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The Torah · Old Testament

Leviticus 8

Moses consecrates Aaron and his sons

General context

Moses gathers the congregation at the tabernacle entrance and carries out the Lord's instructions for Aaron and his sons. He washes and clothes them, anoints the sanctuary and altar, and pours oil on Aaron's head. A bull is offered for sin, followed by a ram for a burnt offering and another ram for consecration. Blood from the consecration ram is placed on the right ear, thumb and great toe of Aaron and each of his sons. Moses presents and burns the prescribed portions, receives the breast as his portion, and sprinkles oil and blood on the priests and their garments. Aaron and his sons are told to eat the consecration meal and remain at the entrance for seven days. They obey the commands given through Moses.

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

Leviticus 8 (KJV)

1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

3And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

5And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.

6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.

7And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.

8And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.

9And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.

10And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.

11And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

12And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

13And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.

14And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering.

15And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon 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 upon it.

16And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar.

17But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the Lord commanded Moses.

18And he brought the ram for the burnt offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

20And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.

21And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet savour, and an offering made by fire unto the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

22And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.

23And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

24And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.

25And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:

26And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:

27And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord.

28And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

29And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses’ part; as the Lord commanded Moses.

30And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

31And Moses said unto 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.

32And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.

33And ye 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.

34As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you.

35Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.

36So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Moses performs the consecration rites while Aaron and his sons receive them and place their hands on the offerings. Aaron's clothing includes the ephod, breastplate, Urim and Thummim, and a head covering with a gold plate. The chapter names these objects without explaining how the Urim and Thummim are used. It specifies bodily locations for the blood but does not assign a separate symbolic meaning to each. The seven-day requirement includes a warning of death for failure to keep the charge.

Cited passages: Leviticus 8:6, Leviticus 8:7, Leviticus 8:8, Leviticus 8:9, Leviticus 8:10, Leviticus 8:11, Leviticus 8:12, Leviticus 8:13, Leviticus 8:14, Leviticus 8:15, Leviticus 8:18, Leviticus 8:22, Leviticus 8:23, Leviticus 8:24, Leviticus 8:33, Leviticus 8:34, Leviticus 8:35, Leviticus 8:36

Literary context

Repeated statements that Moses acts as the Lord commanded connect the stages of washing, clothing, anointing and sacrifice. The public assembly is present at the beginning, and the closing sentence reports the priests' obedience. The chapter presents consecration as a sequence with a prescribed duration, rather than reducing it to the moment when Aaron receives oil.

Cited passages: Leviticus 8:3, Leviticus 8:4, Leviticus 8:5, Leviticus 8:6, Leviticus 8:7, Leviticus 8:8, Leviticus 8:9, Leviticus 8:10, Leviticus 8:11, Leviticus 8:12, Leviticus 8:13, Leviticus 8:17, Leviticus 8:21, Leviticus 8:29, Leviticus 8:30, Leviticus 8:31, Leviticus 8:32, Leviticus 8:33, Leviticus 8:34, Leviticus 8:35, Leviticus 8:36

Key moments

  1. The congregation gathers (Leviticus 8:4). Moses gathers the assembly at the tabernacle entrance as commanded.
  2. Blood on Aaron's right side (Leviticus 8:23). Moses puts blood on Aaron's right ear, thumb and great toe.
  3. Seven days of consecration (Leviticus 8:33). Aaron and his sons are told to remain at the entrance until the seven days are complete.

For reflection

How do the repeated references to the Lord's command shape the account of Moses' actions and the priests' response?

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