however, was performed, not upon the persons alone, but also upon their official dress. For it had reference to the priests, not in their personal or individual relation to the Lord, but in their official position, and with regard to their official work in the congregation of the Lord.[1]
In addition to this, the following appointment is contained in Exo 29:29, Exo 29:30 : “The holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him,” i.e., pass to his successors in the high-priesthood, “to anoint them therein and fill their hands therein. Seven days shall the priest of his sons in his stead put them on (ילבּשׁם with the suffix - ם as in Gen 19:19), who shall go into the tabernacle to serve in the sanctuary.” Accordingly, at Aaron's death his successor Eleazar was dressed in his robes (Num 20:26-28). It by no means follows from this, that a formal priestly consecration was repeated solely in the case of the high priest as the head of the priesthood, and that with the common priests the first anointing by Moses sufficed for all time. We have already observed at p. 545 that this is not involved in Exo 40:15; and the fact that it is only the official costume of the high priest which is expressly said to have passed to his successor, may be explained on the simple ground, that as his dress was only worn when he was discharging certain special functions before Jehovah, it would not be worn out so soon as the dress of the ordinary priests, which was worn in the daily service, and therefore would hardly last long enough to be handed down from father to son.[2]
The ceremony performed with the flesh of this sacrifice was also peculiarly significant (Lev 8:25-29). Moses took the fat portions, which were separated from the flesh in the case
- ↑ In the instructions in Exo 29:21 this ceremony is connected with the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar; but here, on the contrary, it is mentioned after the burning of the flesh. Whether because it was not performed till after this, or because it is merely recorded here in a supplementary form, it is difficult to decide. The latter is the more probable, because the blood upon the altar would soon run off; so that if Moses wanted to take any of it off, it could not be long delayed.
- ↑ It no more follows from the omission of express instructions concerning the repetition of the ceremony in the case of every priest who had to be consecrated, that the future priests were not invested, anointed, and in all respects formally consecrated, than the fact that the anointing is not mentioned in Lev 8:13 proves that the priests were not anointed at all.
