The Significance and Function of Tn Hagin in Hebrews 8-10

William H. Shea

There are ten occurrences of the root hagin used as a noun in Hebrews 8-10. The translation of this term has been difficult for the translators of various English versions of the New Testament. The reason for this is that each translator*s understanding of what is referred to by this term differs. In some passages it is translated simply sanctuary. In other passages it is translated holy place and in some instances it is translated most holy place. If one sets out to compile a table listing the various translations in the different versions for the passages involved the compiler soon encounters the fact that the translations are not very much help because of the wide variety of uses found. Thus in order to establish the actual usage that the author intended one must go back to the Greek text to study the word an functions more carefully. This new analysis is performed below in order to establish the meaning of the word in each passage respectively. This involves an analysis of both morphology and contextual indicators. A. Heb 8:1-2. Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister [leiturgos] of the [two] holy places [tn hagin] and the tent [ts skns] which the Lord set up [epxen] not man. While the translation of holy places is in the distinct minority among translators of the versions, it is, nevertheless, the correct translation. The reason for this is twofold: morphology and comparative use in Hebrews. First of all, it is clear that by form the article and the noun here, written with omega in the case ending, is a true genitive plural. This is evident from comparison with the singular genitive form ending in -ou and the singular nominative and accusative cases that were written with -on (with omicron). Thus it is clear that the writer wrote a true plural and intended to do so. This point is emphasized by two comparisons within Heb 9, and another comparison in the Old Testament. The first comparison in Heb 9 is found in verse 1 where the singular form to hagion (with omicron) is used. Since it is evident from this occurrence that the writer knew the singular form well, it is also clear that this plural form in 8:2 is no accident. Beyond that there is an even more distinct parallel in 9:3 where the word hagin is used in the compound phrase holy of holies. Since this is the direct parallel of the Hebrew qodesh qodashim, the second word in the Greek phrase must also be translated holies. This is direct evidence in the text of Hebrews that when the author used the word hagin (with omega), he intended it to be taken as a plural. The Old Testament parallel, by way of contrast, relates to the word pair hagion (with omicron for a singular) used with skn, tent. Hagin is used five times in Lev 16 with the meaning of holy place, always standing for the Most Holy Place. The word for tent is used six times in that chapter. It is clear from the movements of the priest on the Day of Atonement that these words were used specifically for the Most Holy Place and the holy place in Septuagint usage. The same word pair is found here in Heb 8:2 with one grammatical exception. In Lev 16 the word for holy place is found in the singular and it refers to only one holy place, i.e. the Most Holy Place. In Heb 8:2, in direct contrast within the context of the same word pair, the genitive plural is used. This emphasizes all the more that the true plural was intended and is significant and should be used and translated as a true plural. The conclusion of this brief grammatical study is that hagin in Heb 8:2 is a true plural and it was meant to be read and translated as such by the author. The comparisons involved are the contrasting singular forms in Heb 9:1 and Lev 16, and the directly parallel true and clear plural in Heb 9:3. The conclusion thus is that the word means holies. In the context of the sanctuary this means the two holy places: the holy place and the Most Holy Place taken together and subsumed under this true plural. This same point is emphasized by the use of the word for tent. Christ is a minister in both the holy places and in the tent. When the true significance of the plural of hagin was misunderstood this grammatical relationship was misunderstood to be an epexegetical kai whereby the tent explained and was

equivalent to the holy place. There are now several reasons why this cannot be the relationship intended here. In the first place an epexegetical kai cannot be present when it joins a plural and a singular. Now that it is understood that the word hagin in 8:2 is a true plural, it cannot be equated with the singular tent which follows it. In the second place the word for minister (leiturgos) has been inserted directly between these two conjoined words. Thus they are separated syntactically but still function as a word pair that is joined by a simple conjunction. The word leiturgos breaks up any proposed epexegetical function for the kai. The verb used with the tent emphasizes the same point. This tent was set up, erected by the Lord. One can set up a tent but one does not set up a holy place. It is the presence of the Lord that makes that place holy. The verb applies to the tent but it does not apply to the holy places. Thus the picture is that of two holy places enclosed by the overarching tent. The discussion of these spatial relations can be concluded by the final summary diagram that represents the relations involved here in Heb 8:2.

Skn H H

Tn Hagin

The functional conclusion of this matter is simply that Christ, as our high priest, has a ministry in both the holy place and the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. He is not limited to the throne which is mentioned in Heb 8:1 but was free to move about the heavenly sanctuary to function in the various types of ministries represented by both of those holy places that are referred to in Heb 8:2. B. Heb 9:1-3. Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary [hagin]. For a tent [skn] was prepared, the first one [prt], in which were the lampstand and the table and the presentation of the loaves. It is called a holy place [hagia]. Behind the second veil [deuteron katapetasma] stood a tent [skn] which is called a holy of holies [hagia hagin]. These verses contain four of the ten forms of the word hagion, each with their precise form and function. The first one, to hagion kosmikon, is a true singular and it is clear that it stands for the sanctuary in its entirety. This is evident from the modifying adjective which indicates that it is the sanctuary that is in this world, not the one in heaven. The second point about the use of this word is that what follows in the next four verses is complementary to it, explanatory about it. There follows a description of first, the holy place and its equipment, and then the description of the Most Holy Place and its furniture. All of this is intended to describe what was contained in the sanctuary that is mentioned in verse 1. The second occurrence of this word occurs with the description of the first tent, the prt skn. It is called hagia. The form of this word is disputed but its function here is clear. It obviously refers to the place of ministry directly inside the first veil, what is known as the holy place. It should be noted that this word occurs here without the article, therefore it is indeterminate. It should thus be translated as a holy place. The third occurrence of this word in this passage is found in the same form as the preceding one. In this case, however, it is joined with the plural genitive form that has been discussed above. The phrase should thus be translated as the holy of holies. In Greek, this phrase is irregular. To follow the more correct grammatical model it should have been hagion tou hagiou, as it is found in the LXX of Lev 16:33, or followed by the plural genitive word. The irregularity stems from the fact that this is a Hebraism. The construct chain in Hebrew, holy [of] holies has been directly taken over into literal Greek without the

linking Greek article in the genitive form. Thus the singular form is followed directly by the plural form and it is correctly translated, on the model of the Hebrew, as holy of holies. Although the article is not present between the two words, it probably is thought of as implied by the form of the final word and its parallel to the Hebrew form. All four of these forms in this passage have their specific usage. These can be summarized as follows: In verse 1 the singular form with the article refers to the whole sanctuary and should be translated simply as sanctuary. The use of the form without the article in the second instance is undetermined and should therefore be translated as a holy place. The final two references come together and should be treated as a construct chain in Hebrew which they parallel. The translation in this case is, therefore, the holy of holies. The uses of these four forms can be diagrammed as follows:

Prt Skn (Deutero) Skn

Hagia

Hagia Hagin

Deuteron Katapetasma

C. Heb 9: 8-9. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way of the holies [tn hagin hodon] is not yet opened while the first tent [prts skns] still has a standing, which is a parable [parabol] for this present age. The context of this passage should be noted first, before examining its phraseology in detail. The context is that of the earthly sanctuary. The first five verses of this chapter describe the form of the earthly sanctuary, its divisions and the equipment placed in those divisions. Then, beginning with 9:6, the subject of function is taken up, what the priest does in those two sections of the earthly sanctuary. In verse 6 the writer describes the function of the daily (Hebrew t~md) in the holy place. Then in verse 7 he gives a clear description of the Day of Atonement functions in the Most Holy Place. Verse 6 is particularly important as a base for understanding verse 8 because there the Holy Place is called the first tent (prt skn). The same phraseology is used in verse 2 to describe the form of that location. Here it describes the functions of the priest in that place. The discussion of the earthly sanctuary continues down to verse 10. Verses 9 and 10 give the results of what the earthly sanctuary and its rites accomplished. The answer is, not much, a little cleansing of the flesh but no cleansing of the conscience. For that we need the ministry that is carded on in the heavenly sanctuary, the better ministry of Christ in the better sanctuary. That is the subject that is taken up in vv. 11-14. The difficult verse 8 is found, therefore, in the context of the discussion of the earthly sanctuary, not the heavenly sanctuary. Only confusion results if one wrenches this verse out of its context and applies it to the heavenly sanctuary, which is treated later in the chapter. With this discussion of context and the contents of the preceding verses, verse 8 can now be understood more clearly. The action of the verse actually focuses upon the holy place. That holy place is called, at the end of verse 8, the prt skn. If context means anything, this prt skn or first tent must be the same prt skn or first tent that is referred to and described in vv. 2 and 6. It is not the first tent in terms of time, the tent from the Old Testament times. It is rather the first tent in terms of location, the first portion of the overall sanctuary in which the priest ministered and through which he had to pass to get to the second tent or Most Holy Place. These relations can be diagrammed as follows:

9:2

Prt Skn

Earthly

9:6

Prt Skn

Earthly

9:8

Prt Skn

Earthly

With the location of the prt skn determined as the holy place of the earthly sanctuary the location of the way of the holy places can now be determined more easily. The holy places, the two of them, has been determined by examination of the use of this word, hagin as a plural, in 8:2 and 9:3. It should, therefore, have the same meaning here. It should be carefully noted that the text does not say that the priest goes into (Greek eis) the Most Holy Place. Rather it talks about the way of the holy places. The holy places, as seen before, are the holy place and the Most Holy Place. The way of these places is the path between them. That way must lead from one to the other. That way begins in the first tent that is referred to at the end of verse 8 and it ends in the second tent that is referred to in verse 7. Thus these two holy places are connected by this way between them. Wherever the first of the holy places is, that is where the second of the holy places must be; for they are connected by this way of the holy places that extends between them. Since it is evident that the first tent belongs to the earthly sanctuary, it must therefore be into the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary that this way between them leads. The statement of Heb 9:8 is thus a repetition of what has already been said in vv. 7-8. All attention is here directed to the earthly sanctuary and the rites that took place therein. The outline of this passage on function reads: A. B. B. A. Verse 6priestly functions in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary Verse 7priestly functions in the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary Verse 8apriestly functions in the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary Verse 8bpriestly functions in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary

This is simply a repetitive outline (in inverted form) of the same statement about ministry in these two places in the same earthly sanctuary. This is perfectly consistent with the correct understanding of the

context of Heb 9:1-10, all of which applies to the earthly sanctuary. The discussion of the heavenly sanctuary does not begin until verse 11. The final phrase of verse 8 deserves some attention. A literal translation of it is that the way of the holies (the pathway between the holy place and the Most Holy Place) is not opened while the first tent or holy place still has a standing. The text does not use a form of the verb to be here. It does not say, while the first tent still is standing. This should be the form used if the first tent here was first in time, the Old Testament tabernacle. That is not the case, however, for the auxiliary verb used here is a form of the verb to have instead. Thus the correct translation is, while the first still has a standing. This refers to a functional cultic standing. The holy place ministry, known as the t~md or daily, continual had a standing before God throughout the cultic calendar up until the ninth day of Tishri. Then on the tenth day of Tishri, during the Day of Atonement services, the attention shifted to the Most Holy Place where the final cleansing of the cultic year took place. The service in the holy place had the standing before God up until that point, then during that one day the Most Holy Place took its place in the forefront with its standing before God. The function here has to do with the shift in emphasis between the two holy places of the earthly sanctuary. The question then is, in what sense is this a parable for this present age? First it needs to be determined what the present age is. The present age was the age that was in progress at the time that the writer of Hebrews wrote. Let us say that the writer wrote sometime early in the second half of the first century, ca. A.D. 60. That means that the Christian Era was the present age, it was not the Old Testament era which passed off the scene of action with the death and resurrection of Christ. What was the status of the temple at that time? It still existed, but its ceremonies were no longer meaningful because type had met antitype with the death of Christ. They consitituted a meaningless round of ceremonies that had been superseded by the antitype. Even when they were in effect they accomplished little. That is what v. 9b and v. 10 say. They could accomplish a little cleansing of the body, but they could not accomplish cleansing of the conscience. There is, therefore, no need for the Jewish Christians of that time to return to the temple to participate in its services. The better had come and they should, instead, direct their worship to the heavenly sanctuary. The relations described in Heb 9:8 can now be diagrammed in the following way: Prt Skn H H

Way = Hodos

Of the Holies (Hagin) D. Heb 9:11-12. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through [dia] the greater and more perfect tent [skns], not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place [ta hagia], taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. This is a long and complicated sentence, the syntax of which must be unravelled before the elements of the sanctuary can be examined. This is a sentence which contains four main clauses and four dependent clauses. Each dependent clause modifies the main clause which it follows. This passage can be outlined by dividing between the subject of the main clause and the statement about that element found in the dependent clause. This provides the following outline of the sentence:

Subjects of the Main Clauses I. Christ 2. through the tent 3. Christ entered ta hagia 4. Thus securing an eternal redemption

Statements of the Dependant Clauses Appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come Greater and more perfect, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation Once for all, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood

In terms of the Greek word order the dependant clauses in Nos. 1 and 2 above follow the subject that they modify while in No. 3 above, the word order is reverse in that the dependant clause comes first and the main clause comes second. The final main clause, the conclusion, stands in last place, unmodified. Thus the word order of these clauses is actually:

1. main clause 2. main clause 3. dependant clause 4. no dependant clause

A B A B B A A

dependant clause dependant clause main clause main clause

Within this complex syntax the preposition dia is used three times. It is used once in v. 11 with the word for tent and it is used twice in verse 12 with the word for blood. All three occurrences of the word linked with the preposition are in the genitive case. In the first instance this genitive case provides the common meaning of through (cf. Dana and Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek NT, p. 101. In the other two instances, when used with the blood, the form is genitive but the meaning is instrumental: by, with, by means of (A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek NT, Rome, 1988, p. 673). The contrast present here occurs because in one instance the preposition is used spatially and in the other instance it is used with something that enables Christ to enter and pass through that space. Thus He passed through the tent by taking His blood. If He passed through the tent then He must have passed through the first part of it to come to the second part. He must have passed through the first tent to come to the second tent. He must have passed through the holy place in order to come to the Most Holy Place. This verse also spells out the bipartite nature of the heavenly sanctuary. It also indicates what the form of hagia with the article signifies. In contrast with the other instances where it is used without the article, in this instance that holy place is specified, it is determined. In the other instances it just means a holy place. Here it means the holy place. This is the form in which it is used, with a different case ending, in Lev 16 to refer specifically to the Most Holy Place (LXX). Here it means The really holy place, that is, the Most Holy Place. Of the ten occurrences of this word in Heb 8-10, this is the only instance I can find where it is used exclusively for the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. There is one instance below where it is used for the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary (9:25), and that case is discussed below. The plural form is used for both holy places, the singular form with the article to is used for the entire sanctuary, and the form of hagia without the article means just a holy place. Those references generally refer to the holy place. Here, however, the form of ta hagia refers to the Most Holy Place because that is the place into which Christ entered (eis. . . eislthen) when He presented His blood (figuratively, not literally) to God the Father at the time of His ascension. This act which took place at the time of Christ*s ascension occurred once for all in the sense that Christ did not have to keep on taking more and more blood into the sanctuary, either the holy place or the Most Holy Place, because His own bloodin contrast with the blood of goats and calvesonly need to be offered once, not many times over. This does not mean that He was limited to stay in the Most Holy Place or that He was frozen to the divine throne there. On the contrary, He had a ministry which commenced then in both the holy place and the Most Holy Place. That is what Heb 8:1-2 says. He was a minister of both holy places and indeed throughout all of the tent. What occurred here in Heb

9:11-12 was punctiliar in that He presented His blood but once. That is what obtained eternal redemption for us. Now He has a holy place ministry, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Heb 7:25). Having presented His blood to the Father, and had that blood accepted as the sacrifice for the human race, He was then free to take up his holy place ministry too, that he has carried forward from that time to this. (Illustration on p. 10.) E. Heb 9:24. For Christ has entered, not into a holy place [hagia without the article] made with hands, the antitype of the true ones [i.e., holy places, genitive plural], but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Without the article this occurrence of the word for a holy place could well refer to the sanctuary as a whole. This is called the antitype while the heavenly, the great original, is the type, as the word is used in Heb 8:5. This word hagia without the article could also refer simply to the holy place of the earthly sanctuary, which is its term of reference here, as it does in Heb 9:2. The point in that case is simply that to minister anyplace in the sanctuary one must enter it by way of the holy place. What is more significant here is the way the heavenly sanctuary is referred to. The word for holy is not used in that sense here for the word hagia refers to the one made with hands. That is the earthly. Nor is the heavenly sanctuary referred to as the tent (skn). In this reference the heavenly sanctuary is simply referred to as the true ones. The form of this word should be noted carefully. It was written with a genitive plural ending. Thus the correct translation is the true ones, meaning the true holy places in heaven. The wording here is modelled after Heb 8:2. There the full phrase is given and it is spelled out as: Tn hagin leitourgos kai ts skns ts althins Tn hagin leitourgos kai ts skns ts althins is the form in which this appears in 9:24. What the writer has done is to take the plural genitive article from the beginning of this phrase and the last word of this phrase, which was originally in the genitive singular, and change the ending to a genitive plural. These two words are, therefore, a shortened form of the original phrase after which it is modelled. The shortened phrase has taken the initial article in its original form and added the final adjective, changing the ending to the true genitive plural. Thus this brief phrase stands for all that stood in between these two words beforethe holy places and the tent, all of these are the true ones. Thus even here in 9:24 the writer of Hebrews indicates for us that he is well aware that the heavenly sanctuary consisted of two holy places, even though he did not use that word for it. The statement itself simply signifies that Christ has entered into the heavenly sanctuary without indicating for us just where he was ministering at that time. The next verse makes a clear reference to the Day of Atonement, Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the Holy Place [ta hagia] yearly with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. In this instance ta hagia refers to the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary. That is the place where the priest went each annual Day of Atonement. This, however, is not the type or antitype of what Christ did. It is the antithesis. The earthly priests had to enter there every year. Christ did not have to do this because he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sancrifice of himself. This the cross here on earth, it is not in the earthly sanctuary nor the heavenly sanctuary. The function here is one of contrasts and the writer of Hebrews has picked out the Day of Atonement as the highest sacrifice that the ceremonial system could offer. But it was not good enough. We need something better. We need the better blood of Christ. The contrast here is not between the Day of Atonement and Passover, when Christ died; the contrast is between the blood of animals and the better blood of Christ. The contrast is between type and antithesis, not between type and antitype. (Illustration on p. 10.) F. Heb 10:19-21. Having, therefore, brethren, confidence [to enter] into [eis] the entrance [eishodon] of the holy places [tn hagin, genitive plural] in the blood of Jesus, which he inaugurated for us, a new and living way [hodon] through the veil which is of his flesh, and [having] a great high priest over the house of God, Let us. . . . This long and complicated sentence (one sentence covers one paragraph in the printed text of the Greek NT) follows the model of case or casuistic law in the OT. In those case laws there is a condition, introduced by an if-clause, followed by a result clause, introduced by some form of the word for then. The difference here is that the conditions have already been satisfied for us by Jesus. He has opened the entrances into the heavenly holy places, He has inaugurated the way through the veil, and He is the great high priest over the house of God.

Given that these conditions have already been obtained by Jesus, the obligation now falls upon us to satisfy our part of the covenant. The conditions are introduced by verbal forms which summon us to joint action. These actions are outlined in the next four verses:
v. 22 v. 23 v. 24-25 Let us draw near. . . Let us hold fast. . . Let us consider. . .

Our focus here is upon the conditions fulfilled by Jesus so that we may accomplish these works of faith. These are outlined in the first three verses of this paragraph. The first condition is that the blood of Jesus gives us confidence to enter into the entrance of the holy places. The preposition used here is eis which clearly means into and the word for erarance is eishodon. This is a noun in the accusative case, it is not a verb. The verb here is understood but not spelled out. The word entrance here literally means the way into. Thus we should enter into the way into, that is, the entrance. It is the entrance into the holy places which are both the holy place and the Most Holy Place, the heavenly sanctuary in its entirety, referring to its bipartite nature. The location and the nature of that entrance is explained for us in verse 22. That (eis) hodon or entry way is through (dia) the veil (katapetasmatos) In the second instance the word for way is used without the prefixed preposition but they are in parallelism and the entryway is the same as the following reference to the way. In the first instance the entry led into the holy places (plural). That was also the area to which access was gained by entering through the veil. Thus the veil is, in essence, the entrance, the eishodon. The parallelism of these two phrases can be seen as follows:
v. 19 vv. 20-21 eis into dia through tn eishodon the entrance tou katapetasmatost the veil tn hagin of the holy places on oikon tou Theou of the house of God

Some have argued that the word katapetasma for veil has to refer to the veil between the holy place and the Most Holy Place. From the study of George Rice in A USS it is obvious that this word could be used for all three veils: to the courtyard, to the holy place, and to the Most Holy Place. It is true that it was used most frequently for the veil into the Most Holy Place, but it is also true that it was used for the other two veils also. In addition, the author of Hebrews shows that he used this same word for the veil into the holy place in 9:3 where he refers to the veil between the holy place and the Most Holy Place as the second veil (deuteron katapetasma). To interpret this veil in 10:20 as the veil between the holy place and the Most Holy Place breaks up the preceding reference to the entrance into the holy places which includes both of those holy places. Thus the veil must be the veil into the holy place which was the veil into both of the holies, it was the entrance, the entryway into the interior of the sanctuary. That is the same thing that the reference in 6:19. That text does not say that its katapetasma was an entryway into the holy place or the Most Holy Place. It simply says that it was the entryway into what lay behind it. Thus the reference is to both of the holy places and all of their equipment that lay behind the veil that led into the sanctuary. Verse 21 says that Christ is a great high priest over the house of God. While some might take this to represent the people of God here on earth, the sanctuary context is sufficient to indicate that this house of God is the house of God into which He has entered and into which we are to enter by faith in His blood. This house of God is not divided into holy place and Most Holy Place because He is the great high priest over both of those holy places, over the whole temple or sanctuary in heaven. This is the same type of statement as is found in 8:2 where He is the minister of both of the holy places. With this figurative literal passing through the veil of the sanctuary, the discussion of the sanctuary ends. We entered into that territory in 6:19 by passing through the veil into a discussion of the sanctuary. Here we pass out through that same veil because the discussion of the sanctuary is ended. The two form an envelope construction around this doctrinal point. The point of it all is that the Christian has better blood, a better Priest, a better sanctuary, and a better covenant. Those are the main topics that are enclosed within this framework. (Illustration on p. 11.) G. Heb 13:11. As for the animals, the blood of which is brought into the Most Holy Place [ta hagia] by the high priest, their bodies are burned outside of the camp.

The reference to ta hagia in this verse could be a general reference to the sanctuary. There is, however, a more specific connection available, in Lev 16:27. Each of the elements present in Lev 16:27 are also present in Heb 13:11. The two texts can be paralleled in the following manner:
Lev 16:27 The bull for the priest The goat for the people For the sin offering Whose blood was brought in In the holy place (t hagi) = MHP (No parallel) Outside of the camp They shall be carried Their sin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned with fire Heb 13:11 The animals (plural = two) Concerning sins Was brought in, the blood Into the holy place (ta hagia) = MHP By the high priest Their bodies shall be burned (No parallel) Out side of the camp

The parallels cited in English are already adequate to demonstrate a relationship between these two passages. The Greek phraseology is even closer. I have attempted to follow the Greek and Hebrew word order here but there are some alterations. Of special interest is the matter of taking the bodies out to be burned. The Greek word order in Hebrews is the reverse, a chiastic construction, when compared with that in the Hebrew. Chiastic constructions fit well with Hebrews in that they express the difference between the old and the new, the inferior and the superior. This type of construction is also used sometimes to note the movement into and out of the sanctuary. Once again, this is no type and antitype construction. At least if there is a type it has nothing to do with the sanctuary. The point that the writer of Hebrews now wishes to make places its emphasis upon the final action, the bringing of the carcass of the animals out of the sanctuary area to be burned outside of the camp. In a like manner, Jesus suffered outside of the gate (of the city of Jerusalem) so that His shed blood could sanctify the people. The parallel is with the burning of the animals* bodies outside of the camp, not with the ministry of the priest inside of the sanctuary. (Illustration on p. 11.) Conclusion The ten occurrences of the forms of hagia in the book of Hebrews have been examined here. The particular finding which probably is the greatest departure from previous studies is that grammatically and semantically the genitive plural of this word should be translated as a true plural and this plural refers to the holies as the two holy places within the sanctuary. This holds true for both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuaries. Where the word occurs without the article, it is general, indeterminate, and usually refers to the holy place, of both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuaries. Where the word occurs with the article to it is definite and refers to the entire sanctuaries. Where the word occurs with the article ta it is definite and refers to the Most Holy Place. In the references to the veil in 6:19 and 10:19, the reference is to the veil which led into the sanctuary, into the holy place first of all. The references to Hagia and its various forms may be listed as follows by way of conclusion.
Reference and Location 8:2, heavenly ----------------------9:1 earthly --------------------------9:2 earthly --------------------------9:3 earthly --------------------------9:3 earthly --------------------------9:8 earthly --------------------------9:12 heavenly ---------------------9:24 earthly ------------------------9:25 earthly ------------------------10:19 heavenly --------------------13:11 earthly -----------------------Form Tn Hagin -----------------To Hagion -------------------Hagia ------------------------Hagia ------------------------Hagin -----------------------Tn Hagin -----------------Ta Hagia --------------------Hagia ------------------------Ta Hagia --------------------Tn Hagin -----------------Ta Hagia --------------------Translation and Siguifieance The (2) holy places The sanctuary A holy place (= the holy place) A holy of. . . (The) holy places The (2) holy places The Most Holy Place Holy place (= the holy place?) The Most Holy Place The (2) holy places The Most Holy Place

The author of the book of Hebrews knew the sanctuary very, very well. We modems have sometimes accused him of having made mistakes in describing its form or function. In actuality it is we modems who are mistaken because we did not understand the precision of his language. It is clear from the study above that he knew that both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuaries had two places of ministry, a holy place and a Most Holy Place. Jesus has had ministries in both of these locations. He began with His ministry in the Most Holy Place by presenting His blood to the Father as the seal of the everlasting covenant. In this way He obtained for us everlasting redemption. Following that presentation He began His ministry in the heavenly holy place. There He has ministered by way of intercession from the time of His ascension to the present. Once again, according to the prophecies of Daniel, He has taken up another type of ministry in the Most Holy Place. Those two ministries at present run parallel to each other, together. When they come to their final conclusion He will leave that heavenly sanctuary and come to this earth to receive His saints who have placed their faith in His ministry above.

Illustration for Heb 9:11-12

Skn Dia

Dia

Heavenly

Of Dia in 10:20 for Parallel usage

Illustration of Heb. 9:23-25 9:24a Hagia

Ta Hagia 9:25

Earthly

H
Heavenly

9:24b Tn Alethinn (Plural)

Illustration for Heb 13:11 Day of Atonement

Blood

High Priest

Ta Hagia Heb 13:11 T Hagi Lev 16:27, LXX

Illustration for Heb 10:19-21 Of the House of God

Through the Veil

Dia Katapetasmatos

Eishodon 10:19-21

Tn Hagin Entrance of The Holy Places 1. Entrance Eishodon 2. Holy places Tn Hagin = = = = Veil Katapetasmatos House of God Oikon Tou Theou

High Priest