Preface: God tells Moses how Aaron and his sons must be consecrated for holy service to Him.

The Bible Summary of Exodus 29 (in 140 characters or less): Sacrifice a young bull and two rams to consecrate Aaron and his sons. Make daily sacrifices on the altar and I will dwell with Israel.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 29, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 29:

Introduction

         vv.     1–3           The Animal Sacrifices and Bread Offerings

         vv.     4–9           The Uniforms for the Priests and High Priest

         vv.    10–14         The Bull Offering

         vv.    15–18         The First Ram Offering

         vv.    19–28         The Second Ram Offering

         vv.    29–30         The Priesthood is Passed from Father to Son

         vv.    31–34         Eating the Meat of the Ram of Consecration

         vv.    35–37         Seven Days is Allotted for the Atonement of the Priests and High Priest

         vv.    38–43         The Two Lambs Offered Each Day

         vv.    44–46         God’s Relationship to Israel and to His Components of Worship

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Exodus 29 Consecrate the Priests to Me (a chapter graphic)

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Exodus 29 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Exodus 29 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 29

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 29

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 29

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 29

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 29

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 29

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 29 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 29 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         Outline for Exodus 29: Consecration of Priests and Altar (Precept Austin)

         Introduction         The Consecration of the Priests (David Guzik’s Outline)

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus 25–30)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Exodus 29

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 29)

         Introduction 

         v.       1              Exodus 29:1a-c (a graphic)

         v.       2              A Plate of Unleavened Breads (a photograph)

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       5              The Linen Undercoat (or Undergarment) (a graphic)

         v.       5              The Robe of the Ephod (a graphic)

         v.       5              The Bells and Pomegranates (a graphic)

         v.       5              The Breastpiece (a graphic)

         v.       5              The Ephod With and Without the Breastpiece (a graphic)

         v.       5              Aaron’s Priestly Garments

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       6              The Turban and the Crown (a graphic)

         v.       6              The Priestly Boxer Shorts (a graphic)

         v.       6              The Crown (a graphic)

         v.       6              The High Priest’s Golden Garments (by Hal Warren; graphic)

         v.       7              Anointing Aaron and His Sons with Oil (a graphic)

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       9              Aaron and His Sons Being Consecrated as Priests (a graphic)

         v.       9              Aaron and His Sons (a graphic)

         v.      10              Aaron and Sons with Their Hands on a Bull (a graphic)

         v.      10              What is the substitutionary atonement? (From Got Questions)

         v.      12              The Blood of the Bull (a graphic)

         v. 

         v.      15              Two Rams (a graphic)

         v.      18              What is a burnt offering? (From Got Questions?)

         v.      20              Moses Puts Blood on Aaron’s Ear (a graphic)

         v.      20              The Ear, Thumb and Big Toe (a graphic)

         v.      22              Fat-tailed Ram (a photograph)

         v.      23              Basket of Homemade Matzoh (a photograph)

         v.      24              Aaron’s Sons Holding Up a Wave Offering (a graphic)

         v.      25              A Soothing Aroma to the Lord (Phillip Medhurst Picture Torah 521)

         v.      26              Exodus 29:26 (a graphic)

         v.      30              The Clothing of the High Priest and His Descendants (a graphic)

         v. 

         v.      33              Scofield Reference Notes on Atonement

         v. 

         v.      36              How should we understand the word châţâʾ (חָטָא) in Exodus 29:36

         v.      38              Three Lambs, about a year old (a photograph)

         v.      40              Beaten Oil, Fine Flour, and Wine (a graphic)

         v.      42              The Tent of Meeting (a graphic)

         v.      43              The Glory of God Fills the Tabernacle (a graphic)

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 29 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 29

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 29

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 29

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 29

         Summary 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Comparative Study of Three Biblical Priesthoods (from Dr William Barrick)

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 29

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Exodus 29

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 29

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 29

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An Introduction to Exodus 29

I ntroduction: Exodus 28:41 reads And you shall put them [the priest’s uniform described in this chapter] on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. (ESV) Exodus 29 describes this process of anointing, ordaining and consecrating the priests.

Chapter 29 gives the exact things which Moses had to do to ceremonially cleanse and consecrate Aaron and his sons. This consecration of Aaron and his sons actually takes place in Leviticus 8. These priest offerings were to be done as needed, with the installment of a new High Priest.

One of the things which we find a lot of, is the instructions given by God to Moses (or to Moses and Aaron); and then later, these instructions will be followed out. Pretty much everything ceremonial or related to their worship services is first given, by way of God speaking to Moses; and then it is done. For us studying this material 3500 years after the fact, this seems somewhat repetitive. For the people of that era, this was not repetitive at all. God tells Moses what to do in Exodus 29; and then Moses obeys these orders (Leviticus 8). To them, it was absolutely necessary to include in these writings of the Torah the words of God. It would have never occurred to Moses to edit out whole chapters of God speaking to him simply because Moses obeys God and does what is asked of him. Similarly, the fact of Moses (or various people in Israel) obeying the requirements of God is not a narrative which ought be left out. So, we will find the Tabernacle described by God; and then later, read that Moses oversaw the building of it. We will read how God described the various articles of furniture which were a part ot Tabernacle worship; but then, we will read about these pieces of furniture being constructed. We read about how God expected the priests to be consecrated; and then we read about these steps actually being taken. For Moses at the time, it would make little sense to edit out one narrative in favor of the other—both are necessary, even though they may seem repetitive to us.

This is internal evidence that these books (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses when these things occurred. They were not written 500 or 1000 years later. Otherwise, this sort of repetition would have been meaningless.

Absolutely key to the history of Israel is the receiving of God’s directives, which were made to Moses. And then these directives being carried out in obedience to God’s words. I have discussed on many occasions how well these two narratives (God’s directives followed by Israel’s obedience) synch up with the Torah being written right then and there (and not hundreds of years later). This helps to explain some traditions of the Jewish faith which will not die. Matzoh bread (bread made without yeast) is still an inherent part of Jewish culture. Its origins are clearly laid out in the book of Exodus. The obedience of Israel to the directives concerning unleavened bread is also laid out in the Law of Moses. These things go back to the very founding of nation Israel. Therefore, we should expect them to survive until this day.

What is no longer found of the ancient Hebrew traditions are the blood sacrifices. There are two reasons for this. God will no longer abide by observing the shadow ritual after the reality has come. The animal sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came in the flesh and died for our sins, there was no reason to have these animals offered up again.

Let me try to come up with a parallel situation in secular life: before a large building or building complex his built, there are mockups made—drawings, blue prints, sometimes models. Then the actual building is built. Now, even though somewhere in that building there might be a frame picture of the original drawing (or the model might be found under glass somewhere in the building itself), people come to the building to transact whatever business they came to transact. Not many of them search out the framed drawing found somewhere in the lobby, or search out the mockup model, if it is preserved in the building itself. People simply come to the building to do whatever the offices of that building offer.

Interestingly enough, for whatever reason, there were cultural changes which took place in the world, which cultural changes precluded the sacrifice of live animals in a public setting. So, there are still to be found, some cults which may sacrifice a chicken (or whatever), after Israel was expelled from the land, the animal sacrifices which we have been studying are no longer a part of their modus operandi. It is as if that portion of their holy books has been excised out. Now we know the real reason for this: God was not going to allow for His Son to be crucified afresh, which is what these sacrifices symbolized (Hebrew 6:6).

I do find it fascinating that, of the traditions laid out in the Old Testament, the one tradition which would be hard for any Jew to stomach today is the offering of live animals, where their throats are slit, the blood is sprinkled here or there, or poured out at the base of the altar, and then the animal cut up and offered up before God. I have no doubts that watching such a ritual take place would be very difficult for me as well.

I have begun to introduce more graphics into these studies. I think that they better allow the mind to see what had occurred and thus help the memory to retain this information.

Exodus 29 Consecrate the Priests to Me (a chapter graphic); from Doodle Through the Bible; accessed January 12, 2021. I have been looking for a good clean summary for each chapter. Even though this was designed for a Sunday School class, it looks pretty good to me as a summary.

Timeline for Exodus 29

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

In this chapter, I made many allusions to Equipping Men for Impact in the first 9 verses, and I used many illustrations from that page (some of which are erroneous and inaccurate). The graphics were close enough to help us visualize what Aaron and his sons looked like. The possible inaccuracies are dealt with in the text. Learning from previous chapters, it seems that some of what we study can only be properly understood if there are visual aides. It was also easier to go to the same page to get all of the graphics needed for the first increment of this chapter.

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The Animal Sacrifices and Bread Offerings

Aaron and his sons needed to be consecrated for service. That is, they must be recognized as priests, with some specific functions; and they must be purified as well.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Exodus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        “And this the word which you will do to them to consecrate them to serve as priests to Me: take a bull one son of a herd, and rams two without blemish; and bread of unleavening and cakes of unleavening, mixed in the oil and wafers of unleavening being spread in the oil—a flour of wheat you will make them. And you have put them upon a basket one and you have brought near them in the basket and the bull and two of the rams.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And this is the thing which thou shalt do to them, to consecrate them to minister before Me: Take one bullock, the young of a bullock, and two rams unblemished; and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and wafers unleavened which are anointed with oil; of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them on one basket, and bring them in the basket, and the bullock and the two rams, and Aharon and his sons thou shalt bring to the door of the tabernacle of ordinance, and wash them with water. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862). V. 4 is included for context.

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And this is the thing that thou shalt do to them to sanctify them, that they may serve before Me. Take one bullock, the young of a bullock, without spot; and two rams, unblemished (perfect); and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes, mingled with olive oil; and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with olive oil, and with flour of wheat shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them upon one basket, and offer them in the basket, and the bullock and the two rams they shall bring in a vehicle.

Jerusalem targum                  .

Revised Douay-Rheims         And you shall also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish,

And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened anointed with oil: you shall make them all of wheaten flour.

And you shall put them in a basket and offer them: and the calf and the two rams.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) .

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "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 blemish, 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.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     AND this is the thing that you shall do to them to consecrate them, to minister to me in the priests office: take one young bullock and two rams without blemish And unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers mixed with oil; of fine wheat flour shall you make them. And you shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket with the bullock and the two rams.

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           And this [is] the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: [of] wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And these are the things which you shall do to them: you shall sanctify them, so that they shall serve Me in the priesthood; and you shall take one young calf from the herd, and two unblemished rams; and unleavened loaves kneaded with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil: you shall make them of fine wheat flour. And you shall put them on one basket, and you shall offer them on the basket, and the young calf and the two rams.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             This is what you are to do to make them holy, to do the work of priests to me: Take one young ox and two male sheep, without any mark on them, 

And unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and thin unleavened cakes on which oil has been put, made of the best bread-meal; 

Put these in a basket and take them, with the ox and the two sheep.

Easy English                          Priests must be separate from other Israelites

When you make the priests separate, do it in this way: Take a young bull and two male sheep. They must not have anything wrong with them. Make some bread from good flour, with no yeast in it. Use oil to make cakes and biscuits too. Put these things in a basket and bring them, with the three animals.

priest

In the Bible, a priest was a man from the family of Aaron, Moses' brother. Aaron belonged to the tribe of Levi. God chose the men in this family to make sacrifices and offerings to God for the Israelites. The priests worked in the temple. In other nations, there were priests who worked for their false gods.

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  "Now I will tell you what you must do to show that Aaron and his sons serve me in a special way as priests. Find one young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. Then use fine wheat flour without yeast to make bread. And use the same things to make cakes mixed with olive oil. Make small thin cakes spread with oil. Put this bread and the cakes in a basket. Then give the basket to Aaron and his sons. At the same time, give them the bull and the two rams.

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         "This is what you are to do to Aaron and his sons to dedicate them as priests in my service. Take one young bull and two rams without any defects. Use the best wheat flour, but no yeast, and make some bread with olive oil, some without it, and some in the form of thin cakes brushed with oil. Put them in a basket and offer them to me when you sacrifice the bull and the two rams.

The Message                         Consecration of Priests

“This is the ceremony for dedicating them as priests. Take a young bull and two rams, healthy and without defects. Using fine wheat flour but no yeast make bread and cakes mixed with oil and wafers spread with oil. Place them in a basket and carry them along with the bull and the two rams.

Names of God Bible               Make Aaron and His Sons Priests

The Lord continued, “Now, this is what you must do in order to set Aaron and his sons apart to serve me as priests:

“Take a young bull that has no defects and two rams that have no defects. Use the finest wheat flour, but no yeast, and bake some loaves of bread, some rings of bread made with olive oil, and some wafers brushed with olive oil. Put the bread in a basket, and bring the basket along with the young bull and the two rams.

NIRV                                      Directions for Setting Apart the Priests

“Here is what you must do to set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Get a young bull and two rams. They must not have any flaws. Get the finest wheat flour. Make round loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Make thick loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Mix olive oil into the thick loaves of bread. Also make thin loaves of bread that do not have yeast in them. Brush the thin loaves with olive oil. Put everything in a basket. A portion of v. 3 will be placed with the next passage.

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       When you ordain one of Aaron's sons as my priest, choose a young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. Then from your finest flour make three batches of dough without yeast. Shape some of it into larger loaves, some into smaller loaves mixed with olive oil, and the rest into thin wafers brushed with oil. Put all of this bread in a basket and bring it when you come to sacrifice the three animals to me.

The Living Bible                     “This is the ceremony for the dedication of Aaron and his sons as priests: get a young bull and two rams with no defects, and bread made without yeast, and thin sheets of sweetened bread mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers with oil poured over them. (The various kinds of bread shall be made with finely ground wheat flour.) Place the bread in a basket and bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle, along with the young bull and the two rams. V. 4 is included for context.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Aaron and His Sons Set Apart

“This is what you will do to set them apart to serve as religious leaders for Me. Take one young bull and two rams that are perfect. Have bread without yeast, and bread mixed with oil, and hard bread made without yeast and spread with oil. Make them of fine grain flour. Put them in one basket. Then bring them in the basket with the bull and the two rams.

New Living Translation           Dedication of the Priests

“This is the ceremony you must follow when you consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams with no defects. Then, using choice wheat flour and no yeast, make loaves of bread, thin cakes mixed with olive oil, and wafers spread with oil. Place them all in a single basket, and present them at the entrance of the Tabernacle, along with the young bull and the two rams.

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        .

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    .

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ‘These are the things that you must do to them to make [Aaron and his sons] holy, so they can serve Me as Priests:

Take one young calf from the herd and two perfect rams. Then make some fermentation-free bread with the finest wheat flour that has been kneaded with oil, and some fermentation-free round cakes with oil poured over them.

Thereafter, put them into a basket to be offered along with the young calf and the two rams.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Instructions for the priests’ ordination

Now this is what you should do to make them holy in order to serve me as priests. Take a young bull and two flawless rams. Take unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread made with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil. Make them out of high-quality wheat flour. Put them all in one basket and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And there is more for thee to do, before they can be my consecrated priests. Choose a bullock out of the herd, and two rams without blemish. Then make unleavened bread, and unleavened pastry baked with oil, and unleavened cakes soaked in oil, all of pure wheat flour, and put them in a basket ready to be offered up. A portion of v. 3 will be placed with the next passage.

Translation for Translators                                 Instructions for dedicating the priests

“This is what you must do to dedicate Aaron and his sons to serve me by being priests: Select one young bull and two rams that do not have any defects. Bake three kinds of bread using finely-ground wheat flour, but without yeast: Bake some loaves that do not have any olive oil in them, bake some loaves that have olive oil in the dough, and bake some thin wafers that will be smeared with olive oil after they are baked. Put them in a basket and offer them to me when you sacrifice the young bull and the two rams.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       You will consecrate them, so they can serve me in the capacity of priests, in the following manner: take one young bullock from the herd, and two flawless rams, and unleavened bread, and unleavened perforated cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers rubbed in oil. Make these from wheat flour. Put them onto a tray, and bring them on the tray, with the bullock and the two rams.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Method of Consecrating Priests.

"And these are the things you shall use in consecrating them to be Priests to Me You shall take an heifer from the cows, and two perfect rams; and unfermented bread, and unfermented cakes mixed with oil; and then unfermented wafers buttered with oil, which you shall make of wheaten flour, and put them in a basket, and offer them in the basket, with the heifer and the two rams.".

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           This is the thing that you shall do unto them when you hallow them to be my priests. Take one ox and two rams that are without blemish, and unleavened bread and cakes of sweet bread tempered with oil and wafers of sweet bread anointed with oil (of wheaten flour shall you make them) and put them in a *maund and bring them in the maund with the oil and the two rams. *maund; bowl of special use

HCSB                                     Instructions about Consecration

“This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve Me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour, put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams.

International Standard V        The Consecration of the Priests

“This is what you are to do to them to consecrate them to serve me as priests: Take a young bull, two rams without blemish, unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread [Or anointed] with oil, which you are to make from fine wheat flour. You are to put them [I.e. the bread, cakes, and wafers] in one basket and bring them in the basket along with the bull and the two rams.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  .

Lexham English Bible            Instructions for Consecrating Aaron and His Sons

“And this is the thing that you will do for them to consecrate them to serve as a priest for me: Take one young bull [Literally “a son of cattle”] and two rams without defect and unleavened bread and unleavened, ring-shaped bread cakes mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened breads smeared with oil. You will make them with finely milled wheat flour, and you will put them on one basket, and you will bring them on the basket and bring the bull and the two rams.

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Unlocked Literal Bible            .

Urim-Thummim Version         .

Wikipedia Bible Project          And this is the thing that you will do for them, to ordain them my priests.
Take one young bull and two plain rams. And bread and crackers and cracker cakes mixed into oils and cracker wafers spread with oil. You will make them of fine ground wheat flour. And you placed them on one basket, and you presented them in the basket, and the bull and the two rams.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  This is the ceremony you must use when you consecrate them to serve me in the priesthood. Take one young bull and two rams without any defects, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, made from fine wheat flour. You must put these things into a basket and present them in the basket, at the same time as the young bull and the two rams. Heb 7:26-28

The Heritage Bible                 .

New American Bible (2002)             .

New American Bible(2011)    Consecration of the Priests.

This is the rite you shall perform in consecrating them as my priests.^a Procure a young bull and two unblemished rams. With bran flour make unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and put them in a basket. Take the basket of them along with the bull and the two rams.

a. [29:1–8] Lv 8:1–9.

New English Bible–1970        .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible–1989   In their consecration to be my priests this is the rite to be observed. Take a young bull and two rams without blemish. Take unleavened bread, unleavened loaves mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, all made of wheaten flour; put them in a basket and bring them in it. Bring also the bull and the two rams.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (iv) “Here is what you are to do to consecrate them for ministry to me in the office of cohen. Take one young bull and two rams without defect, also matzah, matzah cakes mixed with olive oil, and matzah wafers spread with oil — all made from fine wheat flour; put them together in a basket, and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.

exeGeses companion Bible   HALLOWING THE PRIESTS

And this is the word

you work to them to hallow them

- to priest the priesthood to me:

take one bullock son of the oxen

and two integrious rams

and matsah and matsah cakes mingled with oil

and matsah wafers anointed with oil;

work them of wheaten flour:

and give them into one basket

and oblate them in the basket

with the bullock and the two rams:...

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Israeli Authorized Version      .

Kaplan Translation                          

Consecration of the Priests

This is what you, [Moses] must do to consecrate [Aaron and his sons] as priests to Me.

Take a young bull, two unblemished rams,

loaves of unleavened bread, unleavened loaves kneaded with olive oil, and flat matzahs brushed with olive oil. All [the cakes] must be made of fine wheat flour.

Place [all the cakes] in a basket, and bring them in the basket along with the young bull and two rams. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

young bull

In its second year (Parah 1:2; Yad, Maaseh Korbanoth 1:14). See Leviticus 8:2.

rams

Also in their second year (Parah 1:3).

unleavened bread

This is the revukhah or murbekheth mentioned in Leviticus 7:12 (Rashi; Menachoth 78a). It consists of dough, cooked in boiling water, baked, and then fried (Yad, Maaseh Korbanoth 9:19; Sifra on Leviticus 7:12). See Leviticus 6:14.

unleavened loaves...

These were loaves kneaded with warm water and olive oil (Yad, Maaseh Korbanoth 13:8).

flat matzah...

Brushed with oil after baking (Yad, loc. cit.).

The Scriptures 2009              .

Tree of Life Version                “Now this is what you are to do to consecrate them, so that they may minister as kohanim. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, along with matzot, cakes of matzot mixed with oil, and matzot wafers spread with oil. Make them from fine wheat flour. You are to put them into one basket and present them, along with the bull and the two rams.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            .

Awful Scroll Bible                   This is the concern you was to prepare, to set them apart to minister as priests: You was to take one of the large cattle, even a young bull, and two rams that are consummate, and unleavened bread and perforated cakes that are unleavened, being mixed with oil, and wafers that are unleavened, being smeared with oil, of fine wheat flour was you to make them. You is to have put them into one basket, and brought them near in the basket, with the young bull and two rams.

Concordant Literal Version    This is the thing that you shall do to them to hallow them to serve as priests for Me. Take one young bull calf of the herd and two flawless rams,

unleavened bread and unleavened perforated cakes mingled with oil and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; of wheat flour shall you make them.

You will put them on one tray and bring them near in the tray, with the young bull and the two rams.

Darby Translation (1889)       .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to set them apart as kodesh, to minister unto Me in the kohen's office: Take one bull calf, and two rams temimim (without blemish),

And lechem matzot, and challot matzot mixed with shemen, and wafers matzot smeared with shemen; of fine wheat flour shalt thou make them.

Thou shalt put them into sal echad (one basket); bring them near in the sal, with the bull and the two rams.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. And ||this|| is the thing which thou shalt do to themˎ to hallow themˎ that they may minister as priests unto me,—Take one young bullockˎ and two ramsˎ without defect; and bread unleavenedˎ and cakes unleavened with oil poured over, and wafers unleavenedˎ anointed with oil,—<of fine wheaten meal> shalt thou make them;

and thou shalt place them in one basket, and bring them near in the basket,—and the bullock, and the two rams.

Third Millennium Bible            .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              Appointing the Priests

“This is what you must do to ·appoint Aaron and his sons [^L them to consecrate them] to serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two ·male sheep [rams] ·that have nothing wrong with them [^L without blemish]. Use ·fine [choice] wheat flour ·without yeast to make bread [to make unleavened bread], cakes ·without yeast [unleavened] mixed with olive oil, and wafers ·without yeast [unleavened] brushed with olive oil. Put these in one basket, and bring them along with the bull and two ·male sheep [rams].

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-30

Order of Consecration

And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest's office; this was the order of consecration which was to be in force for all times in the Jewish Church: Take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, free from sickness and any physical defects,

and unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened, tempered with oil, olive-oil being mixed in when the dough was prepared, and wafers unleavened, very thin, cracker like sacrificial cakes, anointed with oil; of wheaten flour shalt thou make them, a specification which should be noted very carefully.

And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams, the meal-offering, or bloodless offering, being represented as well as the burnt offering.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               Eternal One: Here is how to conduct the ceremony that consecrates Aaron and his sons as priests: select one flawless young bull and two flawless rams. 2 Using a good quality wheat flour, make bread without yeast, cakes without yeast with oil, and wafers without yeast spread with oil. 3 Place all these baked goods in a basket, and offer them to God along with the young bull and two rams.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And this is the thing that you shall do for them to sanctify them to serve Me [as kohanim]: take one young bull and two rams, perfect ones.

And unleavened bread and unleavened loaves mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; you shall make them out of fine wheat flour.

And you shall place them upon a basket, and you shall bring them in the basket, and the bull and the two rams.

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

NET Bible®                             The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

¹“Now this is what² you are to do for them to consecrate them so that they may minister as my priests. Take a young³ bull and two rams without blemish;⁴ and⁵ bread made without yeast, and perforated cakes without yeast mixed with oil, and wafers without yeast spread⁶ with oil – you are to make them using⁷ fine wheat flour. You are to put them in one basket and present⁸ them in the basket, along with⁹ the bull and the two rams.

^1sn Chap. 29 is a rather long, involved discussion of the consecration of Aaron the priest. It is similar to the ordination service in Lev 8. In fact, the execution of what is instructed here is narrated there. But these instructions must have been formulated after or in conjunction with Lev 1-7, for they presuppose a knowledge of the sacrifices. The bulk of the chapter is the consecration of the priests: 1-35. It has the preparation (1-3), washing (4), investiture and anointing (5-9), sin offering (10-14), burnt offering (15-18), installation peace offering (19-26, 31-34), other offerings’ rulings (27-30), and the duration of the ritual (35). Then there is the consecration of the altar (36-37), and the oblations (38-46). There are many possibilities for the study and exposition of this material. The whole chapter is the consecration of tabernacle, altar, people, and most of all the priests. God was beginning the holy operations with sacral ritual. So the overall message would be: Everyone who ministers, everyone who worships, and everything they use in the presence of Yahweh, must be set apart to God by the cleansing, enabling, and sanctifying work of God.

^2tn Heb “the thing.”

^3tn Literally: “take one bull, a ‘son’ of the herd.”

^4tn The word תָּמִים (tamim) means “perfect.” The animals could not have diseases or be crippled or blind (see Mal 1). The requirement was designed to ensure that the people would give the best they had to Yahweh. The typology pointed to the sinless Messiah who would fulfill all these sacrifices in his one sacrifice on the cross.

^5sn This will be for the minkhah (מִנְחָה) offering (Lev 2), which was to accompany the animal sacrifices.

^6tn Or “anointed” (KJV, ASV).

^7tn The “fine flour” is here an adverbial accusative, explaining the material from which these items were made. The flour is to be finely sifted, and from the wheat, not the barley, which was often the material used by the poor. Fine flour, no leaven, and perfect animals, without blemishes, were to be gathered for this service.

^8tn The verb קָרַב (qarav) in the Hiphil means to “bring near” to the altar, or, to offer something to God. These gifts will, therefore, be offered to him for the service of this ritual.

^9tn Heb “and with.”

New American Bible(2011)    .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....and this is the (matter) which you will do (for) them to set them apart to be adorned (for) me, take (one) bull, a son of the cattle, and two whole bucks, and unleavened bread and unleavened pierced bread mixed in the oil, and unleavened thin bread smeared in the oil, from the flour of wheat you will (make) them, and you will (place) them upon (one) basket, and you will make them come near (with) the basket and the bull and the two bucks,...

Charles Thompson OT           Now these are the things which thou shalt do for them. Thou shalt consecrate them that they may minister to me in the priest's office. For this purpose thou shalt take one young bull of the herd and two rams without blemish and unleavened bread tempered with oil and unleavened cakes anointed with oil. These thou shalt make of fine flour and put them in one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the young bull and the two rams.

C. Thompson LXX (updated) .

Context Group Version          .

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And this is the thing that you will do to them to sanctify them, to minister to me in the priest's office: take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and cakes unleavened mingled with oil and wafers unleavened anointed with oil, of fine wheaten flour will you make them, and you will put them into one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

New American Standard B.    Consecration of the Priests

“Now this is ^[a]what you shall do to them to consecrate them to serve as priests to Me: take one bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers ^[b]spread with oil; you shall make them of fine wheat flour. And you shall put them in one basket, and present them in the basket along with the bull and the two ram.

^[a] Exodus 29:1 Lit the thing which

^[b] Exodus 29:2 Or anointed

New European Version          .

New King James Version       Aaron and His Sons Consecrated

“And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

Niobi Study Bible                   Aaron and His Sons Consecrated and How the Sacrifices Were Made
"And this is the thing that you shall do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil -- of wheat flour shall you make them -- and you shall put them into one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.

Owen's Translation                .

Restored Holy Bible 6.0         .

Updated Bible Version 2.11   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             “And this is the thing which you will to them, to hallow them, for being priests to Me: Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams, perfect ones, and bread unleavened, and cakes unleavened anointed with oil, of fine wheaten flour you will make them, and you have put them on one basket, and have brought them near in the basket, also the bullock and the two rams.

The gist of this passage:     The purpose of the ceremony; consecration; three types of wheat bread; a basket of bread with the "meat"

1-3

Translation: “This is the ceremony [lit., the word] that you will do regarding Aaron and his sons [lit., them],...

In the previous chapter, we read: And you shall put them [the priest uniforms] on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. (Exodus 28:41; ESV) Moses was to anoint, ordain and consecrate the priests. This chapter (vv. 1–37) describes in detail what God expects Moses to do. The daily sacrifices will be discussed at the end of the chapter.

Translation: ...to consecrate them...

What is being described in the first part of this chapter is the consecration of Aaron and his sons.

Translation: ...to serve as priests to Me:...

This was to make Aaron and his sons fit to be priests to God. They would serve as Aaron’s priests.

So far, this is what we have: “This is the ceremony [lit., the word] that you will do regarding Aaron and his sons [lit., them], to consecrate them to serve as priests to Me:... (Exodus 29:1a-c)

The purpose of the ceremony which is described in this chapter is to consecrate or set apart the priests for service.

Exodus 29:1a-c (a graphic); from Free Daily Bible Study; accessed January 12, 2021.

Translation: ...take a young [lit., son of the herd] bull, and two rams, [all] without blemish;

Moses was to select a young bull and two rams, all of these animals without spot or blemish. They were to represent Jesus Christ, so they could not have any defects.

There is no priesthood without the shedding of blood. At no time, during the dispensation, was a priest to be consecrated for service without a number of animal offerings.

Throughout this and previous chapters, God gives Moses a plethora of assignments. This does not mean that Moses himself does everything described in this and other chapters at the end of Exodus, but that he is in charge of making certain that these things are done.

Exodus 29:1 “This is the ceremony [lit., the word] that you will do regarding Aaron and his sons [lit., them], to consecrate them to serve as priests to Me: take a young [lit., son of the herd] bull, and two rams, [all] without blemish;...

Even though this is all about Aaron and his sons, they themselves are not good enough to serve as priests to God. There had to be more to it. Ceremonially, because they were people with old sin natures, they had to be cleansed. If they were to represent man to God then they had to be clean. The cleansing process as always, involved animals which were without spot, blemish or defect, to die on their behalf (or in their stead).