Hebrews 9:2

The Earthly Sanctuary

1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and ^athe earthly sanctuary.

2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the¹ sanctuary;

3 ^aand behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,

4 which had the ^agolden censer and ^bthe ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were ^cthe golden pot that had the manna, ^dAaron’s rod that budded, and ^ethe tablets of the covenant;

5 and ^aabove it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

Limitations of the Earthly Service

6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, ^athe priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.

7 But into the second part the high priest went alone ^aonce a year, not without blood, which he offered for ^bhimself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;

8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that ^athe way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered ^awhich cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

10 concerned only with ^afoods and drinks, ^bvarious washings, ^cand fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

The Heavenly Sanctuary

11 But Christ came as High Priest of ^athe good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12 Not ^awith the blood of goats and calves, but ^bwith His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place ^conce for all, ^dhaving obtained eternal redemption.

13 For if ^athe blood of bulls and goats and ^bthe ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,¹ sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without¹ spot to God, ^acleanse your conscience from ^bdead works ^cto serve the living God?

15 And for this reason ^aHe is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that ^bthose who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Mediator’s Death Necessary

16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

17 For ^aa testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

18 ^aTherefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

19 For when Moses had spoken every¹ precept to all the people according to the law, ^ahe took the blood of calves and goats, ^bwith water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20 saying, ^a“This is the ^bblood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”

21 Then likewise ^ahe sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

22 And according to the law almost all things are¹ purified with blood, and ^awithout shedding of blood there is no² remission.

Greatness of Christ’s Sacrifice

23 Therefore it was necessary that ^athe copies of the things in the heavens should be¹ purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 For ^aChrist has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are¹ copies of ^bthe true, but into heaven itself, now ^cto appear in the presence of God for us;

25 not that He should offer Himself often, as ^athe high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—

26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

27 ^aAnd as it is appointed for men to die once, ^bbut after this the judgment,

28 so ^aChrist was ^boffered once to bear the sins ^cof many. To those who ^deagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Hebrews 9:2

For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein - The sense is here very obscure, and the construction involved: leaving out all punctuation, which is the case with all the very ancient MSS., the verse stands thus: ̔ ̔ͅ ̔ , . . . which I suppose an indifferent person, who understood the language, would without hesitation render, For, there was the first tabernacle constructed, in which were the candlestick, etc. And this tabernacle or dwelling may be called the first dwelling place which God had among men, to distinguish it from the second dwelling place, the temple built by Solomon; for tabernacle here is to be considered in its general sense, as implying a dwelling.

To have a proper understanding of what the apostle relates here, we should endeavor to take a concise view of the tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness. This tabernacle was the epitome of the Jewish temple; or rather, according to this as a model was the Jewish temple built. It comprised,

1.The court where the people might enter.

2.In this was contained the altar of burnt-offerings, on which were offered the sacrifices in general, besides offerings of bread, wine, and other things.

3.At the bottom or lower end of this court was the tent of the covenant; the two principal parts of the tabernacle were, the holy place and the holy of holies.

In the temple built by Solomon there was a court for the Levites, different from that of the people; and, at the entrance of the holy place, a vestibule. But in the tabernacle built by Moses these parts were not found, nor does the apostle mention them here.

In the holy place, as the apostle observes, there were,

1.The golden candlestick of seven branches, on the south.

2.The golden altar, or altar of incense, on the north.

3.The altar, or table of the show-bread; or where the twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes, were laid before the Lord.

1.In each branch of the golden candlestick was a lamp; these were lighted every evening, and extinguished every morning. They were intended to give light by night.

2.The altar of incense was of gold; and a priest, chosen by lot each week, offered incense every morning and evening in a golden censer, which he probably left on the altar after the completion of the offering.

3.The table of the show-bread was covered with plates of gold; and on this, every Sabbath, they placed twelve loaves in two piles, six in each, which continued there all the week till the next Sabbath, when they were removed, and fresh loaves put in their place. The whole of this may be seen in all its details in the book of Exodus, from chap. 35 to Exodus 40:1. See Calmet also.

Which is called the sanctuary - ̔ ̔· This is called holy. This clause may apply to any of the nouns in this verse, in the nominative case, which are all of the feminine gender; and the adjective ̔ , holy, may be considered here as the nominative singular feminine, agreeing with ̔ . Several editions accent the words in reference to this construction. The word , tabernacle, may be the proper antecedent; and then we may read ̔́ , instead of ̔́ : but these niceties belong chiefly to grammarians.

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