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Leviticus 9

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The Eighth Day: Instructions for the First Offerings 1–7

1
And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; ​
2
And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
3
And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;
4
Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you. ​
5
And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
6
And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.
7
And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded. ​

Aaron Offers Sacrifices for Himself 8–14

8
Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
9
And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
10
But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.
11
And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp. ​
12
And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.
13
And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.
14
And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

Aaron Offers Sacrifices for the People 15–22

15
And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.
16
And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.
17
And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning. ​
18
He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,
19
And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:
20
And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:
21
And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded. ​
22
And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. ​

The Glory of the Lord Appears 23–24

23
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. ​
24
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 9

Verse 1

on the eighth day — The seven days of consecration have ended (Lev 8:33), and on the eighth Moses calls Aaron, his sons and ‘the elders of Israel’ to the first service of the new priesthood. Ezek 43:27 keeps the pattern: when ‘these days are expired’, ‘upon the eighth day, and so forward’, the priests offer on the altar.

Verse 4

the LORD will appear unto you — The promise is made good in v.6, ‘the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you’, and in v.23, where it ‘appeared unto all the people’. Ex 29:43 had already said that the tabernacle ‘shall be sanctified by my glory’. The bullock and ram of peace offerings (shelem) are named with the meat offering.

Verse 7

for thyself, and for the people — Aaron offers first his own sin offering (v.8, ‘the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself’), then ‘the offering of the people’. Hebrews reads the order into the office: ‘he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins’ (Heb 5:3). Christ ‘needeth not’ so (Heb 7:27).

Verse 11

without the camp — The hide (’or) is burnt with the flesh here, while only the fat, kidneys and caul go on the altar (v.10); the burnt offering’s skin, by contrast, is the priest’s (Lev 7:8). Hebrews reads the pattern: ‘Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate’ (Heb 13:12).

Verse 17

beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning — The meat offering is a grain offering: a ‘handful’ of the flour was burnt on the altar as its ‘memorial’ (Lev 2:2). It is placed ‘beside’ the morning burnt sacrifice, the first of the daily pair of lambs, ‘two lambs of the first year day by day continually’ (Ex 29:38–40).

Verse 21

waved for a wave offering — Tenuphah, the same word as in Lev 7:30, 34, where the breast and right shoulder are the portion given to Aaron and his sons. Here Aaron himself waves them ‘before the LORD; as Moses commanded’, as the ram of consecration’s breast had been waved at his ordination (Ex 29:26).

Verse 22

lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them — The LORD gave the priests their form of blessing: ‘On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel’ (Num 6:23), ending ‘they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them’ (Num 6:27). Christ ‘lifted up his hands, and blessed them’ as he parted from the disciples (Luke 24:50).

Verse 23

the glory of the LORD appeared — Moses and Aaron enter the tabernacle, come out and bless the people, and then the promised glory (kavod) ‘appeared unto all the people’, as Moses had said in v.6. The same glory later ‘filled the house’ when Solomon dedicated the temple (2 Chr 7:1).

Verse 24

a fire out from before the LORD — The fire ‘consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat’, so the LORD himself takes the sacrifice. Fire answered Elijah in the same way (1 Kgs 18:38), where ‘all the people… fell on their faces’ (1 Kgs 18:39), and Solomon (2 Chr 7:1). In 10:2 fire ‘from the LORD’ also devoured Nadab and Abihu.