Exodus 29:17-27

17 Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head,

18 and burn the whole ram upon the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the LORD.

19 "You shall take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram,

20 and you shall kill the ram, and take part of its blood and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and upon the tips of the right ears of his sons, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the altar round about.

21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron and his garments, and upon his sons and his sons' garments with him; and he and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons' garments with him.

22 "You shall also take the fat of the ram, and the fat tail, and the fat that covers the entrails, and the appendage of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of ordination),

23 and one loaf of bread, and one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD;

24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

25 Then you shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar in addition to the burnt offering, as a pleasing odor before the LORD; it is an offering by fire to the LORD.

26 "And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your portion.

27 And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering, and the thigh of the priests' portion, which is waved, and which is offered from the ram of ordination, since it is for Aaron and for his sons.

Exodus 29:17-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 29

This chapter gives an account of the form and order of the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office; preparatory to which Moses is ordered to take a young bullock, two rams, bread, cakes, and wafers unleavened, and bring them and Aaron and his sons to the door of the congregation, where the ceremony was to be publicly performed, and which began with washing them, Ex 29:1-4 and then proceeded by putting on the priestly garments directed to be made in the preceding chapter, first on Aaron, who also was anointed, Ex 29:5-7 and then upon his sons, Ex 29:8,9 after which the bullock and the two rams were to be slain, and orders are given what was to be done with their blood, and the several parts of them, as well as with the cakes and wafers, Ex 29:10-23 and directions are given to make these wave and heave offerings, Ex 29:24-28 and that the garments of Aaron's should be his son's that succeeded him, Ex 29:29,30, and that the flesh of the ram of consecration with the bread should be eaten by Aaron and his sons and no other, Ex 29:31-35, the altar also where they were to officiate was to be cleansed, sanctified, and an atonement made for it, Ex 29:36,37 after which two lambs every day, morning and evening, were to be offered on it in all succeeding generations, Ex 29:38-42, and the chapter is closed with a promise that the Lord would meet with the children of Israel at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and would sanctify the tabernacle, and dwell among them, and be their God, Ex 29:43-46.