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Exodus 29

Consecration of the Priests

1“This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without defect,

2unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.

3You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.

5You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and clothe him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

6You shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.

7Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.

8You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.

9You shall clothe them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them. They shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. You shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

10“You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.

11You shall kill the bull before the LORD at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

12You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.

13You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.

14But the meat of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. It is a sin offering.

15“You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

16You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.

17You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.

18You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

19“You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

20Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip 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 sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

21You shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and 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, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

22Also you shall take some of the ram’s fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),

23and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD.

24You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

25You shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on the burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

26“You shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD. It shall be your portion.

27You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the wave offering, which is waved, and which is raised up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons.

28It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel; for it is a wave offering. It shall be a wave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their wave offering to the LORD.

29“The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.

30Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place.

31“You shall take the ram of consecration and boil its meat in a holy place.

32Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

33They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy.

34If anything of the meat of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

35“You shall do so to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. You shall consecrate them seven days.

36Every day you shall offer the bull of sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it. You shall anoint it, to sanctify it.

37Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.

The Daily Offerings

38“Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually.

39The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening;

40and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering.

41The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning and according to its drink offering, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

42It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.

43There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory.

44I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office.

45I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

46They shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

Exodus 29 provides detailed instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests, establishing the sacred rituals that will set them apart for service to God. The chapter outlines a complex seven-day ordination process involving ceremonial washing, special garments, anointing with oil, and multiple sacrificial offerings including sin offerings, burnt offerings, and ordination offerings. It concludes with instructions for the daily burnt offerings that will become the perpetual worship rhythm of Israel, emphasizing God's desire to dwell among His people and be their God.

Context

Following the detailed instructions for the tabernacle and priestly garments in chapters 25-28, this chapter establishes the rituals needed to activate this worship system before the actual construction begins in chapters 35-40.

Key Themes

Outline

  • 1-9
    Preparation and Clothing of the Priests Instructions for gathering sacrificial animals and bread, washing Aaron and his sons, and clothing them in sacred garments.
  • 10-14
    The Sin Offering The bull is sacrificed as a sin offering with specific procedures for handling the blood and burning portions inside and outside the camp.
  • 15-18
    The First Ram as Burnt Offering The first ram is completely burned on the altar as a burnt offering, creating a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
  • 19-28
    The Ordination Ram and Wave Offering The second ram serves as an ordination offering with blood applied to the priests' extremities and portions waved before the Lord.
  • 29-37
    Seven Days of Consecration The ordination process continues for seven days with daily sin offerings to purify and consecrate the altar.
  • 38-46
    The Daily Burnt Offerings Instructions for the perpetual morning and evening sacrifices that will maintain God's presence among His people.

Consecration of the Priests

29:1–29:37
law instruction solemn

Detailed ritual instructions for consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests, involving washing, clothing in sacred garments, anointing with oil, and offering sacrifices. This establishes the perpetual priesthood and the process of making them holy to serve God.

person_contrast

Aaron transforms from Moses' spokesman into the archetypal high priest through seven days of blood rituals, oil anointings, and sacrificial meals that permanently separate him from ordinary Israelite identity.

The Daily Offerings

29:38–29:46
law instruction solemn

God establishes the daily burnt offerings of two lambs to be offered continually at the Tent of Meeting. This perpetual sacrifice creates a place where God will meet with Israel and dwell among them as their God.

person_contrast

Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here receives detailed sacrificial instructions that transform the tabernacle from a meeting place into God's permanent dwelling among Israel.

Insights

Insight Character Study

Aaron transforms from Moses' spokesman into the archetypal high priest through seven days of blood rituals, oil anointings, and sacrificial meals that permanently separate him from ordinary Israelite identity.

Insight Character Study

Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here receives detailed sacrificial instructions that transform the tabernacle from a meeting place into God's permanent dwelling among Israel.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Interlinear

Word-by-word original language

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Historical Context

Places and events in this chapter

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Timeline

Exodus

c. 1446 BC

Israel's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.

Daily offerings establish God's dwelling presence among the redeemed Israelites.

The Daily Offerings