Exodus Chapter 29 · Matthew Poole

Exodus 29:1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, The manner of consecrating priests,

Exodus 29:1-3. Of consecrating Aaron and his sons,

Exodus 29:4-7. The priests’ vesture,

Exodus 29:8 ,9. How the bullock of the sin-offering was to be offered,

Exodus 29:10-14. One ram for a burnt-offering, and the manner of offering,

Exodus 29:15-18. A ram for hallowing the priests,

Exodus 29:19-31. Aaron and his sons eat of the ram wherewith they where consecrated,

Exodus 29:32 ,33. The altar sanctified for seven days,

Exodus 29:36 ,37. Two lambs offered daily,

Exodus 29:38. The time,

Exodus 29:39. The manner of offering,

Exodus 29:40-43. God’s promise to hallow the tabernacle, Aaron, and his sons,

Exodus 29:44, and to dwell with them,

Exodus 29:45 ,46.

No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 12:5 Malachi 1:13 ,14

Exodus 29:2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. The unleavened bread

was to show that the priests should be, and that Christ really was, free from all malice and hypocrisy, both which are compared to leaven,

Luke 12:1 1 Corinthians 5:8, and that all the services offered to God by the priests were to be pure and unmixed.

Exodus 29:3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. To the door of the

tabernacle, as it follows,

Exodus 29:4.

Exodus 29:4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. Taken out of that laver,

Exodus 30:18. This signified the universal pollution of all men, and the absolute need they have of washing, especially when they are to draw nigh to God. And this outward washing was only typical of their spiritual washing by the blood and Spirit of Christ in order to their acceptance with God.

Exodus 29:5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: Not about the loins, but about the paps, or breast, as Christ and his ministers are represented,

Revelation 1:13. The linen breeches are here omitted, because they were put on privately before they came to the door of the tabernacle, where the other things were put on.

Exodus 29:6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. The holy crown, i.e. the plate of gold,

Exodus 28:36, as appears by comparing

Leviticus 8:9.

Exodus 29:7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. Which signified the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, wherewith Christ; as, and the priests ought to be, replenished. See

Isaiah 61:1 1Jo 2:27. But here ariseth a difficulty; for this anointing is sometimes spoken of as peculiar to the high priest, as

Leviticus 21:10, sometimes as common to all the priests,

Exodus 30:30 40:14,15, which may be thus reconciled: the oil, was sprinkled upon all the priests, and their right ears, thumbs, and toes, and their garments,

Exodus 29:20 ,21 Le 8:30, but it was poured out upon the head only of the high priest,

Psalm 133:2, who herein was a type of Christ, who was

anointed above his fellows,

Psalm 45:7 Hebrews 1:9.

Exodus 29:8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. A perpetual statute; so long as the Jewish pedagogy and policy lasts.

Exodus 29:10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. To signify that they offered it for themselves and for their own sins, which the offerer performing this rite was to confess,

Leviticus 16:21, that they acknowledged themselves to deserve that death which was inflicted upon this innocent creature for their sakes, and to testify their faith in the future sacrifice of Christ, upon whom their sins were to be laid, and by whose blood they were expiated, and that they humbly begged God’s mercy in pardoning their sins, and accepting them to and in their holy office.

Exodus 29:11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Moses, who though no priest, yet for this time and occasion was called by God to this work.

Exodus 29:12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. Upon the horns of the altar; not of incense, as some would have it, but of the burnt-offerings, as may appear,

1. Because it was that altar at the bottom whereof the blood was to be poured, as it is here expressed; but that was not done at the altar of incense, as is evident and confessed. Compare

Leviticus 16:18, &c.

2. It was that altar upon which the parts of the sacrifices were burnt, as it here follows,

Exodus 29:13, for there is no distinction here between the two altars. It is true, in the following sin-offerings of the priests the blood was put upon the horns of the altar of incense,

Leviticus 4:7. But it must be considered,

1. That the blood was not poured out at the bottom of that altar.

2. Because Aaron and his sons were not yet complete priests, but private persons, and therefore did this at the same altar which the people used in their sin-offerings,

Leviticus 4:25 ,30.

Exodus 29:13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. The parts which in all sacrifices were burned unto God,

Leviticus 3:3 4:19, to signify either the mortification of their inward and most beloved lusts, or the dedication of the best of all sacrifices, and of their inward and best parts, to God and his service.

Exodus 29:14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. To wit, for the high priest, as is plain from the whole context, and therefore ought to be burnt by that law,

Le 4. There was indeed a law, that that sin-offering whose blood was not carried into the tabernacle, which was the case here, should not be burnt, but eaten,

Leviticus 6:30 10:18. But that concerned the people, not the priests, who did not eat, but burn their own sin-offerings,

Leviticus 4:3 ,12.

Exodus 29:15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. Which signifies, that not only our persons, but our very altars and sacrifices, and best services, need the sprinkling of Christ’s blood upon them to render them acceptable to God.

Exodus 29:17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. A sweet savour, Heb.

a savour of rest, wherewith God will be well pleased, and for which, as representing Christ who offered up himself, he will graciously accept of the offerings of the priests for themselves, and for the people.

Exodus 29:19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. This was for a peace-offering. So here were all the three sorts of sacrifices, which were afterwards to be offered by them for the people.

Exodus 29:20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. These parts are consecrated in the name and stead of all the rest; the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations, and in their whole conversation; the

hand

and

foot, as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God; and the right parts are chosen rather than the left, as being usually more vigorous and expeditious. And all these parts are sprinkled with this blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christ’s blood to qualify them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office.

Exodus 29:21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: Of the priests in their office. Therefore the right shoulder was burnt, which in other sacrifices was given to the priest.

Exodus 29:23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. Either toss them from one hand to another, as giving all from themselves to God; or shake them to and fro, towards the several parts of the world, to note God’s dominion over all places and people, and the extent of that true and great sacrifice, represented in these types to all.

Exodus 29:25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. To wit, the breast alone, whereas both shoulder and breast were given to Aaron afterwards; the reason whereof might be, either because Moses was not a proper and complete priest, as Aaron afterward was, but only appointed by God for this time to do that work; or because now there were in a manner two priests, the one consecrating, to wit,

Moses; the other consecrated, to wit,

Aaron; therefore these parts were divided, the breast went to the former to be eaten, the shoulder offered unto God for the latter,

Exodus 29:22; he being not yet a perfect priest, and therefore not in a capacity of eating it.

Exodus 29:27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: Heaved up: this was done by throwing the parts upward, and catching them again.

Even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: the words may be rendered thus,

of which breast and shoulder of the ram shall be Aaron’s portion, and of which shall be the portion of his sons; so there is only an ellipsis of the verb substantive, which is most common, and the Hebrew prefix

lamed

designs a thing belonging to the person to whom that is prefixed, as it is in other like cases, as

Genesis 40:8 Deu 1:17 Psalm 47:9.

Exodus 29:28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD. It is an heave-offering; under which is comprehended also the wave-offering; as plainly appears both from the context, and from the parity of reason, these offerings being of the same nature, and designed for the same purpose.

Exodus 29:29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. His sons, i. e. his eldest sons successively. To be consecrated by some other priest, there being no other higher person who could do it, and therefore the necessity of it made it warrantable.

Exodus 29:30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place . For so long the solemnity of the consecration lasted,

Exodus 29:35.

In the holy place; both that strictly so called, and in the most holy place; for as none could go into the most holy place except the high priest, so there were some things to be done in the holy place which none but he could do. See

Leviticus 4:7 ,8.

Exodus 29:31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. In the court-yard at the door of the tabernacle, where it was both boiled and eaten, as appears from this and the next verse, and from

Leviticus 8:31. And part of this was eaten by the person or persons that brought the offering, though they were of the people, who were not admitted into any other holy place but this.

Exodus 29:32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof , because they are holy. Those things, i.e. the remainders of the oblations mentioned

Exodus 29:32.

A stranger, i.e. one who is not of the priestly race, whereas in other peace-offerings the offerer did eat a part.

Exodus 29:34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. Thou shalt burn the remainder, according to the law of all peace-offerings, except those which were vows or voluntary offerings,

Leviticus 7:16 ,17, which these were not: compare

Exodus 12:10.

Exodus 29:35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. For atonement, as well for the priests as for the altar; both which, as they were or might be polluted, so they needed the sprinkling of this blood to sanctify them, to show that all persons and things were fitted for God’s service, and accepted by him only for and through the blood of Christ.

Exodus 29:37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. It shall be an altar most holy, as appears from the following reason, because it was not only holy in itself, but by its touch communicated a legal holiness to other things.

Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy: this may be understood either,

1. Of persons, as a caution that none should touch the altar but holy and consecrated persons. Or rather,

2. Of things, yet not of all things, for polluted things were not made holy by the touch of holy things, which is affirmed,

Haggai 2:12; but of things belonging to the altar Of offerings, which by God’s appointment were to be offered, which were sanctified by being laid upon this altar, and therefore the altar was greater and more holy than the gift, as our blessed Saviour notes,

Matthew 23:19.

Exodus 29:38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. This is that which thou shalt offer: this is the chief end and use of this altar, though it served also for other sacrifices.

Day by day continually; to show, partly, that men do daily contract new defilement, and daily need new pardons; and partly, that God is not only to be worshipped upon rite sabbath days, and other set and solemn times, but every day.

Exodus 29:39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: Which two seasons were selected as most commodious, that men might both begin and end their worldly actions said businesses with God, and might see their need of God’s assistance and blessing in all their concerns, and the justness of giving him the praise and glory of all.

Exodus 29:40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. A tenth deal; the tenth part of an ephah, as is evident from

Numbers 28:5, which is an

omer,

Exodus 16:36.

An hin

was a measure for liquid things, as the ephah was for dry things, containing six pints of our measure.

Exodus 29:41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. Either,

1. At which door, for there the Lord stood and talked with Moses,

Exodus 33:9 ,10. Or rather,

2. In which tabernacle, to wit, in the innermost part of it, because that was the principal place where God did ordinarily reside and meet with his people,

Exodus 30:6 Leviticus 16:2; whereas God met but once at the door of the tabernacle, and that with Moses only, not with the people, with whom he is said to meet in this place,

Exodus 29:43. Add to this, that the place where God meets them is the same place which is sanctified by his glory, and that was the tabernacle,

Exodus 29:43, as it is expressed in our translation, and sufficiently implied in the Hebrew, by a common ellipsis of the pronoun

it, i. e. that place where I meet with you, to wit, the tabernacle,

shall be, &c.

Exodus 29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. i.e. By my glorious presence and appearance, of which see

Exodus 40:34 ,35 Le 9:24.

Exodus 29:44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. No text from Poole on this verse.

Exodus 29:45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. I will dwell, by my special grace, and favour, and blessing; for by his essence he fills all places.

Exodus 29:46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God. No text from Poole on this verse.