Leviticus8
King James Version · Public Domain
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2Take 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;
3And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
5And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.
6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
7And 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.
8And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.
9And 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.
10And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
11And 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.
12And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13And 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.
14And 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.
15And 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.
16And 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.
17But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lord commanded Moses.
18And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
20And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21And 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.
22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
23And 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.
24And 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.
25And 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:
26And 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:
27And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord.
28And 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.
29And 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.
30And 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.
31And 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.
32And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.
33And 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.
34As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.
35Therefore 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.
36So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 8.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The consecration of Aaron and his sons. (1–13). The offerings of consecration. (14–36).
vv1-13
The consecration of Aaron and his sons had been delayed until the tabernacle had been prepared, and the laws of the sacrifices given. Aaron and his sons were washed with water, to signify that they ought to purify themselves from all sinful dispositions, and ever after to keep themselves pure. Christ washes those from their sins in his own blood whom he makes kings and priests to our God, Re 1:5, 6; and those that draw near to God must be washed in pure water, Heb 10:22. The anointing of Aaron was to typify the anointing of Christ with the Spirit, which was not given by measure to him. All believers have received the anointing.
vv14-36
In these types we see our great High Priest, even Christ Jesus, solemnly appointed, anointed, and invested with his sacred office, by his own blood, and the influences of his Holy Spirit. He sanctifies the ordinances of religion, to the benefit of his people and the honour of God the Father; who for his sake accepts our worship, though it is polluted with sin. We may also rejoice, that he is a merciful and faithful High Priest, full of compassion to the feeble-minded and tempest-tossed soul. All true Christians are consecrated to be spiritual priests. We should seriously ask ourselves, whether in our daily walk we study to maintain this character? and abound in spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Christ? If so, still there is no cause for boasting. Let us not despise our fellow-sinners; but remembering what we have done, and how we are saved, let us seek and pray for their salvation.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
בֶּגֶד: a covering, i.e. clothing; also treachery or pillage
מִשְׁחָה: unction (the act); by implication, a consecratory gift
שֶׁמֶן: grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively, richness
פַּר: a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength, or perhaps as dividing the hoof)
Cross References
Leviticus 8The original divine command and detailed blueprint for the consecration ritual described here.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The original divine blueprint and instruction for the consecration ritual of Aaron and his sons.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Direct poetic description of the precious anointing oil running down Aaron's head and beard.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament fulfillment showing Jesus suffered outside the gate, typified by burning the bullock outside the camp.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct command for placing ram's blood on the right ear, thumb, and great toe.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Prescribed instructions for offering the fat, kidneys, and right shoulder of the consecration ram.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Command to sprinkle anointing oil and blood upon Aaron, his sons, and their garments.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The command to seethe the flesh of the consecration ram in the holy place.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Command for the seven-day duration of the consecration ceremony.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
New Testament application of the priests' washing with water to believers drawing near to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Christ washing believers in His blood, making them spiritual kings and priests to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The direct command for vesting Aaron with the coat, robe, ephod, and breastplate.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The specific instruction to put the mitre and the holy crown upon Aaron's head.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The command to take the anointing oil and pour it on Aaron's head.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The exact legislative instruction being executed for the consecration's sin offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identical ritual applying blood to ear, thumb, and toe for cleansing a leper.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Command to burn any remaining consecration flesh or bread that is not eaten.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The detailed recipe and sacred restrictions regarding the holy anointing oil.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The prescription for placing the Urim and Thummim inside the high priest's breastplate.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The prescription to cleanse and anoint the altar daily to sanctify it.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The divine patterns for the coats, girdles, and bonnets of Aaron's sons.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The prior instruction for the presentation and burning of the ram for the burnt offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Instruction to cut the ram into pieces and wash its inwards and legs.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament parallel of inward and outward cleansing required to draw near to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Moses' designated portion of the wave offering from the ram of consecration.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Further legislation regarding the high priest upon whose head the anointing oil was poured.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Seven-day consecration period for the altar in Ezekiel's temple vision.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Matches the pattern of Moses doing precisely as the Lord commanded him.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Christ washing believers from sins in His blood to make them priests.
Supported by Matthew Henry