And thou shall take the other ram ,.... The other of the two that was left, Exodus 29:1 , and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram , as they were to do, and did, upon the head of the other; See Gill on Exodus 29:15 . read more
Then shall thou kill the ram ,.... As the other: and take of his blood , some part of it being received into a basin: and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons ; according to Jarchi, this is the middle gristle within the ear; but Saadiah more rightly says it is the tender part which joins to the orb of the ear. The blood was put upon this part to sanctify it, and cleanse from sins that come thereby, and to teach the high priest... read more
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar ,.... Not that which was sprinkled upon it, which could not be gathered up in such quantities as to be sprinkled again; but which was in a basin on it, having been received into it when the ram was slain: and of the anointing oil ; hereafter to be made, and with which Aaron was anointed as soon as he had his garments on; and this is a different anointing from that that was poured on his head; this was sprinkled on his garments, as... read more
Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump ,.... The fat which was upon it: the sheep in Arabia and about Judea were remarkable for their large tails; according to Rauwolff F26 Travels, p. 221. , they were half a span thick, and one and a half broad, and very fat; and so in Africa and Egypt were rams of large tails often and twenty pounds weight F1 Leo. African. Descript. Africae, l. 9. p. 753. ; and Aristotle F2 Hist. Animal. l. 8, c. 28. speaks of sheep in Syria... read more
The other ram - There were two rams brought on this occasion: one was for a burnt-offering, and was to be entirely consumed; the other was the ram of consecration, Exodus 29:22 , מלאים איל eil milluim , the ram of filling up, because when a person was dedicated or consecrated to God, his hands were filled with some particular offering proper for the occasion, which he presented to God. Hence the word consecration signifies the filling up or filling the hands, some part of the sacrifice... read more
Take of his blood - The putting the blood of the sacrifice on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, was doubtless intended to signify that they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry and to all acts of obedience, and their feet to walking in the way of God's precepts. And this sprinkling appears to have been used... read more
The fat and the rump - The rump or tail of some of the eastern sheep is the best part of the animal, and is counted a great delicacy. They are also very large, some of them weighing from twelve to forty pounds' weight; "so that the owners," says Mr. Ludolf, in his History of Ethiopia, "are obliged to tie a little cart behind them, whereon they put the tail of the sheep, as well for the convenience of carriage, and to ease the poor creature, as to preserve the wool from dirt, and the tail... read more
The rites of consecration for the priesthood. The next portion of the Divine directions relates to the formal investiture of Aaron and his sons with the priests' office. This was to be made the occasion of a solemn and imposing ceremonial. "The rites of consecration proclaimed the necessity of holiness—a holiness not their own, but imputed to them by the grace of God; and following upon this, and flowing from the same source, a plentiful endowment of gifts for their sacred office, with the... read more
THE CONSECRATION OF THE PRIESTS . From the description of the priestly attire, the Divine Law-giver passed to the form of priestly consecration, whereof investiture in the "holy garments" was a part. The ceremony of consecration was to consist of four things:— 1 . Ablution; 2 . Investiture; 3 . Chrism or Anointing with oil; and 4 . Sacrifice. In the directions given, we have, first, the preparation of the offerings ( Exodus 29:1-3 ); secondly, directions for... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 29:1-37
Here is, I. The law concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office, which was to be done with a great deal of ceremony and solemnity, that they themselves might be duly affected with the greatness of the work to which they were called, and that the people also might learn to magnify the office and none might dare to invade it. 1. The ceremonies wherewith it was to be done were very fully and particularly appointed, because nothing of this kind had been done before,... read more