Discovery BoxHebrews 8:6--9:10
Context8:6 But 1 now Jesus 2 has obtained a superior ministry, since 3 the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted 4 on better promises. 5
8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one. 6 8:8 But 7 showing its fault, 8 God 9 says to them, 10
“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
8:9 “It will not be like the covenant 11 that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.
8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put 12 my laws in their minds 13 and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. 14
8:11 “And there will be no need at all 15 for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. 16
8:12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.” 17
8:13 When he speaks of a new covenant, 18 he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. 19
9:1 Now the first covenant, 20 in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary. 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the outer one, 21 which contained 22 the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves; this 23 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 24 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 25 were the cherubim 26 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 27 as they perform their duties. 9:7 But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, 28 and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. 29 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 30 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 31 and various washings; they are external regulations 32 imposed until the new order came. 33
[8:6] 1 sn The Greek text indicates a contrast between vv. 4-5 and v. 6 that is difficult to render in English: Jesus’ status in the old order of priests (vv. 4-5) versus his superior ministry (v. 6).
[8:6] 2 tn Grk “he”; in the translation the referent (Jesus) has been specified for clarity.
[8:6] 3 tn Grk “to the degree that.”
[8:6] 4 tn Grk “which is enacted.”
[8:6] 5 sn This linkage of the change in priesthood with a change in the law or the covenant goes back to Heb 7:12, 22 and is picked up again in Heb 9:6-15 and 10:1-18.
[8:7] 6 tn Grk “no occasion for a second one would have been sought.”
[8:8] 11 tn Grk “for,” but providing an explanation of the God-intended limitation of the first covenant from v. 7.
[8:8] 12 sn The “fault” or limitation in the first covenant was not in its inherent righteousness, but in its design from God himself. It was never intended to be his final revelation or provision for mankind; it was provisional, always pointing toward the fulfillment to come in Christ.
[8:8] 13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:8] 14 tc ‡ Several witnesses (א* A D* I K P Ψ 33 81 326 365 1505 2464 al latt co Cyr) have αὐτούς (autous) here, “[in finding fault with] them, [he says],” alluding to Israel’s failings mentioned in v. 9b. (The verb μέμφομαι [memfomai, “to find fault with”] can take an accusative or dative direct object.) The reading behind the text above (αὐτοίς, autoi"), supported by Ì46 א2 B D2 0278 1739 1881 Ï, is perhaps a harder reading theologically, and is more ambiguous in meaning. If αὐτοίς goes with μεμφόμενος (memfomeno", here translated “showing its fault”), the clause could be translated “in finding fault with them” or “in showing [its] faults to them.” If αὐτοίς goes with the following λέγει (legei, “he says”), the clause is best translated, “in finding/showing [its] faults, he says to them.” The accusative pronoun suffers no such ambiguity, for it must be the object of μεμφόμενος rather than λέγει. Although a decision is difficult, the dative form of the pronoun best explains the rise of the other reading and is thus more likely to be original.
[8:9] 16 tn Grk “not like the covenant,” continuing the description of v. 8b.
[8:10] 21 tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”
[8:10] 23 tn Grk “I will be to them for a God and they will be to me for a people,” following the Hebrew constructions of Jer 31.
[8:11] 26 tn Grk “they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen…” The Greek makes this negation emphatic: “they will certainly not teach.”
[8:11] 27 tn Grk “from the small to the great.”
[8:12] 31 sn A quotation from Jer 31:31-34.
[8:13] 36 tn Grk “when he says, ‘new,’” (referring to the covenant).
[8:13] 37 tn Grk “near to disappearing.”
[9:1] 41 tn Grk “the first” (referring to the covenant described in Heb 8:7, 13). In the translation the referent (covenant) has been specified for clarity.
[9:2] 46 tn Grk “the first,” in order of approach in the ritual.
[9:2] 47 tn Grk “in which [were].”
[9:2] 48 tn Grk “which,” describing the outer tent.
[9:4] 51 tn Grk “in which”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.
[9:5] 56 tn Grk “above it”; in the translation the referent (the ark) has been specified for clarity.
[9:5] 57 sn The cherubim (pl.) were an order of angels mentioned repeatedly in the OT but only here in the NT. They were associated with God’s presence, glory, and holiness. Their images that sat on top of the ark of the covenant are described in Exod 25:18-20.
[9:6] 61 tn Grk “the first tent.”
[9:7] 66 tn Grk “the second tent.”
[9:7] 67 tn Or perhaps “the unintentional sins of the people”; Grk “the ignorances of the people.” Cf. BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνόημα, “sin committed in ignorance/unintentionally.” This term seems to be simply a synonym for “sins” (cf. Heb 5:2) and does not pick up the distinction made in Num 15:22-31 between unwitting sin and “high-handed” sin. The Day of Atonement ritual in Lev 16 covered all the sins of the people, not just the unwitting ones.
[9:8] 71 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.
[9:10] 76 tn Grk “only for foods and drinks.”
[9:10] 77 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
