Hebrews 9 is the ninth chapter of the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The author is anonymous, although the internal reference to "our brother Timothy" ( Hebrews 13:23) causes a traditional attribution to

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, but this attribution has been disputed since the second century and there is no decisive evidence for the authorship. This chapter contains the exposition about the ministry of the first covenant and Christ's effective sacrifice.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 46 (175–225; only missing verse 17) * Papyrus 17 (late 3rd century; extant verse 12-19) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330-360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450; extant verses 16-28) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 1-4, 9-11, 16-19, 25-27) * Codex Claromontanus (~550)

Old Testament references

* :

The Earthly Sanctuary (9:1–10)

The chapter opens with a contrast between 'the old and new covenants by reviewing the structure and rituals of the tabernacle'.

Verse 1

:''Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

.''

Verse 2

Foster Bible Pictures 0072-1 Things that Were Made To Go into the Tabernacle

: ''For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the

showbread Showbread ( he, לחם הפנים ''Leḥem haPānīm'', literally: "Bread of the Faces"), in the King James Version: shewbread, in a biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-de ...

, which is called the sanctuary;''

Verse 3

: ''and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,''

Verse 4

: ''which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;''

Verse 5

:''and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.'' *"

Mercy seat According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim beaten out of the ends to cover and create the space into which Yahweh was said to appear. This ...

" is translated from the Greek word ''hilasterion'', which specifically means the lid of the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

. The only other occurrence of ''hilasterion'' in the

is in Romans 3:25, where the

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

translates it as "propitiation".

The Ritual of the Heavenly Sanctuary (9:11-14)

The defining moment in current situation is when 'Christ came' as High Priest to fulfill the symbolized act of yearly ritual.

The New Covenant (9:15-22)

The Greek word ''diathēkē'' has a range of meaning from 'contract' or 'treaty' to 'will' or 'testament', which is elaborated in legal language in this section.

Verse 15

: ''And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.'' Cross reference for

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

as 'mediator' is , and the designation of Christians as 'called' is ; ; ; , and the phrase 'partners in a heavenly calling' is stated in 3:1. The promise of an 'inheritance' (; ) in 'ordinary legal usage' implies 'the death of a testator', who in this case then 'redeems' "the heirs from their transgressions" (cf. verse 12).

Verse 22

: ''And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.'' *"Almost all things": rendered in Arabic version as "all ''except a few things''", interpreted by John Gill that "some things were cleansed by water, and others purged by fire" (cf. ).''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Hebrews 9:22
/ref> *"Without shedding of blood there is no remission": also found in Jewish literature as "there is no atonement but by blood"

The New Heavenly Sacrifice (9:23-28)

The new description of Christ's 'heavenly' action in this part is balanced by the incorporation of the 'image of ritual purification' from the previous verses ( 9:11-14).

Verses 27-28

:''And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. :''To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.'' Verse 27 is traditionally interpreted as the impossibility of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

in Christian religions, Gill, John
of the Entire Bible'' - Hebrews 9:27
/ref> that concerns both: # Jesus Christ God, after His Ascension to Heaven at the right hand of

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, God t ...

almighty; # any human being after his death, immediately undergone by the

particular judgment Particular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the divine judgment that a departed person undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the general judgment (or Last Judgment) of all people at the end of the world. ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Hebrews 09