Hebrews

8:1-6

The Argument Proper

1. The sufficiency of Christ's atonement, 7:1-10:25

iii] The ministry of Jesus our great high priest, 8:1-10:18

a) The priesthood and the promise

"As the one exalted to the Father's right hand, Jesus represents us as our high priest in the very presence of God. As our exalted and ascended high priest, Christ has offered himself as a sacrifice, presented that sacrifice in the heavenly sanctuary, and thereby mediates God's new covenant blessing to his people", Moo.

i] Context: See 7:1-10. The Rhetor has run his preliminary arguments and now in 8:1-10:18 he sets out his main point with respect to the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, an argument he summarises in the first two verses, 7:1-2. In this argument he establishes that we have a great hight priest exalted to the right hand of God who, through his perfect sacrifice, acts on our behalf to save, sanctify and glorify.

As Moo notes, the argument for the sufficiency of Christ's high-priestly ministry is established by setting out how Jesus fulfils priestly ministry, as revealed by God in the Law:

All three elements are summarised in the opening argument, 8:3-6. The following arguments are blends of the three - covenant, sacrifice and tabernacle. The point the Rhetor makes is that the "former" three elements were but "a copy and shadow" of a "superior" reality which brings superior results, namely, as a mediator of the new covenant, "by the one sacrifice" offered before the throne of the Ancient of Days, Jesus achieves "salvation to those who are waiting for him", holiness through that sacrifice, and "completeness / made perfect forever" (salvation, sanctification and glorification).

ii] Background: A general introduction; see 1:1-4.

iii] Structure: The priesthood and the promise:

iv] Interpretation:

The priesthood and the promise, v1-8: i] Jesus serves in heaven as our great high priest, v1-2. In the imagery of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the covenant serves as God's throne, and Jesus, having offered before the Ancient of Days the perfect sacrifice of himself for time immemorial, takes his seat at his right hand, ruling with sovereign authority as our priest and king.

de "Now" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the argument.

epi + dat. "of" - [the main point] upon = about. The preposition probably expresses reference / respect, so Ellingworth, "with respect to what we are saying". Presumably "main point" is the main point of the Rhetor's argument, although Lane suggests "the crowning affirmation".

toiV legomenoiV (legw) dat. pres. part. "what we are saying" - the thing being said is this. The participle serves as a substantive, dative after the preposition epi.

tou qronou (oV) gen. "of the throne" - [we have such a high priest who sat down in = at the right hand] of the throne. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

thV megalwsunhV (megalwsunh) "of the Majesty" - of the majesty [in the heavens]. "The Majesty" is used as a periphrasis for God so the genitive is adjectival, possessive; "the throne that belongs to the Majesty / God in heaven".

The Rhetor's focus is on the "holy of holies", the inner throne room of the tabernacle, as depicted in Leviticus, a room the high priest could only enter once a year on the day of atonement. This is but a type of the "alhqinoV, "true / real / authentic", version in heaven where Jesus serves as a leitourgoV, "a public officiant, servant = priestly minister = high priest", on our behalf forever.

twb aJgiwn gen. adj. "in the sanctuary" - [a servant] of the holy place.. The adjective serves as a substantive, with the genitive being adjectival, limiting "servant", descriptive, often treated as local, "a servant who functions within the holy place", as NIV, ESV, etc.

thV skhnhV (h) gen. "the [true] tabernacle" - [and] of the tabernacle [of the true = real, genuine, which the lord set up, not man]. The genitive is adjectival. If we take "holy" as a reference to the tabernacle itself, then the modifying genitive thV skhnhV, "the [true] sanctuary", would be epexegetic, specifying this holy thing / place, "Administrator of things holy, yes, the real tabernacle", Berkeley, TNT, .... If "the holy of holies" is in mind then the genitive would be partitive, "the holy of holies = in the tabernacle"; "in the true tent", ESV. The genitive thV alhqinhV, "of the true," is attributive, "the true tabernacle". The presence of the connective kai may carry weight, in which case, "the holy place" and "the tabernacle" are being distinguished as two separate entities where Jesus serves, "a minister / priest in the holy place and in the authentic tabernacle", but Hughes argues that kai is more likely epexegetic here, "a priest in the holy place, namely, the holy of holies which is in the true tabernacle".

ii] A summary of the overall argument covering 8:1-10:18, v3-6. This argument examines three elements of Jesus' priestly ministry in respect to the covenant, his perfect sacrifice, and the offering of that sacrifice in the heavenly tabernacle / holy place. The point the Rhetor makes is that the three elements in "former" times were but "a copy and shadow" of a "superior" reality which brings superior results, namely that as a mediator of the new covenant, "by the one sacrifice" offered before the throne of the Ancient of Days, Jesus achieves "salvation to those who are waiting for him", holiness through that sacrifice, and "completeness / made perfect forever" (salvation, sanctification and glorification).

a) The offering of sacrifices, v3-4. A priest ordained by God offers sacrifices (for sin). Just as the Levitical priests offer sacrifices, Jesus offers a sacrifice, but it is not offered (presented on the altar of the tabernacle) on earth.

gar "-" - for. More reason than cause, introducing a summary explanation of the proposed arguments.

eiV to + inf. "to [offer]" - [every high priest is appointed] into the = in order [to offer both gifts and sacrifice]. This construction introduces a final clause expressing purpose, "in order to offer gifts and sacrifices". "Gifts" and "sacrifices" are coordinated by te kai. The offering of "gifts and sacrifices" is a priestly function, not that of the high priest. Grindheim suggests that the terms are used to stress the constant ongoing nature of the Levitical sacrifices.

o{qen "and so" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion from the point made in the first part of the verse.

ecein (ecw) "to have" - [this one and = also] to have [something]. The infinitive forms the subject of the impersonal paraphras formed by an assumed past tense of the verb to-be and the adjective "necessary"; "to have ..... was necessary". The accusative subject of the infinitive is touton, "this one". The verb to-be is probably past tense, given that Christ's offering was his sacrifice on the cross, a sacrifice which he presented on the altar in the heavenly tabernacle before the throne (mercy seat, lid of the Ark of the covenant) of the Ancient of Days. Of course, all this imagery is drawn from Leviticus and would be highly effective when communicating to an audience with a Jewish background. Note that some commentators suggest that the sacrifice offered by Christ in heaven is either intercession, or praise and thanksgiving. As Ellingworth notes, this goes against the argument being pressed by the Rhetor. Christ's sacrifice is the giving of his life, and it is this that he presents on the altar in the heavenly tabernacle.

o} proskenegkh/ (prosferw) aor. sub. "to offer" - which he might offer [was necessary]. This construction, the relative pronoun + the subjunctive verb, expresses purpose, "that he may offer" = "in order to offer" = to offer.

Because Jesus is appointed a priest he must offer a sacrifice, but he legally cannot offer it on earth because he is not a Levite. The implication is that Jesus offers his sacrifice in the "true tabernacle", v2.

men oun "-" - indeed therefore. Ellingworth suggests that this construction is used to advance the argument rather than draw a conclusion, namely, "Jesus is indeed a high priest, but he is legally excluded from the earthly priesthood". It is possible that we have an adversative comparative construction picked up by de in v6; "on the one hand the Levitical Priests ....., but on the other hand Jesus .......". "Now, if he were on earth ....", ESV.

ei ..... a]n "if" - if, as is not the case, [he was on earth] then [he would not be a priest]. This construction, ei + ind. and a]n + past tense verb, forms a second class conditional clause where the proposed condition is assumed to be untrue.

ontwn (eimi) gen. pres. part. "for there are already" - [the ones offering (Levitical priests)] being [gifts]. The genitive participle, and its genitive subject the substantive participle twn prosqerontwn, "the ones offering", introduces a genitive absolute construction, likely here to be causal, introducing a causal clause explaining why Jesus could not serve as a priest on earth, namely because "he is legally excluded from the earthly priesthood", Ellingworth; "since there are priests who offer gifts", ESV. Given the article in ta dwra, "the gifts", object of twn prosqerontwn, it is specifically referring to the "gifts and sacrifices" in v3. Again, the present tense is chosen for both participles to emphasise durative action, "frequentative", Zerwick.

kata + acc. "prescribed by" - according to [the law]. Expressing a standard, "in accordance with"; "according to the priestly instructions prescribed in the law".

b) Service in God's tabernacle, v5. A priest ordained by God serves in a prescribed location. In the case of the Levitical priests it was the tabernacle, as detailed in the law of Moses, a location which was but a "copy and shadow of what is in heaven",

uJpodeigmati (uJpodeigma) dat. "at a sanctuary that is a copy" - [who serve] in an example = a copy [and shadow]. The dative, as for "shadow", is likely local, as NIV, although the verb "to serve" can take a dative of direct object, but it is unlikely that the Levitical priests serve the tabernacle; it is more likely that they serve "in" the tabernacle. It is possibly that these two nouns, connected by kai, are a hendiadys. Something like "a shadowy copy" may be intended. The indefinite relative pronoun oiJinteV, "who" references the "priests" / "ones offering", v4.

twn epouraniwn gen. adj. "of what is in heaven" - of the heavenly. The adjective serves as a substantive, "heavenly things", with the genitive being adjectival, limiting "copy and shadow" by description. The NIV opts for a local sense, "which is in heaven", possibly more idiomatic, "a copy and shadow which prefigured heavenly things to come".

kaqwV "This is why" - just as, like [moses has been warned]. Comparative, used here with respect to the quote, namely, the divine instruction given to Moses with respect to the building of the tabernacle.

mellwn (mellw) pres. part. "when he was about" - being about [to complete the tabernacle]. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal, as NIV; "when he was about to erect the tent", ESV. The participle is completed by the complementary infinitive epitelein, "to complete" = "to build".

gar "-" - for [watch, he says]. More reason than cause, here introducing a quote in support of the argument.

deicqenta (deicnumi) aor. pas. part. "shown" - [you will make the tabernacle according to all the pattern] having been shown [to you on the mountain]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "pattern"; "the pattern that was shown you". The dative soi, "you", serves as a dative of indirect object, of revealing something to someone.

c) Administrators of the covenant, v6. The Levitical priests exercise their priestly ministry in accord with the Sinai covenant, all of which is a shadowy copy of the heavenly original. Jesus, on the other hand, is authorised to exercise his priestly ministry by a kreittonoV, "better, greater", covenant based on kreittonoV promises. Jesus is the mesithV of this covenant agreement with God, the "mediator" in the sense that he renews it in its ultimate form, fulfils it through his priestly ministry on earth, and guarantees it through his priestly ministry in heaven. As the administrator of this kainoV, "new" (v8), covenant Jesus achieves salvation, sanctification and glorification for the people of God.

de "But in fact" - but now. See men oun v4.

leitrourgiaV (a) gen. "ministry" - [he has attained, gained] a [unique, superior] priestly ministry, service. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to attain". "But in the new situation, our high priest has been given a ministry which is as much superior to that of the levitical priests as the covenant of which he is the mediator is a better covenant", Barclay.

o{sw/ dat. pro. "as" - [and] by as much as = by that degree [his is the mediator, arbitrator = authoriser]. The dative is instrumental, expressing means, "by means of".

daqhkh (hV) gen. "covenant" - of a [better, greater] covenant. Genitive complement of the noun "mediator", a noun that takes a genitive of the person or the thing being mediated. The covenant Jesus mediates / administers / arbitrates is better because it is of greater value, based as it is on promises of greater value. Presumably the krittwn, "greater", lies in the fact that the renewed covenant through Jesus is realised / fulfilled in Christ's life, death, resurrection and ascension, such that we live now, reign now - better than "the old one" which was a shadowy copy of the real thing.

epi + dat. "on" - [which has been legislated = established] upon [better promises]. Spatial, "on"; "enacted as it is on the basis of more valuable promises", Cassirer.

Hebrews Introduction

Exegetical Commentaries

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