Leviticus 8:11

11 And he spattered {part of} it on the altar seven times--thus he anointed the altar and all of its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

Leviticus 8:11 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 8:11

And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times
The altar of burnt offering; the order for anointing it is given in ( Exodus 30:28 ) ( 40:10 ) but in that no directions are given for the manner of doing it by sprinkling, nor the number of times it was to be sprinkled: hence Jarchi confesses his ignorance, and says,

``I know not how it was ordered about these sprinklings;''

but no doubt Moses was instructed of God in what manner to anoint it, and how often; and the number seven may denote the perfect unction of it, and made it a fitter type of Christ, who received the unction of the Spirit without measure:

and anointed the altar, and all its vessels;
pans, shovels, basins, flesh hooks, and fire pans:

both the laver and his foot;
which was for the priests to wash at; and very probably this was done before Moses brought Aaron and his sons thither and washed them, ( Leviticus 8:6 ) since it seems most proper that it should be consecrated before used, as it follows:

to sanctify them;
set them apart for sacred use.

Leviticus 8:11 In-Context

9 and he placed the turban on his head, and on {the front of} the turban he placed the gold rosette, the holy diadem, [just] as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that [was] in it, and he consecrated them.

11 And he spattered {part of} it on the altar seven times--thus he anointed the altar and all of its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

12 Then he poured out {part of} the anointing oil on Aaron's head--thus he anointed him [in order] to consecrate him.

13 Then Moses brought Aaron's sons near and clothed them [with] tunics and tied a sash [around] {each one}, and he bound headbands on them, [just] as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "from"
• [b] Or "and"