Exodus 29

Instructions for Consecrating Aaron and His Sons

1 "And this [is] the thing that you will do for them to consecrate them to serve as a priest for me: Take {one young bull} and two rams without defect
2 and unleavened bread and unleavened, ring-shaped bread cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened breads smeared with oil. You will make them [with] finely milled wheat flour,
3 and you will put them on one basket, and you will bring them on the basket and [bring] the bull and the two rams.
4 And you will bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of assembly, and you will wash them with water.
5 And you will take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic and the robe of the ephod, and you will fasten to him the ephod and the breast piece with the waistband of the ephod.
6 And you will set the turban on his head, and you will put the holy diadem on the turban.
7 And you will take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him.
8 And you will bring his sons and clothe them with tunics.
9 And you will gird Aaron and his sons [with] sashes and wrap headdresses on them. And priesthood will be theirs as a lasting rule, and {you will ordain Aaron and his sons.}
10 "And you will bring the bull before the tent of assembly, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the bull.
11 And you will slaughter the bull before Yahweh [at] the entrance of the tent of assembly.
12 And you will take [some] of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar, and you will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.
13 And you will take and turn into smoke [on] the altar all the fat covering the inner parts and the lobe on the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that [is] on them.
14 And the flesh of the bull and its skin and its offal you will burn with fire outside the camp; it [is] a sin offering.
15 "And you will take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the ram.
16 And you will slaughter the ram and take its blood and sprinkle [it] on the altar all around.
17 And you will cut the ram into pieces and wash its inner parts, and you will put its legs with its pieces and with its head.
18 And you will turn into smoke [on] the altar all of the ram; it is a burnt offering for Yahweh; it [is] a smell of appeasement, an offering by fire for Yahweh.
19 "And you will take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the ram.
20 And you will slaughter the ram and take [some] of its blood and put [it] on Aaron's [right] earlobe and on the right earlobe of his sons and on the thumb of their right hand and on {the big toe} of their right foot, and you will sprinkle the blood at the base of the altar all around.
21 And you will take [some] of the blood that is on the altar and [some] of the anointing oil, and you will spatter [it] on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons' garments with him, and he will be sacred, and his garments and his sons and his sons' garments with him.
22 And you will take from the ram the fat and the fat tail and the fat covering the inner parts and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them and the right thigh, because it [is] the ram of ordination.
23 "And one loaf of bread and one ring-shaped bread cake of oiled bread and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that [is] before Yahweh--
24 you will put [them] all on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and you will wave them as a wave offering before Yahweh.
25 And you will take them from their hand and turn [them] to smoke on the altar beside the burnt offering as a fragrance of appeasement before Yahweh; it is an offering made by fire before Yahweh.
26 "And you will take the breast section from the ram of ordination that [is] for Aaron, and you will wave it [as] a wave offering before Yahweh. It will be your portion.
27 And you will consecrate the wave offering breast section and the thigh of the contribution that was waved and that was presented from the ram of the ordination that [is] for Aaron and for his sons.
28 And it will be for Aaron and for his sons as a lasting rule from the {Israelites}, because it is a contribution, and it will be a contribution from the {Israelites} from their sacrifices of fellowship, their contribution to Yahweh.
29 "And the holy garments that [are] for Aaron will be for his sons after him in which to anoint them and {to ordain them}.
30 Seven days the priest who replaces him from among his sons will wear them, who comes to the tent of assembly to serve in the sanctuary.
31 And you will take the ram of ordination and boil its meat in a holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sons will eat the meat of the ram and the bread that [is] in the basket at the entrance of the tent of assembly.
33 And they will eat them--[the things] by which atonement was made for them to ordain them to consecrate them--and a stranger will not eat [them] because they are holy objects.
34 If any remains until morning from the ordination meat or from the bread, you will burn the remainder in fire; it will not be eaten, because it [is] a holy object.
35 And you will do so for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you will ordain them.

Instructions for Regular Offerings at the Tabernacle

36 "And you will offer a bull for a sin offering every day for the atonement; and you will offer a sin offering on the altar when you make atonement for it, and you will anoint it to consecrate it.
37 Seven days you will make atonement for the altar, and you will consecrate it, and the altar will be {a most holy thing}. {Anyone who} touches the altar will be holy.
38 "And this is what you shall offer on the altar: Two {one-year-old} male lambs {every day} continually.
39 The first lamb you will offer in the morning, and the second lamb you will offer {at twilight}.
40 And a tenth of finely milled flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine as a libation with the first lamb.
41 And the second lamb you will offer {at twilight}; you will offer a grain offering and its libation like that of the morning for a fragrance of appeasement, an offering made by fire for Yahweh.
42 [It will be] a burnt offering of continuity throughout your generations [at] the entrance of the tent of assembly before Yahweh, where I will meet with you to speak to you there.
43 "And I will meet with the {Israelites} there, and it will be consecrated by my glory.
44 And I will consecrate the tent of assembly and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I will consecrate to serve as priests for me.
45 And I will dwell in the midst of the {Israelites}, and I will be their God.
46 And they will know that I [am] Yahweh, their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt in order to dwell in their midst. I [am] Yahweh their God.

Footnotes 17

  • [a]. Literally "a son of cattle"
  • [b]. Literally "you will fill the hand of Aaron and the hands of his sons"
  • [c]. Literally "the thumb of"
  • [d]. Literally "lifted up"
  • [e]. Or "belong to"
  • [f]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [g]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [h]. Literally "to fill in them their hands"
  • [i]. Or "you will purify the altar"
  • [j]. Literally "a holiness of holinesses" or "a holy [thing] among holy [things]," a thing of utmost holiness
  • [k]. Or "anything that"; literally "all touching"
  • [l]. Literally "sons of a year"
  • [m]. Literally "for the day," or per day
  • [n]. Literally "between the evenings"
  • [o]. Literally "between the evenings"
  • [p]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [q]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"

Exodus 29 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.