NOTES for Exo 29:1-18
1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, |
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. |
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. |
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. |
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: |
6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. |
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. |
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. |
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. |
10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. |
11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. |
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. |
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. |
14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. |
15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. |
16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. |
17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. |
18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. |
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The consecration of priests in Yahwism is a special ritual. It is connected with the understanding of sacrifice characteristic of the Yahwist tradition, and with the corresponding understanding of holiness. Holiness in Yahwism means above all participation in that presence of God which was revealed to Moses on Sinai and which afterward accompanied the people along the whole path of their earthly history.
The priesthood was established so that among God's people there would always, at every moment, be some group of people remaining in a state of consecration and standing by the altar, in the place of God's presence, literally physically. The rites of consecration for priests described in the Book of Exodus were needed in order to introduce the priests, who were to serve God directly, into that spiritual space where communion with God was an everyday reality.
Before the coming of Christ, such a state was not an ordinary thing for a person, as it is for us today. Today we live in a world to which the Kingdom, in the Savior's words, has "drawn near," drawn so near that its breath is felt everywhere and everyone who cares about it can come into contact with it. But then, in the time of Moses, when almost fifteen centuries still remained before the coming of Christ, everything was different.
Direct communion with God was then the exception rather than the rule. It was given rarely and to few people, and besides, at the cost of great effort. God's dwelling among His people was the single exception, an enormous possibility open to everyone who belonged to the people; but one could make use of this possibility only by making the corresponding effort. One had to change one's life completely, to live only for this Presence and to live only by it.
In those times only a few could live such a life; it required special spiritual strength, and the consecration of priests for service was meant to give them that strength. Here, of course, there was no automatism and no magic. In order really to receive the strength needed for service, it was necessary to turn to God, to establish with Him the relationships that would allow Him to interact with the one being consecrated. The possibility of such consecration existed; whether to make use of it or not depended on the one being consecrated.
Other notes
For Exo 29:1-18
1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, |
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. |
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. |
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. |
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: |
6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. |
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. |
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. |
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. |
10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. |
11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. |
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. |
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. |
14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. |
15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. |
16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. |
17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. |
18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. |
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