21:6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane 1 the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts, 2 the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy. 3
19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them 4 today and tomorrow, and make them wash 5 their clothes
19:14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.
28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them 6 and ordain them 7 and set them apart as holy, 8 so that they may minister as my priests.
29:1 9 “Now this is what 10 you are to do for them to consecrate them so that they may minister as my priests. Take a young 11 bull and two rams without blemish; 12
29:44 “So I will set apart as holy 15 the tent of meeting and the altar, and I will set apart as holy Aaron and his sons, that they may minister as priests to me.
1 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
2 sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).
3 tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”
4 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.
5 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.”
6 sn The instructions in this verse anticipate chap. 29, as well as the ordination ceremony described in Lev 8 and 9. The anointing of Aaron is specifically required in the Law, for he is to be the High Priest. The expression “ordain them” might also be translated as “install them” or “consecrate them”; it literally reads “and fill their hands,” an expression for the consecration offering for priesthood in Lev 8:33. The final instruction to sanctify them will involve the ritual of the atoning sacrifices to make the priests acceptable in the sanctuary.
7 tn Heb “fill their hand.” As a result of this installation ceremony they will be officially designated for the work. It seems likely that the concept derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with work). See note on the phrase “ordained seven days” in Lev 8:33.
8 tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).
9 sn Chap. 29 is a rather long, involved discussion of the consecration of Aaron the priest. It is similar to the ordination service in Lev 8. In fact, the execution of what is instructed here is narrated there. But these instructions must have been formulated after or in conjunction with Lev 1-7, for they presuppose a knowledge of the sacrifices. The bulk of the chapter is the consecration of the priests: 1-35. It has the preparation (1-3), washing (4), investiture and anointing (5-9), sin offering (10-14), burnt offering (15-18), installation peace offering (19-26, 31-34), other offerings’ rulings (27-30), and the duration of the ritual (35). Then there is the consecration of the altar (36-37), and the oblations (38-46). There are many possibilities for the study and exposition of this material. The whole chapter is the consecration of tabernacle, altar, people, and most of all the priests. God was beginning the holy operations with sacral ritual. So the overall message would be: Everyone who ministers, everyone who worships, and everything they use in the presence of Yahweh, must be set apart to God by the cleansing, enabling, and sanctifying work of God.
10 tn Heb “the thing.”
11 tn Literally: “take one bull, a ‘son’ of the herd.”
12 tn The word תָּמִים (tamim) means “perfect.” The animals could not have diseases or be crippled or blind (see Mal 1). The requirement was designed to ensure that the people would give the best they had to Yahweh. The typology pointed to the sinless Messiah who would fulfill all these sacrifices in his one sacrifice on the cross.
13 tn The verb now is a Niphal perfect from the same root, with a vav (ו) consecutive. It simply continues the preceding verb, announcing now that he would meet the people.
14 tn Or “will be sanctified by my glory” (KJV and ASV both similar).
15 tn This verse affirms the same point as the last, but now with an active verb: “I will set apart as holy” (or “I will sanctify”). This verse, then, probably introduces the conclusion of the chapter: “So I will….”