The purifications of
the Old Law were shadows and affected shadow-types of heavenly things only, and
yet animal blood was required; but the heavenly things themselves (τὰ ἐπουράνια)
must be purified by better sacrifices (plural of category really meaning
only one sacrifice applied in many ways). (W. Leonard, “The Epistle to the Hebrews,”
in A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard and
Edmund F. Sutcliffe [New York: Thomas Nelson, 1953], 1168)
The introductory
verse of the paragraph resumes the reflection on the purifying sacrifices
associated with the old covenant and draws an analogy for the new. Because of
the cultic principle just articulated, it is “necessary” (ἀνάγκη) that
cleansing take place. On the one hand, the “copies” (ὑποδείγματα) of the
heavenly realities, the book, people, tabernacle, and liturgical paraphernalia,
needed to be “cleansed” (καθαρίζεσθαι) with “these things” (τούτοις), a
disparaging reference to the animals’ blood and purifying implements listed in
vs. 19. The heavenly counterparts, on the other hand, require “greater”
(κρείττοσιν) sacrifices.
This general principle raises a variety of questions, particularly about the nature of the “heavenly realities,” the cleansing they require, and the multiplicity of the sacrifices needed. The latter issue is the least troublesome. Our author will not suggest that many sacrifices are required “in heaven.” In fact, he emphatically goes on to affirm the uniqueness of the sacrifice of the new covenant, and the plural is used simply because he is stating a general principle. (Harold W. Attridge, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [Hermeneia–a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989], 260-61)
These copies are
contrasted to “the heavenly things themselves” (auta ta epourania).
Within the biblical Platonism of Hebrews, as I have stated several times, the
poles earth/heaven correspond to less real/more real. Therefore, the heavenly
sanctuary must logically have “better sacrifices than these,” namely those
carried out on earth (for “better” [kreitton], see 1:4; 6:9; 7:7, 19,
22; 8:6). The only surprise in this statement is the plural “sacrifices” (thysiai),
since the argument emphasizes the singularity and once-for-all-ness of Christ’s
offering. This may be a case where grammatical choice is governed by the
logic of the image rather than by the logic of the argument. (Luke Timothy
Johnson, Hebrews: A Commentary [The New Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2012], 243)
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