Hebrews 9:20 is the writer’s way of saying that the first covenant between God and Israel was ratified with blood, the same way a will only takes effect after a death. The words are those of Moses, spoken as he sprinkled blood on the people, the book of the law, and the sacred objects at Sinai, declaring that the blood marked a covenant God himself had commanded.
Saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
Hebrews 9:20 (WEB)
What Hebrews 9:20 Means
The phrase “this is the blood of the covenant” points to the sacrifice as the thing that makes the agreement official. In the ancient world a covenant was a binding promise, and blood was the visible sign that the promise had been sealed, much as a signature or a seal marks a document today. Moses is not inventing a new custom here. He is applying a sealing ritual to the agreement God had just given through the law.
The words “which God has commanded you” tell us the covenant originated with God, not with Israel’s negotiation. The people did not design the terms. God set them out, and the blood confirmed that they were his terms, received by the people. The verse does not say that the blood itself has any power apart from God’s promise, and it does not claim that every believer today must reenact the sprinkling. It explains how the first covenant was put into effect.
The Context of Hebrews 9:20
Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians, probably facing pressure to return to the temple worship and its sacrifices. The author, traditionally identified with Paul though the letter itself is anonymous, argues that Christ’s work surpasses the old system. He makes the point in verses 17 and 18 with a comparison to a will, which takes effect only after the person who made it has died. Verse 18 then says the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.
Verse 19 describes the scene at Sinai in detail: the calves and goats, the water, the scarlet wool and hyssop, the sprinkling of the book and the people. Verses 21 through 23 widen the picture to the tabernacle and its vessels, noting that under the law nearly everything was cleansed with blood. Read in this setting, Hebrews 9:20 is not a stand-alone ritual note. It is the foundation for the author’s claim that the old covenant needed blood to begin, and that the new covenant in Christ was inaugurated by an even better sacrifice.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 9:20
Exodus 24:8
Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words.”
(WEB)
This is the Old Testament account of the same Sinai ceremony that Hebrews describes. Reading it alongside Hebrews 9:20 shows you the original scene in its own words and helps you see how the author draws directly from it to build his argument about the covenant.
Hebrews 9:22
According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
(WEB)
Hebrews 9:22 follows the same thread, explaining that under the law nearly everything was cleansed with blood and that forgiveness requires shedding of blood. Reading the two together clarifies the author’s point about why blood stood at the center of the old covenant’s relationship with God.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 9:20
Lord, you are the one who makes promises and keeps them. Thank you that your covenant was never a casual arrangement, but one you commanded and confirmed with a cost that reaches into my own life. When I doubt whether you still hold to your word, remind me of the seriousness with which you have bound yourself to your people. Help me to trust that the covenant you have made is solid, and to live as someone who belongs to you. Amen.
