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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Exodus 29 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/exodus/29.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.">Exodus 28:41</a>). The method of it is now laid down. It consists of five things :—(1) Ablution (<a href="/exodus/29-4.htm" title="And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall wash them with water.">Exodus 29:4</a>); (2) Investiture (<a href="/context/exodus/29-5.htm" title="And you shall take the garments, and put on 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:">Exodus 29:5-9</a>); (3) Chrism, or anointing (<a href="/exodus/29-7.htm" title="Then shall you take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.">Exodus 29:7</a>); (4) Sacrifice (<a href="/context/exodus/29-10.htm" title="And you shall cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bullock.">Exodus 29:10-23</a>); and (5) Filling the hand (<a href="/exodus/29-24.htm" title="And you shall put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.">Exodus 29:24</a>). All of these were symbolical acts, typical of things spiritual—ablution, of the putting away of impurity; investiture, of being clothed with holiness; unction, of the giving of Divine grace, &c.; the entire consecration forming an acted parable, very suggestive and full of instruction to such as understood its meaning.<p><span class= "bld">Take one young bullock.</span>—The <span class= "ital">first </span>thing to be done was to prepare the victims which would be needed, and to have them ready against the time when they would be required for sacrifice.<p><span class= "bld">Without blemish.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">perfect </span>(See Note 1 on <a href="/exodus/12-5.htm" title="Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:">Exodus 12:5</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-2.htm">Exodus 29:2</a></div><div class="verse">And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: <i>of</i> wheaten flour shalt thou make them.</div>(2) <span class= "bld">Unleavened bread.</span>—Unleavened bread seems to have been required as purer than leavened, since fermentation was viewed as a species of corruption.<p><span class= "bld">Cakes . . . tempered with oil.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">cakes that have had oil poured over them. </span>A tolerably thick cake is intended.<p><span class= "bld">Wafers.</span>—These were cakes, or biscuits, extremely thin and unsubstantial, as is implied by the etymology of the term used. Oil is commonly eaten with cakes of both kinds by the Orientals.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-4.htm">Exodus 29:4</a></div><div class="verse">And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door . . . —</span>The place of the laver, not yet mentioned, but designed in God’s counsels, was between the brazen altar and the Tabernacle (<a href="/exodus/30-18.htm" title="You shall also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash with: and you shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and you shall put water therein.">Exodus 30:18</a>), and consequently near the door of the latter. Rabbinical tradition says that it was not placed exactly opposite the door, but a little towards the south side of the court.<p><span class= "bld">And shalt wash them.</span>—This is the first mention in Scripture of a religious ablution. Water is so natural a symbol of purity, and ablution so apt a representative of the purging from sin, that we can feel surprise neither at the widespread use of the symbolism in religions of very different characters, nor at its adoption into the system at this time imposed by Divine Providence upon the Hebrews. As it was to maintain its place even in the Divinely-appointed ceremonial of Christianity, it must have been <span class= "ital">à fortiori </span>suitable for the earlier and less spiritual dispensation. The widespread employment of it in other religions—<span class= "ital">e.g., </span>in Egypt (Herod. ii. 37); in Persia (<span class= "ital">Zendavesta, </span>8 p. 271. Spiegel’s translation); in Greece (Döllinger, <span class= "ital">Jew and Gentile, </span>vol. i., p. 220); in Italy (<span class= "ital">Dict. of Greek and Rom. Antiq., </span>p. 719), and elsewhere—was no argument against its adoption into the Mosaic ceremonial, since the Divine legislation of Sinai was not intended to annul or supersede natural religion, but only to improve and expand it.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-5.htm">Exodus 29:5</a></div><div class="verse">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:</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take the garments</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, those described in the preceding chapter.<p><span class= "bld">The coat</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>the linen tunic (<a href="/exodus/28-39.htm" title="And you shall embroider the coat of fine linen, and you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the girdle of needlework.">Exodus 28:39</a>). As the inner garment, this had to be put on first. Comp. <a href="/context/leviticus/8-7.htm" title="And he put on him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it to him therewith.">Leviticus 8:7-9</a>, where the investiture is more fully described, and is seen to have comprised nine acts:—(1) The putting on of the tunic; (2) The girding of the tunic with the under-girdle; (3) The putting on of the robe of the ephod; (4) The putting on of the ephod; (5) Girding with the curious girdle of the ephod; (6) The putting on of the breastplate; (7) The putting of the Urim and Thummim into the bag of the breastplate; (8) The putting on of the mitre; and (9) The attachment of the golden plate to the front of the mitre. These minute directions may well be regarded as justifying those given in our own Ordinal with respect to the vesting of bishops at the time of their consecration.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-6.htm">Exodus 29:6</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">The holy crown.</span>—The golden plate, inscribed with “Holiness to the Lord,” and attached to the mitre by a lace or riband, resembled the “diadems” worn in the East by monarchs, and regarded as the main emblem of their sovereignty. In Egypt, such a diadem is found first in the reign of Amenôphis IV. (Khuenaten), the ninth king of the eighteenth dynasty. The assignment of a crown to the high priest gave him that quasi-royal dignity which marked him as a type of our Lord in His threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-7.htm">Exodus 29:7</a></div><div class="verse">Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour <i>it</i> upon his head, and anoint him.</div>(7) <span class= "bld">The anointing oil</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.</span>, the oil mentioned in <a href="/exodus/25-6.htm" title="Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,">Exodus 25:6</a>, and recently glanced at in <a href="/exodus/28-41.htm" title="And you shall put them on Aaron your brother, and his sons with him; and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.">Exodus 28:41</a>. On its composition see <a href="/context/exodus/30-23.htm" title="Take you also to you principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,">Exodus 30:23-25</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Pour it upon his head.</span>—As the ablution typified cleansing from sin, so the anointing was emblematic of the outpouring of Divine grace upon the person anointed. The <span class= "ital">pouring </span>of the oil on Aaron’s head was perhaps to indicate the freeness and abundance with which God gives His grace to His servants. (Comp. <a href="/psalms/133-2.htm" title="It is like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down on the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;">Psalm 133:2</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Coats</span>—i.e., tunics. (See Note 1 on <a href="/exodus/28-40.htm" title="And for Aaron's sons you shall make coats, and you shall make for them girdles, and bonnets shall you make for them, for glory and for beauty.">Exodus 28:40</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">The bonnets.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">caps. </span>(See Note 3 on <a href="/exodus/28-40.htm" title="And for Aaron's sons you shall make coats, and you shall make for them girdles, and bonnets shall you make for them, for glory and for beauty.">Exodus 28:40</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">The priest’s office shall be their’s for a perpetual statute.</span>—That is, not only shall they individually be priests, but the office shall descend to their posterity, and so be theirs perpetually.<p><span class= "bld">Thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">Thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons. </span>Induction into an office was usually effected in the East by placing its insignia in the hand of the person appointed to it. Aaron and his sons were to be inducted by having a portion of the sacrifices placed in their hands (<a href="/exodus/29-24.htm" title="And you shall put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.">Exodus 29:24</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-10.htm">Exodus 29:10</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div>(10) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">the bullock: i.e., </span>the bullock mentioned in <a href="/exodus/29-1.htm" title="And this is the thing that you shall do to them to hallow them, to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,">Exodus 29:1</a>, which was to be kept in readiness for the consecration sacrifice.<p><span class= "bld">Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.</span>—By this symbolical action, which was commanded in the case of every sin offering (<a href="/leviticus/4-4.htm" title="And he shall bring the bullock to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.">Leviticus 4:4</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-15.htm" title="And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.">Leviticus 4:15</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-24.htm" title="And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.">Leviticus 4:24</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-29.htm" title="And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.">Leviticus 4:29</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-33.htm" title="And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.">Leviticus 4:33</a>; <a href="/leviticus/16-21.htm" title="And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:">Leviticus 16:21</a>, &c.), the offerer identified himself with the animal, and transferred to it the guilt of his own sins and imperfections. The animal thereby became accursed, and its death paid the penalty due to the sins laid upon it, and set free those who had committed them. Similarly, Christ, our sin offering, was “made a curse for us” (<a href="/galatians/3-13.htm" title="Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:">Galatians 3:13</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-12.htm">Exodus 29:12</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put <i>it</i> upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take of the blood . . . and put it upon the horns of the altar.</span>—It has been already noticed that the virtue of the altar was considered to reside especially in its horns; hence fugitives clung to them (<a href="/1_kings/1-50.htm" title="And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.">1Kings 1:50</a>; <a href="/1_kings/2-28.htm" title="Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.">1Kings 2:28</a>). In all sin offerings it was required (1) That some of the victim’s blood should be smeared upon the altar’s horns; and (2) That the remainder should be poured at its base (<a href="/leviticus/4-7.htm" title="And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.">Leviticus 4:7</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-18.htm" title="And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.">Leviticus 4:18</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-30.htm" title="And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar.">Leviticus 4:30</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-34.htm" title="And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:">Leviticus 4:34</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-13.htm">Exodus 29:13</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul <i>that is</i> above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that <i>is</i> upon them, and burn <i>them</i> upon the altar.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards.</span>—Whole burnt offerings were, comparatively speaking, of rare occurrence in the ancient world. Usually, parts only of the victims were consumed by fire upon the altar; the greater portion was either eaten by the priests and the worshippers, or burnt elsewhere than on the altar. Among the parts regarded as most fitting to be consumed on the altar, the fat always held a high place. This is to be accounted for either by its being considered a delicacy, or by the readiness with which it caught fire and kindled into a clear bright blaze.<p><span class= "bld">The caul that is above the liver</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>the membrane which covers the upper portion of the liver, sometimes called “the little omentum.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-14.htm">Exodus 29:14</a></div><div class="verse">But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it <i>is</i> a sin offering.</div>(14) <span class= "bld">The flesh . . . shalt thou burn . . . with out the camp.</span>—Comp. <a href="/context/leviticus/4-11.htm" title="And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,">Leviticus 4:11-12</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-21.htm" title="And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.">Leviticus 4:21</a>; <a href="/context/hebrews/13-11.htm" title="For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.">Hebrews 13:11-13</a>. This was the general rule with sin offerings. The whole animal was reckoned too impure for any portion of it to be suitable for human food.<p><span class= "bld">His dung.</span>—That which the intestines contained at the time of death.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-15.htm">Exodus 29:15</a></div><div class="verse">Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">One ram.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">the one ram: i.e., </span>one of the two rams already mentioned in <a href="/exodus/29-1.htm" title="And this is the thing that you shall do to them to hallow them, to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,">Exodus 29:1</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Put their hands upon the head of the ram.</span><p>—Again identifying themselves with the animal, as in <a href="/exodus/29-10.htm" title="And you shall cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bullock.">Exodus 29:10</a>, but with a different purpose from their former one. Then they transferred their sins to the victim; now they claimed a part in the victim’s dedication to God, offering themselves with it, and becoming, themselves, “a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord” (<a href="/exodus/29-18.htm" title="And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to the LORD: it is a sweet smell, an offering made by fire to the LORD.">Exodus 29:18</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-16.htm">Exodus 29:16</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle <i>it</i> round about upon the altar.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">scatter it. </span>The act of throwing the blood from a basin against the lower part of the altar is intended. The verb is a different one from that rightly translated “sprinkle” in <a href="/exodus/29-21.htm" title="And you shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.">Exodus 29:21</a>. The LXX. render it by <span class= "greekheb">προσχεῖν</span>, and the Vulg. by <span class= "ital">fundere</span>.<p><span class= "bld">Round about upon the altar.</span>—Practically, this was done by casting it on two of the corners of the altar—the north-east and the south-west—thus moistening all the four sides (<span class= "ital">Middoth, </span>3:2).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-17.htm">Exodus 29:17</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put <i>them</i> unto his pieces, and unto his head.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt cut the ram in pieces.</span>—This was the ordinary practice, not only among the Hebrews, but also among other nations, as the Egyptians (Herod. ii. 40), the Greeks, the Romans, and others. It was probably found to facilitate the burning of the animal, which was with difficulty consumed entire. The shoulder, thigh, head, ribs, rump, heart, and kidneys appear separate in the representations of sacrifices on Egyptian altars.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-18.htm">Exodus 29:18</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it <i>is</i> a burnt offering unto the LORD: it <i>is</i> a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.</div>(18) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar.</span>—A burnt offering, as representing self- sacrifice, was <span class= "ital">entirely </span>acceptable to God; the whole might be consumed upon the altar. It was otherwise with sin offerings, of which only certain parts could be thus offered. (Comp. above, <a href="/exodus/29-14.htm" title="But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shall you burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.">Exodus 29:14</a>; and see <a href="/leviticus/4-12.htm" title="Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.">Leviticus 4:12</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-21.htm" title="And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.">Leviticus 4:21</a>, &c.)<p><span class= "bld">A sweet savour.</span>—Comp. <a href="/genesis/8-21.htm" title="And the LORD smelled a sweet smell; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.">Genesis 8:21</a> and Note <span class= "ital">ad loc. </span>It was a general heathen notion that the gods were actually delighted with the odour of the sacrifices offered to them; but there are no just grounds for taxing the Hebrews with such coarse and materialistic ideas. The expression, as used in this place, in <a href="/genesis/8-21.htm" title="And the LORD smelled a sweet smell; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.">Genesis 8:21</a>, and in Leviticus and Numbers repeatedly, is metaphorical. (Comp. <a href="/exodus/5-21.htm" title="And they said to them, The LORD look on you, and judge; because you have made our smell to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.">Exodus 5:21</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-19.htm">Exodus 29:19</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.</div>(19) <span class= "bld">The other ram.</span>—Comp. <a href="/exodus/29-1.htm" title="And this is the thing that you shall do to them to hallow them, to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,">Exodus 29:1</a>; <a href="/exodus/29-15.htm" title="You shall also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.">Exodus 29:15</a>. This ram is called in Leviticus (<a href="/exodus/8-22.htm" title="And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end you may know that I am the LORD in the middle of the earth.">Exodus 8:22</a>) “the ram of consecration.” It formed, as has been observed (<span class= "ital">Speaker’s Commentary, </span>vol. i. pt. 2, p. 535), “by far the most peculiar part of the whole ceremony” Consecrated to God by the act of sacrifice, its blood was used, together with the holy oil, for the consecration of Aaron and his sons (<a href="/context/exodus/29-20.htm" title="Then shall you kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood on the altar round about.">Exodus 29:20-21</a>); while at the same time its most sacred parts were placed on their hands by Moses, that with them they might perform their first sacerdotal act, and so be inaugurated into their office (<a href="/context/exodus/29-22.htm" title="Also you shall take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covers the inwards, and the lobe above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:">Exodus 29:22-24</a>). This last was not only the crowning act of the ceremony, but also its most essential feature—the act which imparted to Aaron and his sons the priestly character.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-20.htm">Exodus 29:20</a></div><div class="verse">Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put <i>it</i> upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.</div>(20) <span class= "bld">Take of his blood.</span>—The blood was regarded as the life (<a href="/genesis/9-4.htm" title="But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat.">Genesis 9:4</a>). The life consecrated to God and accepted by Him was given back by Him to His ministers, that it might consecrate them wholly to His service, and so fit them for it. Placed upon the tip of the right ear, it reminded them that their ears were to be ever open and attentive to the whispers of the Divine voice; placed on the thumb of the right hand, it taught that they should take in hand nothing but what was sanctified; placed upon the great toe of the right foot, it was a warning that they were to walk thenceforth in the paths of holiness.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-21.htm">Exodus 29:21</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take of the blood that <i>is</i> upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle <i>it</i> upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.</div>(21) <span class= "bld">Take of the blood . . . and of the anointing oil.</span>—The twofold sprinkling, with blood and with oil, denoted the necessity of a twofold holiness—that of justification by the atoning blood of Christ, and that of sanctification by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The anointing which is here spoken of seems to have been the only anointing received by the sons of Aaron. (See <a href="/leviticus/8-30.htm" title="And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.">Leviticus 8:30</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-22.htm">Exodus 29:22</a></div><div class="verse">Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul <i>above</i> the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that <i>is</i> upon them, and the right shoulder; for it <i>is</i> a ram of consecration:</div>(22) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take of the ram the fat . . . —</span>These were the portions commonly burnt upon the altar in the case of peace offerings. (See <a href="/context/leviticus/3-9.htm" title="And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards,">Leviticus 3:9-11</a>.) By “the rump” is meant the broad fat tail which characterises Oriental sheep, and which is said to weigh from six to twenty pounds. (Fellows, <span class= "ital">Asia Minor, </span>p. 10. Comp. Herod. iii. 113; Leo African. 9 p. 293A.)<p><span class= "bld">The caul above the liver.</span>—See Note 2 on <a href="/exodus/29-13.htm" title="And you shall take all the fat that covers the inwards, and the lobe that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.">Exodus 29:13</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-23.htm">Exodus 29:23</a></div><div class="verse">And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that <i>is</i> before the LORD:</div>(23) <span class= "bld">The basket . . . that is before the Lord.</span>—Comp. <a href="/exodus/29-3.htm" title="And you shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.">Exodus 29:3</a>. The objects mentioned formed the “meat offering,” which always accompanied a peace offering.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-24.htm">Exodus 29:24</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them <i>for</i> a wave offering before the LORD.</div>(24) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">on the hands. </span>Having placed the offerings on the hands of his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was to put his own hands beneath theirs, and to make a waving motion towards the four quarters of the sky, thus presenting the offerings to the ubiquitous God. Aaron and his sons thus performed their first priestly act, as passive instruments in Moses’ hands, by his muscular energy. Their priestly character was by these means made complete. (On “wave offerings,” see Note upon <a href="/leviticus/7-30.htm" title="His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.">Leviticus 7:30</a>.)<span class= "bld"><p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-25.htm">Exodus 29:25</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn <i>them</i> upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it <i>is</i> an offering made by fire unto the LORD.</div>(25) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt receive them . . . and burn them.</span>—On communicating his priestly functions to his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was not immediately to lay them aside; but, as he had begun the consecration ceremony, so he was to complete it. (Comp. <a href="/context/exodus/29-31.htm" title="And you shall take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.">Exodus 29:31-37</a>, and <a href="/context/leviticus/8-28.htm" title="And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar on the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet smell: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD.">Leviticus 8:28-36</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-26.htm">Exodus 29:26</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it <i>for</i> a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.</div>(26) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt take the breast.</span>—It was the general law that in “wave offerings” the breast should be the officiating priest’s (<a href="/context/leviticus/7-29.htm" title="Speak to the children of Israel, saying, He that offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his oblation to the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.">Leviticus 7:29-31</a>); hence, on this occasion, it was assigned to Moses.<p><span class= "bld"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-27.htm">Exodus 29:27</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, <i>even</i> of <i>that</i> which <i>is</i> for Aaron, and of <i>that</i> which is for his sons:</div><span class= "bld">THE LAW OF THE WAVE AND HEAVE OFFERINGS, AND OF THE CONSECRATION GARMENTS.</span><p>(27, 28) <span class= "bld">The wave offering.</span>—For the future, in every case of offerings made at a consecration, both the breast and the right shoulder (<a href="/leviticus/7-32.htm" title="And the right shoulder shall you give to the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.">Leviticus 7:32</a>) were to be given to the officiating priest, who was to “wave” the one and “heave” the other before the Lord. “Heaving” was a single movement, an uplifting of the thing heaved; “waving” was a repeated movement, a swaying of the thing waved backwards and forwards horizontally. Both were modes of presenting the thing <span class= "ital">to </span>God.<p>(29) <span class= "bld">The holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him.</span>—That Eleazar was consecrated in his father’s holy garments we learn from <a href="/numbers/20-28.htm" title="And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.">Numbers 20:28</a>; but nothing is recorded as to the investiture of later high priests. Still, it is reasonable to suppose that the injunctions here given were carried out so long as the garments worn by Aaron held together.<p><span class= "bld">To be anointed therein.</span>—The anointing of each successive high priest is here commanded by implication. Jewish tradition affirms the practice to have been in conformity.<p><span class= "bld"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-31.htm">Exodus 29:31</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.</div>THE FEAST UPON THE CONSECRATION OFFERINGS.</span><p>(31-34) The writer having digressed in <a href="/exodus/29-27.htm" title="And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:">Exodus 29:27</a> from his main subject (the consecration of Aaron and his sons) to the consideration of certain permanent laws which arose out of the occasion, returns to his main subject at this point, and records the directions which he received with respect to the feast that followed, as a matter of course, on the consecration sacrifice. The parts of the victim neither consumed on the altar nor assigned to the officiating priest, were to be boiled at the door of the Tabernacle (<a href="/leviticus/8-31.htm" title="And Moses said to 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.">Leviticus 8:31</a>), and there consumed by Aaron and his sons, together with the loaf of unleavened bread, the oiled cake, and the wafer, which still remained in the “basket of consecrations” (<a href="/leviticus/8-31.htm" title="And Moses said to 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.">Leviticus 8:31</a>) mentioned in <a href="/exodus/29-3.htm" title="And you shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.">Exodus 29:3</a>; <a href="/exodus/29-23.htm" title="And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:">Exodus 29:23</a>. No “stranger”—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span>no layman—was to join with them in the feast (<a href="/exodus/29-33.htm" title="And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.">Exodus 29:33</a>); and, if they were unable to consume the whole, what remained was to be burnt. (Comp. the injunctions with respect to the paschal lamb, given in <a href="/exodus/12-10.htm" title="And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.">Exodus 12:10</a>; <a href="/exodus/23-18.htm" title="You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.">Exodus 23:18</a>.) Christian ritualism draws from these injunctions the propriety of an entire consumption of the elements on each occasion of the celebration of the Eucharist.<p><span class= "bld"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-35.htm">Exodus 29:35</a></div><div class="verse">And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all <i>things</i> which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.</div>THE SEVENFOLD REPETITION OF THE CONSECRATION CEREMONIAL.</span><p>(35) <span class= "bld">Seven days shalt thou consecrate them.</span>—The number seven possessed an ideal completeness, resting on the primeval facts of creation (Genesis 1, 2). It is the number almost exclusively used under the old covenant, when acts are to attain their result by repetition. (See <a href="/leviticus/4-6.htm" title="And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the veil of the sanctuary.">Leviticus 4:6</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-17.htm" title="And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the veil.">Leviticus 4:17</a>; <a href="/leviticus/8-11.htm" title="And he sprinkled thereof on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.">Leviticus 8:11</a>; <a href="/leviticus/14-7.htm" title="And he shall sprinkle on him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.">Leviticus 14:7</a>; <a href="/leviticus/16-14.htm" title="And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.">Leviticus 16:14</a>; <a href="/numbers/19-4.htm" title="And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:">Numbers 19:4</a>; <a href="/joshua/6-4.htm" title="And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.">Joshua 6:4</a>; <a href="/1_kings/18-43.htm" title="And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.">1Kings 18:43</a>; <a href="/2_kings/5-10.htm" title="And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.">2Kings 5:10</a>; <a href="/psalms/119-164.htm" title="Seven times a day do I praise you because of your righteous judgments.">Psalm 119:164</a>; &c.) Here we are to understand <span class= "bld">a </span>sevenfold repetition of the entire ceremonial of consecration. (See <a href="/context/leviticus/8-33.htm" title="And you 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.">Leviticus 8:33-34</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-36.htm">Exodus 29:36</a></div><div class="verse">And thou shalt offer every day a bullock <i>for</i> a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.</div>(36) <span class= "bld">Thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">by making an atonement for it. </span>The atonement was made by smearing the blood of the bullock upon the horns of the altar (<a href="/exodus/29-12.htm" title="And you shall take of the blood of the bullock, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.">Exodus 29:12</a>, compared with <a href="/leviticus/8-15.htm" title="And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it on 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 on it.">Leviticus 8:15</a>).<p><span class= "bld">And thou shalt anoint it.</span>—Comp. <a href="/leviticus/8-11.htm" title="And he sprinkled thereof on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.">Leviticus 8:11</a>, where we find that the altar was anointed by having the holy oil sprinkled upon it seven times. It is not quite clear at what period in the ceremonial this was done.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-37.htm">Exodus 29:37</a></div><div class="verse">Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.</div>(37) <span class= "bld">An altar most holy.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">an altar, holiness of holinesses.</span><p><span class= "bld">Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">must be holy; </span>nothing which is not holy must touch it. The future has the force of an imperative, as in the Ten Commandments.<p><span class= "bld"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-38.htm">Exodus 29:38</a></div><div class="verse">Now this <i>is that</i> which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.</div>THE LAW OF THE DAILY SACRIFICE, AND THE PROMISE OF GOD’S PRESENCE.</span><p>(38-42) The consecration of the altar, which took place during the consecration of the priests, was to be followed immediately by the establishment of the daily sacrifice. Two lambs were to be offered every day, one in the morning, the other “between the evenings” (<a href="/exodus/29-39.htm" title="The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at even:">Exodus 29:39</a>); partly in expiation of the daily sins of the nation<span class= "bld">, </span>but mainly as a sign that the nation daily renewed its self-dedication to Jehovah, and offered itself afresh to be “a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice” to Him. Meat and drink offerings were to accompany the burnt sacrifice—signs of the gratitude due to God for His perpetual mercies, and acknowledgments of His protecting care and lovingkindness. At the same time incense was to be burnt upon the golden altar before the vail, as a figure of the perpetual prayer that it behoved the nation to send up to the Throne of Grace for a continuance of the Divine favour. (See <a href="/context/exodus/30-7.htm" title="And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresses the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.">Exodus 30:7-8</a>.)<p>(38) <span class= "bld">Two lambs of the first year.</span>—See Note on <a href="/exodus/12-5.htm" title="Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:">Exodus 12:5</a>. The LXX. insert <span class= "greekheb">ἀμώμους</span>, “without blemish;” but this general requirement (<a href="/leviticus/22-22.htm" title="Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a running sore, or scurvy, or scabbed, you shall not offer these to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the LORD.">Leviticus 22:22</a>; <a href="/context/leviticus/22-24.htm" title="You shall not offer to the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall you make any offering thereof in your land.">Leviticus 22:24-25</a>), relaxed only in the case of free-will offerings (<a href="/leviticus/22-23.htm" title="Either a bullock or a lamb that has any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that may you offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.">Leviticus 22:23</a>), does not need to be perpetually repeated.<p>(39) <span class= "bld">At even.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">between the two evenings. </span>(On the meaning of the phrase, see Note 2 on <a href="/exodus/12-6.htm" title="And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.">Exodus 12:6</a>.)<p>(40) <span class= "bld">A tenth deal.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">a tenth. </span>A tenth of what measure is not said, but we may presume an ephah to be intended. The tenth part of an ephah was an omer (<a href="/exodus/16-36.htm" title="Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.">Exodus 16:36</a>). The omer is reckoned at rather less than half a gallon.<p><span class= "bld">An hin.</span>—The hin was, like the omer and the ephah, an Egyptian measure. It is estimated at about three-quarters of a gallon.<p><span class= "bld">Beaten oil.</span>—See Note 1 on <a href="/exodus/27-20.htm" title="And you shall command the children of Israel, that they bring you pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.">Exodus 27:20</a>.<p>(41) <span class= "bld">The meat offering . . . the drink offering.</span>—A “handful” of each meat offering was thrown upon the altar and burnt (<a href="/leviticus/2-2.htm" title="And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take out of there his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it on the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet smell to the LORD:">Leviticus 2:2</a>); the remainder belonged to the priests (<a href="/leviticus/2-3.htm" title="And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.">Leviticus 2:3</a>). Scripture says nothing of the disposal of the drink offering. According to Josephus (<span class= "ital">Ant. Jud. </span>iii. <span class= "ital">9</span>, § 4), it was poured out in libation upon the altar. According to others, a portion only was thus disposed of, while the rest was the priests’. The latter view seems the more probable.<p>(42) <span class= "bld">The tabernacle of the congregation.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">the tent of meeting.</span><p><span class= "bld">Where I will meet you.</span>—This passage determines the meaning of the expression, “tent of meeting.” It was not the place where the congregation met together, for the congregation were forbidden to enter it, but the place where God met His people through their mediator and representative, the high priest, who could there commune with God and obtain replies from Him on all practical matters that were of national importance. (See <a href="/exodus/25-22.htm" title="And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.">Exodus 25:22</a> and Note <span class= "ital">ad loc.</span>) The fact that all communication was to be through the high priest is indicated by the change of person: “Where I will meet <span class= "ital">you, </span>to speak there <span class= "bld">unto </span><span class= "ital">thee.</span>”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-43.htm">Exodus 29:43</a></div><div class="verse">And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and <i>the tabernacle</i> shall be sanctified by my glory.</div>(43) <span class= "bld">The tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.</span>—See <a href="/context/exodus/40-34.htm" title="Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.">Exodus 40:34-35</a>; and comp. <a href="/leviticus/9-24.htm" title="And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed on the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.">Leviticus 9:24</a>; <a href="/context/1_kings/8-10.htm" title="And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,">1Kings 8:10-11</a>; <a href="/context/2_chronicles/5-13.htm" title="It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;">2Chronicles 5:13-14</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/7-2.htm" title="And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house.">2Chronicles 7:2</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-44.htm">Exodus 29:44</a></div><div class="verse">And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.</div>(44) <span class= "bld">I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons.</span>—Something beyond the formal consecration seems to be intended. God will continually sanctify the Levitical priesthood by the presence of His Holy Spirit with them, in their ministerial acts, and even in their daily walk, if they will seek to serve Him.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-45.htm">Exodus 29:45</a></div><div class="verse">And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.</div>(45) <span class= "bld">I will dwell among the children of Israel.—</span>It must not be supposed that the fulfilment of this promise was effected by the mere presence of the Shechinah within the Tabernacle. It pledged God to <span class= "bld">a </span>perpetual supervision, care, and tender protection of His people, such as we find actually exercised in the history of the nation.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/exodus/29-46.htm">Exodus 29:46</a></div><div class="verse">And they shall know that I <i>am</i> the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I <i>am</i> the LORD their God.</div>(46) <span class= "bld">They shall know . . . —</span><span class= "ital">i.e., </span>My after care of them will prove me the same loving and all-powerful God whose help effected their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt.<p><span class= "bld"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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