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It is said after the people had made a covenant with God,Moses took the blood and sprinkled the book of the covenant,the people,as well as the tabernacle.

Hebrews 9:19 NASB

19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled both the [v]tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

Though the tabernacle was not dedicated at the same time with the covenant seeing it had not yet been constructed.When it was eventually constructed there is no mention of it being sprinkled with the blood.

Exodus 40:9 NASB

9 Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its [f]furnishings; and it shall be holy.

So why does the author of the book of Hebrews say the tabernacle was also sprinkled with the blood?

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    See Exodus 24, which comes right before Exodus 25.
    – Lucian
    Jun 24, 2019 at 12:00
  • @Lucian Are you referring to Exodus 24:8 in that Moses sprinkled blood on the people, and are you therefore saying that the people were the tabernacle ?
    – Nigel J
    Jun 24, 2019 at 17:21
  • @NigelJ: The sprinkling with blood comes right before the chapters dealing with the Tabernacle.
    – Lucian
    Jun 24, 2019 at 22:34
  • @Lucian I am still trying to find what you mean. Could you define it by the specific text, perhaps ?
    – Nigel J
    Jun 24, 2019 at 22:39
  • @NigelJ: Paul conflates two consecutive events. (An interesting question would be whether Talmudic tradition does the same).
    – Lucian
    Jun 24, 2019 at 22:43

4 Answers 4

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The action recorded in Heb 9:21 of Moses sprinkling the tabernacle and all the vessels of the tabernacle with blood is nowhere recorded in the Torah. Therefore, we may assume that this is one of the many details that later inspiration records that is not recorded earlier. Here are some further examples:

  • Elijah's drought lasted 3½ years Luke 4:25, James 5:17
  • Following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to 500 people at once, 1 Cor 15:6 (this detail is not recorded in any of the gospels)
  • The patriarch "Cainan" between Mahalaleel and Enosh, Luke 3:37

The pulpit commentary observes this "omission" in the Torah with the remarks on Heb 9:21.

It is true that no sprinkling of the tabernacle or its furniture with blood is mentioned in the Pentateuch; only the anointing of them with oil (Leviticus 8:10). But the garments of Aaron and his sons are said on that occasion to have been sprinkled with the blood as well as with the anointing oil (Hebrews 8:30), and Josephus ('Ant.,' 3:08. 6) says that this blood-sprinkling was extended also to the tabernacle and its vessels (τήν τε σκηνὴν καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν σκεύη). Here, as well as in ver. 19, our writer may be supposed to follow the traditional account, with which there is still nothing in the Pentateuch inconsistent.

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On Lev. 16 Day of Atonement, the Mercy Seat was sprinkled seven times with blood. This is considered as sprinkling and cleansing all of the Most Holy. There was also sprinkling of blood within the Holy -- against the curtain seven times. This is considered as sprinkling and cleansing all of the Holy. Thus the Tabernacle was sprinkled with blood each year and cleansed.

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Exodus 24:4–11 (LEB)

4 And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent young men from the ⌊Israelites⌋, and they offered burnt offerings, and they sacrificed sacrifices as fellowship offerings to Yahweh using bulls.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and he put it in bowls, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen.”

8 And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, “Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

My reading of this is that the sprinkling was symbolic - neither the people nor the tabernacle were actually sprinkled, rather the two representations of the people and the tabernacle mentioned in verse 4 were sprinkled.

The tabernacle and all the utensils did not exist yet - the instructions for building it would be given in the next chapter. Moreover Moses would not sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on actual flesh as it would defile the flesh.

Rather, there were 12 stones representing the people and there was an altar representing the tabernacle and these were what was sprinkled. Why else would they erect the 12 stones if not to participate in this ceremony? So you have the 12 stones and the altar, and these represented the people and the sacrificial service. This is why Moses had to say "Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words." in order to explain to the people the symbolism of what was happening.

And the author of Hebrews understands this - as would his readers. The reason why I think this must be the authorial intent of Hebrews is because of the panta ("all") in the text:

"he sprinkled all the people"

There wouldn't be enough blood to put even one drop on every individual person and therefore this should not be read literally but symbolically - "all the people" were represented by something that was sprinkled, and Exodus says the twelve stones were what represented the tribes of Israel.

In the same way, the author writes "the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry".

Again, there were thousands of vessels - every cup, spoon, hook, stand, plate, pot, lid, etc -- and the tabernacle didn't even exist yet, so something must have represented "all the vessels" -- and this would be the altar.

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The Metals of the Tabernacle "Gold, Copper, Silver" are non-Magnetic and would require Iron from blood to create Electro-magnetic fields "Shekinah" female essence of God, which today we call Electricity. As Nikola Tesla stated when he read the description of the 60 Court posts to create the Tesla Coil. When we plug our electronics into a wall socket we are connecting to the Tabernacle Shekinah. Amen.

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  • This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review
    – agarza
    Sep 20, 2022 at 1:40
  • I do see the core of an answer: "blood was required because it contains iron." Needs more explanation about why Hebrews would have said this, however. How would the author know this? Sep 23, 2022 at 13:09
  • This does not provide an answer to the question, nor does it even attempt to perform exegesis. The purpose of this site is not for people to randomly share their opinions on religious topics, but to study scripture in an organized manner.
    – Robert
    Sep 23, 2022 at 14:02

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