Leviticus 8

The LORD spoke to Moses. He said:

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Note"LORD" in small capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, written in Hebrew with four consonants (YHWH). Where you see "Lord" in ordinary letters, the underlying word is the common noun "master."

2"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the clothing, and the anointing oil, and a bull for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of bread made without yeast.

2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

NoteThe anointing oil was a specific blend of olive oil and spices (its recipe is given in Exodus 30); pouring or smearing it on a person or object marked that person or object as removed from ordinary use and reserved for worship. A "sin offering" (Hebrew chatta't) is often better understood as a purification offering: its stated function through Leviticus is to cleanse the sanctuary and its equipment of impurity. Bread made without yeast is flat, quick to make, and keeps well; it was the standard bread for offerings.

3Gather the whole community together at the entrance of the tent of meeting."

3And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

NoteThe tent of meeting was the portable tent-sanctuary Israel carried through the wilderness, standing inside a fenced courtyard. The "entrance" is the courtyard gateway, an open area where the altar stood and where a crowd could stand and watch.

4Moses did what the LORD commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

4And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

5Moses said to the community, "This is what the LORD has commanded to be done."

5And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.

6Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.

6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

NoteA full-body washing with water, done in public as part of the ceremony, a formal preparation rite, not ordinary bathing.

7He put the tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around him. He dressed him in the robe and put the ephod on him. He tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him and fastened it to him with it.

7And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.

NoteThese are the high priest's vestments, described in detail in Exodus 28. The ephod was a sleeveless, apron-like garment of linen worked with gold and colored thread, hung from shoulder pieces and held in place by a woven waistband attached to it.

8He put the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.

8And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

NoteThe breastpiece was a folded square pouch of the same rich fabric, set with twelve engraved gemstones, one for each tribe, worn on the chest and tied to the ephod. The Urim and Thummim were two objects kept inside the pouch; what they physically were is never explained, and their names mean something like "lights" and "perfections." They were used to put questions to God and obtain a decision.

9He set the turban on Aaron's head, and on the front of the turban he set the gold plate, the holy crown, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

9And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.

NoteThe gold plate was engraved "Holy to the LORD" and tied to the front of the turban with a blue cord (Exodus 28:36–38). The word rendered "crown" here (nezer) means a mark of consecrated status; the same word is used of the band worn by a king.

10Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and set them apart as holy.

10And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

Note"Tabernacle" and "tent of meeting" are two names for the same structure. "Set apart as holy" translates a verb meaning to move something out of ordinary, everyday use into God's exclusive use; it describes a change of status, not a moral quality.

11He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times. He anointed the altar and all its tools, and the basin and its stand, to set them apart as holy.

11And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

NoteThe basin was a large bronze bowl on a stand, placed between the tent and the altar, holding the water with which the priests washed their hands and feet before serving.

12He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to set him apart as holy.

12And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

13Moses brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them, and put headbands on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

13And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses.

14He brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering.

14And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.

NotePressing both hands on the animal's head was the formal act by which the offerer identified the animal as his own offering. Here Aaron and his sons do it because the offering is being made on their behalf.

15Moses killed it. He took the blood and put it with his finger on the horns all around the altar, and made the altar clean. He poured out the blood at the base of the altar and set it apart as holy, so that atonement could be made on it.

15And he slew it; 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, to make reconciliation upon it.

NoteThe altar was a square structure with an upward projection at each of its four top corners, called "horns"; blood was smeared on these highest, most prominent points. "Atonement" translates the Hebrew kipper, whose basic sense is to wipe clean or to cover over. Note that here the thing being cleansed is the altar itself.

16He took all the fat that was on the inner parts, the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned it on the altar.

16And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.

NoteThe hard fat around the internal organs, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver were treated as the choicest parts of the animal and were burned as God's portion; Israelites were forbidden to eat these particular fats.

17But the bull, with its hide, its meat, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

17But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.

NoteIsrael camped in a ring around the tent of meeting, so "outside the camp" meant beyond the whole settlement. It was where things removed from the sanctuary's sphere were taken and destroyed.

18He brought the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram's head.

18And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

NoteA burnt offering (Hebrew 'olah, "that which goes up") was the one sacrifice burned up entirely on the altar, with no portion kept back for the priests or the worshiper to eat.

19Moses killed it and sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar.

19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

20He cut the ram into pieces, and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat.

20And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.

21He washed the inner parts and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice with a pleasing smell, an offering made by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

21And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Note"A pleasing smell" is a fixed sacrificial phrase, literally "a soothing smell." It is the standard way of saying an offering was accepted.

22He brought the other ram, the ram for setting the priests apart for their work, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram's head.

22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

NoteHebrew calls this "the ram of filling." "To fill someone's hands" is the ordinary Hebrew expression for installing a person in priestly office, and verse 27 performs the idiom literally by loading the offering into Aaron's hands.

23Moses killed it. He took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

23And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

NoteEar, thumb and toe are the body's extremities; touching them with blood stands for the whole person. The only other place in the law where this same three-point rite appears is the ceremony restoring someone who has recovered from a serious skin disease (Leviticus 14).

24He brought Aaron's sons forward, and Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then Moses sprinkled the blood on all sides of the altar.

24And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

25He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the inner parts, the lobe above the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh.

25And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:

NoteThe sheep of the region were a broad-tailed breed whose tail was a heavy mass of fat, counted among the prime portions. Where the King James has "right shoulder," the Hebrew word means the upper part of the hind leg, the thigh.

26From the basket of bread without yeast that was before the LORD, he took one flat cake made without yeast, one cake of bread made with oil, and one thin wafer, and he put them on the fat and on the right thigh.

26And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:

NoteThree distinct kinds of bread, listed in Exodus 29: a plain flat cake, a cake kneaded with oil, and a thin wafer.

27He put all of it in Aaron's hands and in his sons' hands, and waved them back and forth as a wave offering before the LORD.

27And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD.

NoteThe Hebrew term (tenuphah) is traditionally rendered "wave offering," but the actual gesture is uncertain: it may have been a horizontal waving or a lifting up. Either way it publicly presented the portion to God before part of it was assigned to the priests.

28Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. They were the offering for setting the priests apart, with a pleasing smell. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

28And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

29Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses' share of the ram for setting the priests apart, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

29And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part; as the LORD commanded Moses.

NoteThe breast is normally the priests' share of this kind of sacrifice. It goes to Moses here because Moses is conducting the ceremony and Aaron is not yet installed.

30Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron and on his clothing, and on his sons and on his sons' clothing with him. So he set apart Aaron and his clothing, and his sons and his sons' clothing with him.

30And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

31Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the meat at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of the offerings for setting you apart, as I commanded when I said, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.'

31And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.

NoteThe priests' portion had to be eaten on the spot, in the sanctuary courtyard, not carried away and eaten at home.

32Whatever is left over of the meat and of the bread you must burn with fire.

32And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.

NoteSacrificial food carried a time limit. Whatever was not eaten within it was burned rather than kept or put to ordinary use.

33You must not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your setting apart are finished, because for seven days he will set you apart for your work.

33And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you.

NoteThe whole ceremony was to be repeated on each of seven days. Seven commonly marks a full and complete span of time.

34What has been done today is what the LORD has commanded to be done, to make atonement for you.

34As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.

35So you must stay at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, and keep the duty the LORD has given, so that you do not die. This is what I have been commanded."

35Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.

Note"Keep the charge" is language borrowed from sentry duty: to stand guard over an assigned responsibility.

36So Aaron and his sons did everything that the LORD commanded through Moses.

36So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.