Rethinking the Translation of τὰ ἅγια (ta hagia) in Hebrews

The present article reexamines the treatment of ta. τὰ ἅγια in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Korean Revised Version (NKRV). Not only τὰ ἅγια been rendered as ‘the sanctuary’, but it is also generally understood as referring to the heavenly holy of holies, the earthly holy of holies, and the most holy place in the epistle. This distinction plays a key role in the interpretation of Hebrews. Although τὰ ἅγια occurs in Heb 8:2; 9:8, 12, 24-25; 10:19; and 13:11, its referent should be determined according to the context. In Heb 8:2, the Greek term can be interpreted as the heavenly sanctuary in the context of a comparative metaphor between the earthly and heavenly sanctuary through Jesus Christ. Moreover, Heb 9:8, 12; and 10:19 may be regarded as designating the heavenly holy of holies. Heb 9:24-25 and 13:11, on the other hand, may refer either to the earthly holy of holies within the Mosaic sanctuary or — given that τὰ ἅγια is a neuter plural noun — to the earthly sanctuaries. The NKRV, nevertheless, has consistently rendered ta. τὰ ἅγια as only ‘the sanctuary’, thereby failing to reflect these contextual distinctions adequately. Although Korean generally tends to favour singular rather than plural marking, this convention need not be observed in every instance. As a result, some Korean readers may find it difficult to ascertain in the passages under discussion whether a particular occurrence denotes the first sanctuary or the heavenly holy of holies. The article aims to prevent misleading translation of τὰ ἅγια and argues that the term should not be translated uniformly but in accordance with its contextual referent, analysing every occurrence of the term and proposing revised translations for each passage. It is hoped that this study will contribute meaningfully to future revision of the NKRV as well as to the study of Hebrews and biblical translation.