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Leviticus 8

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Preparation for Consecration 1–5

1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2
Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; ​
3
And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4
And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ​
5
And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.

Robing and Anointing the Priests 6–13

6
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. ​
7
And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8
And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. ​
9
And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
10
And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. ​
11
And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.
12
And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. ​
13
And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Sin Offering and Atonement 14–17

14
And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. ​
15
And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. ​
16
And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.
17
But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. ​

The Burnt Offering 18–21

18
And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
19
And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
20
And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21
And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

The Ram of Consecration (Installation) 22–30

22
And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. ​
23
And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. ​
24
And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
25
And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
26
And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
27
And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD. ​
28
And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
29
And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses' part; as the LORD commanded Moses.
30
And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. ​

Instructions for the Seven-Day Consecration 31–36

31
And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
32
And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.
33
And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. ​
34
As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. ​
35
Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded. ​
36
So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. ​

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

Study Notes for Leviticus 8

Verse 2

a bullock for the sin offering — The bullock, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread are the list of Ex 29:1–3. ‘Sin offering’ is chattath, the Hebrew noun for sin itself, so the offering carries the name of what it deals with. The garments and the anointing oil come with them.

Verse 4

the assembly was gathered — ‘Assembly’ is edah, the congregation of Israel, called to the door of the tabernacle (v.3) so that the priests are installed in view of all. The refrain ‘as the LORD commanded Moses’ marks the stages (vv.9, 13, 17, 21, 29).

Verse 6

washed them with water — Rachats, to wash the body, done before any garment is put on (Ex 29:4; 40:12). Moses washes them; they do not wash themselves. Hebrews speaks of believers drawing near with ‘our bodies washed with pure water’ (Heb 10:22).

Verse 8

the Urim and the Thummim — Hebrew for ‘lights’ and ‘perfections’, set in the breastplate of judgment and borne ‘upon his heart before the LORD continually’ (Ex 28:30). Through them counsel was asked for Israel’s leader: ‘ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD’ (Num 27:21).

Verse 10

anointed the tabernacle — Mashach, to rub with oil. The dwelling and ‘all that was therein’ are anointed first (Ex 40:9–11), then the priests (v.12; v.30). ‘Sanctified’ (qadash) is the word for setting apart as holy, used of the place, the furniture and the persons alike.

Verse 12

poured of the anointing oil — The verb is mashach, the root of mashiach, ‘anointed’. ‘The priest that is anointed’ (Lev 4:3) takes his title from this act. The oil that runs down ‘upon the head… even Aaron’s beard’ is the picture of Ps 133:2.

Verse 14

laid their hands upon the head — Samak, to lean one’s weight upon, as in Lev 1:4, where the hand on the head makes the offering ‘accepted for him to make atonement’. The bullock is first because the priests need it themselves: the high priest’s sin offering is ‘for himself’ (Lev 16:6).

Verse 15

to make reconciliation — Kaphar, to cover or atone, the verb of ‘make an atonement’ in v.34. The blood goes on the horns of the altar and the rest at its base; the altar is ‘purified’ (chata’, from the root of chattath, sin) before it receives any other offering.

Verse 17

without the camp — Hide, flesh and dung go outside the camp, as with the priest’s own sin offering (Lev 4:11–12). Hebrews 13:11–12 sets Christ beside it: the bodies of such beasts ‘are burned without the camp’, and ‘Jesus also… suffered without the gate’.

Verse 22

the ram of consecration — Milluim, ‘fillings’, a word found only in the plural; it recurs in vv.28, 29, 31 and 33, and in Ex 29:22. In v.33 the same stem is in ‘shall he consecrate you’, literally ‘fill your hand’, and the portions are put into the priests’ hands (vv.25–28).

Verse 23

the tip of Aaron’s right ear — Blood goes on the ear, the thumb and the great toe of the right side (Ex 29:20, where Aaron’s sons receive the same). The three places are marked again for the cleansed leper, with the blood of the trespass offering (Lev 14:14).

Verse 27

waved them for a wave offering — Tenuphah, from nuph, to wave to and fro. The portions lie in the hands of Aaron and his sons and are lifted before the LORD (Ex 29:24). The breast of the same ram, waved, becomes Moses’ part (v.29).

Verse 30

sprinkled it upon Aaron — Oil and blood from the altar are sprinkled on the priests and on their garments (Ex 29:21). Oil and blood together set apart both the men and what they wear: ‘he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons’.

Verse 33

seven days shall he consecrate you — ‘Consecrate’ is male’, to fill, with ‘hand’: he shall ‘fill your hand’ (see v.22). The seven days are kept at the door (v.35); the priests’ first service begins ‘on the eighth day’ (Lev 9:1).

Verse 34

to make an atonement for you — Kaphar again (v.15): the rites repeated for seven days were commanded for the priests’ own atonement. Christ ‘needeth not daily… to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins’ (Heb 7:27), and ‘offered one sacrifice for sins for ever’ (Heb 10:12).

Verse 35

keep the charge of the LORD — Mishmereth, a duty kept under watch, the word of the Levites’ ‘keep his charge’ at the tabernacle (Num 3:7). ‘That ye die not’ recurs in Lev 10:7: ‘ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die’.

Verse 36

did all things which the LORD commanded — The chapter ends on the obedience it began with (v.4). Lev 10:1 gives the contrast: Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered fire ‘which he commanded them not’. ‘By the hand of Moses’ (yad, hand) names the channel through which the commands reached the priests.