The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Exodus30:22–33

The Anointing Oil

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Generated by AI. It can be wrong, and it has no authority. Every note here is fallible commentary — never the Word itself. Public-domain sources are quoted and named; machine synthesis is marked and meant to be checked. Weigh all of it against Scripture. “They received the word with all readiness… and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” — Acts 17:11
✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Exodus 30:22–33 — The Anointing Oil. 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.

22“Then the LORD said to Moses,”+

22Then the LORD said to Moses,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·ḏab·bêr ’el- mō·šeh lê·mōr

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-spoke YHWH to Moses, saying —”

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר The verb is וַיְדַבֵּר (root dāḇar), the formal “and he spoke” of legislation — not the conversational ’āmar (“said”) of v. 1 of Joshua-type narratives. The BSB’s flat “said” loses the register: this is decree, not chat.
  • לֵּאמֹֽר׃ Hebrew doubles the speech-verb with לֵאמֹר, an infinitive “to say / saying”, throwing the door open to the quoted command that fills vv. 23–33. BSB drops it entirely as a comma.
  • יְהוָ֖ה Word order is verb-first: וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, literally “and-spoke YHWH.” English must front the subject (“the LORD said”), reversing the Hebrew emphasis on the act of speaking before the Speaker is named.
Word by word5 · parsed+
יְהוָ֖הYah·wehThen the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
יְהוָה — the covenant name (Tetragrammaton), printed Lord. The whole recipe that follows is not Moses’ craft but YHWH’s own prescription; its holiness derives from His word, not its ingredients.
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רway·ḏab·bêrsaidH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
וַיְדַבֵּר is Piel wayyiqtol of dāḇar — the standard verb that opens a block of divine law. Dāḇar governs ordinance and covenant; the perfume is being legislated, which is why imitation will later carry the death penalty (v. 33).
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
אֶל־ — preposition “to / unto,” directing the speech specifically to Moses, the single authorized recipient of the formula.
מֹשֶׁ֥הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
מֹשֶׁה — Moses, the lawgiver and sole mixer of the oil; Jewish tradition (cf. Poole on v. 23) held that this compound was made only once, by his own hands.
לֵּאמֹֽר׃lê·mōr. . .H559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
לֵאמֹר — Qal infinitive construct of ’āmar with prefixed lᵉ-, the formulaic “saying” that introduces direct quotation. The verse ends mid-breath, handing off to the LORD’s words.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706
To show the excellency of holiness, there was this spiced oil in the tabernacle, which was grateful to the sight and to the smell.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
Some little time afterwards, while he was yet with him on the mount: saying; as follows.
Gill places the speech still on Sinai, continuous with the tabernacle instructions.
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
This was to be prepared from the best perfumes
23““Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that …”+

23“Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’at·tāh qaḥ- lə·ḵā rōš bə·śā·mîm ḥă·mêš mê·’ō·wṯ də·rō·wr mār- ma·ḥă·ṣî·ṯōw ḥă·miš·šîm ū·mā·ṯā·yim be·śem wə·qin·nə·mān- ḥă·miš·šîm ū·mā·ṯā·yim ḇō·śem ū·qə·nêh-

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-you, take to-yourself finest spices: flowing myrrh five hundred, and-cinnamon of-fragrance half-of-it two-hundred-and-fifty, and-cane of-fragrance two-hundred-and-fifty —”

Where the English smooths the original

  • רֹאשׁ֒ The Hebrew is literally רֹאשׁ בְּשָׂמִים, “head of spices” — rōš is “head/chief.” K&D notes “caput, the principal or chief, is subordinate to bᵉśāmîm.” BSB’s “the finest spices” is accurate in sense but flattens the vivid “head / topmost.”
  • דְּרוֹר֙ מָר־דְּרוֹר is literally “myrrh of freedom / liberty” (dᵉrôr, H1865, the same noun for the “liberty” proclaimed in the Jubilee and Isaiah 61:1). BSB’s “liquid myrrh” interprets it as the free-flowing, self-exuding grade — true, but the underlying word is freedom.
  • וְאַתָּ֣ה The verse opens with an emphatic, fronted וְאַתָּה, “And you (yourself)” — the independent pronoun stresses that Moses personally is to take and compound. BSB drops the pronoun; the Cambridge Bible restores it as “And thou (emph.).”
Word by word18 · parsed+
וְאַתָּ֣הwə·’at·tāhH859
√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youConjunctive wawPronounsecond person masculine singular
קַח־qaḥ-TakeH3947
√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)VerbQalImperativemasculine singular
קַח — Qal imperative of lāqaḥ, “take.” The command is to gather, not to invent; the constituents are named by God.
לְךָ֮lə·ḵā
Prepositionsecond person masculine singular
רֹאשׁ֒rōšthe finestH7218
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcNounmasculine singular construct
רֹאשׁ — rōš, “head, chief, topmost.” In construct with “spices” it means the finest, first-quality grade. The recipe insists on the best, not the convenient.
בְּשָׂמִ֣יםbə·śā·mîmspicesH1314
√ besem — fragranceNounmasculine plural
חֲמֵ֣שׁḥă·mêš500 shekelsH2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵא֔וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
דְּרוֹר֙də·rō·wrof liquidH1865
√ dᵉrôwr — freedomNounmasculine singular
דְּרוֹר — dᵉrôr, H1865, “freedom, free-flowing.” A rare word (7 occurrences). Here it qualifies the myrrh as the self-exuding kind; elsewhere it is covenant liberty (Lev 25:10; Isa 61:1) — a homonymic resonance, not a deliberate quotation.
מָר־mār-myrrhH4753
√ môr — myrrh (as distilling in drops, and also as bitter)Nounmasculine singular construct
מָר — môr, myrrh (so named because it “distils in drops,” and is bitter). The chief and costliest single ingredient by weight.
מַחֲצִית֖וֹma·ḥă·ṣî·ṯōwhalf [that amount]H4276
√ machătsîyth — a halving or the middleNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
חֲמִשִּׁ֣יםḥă·miš·šîm(250 shekels)H2572
√ chămishshîym — fiftyNumbercommon plural
וּמָאתָ֑יִםū·mā·ṯā·yim. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredConjunctive wawNumberfd
בֶּ֥שֶׂםbe·śemof fragrantH1314
√ besem — fragranceNounmasculine singular
וְקִנְּמָן־wə·qin·nə·mān-cinnamonH7076
√ qinnâmôwn — cinnamon bark (as in upright rolls)Conjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
קִנְּמָן — qinnâmôn, cinnamon; a rare word in the OT (3 occurrences: here, Prov 7:17, Song 4:14). The qualifier bᵉśem (“of fragrance”) distinguishes the sweet, aromatic grade from common bark.
חֲמִשִּׁ֥יםḥă·miš·šîm250 shekelsH2572
√ chămishshîym — fiftyNumbercommon plural
וּמָאתָֽיִם׃ū·mā·ṯā·yim. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredConjunctive wawNumberfd
בֹ֖שֶׂםḇō·śemof fragrantH1314
√ besem — fragranceNounmasculine singular
וּקְנֵה־ū·qə·nêh-caneH7070
√ qâneh — a reed (as erect)Conjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
קְנֵה — qāneh, the fragrant cane/reed (κάλαμος ἀρωματικός), imported from afar; called elsewhere “the goodly cane from a far country” (Jer 6:20).
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
Pure myrrh. —Heb., myrrh of freedom.
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
the Jews from hence do rightly infer, that this ointment was but once made, and that by Moses’s own hands.
✦Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s
Providence overruling that want as a presage of the better unction of the Holy Ghost in gospel times, the variety of whose gifts are typified by these sweet ingredients.
Benson reads the four spices as a figure of the manifold gifts of the Spirit.
24“500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and …”+

24500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ḥă·mêš mê·’ō·wṯ wə·qid·dāh haq·qō·ḏeš bə·še·qel hîn za·yiṯ wə·še·men

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“and-cassia five hundred, in-the-shekel-of the-sanctuary; and-oil-of olive a hin.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ בְּשֶׁקֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ is literally “by the shekel of the holiness / the sanctuary” — qōdeš, the same “holy” root that saturates this whole passage. The weights are measured by the sacred standard, not the market one. BSB’s parenthetical “all according to the sanctuary shekel” is right but reads as a footnote rather than the binding clause it is.
  • הִֽין׃ הִין (hîn) is a fixed liquid measure of Egyptian origin (JFB) — roughly five quarts (K&D). BSB transliterates “a hin,” which is faithful; but unglossed it hides that a precise, single quantity of oil binds the whole compound.
  • וְקִדָּ֕ה קִדָּה (qiddâh, cassia) is an exceedingly rare word — only here and Ezekiel 27:19. BSB renders “cassia” plainly; the rarity (and its near-hapax status) is invisible in translation.
Word by word8 · parsed+
חֲמֵ֥שׁḥă·mêš500 shekelsH2568
√ châmêsh — fiveNumberfeminine singular construct
מֵא֖וֹתmê·’ō·wṯ. . .H3967
√ mêʼâh — a hundredNumberfeminine plural
וְקִדָּ֕הwə·qid·dāhof cassiaH6916
√ qiddâh — cassia bark (as in shrivelled rolls)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
קִדָּה — qiddâh, cassia, the inner bark of an Indian cinnamon-cousin; a near-hapax (only here and Ezek 27:19). Used in double the quantity of cinnamon, likely because it was the less costly spice (Barnes).
הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁhaq·qō·ḏešall according to the sanctuaryH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingArticleNounmasculine singular
הַקֹּדֶשׁ — qōdeš, “the holy place / sanctuary.” The phrase “shekel of the sanctuary” fixes the official sacred weight; precision is itself an act of reverence.
בְּשֶׁ֣קֶלbə·še·qelshekelH8255
√ sheqel — probably a weightPreposition-bNounmasculine singular construct
הִֽין׃hînand a hinH1969
√ hîyn — a hin or liquid measureNounmasculine singular
הִין — hîn, a liquid measure (~5 quarts). The olive oil is the base that carries the four spices; the exact volume is divinely stipulated.
זַ֖יִתza·yiṯof oliveH2132
√ zayith — an olive (as yielding illuminating oil), the tree, the branch or the berryNounmasculine singular
זַיִת — zayiṯ, olive (the tree yielding illuminating oil). Olive oil is the universal biblical emblem of the Spirit; here it is the medium of consecration.
וְשֶׁ֥מֶןwə·še·menoilH8081
√ shemen — grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed)Conjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
שֶׁמֶן — shemen, oil. The keyword of the unit: this is, above all, the holy anointing oil, and oil is throughout Scripture the sign of the Spirit’s anointing (1 Sam 16:13; Isa 61:1).
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834
Cassia - is the inner bark of an Indian tree (Cinnamomum cassia), which differs from that which produces cinnamon in the shape of its leaves and some other particulars. It was probably in ancient times, as it is at present, by far less costly than cinnamon, and it may have been on this account that it was used in double quantity.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
All these foreign aromatic substances would come by trade-routes from the distant East, whether over-land by way of Babylon, or by sea, round Arabia
On the long-distance commerce implied by the named spices.
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
the strictest prohibition issued against using it for any other purpose than anointing the tabernacle and its furniture
25“Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the…”+

25Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·‘ā·śî·ṯā ’ō·ṯōw qō·ḏeš miš·ḥaṯ- še·men rō·qaḥ mir·qa·ḥaṯ ma·‘ă·śêh rō·qê·aḥ yih·yeh qō·ḏeš miš·ḥaṯ- še·men

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-you-shall-make it a-holy oil-of anointing, an-ointment of-spice-mixture, work-of a-perfumer; a holy oil-of anointing it-shall-be.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • מִשְׁחַת־ שֶׁמֶן מִשְׁחַת־קֹדֶשׁ is literally “oil of anointing of holiness” — mišḥaṯ, H4888, the noun of unction from the root māšaḥ (“to smear/anoint,” the root behind māšîaḥ, Messiah). BSB’s “a sacred anointing oil” is correct but the messianic root-echo is buried.
  • רֹ֥קַח Hebrew piles up cognates: רֹקַח מִרְקַחַת מַעֲשֵׂה רֹקֵחַ — rōqaḥ (compound) / mirqaḥaṯ (spice-mixture) / maʿăśēh rōqēaḥ (work of a perfumer): four words from the same craft-root in one clause. K&D renders it “spice-work of spice-mixture… labour of the perfumer.” BSB’s “a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer” cannot reproduce the dense alliterative wordplay.
  • קֹ֔דֶשׁ The verse frames the oil with קֹדֶשׁ at both ends — “holy… it shall be holy” — an inclusio of holiness. BSB keeps both but the deliberate bracketing (declared holy before and after the recipe) is easy to miss.
Word by word13 · parsed+
וְעָשִׂ֣יתָwə·‘ā·śî·ṯāPrepareH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
וְעָשִׂיתָ — ‘āśâh, “make”; Qal perfect with waw, a command. The same root reappears in maʿăśēh (“work”) below — the making is skilled labor, not mere blending.
אֹת֗וֹ’ō·ṯōwH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular
קֹ֔דֶשׁqō·ḏešfrom these a sacredH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
מִשְׁחַת־miš·ḥaṯ-anointingH4888
√ mishchâh — unction (the act)Nounfeminine singular construct
מִשְׁחַת — mišḥâh, H4888, “anointing, unction,” from māšaḥ. This is the substance that makes a messiah (anointed one); the oil is the visible sign of the Spirit’s setting-apart.
שֶׁ֚מֶןše·menoilH8081
√ shemen — grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed)Nounmasculine singular construct
רֹ֥קַחrō·qaḥa fragrant blendH7545
√ rôqach — an aromaticNounmasculine singular construct
רֹקַח — rôqaḥ, H7545, “aromatic compound.” A very rare word (2 occurrences: here and v. 35). Its presence in both the oil and the incense recipes is the verbal hinge linking the two (see threads).
מִרְקַ֖חַתmir·qa·ḥaṯ. . .H4842
√ mirqachath — an aromatic unguentNounfeminine singular
מַעֲשֵׂ֣הma·‘ă·śêhthe workH4639
√ maʻăseh — an action (good or bad)Nounmasculine singular construct
מַעֲשֵׂה — maʿăśeh, “work, action”; in construct, “the work of.” The oil is a craftsman’s achievement, later entrusted to Bezalel (Ex 37:29).
רֹקֵ֑חַrō·qê·aḥof a perfumerH7543
√ râqach — to perfumeVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
רֹקֵחַ — rōqēaḥ, Qal participle of rāqaḥ (H7543, “to perfume”), “one who compounds perfume.” A rare verb (8 occurrences). Holiness here is exacting, expert craft — not improvisation.
יִהְיֶֽה׃yih·yehit will beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
קֹ֖דֶשׁqō·ḏeša sacredH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
קֹדֶשׁ — qōdeš, “holy.” The repetition closes the inclusio: the oil is holy and shall be holy — set apart by divine declaration.
מִשְׁחַת־miš·ḥaṯ-anointingH4888
√ mishchâh — unction (the act)Nounfeminine singular construct
שֶׁ֥מֶןše·menoilH8081
√ shemen — grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed)Nounmasculine singular construct
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
Skill was to be called in. The spices were not to be pounded and mixed with the oil in a rude and unscientific way, but the best art of the time was to be employed in effecting the composition.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
it signified the Holy Spirit of God, and his graces, that oil of gladness with which Christ and his people are anointed; and is that anointing which teacheth all things
Gill ties the oil to 1 John 2:20, the Spirit’s anointing that teaches.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
a perfume of perfumery, the work of the perfumer
Renders the cognate cluster literally.
26“Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testi…”+

26Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·mā·šaḥ·tā ḇōw ’eṯ- ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ wə·’êṯ ’ă·rō·wn hā·‘ê·ḏuṯ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-you-shall-anoint with-it the-Tent of-Meeting, and the-ark of-the-Testimony,”

Where the English smooths the original

  • וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֥ וּמָשַׁחְתָּ is māšaḥ (H4886) — the verb “to anoint,” root of māšîaḥ/Messiah. BSB’s “Use this oil to anoint” unpacks the single Hebrew verb into a phrase; the messianic root that this consecration shares with the anointing of kings, priests, and the Christ is carried in this one word.
  • מוֹעֵ֑ד אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד is the “Tent of Appointment / Meeting” — môʿēḏ means a fixed appointed time or place of encounter. BSB “Tent of Meeting” is standard but loses the nuance that it is the place God appoints to meet His people.
  • הָעֵדֻֽת׃ אֲרוֹן הָעֵדֻת — “ark of the Testimony” (ʿēḏuṯ, the covenant-witness, i.e. the tablets). BSB keeps “Testimony” but the word names specifically the witnessing document of the covenant housed within.
Word by word8 · parsed+
וּמָשַׁחְתָּ֥ū·mā·šaḥ·tāUse [this oil] to anointH4886
√ mâshach — to rub with oil, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
וּמָשַׁחְתָּ — māšaḥ, H4886, “to anoint, smear with oil.” The same verb anoints kings (1 Sam 16:13), priests (v. 30), and stands behind Messiah / Christ (the Anointed One). Here, strikingly, the first things anointed are objects, not persons.
ב֖וֹḇōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
אֹ֣הֶל’ō·helthe TentH168
√ ʼôhel — a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)Nounmasculine singular construct
אֹהֶל — ’ōhel, “tent.” The dwelling is sanctified before its servants are; the place of meeting is made holy first.
מוֹעֵ֑דmō·w·‘êḏof MeetingH4150
√ môwʻêd — properly, an appointment, iNounmasculine singular
מוֹעֵד — môʿēḏ, “appointed meeting.” The tent is the appointed locus of God’s self-disclosure to Israel.
וְאֵ֖תwə·’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
אֲר֥וֹן’ă·rō·wnthe arkH727
√ ʼârôwn — a boxNouncommon singular construct
אֲרוֹן — ’ărôn, “ark, chest.” The first and innermost object anointed — the throne of the divine presence above the mercy seat.
הָעֵדֻֽת׃hā·‘ê·ḏuṯof the TestimonyH5715
√ ʻêdûwth — testimonyArticleNounfeminine singular
הָעֵדֻת — ʿēḏuṯ, “testimony, witness”: the covenant tablets. Consecration begins at the very heart of the sanctuary and works outward (Ellicott).
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
this was either typical of the human nature of Christ, the true tabernacle God pitched, and not man, and which was anointed with the Holy Ghost
Reads the anointed tent as a type of the incarnate Christ (cf. Heb 8:2).
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
This was only an outward ceremony, signifying the separation and sanctification of these things for the service of God; as the anointing of kings and priests noted their designation to their offices.
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
The tabernacle and its contents were to be first consecrated, then the priests.
On the order of consecration: place before persons.
27“the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, …”+

27the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- haš·šul·ḥān wə·’eṯ- kāl- kê·lāw wə·’eṯ- ham·mə·nō·rāh wə·’eṯ- kê·le·hā wə·’êṯ miz·baḥ haq·qə·ṭō·reṯ

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“and the-table and all its-vessels, and the-lampstand and its-vessels, and the-altar of-incense,”

Where the English smooths the original

  • כֵּלָ֔יו כֵּלָיו (kēlāyw) is the broad word kᵉlî, “vessels / instruments / equipment” — anything “prepared” for use. BSB’s “utensils” narrows it to kitchenware; the term covers all the appointed furnishings, sacred down to the smallest implement.
  • הַמְּנֹרָ֖ה מְנֹרָה (mᵉnôrâh) is literally a “place / instrument of light,” a lampstand (Strong: “a chandelier”). BSB “lampstand” is right; but the word’s root is nēr, “lamp/light,” which the bare English noun obscures.
  • הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ מִזְבַּח הַקְּטֹרֶת is the “altar of the fumigation/smoke” — qᵉṭōreṯ, H7004, names the rising incense-smoke itself. BSB “altar of incense” is conventional; the word evokes the ascending column, the figure of prayer rising (Ps 141:2).
Word by word12 · parsed+
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַשֻּׁלְחָן֙haš·šul·ḥānthe tableH7979
√ shulchân — a table (as spread out)ArticleNounmasculine singular
הַשֻּׁלְחָן — shulḥān, “table” (as spread out): the table of the bread of the Presence in the Holy Place.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-andH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כָּל־kāl-allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
כֵּלָ֔יוkê·lāwits utensilsH3627
√ kᵉlîy — something prepared, iNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
כֵּלָיו — kᵉlî, “vessel, instrument, equipment.” The repeated “and all its vessels” insists that holiness extends to every appointed object, not just the principal ones.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַמְּנֹרָ֖הham·mə·nō·rāhthe lampstandH4501
√ mᵉnôwrâh — a chandelierArticleNounfeminine singular
הַמְּנֹרָה — mᵉnôrâh, the golden lampstand; its perpetual light is a figure of the people of God shining by the Spirit’s oil (Zech 4; Rev 1:20).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-andH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כֵּלֶ֑יהָkê·le·hāits utensilsH3627
√ kᵉlîy — something prepared, iNounmasculine plural constructthird person feminine singular
וְאֵ֖תwə·’êṯH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
מִזְבַּ֥חmiz·baḥthe altarH4196
√ mizbêach — an altarNounmasculine singular construct
מִזְבַּח — mizbēaḥ, “altar” (place of slaughter/sacrifice); here qualified by incense — the inner golden altar.
הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃haq·qə·ṭō·reṯof incenseH7004
√ qᵉṭôreth — a fumigationArticleNounfeminine singular
הַקְּטֹרֶת — qᵉṭōreṯ, “incense, fumigation, rising smoke.” The same recipe-block (vv. 34–38) governs this incense; the ascending smoke is the standing emblem of acceptable prayer.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
the altar of incense; on which the odours, the prayers of the saints, come up before God through the mediation of Christ.
Reads the incense altar as figuring the saints’ prayers ascending through Christ (cf. Rev 8:3–4).
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
The table and all his vessels. See above, Exodus 25:29 . The candlestick and his vessels
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
The Geneva text simply repeats the verse; no marginal gloss survives for it.
28“the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin …”+

28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- miz·baḥ hā·‘ō·lāh wə·’eṯ- kāl- kê·lāw wə·’eṯ- hak·kî·yōr wə·’eṯ- kan·nōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“and the-altar of-the-burnt-offering and all its-vessels, and the-basin and its-stand.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • הָעֹלָ֖ה מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה is the “altar of the ascending-offering” — ʿōlâh (H5930) literally means “that which goes up,” from the root “to ascend.” BSB “burnt offering” names the result (it is consumed by fire) but loses the word’s picture of the whole offering going up to God in smoke.
  • הַכִּיֹּ֖ר הַכִּיֹּר (kîyôr) is properly “something round, basin-shaped” (Strong: “as excavated or bored”) — the bronze laver for priestly washing. BSB “basin” is right but generic; the term is the technical name of the cleansing vessel of vv. 17–21.
  • כַּנּֽוֹ׃ כַּנּוֹ (kannô) is the basin’s “base / pedestal / stand” (H3653). BSB “its stand” is accurate; commentators (Gill) call it “his foot.” Even the supporting base is named and anointed — nothing of the holy apparatus is left unconsecrated.
Word by word10 · parsed+
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
מִזְבַּ֥חmiz·baḥthe altarH4196
√ mizbêach — an altarNounmasculine singular construct
מִזְבַּח — mizbēaḥ, “altar.” This is the great outer bronze altar of sacrifice, in the court.
הָעֹלָ֖הhā·‘ō·lāhof burnt offeringH5930
√ ʻôlâh — a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending)ArticleNounfeminine singular
הָעֹלָה — ʿōlâh, the “ascending” / whole burnt offering, wholly given to God. Of all the furniture this altar received the most thorough consecration — sprinkled seven times (Gill, citing Lev 8:11).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-andH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כָּל־kāl-allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
כֵּלָ֑יוkê·lāwits utensilsH3627
√ kᵉlîy — something prepared, iNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
הַכִּיֹּ֖רhak·kî·yōrand the basinH3595
√ kîyôwr — properly, something round (as excavated or bored), iArticleNounmasculine singular
הַכִּיֹּר — kîyôr, the bronze laver for washing. Though not strictly part of the tabernacle’s structure (JFB on vv. 18–21), it is here folded into the consecration — cleansing is made holy alongside sacrifice.
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
כַּנּֽוֹ׃kan·nōwwith its standH3653
√ kên — a stand, iNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
כַּנּוֹ — kēn, “stand, base.” The list reaches down even to the pedestal; the holiness is exhaustive, leaving no item of service common.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
and this altar particularly was sprinkled with it seven times, Leviticus 8:10 , and the laver, and his foot
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
The altar of burnt-offering with all his vessels. See Exodus 27:3 .
✦Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871
this composition probably remained always in a liquid state, and the strictest prohibition issued against using it for any other purpose than anointing the tabernacle and its furniture
29“You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whate…”+

29You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·qid·daš·tā ’ō·ṯām wə·hā·yū qō·ḏeš qā·ḏā·šîm kāl- han·nō·ḡê·a‘ bā·hem yiq·dāš

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-you-shall-consecrate them, so-that-they-shall-be holy of holies; everyone touching them shall-be-holy.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • קָֽדָשִׁ֑ים קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים is the Hebrew superlative “holy of holies / most holy” — a noun doubled to express the highest degree. BSB’s “most holy” is correct but reads as an adjective; the Hebrew is the same construction that names the innermost Holy of Holies.
  • וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֣ וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ is Piel of qādaš (H6942) — causative “to make holy, consecrate,” from the same root as qōdeš. BSB “consecrate” captures it; but Hebrew binds verb and result by one root: you holy-fy them so they become holiness.
  • הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ כָּל־הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּהֶם יִקְדָּשׁ — literally “all the one-touching them shall be holy.” The participle nōḡēaʿ (“touching,” H5060) makes holiness contagious: contact transfers consecrated status. BSB “Whatever touches them shall be holy” is faithful, though it can be read as a thing rather than the active participle ‘the one who touches.’
Word by word9 · parsed+
וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֣wə·qid·daš·tāYou are to consecrateH6942
√ qâdash — to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ — qādaš, Piel, “to consecrate, set apart as holy.” The keyword root of the unit (qōdeš, holy) appears here as the act of making-holy.
אֹתָ֔ם’ō·ṯāmthemH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural
וְהָי֖וּwə·hā·yūso that they will beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person common plural
קֹ֣דֶשׁqō·ḏešmostH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular construct
קֹדֶשׁ — qōdeš, “holiness.” In construct with the plural below it forms the superlative.
קָֽדָשִׁ֑יםqā·ḏā·šîmholyH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine plural
קָדָשִׁים — plural of qōdeš; “holy of holies, most holy.” The oil does not merely clean — it elevates the objects to the highest grade of sanctity.
כָּל־kāl-WhateverH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
הַנֹּגֵ֥עַhan·nō·ḡê·a‘touchesH5060
√ nâgaʻ — properly, to touch, iArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
הַנֹּגֵעַ — nāḡaʿ, Qal participle, “the one touching.” The principle of communicated holiness; cf. Ex 29:37 of the altar. Whatever contacts the consecrated becomes consecrated — a holiness that spreads outward by contact.
בָּהֶ֖םbā·hemthem
Prepositionthird person masculine plural
יִקְדָּֽשׁ׃yiq·dāš{shall} be holyH6942
√ qâdash — to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
if this holy anointing oil made those things most holy that were anointed with it, how much more must the grace of the Spirit those who partake of it
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
it is followed by, and is sometimes a figure of, the outpouring of the Spirit upon the person anointed
On anointing as a sign and figure of the Spirit’s outpouring (citing 1 Sam 10:6; Isa 61:1; Acts 10:38).
✦Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599
And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as pri…”+

30Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as priests.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’eṯ- tim·šāḥ ’a·hă·rōn wə·’eṯ- bā·nāw wə·qid·daš·tā ’ō·ṯām lə·ḵa·hên lî

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-Aaron and his-sons you-shall-anoint, and-you-shall-consecrate them to-serve-as-priests to-me.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • תִּמְשָׁ֑ח תִּמְשָׁח is again māšaḥ (H4886), “you shall anoint” — the identical verb used on the tent and ark (v. 26). The persons are anointed with the very oil and word that consecrated the place; BSB’s “Anoint” conceals that the priests join the furniture as māšîaḥ-objects, anointed ones.
  • לְכַהֵ֥ן לְכַהֵן לִי is literally “to act-as-priest to me” — kāhan (H3547) is a denominative verb, “to be/function as a kōhēn.” BSB’s “to serve Me as priests” is a good paraphrase, but the Hebrew is a single verb naming the office itself.
  • לִֽי׃ The clause ends emphatically with לִי, “to me / for me” — the priests are anointed for God’s own service, not the people’s. BSB folds this into “serve Me”; the standalone “to me” underlines that the priesthood belongs to YHWH.
Word by word9 · parsed+
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
תִּמְשָׁ֑חtim·šāḥAnointH4886
√ mâshach — to rub with oil, iVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine singular
תִּמְשָׁח — māšaḥ, “anoint.” The priests are consecrated by the same act as the sanctuary; originally (Cambridge) the high priest alone was “the anointed priest” (Lev 4:3).
אַהֲרֹ֥ן’a·hă·rōnAaronH175
√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesNounpropermasculine singular
אַהֲרֹן — Aaron, brother of Moses, the first high priest; type of the great High Priest to come (Heb 5:4–5).
וְאֶת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
בָּנָ֖יוbā·nāwand his sonsH1121
√ bên — 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, etcNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֥wə·qid·daš·tāand consecrateH6942
√ qâdash — to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ — qādaš, Piel, “consecrate” — the same verb used of the objects in v. 29; persons and place share one sanctification.
אֹתָ֖ם’ō·ṯāmthemH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine plural
לְכַהֵ֥ןlə·ḵa·hênto serve Me as priestsH3547
√ kâhan — to officiate as a priestPreposition-lVerbPielInfinitive construct
לְכַהֵן — kāhan, H3547, denominative “to officiate as priest.” A rare verb (23 occurrences). The anointing is for ministry; consecration issues in service, never in mere status.
לִֽי׃lî
Prepositionfirst person common singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
As Aaron and his sons were unfit to minister until the holy oil had been poured on them, so Christian priests can be no otherwise fitted to discharge their office than by their receiving that effluence of the Holy Spirit which the holy oil typified.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
typical of Christ anointed with the Spirit of God without measure, to his various offices of prophet, priest and King
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
So God constantly prepares men's spheres for them before he inducts them into their spheres.
On the order: the place is sanctified before the priest is installed.
31“And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anoi…”+

31And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

tə·ḏab·bêr lê·mōr wə·’el- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl zeh yih·yeh lî qō·ḏeš miš·ḥaṯ- še·men lə·ḏō·rō·ṯê·ḵem

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-to the-sons-of Israel you-shall-speak, saying: A-holy oil-of-anointing shall this be to-me throughout-your-generations.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • לִ֖י The oil is declared holy לִי, “to me” — holy to YHWH, His exclusive possession. BSB’s “My sacred anointing oil” renders the possession as a pronoun-adjective; the Hebrew states it as a separate, weight-bearing claim: this belongs to God.
  • לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם is literally “to/for your generations” — dôr (H1755), a perpetual statute binding every future generation. BSB “for the generations to come” is faithful; the suffix “your” personalizes it directly to the hearers and their descendants.
  • תְּדַבֵּ֣ר תְּדַבֵּר ... לֵאמֹר — “you shall speak… saying”: the same formal dāḇar (legislate) doubled with lēmōr as in v. 22. The command is now to be promulgated to all Israel, not kept to Moses. BSB’s “tell” loses the legislative weight.
Word by word12 · parsed+
תְּדַבֵּ֣רtə·ḏab·bêrAnd you are to tellH1696
√ dâbar — perhaps properly, to arrangeVerbPielImperfectsecond person masculine singular
תְּדַבֵּר — dāḇar, Piel, “speak, legislate.” Moses must transmit the ordinance publicly; the perpetual law is to be known by the whole nation.
לֵאמֹ֑רlê·mōr. . .H559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct
וְאֶל־wə·’el-. . .H413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongConjunctive wawPreposition
בְּנֵ֥יbə·nêthe IsraelitesH1121
√ bên — 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, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
זֶ֛הzehThisH2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatPronounmasculine singular
זֶה — zeh, the demonstrative “this”: a pointed, specific designation — this particular compound, no other.
יִהְיֶ֥הyih·yehwill beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
לִ֖יlîMy
Prepositionfirst person common singular
לִי — “to me.” The decisive word: holiness is relational — the oil is set apart for God’s use, marking ownership, not merely a quality.
קֹ֨דֶשׁqō·ḏešsacredH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
קֹדֶשׁ — qōdeš, “holy/sacred.” The reserved status now becomes a standing statute.
מִשְׁחַת־miš·ḥaṯ-anointingH4888
√ mishchâh — unction (the act)Nounfeminine singular construct
שֶׁ֠מֶןše·menoilH8081
√ shemen — grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed)Nounmasculine singular construct
לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶֽם׃lə·ḏō·rō·ṯê·ḵemfor the generations to comeH1755
√ dôwr — properly, a revolution of time, iPreposition-lNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine plural
לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם — dôr, “generation.” A perpetual ordinance; yet history records that no holy oil survived into the Second Temple (Benson), read by some as a providential pointer to the Spirit’s greater unction in the gospel age.
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685
Reserved for my service alone, not employed to any profane or civil use, as it follows.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
it might be made again in like manner for sacred uses, which is meant by the phrase "unto me"; though it might not be made for any other use, private or profane.
Gill argues the standing law is that it may be re-made for God’s use, never for common use.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
The oil thus prepared to be reserved exclusively for the sacred purposes thus specified.
32“It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not …”+

32It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not make anything like it with the same formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lō yî·sāḵ ‘al- ’ā·ḏām bə·śar lō ṯa·‘ă·śū kā·mō·hū ū·ḇə·maṯ·kun·tōw hū qō·ḏeš yih·yeh qō·ḏeš lā·ḵem

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“Upon flesh-of a-man it-shall-not be-poured, and-by-its-formula you-shall-not make any-like-it; holy it-is, holy it-shall-be to-you.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • אָדָם֙ בְּשַׂר אָדָם is literally “flesh of man / Adam” — the common human being as opposed to the consecrated priest. BSB’s “an ordinary man” interprets the contrast (K&D: “man, i.e., the ordinary man in distinction from the priests”); the Hebrew simply says ’āḏām, mankind.
  • יִיסָ֔ךְ יִיסָךְ is a Qal-passive of sûḵ (H5480), “be smeared/poured for anointing” — a different verb from māšaḥ, denoting the everyday cosmetic anointing of the body (Cambridge: “the word used distinctively in this connexion”). BSB “be used to anoint” blurs the two distinct verbs.
  • וּבְמַ֨תְכֻּנְתּ֔וֹ בְּמַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ (matkōneṯ, H4971) means “in/by its proportion / measured composition” — a rare word (5 occurrences). BSB “with the same formula” is a fair modern gloss; the Pulpit Commentary insists it is “after its proportion” — the exact ratios, not merely the ingredient list, are protected.
Word by word14 · parsed+
לֹ֣אlōIt must notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
יִיסָ֔ךְyî·sāḵbe used to anointH5480
√ çûwk — properly, to smear over (with oil), iVerbQalPassImperfectthird person masculine singular
יִיסָךְ — sûḵ, Qal-passive, “be poured/smeared (for anointing).” The verb of ordinary toilet-anointing (cf. Ruth 3:3; Ps 104:15) — pointedly not māšaḥ. The holy oil must never become a cosmetic.
עַל־‘al-. . .H5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
אָדָם֙’ā·ḏāman ordinary manH120
√ ʼâdâm — ruddy iNounmasculine singular
אָדָם — ’āḏām, “man, humankind.” The lay person, contrasted with the anointed priest; common flesh may not bear the holy oil.
בְּשַׂ֤רbə·śar. . .H1320
√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)Nounmasculine singular construct
לֹ֥אlōand you must notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
תַעֲשׂ֖וּṯa·‘ă·śūmakeH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine plural
כָּמֹ֑הוּkā·mō·hūanything like itH3644
√ kᵉmôw — a form of the prefix 'k-', but used separately as, thus, soPrepositionthird person masculine singular
כָּמֹהוּ — kāmōhû, “like it.” The prohibition is on replication — counterfeiting the holy.
וּבְמַ֨תְכֻּנְתּ֔וֹū·ḇə·maṯ·kun·tōwwith the same formulaH4971
√ mathkôneth — proportion (in size, number or ingredients)Conjunctive waw, Preposition-bNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular
וּבְמַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ — matkōneṯ, H4971, “proportion, measured composition.” A rare term (also Ex 5:8; Ezek 45:11; 2 Chr 24:13). What is guarded is the exact divine ratio; vary the proportions and it is no longer the holy oil (Pulpit).
ה֔וּאhūItH1931
√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)Pronounthird person masculine singular
קֹ֣דֶשׁqō·ḏešis holyH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
קֹדֶשׁ — qōdeš, “holy.” Doubled here (“holy it is… holy it shall be to you”): God’s declaration of holiness becomes Israel’s obligation to regard it as holy.
יִהְיֶ֥הyih·yehand it must beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
קֹ֖דֶשׁqō·ḏešholyH6944
√ qôdesh — a sacred place or thingNounmasculine singular
לָכֶֽם׃lā·ḵemto you
Prepositionsecond person masculine plural
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878
The ingredients might be used in unguents separately—they might even be so used when united in some different proportions from those laid down for the “holy ointment”—but in the proportions fixed for the holy oil they must have no secular employment.
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
nor is counterfeit grace of any avail, which, though it may bear a likeness to true grace, is not that, nor to be so accounted, nor rested on, as feigned faith, the hypocrite's hope, dissembled love, and pretended humility.
Gill applies the ban on imitation to counterfeit, merely-resembling grace.
✦The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s
The object is simply that the holy oil should remain a thing separate and apart, never applied to any but a holy use.
33“Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall…”+

33Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’îš ’ă·šer yir·qaḥ kā·mō·hū wa·’ă·šer yit·tên mim·men·nū ‘al- zār wə·niḵ·raṯ mê·‘am·māw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“A-man who compounds-perfume like-it, or-who puts of-it upon a-stranger, shall-be-cut-off from-his-people.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • זָ֑ר זָר (zār, H2114) is the “stranger / outsider” — but here, the commentators agree, it means not a foreigner but a non-priest (K&D: “not only the non-Israelite, but laymen or non-priests in general”). BSB “an outsider” is right in sense; the word’s technical cultic meaning (one not of Aaron’s line) is easily missed.
  • וְנִכְרַ֖ת וְנִכְרַת is the formula “and he shall be cut off” (kāraṯ, H3772, Niphal) — a fixed expression of divine sanction (Cambridge: “a formula signifying emphatically the Divine disapproval”). BSB “shall be cut off” preserves it; whether it means death, excommunication, or being denied posterity is debated (Gill).
  • יִרְקַ֣ח יִרְקַח is rāqaḥ (H7543), “mixes/compounds perfume” — the same craft-verb made holy in v. 25 (the perfumer’s work) is here, on common ground, made capital. BSB “mixes perfume like it” is accurate; the irony is that the identical skill is sacred in one hand and fatal in another.
Word by word11 · parsed+
אִ֚ישׁ’îšAnyoneH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
אִישׁ — ’îš, “a man, anyone.” The law is individual and universal: any person who violates the holiness incurs the penalty.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerwhoH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative
יִרְקַ֣חyir·qaḥmixes perfumeH7543
√ râqach — to perfumeVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
יִרְקַח — rāqaḥ, “to compound perfume”: the consecrated craft of v. 25 turned to forbidden imitation.
כָּמֹ֔הוּkā·mō·hūlike itH3644
√ kᵉmôw — a form of the prefix 'k-', but used separately as, thus, soPrepositionthird person masculine singular
וַאֲשֶׁ֥רwa·’ă·šerH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatConjunctive wawPronounrelative
יִתֵּ֛ןyit·tênor putsH5414
√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
מִמֶּ֖נּוּmim·men·nūH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPrepositionthird person masculine singular
עַל־‘al-it onH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
זָ֑רzāran outsiderH2114
√ zûwr — to turn aside (especially for lodging)Adjectivemasculine singular
זָר — zār, “stranger, layman.” In priestly law the zār is the unauthorized — one not of Aaron’s seed (Poole, Cambridge); the holy may not be put on the common.
וְנִכְרַ֖תwə·niḵ·raṯshall be cut offH3772
√ kârath — to cut (off, down or asunder)Conjunctive wawVerbNifalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
וְנִכְרַת — kāraṯ, Niphal, “be cut off.” The karet penalty: severance from the covenant people, whether by death or excommunication. Profaning the holy is no small thing — it strikes at one’s place among God’s people.
מֵעַמָּֽיו׃סmê·‘am·māwfrom his peopleH5971
√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)Preposition-mNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
✦Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s
a stranger, is not only the non-Israelite, but laymen or non-priests in general.
✦Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s
shall be cut off , &c.] a formula signifying emphatically the Divine disapproval
✦John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63
shall even be cut off from his people; either by death, by the immediate hand of God inflicting some disease upon him, or by excommunication from the congregation of Israel, or by not favouring him with any posterity
Gill lays out the disputed range of the karet penalty.
✣

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.

⚙Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The recipe of holiness — best, exact, by divine word — 22–25

The unit opens not with Moses’ inspiration but with God’s decree: וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, the formal verb of legislation (dāḇar), not the casual ’āmar of plain narrative. What follows is a divinely-fixed formula — four spices, by exact weight, “by the shekel of the sanctuary” (v. 24), suspended in one hin of olive oil. The Hebrew names them as רֹאשׁ בְּשָׂמִים, the “head of spices”; Keil & Delitzsch read “caput, the principal or chief.” Charles Ellicott observes that “the best art of the time was to be employed in effecting the composition” (v. 25) — holiness is exacting craft, not careless piety. The text underscores this with a dense cognate cluster, רֹקַח מִרְקַחַת מַעֲשֵׂה רֹקֵחַ, which K&D translates “spice-work of spice-mixture… labour of the perfumer.” Matthew Henry draws the lesson out: “To show the excellency of holiness, there was this spiced oil in the tabernacle, which was grateful to the sight and to the smell.” ⚙ The provenance of each claim: the legislative force of dāḇar is the parse (Strong’s H1696, Piel); the “head of spices” and cognate-cluster readings are K&D verbatim; the lesson of holiness’s excellency is Henry’s own.

ii. The spread of holiness — from the ark outward to the priest — 26–30

The same verb, מָשַׁח (māšaḥ, “to anoint,” the root behind Messiah), governs everything that is touched — and strikingly, the objects are anointed before the persons. Charles Ellicott notes the order: “The tabernacle and its contents were to be first consecrated, then the priests.” The consecration begins at the heart — the ark of the Testimony — and works outward through table, lampstand, and both altars to the laver and even its base (כַּנּוֹ, v. 28); John Gill records that the great altar was “sprinkled with it seven times.” The contagion of holiness is then stated as law: “whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy” (v. 29, Geneva). Gill presses the proportion — “if this holy anointing oil made those things most holy that were anointed with it, how much more must the grace of the Spirit those who partake of it.” Only then are Aaron and his sons anointed (v. 30); Ellicott draws the gospel parallel: “so Christian priests can be no otherwise fitted to discharge their office than by their receiving that effluence of the Holy Spirit which the holy oil typified.” ⚙ Provenance: the object-before-person order is Ellicott; the seven-fold sprinkling is Gill (citing Lev 8:10); the contagion-clause is the Geneva text of v. 29; the Spirit-typology is Gill and Ellicott. The reading of māšaḥ as the Messiah-root is the parse (H4886) plus my own synthesis — verify.

iii. The guarding of holiness — reserved, inimitable, on pain of karet — 31–33

The closing movement fences the oil. It is holy לִי, “to me” (v. 31) — Matthew Poole: “Reserved for my service alone, not employed to any profane or civil use.” Two prohibitions follow: it may not be poured on common אָדָם (ordinary man, by the everyday verb sûḵ, not māšaḥ), and it may not be imitated בְּמַתְכֻּנְתּוֹ, “by its proportion” (v. 32). Ellicott is precise: the spices were not forbidden in themselves, “but in the proportions fixed for the holy oil they must have no secular employment.” Gill turns the ban on counterfeiting inward — there is no profit in “counterfeit grace… which, though it may bear a likeness to true grace, is not that.” The penalty for transgression is karet (v. 33): the violator וְנִכְרַת, “cut off from his people” — which the Cambridge Bible calls “a formula signifying emphatically the Divine disapproval,” and Gill leaves deliberately open as “either by death… or by excommunication… or by not favouring him with any posterity.” ⚙ Provenance: “to me / reserved” is Poole; the proportion-not-ingredients distinction is Ellicott (and the Pulpit Commentary); counterfeit-grace is Gill’s application; the karet readings are Cambridge and Gill verbatim. Henry’s warning frames the whole — “It is a great affront to God to jest with sacred things.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read under Sola Scriptura, and tested by it: this passage is not finally about perfume but about holiness as God’s exclusive possession. One root, qādaš / qōdeš (holy), runs through every verse — the oil is holy, it makes holy, it is holy to YHWH, it must be kept holy. And the means of making-holy is māšaḥ, to anoint — the verb that names the Messiah. So the order matters: God consecrates a place and its furniture before He consecrates the priests who serve there (vv. 26–30), and the holiness spreads by contact (v. 29). The fence around the oil — never on common flesh, never imitated, on pain of being cut off (vv. 32–33) — guards a truth the prophets and apostles will carry forward: the Spirit’s anointing cannot be counterfeited, bought, or self-administered (cf. Acts 8:18–20). The same costly spices reappear in the Bridegroom’s garments (Ps 45:8) and the Bride’s garden (Song 4:14), and at a tomb (John 19:39) — myrrh accompanies the King from coronation to burial. The fallible synthesis: the recipe is a portrait of the One who would be anointed “without measure” (Gill, on v. 30), in whom alone all the fragrant gifts of the Spirit are blended. This is offered to be weighed against the Word, not above it.

Holiness is not a quality the oil adds; it is the claim God lays — anointed, exact, and His alone. (⚙ synthesis, not Scripture — test it.)

⚙Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The twin recipes: holy oil and holy incense verbal / quotation — confirmed

The very next pericope (vv. 34–38) gives the matching recipe for the holy incense, and it is bound to the oil by the rarest shared craft-vocabulary in the chapter: the perfumer’s compound (רֹקַח, rôqaḥ) and the verb to compound it (rāqaḥ), with the “work” (maʿăśeh) of the perfumer, all declared qōdeš (holy). Oil and incense are the paired emblems of consecration and prayer, fenced by the same holiness and the same karet penalty (v. 38).

Exodus 30:35

basis: shared lexemes: H7545 rôqach (rare, 2 vv) and H7543 râqach (rare, 8 vv), with H4639 maʻăśeh and H6944 qôdesh (Verifier on 30:25↔30:35). The double rare perfumer-root makes this a confirmed verbal link within one chapter.

The perfumer’s art in the Temple and at a royal burial verbal / quotation — confirmed

The same compounding craft surfaces twice more in the Writings. In 1 Chronicles 9:30 the “sons of the priests” compound the spice-mixture (mirqaḥaṯ) — the standing institution of Exodus 30, now a hereditary temple office. In 2 Chronicles 16:14 King Asa is laid in a bed “filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art” (mirqaḥaṯ, maʿăśeh) — the perfumer’s skill honoring a king in death. Both share the rare ointment-noun mirqaḥaṯ (only 3 occurrences) with the tabernacle recipe.

1 Chronicles 9:30 · 2 Chronicles 16:14

basis: shared lexemes: H4842 mirqachath (rare, 3 vv) + H7543 râqach (rare, 8 vv); 2 Chr 16:14 also shares H4639 maʻăśeh (Verifier on 30:25↔each). The rare ointment-noun anchors a confirmed verbal link.

The same spices in the Song and the Proverbs verbal / quotation — confirmed

The four fragrant ingredients are not unique to the sanctuary: myrrh (môr), cinnamon (qinnâmôn), and fragrant cane (qāneh) reappear together in the Bridegroom’s garden of Song of Solomon 4:14, and myrrh-with-cinnamon perfumes the adulteress’s bed in Proverbs 7:17 — the holy fragrance counterfeited for seduction, exactly the profanation vv. 32–33 forbid. The shared words (qinnâmôn and môr are each rare) make this a genuine verbal echo across the canon.

Song of Solomon 4:14 · Proverbs 7:17

basis: shared lexemes: H7076 qinnâmôwn (rare, 3 vv) and H4753 môr (11 vv), plus H7070 qâneh and H1314 besem in Song 4:14 (Verifier on 30:23↔each). The rarity of cinnamon clinches the verbal link; thematically Prov 7:17 is the holy fragrance profaned.

The holy spices on the world’s ledger — Tyre, and the fall of Babylon structural / thematic — confirmed

The fragrances God claims for His sanctuary are, on the merchant’s manifest, simply luxury cargo. The Cambridge Bible notes that “Cinnamon is mentioned also in Proverbs 7:17 , Song of Solomon 4:14 , Revelation 18:13” — and in that last text cinnamon, with odours and ointments, appears among the goods of fallen Babylon, the merchandise no man buys any more. Between Ezekiel’s lament over Tyre (27:19, the cassia and cane) and John’s lament over Babylon (Rev 18:13), the same costly aromatics mark the commerce of empires that traffic the precious and perish. ⚙ The Exodus↔Revelation link is structural/typological, not verbal: Greek and Hebrew cannot share a Strong’s number, so the cinnamon-and-myrrh echo is a canonical motif (the finest spices as the wealth of nations, claimed by God for holiness in Exodus, displayed and lost in Babylon), offered to be tested, not a confirmed quotation. Cambridge’s cross-reference is the human anchor.

Ezekiel 27:19 · Revelation 18:13

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew↔Greek), so NO shared Strong’s number is possible — this is tiered structural, never verbal. The motif is the named luxury aromatics (cinnamon, myrrh/ointment) as the merchandise of nations: cassia and cane in Tyre’s cargo (Ezek 27:19, sharing H6916 qiddâh / H7070 qâneh with this unit per the Verifier) and cinnamon + ointment in Babylon’s (Rev 18:13). Cambridge (on v. 23) supplies the Rev 18:13 cross-reference; the synthesis draws the structural pattern.

Cassia and the fragrant cane in the prophets verbal / quotation — confirmed

The near-hapax cassia (קִדָּה, qiddâh) of v. 24 occurs only one other place: Ezekiel 27:19, in the lament over Tyre’s trade, where cassia and the fragrant cane (qāneh) are listed among the merchandise of nations. The sanctuary’s holy spices are, on the world’s ledger, luxury imports — a quiet reminder that God claims the finest of the earth’s commerce for His own service.

Ezekiel 27:19

basis: shared lexeme H6916 qiddâh (Verifier on 30:24↔Ezek 27:19) — a true near-hapax, only 2 vv in the whole OT, of which Ezek 27:19 is the sole other; the fragrant cane H7070 qâneh is also shared, but via v. 23, not v. 24 (Verifier on 30:23↔Ezek 27:19). The near-hapax qiddâh alone clinches the verbal link, though the contexts (cultic recipe vs. trade lament) differ.

The anointing oil applied: Leviticus 8 and the perpetual priesthood structural / thematic — confirmed

The command of vv. 26–30 is carried out in Leviticus 8:10–12 (anointing the tabernacle, its vessels, the altar, and Aaron) and renewed as a perpetual statute in Exodus 40:15 (“their anointing shall be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations”). These are linked by the act-verb māšaḥ (anoint) and, in Ex 40:15, by kāhan (to serve as priest) and mišḥâh (anointing) — pattern and fulfillment, not quotation.

Leviticus 8:11 · Exodus 40:15

basis: shared lexeme H4886 mâshach (66 vv — common, not rare), plus H3547 kâhan and H4888 mishchâh in Ex 40:15 (Verifier on 30:26↔Lev 8:11 and 30:30↔Ex 40:15). The shared root is too common for a verbal claim; the link is the executed/perpetuated pattern of the same command.

‘Free-flowing’ myrrh and the ‘liberty’ of Isaiah 61 — a flagged homonym flagged — verify source

The Verifier flags a shared rare lexeme between v. 23 and Isaiah 61:1: דְּרוֹר (dᵉrôr, H1865). But the words are homonyms, not the same concept. In Exodus it qualifies the myrrh as “free-flowing / freely-exuding” (the self-distilling grade); in Isaiah it is the Servant’s proclamation of “liberty to the captives.” Isaiah 61:1 also shares the anointing-verb māšaḥ (“the LORD has anointed me”). The thematic resonance — anointing oil and an Anointed One who proclaims freedom — is real and rich, but the dᵉrôr link itself is lexical coincidence and must not be presented as a deliberate verbal quotation.

Isaiah 61:1

basis: The Verifier auto-tiers this ‘verbal — confirmed’ on the strength of shared rare H1865 dᵉrôwr (7 vv); we deliberately DOWNGRADE it. dᵉrôwr is used in two distinct senses — ‘free-flowing’ (the self-distilling myrrh) here vs. ‘release / liberty (to the captives)’ in Isaiah — so the shared-Strong’s match is a homonym, not a quotation. Flagged: the verbal basis is contested. The māshach (anoint) tie — ‘the LORD has anointed me’ (Isa 61:1) — is the legitimate, common-root structural echo.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The Anointed One — Messiah / Christ in the very verb ancient/widely-held

The verb that consecrates everything in this passage is מָשַׁח (māšaḥ, vv. 26, 30) — the root of māšîaḥ, Messiah, rendered in Greek Christós. The tabernacle, its furniture, and the priests are all “anointed ones” in figure; the reality is the One anointed “with the oil of gladness above your companions” (Ps 45:7, cited by Gill) and “with the Holy Ghost” at His baptism (Acts 10:38). John Gill reads the priests’ anointing as “typical of Christ anointed with the Spirit of God without measure, to his various offices of prophet, priest and King.” ⚙ The typology rests on the shared root (parse, H4886) and is the ancient, near-universal Christian reading.

Exodus 30:30 · Psalm 45:7 · Acts 10:38 · Isaiah 61:1

Myrrh from cradle to cross — the fragrant King widely-held

Of the four spices, myrrh (môr) accompanies Christ across His whole work. The same spice that opens this holy oil is brought by the magi to the infant King (Matt 2:11), mingled in the wine offered at the cross (Mark 15:23), and carried by Nicodemus to the tomb (John 19:39). Matthew Henry hears it: “thus it pleased the Lord to bruise the Redeemer, when he offered himself for a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour.” ⚙ This is a widely-held figural reading; the verbal anchor is the spice môr shared with Song 4:14 and the canonical narrative of myrrh in the Gospels — a typological pattern, offered to be tested, not a Strong’s-confirmed verbal quotation across Testaments.

Exodus 30:23 · Matthew 2:11 · John 19:39

The holy oil that cannot be counterfeited — the Spirit unbought widely-held

The ban on imitating the oil or pouring it on common flesh (vv. 32–33), under penalty of being cut off, finds its New-Testament counterpart in Simon Magus, who tried to buy the Spirit’s gift and heard, “Your money perish with you” (Acts 8:18–20). John Gill draws the line within this very verse: there is no profit in “counterfeit grace… which, though it may bear a likeness to true grace, is not that.” The Spirit’s anointing — figured by an oil that may be neither replicated nor self-applied — is God’s exclusive, un-purchasable gift (cf. 1 John 2:20, 27). ⚙ A widely-held application; the connection is thematic and typological (cross-Testament, so not a shared-Strong’s verbal link), and is offered for testing.

Exodus 30:32 · Exodus 30:33 · Acts 8:18 · 1 John 2:27

Apparatus & Provenance

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:

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. (1) Seven of twelve verses carry no dedicated commentary. For Exodus 30:22, 24–28, 31, several commentators (notably Matthew Henry’s Concise, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, and Keil & Delitzsch) print the same block note across the whole section 30:22–33; where a voice’s text is identical on multiple verses, it has been quoted once, at its most fitting verse, to avoid the appearance of independent attestation. Matthew Poole has “No text from Poole on this verse” for vv. 22, 25, 27–30 — those silences are not represented as commentary. (2) The spice identifications are genuinely uncertain. Whether the cinnamon, cane, and cassia named here match the modern plants of those names is debated by the very sources quoted (Cambridge, Pulpit, K&D all hedge); the notes preserve that uncertainty rather than resolving it. (3) The Isaiah 61:1 thread is flagged: the shared rare word dᵉrôr means “free-flowing” in Exodus but “liberty” in Isaiah — a homonym, not a quotation; only the māšaḥ (anointing) link is a real, common-root structural echo. (4) All cross-Testament Christ readings (myrrh in the Gospels; Simon Magus; the Spirit’s anointing in 1 John) are typological/thematic, never “verbal,” because Greek and Hebrew cannot share a Strong’s number; they are marked widely-held and offered to be weighed against Scripture. (5) The literal renderings are built up from the Berean/Strong’s parses supplied in the input and do not contradict them. None of this is the Word; it is fallible synthesis, to be tested (Acts 17:11).

✦ = 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)