1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened things,
3 and all the company assemble thou unto the opening of the tent of meeting.'
4 And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him, and the company is assembled unto the opening of the tent of meeting,
5 and Moses saith unto the company, `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded to do.'
6 And Moses bringeth near Aaron and his sons, and doth bathe them with water,
7 and doth put on him the coat, and doth gird him with the girdle, and doth clothe him with the upper robe, and doth put on him the ephod, and doth gird him with the girdle of the ephod, and doth bind `it' to him with it,
8 and doth put on him the breastplate, and doth put unto the breastplate the Lights and the Perfections,
9 and doth put the mitre on his head, and doth put on the mitre, over-against its front, the golden flower of the holy crown, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
10 And Moses taketh the anointing oil, and anointeth the tabernacle, and all that `is' in it, and sanctifieth them;
11 and he sprinkleth of it on the altar seven times, and anointeth the altar, and all its vessels, and the laver, and its base, to sanctify them;
12 and he poureth of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron, and anointeth him to sanctify him.
13 And Moses bringeth near the sons of Aaron, and doth clothe them `with' coats, and girdeth them `with' girdles, and bindeth for them turbans, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
14 And he bringeth nigh the bullock of the sin-offering, and Aaron layeth -- his sons also -- their hands on the head of the bullock of the sin-offering,
15 and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses taketh the blood, and putteth on the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and cleanseth the altar, and the blood he hath poured out at the foundation of the altar, and sanctifieth it, to make atonement upon it.
16 And he taketh all the fat that `is' on the inwards, and the redundance above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses maketh Perfume on the altar,
17 and the bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he hath burnt with fire, at the outside of the camp, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
18 And he bringeth near the ram of the burnt-offering, and Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram,
19 and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses sprinkleth the blood on the altar round about;
20 and the ram he hath cut into its pieces, and Moses maketh perfume with the head, and the pieces, and the fat,
21 and the inwards and the legs he hath washed with water, and Moses maketh perfume with the whole ram on the altar; it `is' a burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance; it `is' a fire-offering to Jehovah, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
22 And he bringeth near the second ram, a ram of the consecrations, and Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the ram,
23 and `one' slaughtereth, and Moses taketh of its blood, and putteth on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot;
24 and he bringeth near the sons of Aaron, and Moses putteth 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 sprinkleth the blood on the altar round about,
25 and taketh the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that `is' on the inwards, and the redundance above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right leg;
26 and out of the basket of unleavened things, which `is' before Jehovah, he hath taken one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one thin cake, and putteth `them' on the fat, and on the right leg;
27 and putteth the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and waveth them -- a wave-offering before Jehovah.
28 And Moses taketh them from off their hands, and maketh perfume on the altar, on the burnt-offering, they `are' consecrations for sweet fragrance; it `is' a fire-offering to Jehovah;
29 and Moses taketh the breast, and waveth it -- a wave-offering before Jehovah; of the ram of the consecrations it hath been to Moses for a portion, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
30 And Moses taketh of the anointing oil, and of the blood which `is' on the altar, and sprinkleth on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he sanctifieth Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
31 And Moses saith unto Aaron, and unto his sons, `Boil ye the flesh at the opening of the tent of meeting, and there ye do eat it and the bread which `is' in the basket of the consecrations, as I have commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons do eat it.
32 `And the remnant of the flesh and of the bread with fire ye burn;
33 and from the opening of the tent of meeting ye go not out seven days, till the day of the fulness, the days of your consecration -- for seven days he doth consecrate your hand;
34 as he hath done on this day, Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you;
35 and at the opening of the tent of meeting ye abide, by day and by night seven days, and ye have kept the charge of Jehovah, and die not, for so I have been commanded.'
36 And Aaron doth -- his sons also -- all the things which Jehovah hath commanded by the hand of 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].