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 ]