Exodus 29:36 - Exposition

Thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it . Rather, "thou shelf purify the altar by making an atonement for it." The sin-offering for the altar was the same bullock which served for Aaron and his sons. Its virtue was applied to the altar by smearing the blood upon its horns and pouring the remainder at its base ( Exodus 29:12 ). See Le Exodus 8:15 :—"And Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar , and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it ." And thou shalt anoint it . In his execution of these directions, Moses separated the anointing of the altar from the cleansing, placing it even before the anointing of Aaron. He anointed it by sprinkling the holy oil upon it seven times (Le Exodus 8:11 ).