Leviticus 8: Aaron and his sons are made priests
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What happens?
Moses gathers the whole community at the door of the Tent of Meeting and does what Yahweh commanded: he washes Aaron and his sons, dresses them in the priests' clothes, and anoints the tabernacle and Aaron with oil. He offers a bull for a sin offering, a ram for a burnt offering, and a second ram, the ram of consecration, and puts its blood on Aaron and his sons. They are to stay at the door of the tent for seven days.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. God's own words are in 2 of the 36 verses: his command to Moses in verses 2 and 3. Moses speaks to the community in verse 5 and to Aaron and his sons in verses 31 to 35. Those are Moses' words as he passes on what Yahweh commanded, so they are not in gold. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
In plain English: Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Good to know: Yahweh gave Moses the instructions for this ceremony in . This chapter tells how Moses carried them out, and the words "as Yahweh commanded Moses" come in verses 9, 13, 17, 21 and 29.
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2“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;God speaks
In plain English: "Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering (or: purification offering), the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread (bread made without yeast).
The Hebrew word: "Sin offering" is chatta'ah, the same word as "sin". The dictionary gives it both meanings: a wrong that is done, and the sacrifice for it.
How it is translated: In Leviticus the word is in 66 verses, and this Bible says "sin offering" in 51 of them. Some other Bibles call this offering the "purification offering".
What changes: Read as "purification offering", the offering is about making something clean, like the altar in , and not only about a wrong someone has done.
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3and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting.”God speaks
In plain English: Gather the whole community at the door of the Tent of Meeting."
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4Moses did as Yahweh commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
In plain English: Moses did as Yahweh commanded him, and the community gathered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
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5Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to be done.”
In plain English: Moses said to the community, "This is what Yahweh has commanded to be done."
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6Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
In plain English: Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.
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7He put the tunic on him, tied the sash on him, clothed him with the robe, put the ephod on him, and he tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod on him and fastened it to him with it.
In plain English: He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, dressed him in the robe, and put the ephod on him. He tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him and fastened the ephod to him with it.
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8He placed the breastplate on him. He put the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate.
In plain English: He put the breastplate on him, and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate.
The Hebrew words: The text does not explain "Urim" and "Thummim". The dictionary links Urim to light or brightness, and gives Thummim as "perfections".
Good to know: says they are to be on Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yahweh, and speaks of asking "by the judgment of the Urim before Yahweh". The text does not say what they looked like.
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9He set the turban on his head. He set the golden plate, the holy crown, on the front of the turban, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In plain English: He set the turban on Aaron's head, and on the front of the turban he set the gold plate, the holy crown, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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10Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them.
In plain English: Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and set them apart as holy.
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11He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them.
In plain English: He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its tools, and the basin and its stand, to set them apart as holy.
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12He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
In plain English: He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, to set him apart as holy.
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13Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and clothed them with tunics, and tied sashes on them, and put headbands on them, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In plain English: Moses brought Aaron's sons forward, dressed them in tunics, tied sashes around them, and put headbands (or: caps) on them, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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14He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
In plain English: He brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid (literally: leaned) their hands on the bull's head.
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15He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.
In plain English: He killed it (literally: cut its throat). Moses took the blood and put it with his finger on the horns all around the altar, and purified the altar. He poured out the blood at the base of the altar and set the altar apart as holy, to make atonement for it.
The Hebrew word: "Make atonement" is kipper. The dictionary gives it as "to cover", and in a figurative sense to make up for a wrong, or to cancel it.
How it is translated: In Leviticus the word is in 44 verses, and this Bible says "atonement" in 43 of them.
What changes: Read as "to cover", Moses makes a covering for the altar. Read as "to wipe clean" or "to cancel", he cleanses it. Either way, here it is done for the altar itself, not for a person.
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16He took all the fat that was on the innards, and the cover of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned it on the altar.
In plain English: He took all the fat on the inner parts, the covering (or: lobe) of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned it on the altar.
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17But the bull, and its skin, and its meat, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In plain English: But the bull, its skin, its meat, and its dung he burned with fire outside the camp, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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18He presented the ram of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
In plain English: He brought the ram for the burnt offering (literally: what goes up), and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram's head.
The Hebrew word: "Burnt offering" is olah, from a word that means "to go up". The dictionary gives it as "a step", and usually an offering going up in smoke.
How it is translated: This Bible says "burnt offering" in 257 of the 262 verses that use the word.
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19He killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.
In plain English: He killed it, and Moses sprinkled (or: splashed) the blood all around on the altar.
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20He cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burned the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
In plain English: He cut the ram into its pieces, and Moses burned the head, the pieces, and the fat.
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21He washed the innards and the legs with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In plain English: He washed the inner parts and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a pleasant (or: soothing) aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
The Hebrew words: "A pleasant aroma" is reach nichoach. Reach means a smell, and the dictionary gives nichoach as "restful, i.e. pleasant".
How it is translated: This Bible says "pleasant aroma" in 41 of the 43 verses that use nichoach. Older Bibles like the King James say "sweet savour".
What changes: Read as "restful" or "soothing", it is an aroma that brings rest, not only one that smells good.
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22He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
In plain English: He brought the second ram, the ram of consecration (literally: of filling), and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram's head.
The Hebrew word: "Consecration" is millu'im, which the dictionary gives as "a fulfilling": literally, a filling.
How it is translated: This Bible says "consecration" in 11 of the 15 verses that use the word, and in all 6 of them in Leviticus.
Good to know: The same idea comes in , where "he shall consecrate you" is in Hebrew "he will fill your hand". The text does not explain the saying. It is used for making someone a priest, as in .
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23He killed it; and Moses took some of its blood, and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.
In plain English: He killed it, and 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 of his right foot.
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24He brought Aaron’s sons; and Moses put some of the blood on the tip of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the blood around on the altar.
In plain English: He brought Aaron's sons forward, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Then Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
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25He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh;
In plain English: He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat on the inner parts, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh,
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26and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh.
In plain English: and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before Yahweh, he took one unleavened cake, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer, and put them on the fat and on the right thigh.
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27He put all these in Aaron’s hands and in his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
In plain English: He put all of these in the hands (literally: palms) of Aaron and his sons, and waved them as a wave offering before Yahweh.
The Hebrew word: "Wave offering" is tenufah, a waving. The dictionary gives it as the waving of an offering.
How it is translated: This Bible says "wave offering" in 20 of the 28 verses that use the word.
Good to know: Some readers take it as lifting the offering up and presenting it to Yahweh, others as moving it back and forth. The text does not describe the movement.
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28Moses took them from their hands, and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering. They were a consecration offering for a pleasant aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
In plain English: Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar, on top of the burnt offering. They were a consecration offering with a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
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29Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
In plain English: Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' share of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
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30Moses took some of the anointing oil, and some of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
In plain English: Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and their garments. So he set apart as holy Aaron and his garments, and his sons and their garments with him.
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31Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’
In plain English: Moses said to Aaron and his sons, "Boil the meat at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and eat it there with the bread in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.'
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32What remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn with fire.
In plain English: Whatever is left of the meat and the bread, you are to burn with fire.
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33You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.
In plain English: Do not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until your days of consecration are over, for your consecration will take seven days (literally: he will fill your hand for seven days).
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34What has been done today, so Yahweh has commanded to do, to make atonement for you.
In plain English: What has been done today is what Yahweh has commanded to be done, to make atonement for you.
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35You shall stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night seven days, and keep Yahweh’s command, that you don’t die: for so I am commanded.”
In plain English: Stay at the door of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days, and keep Yahweh's charge (what Yahweh requires), so that you do not die. For that is what I have been commanded."
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36Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh commanded by Moses.
In plain English: Aaron and his sons did everything Yahweh commanded through Moses (literally: by the hand of Moses).
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