And thou shalt bring his sons ,.... Order the sons of Aaron to come to the same place where he was: and put coats upon them : such as were ordered to be made for them, Exodus 28:40 . read more
And thou shalt gird them with girdles (Aaron and his sons) ,.... Aaron with the girdle of the ephod, and with the girdle of needlework, and his sons with common girdles made for them; all which showed what strength, diligence, and expedition were necessary for the discharge of their office: and put the bonnets on them ; upon their heads, which differed only from the high priest's mitre in the manner of rolling or wrapping, as has been observed on Exodus 28:39 , and the priest's... read more
And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation ,.... The same, or of the same kind he was ordered to take, Exodus 29:1 , and here the place is expressed where it was to be taken, and what was to be done with it: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock ; not Aaron first alone, and then his sons, as some have thought, Aben Ezra makes mention of; but, as he says, both together, not one before another; declaring it... read more
And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord ,.... That is, Moses is ordered to do it, who now officiated as a priest, "pro tempore", Aaron and his sons not being yet completely invested with that office, or thoroughly consecrated to it; of which consecration this sacrifice was a part, and therefore could not with propriety be concerned in killing their own sacrifice; for that purpose, Moses therefore did it, and he did it "before the Lord"; Jehovah the Son gave him those orders to do it... read more
Shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock - By this rite the animal was consecrated to God, and was then proper to be offered in sacrifice. Imposition of hands also signified that they offered the life of this animal as an atonement for their sins, and to redeem their lives from that death which, through their sinfulness, they had deserved. In the case of the sin-offering and trespass-offering, the person who brought the sacrifice placed his hands on the head of the animal between... 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
The Consecration of the first High Priest. Aaron may be viewed as either I. AS A TYPE OF CHRIST , he typifies especially Christ's priestly character. II. AS A PATTERN TO MINISTERS , Aaron is read more
Thou shalt bring his sons . See Exodus 29:4 . They were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle. Put coats upon them . The investiture of the high priest consisted of nine acts (see the comment on Exodus 29:5 ); that of the ordinary priests of three only. 1 . The putting on of the linen tunics. 2 . The girding with the girdles. 3 . The putting on of the cap. They do not seem to have been anointed, as Aaron was, by having the holy oil poured upon their heads, but only... 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