Hebrews 9:11

Χριστὸς δὲ παραγενόμενος … “But Christ having arrived a High Priest of the good things that were to be, He, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, nor yet through blood of he-goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, and obtained eternal redemption.” The main thought of the verse is that Christ has obtained eternal redemption; the δὲ, therefore, which introduces it, refers to the inability of the Levitical gifts and sacrifices to perfect the worshipper. The greater efficiency of Christ's ministry results from its being exercised in a more perfect tabernacle and with a truer sacrifice. παραγενόμενος, scarcely, as Vulg. “assistens” rather “having arrived,” as in Matthew 2:1; Matthew 3:1; Matthew 3:13; and frequently in Luke and Acts. Cf. Isaiah 62:11. Ἰδού σοι ὁ σωτὴρ παραγίνεται … Here it is in fulfilment of the expectation aroused by μέχρι. ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν μελ. “The genitive gives the subject of the high priestly action. High Priest, concerned about, ministering in, securing and applying by His ministry τὰ πέλλ. ἀγαθά. The genitive here is nearly equivalent to the accusative τὰ μρὸς τὸν Θεόν in Hebrews 2:17 ” (Vaughan). The good things that were to be under the new covenant are specified in Hebrews 8:10-12; they surpassed all expectation, however. “The High Priest” of the good things coming, is a notable title. Possibly it is only equivalent to “High Priest of the new covenant,” the contents being used to stand for the whole dispensation, but more probably the writer has in view the slender benefits obtained by the Levitical High Priest, and contrasts them with the illimitable good mediated by Christ. διὰ τῆς … σκηνῆς … οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτἰσεως. The meaning of διὰ in Hebrews 9:11 favours the understanding of it here not in a local (Weiss, etc.) but an instrumental sense, “by means of”. It was because He was High Priest not in the earthly but the heavenly tabernacle that He was able to secure these great results. No doubt διὰ in a similar connection in Hebrews 4:14 and Hebrews 10:20 is used locally. But this sense is not so applicable here. Christ is represented here as the High Priest ministering in the tabernacle, not passing through it (Cf. Davidson and Westcott). τῆς μείζονος καὶ τελ. σκηνῆς, the tabernacle greater and more perfect than that which has been described in the preceding verses, and which has itself been mentioned as the scene of Christ's ministry, Hebrews 8:2. This tabernacle is “not made with hands” οὐχειροποιήτου, as in Hebrews 9:24; equivalent to ἣν ἔπηξεν ὁ Κύριος οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, Hebrews 8:2. Our Lord characterised the temple as χειροποίητον, Mark 14:58. Being of human manufacture, Hebrews 8:2, it could be only a symbolic dwelling for God and a symbolic worship was appropriate. The words οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτίσεως are added in explanation, although, as Bleek remarks, they are certainly no clearer than the words they are meant to explain. They are, however, more significant; for they point out that the tabernacle in which Christ ministers does not belong to this world at all, has no place among created things and is thus in striking contrast to the ἅγιον κοσμικόν of Hebrews 9:1. It must, however, be acknowledged that Field (Otium Norv., p. 229) has shown reason for believing that we should translate “not of ordinary erection”. “By ταύτης I understand vulgaris, quae vulgo dicitur ”; and κτίσις he sees no occasion to take in any other sense than that in which κτίζειν is commonly applied to a city (3 Esd. 4:53) or to the tabernacle itself (Leviticus 16:16). This meaning of ταύτης, though warranted by the LXX cited by Field is, however, rare; and the sense is a little flat, whereas the other interpretation is full of significance.