And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecrations ,.... The ram being slain and cut to pieces, this part is particularly disposed of: and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord ; in the manner before described: and it shall be thy part : the part of Moses, he officiating now as a priest; and we find accordingly in later times that this part of the sacrifice belonged to the priest, Leviticus 7:31 . read more
And thou shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering ,.... Set it apart for the use of the priest in all succeeding ages: and the shoulder of the heave offering : as the breast was waved from one hand to another, or cast from the hand of one to the hand of another; the shoulder was heaved up, or cast up and caught again: this also was to be sanctified or set apart for the priest's use, Leviticus 7:32 , which is waved, and which is heaved up of the ram of the consecration : the... read more
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons by a statute for ever from the children of Israel ,.... That is, the shoulder, which seems particularly meant, though the breast also was theirs, which was at this time given to Moses, he being priest; and this was an everlasting statute and ordinance in all generations, as long as the priesthood of Aaron lasted, until the Messiah should come and put an end to it: and this the children of Israel were always to allow the priests; the shoulder, because... read more
And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his son's after him ,.... That son that succeeded him in the priesthood; for the priesthood continued in Aaron's family by succession, the eldest son being high priest, until the disposal of this office fell into the hands of Heathen princes, and then it was obtained by interest or money: now, though the coat and breeches might be wore out by Aaron before he died, yet the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and its girdle, and the breastplate, might... read more
And that son that is priest in his stead ,.... The Targum of Jonathan is,"who shall rise after him of his sons, not of the Levites;'for the high priest was to be of the family of Aaron, a descendant of his; it was not enough that he was of the tribe of Levi, but he must descend from Aaron, either in the line of Eleazar or of Ithamar: shall put them on seven days ; the next successor was to wear the garments seven days running: when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to... read more
The breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering - As the wave-offering was agitated to and fro, and the heave-offering up and down, some have conceived that this twofold action represented the figure of the cross, on which the great Peace-offering between God and man was offered in the personal sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer. Had we authority for this conjecture, it would certainly cast much light on the meaning and intention of these offerings; and when the... read more
The holy garments - shall be his son's after him - These garments were to descend from father to son, and no new garments were to be made. read more
Seven days - The priest in his consecration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord's watch. See Leviticus 8:33 , etc. The number seven is what is called among the Hebrews a number of perfection; and it is often used to denote the completion, accomplishment, fullness, or perfection of a thing, as this period contained the whole course of that time in which God created the world, and appointed the day of rest. As this act of consecration lasted... read more
Verse 28 28.And it shall be Aaron’s. Lest the dignity of the sacred offerings, which are called the holiness of the Lord, should be impaired, strangers are prohibited from partaking of them; for, if it had been permitted that every one should touch them and eat of them, there would have been no distinction between them and ordinary food. Of the priests’ portion some parts were common to all their families; but the holy parts were excepted, to the intent that by this particular instance the... 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