Exodus29
King James Version · Public Domain
1And 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,
2And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5And 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 curious girdle of the ephod:
6And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the Lord: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his 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.
21And 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.
22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord:
24And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the Lord.
25And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the Lord: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be thy part.
27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord.
29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, 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.
35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
42This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 29.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The sacrifice and ceremony for the consecration of the priests. (1–37). The continual burnt-offerings, God's promise to dwell among Israel. (38–46).
vv1-37
Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices, 1Pe 2:5, washed in the blood of Christ, and so made to our God priests, Re 1:5, 6. They also are clothed with the beauty of holiness, and have received the anointing, 1Jo 2:27. The Spirit of God is called the finger of God, (Lu 11:20, compared with Mt 12:28,) and by him the merit of Christ is applied to our souls. This consecration signifies the admission of a sinner into the spiritual priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
vv38-46
A lamb was to be offered upon the altar every morning, and a lamb every evening. This typified the continual intercession which Christ ever lives to make for his church. Though he offered himself but once for all, that one offering thus becomes a continual offering. This also teaches us to offer to God the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise every day, morning and evening. Our daily devotions are the most needful of our daily works, and the most pleasant of our daily comforts. Prayer-time must be kept up as duly as meal-time. Those starve their own souls, who keep not up constant attendance on the throne of grace; constancy in religion brings in the comfort of it.
Key Words
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
קָדַשׁ: to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally)
כָּהַן: to officiate as a priest; figuratively, to put on regalia
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
אֶחָד: properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
פַּר: a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength, or perhaps as dividing the hoof)
בָּקָר: beef cattle or an animal of the ox family of either gender (as used for plowing); collectively, a herd
שְׁנַיִם: two; also (as ordinal) twofold
אַיִל: properly, strength; hence, anything strong; specifically a chief (politically); also a ram (from his strength); a pilaster (as a strong support); an oak or other strong tree
Cross References
Exodus 29The burning of the sin offering bullock outside the camp prefigures Christ's suffering outside the gate.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The historical fulfillment of sprinkling the anointing oil and blood on Aaron and his garments.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Explicit parallel of God's promise to meet and speak with Israel there.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The historical fulfillment and enactment of these very consecration rites by Moses.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Describes the oil poured on Aaron's head, running down his beard, signifying the Spirit's abundance.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The anointing of the priest typifies Christ being anointed with the Holy Spirit for ministry.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Contrast between earthly priests offering daily sacrifices and Christ's once-for-all perfect sacrifice.
Supported by JFB
Jesus references this law, confirming that the altar is what sanctifies the gift placed upon it.
Supported by JFB
The parallel liturgical law detailing the morning and evening continual burnt offerings.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The historical fulfillment where the tabernacle was sanctified by God's glory.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The ultimate eschatological fulfillment of God dwelling with His people.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul cites the promise of God dwelling in them to describe the church.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Washing with water signifies the absolute necessity of spiritual cleansing before serving God.
Supported by JFB
Laying hands on the sacrifice's head to confess sin and transfer guilt.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The burnt offering's sweet savor typifies Christ's offering of Himself as a sweet-smelling savor.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Identical ritual of applying blood to the right ear, thumb, and toe for cleansing.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Celebrates the precious anointing oil running down Aaron's head onto his priestly garments.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses takes the breast of the ram of consecration as his portion, just as commanded.
Supported by JFB
The general statute reserving the wave breast and heave shoulder of peace offerings for the priests.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses executes the command to boil the ram of consecration and eat it at the tabernacle door.
Supported by JFB
The spiritual application of the daily sacrifices, equating prayer with the evening incense and sacrifice.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Daniel refers to the 'evening oblation', showing the continuity of this practice.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The evening sacrifice as a type of the believer's daily prayers.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Confirms the continual burnt offering was ordained in Mount Sinai.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Pentateuchal parallel reiterating the promise to walk and dwell among Israel.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts the imperfect, sinful Levitical priests who needed sacrifices with our holy, undefiled High Priest.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Unleavened bread signifies sincerity and truth, typified by Christ's freedom from all malice.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the holy crown placed upon the mitre as the engraved plate of gold.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Explains that according to the law, almost all things are purged and dedicated with blood.
Supported by Matthew Poole, Matthew Henry
The literal transfer of Aaron's holy garments to his son Eleazar at his death.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Confirms that holy food is reserved exclusively for Aaron and his sons to eat in a holy place.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Further instructions on the meeting place before the testimony.
Identifies the tabernacle as the place where God meets with Moses.
Believers are washed in Christ's blood to become a spiritual priesthood.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The foundational covenant formula: 'I will be to you a God'.
Believers are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.