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Ordination Sacrifices. 14 He brought forward the bull for a purification offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 15 When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood[a] and with his finger he put it on the horns around the altar, thus purifying the altar.(A) He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. Thus he consecrated it so that atonement could be made on it. 16 Taking all the fat that was over the inner organs, as well as the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat,(B) Moses burned them on the altar. 17 The bull, however, with its hide and flesh and dung he burned in the fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses to do.(C)

18 He next brought forward the ram of the burnt offering,(D) and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 19 When it was slaughtered, Moses splashed the blood on all sides of the altar. 20 After the ram was cut up into pieces, Moses burned the head, the cut-up pieces and the suet. 21 After the inner organs and the shanks were washed with water, Moses burned these remaining parts of the ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a sweet aroma, an oblation to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 [b]Then he brought forward the second ram, the ordination ram,(E) and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. 23 When it was slaughtered, Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe[c] of his right foot.(F) 24 Moses had the sons of Aaron also come forward, and he put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. The rest of the blood he splashed on all the sides of the altar. 25 He then took the fat: the fatty tail and all the fat over the inner organs, the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and likewise the right thigh; 26 from the basket of unleavened bread that was set before the Lord he took one unleavened cake, one loaf of bread made with oil, and one wafer; these he placed on top of the portions of fat and the right thigh. 27 He then put all these things upon the palms of Aaron and his sons, whom he had raise them as an elevated offering before the Lord.(G) 28 When Moses had removed them from their palms, he burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a sweet aroma, an oblation to the Lord. 29 He then took the brisket and raised it as an elevated offering before the Lord; this was Moses’ own portion of the ordination ram, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 Taking some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, Moses sprinkled it upon Aaron and his vestments, as well as his sons and their vestments, thus consecrating both Aaron and his vestments and his sons and their vestments.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 8:15 Moses took the blood: Moses is acting as a priest in this chapter.
  2. 8:22–32 The priestly ordination offering is a unique type of sacrifice but similar in many respects to the communion sacrifice (chap. 3; 7:11–34).
  3. 8:23–24 Lobe…thumb…toe: these parts of the body are meant to represent the body as a whole. The application of the blood symbolizes the priests’ passing from a profane to a holy state. Cf. 14:14–17.