To show that the old covenant was justly laid aside, the apostle judged it necessary to enter into a particular examination of the religious services which it enjoined, and to prove that these were designed not for cleansing the consciences of the worshippers, but to prefigure the services and bless... [ Continue Reading ]
_For there was a tabernacle made_ Namely, the first part of it of which he speaks, of boards and curtains, pillars and coverings, which constituted a little apartment, as a kind of ante-chamber to the oracle; _wherein was the candlestick_ Of pure gold, with its seven lamps perpetually burning with p... [ Continue Reading ]
_And after the second veil_ That is, with respect to them who entered into the tabernacle; for they were to pass through the whole length of the first part before they came to this: nor was there any other way of entering into it. This veil divided the holy place from the most holy, as the first vei... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which had the golden censer_ Used by the high-priest only on the great day of atonement. “The apostle may have learned from the priests that this censer was of gold, and that it was left by him in the inward tabernacle, so near to the veil, that when he was about to officiate next year, by putting... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now when these things were thus ordained_ Κατεσκευασμενων, _prepared._ Having given an account of the structure of the tabernacle in the two parts of it, and the furniture of those several parts distinctly, to complete his argument, the apostle adds the consideration of their sacred use; _the pries... [ Continue Reading ]
_But into the second_ The holy of holies; _went the high-priest alone_ And no other person; and he was to be so alone as that none were to attend in order to assist him in any part of the service; yea, no one was allowed to be in the other part of the sanctuary where he might so much as see the veil... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Holy Ghost_ By whom the Mosaic ritual was prescribed; _signifying_ By this difficulty of entrance, and the necessity of the incense-cloud and the atoning blood; _that the way into the holiest of all_ Namely, into heaven, the place of God's immediate presence, represented by the inward tabernacl... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Christ being come_ As if he had said, Though the types and legal ceremonies could not make the worshippers perfect, yet Christ, the antitype and truth, can. Here he comes to interpret and show the end of the typical services he had spoke of; _a high-priest of good things to come_ Described Hebr... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_, &c. The truth intended to be confirmed in these verses, is that which the apostle had asserted in the two preceding, namely, That Christ by his blood _hath obtained for us eternal redemption._ And his words contain both an _argument_ and a _comparison_, to this effect: “If that which is less... [ Continue Reading ]
_And for this cause_ Δια τουτο, _on this account_, that Christ's blood is so efficacious; or for this end, that he might die and thereby procure redemption, and an eternal inheritance for us; _he is the mediator_ Between God and man, making peace between them; _of the new testament_ Or _covenant_ ra... [ Continue Reading ]
_For where a testament is_ That is, where there is a covenant, which is also a testament; _there must of necessity be the death of the testator_ As if he had said, The reason why there was a necessity that Christ should die, is taken from the nature of the covenant whereof he is Mediator, which cove... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whereupon_ On which principle we may observe; _neither was the first_ Covenant, of which we have been speaking, I mean that of Moses; _dedicated without blood_ Namely, that of an appointed sacrifice. “In the original, the word _covenant_ is wanting; and our translators, by supplying the word _testa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover_ To prefigure the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ to render our acts of worship acceptable; _he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle_ The altar, and mercy-seat; _and all the vessels of the ministry_ All that were used in the tabernacle service. See the margin. _And almost all the things... [ Continue Reading ]
_It was, therefore_, &c. That is, it plainly appears from what has been said, _it was necessary_ According to the appointment of God; _that the patterns of things in the heavens_ Termed _the figures of the true_, (Hebrews 9:24,) namely, the covenant, the book, the tabernacle, with all the vessels of... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Christ is_, or, _hath, not entered_ With the sacrifice of his crucified body; _into the holy places made with hands_ He never went into the holy of holies of the temple at Jerusalem; _the figures of the true_ tabernacle in heaven; Greek, αντιτυπα, _the antitypes._ “In the mount Moses had τυπος,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And as it is appointed_, &c. Inasmuch as this is the constitution of God, that sinful _men_ shall _die once_, and but _once;_ (see the margin;) _and after this the judgment_ Of the great day, between which and death nothing shall interpose to make any alteration in the state or condition of any one... [ Continue Reading ]