Thomas Aquinas Commentary Hebrews 9:1-5

"Now even a first [covenant] had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, [a sanctuary] of this world. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein [were] the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies; having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron`s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally." — Hebrews 9:1-5 (ASV)

Having shown in general the dignity of the New Testament as compared to the Old, the Apostle now shows the same in particular by examining the details of each Testament. In regard to this, he does two things:

1. He compares things of the Old Testament with those of the New to show the dignity of the New.
2. He clarifies some things he had presupposed (Hebrews 10).

Regarding the first point, he does three things:

1. He explains what was present in the Old Testament.
2. He shows what it signified (Hebrews 9:8).
3. From these facts, he argues to his conclusion (Hebrews 9:15).

Regarding the first of these three points, he does two things:

1. He describes the qualities of the Old Testament.
2. He explains what he had said (Hebrews 9:2).

Concerning the first, it should be noted that both the Old and New Testaments were instituted so that through them the soul might come to God. But two things are needed for this: withdrawal from sin and union with God. The first is brought about by justification, and the second by sanctification. In both Testaments, justification and sanctification took place. Hence, he says that the former one had grown old.

But what were the qualities of that Old Testament? It had regulations for worship. In the Old Testament, there were washings by which people were cleansed not from the stain of sin, but from certain irregularities that hindered them from the worship of God. For example, after touching a corpse or anything unclean, they could not enter the tabernacle until they were purified by certain washings. Therefore, they were called the “justifications of worship,” because by them they were made fit for divine worship. This is treated in Leviticus 22. As Jerome notes, “Justifications, that is, washings, purified them so that they could approach.” But their sanctification was a worldly sanctuary.

Now, “worldly” is sometimes taken to mean any duration, as in for ever and ever (Psalms 109:3), and sometimes it signifies the world itself: Demas has left me, loving this world (2 Timothy 4:10). Therefore, that sanctification can be called “worldly” because it is temporal and not perpetual. But the Greek text does not take it that way, because it says, “mundane holy.”

Hence, a difference between the New Testament and the Old was that, although both are physical, the former contains grace and is holy, and in it the divine power works salvation under the cover of visible things. This was not so in the Old Testament, because it contained no grace in itself: How can you turn again to the weak and needy elemental spirits? (Galatians 4:9).

Then, when he says, For a tent was prepared, he explains what he has said, concerning first, the arrangement of the tabernacle, and secondly, the ministry of the priests (Hebrews 9:6).

To understand the literal meaning, it should be noted that the Lord commanded a tabernacle to be made in the desert. It was to be twenty cubits long and ten wide, with an entrance facing east. In front of the entrance, a curtain hung from four pillars. There was also a small tent containing the altar of burnt offerings. But the Apostle left all this unmentioned, because it did not contribute to his argument.

In the tabernacle, as you faced west, a veil hung before an area ten cubits long and ten wide, which divided it from the other area of twenty cubits. The twenty-cubit area is called the sanctuary and the first tabernacle; the other, ten-cubit area is called the Holy of Holies and the second tabernacle.

This distinction can be explained in two ways. First, the things of the Old Testament were a figure of the New, and the New is a figure of the heavenly country. Thus, the first tabernacle signified the Old Testament, and the second, the New. Second, the first tabernacle can signify the present Church, and the second, heavenly glory. Therefore, insofar as it signifies the Old Testament, it is a figure of a figure. But insofar as it signifies the present Church, which in turn signifies future glory, it is a figure of the truth in regard to each.

Concerning these, he does two things: first, he describes what was in the first tabernacle; secondly, what was in the second (Hebrews 9:3).

In the first tabernacle were three things. First, on the south side, was the golden candlestick. It was made in the following way: from a long shaft proceeded six branches, like six arms, with three on the right side and three on the left, so that at the top were seven branches, in each of which burned a lamp. In each arm were four things: the arm itself, which divided into three cups, bowls, and lilies. At the end of each part was a cup in which two cups were joined in the manner of a nut, with two revolving bowls and two leaves of a lily.

Then, in the northern area was a golden table upon which twelve freshly baked loaves were placed on the Sabbath, and over each one was incense burning on a paten of gold. Those loaves, which were called the Bread of the Presence, remained there until the next Sabbath, when they were removed and others put in their place. Furthermore, in the middle was a golden altar for burning sweet-smelling incense to prevent the house from smelling foul from the vast quantity of blood pouring from the sacrifices. By the candlestick, which gives light, and by the table, it was designated that those who serve the altar should live from the altar. Therefore, he says, for a tent was prepared, that is, the front part of the tabernacle, the first, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. This is called the Holy Place. All this is treated in detail in Exodus 25-27.

Then, when he says, Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holy of Holies, he describes the things that were in the second tabernacle. These included the ark of the covenant, made of incorruptible acacia wood and overlaid on all sides, inside and out, with gold. In the ark were three things: a golden jar that held manna, in memory of the benefit bestowed on them; the rod of Aaron that had blossomed (Numbers 17:8), in memory of Aaron’s priesthood, so that no unauthorized person should presume to approach; and the tablets of the covenant, in memory of the Law.

Then, over the ark were two Cherubim, who touched each other with two wings and touched the two sides of the tabernacle with their other two wings. Between the two wings with which they touched each other was a golden table of the same length and width as the ark—two cubits in length and a cubit and a half in width—overshadowing the mercy seat. Hence, it served as a throne from which God would listen, to be merciful again toward the people: You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh (Psalms 79:2). The ark was, so to speak, a footstool. The two cherubim, facing each other, looked at the mercy seat.

But the Apostle adds a fourth item: the golden altar of incense. Some say this was the altar between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The priests entered the Holy Place, which was outside, every day to perform the mysteries; but the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year with blood. He would then fill that censer with incense, so that from the smoke a cloud ascended and covered the Holy of Holies, preventing it from being seen by anyone outside. Those, therefore, are the things which were beyond the veil, which was the second tabernacle and called the Holy of Holies on account of its dignity—just as the Blessed Mother is called the Virgin of virgins as the supreme example—having the golden censer and the ark of the covenant... In it was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. About these things it is not necessary to speak in detail now.

But in 1 Kings 8:9 it says that in the ark there was nothing but the two tablets of stone. I answer that this is true regarding its principal purpose, because that was what the ark was principally made for, as it says in Exodus 25:16.

Regarding what they signified, it should be noted that all the ceremonies of the Law were ordained for one purpose according to that state, but for another purpose insofar as they were figurative and represented Christ. As to the first, they were all instituted to represent God’s magnificence, which was represented only in its effects. Those effects have, so to speak, a twofold world: one is upper, namely, that of incorporeal substances, which was signified by the Holy of Holies; the other is the lower, physical world, which was represented by the Holy Place.

In the upper world are three things: God, the reasons of things, and the angels. But God is utterly incomprehensible; therefore, a seat was left unoccupied, because He cannot be comprehended by a creature except through His effects. That seat was the propitiatory, or mercy seat, as has been said. The angels were signified by the cherubim on account of their wisdom; hence, even the philosophers call angels intellectual substances. There were two, to designate that they were not set there to be adored, because it had been said in Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord. The fact that they looked at the mercy seat shows that they do not cease contemplating God: their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10).

The reasons of things are signified by the ark. The reasons in this world pertain to wisdom, which is signified by the tablets; or to power, which is signified by the rod; or to goodness, which is signified by the manna, which is sweet, because whatever sweetness is found in the creature is from God’s goodness. But because the reasons of things, which exist intelligibly in God, exist in a physically perceptible manner in bodily creatures, therefore, just as there was an intellectual light in the tablets, so in the Holy Place there was a physical light. There the manna, here the loaves; there the rod, here the altar, which pertains to the priest’s office.

Insofar as Christ was prefigured by them, they are all found in Him. First, as to the Holy Place, He is a candlestick of light: I am the light of the world (John 8:12). In it are six orders: three on the left, namely, the perfect of the Old Testament; and three on the right, of the New Testament. They are designated in Ezekiel 14 by Noah (church leaders), by Daniel (contemplatives), and by Job (the actives). Those branches receive light and impart it: As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another (1 Peter 4:10). The cups furnish the drink of wisdom; the bowls, ready obedience; the lilies, the end of eternal life. The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Again, Christ is a table of refreshment. The twelve loaves are the doctrine of the Apostles and their successors; they are put out from the Sabbath of hope to the Sabbath of hope, and if in the meantime one is removed by death, another is substituted. But on the great Sabbath, all will be removed. In the interior was the propitiatory, and Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). The two angels are the two Testaments looking peacefully at Christ, or all the angels serving Christ in concord and unity of spirit: angels came and were ministering to him (Matthew 4:11); a thousand thousands served him (Daniel 7:10); Are they not all ministering spirits? (Hebrews 1:14). They desire to look on Christ, and they overshadow the propitiatory, that is, guard Christ’s Church. Or, it is because by their ministry, visions and apparitions occurred in which Christ was prefigured in a foreshadowing way.

The ark made of acacia wood is Christ’s pure and most precious flesh, which is called a gold jar because of His wisdom, full of the sweetness of the Godhead. The tablets are His wisdom. The rod is His eternal priesthood or Christ’s power. The manna is the sweetness of grace given by the priesthood of Christ or by obedience to His commandments, as a person obeys power. But because no one has grace without having sinned, except Christ and His mother, it is necessary to have a mercy seat.