The Torah · Old Testament

Exodus 30

Incense, census ransom, washing and sacred mixtures

General context

A small gold-covered wooden altar is prescribed for incense, placed before the veil near the ark. Aaron is to burn incense when tending the lamps morning and evening. Other offerings are forbidden on this altar, and annual atonement with blood is required on its horns. When Israel is counted, each numbered person aged twenty or more must give half a sanctuary shekel as a ransom, with the same amount for rich and poor. The money supports the tent's service and serves as a memorial before the Lord. A brass basin is to stand between the tent and the altar so Aaron and his sons can wash hands and feet before entering or ministering, under a warning of death. The chapter then prescribes anointing oil from spices and olive oil for the tent, furnishings and priests. It also specifies incense to be placed before the testimony. Both mixtures are designated holy, and their reproduction or use outside the prescribed purposes is restricted. The closing warning forbids making the incense simply to enjoy its scent.

Cited passages: Exodus 30:1, Exodus 30:2, Exodus 30:3, Exodus 30:4, Exodus 30:5, Exodus 30:6, Exodus 30:7, Exodus 30:8, Exodus 30:9, Exodus 30:10, Exodus 30:11, Exodus 30:12, Exodus 30:13, Exodus 30:14, Exodus 30:15, Exodus 30:16, Exodus 30:17, Exodus 30:18, Exodus 30:19, Exodus 30:20, Exodus 30:21, Exodus 30:22, Exodus 30:23, Exodus 30:24, Exodus 30:25, Exodus 30:26, Exodus 30:27, Exodus 30:28, Exodus 30:29, Exodus 30:30, Exodus 30:31, Exodus 30:32, Exodus 30:33, Exodus 30:34, Exodus 30:35, Exodus 30:36, Exodus 30:37, Exodus 30:38

Exodus 30 (KJV)

¹And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.

²A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

³And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.

⁴And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.

⁵And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

⁶And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

⁷And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

⁸And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

⁹Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

¹⁰And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.

¹¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

¹²When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

¹³This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord.

¹⁴Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.

¹⁵The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

¹⁶And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

¹⁷And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

¹⁸Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.

¹⁹For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:

²⁰When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:

²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

²²Moreover the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

²³Take thou also unto thee 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,

²⁴And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

²⁵And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

²⁶And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

²⁷And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,

²⁸And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.

²⁹And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.

³⁰And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

³¹And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

³²Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.

³³Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

³⁴And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

³⁵And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

³⁶And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

³⁷And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.

³⁸Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

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Historical context

The incense altar is one cubit square and two high, with gold-covered carrying poles. Its permitted use differs from that of the burnt-offering altar. The census rule gives the sanctuary shekel as twenty gerahs and requires a half-shekel payment without adjustment for wealth. It does not describe an unrestricted sale of forgiveness. The basin's placement and washing duties are specified, but its dimensions are not. The oil instructions expressly include anointing Aaron and his sons, alongside prohibitions against ordinary bodily use, imitation and application to a stranger. The incense formula names equal weights of its ingredients; American Standard and Bible in Basic English specify salt where King James says 'tempered together.' No modern recipe or exact botanical identification is supplied by this guide.

Cited passages: Exodus 30:1, Exodus 30:2, Exodus 30:3, Exodus 30:4, Exodus 30:5, Exodus 30:6, Exodus 30:7, Exodus 30:8, Exodus 30:9, Exodus 30:10, Exodus 30:12, Exodus 30:13, Exodus 30:14, Exodus 30:15, Exodus 30:16, Exodus 30:18, Exodus 30:19, Exodus 30:20, Exodus 30:21, Exodus 30:23, Exodus 30:24, Exodus 30:25, Exodus 30:26, Exodus 30:27, Exodus 30:28, Exodus 30:29, Exodus 30:30, Exodus 30:31, Exodus 30:32, Exodus 30:33, Exodus 30:34, Exodus 30:35, Exodus 30:36, Exodus 30:37, Exodus 30:38

Literary context

Several separate instructions share a concern with approaching and serving before the Lord. Incense accompanies lamp tending; the census payment becomes a memorial for sanctuary service; washing is tied to entry and ministry. The final sections distinguish holy mixtures from ordinary personal use. Repeated warnings accompany those distinctions rather than presenting the objects as interchangeable conveniences. The promise of meeting appears in the incense altar's location and again in the direction to place incense before the testimony, linking the chapter's material details with the encounter they serve.

Cited passages: Exodus 30:6, Exodus 30:7, Exodus 30:8, Exodus 30:9, Exodus 30:10, Exodus 30:12, Exodus 30:15, Exodus 30:16, Exodus 30:18, Exodus 30:19, Exodus 30:20, Exodus 30:21, Exodus 30:25, Exodus 30:26, Exodus 30:27, Exodus 30:28, Exodus 30:29, Exodus 30:30, Exodus 30:31, Exodus 30:32, Exodus 30:33, Exodus 30:35, Exodus 30:36, Exodus 30:37, Exodus 30:38

Key moments

Incense accompanies the morning lamp service (Exodus 30:7). Aaron is to burn incense when he tends the lamps each morning.
The ransom amount is the same for rich and poor (Exodus 30:15). Neither wealth nor poverty changes the prescribed half-shekel offering.
The priests must wash hands and feet (Exodus 30:19). Aaron and his sons are to use the basin for the required washing.
The incense is reserved for the Lord (Exodus 30:37). The people must not reproduce the sacred incense mixture for themselves.

For reflection

What distinctions does the chapter make between items set apart for sanctuary service and their ordinary use?