HEB 10:19-20: THE VEIL OF JESUS’ FLESH
Similar perspectives appear in 10:19-20, which
mention the tabernacle veil and introduces the exhortations that conclude the discussion
of Jesus’ high priestly ministry
(10:19) Therefore brethren, since we have
boldness for a way into the sanctuary (την εισοδον των αγιων) by the blood of Jesus, a new (προσφατον) and living way (οδον), (2) which he made new (ενεχαινισεν) for us through the veil, that
is through his flesh . . . (22) let us draw near with a true heart . . .
Only in this passage does the author equate
the tabernacle veil with Jesus’ flesh. Because the image is unusual and becomes
unintelligible when pressed into a full typology, some interpreters have argued
that the words “through his flesh” actually refer to the “way” or to the whole
of v. 20a, not to the veil. James Moffatt, however, has rightly called the
reference to Jesus’ flesh a “daring poetical touch” which should not be taken
as a full typology. Moreover, the word order, and the parallel use of genitive
case for χαταπετασμα
and σαρξ indicates
that “through his flesh” does refer to the curtain than to the way, a
conclusion which is consistent with the appositional use of τουτ’ εστιν elsewhere in the epistle (2:14;
7:5; 9:11; 13:15; cf. 10:20).
By identifying Jesus’ flesh with the veil,
the author recalls the spatial interpretation of the tabernacle that appeared
in chap. 9. There the author identified the forecourt of the tabernacle with
the realm of the flesh, and the holy of holies with the realm of the conscience
or heaven (9:9-10, 24). The veil of the tabernacle separated the two regions.
At the time of his death, Jesus left the realm of the flesh and entered the
heavenly realm, where he offered the sacrifice that purifies the conscience
(9:14; 10:22).
The emphasis on the newness of the way also
recalls the temporal contrasts of Hebrews 9, where the tabernacle’s forecourt was
“the present time” and the holy of holies was the new age (9:9, 11, 26). The author
stresses that Jesus “made new” (ενεχαινισεν) a “new” (προσφατον) way into the sanctuary, since
his high priestly ministry marked the beginning of a new age.
In chap. 9, the lower realm and the present
age were associated with the Mosaic statues (9:9-10). The verses surrounding
10:19-20 also relegate the Mosaic law to a time that has passed and an inferior
realm. The law prescribed various offerings for sin, but Christ abolished them
and instituted a new covenant, so that there is no longer any offering for sin (10:8, 16-18). The new covenant,
unlike the Mosaic covenant, is inscribed on the heart and mind, which, like the
conscience, is associated with a higher realm of being (10:22). By his sacrificial
death, Jesus moved beyond the realm of the Mosaic law, making it possible for
his followers to do the same. (Craig Koester, The Dwelling of God: The Tabernacle in the Old Testament,
Intertestamental Jewish Literature, and the New Testament [Catholic Biblical
Quarterly Monograph Series 22; Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association
of America, 1989], 164-65)
