Common Misunderstandings of Hebrews 8

[HARK!]

Hebrews 8

King James Version



1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

This chapter begins by speaking of the Kohen Gadol.

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

The Kohen Gadol, a minister.

3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

Again speaking of the Kohen Gadol. He offers Mincha and Zebach.

Now if a Mincha is a Zebach, along with Korban, Olah, Ashma...; then why be redundant?

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

The Torah? Many Christians claim that the Torah had been nailed to the cross when this book was written. Why bring up the Torah?

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

That last part is not a very accurate rendering of the Greek. Let's take a look at the Greek.

επι κρειττοσιν επαγγελιαις νενομοθετηται

On - better - promises - has been law placed

Notice that the focus of this letter is still on the ministry. The minister is the mediator of the covenant. The covenant is secondary in this statement.

The Author of Hebrews made it clear back in chapter 7

11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) (νενομοθετηται) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

There's that word again! νενομοθετηται

This word is used in only two places in the bible. It's strange how the translators of the KJV render this word as "established" in one verse, and "Torah" in the other.

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

The word Covenant does not appear in the Greek manuscripts concerning this verse. This word was added. Are we to add what we wish to scripture?

Since the focus of this letter has been on the ministers so far; and it has already been stated that the renewed covenant is mediated by our minster; why would the translators take the liberty to add a word to scripture, and make this about covenants?

Why would they assume that there was a fault in YHWH's covenant, and not of the men who were in that covenant?

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

Here we go! They were at fault, not YHWH's covenant with them, them, not it.

New?

YHWH didn't say this in Greek. He said it in Hebrew. What exactly did YHWH say in Hebrew?

(CLV) Jer 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, averring is Yahweh, when I will contract a new (חדשה) covenant with the house of Israel (Notice who the contract is with) and the house of Judah.



ל הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים, נְאֻם-יְהוָה; וְכָרַתִּי, אֶת-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת-בֵּית יְהוּדָה--בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה.

châdash, khaw-dash'; a primitive root; to be new; causatively, to rebuild:—renew, repair.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon [?] (Jump to Scripture Index)

STRONGS H2318:
† [חָדַשׁ] verb only Pi. (and Hithp.) renew, repair (in poetry and late) (Late Hebrew id., Phoenician חדש; noun חדש new moon, also in קרתחדשת new-city£½Carthage; Aramaic Tedfo and חַדֵּשׁ; Arabic حَدَثَ be new, Ethiopic ሐደለ፡ I. 2. renew; Sabean החדתֿ, see Os (Levy): ZMG 1865, 204 MordtZMG 1876, 30; Assyrian [adâšu], uddiš, renew, eššu, new, etc. DlW 199 ff.) —
Pi. Perfect וְחִדְּשׁוּ consecutive Isaiah 61:4; Imperfect וַיְחַדֵּשׁ 2 Chronicles 15:8; 2nd person masculine singular תְּחַדֵּשׁ Job 10:17; Psalm 104:30; וּנְחַדֵּשׁ 1 Samuel 11:14; Imperative חַדֵּשׁ Psalm 51:21; Infinitive לְחַדֵּשׁ 2 Chronicles 24:4, 12; —
1. renew, make anew הַמְּלוּכָה 1 Samuel 11:14 (editorial); פני אדמה Psalm 104:30, רוּחַ Psalm 51:12 (|| בּרא); = bring back יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם Lamentations 5:21; עדיך ח׳ Job 10:17 i.e. bringest fresh (new) witnesses.

The renewed covenant is with one Israel, not Jews and Goyim, just like it originally was with the sons of Israel and the mixed multitude, one Israel.

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

They didn't continue in the covenant; because they violated the Torah.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws (Torah) into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Torah? There's that word again. Now how can the Torah be nailed to the cross; if it is written on our hearts.

This is what YHWH wanted all along.

(CLV) Dt 6:6
These words which I am instructing you today will come to be in your heart.

(CLV) Dt 11:18
Hence you will place these my words in your heart and in your soul, and you will tie them as a sign on your hand, and let them come to be as brow-bands between your eyes.




11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Sin is transgression of the Torah. How will YHWH remember sin no more; if those who have the Torah written in their hearts, continue to remind him of their transgressions, by continuing to transgress the Torah?

13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Again the word covenant does not appear in the Greek manuscripts. It was added by biased translators.

YHWH's covenant with Israel was not flawed. It was the people who didn't keep it who were flawed.

YHWH is not flawed. His Torah is a reflection of his nature.

YHWH's Torah is not flawed.

(CLV) Ps 19:7
The law of Yahweh is flawless, restoring the soul; The testimony of Yahweh is faithful, making wise the simple;

That which is perfect cannot be made more perfect.

Shabbat shalom

 

[Minister Monardo]

The renewed covenant is with one Israel, not Jews and Goyim, just like it originally was with the sons of Israel and the mixed multitude, one Israel.

Then why the mention of Judah here?

(CLV) Jer 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, averring is Yahweh, when I will contract a new (חדשה) covenant with the house of Israel (Notice who the contract is with) and the house of Judah.

Hebrews 7:
14 For evidently that our Lord arose from Judah,
of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
17 For He testifies: You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope,
through which we draw near to God.

The best way to avoid misunderstandings about
Hebrews 8, is Hebrews 7. Why Judah? The covenant
promises made to the house of David.
Isaiah 22:22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Revelation 3:7 These things says He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.
Revelation 22:16 I, Yeshua, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

The renewed covenant is with one Israel, not Jews and Goyim, just like it originally was with the sons of Israel and the mixed multitude, one Israel.

The Goyim are grafted into the house of Judah, and
not excluded from Jeremiah 31 prophecy.
Zechariah 12:
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.
6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.
8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.
9 It shall be on that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

 

[Guojing]

[

 

[HARK!]

Then why the mention of Judah here?

(CLV) Jer 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, averring is Yahweh, when I will contract a new (חדשה) covenant with the house of Israel (Notice who the contract is with) and the house of Judah.

Read on:

(CLV) Jer 31:32
Not like the covenant which I contracted with their fathers in the day I held fast onto their hand to bring them forth from the land of Egypt, which covenant of Mine they themselves annulled while I was Possessor over them, averring is Yahweh.

(CLV) Jer 31:33
For this is the covenant which I shall contract with the house of Israel after those days, averring is Yahweh: I will put My law within them, And I shall write it on their heart; I will become their Elohim, And they shall become My people.

Notice that there is only one house in verse 33. One Israel.

(CLV) Mt 15:24
Now He, answering, said, "I was not commissioned except for the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

(CLV) Ga 3:27
For whoever are baptized into Christ, put on Christ,

(CLV) Ga 3:28
in Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is not slave nor yet free, there is not male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.

 

[HARK!]

The Goyim are grafted into the house of Judah, and
not excluded from Jeremiah 31 prophecy.

Again Yahshua was commissioned for none but the lost sheep of Israel. So it is written.

Would this exclude each and every one of his hand picked disciples; or were even those of the tribe of Judah not the lost sheep of Israel?

10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

This hasn't happened yet; and it never will as stated. This is another mistranslation. Maybe this will help:

Thus sayeth YHWH:


י וְשָׁפַכְתִּי עַל-בֵּית דָּוִיד וְעַל יוֹשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלִַם, רוּחַ חֵן וְתַחֲנוּנִים, וְהִבִּיטוּ אֵלַי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-דָּקָרוּ; וְסָפְדוּ עָלָיו, כְּמִסְפֵּד עַל-הַיָּחִיד, וְהָמֵר עָלָיו, כְּהָמֵר עַל-הַבְּכוֹר.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

Zechariah 12 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre

This speaks of a future event. Is the renewed covenant in full effect? Is the Torah written on your heart; or are you still waiting for that day? Remember that Israel was carried away; and became part of the nations (Goyim), and served other gods. Have Judah and Israel become one?

Paul says that the Ger are to be citizens of Israel, not Judah.

(CLV) Eph 2:11
Wherefore, remember that once you, the nations [Ger] in flesh—who are termed "Uncircumcision" by those termed "Circumcision," in flesh, made by hands

(CLV) Eph 2:12
that you were, in that era, apart from Christ, being alienated [Ger]from the citizenship of Israel, and guests of the promise covenants, having no expectation, and without God in the world.

(CLV) Eph 2:19
Consequently, then, not longer are you guests [Ger Toshav] and sojourners [Ger], but are fellow-citizens of the saints and belong to God's family,

Did Paul get it wrong?

Are you familiar with the meaning of a threshold covenant? He who enters a threshold covenant is under the authority and protection of the head of the house, just as a family member of that house.

 

[Lulav]

This hasn't happened yet; and it never will as stated. This is another mistranslation. Maybe this will help:
Thus sayeth YHWH:

י וְשָׁפַכְתִּי עַל-בֵּית דָּוִיד וְעַל יוֹשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלִַם, רוּחַ חֵן וְתַחֲנוּנִים, וְהִבִּיטוּ אֵלַי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-דָּקָרוּ; וְסָפְדוּ עָלָיו, כְּמִסְפֵּד עַל-הַיָּחִיד, וְהָמֵר עָלָיו, כְּהָמֵר עַל-הַבְּכוֹר.

10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.
Zechariah 12 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre

HI Hark,

We have to be careful using the Jewish versions as things that we believe pertain to Messiah they don't.

I went through 27 versions of that verse over at biblehub and they all say pierced, except for these.

New American Bible _ Catholic Bible
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of mercy and supplication, so that when they look on him whom they have thrust through,​

JPS Tanakh 1917 - Jewish Publication Society
And I will pour upon the house of David, And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplication; And they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

This can be used sparingly as the word 'daqar' has that meaning, as in the book of Numbers where Phinias took a sword into the tent with the man of Israel who had brought in a pagan woman into the camp. He thrust the sword through them both (probably in the act) so we know it went all the way through at least one of them.

Good News Translation - Supposed to be more 'with it' but takes great license with their translation.
"I will fill the descendants of David and the other people of Jerusalem with the spirit of mercy and the spirit of prayer. They will look at the one whom they stabbed to death, and they will mourn for him like those who mourn for an only child. They will mourn bitterly, like those who have lost their first-born son. ​

Contemporary English Version
I, the LORD, will make the descendants of David and the people of Jerusalem feel deep sorrow and pray when they see the one they pierced with a spear. They will mourn and weep for him, as parents weep over the death of their only child or their first-born.
​

This one interprets it by the action at the cross but the text says nothing of a spear here. There is the mention of a spear in Numbers, about Phineas, but not in Hebrews.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn son.​

You don't make lamentation (mourn) or grieve intensely for someone that's mocked.

Either way, pierce and thrust through both have the connotation of a sharp object being inserted into someones flesh all the way to the other side. This of course happened to Messiah in three places. The sword to check on his state of living was not used all the way through.

This hasn't happened yet; and it never will as stated.

It hasn't, true, but will never? please explain.

 

[HARK!]

It hasn't, true, but will never? please explain.

I highlighted the differences between the two translations to point out the point that I was attempting to make. One translation states one thing. The other states another. I wrote that it would not happen as stated, not that it wouldn't happen at all.

Most Bibles are based on the Masoretic text; yet Yahshua and his disciples most often quoted the Septuagint.

The Septuagint translation that you presented reiterates the point that I made.

Remember, that YHWH is speaking here.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn son.

Which translations are accurate regarding who they shall look upon, and who was thrust through? Will they look upon YHWH, or he who was thrust through?

 

[HARK!]

To: אל

To me: אלי

Suffixes in Hebrew - Wikipedia