Keluaran 28:40-43

28:40 “For Aaron’s sons you are to make tunics, sashes, and headbands ¹  for glory and for beauty.

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ²  and ordain them ³  and set them apart as holy, ⁴  so that they may minister as my priests. 28:42 Make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; ⁵  they must cover ⁶  from the waist to the thighs. 28:43 These must be on Aaron and his sons when they enter ⁷  to the tent of meeting, or when they approach ⁸  the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they bear no iniquity and die. ⁹  It is to be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants ¹⁰  after him. ¹¹ 

Keluaran 29:4-9

29:4 “You are to present ¹²  Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the tent of meeting. You are to wash ¹³  them with water 29:5 and take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, ¹⁴  the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastpiece; you are to fasten the ephod on him by using the skillfully woven waistband. ¹⁵  29:6 You are to put the turban on his head and put the holy diadem ¹⁶  on the turban. 29:7 You are to take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. ¹⁷  29:8 You are to present his sons and clothe them with tunics 29:9 and wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons ¹⁸  and put headbands on them, and so the ministry of priesthood will belong to them by a perpetual ordinance. Thus you are to consecrate ¹⁹  Aaron and his sons.

[28:40]  ¹ sn This refers to a band of linen wrapped around the head, forming something like a brimless convex cap, resembling something like a half egg. It refers to the headgear of ordinary priests only (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 310-11).

[28:41]  ² sn The instructions in this verse anticipate chap. 29, as well as the ordination ceremony described in Lev 8 and 9. The anointing of Aaron is specifically required in the Law, for he is to be the High Priest. The expression “ordain them” might also be translated as “install them” or “consecrate them”; it literally reads “and fill their hands,” an expression for the consecration offering for priesthood in Lev 8:33. The final instruction to sanctify them will involve the ritual of the atoning sacrifices to make the priests acceptable in the sanctuary.

[28:41]  ³ tn Heb “fill their hand.” As a result of this installation ceremony they will be officially designated for the work. It seems likely that the concept derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with work). See note on the phrase “ordained seven days” in Lev 8:33.

[28:41]  ⁴ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[28:42]  ⁵ tn Heb “naked flesh” (so NAB, NRSV); KJV “nakedness.”

[28:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “be.”

[28:43]  ⁷ tn The construction for this temporal clause is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ⁸ tn This construction is also the temporal clause with the infinitive construct and the temporal preposition bet (ב) and the suffixed subjective genitive.

[28:43]  ⁹ tn The text has וְלאֹ־יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ (vÿlo’-yis’u ’avon vametu). The imperfect tense here introduces a final clause, yielding a purpose or result translation (“in order that” or “so that”). The last verb is the perfect tense with the vav consecutive, and so it too is equal to a final imperfect – but it would show the result of bearing the iniquity. The idea is that if they approached the holy things with a lack of modesty, perhaps like the pagans who have nakedness and sexuality as part of the religious ritual, they would pollute the holy things, and it would be reckoned to them for iniquity and they would die.

[28:43]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “seed.”

[28:43]  ¹¹ sn So the priests were to make intercession for the people, give decisions from God’s revealed will, enter his presence in purity, and represent holiness to Yahweh. The clothing of the priests provided for these functions, but in a way that brought honor and dignity. A priest was, therefore, to serve in purity, holiness, and fear (Malachi). There is much that can be derived from this chapter to form principles of spiritual leadership, but the overall point can be worded this way: Those whom God selects to minister to the congregation through intercessory prayer, divine counsel, and sacrificial worship, must always represent the holiness of Yahweh in their activities and demeanor.

[29:4]  ¹² tn Here too the verb is Hiphil (now imperfect) meaning “bring near” the altar. The choice of this verb indicates that they were not merely being brought near, but that they were being formally presented to Yahweh as the offerings were.

[29:4]  ¹³ sn This is the washing referred to in Lev 8:6. This is a complete washing, not just of the hands and feet that would follow in the course of service. It had to serve as a symbolic ritual cleansing or purifying as the initial stage in the consecration. The imagery of washing will be used in the NT for regeneration (Titus 3:5).

[29:5]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil of לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe”) will take double accusatives; so the sign of the accusative is with Aaron, and then with the articles of clothing. The translation will have to treat Aaron as the direct object and the articles as indirect objects, because Aaron receives the prominence in the verse – you will clothe Aaron.

[29:5]  ¹⁵ tn The verb used in this last clause is a denominative verb from the word for ephod. And so “ephod the ephod on him” means “fasten as an ephod the ephod on him” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 316).

[29:6]  ¹⁶ sn This term does not appear in chap. 28, but it can only refer to the plate with the inscription on it that was tied to the turban. Here it is called a “holy diadem,” a diadem that is distinctly set apart for this service. All the clothing was described as “holy garments,” and so they were all meant to mark the separation of the priests to this holy service. The items of clothing were each intended for different aspects of ministry, and so this step in the consecration was designed to symbolize being set apart for those duties, or, prepared (gifted) to perform the ministry.

[29:7]  ¹⁷ sn The act of anointing was meant to set him apart for this holy service within the house of Yahweh. The psalms indicate that no oil was spared in this ritual, for it ran down his beard and to the hem of his garment. Oil of anointing was used for all major offices (giving the label with the passive adjective “mashiah” (or “messiah”) to anyone anointed. In the further revelation of Scripture, the oil came to signify the enablement as well as the setting apart, and often the Holy Spirit came on the person at the anointing with oil. The olive oil was a symbol of the Spirit in the OT as well (Zech 4:4-6). And in the NT “anointing” signifies empowerment by the Holy Spirit for service.

[29:9]  ¹⁸ tc Hebrew has both the objective pronoun “them” and the names “Aaron and his sons.” Neither the LXX nor Leviticus 8:13 has “Aaron and his sons,” suggesting that this may have been a later gloss in the text.

[29:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you will fill the hand” and so “consecrate” or “ordain.” The verb draws together the individual acts of the process.