Exodus29

Exodus chapter 29 details the elaborate seven-day ritual for consecrating Aaron and his sons to the priesthood. This process involves washing, dressing in holy garments, anointing with oil, and offering specific sacrifices, including a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a ram of consecration. The chapter also establishes the perpetual daily burnt offering of two lambs at the tabernacle. These rituals ensure the priests and the altar are hallowed for service, enabling God to dwell among the children of Israel.
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The Ritual of Consecration Begins

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, ​
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and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of fine wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
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And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
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And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water. ​
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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;
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and thou shalt set the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
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Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. ​
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And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
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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

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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. ​
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And thou shalt kill the bullock before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting.
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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. ​
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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.
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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. ​
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Thou shalt also take the one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram.
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And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
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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.
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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

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And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. ​
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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. ​
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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. ​
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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),
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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:
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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. ​
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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.
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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. ​
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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:
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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. ​
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And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.
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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. ​
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And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place.
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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.
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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. ​
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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

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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. ​
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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. ​
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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

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Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually. ​
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The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
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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.
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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.
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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

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And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory. ​
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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.
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And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. ​
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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. ​

Study Notes for Exodus 29

Verse 1

This chapter details the elaborate, seven-day ritual necessary to hallow (sanctify) Aaron and his sons, separating them from the community for sacred service. The materials listed here correspond to the three types of sacrifices required.

Verse 4

Washing the candidates with water symbolizes the necessary purification and cleansing required before anyone could approach the divine presence or enter ministry.

Verse 7

The anointing oil was poured specifically upon Aaron’s head, marking him as the High Priest (the 'Anointed One') and symbolizing the setting apart by divine power for his office.

Verse 9

This establishes the priesthood as a hereditary office ('perpetual statute'), passed down through Aaron's lineage, emphasizing the permanence of the institution within the Mosaic covenant.

Verse 10

The laying on of hands signifies identification; Aaron and his sons transfer their sin and unworthiness onto the sacrificial animal, making it their substitute.

Verse 12

Applying blood to the horns of the altar sanctifies the altar itself, concentrating the atonement at the point where God and man meet.

Verse 14

The sin offering was burned 'without the camp' because it was considered highly contaminated by the sin it carried; it could not remain within the holy space of the community.

Verse 18

The burnt offering (olah) was entirely consumed by fire, symbolizing the total dedication and surrender of the worshiper to God, providing a 'sweet savor' (an offering acceptable to the Lord).

Verse 19

This second ram is specifically called the 'ram of consecration' (v. 22) and involves a unique rite focused on the physical sanctification of the new priests.

Verse 20

Applying the blood to the right ear, hand, and foot sanctified the priests’ entire being—their hearing (obedience), their actions (service), and their walk (lifestyle) were dedicated to God.

Verse 21

The combination of blood (atonement) and anointing oil (sanctification) sprinkled on the priests and their garments signifies that they are set apart and made holy through both purification and divine endowment.

Verse 24

The 'wave offering' ritual (tenufah) involved the priest moving the offering horizontally before the altar, symbolizing the presentation of the offering to God and its subsequent reception back by the priest.

Verse 26

The breast of the ram was assigned to Moses (Israel's mediator) for this specific ceremony, illustrating the relationship between the priesthood and the prophetic leadership.

Verse 28

This verse establishes the permanent regulation concerning the priests' income: specific portions of the sacrificial meals (the heave offerings) were their sustenance, guaranteeing their livelihood from Israel’s worship.

Verse 30

The successor High Priest had to wear the holy garments for seven full days during his own installation, linking him ritually to the original consecration and validating his authority.

Verse 33

Only consecrated priests could eat the consecrated food, as it was the means by which atonement was made. Eating it symbolized participation in the holiness of the ritual; a 'stranger' (layman) eating it would profane the holiness.

Verse 35

The seven-day period signifies completeness and perfection, ensuring the full and total sanctification of Aaron and his sons before their ministry could begin.

Verse 36

The altar itself required seven days of sin offerings and anointing, demonstrating that even the instruments of worship must be cleansed and sanctified before they can mediate holiness.

Verse 37

The altar becomes 'most holy' (qodesh qodeshim); anything that touches it is automatically dedicated to God, highlighting the extreme sanctity of the sacrificial site.

Verse 38

This section establishes the *Tamid* (continual) offering, the essential daily ritual of two lambs (morning and evening), forming the permanent rhythm of worship for the nation.

Verse 42

The continual offering is not just sacrifice but covenant maintenance; it establishes the place 'where I will meet you' (the Israelites) and speak to Moses, linking the daily ritual to divine communication.

Verse 43

God promises to sanctify the Tabernacle, not merely through ritual, but through the manifestation of His glory (the *kavod*), affirming His acceptance of the sanctuary.

Verse 45

This verse states the ultimate purpose of the Tabernacle and the priestly system: God desires to dwell physically among His people. This is the goal of the covenant relationship.

Verse 46

The dwelling of God among them serves as the culmination and proof of the Exodus; they know Yahweh is their God because He brought them out of Egypt specifically to establish His presence among them.

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