1 `And this `is' the thing which thou dost to them, to hallow them, for being priests to Me: Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams, perfect ones,
2 and bread unleavened, and cakes unleavened anointed with oil, of fine wheaten flour thou dost make them,
3 and thou hast put them on one basket, and hast brought them near in the basket, also the bullock and the two rams.
4 `And Aaron and his sons thou dost bring near unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water;
5 and thou hast taken the garments, and hast clothed Aaron with the coat, and the upper robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and hast girded him with the girdle of the ephod,
6 and hast set the mitre on his head, and hast put the holy crown on the mitre,
7 and hast taken the anointing oil, and hast poured `it' on his head, and hast anointed him.
8 `And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them `with' coats,
9 and hast girded them `with' a girdle (Aaron and his sons), and hast bound on them bonnets; and the priesthood hath been theirs by a statute age-during, and thou hast consecrated the hand of Aaron, and the hand of his sons,
10 and hast brought near the bullock before the tent of meeting, and Aaron hath laid -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the bullock.
11 `And thou hast slaughtered the bullock before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting,
12 and hast taken of the blood of the bullock, and hast put `it' on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and all the blood thou dost pour out at the foundation of the altar;
13 and thou hast taken all the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which `is' on them, and hast made perfume on the altar;
14 and the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, thou dost burn with fire at the outside of the camp; it `is' a sin-offering.
15 `And the one ram thou dost take, and Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on the head of the ram,
16 and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken its blood, and hast sprinkled `it' on the altar round about,
17 and the ram thou dost cut into its pieces, and hast washed its inwards, and its legs, and hast put `them' on its pieces, and on its head;
18 and thou hast made perfume with the whole ram on the altar. It `is' a burnt-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance; a fire-offering it `is' to Jehovah.
19 `And thou hast taken the second ram, and Aaron hath laid -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the ram,
20 and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken of its blood, and hast put on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and hast sprinkled the blood on the altar round about;
21 and thou hast taken of the blood which `is' on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and hast sprinkled on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he hath been hallowed, he, and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
22 `And thou hast taken from the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which `is' on them, and the right leg, for it `is' a ram of consecration,
23 and one round cake of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one thin cake out of the basket of the unleavened things which `is' before Jehovah.
24 `And thou hast set the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and hast waved them -- a wave-offering before Jehovah;
25 and thou hast taken them out of their hand, and hast made perfume on the altar beside the burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance before Jehovah; a fire-offering it `is' to Jehovah.
26 `And thou hast taken the breast from the ram of the consecration which `is' for Aaron, and hast waved it -- a wave-offering before Jehovah, and it hath become thy portion;
27 and thou hast sanctified the breast of the wave-offering, and the leg of the heave-offering, which hath been waved, and which hath been lifted up from the ram of the consecration, of that which `is' for Aaron, and of that which `is' for his sons;
28 and it hath been for Aaron and for his sons, by a statute age-during from the sons of Israel, for it `is' a heave-offering; and it is a heave offering from the sons of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings -- their heave-offering to Jehovah.
29 `And the holy garments which are Aaron's, are for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to consecrate in them their hand;
30 seven days doth the priest in his stead (of his sons) put them on, when he goeth in unto the tent of meeting, to minister in the sanctuary.
31 `And the ram of the consecration thou dost take, and hast boiled its flesh in the holy place;
32 and Aaron hath eaten -- his sons also -- the flesh of the ram, and the bread which `is' in the basket, at the opening of the tent of meeting;
33 and they have eaten those things by which there is atonement to consecrate their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger doth not eat -- for they `are' holy;
34 and if there be left of the flesh of the consecration or of the bread till the morning, then thou hast burned that which is left with fire; it is not eaten, for it `is' holy.
35 `And thou hast done thus to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee; seven days thou dost consecrate their hand;
36 and a bullock, a sin-offering, thou dost prepare daily for the atonements, and thou hast atoned for the altar, in thy making atonement on it, and hast anointed it to sanctify it;
37 seven days thou dost make atonement for the altar, and hast sanctified it, and the altar hath been most holy; all that is coming against the altar is holy.
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Commentary on Exodus 29 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 29
Ex 29:1-35. Consecrating the Priests and the Altar.
1. hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office—The act of inaugurating the priests was accompanied by ceremonial solemnities well calculated not only to lead the people to entertain exalted views of the office, but to impress those functionaries themselves with a profound sense of its magnitude and importance. In short, they were taught to know that the service was for them as well as for the people; and every time they engaged in a new performance of their duties, they were reminded of their personal interest in the worship, by being obliged to offer for themselves, before they were qualified to offer as the representatives of the people.
this is the thing that thou shalt do—Steps are taken at the beginning of a society, which would not be repeated when the social machine was in full motion; and Moses, at the opening of the tabernacle, was employed to discharge functions which in later periods would have been regarded as sacrilege and punished with instant death. But he acted under the special directions of God.
4-9. Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle—as occupying the intermediate space between the court where the people stood, and the dwelling-place of Israel's king, and therefore the fittest spot for the priests being duly prepared for entrance, and the people witnessing the ceremony of inauguration.
wash them with water. And … take the garments—The manner in which these parts of the ceremonial were performed is minutely described, and in discovering their symbolical import, which indeed, is sufficiently plain and obvious, we have inspired authority to guide us. It signified the necessity and importance of moral purity or holiness (Isa 52:11; Joh 13:10; 2Co 7:1; 1Pe 3:21). In like manner, the investiture with the holy garments signified their being clothed with righteousness (Re 19:8) and equipped as men active and well-prepared for the service of God; the anointing the high priest with oil denoted that he was to be filled with the influences of the Spirit, for the edification and delight of the church (Le 10:7; Ps 45:7; Isa 61:1; 1Jo 2:27), and as he was officially a type of Christ (Heb 7:26; Joh 3:34; also Mt 3:16; 11:29).
10-22. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle—This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice of a ram as a burnt offering (Ex 29:15-18). The ram was to be wholly burnt, in token of the priest's dedication of himself to God and His service. The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed. (3) There was to be a peace offering, called "the ram of consecration" (Ex 29:19-22). And there was a marked peculiarity in the manner in which this other ram was to be disposed of. The former was for the glory of God—this was for the comfort of the priest himself; and as a sign of a mutual covenant being ratified, the blood of the sacrifice was divided—part sprinkled on the altar round about, and part upon the persons and garments of the priests. Nay, the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of man. Moreover, the flesh of this sacrifice was to be divided, as it were, between God and the priest—part of it to be put into his hand to be waved up and down, in token of its being offered to God, and then it was to be burnt upon the altar; the other part was to be eaten by the priests at the door of the tabernacle—that feast being a symbol of communion or fellowship with God. These ceremonies, performed in the order described, showed the qualifications necessary for the priests. (See Heb 7:26, 27; 10:14).
35. seven days shalt thou consecrate them—The renewal of these ceremonies on the return of every day in the seven, with the intervention of a Sabbath, was a wise preparatory arrangement, in order to afford a sufficient interval for calm and devout reflection (Heb 9:1; 10:1).
Ex 29:36, 37. Consecration of the Altar.
36. and thou shalt cleanse the altar—The phrase, "when thou hast made an atonement for it," should be, upon it; and the purport of the direction is, that during all the time they were engaged as above from day to day in offering the appointed sacrifices, the greatest care was to be taken to keep the altar properly cleansed—to remove the ashes, and sprinkle it with the prescribed unction that, at the conclusion of the whole ceremonial, the altar itself should be consecrated as much as the ministers who were to officiate at it (Mt 23:19). It was thenceforth associated with the services of religion.
Ex 29:38-46. Institution of Daily Service.
38. two lambs of the first year day by day continually—The sacred preliminaries being completed, Moses was instructed in the end or design to which these preparations were subservient, namely, the worship of God; and hence the institution of the morning and evening sacrifice. The institution was so imperative, that in no circumstances was this daily oblation to be dispensed with; and the due observance of it would secure the oft-promised grace and blessing of their heavenly King.