2 Chronicles 29:5

29:5 He said to them: “Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! ¹  Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean!

2 Chronicles 29:15

29:15 They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word ²  of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 29:34

29:34 But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, ³  so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.) ⁴ 

2 Chronicles 30:15

30:15 They slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, so they consecrated themselves and brought burnt sacrifices to the Lord’s temple.

2 Chronicles 30:17-20

30:17 Because many in the assembly had not consecrated themselves, the Levites slaughtered ⁵  the Passover lambs of all who were ceremonially unclean and could not consecrate their sacrifice to the Lord. ⁶  30:18 The majority of the many people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun were ceremonially unclean, yet they ate the Passover in violation of what is prescribed in the law. ⁷  For Hezekiah prayed for them, saying: “May the Lord, who is good, forgive ⁸  30:19 everyone who has determined to follow God, ⁹  the Lord God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.” ¹⁰  30:20 The Lord responded favorably ¹¹  to Hezekiah and forgave ¹²  the people.

Exodus 19:10

19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them ¹³  today and tomorrow, and make them wash ¹⁴  their clothes

Exodus 19:14-15

19:14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 19:15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” ¹⁵ 

Job 1:5

1:5 When ¹⁶  the days of their feasting were finished, ¹⁷  Job would send ¹⁸  for them and sanctify ¹⁹  them; he would get up early ²⁰  in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to ²¹  the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps ²²  my children ²³  have sinned and cursed ²⁴  God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice. ²⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

² tn Heb “words” (plural).

³ tn Heb “the burnt sacrifices.”

⁴ tn Heb “for the Levites were more pure of heart to consecrate themselves than the priests.”

⁴ tn Heb “were over the slaughter of.”

⁵ tn Heb “of everyone not pure to consecrate to the Lord.”

⁵ tn Heb “without what is written.”

⁶ tn Heb “make atonement for.”

⁶ tn Heb “everyone [who] has prepared his heart to seek God.”

⁷ tn Heb “and not according to the purification of the holy place.”

⁷ tn Heb “listened.”

⁸ tn Heb “healed.”

⁸ tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.

⁹ tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”

⁹ tn Heb “do not go near a woman”; NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.”

¹⁰ tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator “and it happened” or “and it came to pass,” which need not be translated. The particle כִּי (ki, “when”) with the initial verbal form indicates it is a temporal clause.

¹¹ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect of נָקַף (naqaf, “go around”), here it means “to make the round” or “complete the circuit” (BDB 668-69 s.v. II נָקַף Hiph). It indicates that when the feasting had made its circuit of the seven sons, then Job would sanctify them.

¹² tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive. The same emphasis on repeated or frequent action continues here in this verse. The idea here is that Job would send for them, because the sanctification of them would have consisted of washings and changes of garments as well as the sacrifices (see Gen 35:2; 1 Sam 16:5).

¹³ tn Or “purify.”

¹⁴ tn The first verb could also be joined with the next to form a verbal hendiadys: “he would rise early and he would sacrifice” would then simply be “he would sacrifice early in the morning” (see M. Delcor, “Quelques cas de survivances du vocabulaire nomade en hébreu biblique,” VT 25 [1975]: 307-22). This section serves to explain in more detail how Job sanctified his children.

¹⁵ tn The text does not have “according to”; the noun “number” is an accusative that defines the extent of his actions (GKC 373-74 §118.e, h).

¹⁶ tn The clause stands as an accusative to the verb, here as the direct object introduced with “perhaps” (IBHS 645-46 §38.8d).

¹⁷ tn Heb “sons,” but since the three daughters are specifically mentioned in v. 4, “children” has been used in the translation. In this patriarchal culture, however, it is possible that only the sons are in view.

¹⁸ tn The Hebrew verb is בָּרַךְ (barakh), which means “to bless.” Here is a case where the writer or a scribe has substituted the word “curse” with the word “bless” to avoid having the expression “curse God.” For similar euphemisms in the ancient world, see K. A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, 166. It is therefore difficult to know exactly what Job feared they might have done. The opposite of “bless” would be “curse,” which normally would convey disowning or removing from blessing. Some commentators try to offer a definition of “curse” from the root in the text, and noting that “curse” is too strong, come to something like “renounce.” The idea of blaspheming is probably not meant; rather, in their festivities they may have said things that renounced God or their interest in him. Job feared this momentary turning away from God in their festivities, perhaps as they thought their good life was more important than their religion.

¹⁹ tn The imperfect expresses continual action in past time, i.e., a customary imperfect (GKC 315 §107.e).