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Exodus 29

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The Ritual of Consecration Begins 1–9

1
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, ​
2
and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3
And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water. ​
5
And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skilfully woven band of the ephod;
6
and thou shalt set the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7
Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. ​
8
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. ​

Sacrifices for Atonement and Dedication 10–18

10
And thou shalt bring the bullock before the tent of meeting: and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock. ​
11
And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting.
12
And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger; and thou shalt pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. ​
13
And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul upon the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14
But the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. ​
15
Thou shalt also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram.
16
And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17
And thou shalt cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.
18
And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah; it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. ​

The Ram of Consecration 19–34

19
And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. ​
20
Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. ​
21
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. ​
22
Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),
23
and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before Jehovah:
24
and thou shalt put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah. ​
25
And thou shalt take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar upon the burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before Jehovah: it is an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
26
And thou shalt take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before Jehovah: and it shall be thy portion. ​
27
And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the thigh of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28
and it shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion for ever from the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering unto Jehovah. ​
29
And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.
30
Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. ​
31
And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place.
32
And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent of meeting.
33
And they shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. ​
34
And if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

The Seven-Day Consecration 35–37

35
And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. ​
36
And every day shalt thou offer the bullock of sin-offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou makest atonement for it; and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. ​
37
Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. ​

The Continual Daily Offering 38–42

38
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. ​
39
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40
and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering.
41
And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
42
It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee. ​

The Divine Promise of Dwelling 43–46

43
And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory. ​
44
And I will sanctify the tent of meeting, and the altar: Aaron also and his sons will I sanctify, to minister to me in the priest’s office.
45
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. ​
46
And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Exodus 29

Verse 1

to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office — Qadash is to set apart as holy; kahan is to serve as priest. One bullock and two rams 'without blemish' (tamim, whole, complete) are the first offerings. The rite is carried out in Lev 8, which begins with the same bullock and two rams (Lev 8:2). Hebrews names Christ, the high priest, 'holy, harmless, undefiled' (Heb 7:26).

Verse 4

wash them with water — Rachats is to wash the whole body, done 'at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation' before any garment or oil. Moses did it exactly: 'Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water' (Lev 8:6). Hebrews speaks of 'our bodies washed with pure water' alongside hearts sprinkled (Heb 10:22).

Verse 7

pour it upon his head, and anoint him — Yatsaq is to pour out, mashach to anoint; mashiach, anointed, comes from the same root. The oil is poured on Aaron's head alone, and the high priest is 'he… upon whose head the anointing oil was poured' (Lev 21:10). Isaiah's speaker says, 'the LORD hath anointed me' (Isa 61:1).

Verse 9

consecrate Aaron and his sons — The Hebrew is 'fill the hand' (male with yad). Aaron and his sons are girded with girdles (abnet) and given bonnets (migbaah), and the priest's office is theirs 'for a perpetual statute' (chuqqah olam). The filled hand is seen when the offerings are put 'in the hands of Aaron' (v.24); v.26 calls the ram 'Aaron's consecration' (milluim, fillings).

Verse 10

put their hands upon the head of the bullock — Samak is to lean one's weight upon. Aaron and his sons do this for the bullock, as the worshipper does for a burnt offering: 'he shall put his hand upon the head… and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him' (Lev 1:4). The bullock is the sin offering of v.14.

Verse 12

upon the horns of the altar with thy finger — Etsba is a finger. The blood goes on the four horns (Ex 27:2) and the rest is poured 'beside the bottom' (yesod, foundation) of the altar. Lev 8:15 records that Moses did this, and 'purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it'.

Verse 14

without the camp — The flesh, skin and dung of the bullock are burned (saraph) outside the camp, while the fat is burned on the altar (v.13). 'Sin offering' is chattath, the noun of the verb 'to sin'. Hebrews draws the line: the bodies of such beasts 'are burned without the camp', and 'Jesus also… suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:11–12).

Verse 18

a sweet savour — The whole ram is burned with qatar, to turn into smoke, unlike the saraph of v.14. Olah is the burnt offering, from alah, to go up. 'Sweet savour' is reyach nichoach, a savour of rest; Noah's offering was the first of which the LORD 'smelled a sweet savour' (Gen 8:21). It is 'an offering made by fire' (ishsheh).

Verse 19

the other ram — Two rams were taken (v.1). The first was burned whole (v.18). The second is 'the ram of the consecration' (v.31), whose blood is applied to the priests (v.20). Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head (samak), as on the bullock (v.10). Its breast is waved (v.26), and its flesh is eaten at the door (v.32).

Verse 20

the tip of the right ear… the thumb of their right hand… the great toe of their right foot — The blood is put on three points of the right side: ear (ozen), hand and foot. The same three places receive the blood of the trespass offering for one who is to be cleansed (Lev 14:14). The remaining blood is sprinkled (zaraq) on the altar round about.

Verse 21

sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments — Nazah, to sprinkle, is the verb of Isa 52:15, 'So shall he sprinkle many nations'. Blood from the altar and the anointing oil are taken together, so that men and garments are 'hallowed' (qadash). Moses did it (Lev 8:30). Hebrews says that 'almost all things are by the law purged with blood' (Heb 9:22).

Verse 24

a wave offering before the LORD — The offerings are placed in the palms (kaph) of Aaron and his sons. Nuph, to wave, is to move to and fro, and tenuphah is the offering so moved 'before the LORD'. Lev 8:27 records that Moses 'put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD'.

Verse 26

the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration — The breast of this ram is Moses' own portion (manah): 'it shall be thy part', and Lev 8:29 records that it was 'Moses' part'. In the permanent law the wave breast goes to Aaron and his sons (v.28; Lev 7:31). Ps 99:6 names 'Moses and Aaron among his priests'.

Verse 28

an heave offering — Terumah, the word of Ex 25:2, is the offering lifted up. The priests' share of the peace offerings is the 'wave breast and the heave shoulder', which the LORD gives them 'by a statute for ever' (Lev 7:34); they were to eat it 'in a clean place' (Lev 10:14). 'Peace offerings' renders zebach shelem.

Verse 30

that son that is priest in his stead — The holy garments pass to Aaron's sons (v.29), and each successor puts them on for seven days (labash, to clothe) before ministering in the holy place. The pattern was followed at Aaron's death, when Moses 'stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son' (Num 20:28).

Verse 33

a stranger shall not eat thereof — Kaphar is to make atonement or cover. The priests eat the ram's flesh and the bread 'at the door of the tabernacle' (v.32; Lev 8:31). Zur, stranger, is one outside Aaron's house; 'a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing' (Lev 22:10).

Verse 35

seven days shalt thou consecrate them — Male, to fill, is used again here, and the priests are not to leave the door for seven days (Lev 8:33): 'Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days' (Lev 8:35). They begin their ministry on the eighth day, when 'Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel' (Lev 9:1).

Verse 36

cleanse the altar — Chata is the verb 'to sin'; in this form it means to purge from sin, and the noun of the same root is the 'sin offering' (chattath). A bullock is offered every day for atonement (kippur), and the altar is anointed. Hebrews says the 'patterns of things in the heavens' were purified with these, 'but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices' (Heb 9:23).

Verse 37

an altar most holy — 'Most holy' is qodesh repeated, 'holy of holies'. Whatever 'toucheth' (naga) the altar is holy; the same is said of the tabernacle and its furniture (Ex 30:29). Christ asks, 'whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?' (Matt 23:19).

Verse 38

two lambs of the first year day by day continually — This is the daily offering: one lamb 'in the morning; and the other lamb… at even' (v.39), always (tamid). Num 28:6 says it 'was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour'. In David's time the priests offered 'burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening' (1 Chr 16:40).

Verse 42

a continual burnt offering throughout your generations — The offering stands 'at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD', the place of meeting (yaad, as in Ex 25:22): 'where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee'. Tamid, continual, and dor, generation, make it a standing rite. The promise of meeting is repeated for the people in v.43.

Verse 43

sanctified by my glory — The LORD himself says he will sanctify (qadash) by his kabod, glory. Ex 40:34 records the fulfilment: 'a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle'. At the temple 'the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud' (1 Kgs 8:11).

Verse 45

I will dwell among the children of Israel — Shakan, to dwell, is the verb of Ex 25:8, and 'among' is tavek, the midst, as it is there. The promise recurs: 'I will set my tabernacle among you… and will be your God' (Lev 26:11–12). Paul applies it to the church, 'ye are the temple of the living God' (2 Cor 6:16), and John sees it fulfilled (Rev 21:3).

Verse 46

that I may dwell among them — The purpose of the Exodus is given: they shall know the LORD 'that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them'. The first promise, 'ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out…' (Ex 6:7), is here completed by the dwelling. The words 'I am the LORD their God' close the chapter.