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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comVincent Word Studies - Hebrews 9:4 - 9:4
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The golden censer (χρυσοῦν θυμιατήριον)
The noun N.T.o. It may mean either censer or altar of incense. In lxx the altar of incense is called θυσιαστήριον θυμιάματος Exo 30:1, Exo 30:27; Lev 4:7 : comp. Luk 1:11. Θυμιατήριον is used of a censer, 2Ch 26:19; Eze 8:11; 4 Macc. 7:11. These are the only instances of the word in lxx: accordingly, never in lxx of the altar of incense. Josephus uses it for both. The golden censer is not mentioned in O.T. as a part of the furniture of the holy of holies. The facts of the case then are as follows: (a) according to Exodus 31 the incense-altar was in the holy place, not in the holy of holies; (b) Philo and Josephus use θυμιατήριον for the altar of incense; (c) there is no mention in O.T. of a censer set apart for the day of atonement; (d) the high priest was to enter with incense, so that the ark might be veiled by the smoke (Lev 16:12). Hence the censer could not have been kept in the holy of holies; (e) the writer clearly speaks of an abiding-place of the θυμιατήριονin a particular division of the tabernacle. There is evidently a discrepancy, probably owing to the fact that the writer drew his information from the O.T. by which he might have been led into error. Thus Exo 26:35, there are mentioned in the holy place without the veil only the candlestick and the table, and not the incense-altar. Again, when the standing-place of the incense altar was mentioned, the expressions were open to misconstruction: see Exo 30:6; Exo 40:5. On the day of atonement, the incense-altar, like the most holy place, was sprinkled with blood. This might have given rise to the impression that it was in the holy of holies.
With gold (χρυσίῳ)
Properly, wrought gold.
Wherein (ἐν ᾗ)
But according to Exo 16:34; Num 17:10, neither the pot of manna nor Aaron's rod was in the ark, but “before the testimony”; while in Exo 25:16, Moses was commanded to put only the tables of the law into the ark; and in 1Ki 8:9 it is said of the ark in the temple, “there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone.” The writer follows the rabbinical tradition that the pot of manna and the rod were inside of the ark.
Golden pot (στάμος χρυσῆ)
Σταμος, N.T.o, a few times in lxx, rare in Class. Golden is an addition of the lxx. Comp. Exo 16:33.