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Leviticus Chapter 8

Old Testament Law (Torah) 36 Verses

What is Leviticus 8 about?

Laws of sacrifice, ritual purity, and the priestly system — revealing how a holy God dwells among sinful people. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread;
3and assemble thou all the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting.
4And Moses did as Jehovah commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.
5And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded to be done.
6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.
7And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.
8And he placed the breastplate upon him: and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.
9And he set the mitre upon his head; and upon the mitre, in front, did he set the golden plate, the holy crown; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
10And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.
11And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them.
12And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron`s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13And Moses brought Aaron`s sons, and clothed them with coats, and girded them with girdles, and bound head-tires upon them; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
14And he brought the bullock of the sin-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock of the sin-offering.
15And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.
16And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat; and Moses burned it upon the altar.
17But the bullock, and its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
18And he presented the ram of the burnt-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
19And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
20And he cut the ram into its pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat.
21And he washed the inwards and the legs with water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt-offering for a sweet savor: it was an offering made by fire unto Jehovah; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
22And he presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.
23And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood thereof, and put it upon the tip of Aaron`s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.
24And he brought Aaron`s sons; and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.
25And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right thigh:
26and out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before Jehovah, he took one unleavened cake, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat, and upon the right thigh:
27and he put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon the hands of his sons, and waved them for a wave-offering before Jehovah.
28And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt-offering: they were a consecration for a sweet savor: it was an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
29And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave-offering before Jehovah: it was Moses` portion of the ram of consecration; as Jehovah commanded Moses.
30And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons` garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons` garments with him.
31And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tent of meeting: and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
32And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire.
33And ye shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting seven days, until the days of your consecration be fulfilled: for he shall consecrate you seven days.
34As hath been done this day, so Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you.
35And at the door of the tent of meeting shall ye abide day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Jehovah, that ye die not: for so I am commanded.
36And Aaron and his sons did all the things which Jehovah commanded by Moses.
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What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, etc.] The following section or paragraph, relating to the consecration of Aaron and his sons, was delivered, according to Jarchi, seven days before the setting up of the tabernacle; but to me it seems to have been delivered after the setting it up, since it was out of the tabernacle that the Lord said all those things recorded in the preceding chapters; and after he had given out the laws concerning sacrifices, then he renewed the order for the consecration of Aaron and his sons, that they might offer them: saying; as follows.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“MOSES CONSECRATES AARON AND HIS SONS. (Lev. 8:1-36) Take Aaron and his sons--The consecration of Aaron and his sons had been ordered long before (Exo. 29:1-46), but it is now described with all the details of the ceremonial, as it was gone through after the tabernacle was completed and the regulations for the various sacrifices enacted.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 2
“A bullock ... two rams ... a basket - compare Exodus 29:1-3. This shows the coherence of this part of Leviticus with the latter part of Exodus. The basket of unleavened bread used on this occasion appears to have contained: (1) cakes or loaves of the ordinary unleavened bread; (2) cakes of oiled bread, rather, oil bread (see Leviticus 2:1, Leviticus 2:4); and (3) oiled wafers (see Leviticus 2:4, Leviticus 2:6). Rabbinical tradition says that there were six cakes of each sort. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 3
“All the congregation - The elders who represented all, and as many of the people as would, and could get thither, that all might be witnesses both of Aaron's commission from God, and of his work and business. Leviticus 8:12”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“8:1-36 In Exod 28–29, the Lord gave Moses specific instructions for clothing and for ordaining Aaron and his sons as priests. In Exod 39:1-31; 40:12-16; and Lev 8, the commands were carried out. Moses didn’t just pass along the instructions verbally; he enacted the rituals to provide an example for the priests down to the last detail, just as the Lord had commanded him (8:9, 13, 17, 21, 29). Because the penalty for disobedience was death, God made sure the priests knew exactly what to do.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 2
“Aaron: Exo 29:1-4 garments: Exo 28:2-4, Exo 28:40-43, 39:1-31, Exo 39:41 anointing: Exo 30:23-37, Exo 40:12-15 bullock: Exo 29:1, Exo 29:2; Heb 7:27 Leviticus 8:3”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“Consecration of the Priests and the Sanctuary (cf. Ex 29:1-37). - The consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests was carried out by Moses according to the instructions in Ex 29:1-36; Exo 40:12-15; and the anointing of the tabernacle, with the altar and its furniture, as prescribed in Exo 29:37; Exo 30:26-29, and Exo 40:9-11, was connected with it ( Lev 8:10, Lev 8:11). Lev 8:1-4 Lev 8:1-5 contain an account of the preparations for this holy act, the performance of which was enjoined upon Moses by Jehovah after the publication of the laws of sacrifice ( Lev 8:1). Moses brought the persons to be consecrated, the…”
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