One of the most misunderstood concepts in the Book of Hebrews is its teaching about To­rah. This is due in part to interpretive mistakes, such as the claim that Hebrews 8 teaches that the first “covenant” is obsolete (more on this next month). Yet in reality, any mention by the author of “the Law” or the “old covenant,” especially in chapters 7 through 10, is never made as a narrow condemnation of the Torah, but is part of the author’s larger conversation about the levitical priesthood. The author discusses Levi’s priesthood at length only for the sake of comparing it to the better, more perfect priesthood of the Master Yeshua.

One of the most misconstrued verses comes as an explanation of how Yeshua’s eternal priesthood can accomplish what the levitical priesthood could not—namely, to make us perfect and cleanse us from our sins forever.

“For in the event of the כְּהֻנָּה, K’hunah [priesthood] being changed, of necessity also comes a change of the תּוֹרָה, Torah” (Hebrews 7:12, mjlt).

Now, in Yeshua, there has indeed been a change of the priesthood (7:11). But through the typical Christian interpretive lens that claims “the Law has been done away with,” the verse appears to be saying more than that. According to this view, it seems to imply that the Torah is not merely changed, but nullified.

Yet the face value reading of the verse is quite clear: in the event of the priesthood being changed (from Levi to Yeshua) there also needs to be a change of the Torah—not an abolishment, only one change. Just as the author does not call for the total elimination of the priesthood, he is also not calling for the total elimination of the Torah. On the contrary, the only change to the Torah that he is indicating is to the statute concerning the priesthood. Therefore, since the priesthood needs to be changed in order for another priesthood to arise—one which could do what the first priesthood could not—God needed to amend the Torah in order to make provision for that second priesthood. This is the only “change of the תּוֹרָה, Torah” that the author is indicating.

Following several more verses of comparison between the priesthoods of Levi and Yeshua, the author returns to the topic of the change of the Torah with more direct clarity. Again appearing superficially to call for the Torah’s abrogation, the author declares, “…for a nullification of the former command indeed comes because of its weakness and uselessness” (Hebrews 7:18, mjlt).

To understand the author’s point, we must recognize that he is indicating a nullification not of the whole Torah, but only of “the former command.” Since the subject being discussed is not Torah itself but the change of the To­rah, then “former command” would refer to statutes such as those found in Numbers 18. These are the commands that require a priest of God to be of the line of Aaron and tribe of Levi. And, as the author points out, Yeshua is not only of a different priestly order (7:17), but also of a different tribe (7:14)—one not permitted to serve as priest, thus necessitating the change of those previous commands.

Yet the “weakness and uselessness” that precipitated the need for such a nullification was not found in the “weakness and uselessness” of the commands themselves, but in the subject of those commands: Levi. The author has already well established this inadequacy of the levitical priesthood elsewhere, noting their “weaknesses” and imperfection due to sin (cf. 5:3, 7:11), and pointing out their susceptibility to death, unlike Yeshua (cf. 7:23f). As the only one able to make us perfect (cf. 10:14), Yeshua also needed to be lawfully allowed to perform His unique priestly duties. And since “the תּוֹרָה, Torah made nothing perfect” (7:19), the “former commands” about the sinful, mortal priests needed to be annulled.

Though the commands of Torah cannot make sufficient what is inherently insufficient about the earthly priesthood, this does not require the entire Torah’s nullification. Rather, only a single change was needed—one which is not according to the command regarding Levi’s humanly-weak and destructible life, but one which causes “the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God” (7:19)… the priesthood of Yeshua.

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