Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
But Christ being come a high priest of good things - I think this and the succeeding verses not happily translated: indeed, the division of them has led to a wrong translation; therefore they must be taken together, thus: But the Christ, the high priest of those good things (or services) which were to come, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of the same workmanship, entered once for all into the sanctuary; having obtained eternal redemption for us, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, Hebrews 9:13. For if the blood of Goats, and bulls, and calves, and a heifer' s ashes, sprinkled on the unclean, sanctifieth to the cleansing of the flesh, (Hebrews 9:14), how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your consciences from dead works, in order to worship (or that ye may worship) the living God?
In the above translation I have added, in Hebrews 9:13, , of goats, on the authority of ABDE, three others, the Syriac, the Arabic of Erpen, Coptic, Vulgate, two copies of the Itala, and Theodoret. And I have rendered , (Hebrews 9:14), In Order to worship, or That Ye May worship; for this is the meaning of these particles in many parts of the New Testament. I shall now make a few observations on some of the principal expressions.
High priest of good things - Or services, to come, . He is the High Priest of Christianity; he officiates in the behalf of all mankind; for by him are all the prayers, praises, and services of mankind offered to God; and he ever appears in the presence of God for us.
A greater and more perfect tabernacle - This appears to mean our Lord' s human nature. That, in which dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was fitly typified by the tabernacle and temple, in both of which the majesty of God dwelt.
Not made with hands - Though our Lord' s body was a perfect human body, yet it did not come in the way of natural generation; his miraculous conception will sufficiently justify the expressions used here by the apostle.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Hebrews 9:11:
Exodus 25:8
Leviticus 16:2
Leviticus 27:34
John 17:19
Hebrews 9:23
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
