The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
The Order of the Sacrifices
Exodus 29:10–30 — The Order of the Sacrifices. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
10You are to present the bull at the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hiq·raḇ·tā ’eṯ- hap·pār lip̄·nê ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ ’a·hă·rōn ū·ḇā·nāw ’eṯ- wə·sā·maḵ yə·ḏê·hem ‘al- hap·pār rōš
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall bring near the bull to the face of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lean their hands upon the head of the bull.
Where the English smooths the original
the offerer identified himself with the animal, and transferred to it the guilt of his own sins and imperfections. The animal thereby became accursed, and its death paid the penalty due to the sins laid upon it, and set free those who had committed them. Similarly, Christ, our sin offering, was “made a curse for us” ( Galatians 3:13 ).
They were to put their hand on the head of their sacrifice; confessing that they deserved to die for their own sins, and desiring that the killing of the beast might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction.
declaring it to be their sacrifice, a vicarious one, one in their room and stead, signifying that they deserved to die as that creature would; and by this act putting, as it were, their sins and transgressions upon it, see Leviticus 16:21 and which was an emblem of the imputation of sin to Christ, and laying upon him the iniquities of us all.
Signifying that the sacrifice was also offered for them, and that they approved it.Geneva adds a note the imputation-focused voices omit: the hand-leaning is also an act of consent — the offerers' approval and acceptance of the victim as their own, not transfer of guilt alone.
This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Leviticus 1-7 . It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Leviticus 8 , where the consecration itself is described.Keil's note is identical across every verse of the unit — a single editorial deferral to Leviticus 8 — so it is cited here once, for the unit, rather than repeated.
11And you shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·šā·ḥaṭ·tā ’eṯ- hap·pār lip̄·nê Yah·weh pe·ṯaḥ ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall slaughter the bull before the face of YHWH, at the opening of the Tent of Meeting.
Where the English smooths the original
Moses, who though no priest, yet for this time and occasion was called by God to this work.
Moses is ordered to do it, who now officiated as a priest, "pro tempore", Aaron and his sons not being yet completely invested with that office, or thoroughly consecrated to it; of which consecration this sacrifice was a part, and therefore could not with propriety be concerned in killing their own sacrifice
Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35.
12Take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā mid·dam hap·pār wə·nā·ṯat·tāh ‘al- qar·nōṯ ham·miz·bê·aḥ bə·’eṣ·bā·‘e·ḵā wə·’eṯ- tiš·pōḵ kāl- had·dām ’el- yə·sō·wḏ ham·miz·bê·aḥ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take from the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and all the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.
Where the English smooths the original
It has been already noticed that the virtue of the altar was considered to reside especially in its horns; hence fugitives clung to them ( 1Kings 1:50 ; 1Kings 2:28 ).
The Hebrew regarded the blood as the seat of the ‘soul,’ or principle of life; and it was in virtue of the ‘soul’ that was in it, that it made atonement (see Leviticus 17:11 ).
it may figure the blood of Christ, being effectual to the cleansing of their souls, and the remission of their sins, through the application of it to them by the Spirit of God
13Take all the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ’eṯ- kāl- ha·ḥê·leḇ ham·ḵas·seh ’eṯ- haq·qe·reḇ wə·’êṯ hay·yō·ṯe·reṯ ‘al- hak·kā·ḇêḏ wə·’êṯ šə·tê hak·kə·lā·yōṯ wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥê·leḇ ’ă·šer ‘ă·lê·hen wə·hiq·ṭar·tā ham·miz·bê·ḥāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the appendage on the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and you shall turn them into smoke on the altar.
Where the English smooths the original
Among the parts regarded as most fitting to be consumed on the altar, the fat always held a high place. This is to be accounted for either by its being considered a delicacy, or by the readiness with which it caught fire and kindled into a clear bright blaze.
the appendix (Heb. the redundance ) upon the liver , i.e., as Moore in the Orient. Studien Th. Nöldeke gewidmet (1906), ii. 761 ff., has convincingly shewn, what is called technically the lobus caudatus , or tail-shaped lobe, a small finger-shaped appendix
to signify either the mortification of their inward and most beloved lusts, or the dedication of the best of all sacrifices, and of their inward and best parts, to God and his service.
14But burn the flesh of the bull and its hide and dung outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- tiś·rōp̄ bā·’êš bə·śar hap·pār wə·’eṯ- ‘ō·rōw wə·’eṯ- pir·šōw mi·ḥūṣ lam·ma·ḥă·neh hū ḥaṭ·ṭāṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But the flesh of the bull and its hide and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
Where the English smooths the original
This was the general rule with sin offerings. The whole animal was reckoned too impure for any portion of it to be suitable for human food. His dung. —That which the intestines contained at the time of death.
The curse of sin which was on them, made them unfit for food and even unworthy of burial within the camp. On the symbolism of the burial, see Hebrews 13:11-13 .
so Christ, the antitype, suffered without the gates of Jerusalem a most painful and shameful death, despised and reproached by men, and the wrath of God like fire poured out upon him: the apostle seems to refer to this, Hebrews 13:11
When a sin-offering was offered for priests , or for the whole community, including the priests, its flesh was burnt (cf. Leviticus 4:11 f., 21, Exodus 9:11 ); when it was offered for laymen , the flesh was eaten by the priests
15Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- tiq·qāḥ hā·’e·ḥāḏ hā·’a·yil ’a·hă·rōn ū·ḇā·nāw ’eṯ- wə·sā·mə·ḵū yə·ḏê·hem ‘al- hā·’ā·yil rōš
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the one ram you shall take, and Aaron and his sons shall lean their hands upon the head of the ram.
Where the English smooths the original
Again identifying themselves with the animal, as in Exodus 29:10 , but with a different purpose from their former one. Then they transferred their sins to the victim; now they claimed a part in the victim’s dedication to God, offering themselves with it
There must be a burnt-offering, a ram wholly burned, in token of the dedication of themselves wholly to God, as living sacrifices, kindled with the fire, and ascending in the flame of holy love. The sin-offering must first be offered, and then the burnt-offering, for till guilt be removed no acceptable service can be performed.
Here, again, the object was to identify themselves with the victim, and make it their representative; though now, as the ram was to be a burnt offering, self-sacrifice, rather than expiation, was the leading thought.
16You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and splatter it on all sides of the altar.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·šā·ḥaṭ·tā ’eṯ- hā·’ā·yil wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ’eṯ- dā·mōw wə·zā·raq·tā ‘al- sā·ḇîḇ ham·miz·bê·aḥ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall slaughter the ram, and take its blood, and dash it on the altar all around.
Where the English smooths the original
Rather, scatter it. The act of throwing the blood from a basin against the lower part of the altar is intended. The verb is a different one from that rightly translated “sprinkle” in Exodus 29:21 .
toss: viz. in a volume, out of a tossing-vessel or basin (see on Exodus 27:3 ). ‘Sprinkle’ not only conveys an incorrect idea of the action meant, but also confuses it with an entirely different action, correctly represented by ‘sprinkle’
Which signifies, that not only our persons, but our very altars and sacrifices, and best services, need the sprinkling of Christ’s blood upon them to render them acceptable to God.
17Cut the ram into pieces, wash the entrails and legs, and place them with its head and other pieces.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- tə·nat·tê·aḥ hā·’a·yil lin·ṯā·ḥāw wə·rā·ḥaṣ·tā qir·bōw ū·ḵə·rā·‘āw wə·nā·ṯa·tā ‘al- rō·šōw nə·ṯā·ḥāw wə·‘al-
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the ram you shall cut into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head.
Where the English smooths the original
This was the ordinary practice, not only among the Hebrews, but also among other nations, as the Egyptians (Herod. ii. 40), the Greeks, the Romans, and others. It was probably found to facilitate the burning of the animal, which was with difficulty consumed entire.
and wash the inwards of him, and his legs; denoting the purity of the sacrifice of Christ, and that when his people give up themselves to God as a whole burnt offering, in the flames of love and zeal, their affections should be pure and sincere
Wash its inwards - i.e. , its "intestines" - probably the stomach and bowels only. Its legs . The lower joints of the leg, with the foot, to which it was likely that dust might attach.
18Then burn the entire ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hiq·ṭar·tā ’eṯ- kāl- hā·’a·yil ham·miz·bê·ḥāh hū ‘ō·lāh Yah·weh hū nî·ḥō·w·aḥ rê·aḥ ’iš·šeh Yah·weh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall turn into smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to YHWH, a soothing aroma, a fire-offering to YHWH.
Where the English smooths the original
It was a general heathen notion that the gods were actually delighted with the odour of the sacrifices offered to them; but there are no just grounds for taxing the Hebrews with such coarse and materialistic ideas. The expression, as used in this place, in Genesis 8:21 , and in Leviticus and Numbers repeatedly, is metaphorical.
Or, savour of rest, which causes the wrath of God to cease.
it is a sweet savour; or "a smell of rest" (y), in which God acquiesces, and rests, and takes delight and pleasure; it is, as the Septuagint version: for a smell of sweet savour, or a sweet smelling savour; which phrase the apostle makes use of, and applies to the sacrifice of Christ, Ephesians 5:2
19Take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on its head.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ’êṯ haš·šê·nî hā·’a·yil ’a·hă·rōn ū·ḇā·nāw ’eṯ- wə·sā·maḵ yə·ḏê·hem ‘al- hā·’ā·yil rōš
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lean their hands upon the head of the ram.
Where the English smooths the original
Consecrated to God by the act of sacrifice, its blood was used, together with the holy oil, for the consecration of Aaron and his sons ( Exodus 29:20-21 ); while at the same time its most sacred parts were placed on their hands by Moses, that with them they might perform their first sacerdotal act
In the burnt-offering, God had the glory of their priesthood, in this they had the comfort of it. And in token of a mutual covenant between God and them, the blood of this sacrifice was divided between God and them, part of the blood was sprinkled upon the altar round about, and part upon them
The application of the blood to the persons of the priests was altogether unique, and most significant. It was the crowning act of consecration, and implied the complete dedication of their life and of all their powers to the service of the Almighty.
20Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the right earlobes of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Splatter the remaining blood on all sides of the altar.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·šā·ḥaṭ·tā ’eṯ- hā·’a·yil wə·lā·qaḥ·tā mid·dā·mōw wə·nā·ṯat·tāh ‘al- tə·nūḵ ’ō·zen ’a·hă·rōn wə·‘al- bā·nāw hay·mā·nîṯ tə·nūḵ ’ō·zen wə·‘al- bō·hen hay·mā·nîṯ yā·ḏām wə·‘al- bō·hen hay·mā·nîṯ raḡ·lām wə·zā·raq·tā ’eṯ- had·dām ‘al- sā·ḇîḇ ham·miz·bê·aḥ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall slaughter the ram and take from its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of Aaron and on the lobe of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot; and you shall dash the blood on the altar all around.
Where the English smooths the original
Placed upon the tip of the right ear, it reminded them that their ears were to be ever open and attentive to the whispers of the Divine voice; placed on the thumb of the right hand, it taught that they should take in hand nothing but what was sanctified; placed upon the great toe of the right foot, it was a warning that they were to walk thenceforth in the paths of holiness.
the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations, and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot , as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God
and as our great High Priest had his ear opened and awakened, to hear as the learned; and happy are his people who have ears to hear the joyful sound, and take pleasure in it, and who are cleansed from their hearing sins, by his precious blood
the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of manJFB's single block covers vv.10-22; this pointed clause on the blood at the body's ‘extremities' is excerpted here at v.20, the verse it describes.
21And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. Then he and his garments will be consecrated, as well as his sons and their garments.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā min- had·dām ’ă·šer ‘al- ham·miz·bê·aḥ ham·miš·ḥāh ū·miš·še·men wə·hiz·zê·ṯā ‘al- ’a·hă·rōn bə·ḡā·ḏāw wə·‘al- wə·‘al- bā·nāw wə·‘al- biḡ·ḏê hū ū·ḇə·ḡā·ḏāw wə·qā·ḏaš ḇā·nāw ’it·tōw ū·ḇā·nāw ū·ḇiḡ·ḏê ḇā·nāw ’it·tōw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take from the blood that is on the altar and from the anointing oil, and you shall sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be made holy, he and his garments, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
Where the English smooths the original
The twofold sprinkling, with blood and with oil, denoted the necessity of a twofold holiness—that of justification by the atoning blood of Christ, and that of sanctification by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
perhaps it is best to view it as symbolising the intimate union which exists between justification and sanctification - the atoning blood, and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit.
denoting both the justification of the priests of the Lord by the blood of Christ, and the sanctification of them by the Spirit, and the need that both their persons and their actions stand in of cleansing by them both
22Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination),
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ha·ḥê·leḇ min- hā·’a·yil wə·hā·’al·yāh wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥê·leḇ ham·ḵas·seh ’eṯ- haq·qe·reḇ wə·’êṯ yō·ṯe·reṯ hak·kā·ḇêḏ wə·’êṯ šə·tê hak·kə·lā·yōṯ wə·’eṯ- ha·ḥê·leḇ ’ă·šer ‘ă·lê·hen wə·’êṯ hay·yā·mîn šō·wq kî hū ’êl mil·lu·’îm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take from the ram the fat and the fat tail, and the fat covering the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh — for it is a ram of installation —
Where the English smooths the original
By “the rump” is meant the broad fat tail which characterises Oriental sheep, and which is said to weigh from six to twenty pounds.
a ram of installation ] lit. ‘of filling ’ ( sc. of hands): cf. the cognate verb in v. 9. ‘Consecration’ is not sufficiently distinctive.
Of the priests in their office. Therefore the right shoulder was burnt, which in other sacrifices was given to the priest.
23along with one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’a·ḥaṯ wə·ḵik·kar le·ḥem ’a·ḥaṯ wa·ḥal·laṯ le·ḥem še·men ’e·ḥāḏ wə·rā·qîq mis·sal ham·maṣ·ṣō·wṯ ’ă·šer lip̄·nê Yah·weh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and one round loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the face of YHWH —
Where the English smooths the original
The objects mentioned formed the “meat offering,” which always accompanied a peace offering.
a round ( kikkâr )—corresponding to the ‘bread of unleavened cakes ’ of v. 2. A circular flat ‘cake’ is meant, not what we should call a ‘loaf.’
and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread; which was anointed with oil and crossed, as the Jewish writers say: that is before the Lord; which basket of unleavened bread, cakes, and wafers, was set in the court of the tabernacle, and so said to be before the Lord
24Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·śam·tā hak·kōl ‘al kap·pê ’a·hă·rōn wə·‘al kap·pê ḇā·nāw wə·hê·nap̄·tā ’ō·ṯām lip̄·nê Yah·weh tə·nū·p̄āh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall put all of these on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the face of YHWH.
Where the English smooths the original
Having placed the offerings on the hands of his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was to put his own hands beneath theirs, and to make a waving motion towards the four quarters of the sky, thus presenting the offerings to the ubiquitous God. Aaron and his sons thus performed their first priestly act
it seems to be intended as a symbolical expression of the fact that such offerings are first given to God, and then given back by Him to the priest for his own use
Either toss them from one hand to another, as giving all from themselves to God; or shake them to and fro, towards the several parts of the world, to note God’s dominion over all places and people, and the extent of that true and great sacrifice, represented in these types to all.
25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar atop the burnt offering as a pleasing aroma before the LORD; it is a food offering to the LORD.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ’ō·ṯām mî·yā·ḏām wə·hiq·ṭar·tā ham·miz·bê·ḥāh ‘al- hā·‘ō·lāh nî·ḥō·w·aḥ lə·rê·aḥ lip̄·nê Yah·weh hū ’iš·šeh Yah·weh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take them from their hands and turn them into smoke on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as a soothing aroma before the face of YHWH; it is a fire-offering to YHWH.
Where the English smooths the original
On communicating his priestly functions to his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was not immediately to lay them aside; but, as he had begun the consecration ceremony, so he was to complete it.
Moses was still to continue the priestly acts, and to complete the peace-offering by burning the selected parts (ver. 22) on the brazen altar.
and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering; not the flesh of the ram, which is after ordered to be boiled and eaten by Aaron and his sons; but the fat of it, before described, with one loaf, one cake, and one wafer of unleavened bread, out of the basket
26Take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your portion.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·lā·qaḥ·tā ’eṯ- he·ḥā·zeh mê·’êl lə·’a·hă·rōn ham·mil·lu·’îm ’ă·šer wə·hê·nap̄·tā ’ō·ṯōw lip̄·nê Yah·weh tə·nū·p̄āh wə·hā·yāh lə·ḵā lə·mā·nāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall take the breast from the ram of Aaron's installation, and wave it as a wave offering before the face of YHWH; and it shall be your portion.
Where the English smooths the original
It was the general law that in “wave offerings” the breast should be the officiating priest’s ( Leviticus 7:29-31 ); hence, on this occasion, it was assigned to Moses.
because now there were in a manner two priests, the one consecrating, to wit, Moses ; the other consecrated, to wit, Aaron ; therefore these parts were divided, the breast went to the former to be eaten, the shoulder offered unto God for the latter
Henceforth Aaron and his sons were to have the breast of all wave-offerings ( Leviticus 7:31-34 ); but on this occasion, as Moses officiated, the breast was to be his.
27Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the heave offering that is lifted up from the ram of ordination.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·qid·daš·tā ’êṯ lə·’a·hă·rōn ū·mê·’ă·šer lə·ḇā·nāw ḥă·zêh hat·tə·nū·p̄āh wə·’êṯ ’ă·šer hū·nap̄ šō·wq hat·tə·rū·māh wa·’ă·šer hū·rām mê·’êl ham·mil·lu·’îm mê·’ă·šer
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And you shall set apart as holy the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution — that which is waved and that which is lifted up — from the ram of installation, from that which is for Aaron and from that which is for his sons.
Where the English smooths the original
“Heaving” was a single movement, an uplifting of the thing heaved; “waving” was a repeated movement, a swaying of the thing waved backwards and forwards horizontally. Both were modes of presenting the thing to God.
The verses (which do not agree with vv. 22, 24; for the thigh which was there burnt on the altar is here to be the perquisite of the priests) are probably a later insertion, correcting v. 26, and harmonizing (though imperfectly) vv. 22, 25 with the practice that was usual in the case of a peace-offeringCambridge here advances a source-critical claim (a later editorial insertion). It is one scholarly hypothesis, not the consensus of the other voices; included for honesty, not endorsed.
The "waving" was the more solemn process of the two: it was a movement several times repeated, while "heaving" was simply a "lifting up" once.
28This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is the heave offering the Israelites will make to the LORD from their peace offerings.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hā·yāh lə·’a·hă·rōn ū·lə·ḇā·nāw ‘ō·w·lām mê·’êṯ lə·ḥāq- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl kî hū ṯə·rū·māh yih·yeh mê·’êṯ bə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl ū·ṯə·rū·māh tə·rū·mā·ṯām Yah·weh šal·mê·hem miz·ziḇ·ḥê
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' as a perpetual due from the sons of Israel, for it is a contribution; and it shall be a contribution from the sons of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to YHWH.
Where the English smooths the original
the shoulder, because Aaron bore their names before the Lord upon his shoulders, for a memorial; and the breast for a like reason, because he bore their names in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, and their judgment also before the Lord continually
unto Jehovah ] who, however, gives them back to the priests ( Numbers 18:8 ).
Which were offerings of thanksgiving to God for his benefits.
29The holy garments that belong to Aaron will belong to his sons after him, so they can be anointed and ordained in them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
haq·qō·ḏeš ū·ḇiḡ·ḏê ’ă·šer lə·’a·hă·rōn yih·yū lə·ḇā·nāw ’a·ḥă·rāw lə·mā·šə·ḥāh ḇā·hem ū·lə·mal·lê- ḇām ’eṯ- yā·ḏām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the holy garments that belong to Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed in them and to have their hands filled in them.
Where the English smooths the original
for the priesthood continued in Aaron's family by succession, the eldest son being high priest, until the disposal of this office fell into the hands of Heathen princes
The holy garments made for Aaron were to be preserved after his death, and used at the consecration of each successive high priest, who was to be anointed and consecrated in them , and to wear them for seven days from the time that he entered upon his office.
The costly and decorated vestments of the high priest to be passed on to his successors in the office. Another parenthetic regulation, if not a later insertion
30The son who succeeds him as priest and enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place must wear them for seven days.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mib·bā·nāw ’ă·šer taḥ·tāw hak·kō·hên yā·ḇō ’el- ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ lə·šā·rêṯ baq·qō·ḏeš yil·bā·šām šiḇ·‘aṯ yā·mîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Seven days the priest in his place from among his sons — who enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place — shall wear them.
Where the English smooths the original
For so long the solemnity of the consecration lasted, Exodus 29:35 . In the holy place ; both that strictly so called, and in the most holy place; for as none could go into the most holy place except the high priest, so there were some things to be done in the holy place which none but he could do.
when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place; to offer sacrifice in the court of the tabernacle, on the altar of burnt offering, and to offer incense on the altar of incense, and to trim the lamps of the candlestick, and to put the shewbread on the table.
Seven days ] to be explained from v. 35. when he cometh ] i.e. first cometh. More clearly, who is to come .
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The unit is built on a sequence the voices read with one mind. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown set out the architecture: "This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices" — a bull "as a sin offering," a ram "as a burnt offering," and a second ram, "the ram of consecration," as a peace offering — and the order is itself doctrine: "The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed." Benson states the same law at v.15: "The sin-offering must first be offered, and then the burnt-offering, for till guilt be removed no acceptable service can be performed." The bull is the sin-bearer: by the leaning of hands (sâmak, H5564), Ellicott says, "the offerer identified himself with the animal, and transferred to it the guilt of his own sins," so that "the animal thereby became accursed." The first ram is self-given — Benson: "a ram wholly burned, in token of the dedication of themselves wholly to God, as living sacrifices." The second ram is communion — Benson again: "In the burnt-offering, God had the glory of their priesthood, in this they had the comfort of it." Sin removed, self surrendered, fellowship restored: the grammar of the gospel laid down in animal and fire.
At the rite's heart is its strangest act. Ellicott calls the application of blood to the priests "by far the most peculiar part of the whole ceremony"; the Pulpit Commentary, "altogether unique, and most significant… the crowning act of consecration." The blood touches three points named by words of striking rarity — tᵉnûwk (the ear-lobe, H8571) and bōhen (the thumb / great-toe, H931) occur only a handful of times in all Scripture. Ellicott reads them as a man taken member by member: the ear "ever open and attentive to the whispers of the Divine voice," the hand for what "is sanctified," the foot for "the paths of holiness." Poole presses why the right parts: "as being usually more vigorous and expeditious." Then comes the second fluid: not blood alone but blood mingled with the anointing oil (ham·miš·ḥāh, H4888), sprinkled — now the true verb, nâzâh (H5137), which the Cambridge Bible distinguishes sharply from the "toss" of v.16 — on persons and garments alike. Ellicott draws the two fluids into one doctrine: "a twofold holiness — that of justification by the atoning blood of Christ, and that of sanctification by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit." The Pulpit Commentary agrees it is "the intimate union which exists between justification and sanctification." The man is hallowed at his extremities and clothed in hallowed cloth — a body made into a section of the sanctuary.
Ordination, in Hebrew, is literally a filling of the hands. The ram is the ’êl mil·lu·’îm (H4394) — the Cambridge Bible: "a ram of installation, lit. of filling (sc. of hands)… ‘Consecration' is not sufficiently distinctive." Moses loads the priests' open palms (kap·pê, H3709) with fat and bread and waves them; Ellicott describes Moses putting "his own hands beneath theirs" so that "Aaron and his sons thus performed their first priestly act" — made priests in the very motion of acting as priests. The portions are then divided by a law that will stand forever: the breast "waved" (tᵉnûwphâh, H8573) and the thigh "heaved" or, more exactly, contributed (tᵉrûwmâh, H8641). Barnes distinguishes the gestures cleanly: "the ‘waving' was the more solemn process… a movement several times repeated, while ‘heaving' was simply a ‘lifting up' once." The Cambridge Bible candidly flags a seam here: vv.27-28 "do not agree with vv. 22, 24" and are "probably a later insertion, correcting v. 26" — a tension the text itself bears. Finally the office is made to outlast the man: the holy garments pass "to his sons after him" (v.29), and for seven days the successor is vested and serves. Poole: "For so long the solemnity of the consecration lasted." A priesthood designed from the first day to survive its own death.
Read under Sola Scriptura, and offered as the tool's own fallible reading to be tested: the unit teaches by what it keeps separate and what it joins. Two verbs the English flattens carry the whole theology of the altar. Qâṭar (H6999), "turn into fragrant smoke," governs what ascends to God — fat (v.13), ram (v.18), consecration-portions (v.25); sâraph (H8313), mere destroying fire, governs only the sin offering's carcass burned "outside the camp" (v.14). The original will not let the offering that rises and the refuse that is removed share a word — yet the same victim is both, its fat ascending while its body is cast out under the curse of the sin it bore. So too with blood: it is dashed (zâraq, v.16) at the altar in volume, but sprinkled (nâzâh, v.21) finely on the man — public atonement and personal sanctification distinguished in the very motion of the hand. And ordination is never a word spoken over a man but a thing put into his hands: millu’îm, "fillings" (v.22), millê' yâd, "fill the hand" (v.29). The priest is made by being loaded with what he will give away. The rarest words in the passage — the ear-lobe and thumb of v.20 — recur in only one other rite, the cleansing of the leper (Lev 14): the blood that makes a priest is the blood that readmits an outcast. Israel's holiest man and its most defiled are restored by the identical sign — which is the reading the machine offers for testing, and holds loosely.
The fat ascends and the carcass is cast out — one victim, two destinies, and the same blood that ordains the priest is the blood that cleanses the leper. (A reading to be tested, not a verse.)
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The portions reserved for the altar in v.13 — the fat covering the entrails, the appendage on the liver, the two kidneys — recur verbatim in the carrying-out of this very command at Leviticus 8:25, and in the standing law of the peace offering (Lev 3:4, 10; 7:4) and the priestly sin offering (Lev 4:9). The link rests on lexemes rare enough to be a near-quotation: yôthereth (H3508, the liver's appendage) occurs in only 11 verses, kâbêd (H3516, liver) in 14. The Verifier confirms the shared rare vocabulary.
Leviticus 8:25 · Leviticus 3:4 · Leviticus 4:9 · Leviticus 7:4
basis: Verifier-confirmed shared rare lexemes vs Leviticus 8:25: H3508 yôthereth (11 vv), H3516 kâbêd (14 vv), H3629 kilyâh (26 vv), H2459 cheleb (69 vv) — the very low frequency of yôthereth and kâbêd makes this verbal repetition, not a generic ‘fat' motif.
The blood placed on the right ear-lobe, thumb, and big toe of the priests (v.20) is performed at Leviticus 8:23-24, and — astonishingly — the identical rite, on the identical members, cleanses the healed leper at Leviticus 14:14, 25. The connecting words are among the rarest in the Hebrew Bible: tᵉnûwk (H8571, ear-lobe) in only 7 verses, bōhen (H931, thumb/great-toe) in only 9. That the consecration of the high priest and the readmission of an outcast share this exact, otherwise-unused vocabulary is a genuine verbal bond, not a coincidence of theme.
Leviticus 8:23 · Leviticus 14:14 · Leviticus 14:25
basis: Verifier-confirmed shared rare lexemes vs Leviticus 14:14: H8571 tᵉnûwk (7 vv), H931 bôhen (9 vv), H3233 yᵉmânîy (17 vv), H241 ʼôzen (179 vv) — tᵉnûwk and bôhen are so rare that their joint occurrence is verbal repetition across the ordination and leper-cleansing rites.
The breast "waved" and the thigh "heaved"/contributed (vv.26-27) become the priest's portion forever; the standing law of Leviticus 7:34 uses the same technical pair, and Leviticus 8:29 and 10:14-15 carry out and confirm the breast's assignment. The shared lexemes are rare and specific: châzeh (H2373, breast) in 12 verses, shôwq (H7785, thigh) in 19, tᵉnûwphâh (H8573, wave offering) in 28, tᵉrûwmâh (H8641, contribution) in 63. The wave-offering verb/noun pair also ties to Numbers 6:20. The Verifier confirms a verbal link.
Leviticus 7:34 · Leviticus 8:29 · Leviticus 10:14 · Numbers 6:20
basis: Verifier-confirmed shared rare lexemes vs Leviticus 7:34: H2373 châzeh (12 vv), H7785 shôwq (19 vv), H8573 tᵉnûwphâh (28 vv), H8641 tᵉrûwmâh (63 vv) — the low-frequency breast/thigh/wave terms make this a verbal echo of the peace-offering perquisite law.
The burnt ram is "a soothing aroma" (rê·aḥ nî·ḥō·aḥ, vv.18, 25) — the same two words first spoken when the LORD smelled the offering after the Flood (Genesis 8:21) and standing throughout the burnt-offering law (Lev 1:9, 13, 17). The shared lexemes are nîychôwach (H5207, in 43 vv) and rêyach (H7381, in 55 vv). Editor's downgrade: the Verifier's automated tier reads this as "verbal / quotation — confirmed," but neither lexeme is rare (43 and 55 occurrences is mid-frequency, not the single-digit rarity of tᵉnûwk or bōhen). The honest tier is therefore structural / thematic: the bond is a fixed liturgical formula and shared motif of an offering at which God's anger settles, not a pointed rare-word quotation. The phrase is later applied to Christ (Eph 5:2; Phil 4:18) — but that is a cross-Testament typology, not a Hebrew lexical match.
Genesis 8:21 · Leviticus 1:9 · Leviticus 1:13
basis: Verifier returns shared lexemes vs Genesis 8:21: H5207 nîychôwach (43 vv), H7381 rêyach (55 vv). Downgraded from the Verifier's auto-"verbal": at 43/55 occurrences neither word is rare, so this is a recurring liturgical formula and shared motif (the ‘soothing aroma' that stills wrath, from Noah's altar through the burnt-offering law), not a low-frequency verbal quotation.
The sin-offering bull, burned "outside the camp" (v.14), is taken up by Hebrews 13:11-13: "the bodies of those animals… are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the gate." Ellicott, Gill, and the Pulpit Commentary all name the connection. But this is a Greek-to-Hebrew link: the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme (impossible across Testaments by Strong's number), so the tie cannot be called "verbal." It is a genuine, ancient typological reading argued by the apostle himself — recorded here, but flagged as a structural/typological claim, not a lexical one.
Hebrews 13:11 · Hebrews 13:12 · Leviticus 4:12
basis: Verifier on Exodus 29:14 ↔ Hebrews 13:11 returns NO shared lexeme — expected for a Greek↔Hebrew pair. The connection (sin offering burned ‘outside the camp' → Christ ‘outside the gate') is asserted by Hebrews itself and by the human voices, but it is typological/structural, never verbal; flagged so the provenance is read as argument, not lexical fact.
The whole command of this unit is the script; Leviticus 8 is the performance. The "ram of installation" (’êl millu’îm, vv.22, 26, 27) and the leaning of hands on the second ram (v.19) are carried out at Leviticus 8:22. Keil & Delitzsch's note — repeated on every verse here — explicitly defers full exposition to Leviticus 8, "where the consecration itself is described." The shared vocabulary is real but built largely of common terms (ram, Aaron, head, hand, lean), so the tie is structural — the same ceremony commanded and then enacted — rather than a rare-word quotation.
Leviticus 8:22 · Leviticus 8:28 · Leviticus 9:19
basis: Verifier on Exodus 29:19 ↔ Leviticus 8:22 returns shared lexemes H5564 çâmak (47 vv), H8145 shênîy (151 vv), H352 ʼayil (170 vv), H175 ʼAhărôwn (328 vv) — these are mostly common terms, so the link is the shared ceremony (command vs. fulfilment), structural rather than a rare verbal quotation.
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
Before any single rite is read of Christ, the whole office points to Him. The man brought near (qârab, v.10), washed, vested in holy garments, marked with blood and oil, his hands filled — is the pattern of the one true Priest. Matthew Henry draws the figure across every part of the ceremony at once: "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." The reading is as old as Hebrews itself (Heb 5:1-10; 7:26-28), which the unit's chapter is the appointed type behind — Christ "called of God" as Aaron was, yet consecrated not with another's blood but His own. Widely-held, not novel.
Exodus 29:10 · Hebrews 5:4 · Hebrews 7:26
The bull whose flesh is burned "outside the camp" because it bears the people's sin (v.14) is read, from the apostle onward, as the figure of Christ. Gill: "so Christ, the antitype, suffered without the gates of Jerusalem a most painful and shameful death… the apostle seems to refer to this, Hebrews 13:11." The Pulpit Commentary sends the reader to "Hebrews 13:11-13," and Ellicott at v.10 makes the sin-bearer's fate explicit: "the animal thereby became accursed… Similarly, Christ, our sin offering, was ‘made a curse for us' (Galatians 3:13)." This is a widely-held typological reading, asserted by Hebrews itself, not a novelty of the machine layer.
Exodus 29:14 · Hebrews 13:11 · Galatians 3:13
The whole ram ascending as "a soothing aroma" (vv.18, 25) is read as the acceptable self-offering of Christ. Gill: "a smell of rest, in which God acquiesces… which phrase the apostle makes use of, and applies to the sacrifice of Christ, Ephesians 5:2." Geneva hears in the phrase the very purpose of the cross: a "savour of rest, which causes the wrath of God to cease." Paul's words at Ephesians 5:2 — "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" — make the figure the apostle's own, so the reading is widely-held, not invented.
Exodus 29:18 · Ephesians 5:2 · Genesis 8:21
The blood placed on the priest's right ear (v.20) is read by Gill as a figure of the obedient High Priest: "as our great High Priest had his ear opened and awakened, to hear as the learned." The phrase echoes Isaiah 50:4-5 ("He awakens My ear to listen… the Lord GOD has opened My ear") and the consecration of the will at Psalm 40:6 ("My ears You have opened"), which Hebrews 10:5-7 places in the mouth of Christ. The reading is named by the human voice; the further tie to the Servant Songs and Psalm 40 is an older typological current, marked here as such.
Exodus 29:20 · Isaiah 50:5 · Psalm 40:6 · Hebrews 10:5
The unique mingling of sacrificial blood with anointing oil, sprinkled on priest and garment alike (v.21), is read as the union of Christ's atoning blood and the Spirit's sanctifying grace. Ellicott: "a twofold holiness — that of justification by the atoning blood of Christ, and that of sanctification by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit." Gill reads the same: "the justification of the priests of the Lord by the blood of Christ, and the sanctification of them by the Spirit." That the blood-and-oil should be specifically Christological is a development the Reformation-era voices make; it is a defensible, broadly-held figure rather than a unanimous patristic one, and is presented as the voices' argued reading.
Exodus 29:21 · 1 John 1:7 · Titus 3:5
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
On the cross-Testament links (Hebrews 13:11; Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 10:5). Every New-Testament tie in this unit — sin offering ‘outside the camp' → Christ ‘outside the gate'; ‘soothing aroma' → ‘fragrant offering'; opened ear → the hearing Servant — is Greek-to-Hebrew. The Verifier cannot return a shared Strong's lexeme for any of them, because shared Strong's numbers are impossible across the Hebrew/Greek divide by definition. These connections are genuine and, in the case of Hebrews 13, asserted by the inspired author himself; but as cross-Testament readings they are tiered structural/typological, never ‘verbal,' and the absence of a lexical match is a property of the language gap, not evidence against the link.
On the ‘soothing aroma' thread tier (downgraded by the editor). The Verifier's automated grader returns ‘verbal / quotation — confirmed' for Exodus 29:18 ↔ Genesis 8:21 on the strength of the shared pair nîychôwach (H5207) and rêyach (H7381). The editorial pass downgrades this to structural / thematic — confirmed: at 43 and 55 occurrences neither lexeme is rare, so the bond is a fixed liturgical formula and shared motif (the offering at which God's wrath settles), not the low-frequency rare-word repetition that warrants a ‘verbal' badge. The three threads kept at ‘verbal' — the liver-lobe/kidney fat (H3508 in 11 vv, H3516 in 14), the ear-lobe/thumb rite (H8571 in 7 vv, H931 in 9), and the wave-breast/heave-thigh perquisite (H2373 in 12 vv) — rest on genuinely rare lexemes and stand.
On the source-critical note at vv.27-28. The Cambridge Bible holds that these verses are "probably a later insertion, correcting v. 26" because the thigh, burnt on the altar in v.22/25, is here made the priests' perquisite. This is one scholarly hypothesis about an internal tension the text does show; it is recorded for honesty and is not endorsed over the unison reading of the other voices, who treat the passage as a forward-looking digression to the standing law (so Ellicott, Pulpit).
On Keil & Delitzsch. Keil's comment is word-for-word identical on all twenty-one verses — a single editorial deferral of exposition to Leviticus 8. It is therefore cited once (at v.10), not twenty-one times, to avoid the false impression of fresh comment per verse.
On the translation ‘food offering' (’iš·šeh, H801, vv.18, 25). BSB ‘food offering' follows one etymology; the Cambridge Bible argues for ‘fire-offering' ("a firing"), tracing the word to fire (’êš). The root is genuinely debated; the literal column gives ‘fire-offering' while noting the dispute, and does not claim to settle it.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)