construction: qui dedicavit nobis viam recentem et viam per velamen, id est, carnem suam, offerens seipsum pro nobis.
The Greek certainly admits this construction: toutevstin does not necessarily refer to the words which immediately precede: Heb. 7:5. And the sense agrees perfectly with the argument.
At first sight indeed the connexion of th'" sarko;" with oJdovn seems to be less natural than the connexion with tou' katapetavsmato" only; but the thought which is thus expressed of a way consisting in Christ's flesh falls in perfectly with the scope of the passage. It was by the way of His flesh, by a way which lay in His humanity, that Christ entered through the veil after the offering of Himself as a High-priest able to sympathise with men. And it is by the way of His flesh, as sharing in the virtue of His humanity, and sprinkled with His blood, that Christians come before God. Comp. John 6:53 ff.; 14:19; Col. 1:22 ajpokathvllaxen (v. ajpokathllavghte ) ejn tw'/ swvmati th'" sarko;" aujtou' dia; tou' qanavtou .
Chrysostom says with singular want of clearness: hJ sa;rx au{th e[teme prwvth th;n oJdo;n aujtw'/ ejkeivnhn, h}n kai; ejgkainivsai levgei, tw'/ kai; aujto;" ajxiw'sai dia; tauvth" badivsai . katapevtasma de; eijkovtw" ejkavlese th;n savrka, o{te ga;r h[rqh eij" u{yo" tovte ejfavnh ta; ejn toi'" oujranoi'" .
Theophylact repeats the last idea: tou'to ga;r i[dion tou' katapetavsmato" to; o{tan a[rqh/ ajnakaluvptein ta; e[ndon .
Theodoret regards the veil as the appointed means of approach, and not as the obstacle which hindered access: katapevtasma th;n despotikh;n wjnovmase savrka : dia; tauvth" ga;r ajpolauvomen th'" eij" ta; a{gia tw'n aJgivwn eijsovdou . w{sper ga;r oJ kata; novmon ajrciereu;" dia; tou' katapetavsmato" eij" ta; a{gia tw'n aJgivwn eijshv/ei, eJtevrw" de; aujto;n eijselqei'n ajduvnaton h\n, ou{tw" oiJ eij" to;n Kuvrion pepisteukovte" dia; th'" tou' panagivou swvmato" metalhvyew" th'" ejn oujranoi'" ajpolauvsousi politeiva" . But this view, though it has found wider acceptance (e.g., Primasius: Sicut per velamen perveniebatur ad interiora, ita per humanitatem pervenitur ad divinitatis cognitionem), is wholly at variance with the imagery of the Epistle, and with the symbolism of the Old Testament. On the other hand it witnesses to the truth that Christ's flesh is the way.
Heb. 10:21. kai; iJereva mevgan ] Christians have open access to the Divine Presence; and in the court of the Divine Majesty they have an effectual Intercessor.
The epithet
great
describes the sovereign power of our Priest (
a great High-priest
Heb. 4:14), and does not simply serve in combination with
iJereuv"
as an equivalent for
ajrciereuv"
(Lev. 21:10
oJ iJereu;" oJ mevga"
).
ejpi; to;n oi\kon t. q.
] Vulg.
super domum
(O. L.
in domo
)
Dei.
The House of God includes the whole Christian economy both in its earthly and in its heavenly elements; in its organisation and in its members. The Church on earth, so far as it has a true existence, lives by its embodiment of the heavenly idea. Under other aspects this house is spoken of as the order to come (
hJ oijkoumevnh hJ mevllousa
Heb. 2:5) and the city to come ([
hJ povli"
]
hJ mevllousa
Heb. 13:14).
See Heb. 3:4, 6 ( ejpiv ); and compare Heb. 12:22; Phil. 3:20; Zech. 6:11 ff.
Philo speaks of the righteous soul, and again, by a remarkable image, of the Word itself, as the house of God: tiv" ga;r oi\ko" para; genevsei (in