22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Take 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,
24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
25 And 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.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
32 Upon 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.
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
22 Moreover the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
23 Take H3947 thou also unto thee principal H7218 spices, H1314 of pure H1865 myrrh H4753 five H2568 hundred H3967 shekels, and of sweet H1314 cinnamon H7076 half H4276 so much, H4276 even two hundred H3967 and fifty H2572 shekels, and of sweet H1314 calamus H7070 two hundred H3967 and fifty H2572 shekels,
24 And of cassia H6916 five H2568 hundred H3967 shekels, after the shekel H8255 of the sanctuary, H6944 and of oil H8081 olive H2132 an hin: H1969
25 And thou shalt make H6213 it an oil H8081 of holy H6944 ointment, H4888 an ointment H7545 compound H4842 after the art H4639 of the apothecary: H7543 it shall be an holy H6944 anointing H4888 oil. H8081
26 And thou shalt anoint H4886 the tabernacle H168 of the congregation H4150 therewith, and the ark H727 of the testimony, H5715
27 And the table H7979 and all his vessels, H3627 and the candlestick H4501 and his vessels, H3627 and the altar H4196 of incense, H7004
28 And the altar H4196 of burnt offering H5930 with all his vessels, H3627 and the laver H3595 and his foot. H3653
29 And thou shalt sanctify H6942 them, that they may be most H6944 holy: H6944 whatsoever toucheth H5060 them shall be holy. H6942
30 And thou shalt anoint H4886 Aaron H175 and his sons, H1121 and consecrate H6942 them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. H3547
31 And thou shalt speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 saying, H559 This shall be an holy H6944 anointing H4888 oil H8081 unto me throughout your generations. H1755
32 Upon man's H120 flesh H1320 shall it not be poured, H3251 neither shall ye make H6213 any other like it, after the composition H4971 of it: it is holy, H6944 and it shall be holy H6944 unto you.
33 Whosoever H834 H376 compoundeth H7543 any like it, or whosoever putteth H5414 any of it upon a stranger, H2114 shall even be cut H3772 off from his people. H5971
22 Moreover Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Take thou also unto thee the chief spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred `shekels', and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty,
24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.
25 And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint therewith the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all the vessels thereof, and the candlestick and the vessels thereof, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt-offering with all the vessels thereof, and the laver and the base thereof.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
32 Upon the flesh of man shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any like it, according to the composition thereof: it is holy, `and' it shall be holy unto you.
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.
22 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
23 `And thou, take to thyself principal spices, wild honey five hundred `shekels'; and spice-cinnamon, the half of that, two hundred and fifty; and spice-cane two hundred and fifty;
24 and cassia five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a hin;
25 and thou hast made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil.
26 `And thou hast anointed with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of perfume,
28 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base;
29 and thou hast sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is holy;
30 and Aaron and his sons thou dost anoint, and hast sanctified them for being priests to Me.
31 `And unto the sons of Israel thou dost speak, saying, A holy anointing oil is this to Me, to your generations;
32 on flesh of man it is not poured, and with its proper proportion ye make none like it; it `is' holy; it is holy to you;
33 a man who compoundeth `any' like it, or who putteth of it on a stranger -- hath even been cut off from his people.'
22 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
23 And thou, take best spices -- of liquid myrrh five hundred [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon the half -- two hundred and fifty, and of sweet myrtle two hundred and fifty,
24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin;
25 and make of it an oil of holy ointment, a perfume of perfumery after the work of the perfumer: it shall be the holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lamp-stand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand.
29 And thou shalt hallow them, that they may be most holy: whatever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt anoint, and shalt hallow them, that they may serve me as priests.
31 And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, A holy anointing oil shall this be unto me throughout your generations.
32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make [any] like it, after the preparation of it: it is holy -- holy shall it be unto you.
33 Whoever compoundeth [any] like it, or whoever putteth [any] of it upon any strange thing, shall be cut off from his peoples.
22 Moreover Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
23 "Also take fine spices: of liquid myrrh, five hundred shekels; and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty; and of fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;
24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary; and a hin of olive oil.
25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 You shall use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony,
27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense,
28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its base.
29 You shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy.
30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.
31 You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations.
32 It shall not be poured on man's flesh, neither shall you make any like it, according to its composition: it is holy. It shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.'"
22 And the Lord said to Moses,
23 Take the best spices, five hundred shekels' weight of liquid myrrh, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels, and two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet calamus,
24 And of cassia, five hundred shekels' weight measured by the scale of the holy place, and of olive oil a hin:
25 And make these into a holy oil, a perfume made by the art of the perfume-maker; it is to be a holy oil.
26 This oil is to be put on the Tent of meeting, and on the ark of the law,
27 And on the table and all its vessels, and on the support for the lights, with its vessels, and on the altar for burning spices,
28 And on the altar of burned offerings with its vessels, and on the washing-vessel and its base.
29 And you are to make them most holy; anything touching them will become holy.
30 And put the oil on Aaron and his sons, making them holy to do the work of priests to me.
31 And say to the children of Israel, This is to be the Lord's holy oil, from generation to generation.
32 It is not to be used for man's flesh, and no other is to be made like it: holy it is, and you are to keep it holy.
33 Whoever makes any like it, or puts it on one who is not a priest, will be cut off from his people.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 30
Commentary on Exodus 30 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 30
Ex 30:1-38. The Altar of Incense.
1. thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, &c.—Its material was to be like that of the ark of the testimony, but its dimensions very small [Ex 25:10].
2-4. foursquare—the meaning of which is not that it was to be entirely of a cubical form, but that upon its upper and under surface, it showed four equal sides. It was twice as high as it was broad, being twenty-one inches broad and three feet six inches high. It had "horns"; its top or flat surface was surmounted by an ornamental ledge or rim, called a crown, and it was furnished at the sides with rings for carriage. Its only accompanying piece of furniture was a golden censer or pan, in which the incense was set fire to upon the altar. Hence it was called the altar of incense, or the "golden altar" [Ex 39:38; 40:26], from the profuse degree in which it was gilded or overlaid with the precious metal. This splendor was adapted to the early age of the church, but in later times, when the worship was to be more spiritual, the altar of incense is prophetically described as not of gold but of wood, and double the size of that in the tabernacle, because the church should be vastly extended (Mal 1:11).
6. thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony—which separated the holy from the most holy place. The altar was in the middle between the table of showbread and the candlestick next the holy of holies, at equal distances from the north and south walls; in other words, it occupied a spot on the outside of the great partition veil, but directly in front of the mercy seat, which was within that sacred enclosure; so that although the priest who ministered at this altar could not behold the mercy seat, he was to look towards it, and present his incense in that direction. This was a special arrangement, and it was designed to teach the important lesson that, though we cannot with the eye of sense, see the throne of grace, we must "direct our prayer to it and look up" [Ps 5:3] (compare 2Co 3:14; Heb 10:20; Re 4:1).
7, 8. Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense—literally, "incense of spices"—Strong aromatic substances were burnt upon this altar to counteract by their odoriferous fragrance the offensive fumes of the sacrifices; or the incense was employed in an offering of tributary homage which the Orientals used to make as a mark of honor to kings; and as God was Theocratic Ruler of Israel, His palace was not to be wanting in a usage of such significancy. Both these ends were served by this altar—that of fumigating the apartments of the sacred edifice, while the pure lambent flame, according to Oriental notions, was an honorary tribute to the majesty of Israel's King. But there was a far higher meaning in it still; for as the tabernacle was not only a palace for Israel's King, but a place of worship for Israel's God, this altar was immediately connected with a religious purpose. In the style of the sacred writers, incense was a symbol or emblem of prayer (Ps 141:2; Re 5:8; 8:3). From the uniform combination of the two services, it is evident that the incense was an emblem of the prayers of sincere worshippers ascending to heaven in the cloud of perfume; and, accordingly, the priest who officiated at this altar typified the intercessory office of Christ (Lu 1:10; Heb 7:25).
every morning … at even—In every period of the national history this daily worship was scrupulously observed.
8. Aaron shall burn incense—seemingly limiting the privilege of officiating at the altar of incense to the high priest alone, and there is no doubt that he and his successors exclusively attended this altar on the great religious festivals. But "Aaron" is frequently used for the whole priestly order, and in later times, any of the priests might have officiated at this altar in rotation (Lu 1:9).
9. Ye shall offer no strange incense—that is, of a different composition from that of which the ingredients are described so minutely.
11-16. When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, &c.—Moses did so twice, and doubtless observed the law here prescribed. The tax was not levied from women, minors, old men (Nu 1:42, 45), and the Levites (Nu 1:47), they being not numbered. Assuming the shekel of the sanctuary to be about half an ounce troy, though nothing certain is known about it, the sum payable by each individual was two and four pence. This was not a voluntary contribution, but a ransom for the soul or lives of the people. It was required from all classes alike, and a refusal to pay implied a wilful exclusion from the privileges of the sanctuary, as well as exposure to divine judgments. It was probably the same impost that was exacted from our Lord (Mt 17:24-27), and it was usually devoted to repairs and other purposes connected with the services of the sanctuary.
18-21. Thou shalt … make a laver of brass—Though not actually forming a component part of the furniture of the tabernacle, this vase was closely connected with it; and though from standing at the entrance it would be a familiar object, it possessed great interest and importance from the baptismal purposes to which it was applied. No data are given by which its form and size can be ascertained; but it was probably a miniature pattern of Solomon's—a circular basin.
his foot—supposed not to be the pedestal on which it rested, but a trough or shallow receptacle below, into which the water, let out from a cock or spout, flowed; for the way in which all Eastern people wash their hands or feet is by pouring upon them the water which falls into a basin. This laver was provided for the priests alone. But in the Christian dispensation, all believers are priests, and hence the apostle exhorts them how to draw near to God (Joh 13:10; Heb 10:22).
23-33. Take thou also … principal spices, &c.—Oil is frequently mentioned in Scripture as an emblem of sanctification, and anointing with it a means of designating objects as well as persons to the service of God. Here it is prescribed by divine authority, and the various ingredients in their several proportions described which were to compose the oil used in consecrating the furniture of the tabernacle.
myrrh—a fragrant and medicinal gum from a little known tree in Arabia.
sweet cinnamon—produced from a species of laurel or sweet bay, found chiefly in Ceylon, growing to a height of twenty feet: this spice is extracted from the inner bark, but it is not certain whether that mentioned by Moses is the same as that with which we are familiar.
sweet calamus—or sweet cane, a product of Arabia and India, of a tawny color in appearance; it is like the common cane and strongly odoriferous.
24. cassia—from the same species of tree as the cinnamon—some think the outer bark of that tree. All these together would amount to one hundred twenty pounds, troy weight.
hin—a word of Egyptian origin, equal to ten pints. Being mixed with the olive oil—no doubt of the purest kind—this composition probably remained always in a liquid state, and the strictest prohibition issued against using it for any other purpose than anointing the tabernacle and its furniture.
34-38. the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices—These were:
stacte—the finest myrrh;
onycha—supposed to be an odoriferous shell;
galbanum—a gum resin from an umbelliferous plant.
frankincense—a dry, resinous, aromatic gum, of a yellow color, which comes from a tree in Arabia, and is obtained by incision of the bark. This incense was placed within the sanctuary, to be at hand when the priest required to burn on the altar. The art of compounding unguents and perfumes was well known in Egypt, where sweet-scented spices were extensively used not only in common life, but in the ritual of the temples. Most of the ingredients here mentioned have been found on minute examination of mummies and other Egyptian relics; and the Israelites, therefore, would have the best opportunities of acquiring in that country the skill in pounding and mixing them which they were called to exercise in the service of the tabernacle. But the recipe for the incense as well as for the oil in the tabernacle, though it receives illustration from the customs of Egypt, was peculiar, and being prescribed by divine authority, was to be applied to no common or inferior purpose.