Fathers

Hebrews 8

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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; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 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. 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. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 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: 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. 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 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: 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. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 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.

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What the Fathers say

Hebrews 8:9

Eastern Fathers

Theophylact of Ohrid

Lest anyone think that the covenant which was made with Abraham is being annulled, he added: "in the day when I took them by the hand." For, he says, I wish to annul the covenant spoken of in the book of Exodus, the covenant given on Mount Sinai to your fathers who cast the calf, whereas it is precisely the covenant with Abraham that received its fulfillment in Christ. For "in your seed," he says, "shall all the nations be blessed" (Gen. 22:18), that is, in Christ. Do you see that the beginning of evil is from us? …

Commentary on Hebrews ↗

Oecumenius

"in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt." So that they do not suppose that the exodus is according to the covenant with Abraham; for it has occurred in Christ, "For to your seed," he says, "who is Christ;" (Gal. 3:16) it brings forth what kind of covenant the exodus has become. That of the Exodus, he says, made through Moses. For to say, "not according to that covenant," he shows it to be cast away, as if he were saying, "I will give another covenant, not such as I have already given. …

The Pseudo-Oecumenian Catena on Hebrews ↗

Western Saints

Thomas Aquinas

398. – Then (v. 9) he describes the New Covenant: first, by its difference from the Old; secondly, by its own qualities. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows the distinction between the Old and New Testaments; secondly, the infirmity of the Old (v. 9b). 399. – For someone could ask: Is the New like the Old? Therefore, as though answering this he says: No, because it is not like the covenant I made with their fathers. …

Commentary on Hebrews ↗