“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.’ Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry” (Hebrews 9:19-21).
This reference to “every precept” here in Hebrews 9:19-21 refers to an authoritative command, directive, or injunction. Hebrews 9:19-21 provides us with a detailed description of these Old Testament precepts as they related to the purification of the tabernacle and its belongings. In this instance, the blood of a sacrificial animal was sprinkled upon these items in an act of ceremonial cleansing.
One author offers some further insight into these additional details…
“…whereas the Exodus narrative describes Moses as sprinkling nothing but blood, here the blood is accompanied by water, scarlet wool and hyssop. We have no evidence for the origin of these variations on the Exodus narrative; for them, as for some of the details of the tabernacle furniture in verse 4 (the position of the incense-altar and the contents of the ark) our author may well have drawn upon some source which is no longer extant” (1)
So this additional information provides us with a fuller, richer understanding of these practices. Another source addresses this topic and explains how it related to Israel’s relationship with God under the Old Covenant…
“In Exo 24:1-11, we read that Moses sprinkled the altar and the people; no mention is made of sprinkling the book, or of the water, scarlet wool, and hyssop. It is best to view both accounts as complementary. God, represented by the altar, and the people were the contracting parties. The book was the covenant. The sprinkled blood bound both parties to keep the terms of the covenant. The people promised to obey, and the Lord promised to bless them if they did.” [bbc]
Our final commentary ties these Old and New Covenant offerings together in the following manner…
“The whole sacrificial system is seen as a type in Hebrews 9:19-26. The articles of the ‘first testament’ were dedicated with the blood of sacrifice; these articles are called ‘the patterns of things in the heavens’ and ‘figures of the true’ (verses 23-24). This passage teaches that the Old Testament sacrifices typify Christ’s final sacrifice for the sins of the world.” (3)
(1) The New International Commentary On The New Testament – The Epistle To The Hebrews, F. F. Bruce, General Editor © Copyright 1964, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan [pg. 215]
(2) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad Thomas Nelson Publishers (Hebrews 9:19) p.2186
(3) GotQuestions.org, What is biblical typology? Retrieved 03 September, 2022 from https://www.gotquestions.org/typology-Biblical.html