Hebrews 9:3

And--Greek, "But." after--behind; within. second veil--There were two veils or curtains, one before the Holy of Holies (catapetasma), here alluded to, the other before the tabernacle door (calumma). called--as opposed to "the true."

The apostle, having declared the Old Testament dispensation antiquated and vanishing away, proceeds to let the Hebrews see the correspondence there was between the Old Testament and the New; and that whatever was excellent in the Old was typical and representative of the New, which therefore must as far excel the Old as the substance does the shadow. The Old Testament was never intended to be rested in, but to prepare for the institutions of the gospel. And here he treats, I. Of the tabernacle, the place of worship (Heb 9:1-5). II. Of the worship and services performed in the tabernacle (Heb 9:6, Heb 9:7). III. He delivers the spiritual sense and the main design of all (Heb 9:8 to the end).

9:3 At the back of the first room of the Tabernacle was a curtain that separated the first room from the second room called the Most Holy Place (Exod 26:31-33). This curtain was a sacred barrier: Only the high priest could go behind it into the Most Holy Place, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Heb 9:7; see Exod 30:6, 10; Lev 16:2-34; 23:27-32).