Exodus 29:9

29:9 and wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons ¹  and put headbands on them, and so the ministry of priesthood will belong to them by a perpetual ordinance. Thus you are to consecrate ²  Aaron and his sons.

Exodus 29:1

The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

29:1 ³ “Now this is what ⁴  you are to do for them to consecrate them so that they may minister as my priests. Take a young ⁵  bull and two rams without blemish; ⁶ 

Exodus 12:31

12:31 Pharaoh ⁷  summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out ⁸  from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested! ⁹ 

Exodus 13:1

The Law of the Firstborn

13:1 ¹⁰ The Lord spoke ¹¹  to Moses:

Exodus 13:1

The Law of the Firstborn

13:1 ¹² The Lord spoke ¹³  to Moses:

Hebrews 5:4

5:4 And no one assumes this honor ¹⁴  on his own initiative, ¹⁵  but only when called to it by God, ¹⁶  as in fact Aaron was.

[29:9]  ¹ tc Hebrew has both the objective pronoun “them” and the names “Aaron and his sons.” Neither the LXX nor Leviticus 8:13 has “Aaron and his sons,” suggesting that this may have been a later gloss in the text.

[29:9]  ² tn Heb “and you will fill the hand” and so “consecrate” or “ordain.” The verb draws together the individual acts of the process.

[29:1]  ³ 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.

[29:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the thing.”

[29:1]  ⁵ tn Literally: “take one bull, a ‘son’ of the herd.”

[29:1]  ⁶ 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.

[12:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:31]  ⁸ tn The urgency in Pharaoh’s words is caught by the abrupt use of the imperatives – “get up, go” (קוּמוּ צְּאוּ, qumu tsÿ’u), and “go, serve” (וּלְכוּ עִבְדוּ, ulÿkhu ’ivdu) and “take” and “leave/go” (וָלֵכוּ…קְחוּ, qÿkhu...valekhu).

[12:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “as you have said.” The same phrase also occurs in the following verse.

[13:1]  ¹⁰ sn This next section seems a little confusing at first glance: vv. 1 and 2 call for the dedication of the firstborn, then vv. 3-10 instruct concerning the ritual of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then vv. 11-16 return to the firstborn. B. Jacob (Exodus, 360) explains that vv. 3-16 contain a sermon, in which Moses “began his speech by reminding the people of the events which had just occurred and how they would be recalled by them in the future,” and then he explained the rulings that went along with it. So the first two verses state the core of the sermon, a new command calling for the redeemed (firstborn) to be sanctified. The second portion stresses that God requires the redeemed to remember their redemption by purifying themselves (3-10). The third section (11-16) develops the theme of dedication to Yahweh. The point is that in view of God’s mighty redemption, the redeemed (represented by the firstborn) must be set apart for Yahweh’s service.

[13:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke.”

[13:1]  ¹² sn This next section seems a little confusing at first glance: vv. 1 and 2 call for the dedication of the firstborn, then vv. 3-10 instruct concerning the ritual of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then vv. 11-16 return to the firstborn. B. Jacob (Exodus, 360) explains that vv. 3-16 contain a sermon, in which Moses “began his speech by reminding the people of the events which had just occurred and how they would be recalled by them in the future,” and then he explained the rulings that went along with it. So the first two verses state the core of the sermon, a new command calling for the redeemed (firstborn) to be sanctified. The second portion stresses that God requires the redeemed to remember their redemption by purifying themselves (3-10). The third section (11-16) develops the theme of dedication to Yahweh. The point is that in view of God’s mighty redemption, the redeemed (represented by the firstborn) must be set apart for Yahweh’s service.

[13:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke.”

[5:4]  ¹⁴ sn Honor refers here to the honor of the high priesthood.

[5:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “by himself, on his own.”

[5:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “being called by God.”