Hebrews 8 Study

My translation of Hebrews 8.

Verses 1-2

8.1 Κεφάλαιον δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις, τοιοῦτον ἔχομεν ἀρχιερέα, ὃς ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θρόνου τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, 2 τῶν ἁγίων λειτουργὸς καὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τῆς ἀληθινῆς, ἣν ἔπηξεν ὁ κύριος, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος.

Now in consideration of these things being said, here is a summary: We have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, And one who ministers in the sanctuary and the true Tabernacle, which the Lord, not man, built.

Κεφάλαιον - summary, main point/idea; found near the halfway point in the book, this is what he is emphasizing.

Jesus is a superior priest ministering in a superior place.

Sat down at the right hand… - a reference back to Heb 1:3; also “throne” may be a reference to the enthronement of God above the mercy seat in the tabernacle/temple

Heaven is the true tabernacle, and so it is superior. That is where Jesus, our priest, ministers.

Verse 3

3 πᾶς γὰρ ἀρχιερεὺς εἰς τὸ προσφέρειν δῶρά τε καὶ θυσίας καθίσταται· ὅθεν ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν τι καὶ τοῦτον ὃ προσενέγκῃ.

For every high priest is appointed so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it is necessary that this one also should have something to offer.

A reference back to Heb 5:1; since all high priests offer gifts and sacrifices, Jesus must also.

Verses 4-5

4 εἰ μὲν οὖν ἦν ἐπὶ γῆς, οὐδʼ ἂν ἦν ἱερεύς, ὄντων τῶν προσφερόντων κατὰ νόμον τὰ δῶρα· 5 (οἵτινες ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ λατρεύουσιν τῶν ἐπουρανίων, καθὼς κεχρημάτισται Μωϋσῆς μέλλων ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν σκηνήν, Ὅρα γάρ, φησίν, ποιήσεις πάντα κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει)·

Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the Law; They are serving as an outline or shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the Tabernacle – For “Pay attention!” He says, “You must do all these things according to the type which was shown to you on the mountain.”

There are priests… this indicates that the Temple and priesthood are still going on, so before A.D. 70 and the destruction of the temple.

Their service as priests and the place where they serve are like an outline or shadow of the reality. Neither the priests nor the physical temple were ultimate - they demonstrated some realities that would be fully revealed later.

This also shows that we are not looking for a physical reinstitution of the priesthood and temple as some interpret Ezekiel 40-48 and other prophecies; because these things have been finally and fully completed in Christ, so there is no reason to move back from the reality to the shadow or outline again.

τύπον - “type”

Verse 6

6 νυνὶ δὲ διαφορωτέρας τέτυχεν λειτουργίας, ὅσῳ καὶ κρείττονός ἐστιν διαθήκης μεσίτης, ἥτις ἐπὶ κρείττοσιν ἐπαγγελίαις νενομοθέτηται.

But now He has gained a more excellent ministry, just as also He is the mediator of a superior covenant, which has been legally enacted on the basis of superior promises.

Jesus’s ministry as priest is better

The covenant He mediates is better

The promises of the covenant are better

Hebrews Exegesis

The word “now” (νυν) introducing the verse is eschatological: what is better has arrived in the last days (cf. 1:2).

Hebrews Exegesis

Jesus inaugurates the new covenant by shedding his blood (

Verses 7-9

7 Εἰ γὰρ ἡ πρώτη ἐκείνη ἦν ἄμεμπτος, οὐκ ἂν δευτέρας ἐζητεῖτο τόπος· 8 μεμφόμενος γὰρ αὐτοὺς λέγει· Ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται, λέγει κύριος, καὶ συντελέσω ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα διαθήκην καινήν, 9 οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἣν ἐποίησα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, κἀγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, λέγει κύριος.

For if that first covenant were blameless, no place would have been sought for a second; For blaming them, God says [or blaming it, God says to them], “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will bring about for the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new covenant, Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by their hand to lead them out from Egypt, because they did not remain in my covenant, and I paid no attention to them, says the Lord.

If… blameless - that is, if the first covenant could bring about the perfection needed to restore people to God, no 2nd covenant is needed; but it cannot bring such perfection.

The first covenant’s blameworthiness is that it cannot reconcile sinful people to God. It cannot change people’s hearts or fully and finally deal with sin.

Not that the covenant itself was bad, but because of human inability, it was ineffective and inadequate.

The kind of new covenant that is needed is one in which people will remain, one which the covenant partners cannot ultimately fall away from.

Under the Old Covenant, obedience was Israel’s obligation for the continuance of the covenant - and they could not meet this obligation; under the New Covenant, God makes our obedience His own obligation and this guarantees it.

Hebrews Context

The defectiveness of the old covenant is demonstrated by the weakness and sin of the covenant people under the old administration, for the promise of a new covenant witnesses to the deficiency of the old (v. 8).

The NET Bible

tc ‡ Several witnesses (א* A D* I K P

Verses 10-12

10 ὅτι αὕτη ἡ διαθήκη ἣν διαθήσομαι τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραὴλ μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας, λέγει κύριος, διδοὺς νόμους μου εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίας αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς εἰς θεόν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν. 11 καὶ οὐ μὴ διδάξωσιν ἕκαστος τὸν πολίτην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, λέγων· Γνῶθι τὸν κύριον, ὅτι πάντες εἰδήσουσίν με ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν. 12 ὅτι ἵλεως ἔσομαι ταῖς ἀδικίαις αὐτῶν, καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν οὐ μὴ μνησθῶ ἔτι.

For this is the covenant which I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will deposit my laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts, and I will be a God for them, and they will be a people for Me. And each of them will by no means teach his fellow-citizen or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord”, because they all will know me from the smallest to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful toward their unrighteous acts, and their sins I will never remember anymore.

Laws in minds and written on hearts, not on stone tablets

Permanent relationship with God (no reason for Him to say, “Not my people” - Hosea 1:8-9)

True knowledge of God and desire for Him.

All of this (the New Covenant) is because of God’s sovereign choice to be merciful and forgive sins.

The new covenant is a present reality for everyone who trusts in Jesus.

The Law itself had hinted at the New Covenant: Deut 30:6.

Hebrews Exegesis

God’s commands are not an onerous burden but reflect the desires of their heart since God has imprinted the law upon their hearts. The fundamental flaw in God’s people has been remedied, for now they delight to do the will of God.

Verse 13

13 ἐν τῷ λέγειν Καινὴν πεπαλαίωκεν τὴν πρώτην, τὸ δὲ παλαιούμενον καὶ γηράσκον ἐγγὺς ἀφανισμοῦ.

By calling this covenant “New”, He has declared the first “old”, and what is old and growing older is nearly invisible.

The Old Covenant wasn’t old until God established the New Covenant. Like WW1 wasn’t called that until there was a WW2.

The Old Covenant - the Mosaic Law - has disappeared in the sense that the reality has now overshadowed it. Now that the reality is here, there is no need to go back to the shadows.