Exodus 29

“This is the thing that you shall do to them to make them holy, to minister to me in the priest’s office: take one young bull and two rams without defect,

unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour.

You shall put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.

You shall take the garments, and put on Aaron the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and clothe him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

You shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.

Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.

You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.

You shall clothe them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them. They shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute. You shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.

“You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.

You shall kill the bull before the LORD at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

You shall take of the blood of the bull, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.

You shall take all the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.

But the meat of the bull, and its skin, and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside of the camp. It is a sin offering.

“You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.

You shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its innards, and its legs, and put them with its pieces, and with its head.

You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

“You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.

Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot; and sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

You shall take of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be made holy, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.

Also you shall take some of the ram’s fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the innards, the cover of the liver, the two kidneys, the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration),

and one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD.

You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

You shall take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on the burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

“You shall take the breast of Aaron’s ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD. It shall be your portion.

You shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the wave offering, which is waved, and which is raised up, of the ram of consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons.

It shall be for Aaron and his sons as their portion forever from the children of Israel; for it is a wave offering. It shall be a wave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their wave offering to the LORD.

“The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.

Seven days shall the son who is priest in his place put them on, when he comes into the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place.

“You shall take the ram of consecration and boil its meat in a holy place.

Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

They shall eat those things with which atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat of it, because they are holy.

If anything of the meat of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.

“You shall do so to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. You shall consecrate them seven days.

Every day you shall offer the bull of sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it. You shall anoint it, to sanctify it.

Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall be holy.

“Now this is that which you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually.

The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at evening;

and with the one lamb a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering.

The other lamb you shall offer at evening, and shall do to it according to the meal offering of the morning and according to its drink offering, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.

There I will meet with the children of Israel; and the place shall be sanctified by my glory.

I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest’s office.

I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

They shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter details the elaborate seven-day ritual of consecration for Aaron and his sons, setting them apart as priests through sacrificial offerings, anointing, and symbolic rites, establishing their holy service before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. It sits within the larger section of Exodus focused on the construction and sanctification of the tabernacle, marking the transition from architectural preparation to ordained ministry.

Flow.

Begins with instructions for gathering the priests, washing them, and clothing Aaron in the full regalia of the high priest, culminating in anointing.
Proceeds through three key sacrifices: a sin offering (bull), a burnt offering (first ram), and a consecration offering (second ram), each with distinct symbolic actions involving blood, fat, and waving portions.
Includes communal and ongoing elements: designated portions for the priests to eat, rules for holiness of the meal, and the command to repeat the rite over seven days.
Concludes with the institution of the daily burnt offering, binding regular worship to the abiding presence of God among His people.

Connections.
Following chapter 28, which prescribed the sacred garments for the priests, this chapter enacts the ritual investiture of those garments into service, grounding the priestly office in sacrifice and divine holiness. It prepares the way for chapter 30, which turns attention to the incense altar and the ongoing rituals of mediation within the tabernacle, building upon the consecrated priesthood established here. The seven-day structure and the altar’s sanctification set the stage for the continual worship described next.

What it teaches.
The consecration of the priests illustrates that access to God requires purification, substitutionary atonement, and separation by divine appointment. The repeated sprinkling of blood and anointing oil signifies cleansing and setting apart, not by human merit but by God's command (WCF 19.6; LD 24). The altar, priesthood, and offerings are mutually sanctified, showing that holiness is relational and derived entirely from God's presence and provision (HC Q&A 74). The daily continual offering (v. 38–42) reflects God’s enduring commitment to meet with His people, a pledge fulfilled in Christ, the great High Priest who truly sanctifies both the offerer and the place (Lev 8–9; WCF 8.4).

Apply.
The altar where God met Israel daily now stands fulfilled in Christ’s once-for-all offering, through whom we draw near with confidence.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.