Keraia
Exodus 29

Exodus 29:21

The Order of the Sacrifices · Exodus 29:10–30
Read Exodus 29

Translations

Modern
And 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.
Traditional
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
Literal
And you shall take from the blood that is on the altar, and from the anointing oil, and sprinkle them on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be holy, and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
Latin
Cumque tuleris de sanguine qui est super altare, et de oleo unctionis, asperges Aaron et vestes ejus, filios et vestimenta eorum. Consecratisque ipsis et vestibus,

Original

Hebrew
English
And 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.

Notes

Exodus 29:20–21

The placing of the blood on the earlobes, thumbs, and big toes represented dedication of the entire person to God. Sprinkling it on their clothes indicated that the clothing, too, could be used only for holy purposes.

Exodus 29:19–28

This ordination offering is very similar to the peace offering, which is also called the fellowship offering (Leviticus 3).

In this offering, the fat was burned as a gift to the Lord. The breast and the thigh were first lifted up before the Lord as a sign that they belonged to him (29:24–26). After that, they became the portion for the priests to eat (29:26–28).

In a regular peace offering, the person who brought the sacrifice also ate part of the meat. This meal was a fellowship meal shared in God’s presence (Leviticus 7:11–18). In this case, the priests ate the meal as part of their ordination (Exodus 29:31–34).

Exodus 29:10–34

The consecration of Aaron's priesthood involved:

These patterns were later used for the people's regular offerings (see 29:38–46; Leviticus 1–5). In each case, Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the heads of the sacrificial animals (Exodus 29:10, 15, 19). This act showed that sin is a matter of life and death. God will only remove sin by a death.

Because it represents life, blood was important in these ceremonies (29:12, 16, 20, 21).

Exodus 29:1–37

Moses had to consecrate (or sanctify) Aaron and his sons to serve the Lord. The focus on making the priests holy appears throughout the ceremonies (29:6, 21, 28, 29, 34, 36, 37). God set them apart not only for service. But he set them apart to serve a God whose nature is very different from that of sinful humans. Leviticus 8 gives the account of how they followed these instructions.

Events

Parallels

Leviticus 8:22–36

People

Aaron: Moses' brother, first high priest of Israel

Glossary

Biblical Concept of Law Book of Exodus Deuteronomy, Book of History of Israel Holiness Leviticus, Book of Liver Offerings and Sacrifices Ordain, Ordination Ordination Offering Tabernacle Temple

Topics

Blood: Blood of the Ram of Consecration Put on the Tip of Right Ear, Thumb Offerings: Peace: Laws Concerning Priest: The Time of Moses: Consecration of Priests: Ceremonies at Consecration of Purification by Blood of the Consecration Ram Priests: Garments of Purified by Sprinkling of Blood