Chapter Text
Consecration of the Priests
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,
2And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
6And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
19And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
21And 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.
22Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
24And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
25And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.
27And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.
29And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy : whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
The Daily Offerings
38Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
42This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
Summary
God prescribes the consecration ceremony for Aaron and his sons. A young bull for a sin offering and two rams are prepared. Aaron and his sons are washed, clothed in priestly garments, and anointed with oil. The bull is killed as a sin offering, its blood applied to the altar's horns. The first ram is a burnt offering entirely consumed. The second ram of consecration has its blood applied to the right ear, thumb, and great toe of each priest. Blood and oil are sprinkled on the garments. The consecration lasts seven days with daily sin offerings to purify the altar. A continual burnt offering of two lambs daily — morning and evening — is established forever. God promises to meet Israel at the Tabernacle and dwell among them.
Meaning
The priests' need for sin offerings before service reveals that no human mediator is sinless. Only Christ serves as a priest who knew no sin. Blood on ear, thumb, and toe consecrates hearing, work, and walk — the whole person dedicated to God.
The seven-day consecration speaks of complete dedication. The continual daily offerings established that atonement was not a one-time event but an ongoing necessity, pointing to Christ's perpetual intercession. God's climactic promise — 'I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God' — is the purpose of the entire Tabernacle system.
Background
Priestly consecration rituals existed throughout the ancient Near East, but Israel's was unique in its emphasis on sin offerings. Other cultures consecrated priests for service; Israel's acknowledged that priests themselves needed atonement.
The continual burnt offering became the heartbeat of Israel's worship, the fixed framework around which all other sacrifices were organized.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-3Preparations for the consecration ceremony
- vv. 4-9Washing, robing, and anointing the priests
- vv. 10-14The sin offering of the bullock
- vv. 15-18The burnt offering of the first ram
- vv. 19-28The ram of consecration and wave offerings
- vv. 29-34Priestly succession and the sacred meal
- vv. 35-37Seven days of consecration and altar sanctification
- vv. 38-46The daily burnt offering and God's promise to dwell among Israel
Key Verses
“Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.”— 29:7
The anointing with oil is the central act of priestly consecration, symbolizing the Holy Spirit's empowerment for sacred service. This anointing prefigures Christ as the ultimate Anointed One (Messiah).
“And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.”— 29:45
This verse reveals the ultimate purpose behind the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system: God's desire to dwell with His people. It is one of the great covenant declarations of Scripture.
“And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.”— 29:46
The Exodus itself finds its purpose here — deliverance was not merely from bondage but unto fellowship with God. This verse frames the entire redemptive narrative as oriented toward divine presence.
“This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.”— 29:42
The daily sacrifice establishes perpetual communion between God and Israel. The phrase 'where I will meet you' transforms the altar from a place of ritual into a place of encounter.
People & Places
People
- Aaron — Moses' brother, here consecrated as Israel's first high priest through elaborate anointing and sacrificial rites.
- Aaron's sons — The sons of Aaron, consecrated alongside their father to serve as priests in the tabernacle.
- Moses — The mediator addressed by God throughout the chapter, charged with performing the consecration ceremony.
Places
- Tabernacle of the congregation — The tent of meeting where God's presence dwells among Israel, the site of all consecration rites described here.
- The altar — The bronze altar of burnt offering at the tabernacle entrance, itself requiring seven days of consecration.
- The camp — The Israelite encampment; the sin offering's remains are burned outside it, signifying the removal of sin.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The priestly consecration foreshadows Christ's ministry as the great High Priest (Hebrews 7–9). The blood applied to the ear, thumb, and toe (v. 20) symbolizes total consecration of hearing, action, and walk — fulfilled in Christ's perfect obedience. The ram of consecration and the daily lamb offerings (vv. 38–42) prefigure Christ as the Lamb of God whose sacrifice is once for all yet perpetually efficacious. God's declaration 'I will dwell among them' (v. 45) finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Incarnation (John 1:14) and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3).
Devotional
Every detail of this elaborate ceremony points to one truth: approaching a holy God requires preparation, purification, and sacrifice. The priests could not consecrate themselves — it had to be done for them.
The same is true for us. We do not make ourselves fit for God's presence; He provides the means. The blood on the ear, hand, and foot reminds us that consecration touches every part of life — what we hear, what we do, and where we go.
Most striking is the purpose behind it all: "I will dwell among them." God endures the cost of holiness not to keep us at a distance but to draw near.
Literary Style
Prescriptive ritual legislation delivered as direct divine speech to Moses. The chapter follows a carefully ordered liturgical sequence — preparation, sin offering, burnt offering, consecration offering — building toward a theological climax in verses 42–46. The repetition of 'thou shalt' creates a cadence of sacred instruction, while the closing verses shift from procedural command to covenant promise.