The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (258 page)

9:5 mercy seat:
The slab of pure gold that formed the lid of the Ark (Ex 25:17-22). 
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9:7 once a year:
On the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:2934). • On this day, the high priest offered sacrifices for himself (bull calf) and the people (goat) and took the blood of the victims into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle it on the mercy seat of the Ark (Lev 16:14-15). The event was an annual renewal of the Mosaic covenant ratified at Sinai, which Aaron promptly broke when he fashioned the golden calf (Ex 32:4) and which the people continued to break by worshiping goat idols in the Sinai wilderness (satyrs, Lev 17:7). See note on Lev 9:1-24. 
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9:8 not yet opened:
The definitive passage from the old order to the new, and thus from earth to heaven, was pioneered by Christ, who leads the way for his people to follow (2:10; 4:14-16). 
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9:9 present age:
The age of the Old Covenant, which at the time of the author was nearing its end (8:13; 9:26). 
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9:11 greater . . . tent:
The heavenly sanctuary that Christ entered when he ascended to the right hand of the Father (4:14; 8:1; 9:24) (CCC 662).
not made with hands:
I.e., not earthly. See essay:
Not Made with Hands
at 2 Cor 5. 
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9:12 once for all:
In marked contrast to the "once a year" (9:7) entrance of the high priests of Israel (9:25).
Holy Place:
The Greek is better rendered "sanctuary", as in 8:2 and 9:24.
blood of goats and calves:
The author appears to telescope two different liturgical events: the
ratification
of the Mosaic covenant at Sinai, where the Greek OT specifies that young calves were sacrificed (Ex 24:5), and the
renewal
of the Mosaic covenant on the Day of Atonement, when a goat was sacrificed for the transgressions of the people (Lev 16:15). The effect is to show that the sacrificial blood of Christ both ratifies a New Covenant and truly atones for the sins committed under the Old (Heb 9:15) (CCC 592). For a similar use of this technique,
See note on Heb 7:27
. 
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9:13 ashes of a heifer:
The ashes of a red heifer, burned with its blood, were mixed with water in order to purify persons defiled by contact with the dead (Num 19:1-13). In a more powerful way, the blood of Christ cleanses us from the guilt of "dead works" (Heb 9:14). 
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9:14 the eternal Spirit:
The Spirit carried the risen humanity of Jesus beyond the veil of creation into the heavenly sanctuary (Acts 1:9-11).
offered himself:
Jesus is both priest and sacrificial victim.
without blemish:
Animals offered in sacrifice had to be free of physical defects (Lev 1:3, 10; 3:1, 6; etc.). Christ is free of every moral and spiritual defect (Heb 7:26; 1 Pet 1:19).
to serve:
Redemption from sin brings a new freedom for worship (12:28; 13:15-16). 
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9:15 mediator:
One who brings God and his people together. See word study:
Mediator
at 12:24.
promised . . . inheritance:
The heavenly blessings pledged to the world through Abraham (6:17; Gen 22:16-18). 
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9:17 takes effect:
Or, "is confirmed". 
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9:18
Refers to the ratification of the Sinai covenant described in Ex 24:3-8. 
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9:20 This is the blood:
A citation from Ex 24:8. • Since the Hebrew and Greek versions of this passage begin with the word "Behold" instead of "This", it is likely that the author of Hebrews has deliberately adjusted the words of Moses to evoke the eucharistic words of Jesus: "[T]his is my blood of the covenant" (Mt 26:28). If so, then he is drawing a parallel between the founding of the Old Covenant at Sinai and the founding of the New Covenant at the Last Supper (Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25).
See note on Heb 13:10
. 
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9:22 the shedding of blood:
Blood was a key element in the atonement and purification rites of Israelite religion. This was especially so on the Day of Atonement, when blood was used to purify the priests and people as well as the Tabernacle and its furnishings (Lev 16:11-19). 
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9:24 made with hands:
The Mosaic Tabernacle was an earthly tent, i.e., part of this creation (9:11). 
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Will or Covenant?

S
EVENTEEN
times the Letter to the Hebrews uses the Greek term
diathēkē,
which is normally and rightly translated "covenant". Most modern translations, however, make an exception for Heb 9:1617, where this same word is rendered either "will" or "testament" in two successive verses.

This shift in translation reflects an interpretive shift on the part of many scholars, who hold that the author of Hebrews jumps momentarily from a theological discussion about "covenants" to establish a legal analogy with last "wills" and "testaments". The aim is to illustrate how the death of Jesus was necessary in order for Israel to receive its Christian inheritance. In support of this, scholars point out that in secular Greek,
diathēkē
does indeed refer to a last will and testament. Moreover, it is said that a person's will, once documented in writing, had no legal force while the person who drafted it was still alive; only when he died would the terms and benefits of the will go into effect. This testamentary view, which interprets Heb 9:1617 against the backdrop of secular Hellenistic culture, represents the majority opinion among biblical scholars today.

There is reason to believe, however, that the author may be thinking of a "covenant" in these two verses and not a person's "will". The literary context of Hebrews supports this, as does the historical context of testamentary practice in the New Testament period:

(1)
 
Literary Context
Scholars are united in holding that every occurrence of
diathēkē
in the Letter to the Hebrews, outside of these two disputed verses, refers to a covenant. No one doubts, in other words, that its author stands firmly within the stream of Jewish tradition represented by the Greek Septuagint, where
diathēkē
is the standard translation for the Hebrew term
berit,
"covenant". This is especially pronounced in Hebrews 8-9, where the author is drawing lines of comparison and contrast between the Old Covenant ratified under Moses and the New Covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Since Heb 9:16-17 is woven into the fabric of this discourse on covenant theology, there is every reason to believe that the author has a biblical background in mind when he speaks of a
diathēkē
rather than a secular and Hellenistic one.

(2)
 
Historical Context
Another strike against the testamentary reading of Heb 9:16-17 is that the author's statements do not correspond precisely to accepted legal practice. For instance, Hebrews insists that a
diathēkē
is confirmed only at death; yet history is clear that a last will and testament was considered valid before death, that is, as soon as it was properly drafted, publicly witnessed, and officially notarized. Hebrews likewise contends that a
diathēkē
is not in force as long as the one who made it is living; yet history again shows that sometimes a testamentary inheritance was distributed to beneficiaries while the testator who drafted it was still alive. This too makes it unlikely that the author of Hebrews is thinking of a "will" instead of a "covenant" in Heb 9:16-17.

The real benefit of translating
diathēkē
as "covenant" in Heb 9:16-17 is that it makes superior sense of the theological point being made. In other words, these verses are meant to explain how the death of Jesus redeemed Israel from its "transgressions" of the Mosaic covenant (Heb 9:15). According to covenant practice in ancient Israel, parties who enter a covenant swear an oath that invokes a curse upon anyone who would dare to violate the covenant. This is precisely what Israel did at the foot of Mount Sinai when the nation entered its covenant with Yahweh. The ratification ceremony, which involved the slaying of oxen in a symbolic blood ritual, was a visible and tangible sign of the oath curse, signifying that Israel chose to accept the same deadly fate should it transgress the covenant (Ex 24:1-8; Heb 9:18-20). In other words, the animals slain by the covenant maker signified the curse of death that God would impose on the covenant breaker. Thus, as soon as Israel betrayed the covenant at Sinai, falling down in worship before the golden calf (Ex 32:1-6), the nation placed itself under the curse of death (Ex 32:27-28). However, instead of activating the full force of the curse then and there, God mercifully allowed Israel to live (Ex 32:30-34) and instituted the annual Day of Atonement (Lev 16:1-34) to hold the curse of death at bay until such time as he would deal with the transgressions of his people in a definitive way (Heb 9:24-26).

Understood in these terms, the crucial text in Heb 9:16-17 refers directly and specifically to the Sinai covenant and may be paraphrased as follows: "Where there is a covenant (like the one made at Sinai), the death of the (unfaithful) covenant partner must be endured (once it is broken). For a covenant is confirmed (as being in effect) when death occurs, since it is never in force when the (guilty) covenant partner is living." The author is thus explaining how Israel, despite being guilty of transgressing the Mosaic covenant, was spared the curse of national death it had invoked upon itself. Instead, Jesus took this curse upon himself, finally putting the sanctions of the Mosaic covenant into full effect and bringing it all to an end (Heb 9:15). This is the atonement theology of the Letter to the Hebrews, which is a covenant theology through and through. It shows us that Christ gave consent to death, not only to seal a new
diathēkē
with the world, but to deal with the unfinished business of the old
diathēkē
broken by Israel. «
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9:25 repeatedly:
The continuous cycle of high priests offering sacrifices and going in and out of the Holy of Holies year after year stands in contrast to Christ, who appeared once for all (9:26), died once for all (7:27; 9:28), and entered the heavenly sanctuary once for all (9:12). 
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9:26 end of the age:
The final stretch of the Old Covenant era, which the author perceives is "ready to vanish away" (8:13). See introduction:
Date.
 
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9:27 to die once:
No man dies twice, and so neither does Christ, who shared fully in our humanity (2:14; Rom 6:9) (CCC 1013).
judgment:
Everyone will experience a personal judgment by God immediately after death (CCC 1021-22). 
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9:28 bear the sins of many:
An allusion to Is 53:12. • Isaiah describes the rejection and death of the Messiah, who makes himself a sin offering for the transgressions of his people (Is 53:10). The oracle resonates with several of the same themes that echo throughout Hebrews.
a second time:
Christ will come again from heaven to retrieve the saints destined for glory (1 Thess 4:16-17). 
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