Exodus 29:17

17 Cut the ram in pieces; wash its internal organs and its hind legs, and put them on top of the head and the other pieces.

Exodus 29:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 29:17

And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces
For the better convenience of laying it upon the wood on the altar, that it might be burnt; for it was to be a whole burnt offering:

and wash the inwards of him, and his legs;
denoting the purity of the sacrifice of Christ, and that when his people give up themselves to God as a whole burnt offering, in the flames of love and zeal, their affections should be pure and sincere:

and put [them] unto his pieces, and unto his head;
lay them together, so that they might be entirely consumed at once; signifying that Christ was both in soul and body an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour to God; zeal for the honour of whose house, and the glory of his name, ate him up, as well as the fire of divine wrath; and so our whole souls, bodies and spirits, should be presented to the Lord as a holy, living, and acceptable sacrifice to him, which is more strongly suggested in the next verse.

Exodus 29:17 In-Context

15 "Take one of the rams and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on its head.
16 Kill it, and take its blood and throw it against all four sides of the altar.
17 Cut the ram in pieces; wash its internal organs and its hind legs, and put them on top of the head and the other pieces.
18 Burn the whole ram on the altar as a food offering. The odor of this offering pleases me.
19 "Take the other ram - the ram used for dedication - and tell Aaron and his sons to put their hands on its head.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.