¹sn Lev 8 is the fulfillment account of the ordination legislation recorded in Exod 29, and is directly connected to the command to ordain the tabernacle and priesthood in Exod 40:1-16 as well as the partial record of its fulfillment in Exod 40:17-38.
²sn For “tent of meeting” see the note on Lev 1:1 above.
³sn Here Moses actually clothes Aaron (cf. v. 13 below for Aaron’s sons). Regarding the various articles of clothing see Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 111-112 and esp. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16 [AB], 501-513.
⁴sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27).
⁵tn Heb “on him”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁶tn Heb “girded him with the sash.”
sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).
⁷sn The robe was a long shirt-like over-garment that reached down below the knees. Its hem had an embroidery of pomegranates and golden bells around the bottom (Exod 28:4, 31-35; 29:5; 39:22-26).
⁸sn The ephod was an apron like garment suspended from shoulder straps. It draped over the robe and extended from the chest down to the thighs (Exod 28:4, 6-14, 25-28; 29:5; 39:2-7).
⁹tn Heb “girded him with.”
¹⁰sn The decorated band of the ephod served as a sort of belt around Aaron’s body that would hold the ephod closely to him rather than allowing it to hang loosely across his front (Exod 28:8, 27; 29:5; 39:5, 20).
¹¹sn The breastpiece was made of the same material as the ephod and was attached to it by means of gold rings and chains on its four corners (Exod 28:15-30; 29:5; 39:8-21). It had twelve stones attached to it (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), and a pocket in which the Urim and Thummim were kept (see following).
¹²sn The Urim and Thummim were two small objects used in the casting of lots to discern the will of God (see Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; 1 Sam 14:41 in the LXX and 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65). It appears that by casting them one could obtain a yes or no answer, or no answer at all (1 Sam 28:6; Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 111-112). See the extensive discussion in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16 [AB], 507-511.
¹³sn The turban consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (HALOT 624).
¹⁴sn The gold plate was attached as a holy diadem to the front of the turban by means of a blue cord, and had written on it “Holy to the Lord” (Exod 28:36-37; 39:30-31). This was a particularly important article of high priestly clothing in that it served as the main emblem indicating Aaron’s acceptable representation of Israel before the Lord (Exod 28:38).
¹⁵sn The expression “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the anointing earlier in the verse (cf. “to consecrate them/him” in vv. 11 and 12). “To consecrate” means “to make holy” or “make sacred”; i.e., put something into the category of holy/sacred as opposed to common/profane (see Lev 10:10 below). Thus, the person or thing consecrated is put into the realm of God’s holy things.
¹⁶tc The MT has here “sash” (sing.), but the context is clearly plural and the Samaritan Pentateuch has it in the plural.
tn Heb “girded them with sashes.”
¹⁷tn Heb “wrapped headdresses to them.”
sn Notice that the priestly garments of Aaron’s sons are quite limited compared to those of Aaron himself, the high priest (cf. vv. 7-9 above). The terms for “tunic” and “sash” are the same but not the headgear (cf. Exod 28:40; 29:8-9; 39:27-29).
¹⁸sn See Lev 4:3-12 above for the sin offering of the priests. In this case, however, the blood manipulation is different because Moses, not Aaron (and his sons), is functioning as the priest. On the one hand, Aaron and his sons are, in a sense, treated as if they were commoners so that the blood manipulation took place at the burnt offering altar in the court of the tabernacle (see v. 15 below), not at the incense altar inside the tabernacle tent itself (contrast Lev 4:5-7 and compare 4:30). On the other hand, since it was a sin offering for the priests, therefore, the priests themselves could not eat its flesh (Lev 4:11-12; 6:30 [23 HT]), which was the normal priestly practice for sin offerings of commoners (Lev 6:26[19], 29[22]).
¹⁹sn Contrary to some English translations (e.g., NASB, NIV), Aaron (not Moses) most likely slaughtered the bull, possibly with the help of his sons, although the verb is singular, not plural. Moses then performed the ritual procedures that involved direct contact with the altar. Compare the pattern in Lev 1:5-9, where the offerer does the slaughtering and the priests perform the procedures that involve direct contact with the altar. In Lev 8 Moses is functioning as the priest in order to consecrate the priesthood. The explicit reintroduction of the name of Moses as the subject of the next verb seems to reinforce this understanding of the passage (cf. also vv. 19 and 23 below).
²⁰tn The verb is the Piel of afj “to sin,” means “to de-sin” the altar. This verse is important for confirming the main purpose of the sin offering, which was to decontaminate the tabernacle and its furniture from any impurities. See the note on Lev 4:3.
²¹tn Similar to v. 10 above, “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the blood manipulation earlier in the verse. The goal here was to consecrate the altar in order that it might become a place on which it would be appropriate “to make atonement” before the Lord.
²²tn Again, Aaron probably performed the slaughter and collected the fat parts (v. 16a), but Moses presented it all on the altar (v. 16b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
²³sn See Lev 3:3-4 for the terminology of fat and kidneys here.
²⁴tn Heb “toward the altar” (see the note on Lev 1:9).
²⁵sn See Lev 4:11-12, 21; 6:30 [23 HT].
²⁶tn Aaron probably did the slaughtering (cf. the notes on Lev 8:15-16 above).
²⁷tn Again, Aaron probably cut the ram up into parts (v. 20a), but Moses presented them on the altar (v. 20b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
²⁸tn Heb “cut it into its parts.” One could translate here, “quartered it” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16 [AB], 133; cf. Lev 1:6, 12 above).
²⁹tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
³⁰tn See Lev 1:9, 13.
³¹tn For “ordination offering” see Lev 7:37
³²tn Again, Aaron probably did the slaughtering (cf. the notes on Lev 8:15-16 above).
³³tn Heb “on the lobe of the ear of Aaron, the right one.”
³⁴tn The term for “big toe” (/h#B)) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
³⁵tn See Lev 3:9.
³⁶tn See Lev 8:16.
³⁷tn See Lev 7:32-34.
³⁸tn See Lev 2:4.
³⁹sn The “palms” refer to the up-turned hands, positioned in such a way that the articles of the offering could be placed on them.
⁴⁰tn The subject of the verb “he waved” is Aaron, but Aaron’s sons also performed the action (see “Aaron and his sons” just previously). See the similar shifts from Moses to Aaron as the subject of the action above (vv. 15, 16, 19, 20, 23), and esp. the note on Lev 8:15.
⁴¹sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.
⁴²tn Heb “toward the altar” (see the note on Lev 1:9).
⁴³tn Several major ancient versions have the passive form of the verb (see BHS v. 31 note c; cf. Lev 8:35; 10:13). In that case we would translate, “just as I was commanded.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “but the remainder in the flesh and in the bread.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “because seven days he shall fill your hands.”
sn It is apparent that the term for “ordination offering” (<ya!L%m!; cf. Lev 7:37 and the note there) is closely related to the expression “he shall fill (Piel aL@m!) your hands” in this verse. Some derive the terminology from the procedure in Lev 8:27-28, but the term for “hands” there is actually “palms.” It seems more likely that it derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities (or possibly its associated prebends) under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with authority; see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16 [AB], 538-539). The command “to keep the charge of the Lord” in v. 35 and the expression “by the hand of Moses” (i.e., under the authoritative hand of Moses, v. 36) may also support this interpretation.
⁴⁶tn Heb “just as he has done” (cf. the note on v. 33).
⁴⁷tn Heb “the Lord has commanded to do” (cf. the note on v. 33).
⁴⁸tn Heb “by the hand of.”