Chapter Nine
God Accepts the Offerings
9:1 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 2 and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
Now that the Tabernacle had been built and consecrated and the priests ordained, it was time to fully implement the priesthood, the Tabernacle, and God’s theocracy. In this chapter we will see a transition of Moses being the primary lead in matters of the Tabernacle to his brother Aaron as High Priest. However, before that can occur the matter of sin needs to be addressed. The process begins with the High Priest, since he represents the people of Israel before God, his sin needs to be atoned for first prior to the people themselves.
At the end of the ordination week, Moses calls Aaron, his sons, and the elders of the people of Israel together. He then tells Aaron to offer a sin offering for himself, a young bull (note the difference between the sin offering instructions given in Leviticus 4:3, a calf is specified here) followed by sacrificing a ram for a burnt offering.
9:3 And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the LORD will appear to you.’ ”
After Aaron was finished with the sin offering and the burnt offering for himself, he was to tell the people of Israel to bring a male goat to be offered as a sin offering along with a year-old calf and a year-old lamb to be offered for a burnt offering. Plus, one ox and one ram to be offered for peace offerings. In addition, Moses told Aaron that they will also need to offer a grain offering mixed with oil. Then he said that once all the offerings were complete, YHWH would appear to the people.
9:5 And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. 6 And Moses said, “This is the thing that the LORD commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
The animals selected for the various sacrifices were brought to the Tabernacle. Moses tells the people the same thing he told Aaron, that when they are finished with the sacrifices that the glory of YHWH will appear for all to see[1].
9:7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”
Moses then has Aaron step in and begin his high priest duties, starting with overseeing the sacrifices for his own atonement. Once completed, he is to then make atonement for the people with their offerings. The procedure described in this narrative lacks some of the details outlined in the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus regarding these offerings. This does not necessarily indicate that the procedures varied from the instructions, just that this chapter is more of an overview than an exhaustive account of the proceedings.
9:8 So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. 10 But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. 11 The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.
Aaron does exactly what he was told, he killed the young bull for his sin offering. His sons brought the calf’s blood to him, and he applied some of the blood on the horns of the bronze altar and poured out the remaining blood at the base of the altar. The animal’s fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver were burned on the altar. The flesh and skin were burned up elsewhere with fire outside the camp.
9:12 Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. 13 And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.
Next was the burnt offering for himself, just as with the sin offering, Aaron killed the animal and his sons brought over the blood to him, which was thrown against the sides of the altar. Apparently, Aaron’s sons did the butchering as they hand their father the various pieces to be burned on the bronze altar. When he was given the intestines and the legs, he washed them and placed them on the altar.
9:15 Then he presented the people’s offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one. 16 And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule. 17 And he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.
Now that his sins were temporarily atoned for, he was able to represent the people. The goat was killed and offered as a sin offering. The statement, “like the first one,” is a procedural summary, not to be considered an identical process as this was a goat not a bull. Next was the burnt offering (two animals, both one year old, one calf and one lamb, see verse three), which was also procedurally summarized by stating it was offered, “according to the rule.” A handful from the grain offering was burned alongside of the burnt offering.
The text mentions, “besides the burnt offering of the morning.” There is some debate as to whether this is a reference to the daily offerings as instructed in Exodus 29:38-42; or is this a reference to the burnt offering given for himself that was still on the altar? Some believe that the daily offerings, including the morning and evening burnt offerings, had already been instituted since Exodus 40:29 prior to Aaron’s ordination. Which is possible, as the lack of any details regarding any other activity around the altar seems to support the fact that this rendition of the story is only a summary.
9:18 Then he killed the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. 19 But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver— 20 they put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat pieces on the altar, 21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded.
The peace offerings were next, the ox and ram were then sacrificed. The blood of each animal was thrown against the sides of the bronze altar. The fatty pieces from both animals, including the fat that covered their intestines, the kidneys, the lobes of their livers, and the ram’s fat tail, were placed on top of the breasts and burned on the altar. The breasts and the right thigh were presented, probably before being placed on the altar, as a wave offering before YHWH.
9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Now that all the offerings were complete, Aaron offers a blessing to the people of Israel.[2] There is no record of the actual blessing, however later God will dictate a specific blessing that will be known as the “Aaronic Blessing” (see Numbers 6:22-27).
Then Moses and Aaron, together, enter the structure. There is no record as to what they were doing inside. However, Moses, as God’s representative, was undoubtedly giving Aaron instructions regarding his duties as high priest inside the holy place. There were many duties to review, including the burning of incense, the trimming of the lamps, the placement of the bread, etc.
When the two came out of the structure, they both blessed the people, and the glory of YHWH appeared to all that were there. Fire came down from before God’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the various fatty pieces that were on the altar. When the people saw what had happened, they immediately shouted (possibly in both joy and fear) and fell on their faces. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel offers a different account of this story’s ending:
But when, after the oblations had been performed, the Shekinah did not reveal itself, Aharon was ashamed, and said to Mosheh, It may be that the Word of the Lord hath no pleasure in the work of my hands. Then went Mosheh and Aharon into the tabernacle of ordinance, and prayed for the people of the house of Israel, and came forth and blessed the people, and said, May the Word of the Lord receive your oblations with favour, and remit and forgive your sins.
Then, instantly the Glory of the Lord’s Shekinah revealed itself to all the people: and the Fire came forth from the Presence of the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the sacrifice and the fat. And all the people saw, and gave praise, and bowed in prayer upon their faces.[3]
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 24:16-18.
[2] See commentary under Genesis 1:28-30.
[3] Etheridge, J. W. (Trans.). (1862–1865). The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch; With the Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum: From the Chaldee (Le 9). London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts.; Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green.