Hebrews 9:8-12

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 ¹  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. 9:10 They served only for matters of food and drink ²  and various washings; they are external regulations ³  imposed until the new order came. ⁴ 

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

9:11 But now Christ has come ⁵  as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, 9:12 and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured ⁶  eternal redemption.

Hebrews 10:21

10:21 and since we have a great priest ⁷  over the house of God,

Exodus 28:1

The Clothing of the Priests

28:1 ⁸ “And you, bring near ⁹  to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests ¹⁰  – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

Exodus 28:35

28:35 The robe ¹¹  is to be on Aaron as he ministers, ¹²  and his sound will be heard ¹³  when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he leaves, so that he does not die.

Luke 24:44

Jesus’ Final Commission

24:44 Then ¹⁴  he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me ¹⁵  in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms ¹⁶  must be fulfilled.”

Romans 15:8

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ¹⁷  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ¹⁸ 

¹ tn Grk “the first tent.” The literal phrase “the first tent” refers to either (1) the outer chamber of the tabernacle in the wilderness (as in vv. 2, 6) or (2) the entire tabernacle as a symbol of the OT system of approaching God. The second is more likely given the contrast that follows in vv. 11-12.

² tn Grk “only for foods and drinks.”

³ tc Most witnesses (D¹ Ï) have “various washings, and external regulations” (βαπτισμοῖς καὶ δικαιώμασιν, baptismoi" kai dikaiwmasin), with both nouns in the dative. The translation “washings; they are… regulations” renders βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα (baptismoi", dikaiwmata; found in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א* A I P 0278 33 1739 1881 al sa) in which case δικαιώματα is taken as the nominative subject of the participle ἐπικείμενα (epikeimena). It seems far more likely that scribes would conform δικαιώματα to the immediately preceding datives and join it to them by καί than they would to the following nominative participle. Both on external and internal evidence the text is thus secure as reading βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα.

⁴ tn Grk “until the time of setting things right.”

⁵ tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.

⁶ tn This verb occurs in the Greek middle voice, which here intensifies the role of the subject, Christ, in accomplishing the action: “he alone secured”; “he and no other secured.”

⁷ tn Grk “and a great priest,” continuing the construction begun in v. 19.

⁸ sn Some modern scholars find this and the next chapter too elaborate for the wilderness experience. To most of them this reflects the later Zadokite priesthood of the writer’s (P’s) day that was referred to Mosaic legislation for authentication. But there is no compelling reason why this should be late; it is put late because it is assumed to be P, and that is assumed to be late. But both assumptions are unwarranted. This lengthy chapter could be divided this way: instructions for preparing the garments (1-5), details of the apparel (6-39), and a warning against deviating from these (40-43). The subject matter of the first part is that God requires that his chosen ministers reflect his holy nature; the point of the second part is that God requires his ministers to be prepared to fulfill the tasks of the ministry, and the subject matter of the third part is that God warns all his ministers to safeguard the holiness of their service.

⁹ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the root קָרַב (qarav, “to draw near”). In the present stem the word has religious significance, namely, to present something to God, like an offering.

¹⁰ tn This entire clause is a translation of the Hebrew לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי (lÿkhahano-li, “that he might be a priest to me”), but the form is unusual. The word means “to be a priest” or “to act as a priest.” The etymology of the word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), is uncertain.

¹¹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the robe) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn The form is a Piel infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition: “to minister” or “to serve.” It may be taken epexegetically here, “while serving,” although S. R. Driver takes it as a purpose, “in order that he may minister” (Exodus, 308). The point then would be that he dare not enter into the Holy Place without wearing it.

¹³ sn God would hear the bells and be reminded that this priest was in his presence representing the nation and that the priest had followed the rules of the sanctuary by wearing the appropriate robes with their attachments.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁵ sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.

¹⁶ sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.

¹⁷ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

¹⁸ tn Or “to the patriarchs.”