Exodus 29:37

Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Seven	שִׁבְעַ֣ת shiv.'At	H7651	seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
days	יָמִ֗ים ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
atonement	תְּכַפֵּר֙ te.kha.Per	H3722	to cover (specifically with bitumen) · verb, piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
altar	הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ ha.miz.Be.ach	H4196	an altar · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sanctify	וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֖ ve.ki.dash.Ta	H6942	to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
altar	הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ ha.miz.Be.ach	H4196	an altar · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
holy	קֹ֣דֶשׁ Ko.desh	H6944	a sacred place or thing · noun, common masculine singular construct
toucheth	הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ ha.no.Ge.a'	H5060	properly · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
altar	בַּמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ ba.miz.Be.ach	H4196	an altar · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
holy	יִקְדָּֽשׁ yik.Dash	H6942	to be (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 40:10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
Matthew 23:19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Exodus 30:28-29 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make re…
Matthew 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 29:1-37

Here is, I. The law concerning the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priest's office, which was to be done with a great deal of ceremony and solemnity, that they themselves might be duly affected with the greatness of the work to which they were called, and that the people also might learn to magnify the office and none might dare to invade it. 1. The ceremonies wherewith it was to be done were very fully and particularly appointed, because nothing of this kind had been done before, and because it was to be a statute for ever that the high priest should be thus inaugurated. Now, (1.) The work to be done was the consecrating of the persons whom God had chosen to be priests, by which t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 29:36

CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR. (Exo 29:36-37) and thou shalt cleanse the altar--The phrase, "when thou hast made an atonement for it," should be, upon it; and the purport of the direction is, that during all the time they were engaged as above from day to day in offering the appointed sacrifices, the greatest care was to be taken to keep the altar properly cleansed--to remove the ashes, and sprinkle it with the prescribed unction that, at the conclusion of the whole ceremonial, the altar itself should be consecrated as much as the ministers who were to officiate at it (Mat 23:19). It was thenceforth associated with the services of religion.

Adam Clarke on Exodus 29:37

Whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy - To this our Lord refers Mat 23:19, where he says the altar sanctifies the gift; and this may be understood as implying that whatever was laid on the altar became the Lord's property, and must be wholly devoted to sacred uses, for in no other sense could such things be sanctified by touching the altar.

John Gill on Exodus 29:37

Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it,.... That it might be thoroughly fit to have sacrifices offered on it: and it shall be an altar most holy; as Christ is, and is called the Most Holy, and said to be anointed, Daniel 9:24. He is holy in his person, nature, and offices, more holy than angels or men; as holy as the Lord God, the God of Israel, his Father, who is glorious in holiness, and none like to him for it: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy; that is, whatsoever gift or sacrifice, according to law, was offered on it, whatever appertained unto it, or were suitable for it; for as for other things, they were not made holy by a touch of it, Haggai 2…

The Church Fathers

What does the Scripture say that, once the altar has been purified and sanctified for seven days, will it be holy to the saint? To the altar, evidently, it does not call it saint of the saints, as it is that which is separated by the veil, where the ark of the covenant is found. But he says that also this altar, placed outside the veil, becomes the saint of the saint more for the sanctification of seven days than for the anointing. And it is added: Everyone who touches the altar will be sanctified.
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 130 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Burnt offering — Hebrew olah; i.e., “ascending,” the whole being consumed by fire, and regarded as ascending to God while being consumed. Part of every offering was burnt in the sacred fire, but this was wholly…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Altar · .How sanctifie — .How sanctifie
Altar Of Burnt Offering, The · Cleansed and purified with blood — Cleansed and purified with blood
Atonement, Under The Law · Offered for: The altar — Offered for: The altar
Priests · Ceremonies at consecration of: Lasted seven days — Ceremonies at consecration of: Lasted seven days
Sanctification · The alter sanctifies the gift — The alter sanctifies the gift

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 29:37

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 29:1-37

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 29:36

Adam Clarke on Exodus 29:37

John Gill on Exodus 29:37

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 29:37

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 29:1-37

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 29:36

Adam Clarke on Exodus 29:37

John Gill on Exodus 29:37

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 29:36-37

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 29:37

Rashi on Exodus 29:37