Hebrews 9:18
in Hebrews 9That is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood.
KJV
Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
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This verse in Hebrews 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseWhereupon neither the first testament,.... Or the first administration of the covenant of grace under the law: was dedicated without blood; or "confirmed" without it, that dispensation being a typical one; and that blood was typical of the blood of Christ, by which the new covenant or testament is ratified; see Exo 24:7.
This site's exposition
not put into effect without blood
on Hebrews 9:18-22
At Sinai, Exodus 24, Moses sprinkled the scroll and the people with blood, saying This is the blood of the covenant. The rule follows: without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The word nearly allows exceptions, such as the flour offering of Leviticus 5:11.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And he established this no longer from common custom only, but also from what happened under the old [Testament]: which especially influenced them. There was no one who died there: how then could that [Testament] be firm? In the same way (he says). How? For blood was there also, as there is blood here. And if it was not the blood of the Christ, do not be surprised; for it was a type. "Whereupon," he says, "neither was the first [Testament] dedicated without blood." What is "was dedicated"? was confirmed, was ratified. The word "whereupon" means "for this cause." It was needful that the symbol of the Testament should be also that of death.
"even the first was not." And thus, he says, by death, the covenant is confirmed, for the first had the blood as a symbol of death; but the new has the actual death. As those were types, the truth is in the new. "not dedicated …
The Medieval Church2 voices
What he said, he proved not only by general custom, but also by the events of the Old Testament, which was even more convincing to the Hebrews. "Wherefore," he says, that is, since it is necessary for death to precede a covenant, therefore the first …
452. – Then (v. 18) he proves the same thing on the authority of divine law, by something in the Old Testament: In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows the agreement between the two testaments; secondly, their difference (v. 23). In …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Whence neither was the first - The Jewish covenant, originally transacted without the blood of an appointed sacrifice.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The method taken by Moses, according to the direction he had received from God, is here particularly related (1.) Moses spoke every precept to all the people, according to the law,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Whereupon - Ὁθεν. Wherefore, as a victim was required for the ratification of every covenant, the first covenant made between God and the Hebrews, by the mediation of Moses, was not dedicated, εγκεκαινισται, renewed or solemnized, without blood - without the death of a victim, and the aspersion of its blood.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Whereupon - Ὅθεν Hothen - “Whence.” Or since this is a settled principle, or an indisputable fact, it occurred in accordance with this, that the first covenant was confirmed by the shedding of blood. The admitted principle which the apostle had stated, that the death of the victim was necessary to confirm the covenant, was the “reason” why the first covenant was ratified with blood. If there were any doubt about the correctness of the interpretation given above, that Heb 9:16-17, refer to a “covenant,” and not a “will,” this verse would seem to be enough to remove it. For how could the fact that a will is not binding until he who makes it is dead, be a reason why a “covenant” should be confirmed by blood? What bearing would such a fact have on the question whether it ought or ought not to be confirmed in this manner? Or how could that fact, though it is universal, be given as a “reason” to account for the fact that the covenant made by the instrumentality of Moses was ratified with blood? No possible connection can be seen in such reasoning. But admit that Paul had stated in Heb 9:16-17, a general principle that in all covenant transactions with God, the death of a victim was necessary, and everything is plain. We then see why he offered the sacrifice and sprinkled the blood. […]
The words behind it
7 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὅθεν | hothen | wherefore | G3606 → | 15 times |
| οὐδὲ | oude | neither | G3761 → | 141 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πρώτη | prote | first | G4413 → | 152 times |
| χωρὶς | choris | apart from | G5565 → | 40 times |
| αἵματος | aimatos | blood | G129 → | 97 times |
| ἐγκεκαίνισται. | egkekainistai | has been inaugurated. | G1457 → |
ὅθενwherefore
hothenG3606 →15 times
οὐδὲneither
oudeG3761 →141 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
πρώτηfirst
proteG4413 →152 times
χωρὶςapart from
chorisG5565 →40 times
αἵματοςblood
aimatosG129 →97 times
ἐγκεκαίνισται.has been inaugurated.
egkekainistaiG1457 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 9:22According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement…
- Leviticus 6:7
In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”
- Leviticus 4:35
And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the offerings made by…
- Leviticus 17:11
Through
Hebrews 9:14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- 1 Peter 1:19
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Hebrews 10:22
Where this verse is studied
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About Hebrews
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews 16; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Hebrews and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Hebrews.