ON THE IMAGERY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF HEBREWS 9,9-10

Verses 9-10 of chapter 9 of the Epistle to the Hebrews occur at the end of a particularly suggestive passage : 6 Under this arrangement, the priests are always entering the first tent in the discharge of their duties ; 7 but the second is entered only once a year, and by the high priest alone, and even then he must take with him the blood which he offers on his own behalf and for the people's sins of ignorance. 8 By this the Holy Spirit signifies that so long as the earlier tent still stands, the way into the sanctuary remains unrevealed. 9 (All this is symbolic, pointing to the present time.) The offerings and sacrifices there prescribed cannot give the worshipper inward perfection. 10 It is only a matter of food and drink and various rites of cleansingoutward ordinances in force until the time of reformation.1 The context of this quotation is that of the first diathk (Heb 9,1) which has various ritual observances (dikaimata) and a tabernacle pertaining to the present world (hagion kosmikon). The author of Heb discusses this cultic arrangement under the aspect of the Day of Atonement ceremonies, and points out that the limited access to the inner tent of the first diathk and its cult shows that the "way" (hodos) into the inner tent (ta hagia) "remains unrevealed" (mpo pephanersthai). Vv. 9-10 begin with the remark that this old cult (cf. 8,13) has relevance for the "present time," i.e., the time which has witnessed the advent of Christ. For the offerings and sacrifices prescribed in connection with the first diathk cannot give the worshipper inward "perfection/' whereas Christ, by his sacrifice, can and has (Heb 10,14). The following sentence, v. 10, then says, according to the NEB, that "it [sc, the Old Law cult] is only a matter of food and drink and various rites of cleansing." What is the precise force of v. 10 in the context? According to the NEB translation, the "food and drink and various rites of cleansing" would seem to be a restatement of the "offerings and sacrifices" of v. 9. But then what "drink" of the Old Law cult is being referred to? 2 The ASV of 1901 takes The New English Bible. New Testament. Ninth printing (1964). Cf. the illuminating comments of Theophylact of the Bulgarians on Heb 9,10: "Burdens (epikeimena), he [sc, the author of Hebrews] says, only on those who lived at that timedirectives concerning food and drink. This, he says, you are to eat, this you are not to eat. But how is it that he says 'in matters of drink'? As regards differences in the matter of drinks the Law makes no special provision. Hence he is saying that the priest should not drink wine when he is about to enter the sanctuary (to hagion) ; or perhaps he is speaking about those who, like the Nazarites, took a vow of abstaining from wine; or maybe he says this just to disparage and ridicule all
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a different approach : ". . . gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect, being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings), carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation." 3 But what is the relevance of "meats and drinks and divers washings" in the context? Putting them in parentheses merely focuses the problem; it does not solve it. Nor does it seem pertinent in the context of the epistle as a whole to say that the gifts and sacrifices are "resting on" (an interpretation of epikeimena, the final word in the verse) foods and drinks and various rites of cleansing,4 for this "resting" does not seem to be treated elsewhere in the epistle. Still another view places stress on the burden of the Old Law sacrifices and offerings, and claims that the other ritual observances are added because they, too, are burdensome. This is a plausible explanation, the more so in view of the fact that the word epikeimena can mean "imposed upon." The Greek Fathers have stressed the burdensome nature of the Old Law observances.5 Further, the word apolytrsis in Heb 9,15, used to describe the deliverance effected by Christ, can connote freedom from slavery,6 and in 9,15 it is used explicitly with reference to the first diathk. The explanation is so plausible, in fact, that commentators on the epistle point out its appropriateness.7 But again, what precisely is the point of v. 10? Why should the author suddenly speak in v. 10 about the burden of the Old Law cult in general when in w . 9,6-9.11-28 he speaks almost exclusively about its ineffkacy and the contrasting efficacy of the New Law expiation ? Granted that the two ideas of "being a burden" and "being inefficacious" are not incompatible, still there is a lack of consistency in their juxtaposition which is not characteristic of a skilled writer such as the author of Heb shows himself to be. Unless the present writer is mistaken (a possibility by no means to be excluded), not only is there a problem involved in the interpretation of Heb 9,10, a problem reflected in the various interpretations of translators and commentators, but there is also a solution, a solution which could clarify considerably the understanding of the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice and thus fit in with the general context.
similar prescriptions" (PG 125,301). For this 11th-century Greek commentator, at least, the verse was not entirely clear. 3 As quoted by F. F. Bruce, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (LondonEdinburgh, 1964) 192. 4 B. F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews. 3rd ed. (London, 1906) 256. 5 Cf. C. Spicq, L'ptre aux Hbreux, I I : Commentaire (Paris, 1953) 255. Cf. J. Swetnam, "A Suggested Interpretation of Hebrews 9,15-18," CBQ 27 (1965) 387. Cf. the use of apolytrsis in Heb 11,35. 7 Cf. the remark of Spicq: "L'efficacit de ces prceptes et de ces coutumes est en raison inverse de leur poids, pourrait-on dire" (loc. cit.).

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A closer look at the text of Heb 9,9-10 is in order : 9 10

, , ' , , , , , .

One of the more striking things, grammatically, about these two verses is the use of the preposition epi with the participle epikeimena. The preposition epi is notoriously flexible in its meanings, but when it is used to govern a dative and in conjunction with epikeimena this range is considerably re duced. In fact, there is only one example of this combination in all of the 9 N T : Jn 11,38. There the construction is used to convey the idea that the stone of Lazarus' tomb was lying across the entrance : "Now [the tomb] was a cave, and a stone lay athwart it" (lithos epekeito ep' autg). Thus, if Heb 9,9-10 are translated following the grammatical usage of Jn 11,38, they read : This is symbolic, pointing to the present time. According to the symbolism gifts and sacrifices are brought which cannot give the worshipper inward fulfillment, lying athwart (epikeimena) only foods and drinks and various cleansings as rites of the flesh until the time of setting straight (mechri kairou diorthses). The final phrase in the citation offers the possibility of a confirmation of the interpretation of epikeimena with epi and the dative as conveying the imagery of a block. For diorthsis in classical Greek is used to indicate, among other things, the setting right of "ways" (hodoi).10 The verbal form, diorthoun, is used in Jer 7,3.5 to signify the amending of "ways" (hodoi).11 And Heb 9,11-12, the verses which immediately follow the passage under discussion, tell how Christ opened up the "way" (hodos) into the sanctuary once and for all (cf. Heb 9,8 in the light of 9,26 and 10,19-20). This convergence of independent factorsthe context of the "way" not The only significant variant in the textual tradition seems to be the reading of kai dikaimasin instead of dikaimata. But the reading epikeimena seems to be uncontested. 9 There seems to be no example from the LXX, though in Ex 36,38 there is an occurrence of epi with the accusative in conjunction with epikeisthai. Cf. H. G. Liddell R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. (Oxford, 1940) s.v. "epikeimai." 10 Ibid., s.v., where its use by Aristotle in regard to reconstruction of "buildings and roads" is cited (Politics 1321b21). The substantive diorthsis does not occur in the LXX or elsewhere in the NT. 11 Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Societatis Litterarum Gottingensis editum. Vol. XV: Ieremias, Baruch, Threni, Epistula Ieremiae edidit J. Ziegler (Gttingen, 1957) ad loc.
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manifest but manifest through Christ as Way; the construction of epikeimenai with epi and the dative in the light of Jn 11,38; the presence of the word diorthsisseems to point to a definite imagery: that of something being blocked by something else. What could this mean ? In view of a number of elements in the context of Heb as a whole and in the context of early Christian literature (which elements are discussed in the remaining portion of this paper), the following suggestion is made: that the "foods" and "drinks" and "cleansings" are mentioned because they are viewed as being the OT foreshadowings of Christ's Eucharistie Body and Blood and of baptism, and they are considered as being "blocked off" by the Old Law rites of sacrifice connected with the Day of Atonement. Because the OT Day of Atonement was unable to expiate sin, the various rituals of the OT which flowed from the expiation were powerless to give the worshipper ritual fulfillment, i.e., definitive union with God. In this interpretation, verses 9-10 of Heb 9 lend themselves to different modern translations and explanations not only because of unusual grammar and unusual vocabulary; they lend themselves to different modern translations and explanations because they presuppose a view of Christ's sacrifice and of Christian cult which is theologically sophisticated. It is only by understanding this sophistication that the allusions of the text take on depth and appear for what they are : indications of a view of Christianity and of Christ's death which is through and through cultic. This suggestion is obviously rather bold. It remains to be supported by concrete particulars. First, there is the concrete particular of the juxtaposition of the three elements "foods," "drinks," and "cleansings" in the context of inefficacy. If the terms are looked upon from the standpoint of the OT they are of unequal value and their parallelism in the text is difficult to understand. But if they are looked upon from the standpoint of the NT their being placed in parallel is intelligible, for the Eucharist and baptism are the key cultic realities of the NT. The author of Heb, to be sure, is concerned with the OT cult ; but this concern is in function of the N T cult, and not vice versa.12 Next, there is the use of the words "foods" (bromata), "drinks" (po12 Just as he is concerned with the Old Law covenant, but always in function of the New Testament. The result is that the Old Law covenant becomes for him the Old Testament. Cf. J. Swetnam, art. cit., 378. Cf. also the following summation: "In Hebrews the whole Old Covenant is being evaluated, and is judged to have its validity and reality only in reference to the order of eternal ralities." Aelred Cody, Heavenly Sanctuary and Liturgy in the Epistle to the Hebrews (St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1960) 152, note 9.

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mata), and "cleansings" (baptismoi) elsewhere in the epistle and in the NT. Bromata occurs at Heb 13,9, also in the sense of the cultic foods of the Old Dispensation. What makes the use in 13,9 relevant from the point of view of the suggested meaning in 9,10 is the fact that it occurs in a context in which the Eucharist seems to be alluded to (cf. 13,10 : "we have a sacrifice altar from which those who worship at the tent have no right to eat"). In fact, charts, with which the bromata in 13,9 contrast, has been explicitly assigned a Eucharistie meaning by some commentators.13 Whether this interpretation is warranted is a difficult matter to decide ; certainly it goes against the prevailing contemporary view.14 But on the other hand the prevailing contemporary view is not at all certain about the precise place of the Eucharist (and of baptism) in the epistle as a whole, and it is in the light of the Eucharistie relevance of the epistle as a whole that the question should be decided. Since the argumentation of the present paper is being based on a convergence of independent testimony it is enough for the moment to note that bromata in 13,9 occurs in a context in which the cult of the Old Law and the cult of Christianity are contrasted, and that it is this contrast which has prompted some exegetes in the past to contrast the bromata with the Eucharist for reasons independent of the use of bromata in Heb 9,10. Pomata is not found in Heb except at 9,10.15 The only other occurrence in the N T is at 1 Cor 10,4, in the celebrated passage in which the OT Exodus imagery is used to sketch the types of the Christian baptism and Eucharist. Poma is parallel to brma in the passage in 1 Cor, a coincidence which
13 Cf. A. Bisping, Erklrung des Briefes an die Hebrer (Mnster, 1864) 294: "Am schnsten wird der Gedanke, wenn wir charts von der christlichen Gnadengaven bildet, verstehen. Zwar lsst sich diese Bedeutung von charts aus dem Sprachgebrauche nicht nachweisen; allein der ganze Zusammenhang scheint diesen Sinn zu fordern. Schon der Ausdruck bebaiousthai tn kardian und der Gegensatz worin charts zu bromata steht, deutet darauf hin, dass wir unter charts eine Speise verstehen mssen ; besonders aber spricht fr diese Deutung der folgende V., in welchem offenbar von der heil. Eucharistie als einem Opfer und einen Opferspeise die Rede ist." Cf. also A. Maier, Commentar ber den Brief an die Hebrer (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861) 392. For a slightly different intepretation cf. A. Padovani, In S. Pauli epstolas commentarius. VI. In epstolas ad Titum, Philemonem et Hebraeos (Paris, 1896) 349. Padovani takes charts as being the whole of the Christian cult, including the sacraments, but particularly the Eucharist. 14 Cf. Spicq, op. cit., 423. Also idem, L'pttre aux Hbreux, I: Introduction (2d ed. ; Paris, 1952) 316, note 5. 15 A possible reason why the author of Heb does not place more emphasis on pomata to contrast them with the NT Eucharistie blood is the controlling imagery of the Day of Atonement ritual, in which blood was the means of purification but was not drunk.

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would seem relevant for the interpretation of their parallelism at Heb 9,10, since both passages treat of the OT as a foreshadowing of the New.16 Baptismos occurs at Heb 6,2 as well as at 9,10. In 6,2 it is found in a passage which has been the subject of divergent interpretations. But the more common contemporary view is that it signifies the ritual ablutions of Judaism and that it is being contrasted with Christian baptism (cf. Mk 7,4). 17 Finally, and most important of all, there is the concrete particular of the terminus of Christ's entrance. If the imagery of Heb 9,9-10 depicts the sacrifices of the OT as blocks lying across the way into the OT rites, with the latter being inefficacious because of the impotency of the former, then the terminus of Christ's act of entrance should involve the N T rites. For if the thought of the author of Heb is to be consistent with his use of imagery in 9,9-10 (granted the interpretation of 9-10 given above), the entrance of Christ through his sacrifice should be "into" the OT rituals, which thereby become endowed with the efficacy of his presence and become the N T rituals, capable of bringing the worshipper to union with God. The OT sacrifices and offerings (9,9) lie athwart the OT rituals (9,10) ; Christ manifests the "way" through this block (9,8.26; 10,19-20) by his unique entrance (9,11-12) into the "sanctuary." This latter is the word which is crucial. For if the author has been consistent in his use of imagery, the "sanctuary" into which Christ enters should in some way involve the cultic realities of the Christian dispensation. How is the word for "sanctuary" expressed in the passage in question? By the words ta hagia. Used as substantives, to hagion and ta hagia are relatively rare in the NT. They are found at Mt 7,6 (to hagion), Lk 1,35 (to hagion), and in Heb (8,2; 9,1.8.12.24.25; 10,19; 13,11). 18 All the occur"What clearly emerges [sc, from the text of 1 Cor 10,4] is that, as the Israelites had something analogous to Baptism, so also they had something analogous to the Eucharist; and this is the only passage in N.T. in which the two sacraments are mentioned together" (A. RobertsonA. Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians (The International Critical Commentary; Edinburgh, 1911) 202. If the hypothesis of the present study is correct, this statement would have to be modified to say that the two are alluded to together in Heb 9,10. 17 Cf. Spicq, op. cit., II, 148. 18 The words hagia hagion occur at 9,3. The reference is clearly to the holy of holies, and most commentators take the first word as a neuter plural in conjunction with hagion, in distinction from the hagia of 9,2, which is a simple neuter plural referring to the holy place. But the difficulty with this interpretation is that ta hagia is the designation elsewhere in the epistle for the holy of holies. Hence it would seem advisable, with A. Vanhoye, to interpret hagia in both 9,2 and 9,3 as an adjective, as at Ex 40,9 (A. Vanhoye, La structure littraire de l'ptre aux Hbreux [Studia
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rences in Heb save one are of the plural and express the goal of the high priest's entrance. The one exception is found at 9,1, where the phrase to hagion kosmikon is used to designate the entire tabernacle, both first tent and second tent or sanctuary. The passage at Mt 7,6 will be discussed below, in connection with an early Christian comment. The text at Lk 1,35 has to gennmenon as a designation of Christ (". . . and the holy thing which is born shall be called Son of God"). It is possible to take hagion as an adjective or as a predicate and translate ". . . and that which is born [a] holy [thing] shall be called Son of God."19 In any case, hagion refers to Christ. The majority of the N T occurrences of hagion/a are found in Heb. In 8,2 the genitive of ta hagia seems to occur : Christ is the high priest who is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens, "cult minister tn hagin and of the true tent. . . ." The genitive has been construed as a masculine by some authors and explained as "the holy ones." 20 But inasmuch as ta hagia occurs in at least six other places in the epistle in the sense of the holy of holies or sanctuary, and inasmuch as the "true tent" seems to refer to the holy place (cf. Heb 9,2.8.11), the word is usually taken as a neuter plural referring to the holy of holies or sanctuary.21 Thus Christ is the minister of both the holy place and the holy of holies. But it is also possible to take tn hagin as referring to "holy things." Thus, for example, Luther. 22 Such a use is attested in Philo. 23 But what seems to have been overlooked so far is the possibility that tn hagin might very well mean both "holy things" and "the holy of holies." The surface imagery is that of the high priest entering into the sanctuary, but when it refers to Christ it
Neotestamentica, Studia 1; Paris-Bruges, 1963] 144, note 1). The hagion would then still be a neuter plural, but it would not have precisely the same meaning as the ta hagia used elsewhere in the epistle in the sense of the holy of holies inasmuch as it means the holy of holies only in conjunction with a preceding adjective, hagia. But the problem is a complex one and needs further study. The fact that there are variations in the early textual tradition has led F. F. Bruce to remark : "This points to some primitive disturbance of the text" (op. cit., 181, note 7). 19 Cf. . Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke (5th ed.; The International Critical Commentary; Edinburgh, 1922) 24-25. 20 Spicq, op. cit., II, 234. 21 Ibid. 22 " . . . und [der Hohepriester] ist ein Pfleger der heiligen Gter, und der wahrhaftigen Htten . . ," Dr. Martin Luther's Bibelbersetzung nach der letzten OriginalAusgabe, kritisch bearbeitet von H. E. Bindseil und H. A. Niemeyer, VII. Theil (Halle, 1855) ad loc. 23 Cf. Philo, Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis IL, IH [Legum Allegoria], III, 135, where the phrase "minister of the holy things" (leitourgos tn hagin) occurs.

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means that he entered definitively not only the conventional heaven (i.e., God's presence), but into the ritual usages of the N T as well, giving them their efficacy. This second level might explain the close connection in Heb between ta hagia and ritual practices in all the texts where ta hagia appears : 8,2; 9,8.12 (which enclose 9,9-10) ; 9,25 (cf. 9,23 and the connecting word introducing 9,24-25: gar) ; 10,19 (cf. 10,22) ; and 13,11 (cf. 13,10). Each of these texts deserves comment. The present writer has recently argued that the "greater and more perfect tent" of Heb 9,11 is the Eucharist. 24 A corollary of this hypothesis is the attribution of a Eucharistie meaning of "true tent" in 8,2.25 The argumentation for the Eucharistie meaning of "true tent" in 8,2 was based on reasons independent of those being advanced in the present paper. But the two lines of interpretation converge in 8,2 : the Christian high priest is "cult minister of the sanctuary and of the true tent" (tn hagin leitourgos kai tes skns tes althins). The distinction between the Eucharistie elements as constituting the "true tent" and as part of the hagia into which Christ entered will be discussed below. Heb 8,3 continues the discussion of cult by remarking that Christ must have some sort of "gifts and sacrifices" to offer by the very fact of his being a high priest. The remark of 8,3 is clarified in the lengthy discussion of the sacrifice of Christ in chapter 9. The discussion is dominated by the idea of the remission of sin. The two OT rituals which serve as the foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice are the Day of Atonement ceremonies (Lv 16) and the inauguration of the Sinai covenant under Moses (Ex 24). The two rituals are regarded as having a common denominator in purification from sin. This appears in the wording of 9,23, the verse which forms the transition from the discussion of the Sinai covenant inauguration as a foreshadowing of Christ's inauguration of the N T (9,18-22) to the discussion of the consummation of Christ's sacrifice viewed as a Christian Day of Atonement ritual (9,24-28). Heb 9,23 begins with the illative conjunction oun (anagk oun), showing that purification is related to the inauguration of a covenant. It states that just as the models of the things in the heavens need to be purified, so the heavenly things themselves need to be purified. And 9,24 begins with the illative conjunction gar (ou gar eis . . . ) , showing that Christ's completion of the new Day of Atonement ritual is related to the purification of the heavenly things. Thus the dominant idea of the remission of sin is shown
J. Swetnam, " The Greater and More Perfect Tent/ A Contribution to the Discussion of Hebrews 9,11," Bib 47 (1966) 91-106. 2 5 Ibid., 101-102.
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to be linked in the author's mind through the notion of purification with both the Day of Atonement ritual and the inauguration of the covenant. What precisely is purified in chapter 9? Ultimately, the consciences of human beings. This is enunciated in 9,14 and implied in 9,9. But the consciences of human beings are not the only realities to be purified. Heb 9,23 again emerges as an important verse, for it states that just as "models" (ta hypodeigmata) of the things in the heavens are purified, so the "heavenly things" (ta epourania) themselves are purified by sacrifices.26 The identification of the "heavenly things" is, of course, one of the classic problems of the exegesis of Heb. 27 And the solutions given have covered a wide spectrum of viewpoints, from F. F. Bruce's firm statement that what are purified are the humans who comprise God's dwelling,28 to the well-modulated tones of academic despair of O. Michel.29 Any discussion of 9,23 in the light of the hypothesis being advanced in the present paper is thus of necessity doubly tentative. But the following view has at least the merit of suggesting a new approach to the problem. Recently J. W. Rosion has discussed the passage at length.30 Rosion's method for a solution : a detailed analysis of 8,2-5 and 9,2.11.23-24 in order to fix the exact meaning of the terms involved, then a study of these terms as they are used in 9,23 in the light of the OT Day of Atonement ritual of Lv 16,15-20. His conclusions : As to the terms, ta hagia (en tots ouranois) of 8,2, auta ta epourania of 9,23, and autos ho ouranos of 9,24 are all referring to one and the same reality. Further, ta hypodeigmata tn en tots ouranois of 9,23 and to hypodeigma kai skia tn epouranin
The use of the plural (kreittosin thy stats) to express the idea of sacrifice is unexpected in view of the author's insistance elsewhere in the epistle on the unicity of Christ's offering (cf. the following verses, 9,24-28, where the point is labored). Perhaps the usual explanation of "generic plural" is the correct one (cf. Spicq, op. cit., II, 266), but the evidence for it is suasive at best, not compelling. The point merits further study. 27 For a summary of various views cf. Spicq, op. cit., II, 266-67. 28 Bruce, op. cit., 218-19. 29 "Worin bestehen die 'himmlische Dinge* (ta epourania) ? Nach 9,24 ist der Himmel selbst das Heiligtum, in dem Christus Gott d i e n t . . . . V. 23 behlt die Form einer Regel, was im Nachsatz besonders stark hervortritt. Immerhin bleiben Fragen offen. Warum ist die Mehrzahl ta epourania und kreittosin thysiais gewhlt? Hat nicht gerade der Neue Bund es mit der Einheit und nicht mit der Mehrheit zu tun? Warum muss auch das himmlische Heiligtum, das doch aus Gottes Hand stammt, gereinigt werden ? . . . V. 23-24 gibt Fragen auf, die in unserem Brief nicht gelst werden ; vermutlich weiss der Verfasser mehr von den 'himmlischen Dingen/ als er ussert" (O. Michel, Der Brief an die Hebrer [llth ed.; Gttingen, 1960] 213-14). For a discussion of other opinions cf. Cody, op. cit., 182-92. o J. w . Roston, "TA EPOURANIA in Epistola ad Hebraeos (8,5 et 9,23)," Roczniki Teologiczno-Kanoniczne 10/2 (1963) 31-44.
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of 8,5 are equivalent. Finally, the expression ta epourania occurring at 8,5 and 9,23 is to be construed in each instance as modifying hagia understood from the context. In other words, there is identity between the heavenly sanctuary and the heavenly "things" of 9,23. But an analysis of the Day of Atonement ritual indicates that the holy of holies was purified from any contamination brought about by man's sins so that it was a worthy place for Yahweh's special presence. When applied to Christ's action as the high priest of the Christian rite of expiation the symbolism of the OT Day of Atonement demands that the sanctuary itself be that which is primarily purified, and only secondarily man. 31 Rosion's argumentation is susceptible of further confirmation if the hypothesis being presented in the present paper is valid: ta epourania (hagia) are the ritual realities of the NT. Christ enters into them sacrificially and thus purifies them with his blood for his presence and God's presence (cf. Heb 1,4) , 32 These are the ritual foods and drinks and cleansings of the OT which now become the definitive focal point of the divine presence in the N T (the symbolism of the sanctuary) and the means through which men's consciences are purified. The purification of the Ibid., 39-42, especially 42. Cf. the discussion by Cody of the sanctuary in relation to the Day of Atonement ritual: "The sanctuary was defiled and purified because it was a sort of prism through which the relations between God and His people were refracted. When the sanctuary was cleansed, the sins of the people were objectively expiated, and contact between God and the people was re-established" (op. cit., 188). 32 Previous to his study of ta epourania in Heb 8,5 and 9,23, Roslon had studied the term epouranios in the epistle in general (J. W. Roslon, "Notio EPOURANIOS in Epistola ad Hebraeos," Roczniki Teologiczno-Kanoniczne 10/1 [1963] 21-34). His conclusions about the meaning of the term merit citation in full : "Epourania concepta . . . sub triplici respectu considerar! queunt: relate ad Deum et Christum, relate ad fidles et relate ad ipsam oeconomiam salutis. "Relate ad Deum et Christum : ta epouraniaessentialiter dicit idem ac ipsum caelum (9,24) in sensu loci ubi speciali modo manifestatur praesentia Dei 'ante faciem Dei' (emphanisthnai t prosop tou Theou). Consideratur ut locus gloriae et actionis salvificae Christi qui in eo pontificatu fungitur (8,2). Respectu huius actionis, quae ab Auctore inspirato per modum liturgiae concipitur, vocatur 'templum verum, perfectum (8,1; 9,11), non manufactum, non pertinens ad res creatas huius mundi (8,2)* et opponitur sanctuario V. Testamenti. Inde ascensio Christi in caelum (4,14) vocari potest 'ingressus in sanctuarium* (10,20). Deinde, sub respectu glorificationis ipsius Christi haec realitas epouranios dicitur 'dextera maiestatis' (1,3) vel magis praecise: 'dextera throni maiestatis in excelsis* (8,1). "Relate ad oeconomiam salutis: Tota conomia salutis a Christo institua est epouranios, praesertim si comparator cum oeconomia veterotestamentali ; in gradu maiori enim impenetrata est interius a singulari praesentia Dei. Habet fortiorem et strictiorem nexum cum realitate divina. "Relate ad fidles: Christi fidles sunt ad hanc realitatem vocati: accipiunt vocationem ex alto (Phil. 3,14), vocationem caelestem (Hebr. 3,1), quae procedit a Deo" (33-4).
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epourania thus expresses continuity between the OT cult and the NT cult, but a continuity which is transformed in its fulfillment by the unique intervention of Christ. Heb 9,23 is fully intelligible only in the light of Heb 9,9-10, and failure to see this connection has made the text at 9,23 a classic conundrum. In 10,19-20 the author again refers to the "sanctuary": "Since then, brothers, we have free access to the sanctuary (parrsian eis tn eisodon tn hagin) through the blood of Jesus, by the new, living way which he has opened for us, through the curtain, that is, of his flesh . . . ." Here Christ's sacrificial act is portrayed as being that which makes possible the entrance into the hagia. In fact, the context speaks about the Eucharist and baptism, as the present writer has pointed out recently.33 Through baptism and the Eucharist the Christian enters into the hagia which Christ's blood has opened for him. It is Christ's sacrificial act which is the basis for the Christian's ability to approach God. This is the same argumentation, fundamentally, as that of 9,9-12 and 9,23, but with the explicit reference to the ultimate term of Christ's salvine action, men. Christ's sacrifice is the root of all sanctification, whether of cultic realities or of men. The final text in which ta hagia appears is 13,11. Again the text and context are obscure and have been the scene of classic exegetical tilting. The following interpretation is offered in the light of the hypothesis under consideration : 13,9 : "Do not be carried away by strange varieties of teaching, for it is proper that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by the foods34 which did not profit those who so lived." 13,10: "We have a sacrifice altar from which those who worship at the tent have no right to eat" [inasmuch as they are by that very fact still under the Old Law]. 13,11 : "For the animals of which the blood is brought for sin into the sanctuary [eis ta hagia an apparently deliberate change from the wording of Lv 16,27 from which this verse is taken ; the LXX has eis to hagion] through the agency of the high priest [but this blood has no power to remove sin and hence no power to purify ta hagia definitively]their bodies (somata*5) are taken outside the camp and burned" [hence they could not serve as food for the worshippers; this is the OT justification for the statement made in 13,10 that those who worship at the tent have no right to eat at the sacrifice altar]. 13,12: "And so Jesus, in order to purify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate" [i.e., in order to make his body available as food in line with the OT foreshadowings concerning the victims for the Day of Atone33 J. Swetnam, " 'The Greater and More Perfect Tent* . . .," art. cit., 102-04. 34 Cf. the discussion above of the word bromata. 35 Cf. the use of soma in Heb 10,5.10.

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ment ritual ; the worshippers who live under the OT cannot partake of the bodies of sacrificed animals, whereas the worshippers who live under the NT, by implication, can; hence in 13,13 the addressees are exhorted to go out of the "camp"]. The imagery of the passage 13,9-12 is complicated: the Day of Atonement sacrifice ended with the blood of the sacrificed animals within the holy of holies and the bodies outside the camp ; Christ, the sacrificed victim of the N T rite of expiation, ends inside the sanctuary, both body and blood, as is clear from what has preceded in the epistle (e.g., 1,3 ; 8,1 ; 9,12.24; 10,12). Hence the only inference which seems possible is that the "sanctuary" is "outside the camp"ta hagia, the holy things of the Christian dispensation, are not the holy things of Judaism, even though they have been foreshadowed by them. There remains one more instance of hagios used as a substantive. In Heb 9,1 the phrase to hagion designates the OT tabernacle, comprising the holy place and the holy of holies. If the hypothesis of the present paper is correct, this is consistent with the usage elsewhere in Hebrews in that the tabernacle is the OT foreshadowing of the NT fulfillment. For the tabernacle is composed of the holy of holies and the holy place, and each of these, in its own way, is the Christ of cult. Thus far the discussion of the ta hagia in the epistle in the light of the hypothesis suggested by the imagery of Heb 9,10. It remains to study several texts concerning ta hagia to be found in early Christian literature. The methodological supposition underlying this use of early Christian texts is that there is a continuity of tradition between them and Heb. Perhaps the most striking text is to be found in the Epistle of Ignatius of Antioch to the Philadelphians : Good, too, are priests, but better is the high priest who has been entrusted with the holy of holies (ta hagia tn hagion), who alone has been entrusted with the hidden things (ta krypta) of God. He himself is the door (thyra) of the Father, through which enter Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets and the apostles and the church. All these things are for union with God (panta tauta eis enotta the ou). But the gospel has something special: the presence of the savior (ten parousian ton soleros), Our Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering, his resurrection.36 Commentators differ as to the exact meaning of the "priests" (hiereis), some holding that the reference is to the priests of the Old Law while others maintain that it is to the Christians.37 There would seem to be no reason
To the Philadelphians, 9. Translation adapted from J. A. Kleist, The Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch (Ancient Christian Writers, 1; Westminster, Maryland, 1946) 88. 3 ? Cf. J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, Part II: S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp (2d ed. ; London, 1889) II, 274.
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why both cannot be correct : the author of the epistle is thinking of the NT fulfillment of the OT foreshadowings, and the "priests" are the Christians who fulfill the OT Levitical priesthood ;38 the "high priest" is the NT high priest, Christ, who fulfills the OT high priesthood. The Christian high priest, just as the high priest of old, has been entrusted with the holy of holies.39 This privilege and responsibility is explained by the following phrase : the high priest alone has been entrusted with the secret things of Godthe holy of holies has something secret about it. The high priest is the door through which enter the OT and NT figures into the Father's presence. "All these things are for union with God." "Things" refers to the "secret things of God" in the previous sentence but one.40 They are the cultic realities associated with the holy of holies. All this is true of the OT and the N T : but the distinguishing characteristic of the NT is the presence of Christ. Several coincidences between the passage from Ignatius and Heb have been remarked.41 But if the thesis of the present paper is correct, they are much more far-reaching than has heretofore been suspected : it is not just a matter of a coincidence in regard to the terms "priests" and "high priest" and "holy of holies." It is also coincidence in regard to the "holy of holies" as the sacred things of the Christian cult. They are the "hidden" things because they may not be spoken about openly. The high priest himself of the NT is the "door" or entrance into the holy of holies (cf. Heb 9,10-12; 10,19-20) 42 through which men of the OT and NT definitively approach God (Heb 11,39-40). And they attain union with God through the sacred things of the NT (cf. Heb 9,24). These sacred things in the NT have some88 Cf. J. Swetnam, " 'The Greater and More Perfect Tent' . . . ," art. cit., 103. Lightfoot (op. cit., 275) states that this "being entrusted" refers to the unique privilege of the high priest of being allowed to enter into to holy of holies. This statement would seem to need qualification in view of what follows in the text, where it is stated that the high priest is a door through which others enter. As high priest Christ has the privilege of entering and de facto has exercised it; but he makes it available to others. 40 For a different position cf. Kleist, op. cit., 138, note 23. Kleist takes panta tauta as referring to the persons in the immediately preceding sentence as well as to the prophecies implied by the word "prophets" and the "means of sanctification," etc., implied by the word "Church." 41 Cf. Lightfoot, op. cit., 275: " . . . I think . . . that Ignatius must have had the Epistle to the Hebrews in his mind." 42 The usual references given in regard to the use of "door" are Jn 10,7.9. Cf. Kleist, op. cit., 138, note 22; Lightfoot, op. cit., 275. Cf. also J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, Part I : S. Clement of Rome (London, 1890) II, 146, line 5 for other references to "door" and "gate" in regard to Christ.
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thing special : the presence of Christ himself ; in the sacred things it is Christ himself who is present, effecting holiness in the worshipper (cf. Heb 2,10-11). The phrase "the holy things" (ta hagia) is found more than once in early Christian literature in the sense of the Christian mysteries. There is, for example, the following text from the Apostolic Constitutions: When the catechumen is to be baptized, let him learn what is involved in renouncing the devil and in adhering to Christ. For he must first withdraw from things which are adverse and then become an initiate of the mysteries: after he has cleansed his heart from all evil attitudes, from all stain and blemish, he may then receive his allotted share of the holy things (kai tote tn hagin metalachein).43 This use of ta hagia for the Eucharistie mysteries is reflected also in the well-known proclamation of the priest at the time of communion: "Holy things for the holy!" (ta hagia tots hagiois).u There is question, naturally, of how early this usage of hagia is. Apart from the possible relevance of Heb, there is the text at Mt 7,6 where hagion is used as a neuter substantive, the only such use outside of Heb except for Lk 1,35 (where it refers to Christ; see the discussion above). In Mt 7,6 the text reads : Do not give the holy thing (to hagion) to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and, turning, tear you apart. This text appears in the Didache at 9,5 in the following context : Let no one eat and drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord ; to this, too, the saying of the Lord is applicable : "Do not give to dogs what is holy" (to hagion).*5 The allusion to the Eucharist in the Didache might, of course, be an accommodation of the gospel text. But it is worth noting against this view that to hagion is used in the L X X for the sacred food of the O T cult. 46
43 Didascalia et Constitutione s apostolorum, edited by F. X. Funk, vol. I (Paderborn, 1906) 442 and 444. 44 See, for example, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catchses mystagogicae, 5,19 (in J. Quasten, Monumenta eucharistica et liturgica vetustissima [Florilegium Patristicum, 7; Bonn, 1935-37] 107 and 107, note 2). 45 Translation adapted from J. . Kleist, The Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, the Fragments of Papias, the Epistle to Diognetus (Ancient Christian Writers, 6; Westminster, Maryland, 1948) 20. The Greek text is taken from: Die apostolischen Vter. Neubearbeitung der Funkschen Ausgabe von K. Bihlmeyer (2d ed.; Sammlung ausgewhlter kirchen- und dogmengeschichtlicher Quellenschriften, 2. Reihe, 1. Heft, 1. Teil ; Tbingen, 1956) 6. 46 Cf. Kleist's comments on the Didache passage : "In liturgical language to hagion came to mean Holy Communion ; in the Old Testament it was used for sacrificial meat : Lev 22,14" (The Didache, etc., op. cit., 160, note 61).

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The use of the term "sanctum" with reference to the Eucharist is found in St. Cyprian, It occurs in the story about the unworthy communicant who took the Eucharist (sanctum) from the hands of the priest only to find on investigation that what he held in his hand was not the Eucharist but ashes.47 The references to the Eucharist under the terminology of "the holy thing" is thus attested from primitive times, perhaps even in the Gospel of Matthew itself. And the usage survived until the time of Cyprian. A pari, it would seem not impossible that the terminology "the holy things," found in Christian writings of the fourth and fifth centuries, should have originated in primitive Christianity. Summary The present paper has attempted to throw light on some traditional cruces in Heb by suggesting a new interpretation of the imagery of Christ's entrance into the heavenly sanctuary. The argumentation rests on a methodological principle and an alleged fact. The methodological principle is this : a significant number of independent factors in a given text, when converging toward a unity, indicate a meaning by the author. The alleged fact is this : there are a number of independent factors in Heb and elsewhere in primitive and early Christian texts which converge toward a unity. The first set of independent factors involves Heb 9,9-10. There the unusual coincidence of epi with the dative and epikeimenos suggests that the basic imagery is that of Jn 11,38, the only other N T text where such a coincidence occurs. The imagery is that of one thing lying athwart another. This independent factor was seen to correspond to another : the context of Heb 9,9-10, which speaks about a "way" not being "manifest," and then being "manifest" because of Christ's sacrificial entrance (Heb 9,8.28; 10,1920). A third independent factor was the occurrence of the word diorthsis, which in classical Greek was used for the rectification of a way and which,
Mt 7,6 is particularly interesting from the standpoint of the hypothesis presented in the present paper. In 7 fi is the verse which is construed in a Eucharistie sense by the Didache. In 7,7-8 comes the image of seeking and of knocking at a door. In 7,9-11 comes the logion about the giving of bread and fish by a father and a comparison with the giving of the Father "in the heavens." In 7,12 is the saying about doing to others as one wants them to do toward oneself. In 7,13-14 comes the imagery of the "gate" (Pyl) and the "way" (hodos). And in 7,15-16 is the comparison of false prophets with wolves (cf. Jn 10). 47 De lapsis, 26 (ed. J.P. Migne, PL 4,501). Cf. also col. 500 for another use of sanctum in the sense of the Eucharist. Also note 9 in col. 501. A possible use of to hagion in the sense of the Eucharist is also found in Dionysius of Alexandria. Cf. C. L. Feltoe, The Letters and Other Remains of Dionysius of Alexandria (Cambridge, 1904) 54.

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in its verbal form, is so used in Jer (7,3.5). The convergence of these factors pointed to a unified interpretation : the author's meaning was that the "gifts and sacrifices" of the OT were obstructing in some way, "lying athwart" "foods and drinks and different cleansings." The suggestion was then made in connection with this interpretation that the "foods and drinks and cleansings" were the OT foreshadowings of the N T Eucharistie elements and baptism. This suggestion would solve the difficulty of the juxtaposition of these elements in the text of Hebrews when there seems to be no reason for their juxtaposition from the standpoint of the OT Day of Atonement : they are juxtaposed because their NT fulfillments are somehow parallel and because their NT fulfillments are somehow connected with the N T rite of expiation. In further support of this suggestion it was pointed out that the three words involved all occur in contexts in the N T which lend themselves to a cultic meaning associated with the sacraments: "foods" (bromata) and "cleansings" (baptismoi) in Heb (13,9 and 6,2), "drinks" (pomata) in 1 Cor 10,4. All these different facts, when examined under the light of the suggestion, took on the aspect of independent convergences, and thus contributed to the proposed interpretation of Heb 9,9-10. But a key aspect of the suggestion remained to be investigated : the terminus of Christ's sacrificial entrance. In Heb this terminus is expressed principally by the words ta hagia, for which the traditional translation is "the sanctuary" in the sense of the holy of holies. Because of the exigencies of the proposed imagery of 9,9-10, the occurrences of ta hagia in Heb were examined to see if the phrase would support an additional meaning of "the holy things," i.e., cultic realities of the O T / N T dispensation (the OT realities being viewed retrospectively from the vantage point of the N T ) . Such an interpretation was found to be particularly felicitous in Heb 9,23, where it helps explain the classic difficulty involving the purification of "heavenly things." An interpretation of Heb 13,9 was offered, though the result was, at best suggestive rather than suasive. Because of the key importance of ta hagia the phrase was examined in primitive and early Christian literature. The text of Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Philadelphians at paragraph 9 was presented as a possible corroboration of the theory that ta hagia has a peculiar cultic meaning associated with Christ's priesthood and sacrifice. A number of details of the text were adduced as supporting the view that ta hagia was associated with the Christian cultic mysteries. The use of ta hagia in this sense in early Christian liturgical texts was cited in confirmation. The use of the singular, to hagion, in the sense of the Eucharist, was offered as being relevant in Mt 7,6, Didache 9,5, and in Cyprian.

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The suggested interpretation of Heb 9,11 which sees in the "greater and more perfect tent" the Eucharist body of Christ was presented as additional confirmation of the hypothesis of the present paper, particularly in the context of the use of ta hagia at Heb 8,2 and 10,19. This use of the hypothesis concerning the "tent" is to be understood not in the sense that one hypothesis is being offered to prove another, but in the sense that the two hypotheses, based on arguments which are mutually independent, are mutually supported by their de jacto convergence. The general reluctance of early Christians to speak openly about their cultthe "Discipline of the Secret"is a background for both hypotheses. Conclusions Perhaps the salient impression from a first encounter with the hypothesis presented in the present paper is that of a theory too precious to be true. But two things are worth bearing in mind: 1) the author was possibly limited in what he felt he could disclose about the "mysteries" of Christianity; 48 2) the author was limited in the linguistic resources at his disposal for trying to convey the theological import of Christ's redemptive action. The careful reader must agree with Michel that the author of Heb is not telling all he knows about the "heavenly things" : he is alluding as much as he is explaining.49 The explanation presupposes an acquaintance by the addressees with the Christian cult as well as with the OT, and the explanation of the former is governed tightly by the latter : Christ's redemptive act is interpreted in terms of the inauguration of the Sinai covenant and especially in terms of the Day of Atonement ceremonies.50 Once the limitations within which the author was working are recognized, the seeming overrefinement of a cultic interpretation for ta hagia assumes a new perspective. What is the author of Heb saying? If the hypothesis advanced above and in the present writer's paper on Heb 9,11-12 is correct, he is saying that the saving effects of Christ's death are mediated to man through cultic realities. The immediate source of the purifying power of the cultic realities is Christ's unique sacrifice on the cross, depicted according to the OT foreshadowing as the first tent of the desert tabernacle "through which" the high priest must pass to enter into the second tent. Christ's entrance is repeatedly stressed as being unique ; this serves to underline the author's view that the Eucharist as sacrifice is unique. 61 This is not to say that the author of Heb
48

Cf. * Cf. w Cf. > Cf.

J. Swctnam, " 'The Greater and More Perfect Tent' . . . ," art. cit., 96 note 3. above, note 29. Cody, op. cit., 203. above, note 26.

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denies that Christ really died on a physical cross ; rather, the author of Heb understands the significance of the physical death in terms of cultic realities : his theology of the cross is Eucharistie. And from the way he presents his views it is tempting to infer that for him the theology of the cross is Eucharistie. Christ "enters into" the second tent or Holy of Holies (ta hagia) not only in the sense that Christ enters the Christian heaven (i.e., the presence of God) at death, but also in the sense that Christ "enters into" the cultic realities of the Christian dispensation. The author of Heb is thinking particularly (again, if the present hypothesis regarding Heb 9,10 is correct) of the Eucharistie elements of food and drink and the baptismal element involved in cleansing. For the Christian, Christ is really present in the cultic elements. When did he "enter" them ? According to the author of Heb, at the time of his death, a death which is connected with the Eucharist as sacrifice. This sacrificial death is unique ; no such attribute is predicated of the terminus of Christ's entrance (ta hagia) because the terminus is multiple as food and drink and washing are multiple. All these cultic realities, pervaded as they are by Christ's presence, are pure, and in turn are able to purify, each in its own way, the conscience of the Christian. There is, to be sure, a problem in the distinction between the Eucharist as sacrifice (the first "tent" through which Christ enters) and the Eucharist as food and drink (the second "tent" or "holy of holies" into which Christ enters). But this distinction seems to have been present from the very beginning of the Christian experience, the Eucharist being viewed as connected with Christ's death on the cross as well as being viewed as a joyful meal.52 What the precise connection between these two aspects is deserves a study in itself. But an hypothesis which posits the distinction does not introduce a new element into NT exegesis.53 Such, in summary, would seem to be an outline of the author's theology of Christ's high priestly act of redemption as it affects the Christian cult. This outline depends on an hypothesis, an hypothesis which has been sketched in its barest essentials in the first part of this paper. At each point the hypothesis is in need of further study and confirmation. Further, there are other questions which it raises which have not been examined. For example, supposing the hypothesis to be true, what does it imply about the "entrance" of the addressees of the epistle into the holy of holies? Such an entrance seems envisioned in 10,19-20 and 9,6-8. Granted that the Christian high priest has "entered into" the hagia. What does it mean for his
Cf. R. E. Brown, "The Unity and Diversity in New Testament Ecclesiology," NT 6 (1963) 304-05. 03 Nor into theological tradition. Cf. Nicholas Lash, "The Eucharist: Sacrifice or Meal?", CIR 50 (1965) 907-22.
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followers to "enter" ? Or again, if the text of Ignatius is really relevant to Heb, why is Christ called thyra and not hodos? These are difficulties, and serious difficulties at that. And any fuller treatment of the problem must take them and others like them into consideration. But if the hypothesis has difficulties it also has merits. Above all, it makes possible a head-on approach to some traditional problems in the interpretation of the epistle. Perhaps the chief of these problems is the question of the maddeningly inconclusive studies on the sacramental allusions in the epistle. If progress is to be made in the exegesis of the epistle, these are the problems which must be faced. They have been faced here. Faced, perhaps, with an imperfect hypothesis. But faced. In matters as important as the interpretation of problem texts in Sacred Scripture, even an imperfect hypothesis is better than no hypothesis at all.
JAMES SWETNAM, S.J.

Pontifical Biblical Institute Rome

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