“Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.”
They serve a copy and shadow (hypodeigma kai skia) of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for he says, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern (typos) shown you on the mountain' — the earthly sanctuary is ontologically and epistemologically inferior, a mere sketch of heavenly realities. The appeal to Moses and the divine pattern (from Exodus 25:40) grounds this in Torah itself; God ordained that the earthly should reflect the heavenly, not replace it. The earthly priests thus serve perpetually in a realm of copies, never accessing the reality they represent.
Church Fathers on Hebrews 8:5
In the next place that you may understand that he used the word “minister” of the manhood, observe how he again indicates it: “For” Hebrews 8:3 (he says) “every high priest is ordained to offer both gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.” Do not now, because you hear that He sits, suppose that His being called High Priest is mere idle talk. For the former, viz. His sitting, belongs to the dignity of the Godhead, but this…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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