BEREAN.AI ← Ask a Question

Meaning of Hebrews 8:8-9 on Old Covenant

Hebrews 8:8–9 quotes Jeremiah 31:31–32, anchoring the epistle's argument that Christ's priesthood operates under a superior covenant. The passage reads: "For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord" [2]. The author of Hebrews deploys this prophetic text to demonstrate that the Mosaic covenant was always provisional, designed to be superseded.

The Fault and Its Object

The phrase "finding fault with them" has generated interpretive debate. One tradition holds that the fault lies with the covenant itself—its inherent inability to produce obedience or transformation [5]. Another view, represented by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, argues that "the law is not in itself blamed, but the people who had not observed it" [6]. The people of the old covenant "were not made 'faultless' by it," and their disregard of God's covenant caused Him to "regard them not" [6]. Adam Clarke reconciles these readings by noting that God found fault with the covenant's inefficiency while addressing the people about His purpose to give "another covenant, that should be such as the necessities of mankind required" [10]. The covenant's weakness and the people's failure are thus intertwined: the Mosaic arrangement could command but could not empower.

The Historical Covenant at Sinai

Verse 9 specifies the covenant "made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt" [2]. This refers to the Sinai covenant, established after the Exodus and ratified in Exodus 19:1–8, 24:7–8, and 34:27–28 [8]. The imagery of God taking Israel "by the hand" evokes parental care, as "God led them as a parent might lead a child that could not fend for itself" during the rescue from Egypt [8]. Cross-references to this covenant-making moment include Deuteronomy 5:2, 29:1, and 29:12, as well as Psalms 78:52 and Isaiah 63:9, which recall God's shepherding of His people [3]. The covenant was conditional: obedience would bring blessing, but disobedience would result in God turning away (Deuteronomy 28:15–68; 30:11–20) [8].

Israel's Covenant Failure

The clause "they continued not in my covenant" summarizes Israel's persistent rebellion. The author of Hebrews has already cataloged this failure in 3:7–19, citing the wilderness generation's hardened hearts [4, 8]. The cross-references in verse 9 trace a pattern of covenant-breaking: Exodus 32:8 (the golden calf), Judges 10:13 (forsaking God for other gods), 2 Kings 17:15 (rejecting statutes), and Psalms 78:10, 57 (refusing to walk in God's law and turning back like their fathers) [3]. Jeremiah 11:7 and 22:8 document God's repeated warnings and the people's refusal to listen [3]. The covenant warned that if the people turned away, God would turn away from them, a principle articulated in 1 Kings 8:22–53 and 2 Chronicles 6:12–42 [8]. The phrase "I regarded them not" signals divine disregard—not arbitrary abandonment, but covenant consequence.

The New Covenant's Necessity

By quoting Jeremiah 31:31–34, the author establishes that God Himself announced the old covenant's obsolescence. The promise of a "new covenant" implies that the first was inadequate for its ultimate purpose [5]. John Gill notes that the new covenant is called "new" not because it was newly constituted—"with respect to its original constitution, it was made from eternity"—but because it represents a fresh administration of God's redemptive plan [5]. The contrast is not between grace and law in the abstract, but between two historical arrangements: one that could not transform hearts, and one that would write God's law internally (Hebrews 8:10) [9]. The author concludes in 8:13 that "in that he saith, 'A new covenant,' he hath made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away" [1, 7]. The old covenant's "faultiness and deficiency, its weakness, and unprofitableness" rendered it obsolete [7].

The passage thus functions as a hinge in Hebrews' argument: the Mosaic covenant, though divinely given and historically necessary, was always intended to give way to the covenant mediated by Christ, whose priesthood and sacrifice accomplish what the Levitical system could only foreshadow.

Sources

  1. Hebrews “In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away. -- Hebrews 8:13”
  2. King James Version “[KJV] Hebrews 8:8 — For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:”
  3. Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Hebrews 8:9 cross-references: Genesis 19:16, Exodus 19:4, Exodus 24:3, Exodus 32:8, Exodus 34:10, Exodus 34:27, Deuteronomy 5:2, Deuteronomy 29:1, Deuteronomy 29:12, Deuteronomy 29:25, Deuteronomy 31:16, Joshua 23:15, Judges 10:13, 2 Kings 17:15, Job 8:20, Psalms 77:20, Psalms 78:10, Psalms 78:52, Psalms 78:57, Psalms 105:43, Psalms 136:11, Isaiah 24:5, Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 51:18, Isaiah 63:9, Isaiah 63:11, Jeremiah 11:7, Jeremiah 22:8, Jeremiah 31:32, Lamentations 4:16, Ezekiel 16:8, Ezekiel 16:59, Ezekiel 20:37, Amos 5:22, Malachi 2:13, Mark 8:23, Acts 9:8, Acts 13:11, Galatian”
  4. Treasury of Scripture Knowledge “Hebrews 3:8 cross-references: Exodus 8:15, Exodus 17:7, Numbers 14:11, Numbers 14:22, Deuteronomy 6:16, Deuteronomy 9:22, 1 Samuel 6:6, 2 Kings 17:14, 2 Chronicles 30:8, 2 Chronicles 36:13, Nehemiah 9:16, Job 9:4, Psalms 78:18, Psalms 78:56, Psalms 106:14, Proverbs 28:14, Proverbs 29:1, Jeremiah 7:26, Ezekiel 3:7, Daniel 5:20, Zechariah 7:11, Matthew 13:15, Acts 19:9, Romans 2:5, 1 Corinthians 10:9, Hebrews 3:12”
  5. Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 8:8: For finding fault with them,.... Both with the covenant, which had its faults, and with the people who continued not in it, and were therefore disregarded by the Lord, Heb 8:9 he saith, behold, the days come (saith the Lord) when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; the words are cited from Jer 31:31 in which God promises a "new covenant"; so called, not because newly made; for with respect to its original constitution, it was made from eternity; Christ the Mediator of it, and with whom it was made, was set up from everlas”
  6. Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 8:8: finding fault with them--the people of the old covenant, who were not made "faultless" by it (Heb 8:7); and whose disregard of God's covenant made Him to "regard them not" (Heb 8:9). The law is not in itself blamed, but the people who had not observed it. he saith-- (Jer 31:31-34; compare Eze 11:19; Eze 36:25-27). At Rama, the headquarters of Nebuzar-adan, whither the captives of Jerusalem had been led, Jeremiah uttered this prophecy of Israel's restoration under another David, whereby Rachel, wailing for her lost children, shall be comforted; litera”
  7. Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 8:13: In that he saith a new covenant,.... In the above prophecy, Heb 8:8 he hath made the first old; this naturally follows from hence; if the second is new, the first must be old; which is called so, not on account of its date and duration; for the covenant of grace itself is older than this mode of administration of it, and the manifestation of that to the patriarchs was before this covenant, and so was the covenant of works before it; but on the account of its faultiness and deficiency, its weakness, and unprofitableness, and especially its being antiquated, and made ”
  8. Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 8:9: 8:9 God made a covenant with their ancestors at Sinai (Exod 19:1-8; 24:7-8; 34:27-28; Deut 4:13). • I took them by the hand: In rescuing his people from the land of Egypt, God led them as a parent might lead a child that could not fend for itself (see Exod 12–14). • They did not remain faithful: See Heb 3:7-19; Num 14:1-38; Deut 9; Ps 106. • so I turned my back on them: The covenant warned that if the people turned away, God would turn away from them (see Deut 28:15-68; 30:11-20; 1 Kgs 8:22-53; 2 Chr 6:12-42).”
  9. Hebrews (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Hebrews 8:6: In this part of the chapter, the apostle illustrates and confirms the superior excellency of the priesthood of Christ above that of Aaron, from the excellency of that covenant, or that dispensation of the covenant of grace, of which Christ was the Mediator (Heb 8:6): his ministry is more excellent, by how much he is the Mediator of a better covenant. The body and soul too of all divinity (as some observe) consist very much in rightly distinguishing between the two covenants - the covenant of works and the covenant of grace; and between the two dispensations of the”
  10. Hebrews (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Hebrews 8:8: For finding fault with them - The meaning is evidently this: God, in order to show that the first covenant was inefficient, saith to them, the Israelites, Behold, the days come when I will make a new covenant, etc. He found fault with the covenant, and addressed the people concerning his purpose of giving another covenant, that should be such as the necessities of mankind required. As this place refers to Jer 31:31-34, the words finding fault with them may refer to the Jewish people, of whom the Lord complains that they had broken his covenant though he was a husban”
Ask Your Own Question
About Terms Privacy Contact

© 2026 BEREAN.AI. All rights reserved.