Exodus 29:20

20 Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron's right earlobe, on his sons' right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the [remaining] blood on all sides of the altar.

Exodus 29:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 29:20

Then shall thou kill the ram
As the other:

and take of his blood,
some part of it being received into a basin:

and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of
the right ear of his sons;
according to Jarchi, this is the middle gristle within the ear; but Saadiah more rightly says it is the tender part which joins to the orb of the ear. The blood was put upon this part to sanctify it, and cleanse from sins that come thereby, and to teach the high priest that he ought attentively to listen to what should be said unto him of the Lord, that he might faithfully report it to the people; and as our great High Priest had his ear opened and awakened, to hear as the learned; and happy are his people who have ears to hear the joyful sound, and take pleasure in it, and who are cleansed from their hearing sins, by his precious blood:

and upon the thumb of their right hand;
on the middle joint of it, as Jarchi:

and upon the great toe of the right foot;
the hands and fingers being the instruments of action, and the feet and toes of walking, show that the life and conversation of the priests of the Lord ought to be pure and holy, and so their antitype perfectly was; and whereas there is imperfection in all the actions, and even in the best righteousness of the saints, and their walk and conversation is not without sin, they have need to have them sprinkled with, and their conversation garments washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb:

and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about;
as was done with the blood of the other ram, ( Exodus 29:16 ) .

Exodus 29:20 In-Context

18 Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord.
19 "You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram's head.
20 Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron's right earlobe, on his sons' right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the [remaining] blood on all sides of the altar.
21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [them] on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way, he and his garments will become holy, as well as his sons and their garments.
22 "Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination);
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