Chapter Eight
Consecration of Aaron and His Sons
8:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. 3 And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” 4 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The giving of the rules and regulations pauses for a moment to record the launching of the Aaronic Priesthood. The giving of the law returns later in chapter eleven. God instructs Moses to assemble the priests-to-be, their garments, the anointing oil, the necessary animals, and the bread (see Exodus 29:1-3). Before proceeding, God has Moses call the people of Israel and assemble them around the Tabernacle to observe.
8:5 And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done.” 6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band. 8 And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Moses tells the people that what they are about to see was commanded by God to be done. In compliance with the instructions given to Moses earlier, and recorded in Exodus chapter 29, the process began with the priests being washed with water. Moses then dressed Aaron in the garment prepared for the high priest (see Exodus 28:4-39). He had him put on the coat, tie the sash around his waist, put on the robe, attach the ephod with the woven band and then place the breastpiece on him. Once the breastpiece was on, Moses put the Urim and the Thummim in position behind the breastpiece. Moses then placed the turban on Aaron’s head and attached the golden plate with the engraving, “Holy to YHWH” to the turban (also known as the “holy crown,”).[1]
8:10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them. 11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him. 13 And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
With Aaron fully clothed in the High Priest’s garments, Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and all that was in it, consecrating them per the instructions given to him earlier (including all items inside the structure, see Exodus 30:26-28; 40:9-11). Then outside the structure he anointed the bronze altar and all its utensils as well as the bronze basin and its stand to consecrate them for service to God. With the items of the Tabernacle dedicated to serve God, it was time to consecrate the people who would be serving God at the Tabernacle.
Moses anoints Aaron by pouring oil over his head and then clothes Aaron’s sons with the priestly garments prepared for them (see Exodus 28:40). This anointing was for the High Priest only, he will later be consecrated again, along with his sons using the anointing oil and the blood from the ram of ordination (see verse 30, see also commentary under Exodus 40:12-15).
8:14 Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. 15 And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it. 16 And he took all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar. 17 But the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung he burned up with fire outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.
As described in Exodus chapter 29, the ordination process would involve three primary sacrifices, a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a ram of ordination offering. The first sacrifice was the sin offering, which often preceded other offerings due to the need to seek atonement for sins prior to approaching God or seeking His favor. This was especially true for the High Priest as he represented the people of Israel (see Exodus 28:38; Leviticus 4:3).
Moses, essentially acting as the first priest, brought the bull for the sin offering over to the Tabernacle and had Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the bull’s head while Moses killed it. Taking some of the bull’s blood, Moses put some on the horns of the bronze altar to purify it and then poured out additional blood at the base of the bronze altar to consecrate it and make atonement for it. Moses then took all the fat that was around the intestines and the lobe of the liver, along with the two kidneys and burned them on the altar. The remainder of the bull, including its skin, flesh, and dung were taken outside the camp and entirely burned up.
8:18 Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 And he killed it, and Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar. 20 He cut the ram into pieces, and Moses burned the head and the pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the entrails and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering for the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The ordination process required two rams, the first was to be sacrificed as a burnt offering and the second one is referred to as the ram of ordination. Moses brings the first ram over and has Aaron and his sons lay their hands on its head while he kills it. Following the instructions given to him (see Exodus 29:15-18), the blood was thrown against the sides on the bronze altar, and he cuts the ram into several pieces. Moses then burned the ram’s head, the various pieces, and the fat on the altar. After washing the intestines and legs with water, Moses proceeds to burn the entire ram on the altar as a burnt offering. Providing a pleasing aroma, a food offering to YHWH.
8:22 Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar.
With the completion of the sin offering and burnt offering, having their sin atoned for, being made ceremonially clean and receiving favor from God, the sacrifice of the second ram, called the ram of ordination was next. Following the instructions given to him earlier, Moses brings the ram to the Tabernacle (see Exodus 29:19-37). Like the previous two sacrifices, Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram while Moses killed it. He then took some of the blood and applied the blood on Aaron’s right ear, his right thumb and on the big toe of his right foot. He then applied some of the blood on each of Aaron’s son’s right ears, the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet (see commentary under Exodus 29:19-20 regarding the significance of the locations where the blood was applied). Then threw the remainder of the blood against the side of the bronze altar.
8:25 Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh, 26 and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD he took one unleavened loaf and one loaf of bread with oil and one wafer and placed them on the pieces of fat and on the right thigh. 27 And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. 29 And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Moses returns to the second ram and removes the fat, the fat tail, all of the fat around the intestines, all of the fat from around the liver, the two kidneys with all their fat and the right thigh. Then out of the basket of previously prepared unleavened bread, Moses takes one unleavened loaf, one load of bread with oil, and one wafer and places them, along with the fat and thigh into the hands of Aaron and his sons, who then raise them up and wave them before God as a wave offering. Moses took the fat and thigh from them and burns them on the bronze altar with the burnt offering. Once again creating a pleasing aroma, a food offering to YHWH. Moses then took the ram’s breast and lifted it up and waved it before God as a wave offering. The breast was for Moses to consume.
8:30 Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
Aaron and his sons were made holy before God by Moses taking some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar (possibly from the sides of the altar) and sprinkling the mixture on them and their garments. The word translated here as ‘consecrated’ is the Hebrew word ‘yeqǎd·dēš’,[2] a verb meaning to be set aside, made holy, to dedicate. This is the only action recorded that consecrates Aaron's sons, which apparently is enough to constitute them as anointed priests.[3]
It is interesting to note that the combination of the blood and the oil seems to encapsulate the primary role of the priesthood. We see that the life-giving blood given at death can depict both the results of sin and the hope of forgiveness of that sin (see Leviticus 17:11), mixed with the oil used for anointing, a process where the title ‘Messiah’ is derived from, is something that is often connected to the divine work of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. The role of the priest was to serve as an intermediary between man and God, a role later assumed by Jesus forever; through Him, Christians have direct access to God.
8:31 And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 And what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn up with fire. 33 And you shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for it will take seven days to ordain you. 34 As has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. 35 At the entrance of the tent of meeting you shall remain day and night for seven days, performing what the LORD has charged, so that you do not die, for so I have been commanded.” 36 And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD commanded by Moses.
Moses informs Aaron and his sons that they could boil the meat from the second ram (the Hebrew word ‘bā·śār’,[4] which can refer to the whole or various parts of a body) and consume it, along with the bread in the basket there in front of the structure. If anything is left over, it was to be completely burned.
Since the ordination was a seven-day process, they were to remain within the Tabernacle’s courtyard for the seven days and repeat the same procedure each day. Apparently if they did not stay, or did not perform as God required, they would die. Aaron and his sons did everything God requested through Moses.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] See commentary under Exodus 28:36-38.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 6942.
[3] See commentaries under Exodus 29:7; 40:12-15 and above under verse 12.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 1320.