Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 181:721 (Jan 2024)
Article: The Blood Of Christ: An Intertextual Study Of Hebrews 9:1–22
Author: Chiaen Liu

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The Blood Of Christ: An Intertextual Study Of Hebrews 9:1–22

Chiaen Liu

Chiaen Liu is Associate Professor at China Evangelical Seminary, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

The Old Testament details many significant elements related to blood sacrifice and the priesthood in worship. The author of Hebrews employs concepts from these passages to argue for the transcendent effectiveness of Christ’s blood in his sacrifice. This article employs thematic intertextuality to argue that Hebrews adopts the Old Testament concepts of redemption and purification, covenant inauguration, and priestly ordination to express the function and transcendence of Christ’s blood.

In ancient Israel, the cult was the center of the worship system, and its primary act of worship was blood sacrifice, which was used to serve God and deal with sin.1 The Book of Hebrews, particularly Hebrews 9:1–22, features many important elements related to the concept of priesthood in the Old Testament. This article will review intertextual approaches, and then employ a theory of thematic intertextuality to argue that Hebrews adopts the Old Testament concepts of redemption, purification, covenant inauguration, and priestly ordination to express the function and transcendence of Christ’s blood.

Approaches To Intertextuality

Quotations of and allusions to the Old Testament in Hebrews are well-documented. Intertextual studies are useful “for uncovering

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and investigating conscious or unconscious allusions to scripture in the New Testament.”2 Intertextual studies are important because “no text exists in a vacuum. All texts are embedded in a larger web of related texts, bounded only by human culture and language itself. Intertextual reading is inevitable.”3

Put simply, there are two streams of scholarship focusing on the relationship between previous and later texts. One stream pays attention to influence or allusion and is diachronic, emphasizing the relationship between the antecedent text and the author. The other focuses on intertextuality and is reader-centered, focusing on the reader’s reaction to the text. Alkier points out, “Intertextuality is an essential factor for generating the meanings of a text in the acts of the production and reception of a text.”4

Scholars usually employ four categories to distinguish ...