1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;
3 and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting."
4 Moses did as Yahweh commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
5 Moses said to the congregation, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to be done."
6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
7 He put the coat on him, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and he tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod on him, and fastened it to him with it.
8 He placed the breastplate on him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.
9 He set the turban on his head; and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
10 Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them.
11 He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them.
12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13 Moses brought Aaron's sons, and clothed them with coats, and tied sashes on them, and put headbands on them; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
14 He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
15 He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it on the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.
16 He took all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned it on the altar.
17 But the bull, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
18 He presented the ram of the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
19 He killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about.
20 He cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21 He washed the innards and the legs with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a sweet savor. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
22 He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
23 He killed it; and Moses took some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.
24 He brought Aaron's sons; and Moses put some of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood on the altar round about.
25 He took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right thigh;
26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and on the right thigh.
27 He put all these in Aaron's hands and in his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
28 Moses took them from their hands, and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering. They were a consecration for a sweet savor. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
29 Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
30 Moses took some of the anointing oil, and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
31 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the flesh at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.'
32 What remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.
33 You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.
34 What has been done this day, so Yahweh has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.
35 At the door of the Tent of Meeting you shall stay day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Yahweh, that you don't die: for so I am commanded."
36 Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh commanded by Moses.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 8
Commentary on Leviticus 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
Le 8:1-36. Moses Consecrates Aaron and His Sons.
2. Take Aaron and his sons—The consecration of Aaron and his sons had been ordered long before (Ex 29:1-46), but it is now described with all the details of the ceremonial, as it was gone through after the tabernacle was completed and the regulations for the various sacrifices enacted.
3-5. gather thou all the congregation together, &c.—It was manifestly expedient for the Israelitish people to be satisfied that Aaron's appointment to the high dignity of the priesthood was not a personal intrusion, nor a family arrangement between him and Moses; and nothing, therefore, could be a more prudent or necessary measure, for impressing a profound conviction of the divine origin and authority of the priestly institution, than to summon a general assembly of the people, and in their presence perform the solemn ceremonies of inauguration, which had been prescribed by divine authority.
6. Moses … washed them with water—At consecration they were subjected to entire ablution, though on ordinary occasions they were required, before entering on their duties, only to wash their hands and feet. This symbolical ablution was designed to teach them the necessity of inward purity, and the imperative obligation on those who bore the vessels and conducted the services of the sanctuary to be holy.
7-9. he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle—The splendor of the official vestments, together with the gorgeous tiara of the high priest, was intended, doubtless, in the first instance, to produce in the minds of the people a high respect for the ministers of religion; and in the next, from the predominant use of linen, to inculcate upon Aaron and his sons the duty of maintaining unspotted righteousness in their characters and lives.
10-12. took the anointing oil, &c.—which was designed to intimate that persons who acted as leaders in the solemn services of worship should have the unction of the Holy One both in His gifts and graces.
14-17. brought the bullock for the sin offering, &c.—a timely expression of their sense of unworthiness—a public and solemn confession of their personal sins and a transference of their guilt to the typical victim.
18-21. brought the ram, &c.—as a token of their entire dedication to the service of God.
22-30. brought the other ram,—&c. After the sin offering and burnt offering had been presented on their behalf, this was their peace offering, by which they declared the pleasure which they felt in entering upon the service of God and being brought into close communion with Him as the ministers of His sanctuary, together with their confident reliance on His grace to help them in all their sacred duties.
33. ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, &c.—After all these preliminaries, they had still to undergo a week's probation in the court of the tabernacle before they obtained permission to enter into the interior of the sacred building. During the whole of that period the same sacrificial rites were observed as on the first day, and they were expressly admonished that the smallest breach of any of the appointed observances would lead to the certain forfeiture of their lives [Le 8:35].