give you some informat...
  • There is nothing to show what became of Moses' rod. Aaron's rod, however, is said (in Heb. 9:4) to have been preserved in the sacred Ark of the Jews along with the tables of the law and the pot of manna....
  • It was preserved in the tabernacle and, according to Paul (see Heb. 9:4), it was kept in the Ark, beside the two tablets of stone and the pot of manna. There is no mention of any other receptacle. The statement in I Kings 8:9...

Sermon Illustrations

The Structure of the Tabernacle

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • One writer identified three major problems the interpreter faces as he or she seeks to understand God's revelation concerning the tabernacle.4381. What was the length of the cubit, the standard measure of length? This is a pr...
  • The place of this altar in the tabernacle has been a problem for some readers of the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 9:4 can be understood as describing its location as being inside the holy of holies with the ark.487However Old Tes...
  • Keil and Delitzsch pointed out that ancient Near Easterners offered certain offerings before God incorporated these into the Mosaic Law. Moses previously mentioned burnt offerings in Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22; 26:25; 33:20; ...
  • This section closes with a summary. This is a common feature of Leviticus (cf. 11:46-47; 13:59; 14:54-57; 15:32-33)."The sacrificial law, therefore, with the five species of sacrifices which it enjoins, embraces every aspect ...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • The high priest had to make elaborate preparations for entering the holy of holies by cleansing himself spiritually and physically. The offerings he made were a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, both to co...
  • These verses also contain instructions for the yearly celebration of the Day of Atonement. The fact that the Israelites repeated it year by year points to the incompleteness of the atonement that animal sacrifices made (cf. H...
  • The altar (vv. 19, 22) refers to the altar of incense (cf. 7:48). This altar evidently stood in the west end of the holy place (cf. Exod. 30:6; 40:5; Lev. 16:2; Heb. 9:4, 7).The cherubim were figures of angels sculptured out ...
  • The Israelites regarded the ark as the throne of Yahweh. It was the place where He manifested His presence in a localized way and where He received the blood that atoned for the Israelites' sins on the day of Atonement. The a...
  • Many commentators believe that Jeremiah's revelation of the New Covenant was his greatest theological contribution. They view it as the high point of the book, the climax of the prophet's teaching."The prophecy of Jeremiah ma...
  • "The next verses in the chapter are among the most glorious in the entire range of revealed truth on the subject of Israel's restoration to the Lord and national conversion."46536:22-23 Ezekiel was to tell the Israelites that...
  • 40:38-41 Ezekiel also saw a room outside each of the three inner gate complexes close to its doorway. There priests would rinse animals brought as burnt offerings.519Within each inner gate complex, in the vestibules, there we...
  • 22:41-42 Having received several questions from His critics, Jesus now turned the tables and asked the Pharisees one. He wanted them to explain what the Scriptures taught about Messiah. This would face them and the crowd with...
  • 26:26 "And"introduces the second thing Matthew recorded that happened as Jesus and His disciples were eating the Passover meal, the first being Jesus' announcement about His betrayer (v. 21). Jesus took bread (Gr. artos, 4:4;...
  • This topic sentence summarizes Jesus' whole ministry in Galilee. It identifies when it started, where it happened, and the essence of what Jesus' proclaimed that was the basis of His ministry.1:14 Jesus began His Galilean min...
  • Mark's account of Jesus' death included five climactic events: the darkness, two of Jesus' cries, the tearing of the temple veil, and the Roman centurion's confession. All of these events happened during the last three of the...
  • Paul began by explaining the concept of justification.92"We now come to the unfolding of that word which Paul in Chapter One declares to be the very heart of the gospel . . ."933:21 The "righteousness of God"here refers to Go...
  • The writer said that he and those to whom he wrote had come to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of others who had heard Jesus (2:3-4). Apparently those preachers had since died (13:7). The original readers had been...
  • I. The culminating revelation of God 1:1-2:18A. The agent of God's final revelation 1:1-4B. The superiority of the Son 1:5-14C. The danger of negligence (the first warning) 2:1-4D. The humiliation and glory of God's Son 2:5-9...
  • Hebrews is a sermon reduced to writing (cf. 13:22; James). Indications of this fact are the writer's references to speaking and hearing (cf. 2:5; 5:11; 8:1; 9:5; 11:32). His epistle is more typical of speech than of writing.V...
  • Having explored the concept of Jesus as a faithfulhigh priest (3:1-4:14), the writer proceeded next to develop the idea that Jesus is a mercifulhigh priest in the service of God (cf. 2:17). A high priest must be faithful to G...
  • The transition from exposition (4:15-5:10) to exhortation (5:11-6:20) marks the beginning of a new division in this sermon. The structure of this division is as follows.158aPreliminary exhortation (5:11-6:20)AThe priest like ...
  • "Dull of hearing"(5:11) and "sluggish"(6:12, Gr. nothroiin both cases) form an inclusiothat frames this pericope and sets it off as a distinct textual segment.159The first two warnings in Hebrews were against drifting (2:1-4)...
  • 5:11 "Him"refers to Melchizedek (v. 10; cf. 6:20-10:18). Evidently the original readers had begun to let their minds wander as they heard the same things repeatedly. Rather than listening carefully, hearing completely, and co...
  • The great resource of Christians when tempted to apostatize is our high priest, Jesus Christ. The writer therefore spent considerable time and space expounding His high priesthood to enable his readers to benefit from their r...
  • The writer developed in this new section of the text topics that he had announced thematically in 7:26-28."The unit introduced in 8:1-2 consists entirely of exposition. Its limits are indicated by an inclusio: corresponding t...
  • The writer's discussion of the new ministry and the New Covenant in chapter 8 introduces his fuller development of those themes in chapter 9. His flow of thought proceeded as follows.A Christ, the ministering priest (8:1-5)1....
  • In this section the writer first stated (vv. 1-2) and then explained (vv. 3-5) Jesus Christ's better ministry. It is superior in three respects. He serves as a seated priest having finished His work of offering a final sacrif...
  • In this pericope the writer concentrated on the tabernacle and its provisions for cultic worship.254The word "first"(Gr. prote) links this section with the former one (cf. 8:13). The writer introduced two subjects in the firs...
  • The writer now focused on the issue of sacrifice."The argument moves a stage further as the author turns specifically to what Christ has done. The sacrifices of the old covenant were ineffectual. But in strong contrast Christ...
  • This section on the superior high priestly ministry of Christ (7:1-10:18) concludes with this pericope in which the writer emphasized the perfecting effect of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on New Covenant believers. He wrote this ...
  • From this point on in the epistle the writer made application from the great truths concerning Jesus Christ that he had now finished explaining. He followed his exposition of Jesus Christ's superior high priestly ministry (6:...
  • The writer began with a three-fold admonition, which is all one sentence in the Greek text. The long sentence intensifies the writer's appeal.306"In view of all that has been accomplished for us by Christ, he says, let us con...
  • The writer concluded his warning by reminding his readers of their former faithfulness when tempted to encourage them to endure their present and future testings (cf. 4:12-16; 6:9-20)."The juxtaposition of 10:26-31 and 32-35 ...
  • "Within the structure of 13:7-19, vv 7-9 and vv 17-19 constitute the literary frame for the central unit of explanatory parenesis in vv 10-16."43713:7 The example of our spiritual leaders is one we should follow (cf. 12:1; 13...
  • Andersen, Ward. "The Believer's Rest (Hebrews 4)."Biblical Viewpoint24:1 (April 1990):31-38.Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.Barclay, William. The Lett...
  • 3:19-20 "By this"refers to what John said in verses 17-18. Tangible demonstrations of love for the brethren show the believer's true character. They should be a comfort to us when we feel guilty that we have not met many need...
  • Essentially what John saw next was Paradise regained (cf. 2:7; Gen. 2; Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:2). Having viewed the splendor of the New Jerusalem he now saw what will nourish and enrich the lives of God's people there."Up to t...
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