Leviticus 16:24

24 And he shall bathe his body in water in the holy place, and shall put on his raiment, and shall go out and offer the whole-burnt-offering for himself and the whole-burnt-offering for the people: and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and for the people, as for the priests.

Leviticus 16:24 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 16:24

And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place
In the court of the tabernacle of the congregation, where, as Aben Ezra says, they spread fine linen for him; Jarchi says, it was a place on the roof of the house of Parvah, where all the dippings and washings were made, except the first; (See Gill on Leviticus 16:4); and this washing was no other than the dipping of his whole body in water; and if our Lord was baptized on this day, as some have thought, before observed, whose baptism was by dipping, ( Matthew 3:16 Matthew 3:17 ) ; there will appear in this a great likeness between the type and the antitype:

and put on his garments and come forth;
put on his golden garments, and come out of the place where he had washed himself, to the court, where was the altar of burnt offering: all which may be an emblem of Christ's putting off the pure and spotless garment of the flesh, in which he appeared in a low estate, and made atonement for sin; and of his burial, which the washing of the flesh may point at, being what was used of the dead, and which washing in baptism is a figure of; and of his resurrection from the dead, when God gave him glory, and he appeared in a glorious body, signified by his golden garments put on again:

and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people;
his ram, and the people's ram, and the bullock of the people, and their seven lambs, as it is written, ( Numbers 29:8 ) ; so Aben Ezra, first his own, and then the people's, which order was before observed in the sin offerings:

and make an atonement for himself, and for the people;
which though properly made by the sin offerings, and the carrying the blood of them into the most holy place, yet these were the completing of it, being the last of the services peculiar to the day of atonement: the service performed by the high priest after the sending away the goat into the wilderness was this; he read this "sixteenth" chapter of Leviticus, and ( Leviticus 23:27-32 ) , if he read in linen garments, he washed his hands and his feet, he stripped himself, went down and dipped himself, and came up and wiped himself; then they brought him the golden garments, and he put them on, and washed his hands and his feet, and went out and offered his ram, and the people's ram, and the seven perfect lambs of a year old; then he washed his hands and his feet, and stripped and went down and dipped, and came up and wiped himself; then they brought him the white garments, and he put them on, and washed his hands and his feet, and went into the holy of holies to fetch out the incense cup and the censer; then he washed his hands and his feet, and stripped, and went down and dipped, and came up and wiped himself; then they brought him the golden garments, and he put them on, and he washed his hands and his feet, and went in (to the holy place) to offer the evening incense, and to him the lamps; and then he washed his hands and his feet, and stripped; and they brought him his own garments (what he usually wore when out of service), and he put them on; and they accompanied him to his house, where he made a feast for his friends, because he was come out of the sanctuary in safety F15: where, it seems, sometimes some died, and others became sick by getting cold through frequent shifting of their clothes and washing, and wearing thin linen garments.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 Misn. Yoma, c. 7. sect. 3, 4.

Leviticus 16:24 In-Context

22 And the goat shall bear their unrighteousnesses upon him into a desert land; and Aaron shall send away the goat into the wilderness.
23 And Aaron shall enter into the tabernacle of witness, and shall put off the linen garment, which he had put on, as he entered into the holy place, and shall lay it by there.
24 And he shall bathe his body in water in the holy place, and shall put on his raiment, and shall go out and offer the whole-burnt-offering for himself and the whole-burnt-offering for the people: and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and for the people, as for the priests.
25 And he shall offer the fat for the sin-offering on the altar.
26 And he that sends forth the goat that has been set apart to be let go, shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterwards shall enter into the camp.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.