Hebrenjve 9:1

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Pas velit të dytë ishte tabernakulli, i quajtur "Vendi shumë i shenjtë" (Shenjtërorja e Shenjtërorëve),

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the first: Hebrews 8:7, Hebrews 8:13

had: Hebrews 9:10, Leviticus 18:3, Leviticus 18:4, Leviticus 18:30, Leviticus 22:9, Numbers 9:12, Ezekiel 43:11, Luke 1:6

ordinances: or, ceremonies

and: Hebrews 9:10, Hebrews 9:11, Hebrews 8:2, Exodus 25:8, Colossians 2:8

Reciprocal: Exodus 12:22 - a bunch Isaiah 24:5 - changed John 3:31 - he that is Hebrews 9:15 - the first Revelation 21:22 - the Lamb

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then verily the first covenant had ordinances of divine service,.... The design of the apostle in this chapter, as it stands in connection with what goes before, is to show the pre-eminence of Christ, from the tabernacle, and the things in it; as well as from the priesthood and covenant; and as also the abrogation of the Levitical ceremonies in particular, as well as the first covenant in general; and that they were all types and figures of Christ, and had their fulfilment in him: the word "first", here used, designs not the tabernacle, but the covenant; therefore it is rightly thus supplied in our version, as it is in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions: which is said to have "ordinances of divine service"; belonging to the service of God, which was performed both by the priests, and by the people; and these ordinances were no other than the carnal ordinances, or rites of the ceremonial law: the word used signifies "righteousnesses"; and they are so called, because they were appointed by a righteous God; and were imposed on the people of the Jews in a righteous way; and by them men became externally and typically righteous; for they were figures and types of justification by the righteousness of Christ, though no complete, perfect, real righteousness, came by them.

And a worldly sanctuary. Philo the Jew says l, it was a type of the world, and of the various things in it; though it was rather either a type of the church, or of heaven, or of Christ's human nature: the better reason of its being so called is, because it consisted of earthly matter, and worldly things; it was in the world, and only had its use in the world, and so is opposed to the heavenly sanctuary; for the Jews often speak of מקדש שלמעלה, "a sanctuary above", and מקדש שלמטה, "a sanctuary below" m, and of משכנא דלעילא, "a tabernacle above", and משכנא דלתתא, "a tabernacle below" n; which answered to one another: the words may be rendered "a beautiful sanctuary", a well adorned one; and such especially was the temple, or sanctuary built by Solomon, rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and repaired and adorned by Herod, Luke 21:5. And the Jews say, that he that never saw Herod's building, meaning the temple, never saw a beautiful building; see Luke 21:5.

l De Vita Mosis, p. 667. m Jarchi in Gen. xxviii. 17. n Zohar in Exod. fol. 65. 4. & 94. 4. & 96. 2. & in Lev. fol. 1. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then verily - Or, moreover. The object is to describe the tabernacle in which the service of God was celebrated under the former dispensation, and to show that it had a reference to what was future, and was only an imperfect representation of the reality. It was important to show this, as the Jews regarded the ordinances of the tabernacle and of the whole Levitical service as of divine appointment, and of perpetual obligation. The object of Paul is to prove that they were to give place to a more perfect system, and hence, it was necessary to discuss their real nature.

The first covenant - The word “covenant” is not in the Greek, but is not improperly supplied. The meaning is, that the former arrangement or dispensation had religious rites and services connected with it.

Had also ordinances - Margin, “Ceremonies.” The Greek word means “laws, precepts, ordinances;” and the idea is, that there were laws regulating the worship of God. The Jewish institutions abounded with such laws.

And a worldly sanctuary - The word “sanctuary” means a holy place, and is applied to a house of worship, or a temple. Here it may refer either to the temple or to the tabernacle. As the temple was constructed after the same form as the tabernacle, and had the same furniture, the description of the apostle may be regarded as applicable to either of them, and it is difficult to determine which he had in his eye. The term “worldly,” applied to “sanctuary,” here means that it pertained to this world; it was contradistinguished from the heavenly sanctuary not made with hands where Christ was now gone; compare Hebrews 9:11-24. It does not mean that it was “worldly” in the sense in which that word is now used as denoting the opposite of spiritual, serious, religious; but worldly in the sense that it belonged to the earth rather than to heaven; it was made by human hands, not directly by the hands of God.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER IX.

Of the first covenant, and its ordinances, 1.

The tabernacle, candlestick, table, show-bread, veil, holy of

holies, censer, ark, pot of manna, Aaron's rod, tables of the

covenant, cherubim of glory, and mercy seat, 2-5.

How the priests served, 6, 7.

What was signified by the service, 8-10.

The superior excellency of Christ's ministry and sacrifice, and

the efficacy of his blood, 11-26.

As men must once die and be judged, so Christ was once offered

to bear the sins of many, and shall come without a

sin-offering, a second time, to them that expect him, 27, 28.

NOTES ON CHAP. IX.

Verse Hebrews 9:1. The first covenant had also ordinances] Our translators have introduced the word covenant, as if διαθηκη had been, if not originally in the text, yet in the apostle's mind. Several MSS., but not of good note, as well as printed editions, with the Coptic version, have σκηνη tabernacle; but this is omitted by ABDE, several others, both the Syriac, AEthiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, some copies of the Itala, and several of the Greek fathers; it is in all probability a spurious reading, the whole context showing that covenant is that to which the apostle refers, as that was the subject in the preceding chapter, and this is a continuation of the same discourse.

Ordinances — δικαιωματα. Rites and ceremonies.

A worldly sanctuary. — αγιον κοσμικον. It is supposed that the term worldly, here, is opposed to the term heavenly, Hebrews 8:5; and that the whole should be referred to the carnality or secular nature of the tabernacle service. But I think there is nothing plainer than that the apostle is speaking here in praise of this sublimely emblematic service, and hence he proceeds to enumerate the various things contained in the first tabernacle, which added vastly to its splendour and importance; such as the table of the show-bread, the golden candlestick, the golden censer, the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, in which was the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the two tables which God had written with his own finger: hence I am led to believe that κοσμικος is here taken in its proper, natural meaning, and signifies adorned, embellished, splendid; and hence κοσμος, the world: Tota hujus universi machina, coelum et terram complectens et quicquid utroque contineter, κοσμος dicitur, quod nihil ea est mundius, pulchrius, et ornatius. "The whole machine of this universe, comprehending the heavens and the earth, and whatsoever is contained in both, is called κοσμος, because nothing is more beautiful, more fair, and more elegant." So Pliny, Hist. Nat., l. ii. c. 5: Nam quem κοσμον Graeci nomine ornamenti appellaverunt, eum nos a perfecta absolutaque elegantia, MUNDUM. "That which the Greeks call κοσμος, ornament, we, (the Latins,) from its perfect and absolute elegance call mundum, world." See on "Genesis 2:1".

The Jews believe that the tabernacle was an epitome of the world; and it is remarkable, when speaking of their city, that they express this sentiment by the same Greek word, in Hebrew letters, which the apostle uses here: so in Bereshith Rabba, s. 19, fol. 19: כל קוזמיקון שלו שם הוא col kozmikon (κοσμικον) shelo sham hu. "All his world is placed there." Philo says much to the same purpose.

If my exposition be not admitted, the next most likely is, that God has a worldly tabernacle as well as a heavenly one; that he as truly dwelt in the Jewish tabernacle as he did in the heaven of heavens; the one being his worldly house, the other his heavenly house.