Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Hebrews 9:24

Χριστός אACD. By the time that this Epistle was written the title ὁ Χριστὸς (rec.) had been superseded in general by the name Χριστός.

24. οὐ γὰρ εἰς χειροποίητα κ.τ.λ. “For not into any Material Sanctuary did Christ enter—a (mere) imitation of the Ideal,—but into Heaven itself, now to be visibly presented before the face of God for us.” The Ideal or genuine Tabernacle is the eternal uncreated Archetype as contrasted with its antitype (or “imitation”) made with hands. The Ideal in the Alexandrian philosophy, so far from being an antithesis of the real, meant that which alone is absolutely and eternally real; it is the antithesis of the material which is but a perishing imitation of the Archetype.

ἐμφανισθῆναι. The inf. of purpose. The aor. is used to call attention to the special moment of the God-man’s manifestation before the Presence of God. The word “to be visibly presented” (ἐμφανισθῆναι) is not the same as that used in Hebrews 9:26 (πεφανέρωται “He hath been manifested”), nor with that used in Hebrews 9:28 (ὀφθήσεται “He shall be seen”), though all these are rendered in English by the verb “appear.”

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Hebrews 9:24

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