Exodus 29:4
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
Then present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35. This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Lev 1-7. It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Lev 8, where the consecration itself is described. The same may also be said of the expiation and anointing of the altar, which are commanded in Exo 29:36 and Exo 29:37, and carried out in Lev 8:11.
Open source ↗Particular orders are given in this chapter, I. Concerning the consecration of the priests, and the sanctification of the altar (v. 1-37). II. Concerning the daily sacrifice (Exo 29:38-41). To which gracious promises are annexed that God would own and bless them in all their services (Exo 29:42, etc.).
Open source ↗29:4 wash them with water: This act dramatized the truth that no one can live in God’s presence with the filth of sin in their lives (29:21).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
For the entrance to the tent, you are to make a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen.
Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.