¹sn Why this section has been held until now is a mystery. One would have expected to find it with the instructions for the other furnishings. The widespread contemporary view that it was composed later does not answer the question, it merely moves the issue to the work of an editor rather than the author. Sarna notes concerning the items in chapter 30 that “all the materials for these final items were anticipated in the list of invited donations in 25:3-6” and that they were not needed for installing Aaron and his sons (N. M. Sarna, Exodus, 193). Verses 1-10 can be divided into three sections: the instructions for building the incense altar (1-5), its placement (6), and its proper use (7-10).
²tn The expression is tr#f)q= rf^q=m! j~B@z+m! (mizbeah miqtar q^etoret), either “an altar, namely an altar of incense,” or “an altar, [for] burning incense.” The second noun is “altar of incense,” although some suggest it is an active noun meaning “burning.” If the former, then it is in apposition to the word for “altar” (which is not in construct). The last noun is “incense” or “sweet smoke.” It either qualifies the “altar of incense” or serves as the object of the active noun. B. Jacob says that in order to designate that this altar be used only for incense, the Torah prepared the second word for this passage alone. It specifies the kind of altar this is (p. 828).
³tn This is an adverbial accusative explaining the material used in building the altar.
⁴sn See M. Haran, “The Uses of Incense in Ancient Israel Ritual,” VT 10 (1960): 113-15; N. Glueck, “Incense Altars,” in Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, ed. H. T. Frank and W. L. Reed (Nashville: Abingdon, 1970), 325-29.
⁵tn Heb “a cubit.”
⁶tn Heb “two cubits.”
⁷tn Heb “its horns from it.”
⁸tn Heb “roof.”
⁹tn Heb “its walls around.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and make for it border gold around.” The verb is a consecutive perfect. See Exod 25:11, where the ark also has such a molding.
¹¹sn Since it is a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to carry the object. The second clause clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.
¹²tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.
¹³tn Heb “for houses.”
¹⁴tn The text uses a cognate accusative (“incense”) with the verb “to burn” or “to make into incense/sweet smoke.” Then, the noun “sweet spices” is added in apposition to clarify the incense as sweet.
¹⁵tn The Hebrew is obyf!yh@B= (b^ehetibo), the Hiphil infinitive construct serving in a temporal clause. The verb means “to make good” and so in this context “to fix” or “to dress.” This refers to cleansing and trimming the lamps.
¹⁶sn The point of the little golden altar of incense is normally for intercessory prayer, and then at the Day of Atonement for blood applied atonement. The instructions for making it show that God wanted his people to make a place for prayer. And the instructions for its use shows that God expects his peoples requests will be pleasing to him.
¹⁷tn The word “incense” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
¹⁸tn The word “atonements” is a genitive showing the result or product of the sacrifice made.
¹⁹sn This ruling presupposes the instructions for the Day of Atonement have been given, or at the very least, is to be given shortly. That is the one day of the year that all sin and all ritual impurity would be removed.
²⁰sn The statement most holy to the Lord means that the altar cannot be used for any other purpose than what is stated here.
²¹sn This brief section has been interpreted a number of ways by biblical scholars (for a good survey and discussion, see B. Jacob’s commentary, 829-835). It may be impossible to determine exactly what was happening here. But it seems that there may have been a belief that taking a census was a sin, or at least opened the nation up to peril. But some scholars see the taking of a census as an important part of the nation’s guarding against peril. The dangers that they faced were great, and so a ransom price had to be paid to secure safety. In this context the danger of erecting and caring for a sanctuary was in view. So a census would be taken to count the losses, and to cover the danger of coming into such proximity with the holy place; payment was made to ransom the lives of the people numbered so that they would not die. Of course, the practical side of the census is to determine taxation. The money collected would safeguard the people against the dangers and perils, and then be used for the care of the sanctuary. The principle was fairly straightforward: Those numbered among the redeemed of the Lord were to support the work of the Lord to maintain their fellowship with the covenant. The passage is fairly easy to outline: I. Every covenant member must give a ransom for his life to avoid death (11,12); II. The ransom is the same for all, whether rich or poor (13-15); and III. The ransom money supports the sanctuary as a memorial for the ransomed (16).
²²tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.” This full means for introducing a quotation from the Lord is used again in 30:17, 22; 31:1; and 40:1. It appears first in 6:10. Cynthia L. Miller discusses its use in detail (The Representation of Speech in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, 373-86).
²³tn The expression is “when you take [lift up] the sum [head] of the Israelites.”
²⁴tn The form is <h#yd@q%p=l! (lipqudehem), “according to those that are numbered of/by them,” from the verb dqP (paqad), “to visit.” But the idea of this root word seems more to be that of changing or determining the destiny, and so “appoint” and “number” become clear categories of meaning for the word. Here it simply refers to the census, but when this word is used for a census it often was for mustering an army, for a military purpose. Here there is no indication of a war, but it may be laying down the principle that when they should do this, this is the price. B. Jacob uses Num 31 as a good illustration, showing that the warrior was essentially a murderer, if he killed anyone in battle. For this reason his blood was forfeit; if he survives he must be a kofer because every human life possesses value and must be atoned for. The payment during the census represented a “presumptive ransom” so that they could not be faulted for what they might do in war (p. 835).
²⁵tn The “ransom” is rp#K) (koper), a word related to the verb “atone.” Here the noun refers to what is paid for the life. The idea is that of delivering or redeeming by a substitute—here the substitute is the money. If they paid the amount, their lives would be safe (W. C. Kaiser, Jr, “Exodus,” in EBC 473).
²⁶tn The temporal clause uses the preposition, the infinitive construct, and then the accusative. The subject is supplied: “in numbering them” means “when [you] number them.” The verb could also be rendered “when you muster them.”
²⁷sn Each man was to pass in front of the counting officer and join those already counted on the other side.
²⁸sn The half shekel weight of silver would be about one-fifth of an ounce (6 grams).
²⁹sn It appears that some standard is in view for the amount of a shekel weight. The sanctuary shekel is sometimes considered to be twice the value of the ordinary shekel. The “gerah,” also of uncertain meaning, was mentioned as a reference point for the ancient reader to understand the value of the required payment. It may also be that the expression meant “a sacred shekel” and looked at the purpose more—a shekel for sanctuary dues. This would mean that the standard of the shekel weight was set because it was the traditional amount of sacred dues (Driver, 333). “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams…Whether an official standard is meant [by ‘sanctuary shekel’] or whether the sanctuary shekel had a different weight than the ‘ordinary’ shekel is not known” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181).
³⁰tn Or “contribution” (hm*WrT= [t^erumah]).
³¹tn Or “pay more.”
³²tn The form is tt@l* (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The use of the infinitive here is epexegetical, that is, explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.
³³tn This infinitive construct (rP@k^l= [l^ekapper]) provides the purpose of the giving the offering—to atone.
³⁴tn This reads “the silver of the atonements.” The genitive here is the result (as in “sheep of slaughter”) telling what the money will be used for (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §44).
³⁵sn The idea of “service” is maintenance and care of the sanctuary service, meaning the morning and evening sacrifices and the other elements to be used.
³⁶sn Driver says this is “to keep Jehovah in continual remembrance of the ransom which had been paid for their lives” (p. 334).
³⁷tn The infinitive could be taken in a couple of ways here. It could be an epexegetical infinitive: “making atonement.” Or, it could be the infinitive expressing result: “so that atonement will be made for your lives.”
³⁸sn Another piece of furniture is now introduced, the laver or washing basin. It was a round (the root means to be round) basin for holding water, but it had to be up on a pedestal or base to let water run out (through taps of some kind) for the priests to wash—they could not simply dip dirty hands into the basin. This was for the priests primarily to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent. It stood in the courtyard between the altar and the tent. No dimensions are given. The passage can be divided into three sections: the instructions (17-18), the rules for washing (19-20), and the reminder that this is a perpetual statute.
³⁹tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”
⁴⁰sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).
⁴¹tn Heb “and.”
⁴²tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he’.
⁴³tn That is, from water from it.
⁴⁴tn The form is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet, and the suffixed subjective genitive: “in their going in,” or, whenever they enter the Tent.
⁴⁵tn “Water” is an adverbial accusative of means, and so is translated “with water.” Gesenius classifies this with verbs of “covering with something.” But he prefers to emend the text with a preposition (see GKC §117.y, note).
⁴⁶tn The verb is the Qal imperfect with a nuance of final imperfect. The purpose/result clause here is indicated only with the conjunction: “and they do not die.” But clearly from the context this is the purpose of the result of their washing—in order that they die not.
⁴⁷tn Here, too, the infinitive is used in a temporal clause construction. The verb vgn (nagas) is the common verb used for drawing near to the altar to make offerings—the official duties of the priest.
⁴⁸tn The text uses two infinitives construct: “to minister to burn incense”; the first is the general term and expresses the purpose of the drawing near, and the second infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first infinitive.
⁴⁹tn The translation “as an offering made by fire” is a standard rendering of the one word in the text that appears to refer to “fire.” Milgrom and others contend that it simply means a “gift” (Leviticus 1-16, 161).
⁵⁰tn Heb “and [then] they will wash.”
⁵¹tn The verb is “it will be.”
⁵²tn Heb “for his seed.”
⁵³tn Or “for generations to come”; it literally is “according to their generations.”
sn The symbolic meaning of washing has been taught throughout the ages. This was a practical matter of cleaning hands and feet, but it was also symbolic of purification before Yahweh. It was an outward sign of inner spiritual cleansing, or forgiveness. Jesus washed the disciples feet (Jn 13) to show this same teaching; he asked the disciples if they knew what he had done (so it was more than washing feet). In this passage the theological points for the outline would be these: I. God provides the means of cleansing; II. Cleansing is a prerequisite for participating in the worship, and III. (Believers) priests must regularly appropriate God’s provision of cleansing.
⁵⁴sn The chapter ends with these two sections. The oil (22-33) is the mark of consecration; and the incense (34-38) is a mark of pleasing service, especially in prayer. So the essence of the message of the chapter is that the servants of God must be set apart by the Spirit for ministry and must be pleasing to God in the ministry.
⁵⁵tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”
⁵⁶tn The construction uses the imperative “take”; but before it is the independent pronoun to add emphasis to it. After the imperative is the ethical dative (lit. “to you”) to stress the task to Moses as a personal responsibility: “and you, take to yourself.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “spices head.” This must mean the chief spices, or perhaps the top spice, meaning fine spices or choice spices. See Song 4:14; Ezek 27:22.
⁵⁸tn Or “500 shekels.” Verse 24 specifies that the sanctuary shekel was the unit for weighing the spices. The total of 1500 shekels for the four spices is estimated at between 77 and 100 pounds, or 17 to 22 kilograms, depending on how much a shekel weighed (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:576).
⁵⁹sn Myrrh is an aromatic substance that flows from the bark of certain trees in Arabia and Africa and then hardens. “The hardened globules of the gum appear also to have been ground into a powder that would have been easy to store and would have been poured from a container” (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).
⁶⁰tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.
⁶¹tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).
⁶²tn Heb “it.”
⁶³tn The word “oil” is an adverbial accusative, indicating the product that results from the verb (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §52).
⁶⁴tn The somewhat rare words rendered “a perfumed compound” are both associated with a verbal root having to do with mixing spices and other ingredients to make fragrant ointments. They are used with the next phrase, “the work of a perfumer,” to describe the finished oil as a special mixture of aromatic spices and one requiring the knowledge and skills of an experienced maker.
⁶⁵tn The verb is the Piel perfect with the vav consecutive; in this verse it is summarizing or explaining what the anointing has accomplished. This is the effect of the anointing (see Exod 29:36).
⁶⁶tn This is the superlative genitive again, Heb “holy of holies.”
⁶⁷tn See Exod 29:37; as before, this could refer to anything or anyone touching the sanctified items.
⁶⁸tn The perfect tense with the vav consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.
⁶⁹tn Without an expressed subject, the verb may be treated as a passive. Any common use, as in personal hygiene, would be a complete desecration.
⁷⁰tn Meaning one not ordained a priest.
⁷¹sn The rabbinic interpretation of this is that it is a penalty imposed by heaven, that the life will be cut short and the person could die childless.
⁷²tn The construction is “take to you,” which could be left in that literal sense, but more likely the suffix is an ethical dative, stressing the subject of the imperative.
⁷³sn This is from a word that means “to drip”; the spice is a balsam that drips from a resinous tree.
⁷⁴sn This may be a plant, or it may be from a species of mollusks; it is mentioned in Ugaritic and Akkadian; it gives a pungent odor when burnt.
⁷⁵sn This is a gum from plants of the genus Ferula; it has an unpleasant odor, but when mixed with others is pleasant.
⁷⁶tn The word “spice is repeated here, suggesting that the first three formed half of the ingredient and this spice the other half—but this is conjecture (Cassuto, 400).
⁷⁷tn Heb “of each part there will be an equal part.”
⁷⁸tn This is an accusative of result or product.
⁷⁹tn The word is in apposition to “incense,” further defining the kind of incense that is to be made.
⁸⁰tn The word jL*m%m= (m^emullah), the passive participle, is usually taken to mean “salted.” Cassuto says that since there is no meaning like that for the Pual form, the word probably should be taken as “mixed” (Rashi, Targum Onqelos). Seasoning with salt would work if it were food; but since it is not food, if it means “salted” it would be a symbol of what was sound and whole for the covenant. Some have thought that it would have helped the incense burn quickly with more smoke.
⁸¹tn Or to smell it, to use for his pleasure.