Teks -- Exodus 30:1-38 (NET)

The Altar of Incense

30:1 “You are to make an altar for burning incense; you are to make it of acacia wood. 30:2 Its length is to be a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half; it will be square. Its height is to be three feet, with its horns of one piece with it. 30:3 You are to overlay it with pure gold– its top, its four walls, and its horns– and make a surrounding border of gold for it. 30:4 You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. The rings will be places for poles to carry it with. 30:5 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 30:6 “You are to put it in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the testimony (before the atonement lid that is over the testimony), where I will meet you. 30:7 Aaron is to burn sweet incense on it morning by morning; when he attends to the lamps he is to burn incense. 30:8 When Aaron sets up the lamps around sundown he is to burn incense on it; it is to be a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 30:9 You must not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering, and you must not pour out a drink offering on it. 30:10 Aaron is to make atonement on its horns once in the year with some of the blood of the sin offering for atonement; once in the year he is to make atonement on it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

The Ransom Money

30:11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 30:12 “When you take a census of the Israelites according to their number, then each man is to pay a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 30:13 Everyone who crosses over to those who are numbered is to pay this: a half shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel weighs twenty gerahs). The half shekel is to be an offering to the Lord. 30:14 Everyone who crosses over to those numbered, from twenty years old and up, is to pay an offering to the Lord. 30:15 The rich are not to increase it, and the poor are not to pay less than the half shekel when giving the offering of the Lord, to make atonement for your lives. 30:16 You are to receive the atonement money from the Israelites and give it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement for your lives.”

The Bronze Laver

30:17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 30:18 “You are also to make a large bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, 30:19 and Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and their feet from it. 30:20 When they enter the tent of meeting, they must wash with water so that they do not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by burning incense as an offering made by fire to the Lord, 30:21 they must wash their hands and their feet so that they do not die. And this will be a perpetual ordinance for them and for their descendants throughout their generations.”

Oil and Incense

30:22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 30:23 “Take choice spices: twelve and a half pounds of free-flowing myrrh, half that– about six and a quarter pounds– of sweet-smelling cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of sweet-smelling cane, 30:24 and twelve and a half pounds of cassia, all weighed according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts of olive oil. 30:25 You are to make this into a sacred anointing oil, a perfumed compound, the work of a perfumer. It will be sacred anointing oil. 30:26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, 30:27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 30:28 the altar for the burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 30:29 So you are to sanctify them, and they will be most holy; anything that touches them will be holy. 30:30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests. 30:31 And you are to tell the Israelites: ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil throughout your generations. 30:32 It must not be applied to people’s bodies, and you must not make any like it with the same recipe. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. 30:33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts any of it on someone not a priest will be cut off from his people.’” 30:34 The Lord said to Moses: “Take spices, gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense of equal amounts 30:35 and make it into an incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer. It is to be finely ground, and pure and sacred. 30:36 You are to beat some of it very fine and put some of it before the ark of the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it is to be most holy to you. 30:37 And the incense that you are to make, you must not make for yourselves using the same recipe; it is to be most holy to you, belonging to the Lord. 30:38 Whoever makes anything like it, to use as perfume, will be cut off from his people.”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Exo 30:1

The altar of incense was to be about a yard high, and half a yard square, with horns at the corners, a golden cornish round it, with rings and staves of gold for the convenience of carrying it, Exo 30:1-5. It doth not appear that there was any grate to this altar for the ashes to fall into, that they might be taken away; but when they burn incense, a golden censer was brought, with coals in it, and placed upon the altar, and in that censer the incense was burnt, and with it all the coals were taken away, so that no coals or ashes fell upon the altar. The altar of incense in Ezekiel's temple is double to what it is here, Eze 41:22, and it is there called an altar of wood, and there is no mention of gold, to signify that the incense in gospel times should be spiritual, the worship plain, and the service of God enlarged. It was placed before the veil, on the outside of that partition, but before the mercy - seat, which was within the veil.

Wesley: Exo 30:1 - For though he that ministered at that altar could not see the mercy

seat, the veil interposing, yet he must look towards it, and direct his incense that way, to teach us, that though we cannot with our bodily eyes see the throne of grace, that blessed mercy - seat, yet we must in prayer by faith set ourselves before it, direct our prayer and look up.

Wesley: Exo 30:7

Aaron was to burn sweet incense upon this altar every morning and every evening, which was intended not only to take away the ill smell of the flesh that was burnt daily on the brazen altar, but for the honour of God, and to shew the, acceptableness of his people's services to him. As by the offerings on the brazen altar satisfaction was made for what had been done displeasing to God, so by the offering on this what they did well was, as it were, recommended to the divine acceptance.

Wesley: Exo 30:10

This altar was purified with the blood of the sin-offering put upon the horns of it every year, upon the day of atonement. See Lev 16:18-19. The high priest was to take this in his way as he came out from the holy of holies. This was to intimate, that the sins of the priests who ministered at this altar, and of the people for whom they ministered, put a ceremonial impurity upon it, from which it must be cleansed by the blood of atonement. This altar typified the mediation of Christ: the brazen altar in the court was a type of Christ dying on earth; the golden altar in the sanctuary was a type of Christ interceding in heaven.

Wesley: Exo 30:10 - This altar was before the mercy

seat, for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; and his intercession is unto God of a sweet smelling savour. And it typified the devotions of the saints, whose prayers are said to be set forth before God as incense, Psa 141:2. As the smoke of the incense ascended, so must our desires, being kindled with the fire of holy love. When the priest was burning incense the people were praying, Luk 1:10, to signify that prayer is the true incense. This incense was a perpetual incense, for we must pray always. The lamps were dressed or lighted at the same time that the incense was burnt, to teach us that the reading of the scriptures (which are our light and lamp) is a part of our daily work, and should ordinarily accompany our prayers and praises.

Wesley: Exo 30:10 - The devotions of sanctified souls are well

pleasing to God, of a sweet - smelling savour; the prayers of saints are compared to sweet odours, Rev 5:8, but it is the incense which Christ adds to them that makes them acceptable; and his blood that atones for the guilt which cleaves to our best services. Yet if the heart and life be not holy, even incense is an abomination, Isa 1:13.

Wesley: Exo 30:11

Perhaps the repetition of those words, the Lord spake unto Moses, here and afterwards, Exo 30:17, Exo 30:22, Exo 30:34, intimates, that God did not deliver these precepts to Moses, in a continued discourse, but with many intermissions, giving him time either to write what was said to him, or at least to charge his memory with it.

Wesley: Exo 30:12

Some think this refers only to the first numbering of them, when the tabernacle was set up, and that this tax was to make up what was wanting in the voluntary contributions. Others think it was to be always when the people were numbered; and that David offended in not demanding it when he numbered the people. But many of the Jewish writers are of opinion, it was to be an annual tribute; only it was begun when Moses first numbered the people.

Wesley: Exo 30:12 - This was that tribute

money which Christ paid lest he should offend his adversaries. The tribute to be paid was half a shekel, about fifteen - pence of our money. In other offerings men were to give according to their ability, but this, which was the ransom of the soul, must be alike for all; for the rich have as much need of Christ as the poor, and the poor are as welcome to him as the rich. And this was to be paid as a ransom of the soul, that there might be no plague among them - Hereby they acknowledged that they received their lives from God, that they had forfeited their lives to him, and that they depended upon his power and patience for the continuance of them; and thus they did homage to the God of their lives, and deprecated those plagues which their sins had deserved. This money was employed in the service of the tabernacle; with it they bought sacrifices, flour, incense wine, oil, fuel, salt, priests garments, and all other things which the whole congregation was interested in.

Wesley: Exo 30:18

The laver, or font was a large vessel, that would contain a good quantity of water. The foot of brass, it is supposed, was so contrived as to receive the water, which was let out of the laver, by spouts or cocks. They then had a laver for the priests only to wash in, but to us now there is a fountain opened for Judah and Jerusalem, Zec 13:1, an inexhaustible fountain of living water, so that it is our own fault if we remain in our pollution. Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet at this laver every time they went in to minister. For this purpose clean water was put into the laver, fresh every day. Though they washed themselves ever so clean at their own houses, that would not serve, they must wash at the laver. This was designed, to teach them purity in all their ministrations, and to possess them with a reverence of God's holiness, and a dread of the pollutions of sin. They must not only wash and be made clean when they were first consecrated, but they must wash and be kept clean, whenever they went in to minister. He only shall stand in God's holy place that hath clean hands and a pure heart, Psa 24:3-4. And it was to teach us, who are daily to attend upon God, daily to renew our repentance for sin, and our believing application of the blood of Christ to our souls for remission.

Wesley: Exo 30:23

Interpreters are not agreed concerning these ingredients: the spices, which were in all near half a hundred weight, were to be infused in the oil, which was to be about five or six quarts, and then strained out, leaving an admirable smell in the oil. With this oil God's tent and all the furniture of it were to be anointed; it was to be used also in the consecration of the priests. It was to be continued throughout their generations, Exo 30:31. Solomon was anointed with it, 1Ki 1:39, and some other of the kings, and all the high priests, with such a quantity of it, as that it ran down to the skirts of the garments; and we read of the making it up, 1Ch 9:30. Yet all agree that in the second temple there was none of this holy oil, which was probably owing to a notion they had, that it was not lawful to make it up; Providence over - ruling that want as a presage of the better unction of the Holy Ghost in gospel - times, the variety of whose gifts was typified by these sweet ingredients.

Wesley: Exo 30:34

The incense which was burned upon the golden altar was prepared of sweet spices likewise, though not so rare and rich as those which the anointing oil was compounded of. This was prepared once a year, (the Jews say) a pound for each day of the year, and three pound over for the day of atonement. When it was used it was to be beaten very small; thus it pleased the Lord to bruise the Redeemer, when he offered himself for a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour. Concerning both these preparations the same law is here given, that the like should not be made for any common use. Thus God would preserve in the peoples minds a reverence for his own institutions, and teach us not to profane or abuse any thing whereby God makes himself known.

JFB: Exo 30:1 - thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon, &c.

Its material was to be like that of the ark of the testimony, but its dimensions very small [Exo 25:10].

JFB: Exo 30:2-4 - foursquare

The meaning of which is not that it was to be entirely of a cubical form, but that upon its upper and under surface, it showed four equal sides. It was twice as high as it was broad, being twenty-one inches broad and three feet six inches high. It had "horns"; its top or flat surface was surmounted by an ornamental ledge or rim, called a crown, and it was furnished at the sides with rings for carriage. Its only accompanying piece of furniture was a golden censer or pan, in which the incense was set fire to upon the altar. Hence it was called the altar of incense, or the "golden altar" [Exo 39:38; Exo 40:26], from the profuse degree in which it was gilded or overlaid with the precious metal. This splendor was adapted to the early age of the church, but in later times, when the worship was to be more spiritual, the altar of incense is prophetically described as not of gold but of wood, and double the size of that in the tabernacle, because the church should be vastly extended (Mal 1:11).

JFB: Exo 30:6 - thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony

Which separated the holy from the most holy place. The altar was in the middle between the table of showbread and the candlestick next the holy of holies, at equal distances from the north and south walls; in other words, it occupied a spot on the outside of the great partition veil, but directly in front of the mercy seat, which was within that sacred enclosure; so that although the priest who ministered at this altar could not behold the mercy seat, he was to look towards it, and present his incense in that direction. This was a special arrangement, and it was designed to teach the important lesson that, though we cannot with the eye of sense, see the throne of grace, we must "direct our prayer to it and look up" [Psa 5:3] (compare 2Co 3:14; Heb 10:20; Rev 4:1).

JFB: Exo 30:7-8 - Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense

Literally, "incense of spices"--Strong aromatic substances were burnt upon this altar to counteract by their odoriferous fragrance the offensive fumes of the sacrifices; or the incense was employed in an offering of tributary homage which the Orientals used to make as a mark of honor to kings; and as God was Theocratic Ruler of Israel, His palace was not to be wanting in a usage of such significancy. Both these ends were served by this altar--that of fumigating the apartments of the sacred edifice, while the pure lambent flame, according to Oriental notions, was an honorary tribute to the majesty of Israel's King. But there was a far higher meaning in it still; for as the tabernacle was not only a palace for Israel's King, but a place of worship for Israel's God, this altar was immediately connected with a religious purpose. In the style of the sacred writers, incense was a symbol or emblem of prayer (Psa 141:2; Rev 5:8; Rev 8:3). From the uniform combination of the two services, it is evident that the incense was an emblem of the prayers of sincere worshippers ascending to heaven in the cloud of perfume; and, accordingly, the priest who officiated at this altar typified the intercessory office of Christ (Luk 1:10; Heb 7:25).

JFB: Exo 30:7-8 - every morning . . . at even

In every period of the national history this daily worship was scrupulously observed.

JFB: Exo 30:8 - Aaron shall burn incense

Seemingly limiting the privilege of officiating at the altar of incense to the high priest alone, and there is no doubt that he and his successors exclusively attended this altar on the great religious festivals. But "Aaron" is frequently used for the whole priestly order, and in later times, any of the priests might have officiated at this altar in rotation (Luk 1:9).

JFB: Exo 30:9 - Ye shall offer no strange incense

That is, of a different composition from that of which the ingredients are described so minutely.

JFB: Exo 30:11-16 - When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, &c.

Moses did so twice, and doubtless observed the law here prescribed. The tax was not levied from women, minors, old men (Num 1:42, Num 1:45), and the Levites (Num 1:47), they being not numbered. Assuming the shekel of the sanctuary to be about half an ounce troy, though nothing certain is known about it, the sum payable by each individual was two and four pence. This was not a voluntary contribution, but a ransom for the soul or lives of the people. It was required from all classes alike, and a refusal to pay implied a wilful exclusion from the privileges of the sanctuary, as well as exposure to divine judgments. It was probably the same impost that was exacted from our Lord (Mat 17:24-27), and it was usually devoted to repairs and other purposes connected with the services of the sanctuary.

JFB: Exo 30:18-21 - Thou shalt . . . make a laver of brass

Though not actually forming a component part of the furniture of the tabernacle, this vase was closely connected with it; and though from standing at the entrance it would be a familiar object, it possessed great interest and importance from the baptismal purposes to which it was applied. No data are given by which its form and size can be ascertained; but it was probably a miniature pattern of Solomon's--a circular basin.

JFB: Exo 30:18-21 - his foot

Supposed not to be the pedestal on which it rested, but a trough or shallow receptacle below, into which the water, let out from a cock or spout, flowed; for the way in which all Eastern people wash their hands or feet is by pouring upon them the water which falls into a basin. This laver was provided for the priests alone. But in the Christian dispensation, all believers are priests, and hence the apostle exhorts them how to draw near to God (Joh 13:10; Heb 10:22).|| 02406||1||11||0||@Take thou also . . . principal spices, &c.==--Oil is frequently mentioned in Scripture as an emblem of sanctification, and anointing with it a means of designating objects as well as persons to the service of God. Here it is prescribed by divine authority, and the various ingredients in their several proportions described which were to compose the oil used in consecrating the furniture of the tabernacle.

JFB: Exo 30:18-21 - myrrh

A fragrant and medicinal gum from a little known tree in Arabia.

JFB: Exo 30:18-21 - sweet cinnamon

Produced from a species of laurel or sweet bay, found chiefly in Ceylon, growing to a height of twenty feet: this spice is extracted from the inner bark, but it is not certain whether that mentioned by Moses is the same as that with which we are familiar.

JFB: Exo 30:18-21 - sweet calamus

Or sweet cane, a product of Arabia and India, of a tawny color in appearance; it is like the common cane and strongly odoriferous.

JFB: Exo 30:24 - cassia

From the same species of tree as the cinnamon--some think the outer bark of that tree. All these together would amount to one hundred twenty pounds, troy weight.

JFB: Exo 30:24 - hin

A word of Egyptian origin, equal to ten pints. Being mixed with the olive oil--no doubt of the purest kind--this composition probably remained always in a liquid state, and the strictest prohibition issued against using it for any other purpose than anointing the tabernacle and its furniture.

JFB: Exo 30:34-38 - the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices

These were:

JFB: Exo 30:34-38 - stacte

The finest myrrh;

JFB: Exo 30:34-38 - onycha

Supposed to be an odoriferous shell;

JFB: Exo 30:34-38 - galbanum

A gum resin from an umbelliferous plant.

JFB: Exo 30:34-38 - frankincense

A dry, resinous, aromatic gum, of a yellow color, which comes from a tree in Arabia, and is obtained by incision of the bark. This incense was placed within the sanctuary, to be at hand when the priest required to burn on the altar. The art of compounding unguents and perfumes was well known in Egypt, where sweet-scented spices were extensively used not only in common life, but in the ritual of the temples. Most of the ingredients here mentioned have been found on minute examination of mummies and other Egyptian relics; and the Israelites, therefore, would have the best opportunities of acquiring in that country the skill in pounding and mixing them which they were called to exercise in the service of the tabernacle. But the recipe for the incense as well as for the oil in the tabernacle, though it receives illustration from the customs of Egypt, was peculiar, and being prescribed by divine authority, was to be applied to no common or inferior purpose.

Clarke: Exo 30:1 - Altar to burn incense

Altar to burn incense - The Samaritan omits the ten first verses of this chapter, because it inserts them after Exo 26:32 (note)

Clarke: Exo 30:1 - Shittim wood

Shittim wood - The same of which the preceding articles were made, because it was abundant in those parts, and because it was very durable; hence everywhere the Septuagint translation, which was made in Egypt, renders the original by ξυλον ασηπτον, incorruptible wood.

Clarke: Exo 30:2 - Four-square

Four-square - That is, on the upper or under surface, as it showed four equal sides; but it was twice as high as it was broad, being twenty-one inches broad, and three feet six inches high. It was called, not only the altar of incense, but also the golden altar, Num 4:11. For the crown, horns, staves, etc., see on the altar of burnt-offering, Exo 27:1 (note), etc.

Clarke: Exo 30:6 - Before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony

Before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony - These words in the original are supposed to be a repetition, by mistake, of the preceding clause; the word הפרכת happarocheth , the veil, being corrupted by interchanging two letters into הכפרת haccapporeth , the mercy-seat; and this, as Dr. Kennicott observes, places the altar of incense before the mercy-seat, and consequently In the holy of holies! Now this could not be, as the altar of incense was attended every day, and the holy of holies entered only once in the year. The five words which appear to be a repetition are wanting in twenty-six of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS., and in the Samaritan. The verse reads better without them, and is more consistent with the rest of the account.

Clarke: Exo 30:7 - When he dresseth the lamps

When he dresseth the lamps - Prepares the wicks, and puts in fresh oil for the evening

Clarke: Exo 30:7 - Shall burn incense upon it

Shall burn incense upon it - Where so many sacrifices were offered it was essentially necessary to have some pleasing perfume to counteract the disagreeable smells that must have arisen from the slaughter of so many animals, the sprinkling of so much blood, and the burning of so much flesh, etc. The perfume that was to be burnt on this altar is described Exo 30:34. No blood was ever sprinkled on this altar, except on the day of general expiation, which happened only once in the year, Exo 30:10. But the perfume was necessary in every part of the tabernacle and its environs.

Clarke: Exo 30:9 - No strange incense

No strange incense - None made in any other way

Clarke: Exo 30:9 - Nor burnt-sacrifice

Nor burnt-sacrifice - It should be an altar for incense, and for no other use.

Clarke: Exo 30:10 - An atonement - once in a year

An atonement - once in a year - On the tenth day of the seventh month. See Lev 16:18 (note), etc., and the notes there. See Clarke on Lev 16:21 (note), etc.

Clarke: Exo 30:12 - Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul

Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul - This was a very important ordinance, and should be seriously considered. See Exo 30:13 (note).

Clarke: Exo 30:13 - Half a shekel

Half a shekel - Each of the Israelites was ordered to give as a ransom for his soul (i.e., for his life) half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. From this we may learn

1.    That the life of every man was considered as being forfeited to Divine justice

2.    That the redemption money given, which was doubtless used in the service of the sanctuary, was ultimately devoted to the use and profit of those who gave it

3.    That the standard by which the value of coin was ascertained, was kept in the sanctuary; for this appears to be the meaning of the words, after the shekel of the sanctuary

4.    The shekel is here said to be twenty gerahs. A gerah, according to Maimonides, weighed sixteen barleycorns, a shekel three hundred and twenty of pure silver. The shekel is generally considered to be equal in value to three shillings English; the redemption money, therefore, must be about one shilling and sixpence

5.    The rich were not to give more, the poor not to give less; to signify that all souls were equally precious in the sight of God, and that no difference of outward circumstances could affect the state of the soul; all had sinned, and all must be redeemed by the same price

6.    This atonement must be made that there might be no plague among them, intimating that a plague or curse from God must light on those souls for whom the atonement was not made

7.    This was to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, Exo 30:16, to bring to their remembrance their past deliverance, and to keep in view their future redemption

8.    St. Peter seems to allude to this, and to intimate that this mode of atonement was ineffectual in itself, and only pointed out the great sacrifice which, in the fullness of time, should be made for the sin of the world. "Ye know,"says he, "that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,"etc.; 1Pe 1:18, 1Pe 1:19, 1Pe 1:20

9.    Therefore all these things seem to refer to Christ alone, and to the atonement made by his blood; and upon him who is not interested in this atonement, God’ s plagues must be expected to fall

Reader, acquaint now thyself with God and be at peace, and thereby good shall come unto thee.

Clarke: Exo 30:18 - A laver of brass

A laver of brass - כיור kiyor sometimes signifies a caldron, 1Sa 2:14; but it seems to signify any large round vessel or basin used for washing the hands and feet. There were doubtless cocks or spigots in it to draw off the water, as it is not likely the feet were put into it in order to be washed. The foot of the laver must mean the pedestal on which it stood.

Clarke: Exo 30:20 - They shall wash with water, that they die not

They shall wash with water, that they die not - This was certainly an emblematical washing; and as the hands and the feet are particularly mentioned, it must refer to the purity of their whole conduct. Their hands - all their works, their feet - all their goings, must be washed - must be holiness unto the Lord. And this washing must be repeated every time they entered into the tabernacle, or when they came near to the altar to minister. This washing was needful because the priests all ministered barefoot; but it was equally so because of the guilt they might have contracted, for the washing was emblematical of the putting away of sin, or what St. Paul calls the laver of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, (Tit 3:5), as the influences of the Spirit must be repeated for the purification of the soul, as frequently as any moral defilement has been contracted.

Clarke: Exo 30:21 - And it shall be a statute for ever

And it shall be a statute for ever - To continue, in its literal meaning, as long as the Jewish economy lasted, and, in its spiritual meaning, to the end of time. What an important lesson does this teach the ministers of the Gospel of Christ! Each time they minister in public, whether in dispensing the Word or the Sacraments, they should take heed that they have a fresh application of the grace and spirit of Christ, to do away past transgressions or unfaithfulness, and to enable them to minister with the greater effect, as being in the Divine favor, and consequently entitled to expect all the necessary assistances of the Divine unction, to make their ministrations spirit and life to the people. See Clarke’ s note on Exo 29:20.

Clarke: Exo 30:23 - Take - unto thee principal spices

Take - unto thee principal spices - From this and the following verse we learn that the holy anointing oil was compounded of the following ingredients: -

Pure myrrh, מר דרור mar deror , 500 shekel

Sweet cinnamon, קנמן בשם kinnemon besem , 250 shekels. (probably from Arabia

Sweet calamus, קנה בשם keneh bosem , or sweet 250 shekels. cane, Jer 6:20 - Calamus aromaticus

Cassia, קדה kiddah , ( cassia lignea ), brought 500 shekels. Also from Arabia

Olive oil, שמן זית shemen sayith , one hin, about 5 quarts

Myrrh is the produce of an oriental tree not well known, and is collected by making an incision in the tree. What is now called by this name is precisely the same with that of the ancients

500 shekels of the first and last, make 48 lbs. 4 oz. 12 dwts. 21 21/31 grs

250 of the cinnamon and calamus. 24 lbs. 2 oz. 6 dwts.10 26/31 grs

Olive oil is supposed to be the best preservative of odours

As the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit are termed the anointing of the Holy Ghost, therefore this holy ointment appears to have been designed as emblematical of those gifts and graces. See Act 1:5; Act 10:38; 2Co 1:21; 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27.

Clarke: Exo 30:25 - After the art of the apothecary

After the art of the apothecary - The original, רקח rokeach , signifies a compounder or confectioner; any person who compounds drugs, aromatics, etc.

Clarke: Exo 30:30 - Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons

Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons - For the reason of this anointing, see Clarke’ s note on Exo 29:7. It seems that this anointing oil was an emblem of Divine teaching, and especially of those influences by which the Church of Christ was, in the beginning, guided into all truth; as is evident from the allusion to it by St. John: "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. The anointing which ye have received from him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him; 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27.

Clarke: Exo 30:34 - Take unto thee sweet spices

Take unto thee sweet spices - The holy perfume was compounded of the following ingredients: Stacte - נטף nataph , supposed to be the same with what was afterwards called the balm of Jericho. Stacte is the gum which spontaneously flows from the tree which produces myrrh. See Clarke’ s note on Exo 30:23

Clarke: Exo 30:34 - Onycha

Onycha - שחלת shecheleth , allowed by the best critics to be the unguis odoriferans described by Rumph, which is the external crust of the shell-fish purpura or murex, and is the basis of the principal perfumes made in the East Indies

Clarke: Exo 30:34 - Galbanum

Galbanum - חלבנה chelbenah , the bubon gummiferum or African ferula; it rises with a ligneous stalk from eight to ten feet, and is garnished with leaves at each joint. The top of the stock is terminated by an umbel of yellow flowers, which are succeeded by oblong channelled seeds, which have a thin membrane or wing on their border. When any part of the plant is broken, there issues out a little thin milk of a cream color. The gummy resinous juice which proceeds from this plant is what is commonly called galbanum, from the chelbench of the Hebrews

Clarke: Exo 30:34 - Pure frankincense

Pure frankincense - לבנה זקה lebonah zaccah . Frankincense is supposed to derive its name from frank, free, because of its liberal or ready distribution of its odours. It is a dry resinous substance, in pieces or drops of a pale yellowish white color, has a strong smell, and bitter acrid taste. The tree which produces it is not well known. Dioscorides mentions it as gotten in India. What is called here pure frankincense is no doubt the same with the mascula thura of Virgil, and signifies what is first obtained from the tree - that which is strongest and most free from all adventitious mixtures. See Clarke’ s note on Exo 30:7

The Israelites were most strictly prohibited, on the most awful penalties, from making any anointing oil or perfume similar to those described in this chapter. He that should compound such, or apply any of this to any common purpose, even to smell to, Exo 30:38, should be cut off, that is, excommunicated from his people, and so lose all right, title, and interest in the promises of God and the redemption of Israel. From all this we may learn how careful the Divine Being is to preserve his own worship and his own truth, so as to prevent them from being adulterated by human inventions; for he will save men in his own way, and upon his own terms. What are called human inventions in matters of religion, are not only of no worth, but are in general deceptive and ruinous. Arts and sciences in a certain way may be called inventions of men, for the spirit of a man knoweth the things of a man - can comprehend, plan, and execute, under the general influence of God, every thing in which human life is immediately concerned; but religion, as it is the gift, so it is the invention, of God: its doctrines and its ceremonies proceed from his wisdom and goodness, for he alone could devise the plan by which the human race may be restored to his favor and image, and taught to worship him in spirit and in truth. And that worship which himself has prescribed, we may rest assured, will be most pleasing in his sight. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire before the Lord; and their destruction by the fire of Jehovah is recorded as a lasting warning to all presumptuous worshippers, and to all who attempt to model his religion, according to their own caprice, and to minister in sacred things without that authority which proceeds from himself alone. The imposition of hands whether of pope, cardinal, or bishop can avail nothing here. The call and unction of God alone can qualify the minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Calvin: Exo 30:1 - And thou shalt make an altar

1.And thou shalt make an altar God now issues His commands respecting the altar of burnt incense, whereby the people were assured that the odor of the worship under the Law was sweet to Him. This ceremony indeed also prevailed among the Gentiles; whence there is frequent mention made by heathen authors of incense-burning; but what its object was they knew not themselves, nor did they care to reflect upon its proper intention, since they conceived themselves to have done all that was required of them, by the bare sign itself. In this way, however, God would encourage His believing people, by giving them to know that the worship which they offered at this command sent up to him a sweet savor. Meanwhile He admonished them diligently to beware lest any uncleanness should profane their sacrifices, but that they should come cleansed and pure into His sight. And David applies this type specially to prayer, when he says:

"Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.”
(Psa 131:2.)

Therefore, as the other altar of which we have been hearing, was devoted to the victims for the purpose of propitiating God, so also this altar perfumed the sacrifices with the odor of its incense, that they might be acceptable to God. Hence it was placed near the ark of the testimony, though with the vail between, that its savor might ascend directly to God without any let or hindrance. There is no ambiguity in the words, except that some think there is a repetition where it is said, “every morning,” and “between the two evens;” ¹⁵² others suppose that there are two separate oblations, and this latter view is the more probable, i.e., that the incense was offered morning and evening. He afterwards forbids either the altar itself to be transferred to other uses, or any other kind of incense to be burnt upon it; of this he will speak elsewhere.

Calvin: Exo 30:10 - And Aaron shall make an atonement

10.And Aaron shall make an atonement We should observe here the correspondence between the two altars; for, as the Israelites were admonished that the sacrifices would not please God, unless all uncleanness were wiped away by pure and holy prayers, so also the altar of incense was purified by the sprinkling of blood, that they might learn that their prayers obtained acceptance through sacrifices. Although this was only done once a year, yet it was daily to be called to mind, in order that they might offer the death of Christ by faith and prayer, ¹⁵³ and yet might know that their prayers had no sweet savor, unless in so far as they were sprinkled with the blood of atonement.

Calvin: Exo 30:12 - When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel

12.When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel The tribute which God here demands at the taking of the census, is very fitly annexed to the First Commandment; for God, in making them tributary to Himself, shews that they were under His jurisdiction and power; and because He had purchased them to Himself, He willed that this voluntary gift of acknowledgment should be paid to Him. Princes, in numbering their subjects, make an estimate of their power; but God, who needs not the aid and assistance of men, would have the Israelites testify, at least by some sign, that they live in subjection to Him by whom they were redeemed. Therefore, when David numbered the people, (2Sa 24:2,) it was a kind of emancipation of them from their subjection to God; and hence this pride, or temerity, or ingratitude, was so severely punished. But because it was useful and right that the people should be numbered, it is permitted upon this condition, that by paying a ransom for every individual, they should acknowledge God as their sole King. The word is not badly rendered by some an atonement or expiation, because, whilst they confessed that they owed their life to God, He was appeased towards them on the score of this testimony of their gratitude. But it may be derived from a word meaning to cover; for when they voluntarily subjected themselves to God, and fled beneath the shelter of his wings, they were protected and secure, under this covering. Therefore it is said below, that this gift was offered to God as “an atonement for their souls;” and this is expressed in other words, that there should “be no plague” or destruction among them, because their safety rested in God’s protection alone, that they should not be exposed to any evils. And since they had been Pharaoh’s servants, their freedom would have been unlawful unless God had authorized and maintained it. Wherefore it was just. that they should ascribe their deliverance by a solemn rite to God, lest they should suffer the punishment of fugitive slaves. But He appointed the same sum for all, that every one, of whatever rank, from the least, to the greatest, might know that they were altogether His. Nor need we wonder, that since this was a personal due, (as it is commonly phrased,) their condition was not taken into account, so that the rich should pay more than the poor, but that the same price should be paid for every soul. The shekel ³³⁰ of the sanctuary was equivalent to an Attic tetra-drachma, which Budaeus estimates at 14 sols French, or thereabouts; for the didrachma amounts to seven sols, and the common drachma to three and a half sols, minus a denier Tournois. This is the didrachma of which mention is made in Mat 17:24; for when the Jews were conquered by the Romans, it is probable that, in order to make their yoke more galling, this right of tribute was transferred to their conquerors. For this divinely prescribed offering being the symbol of their freedom, exempted the Jews from all heathen dominion, as if free or only belonging to God. But. since by their own rebellion they had shaken off God’s yoke, He purposely suffered them to be despoiled of their right, in order to subject them to the tyranny of strangers. And this occurred just before Christ’s coming, that this new and unwonted oppression might increase their longing for Him. But inasmuch as this tribute was paid by command of the Law, the Jews were reminded that they were a people consecrated to God.

Calvin: Exo 30:18 - Thou shalt also make a laver of brass

18.Thou shalt also make a laver of brass Although this oblation was a sign of the purity which God required in His priests, yet, inasmuch as this hollow vessel ( concha) or laver, which supplied the water, was a part or utensil of the sanctuary, I have thought it best to insert here what is ordained respecting it, not only as to its fashion, but also its use, which could not be well separated: for if bare mention had only been made of a laver or water-vessel, ¹⁵⁵ the reader would have received no profit from it. But, when God expressly commands that water should always be ready in this basin for the priests to wash their hands and feet, we gather from hence with what reverence and sanctity God would have His holy service performed. It was, indeed, a common proverb among the Gentiles that they were guilty of impiety who handled holy things with unwashen hands, and they testified in this ceremony that they could not worship God aright except when purified from all pollution and uncleanness. One in Virgil says: —

"——— donec me flumine vivo Abluero." ¹⁵⁶

"Till in some living stream I cleanse the guilt
Of dire debate and blood in battle spilt.” — Dryden.

And such expressions are of constant occurrence. Sometimes they even seemed almost to hit the right point; as where the poet commands the ungodly and the criminal to depart from the sacrifices, lest they should contaminate them; ¹⁵⁷ but this was only a fleeting imagination, since no anxiety to repent had awakened in them a desire to propitiate God; and so, even whilst they were diligent in performing ablutions, their minds, darkened with error, knew not what it meant. But the Israelites were thus chiefly reminded how unworthy they were to offer sacrifices to God, since the impurity of the very priests, who were chosen to this once, prevented them from exercising it, until they were cleansed with water. The washing of the hands and feet denoted that all parts of the body were infected with uncleanness; for, since Scripture often uses the word “hands” for the actions of life, and compares the whole course of life to a way or journey, it is very suitable to say by synecdoche that all impurity is purged away by the washing of the hands and feet. The comparison with Christ now remains to be considered; but this we shall understand better a little beyond in reference to the sacrifices.

Calvin: Exo 30:25 - And thou shalt take it an oil of holy ointment

25.And thou shalt take it an oil of holy ointment Although the genitive is put in the place of an epithet, as if Moses had said “a holy oil;” yet it is so called from its effect, because without it nothing is accounted pure. And assuredly the Spirit of God sanctifies ourselves and all that is ours, because without Him we are unholy, and all that belongs to us corrupt. He enjoins the use of the ceremony throughout all the generations of the ancient people, Exo 30:31. In these words there is an implied contrast with the new Church, which wants no shadows since the manifestation of the substance; and justly does the only begotten Son of God possess the name of Christ, since by His coming He has abolished these figures. And Simeon, when he took Him in his arms, and called Him “the Lord’s Christ,” ¹⁸³ taught that the external use of the legal oil had ceased. So much the sillier is the superstition of the Papacy, when in imitation of the Jews it anoints its priests, and altars, and other toys: ¹⁸⁴ as if they desired to bury Christ again with their ointments; wherefore let us hold this invention in detestation as blasphemous, because it overthrows the limits prescribed by God.

In order that the Jews may hold this mystery in just reverence, he forbids similar ointment to be made. We know that ointments were then among the luxuries of a fine banquet; but it is accounted profanation if they make use of this kind; and we must mark the reason, that what is holy, may be holy unto them, Exo 30:32, i.e., that they may reverently observe what is peculiarly devoted to their salvation. For although the sacred things divinely instituted always retain their nature, and cannot be either corrupted or made void by our vices, yet may we by our filthiness, by our impure use or neglect of them, pollute them as far as in us lies.

Calvin: Exo 30:34 - Take unto thee sweet spices

34.Take unto thee sweet spices This oblation might have been noticed with the others, yet, since it merely describes the composition of the incense, which is connected with the altar of incense, and in fact is but an appendage to it, I have seen no reason why I should separate them. Let the curious subtilely discuss, if they please, the ingredients themselves; it is enough for me that they were chosen at God’s will to make a very sweet smell. For I know not whether it is likely, as some suppose, that galbanum ¹⁵⁴ is of a strong and disagreeable savor, and, since they only offer this conjecture in an unknown matter, they deserve little credit. My conviction is that it was sweet, which the words of Moses himself a little further on confirm, where he denounces the penalty of death upon those who should use such perfume for their private gratification; for this prohibition would have been absurd, unless its odor had been very agreeable. Besides, the analogy between the sign and the thing signified would not have held good, unless its sweet savor had testified that God is greatly pleased with the prayers of His people. Moreover, in order that the sacred symbol might be the more reverenced, it was not allowable to transfer this mixture to private use; for since men are rude and earthly-minded, there is nothing they are more prone to than to mix up heavenly things with those of earth. Therefore, to elevate their minds the more, it was necessary that the incense, in which there was a special holiness due to God alone, should be set apart from common use.

Defender: Exo 30:15 - not give less

This special offering, "after the shekel of the sanctuary" (Exo 30:13), which was offered in order "to make an atonement for your souls," typifies the principle that all must come under God's covenant in exactly the same way."

TSK: Exo 30:1 - an altar // to burn incense

The Samaritan inserts the first ten verses of this chapter after Exo 26:32.

an altar : Exo 30:7, Exo 30:8, Exo 30:10, Exo 37:25-28, Exo 40:5; Lev 4:7, Lev 4:18; 1Ki 6:20; 2Ch 26:16; Rev 8:3

to burn incense : Where so many sacrifices were offered, it was essentially necessary to have some pleasing perfume to counteract the disagreeable smells that must have arisen from the slaughter of so many animals, the burning of so much flesh, the sprinkling of the blood. No blood was ever sprinkled on this altar, except once a year, on the grand day of expiation. It was called also the golden altar (Num 4:11); and the incense was as constantly burnt on it every day, as the morning and evening sacrifice of a lamb was burnt on the brazen altar.

TSK: Exo 30:2 - the horns

the horns : Exo 27:2

TSK: Exo 30:3 - overlay it // top // sides

overlay it : Exo 25:11, Exo 25:24

top : Heb. roof

sides : Heb. walls

TSK: Exo 30:4 - rings // two corners

rings : Exo 25:12, Exo 25:14, Exo 25:27, Exo 26:29, Exo 27:4, Exo 27:7

two corners : Heb. ribs

TSK: Exo 30:5

Exo 25:13, Exo 25:27

TSK: Exo 30:6 - veil // before the mercy seat that is over the testimony // I will

veil : Exo 26:31-35, Exo 40:3, Exo 40:5, Exo 40:26; Mat 27:51; Heb 9:3, Heb 9:4

before the mercy seat that is over the testimony : The words לפני הכפרת אשׁר על העדת , liphney haccapporeth asher al haaiduth , ""before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony,""are thought to be a repetition of the preceding clause, לפני הפרכת אשׁר על ארן הערת , liphney happarocheth asher al aron haaiduth , ""before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony; the word הפרכת , [Strong’ s H6532], happarocheth , ""the vail,""being corrupted, by transposing the letters into הכפרת , [Strong’ s H3727], hacapporeth , ""the mercy-seat,""and the word ארן , [Strong’ s H727], aron , ""ark,""omitted. This repetition, as Dr. Kennicott observes, places the altar of incense before the mercy-seat, and consequently in the Holy of Holies! Now this could not be, as the altar of incense was attended every day, and the Holy of Holies entered only once in the year. The five words which appear to be a repetition are wanting in twenty-six of Kennicott’ s and Rossi’ s manuscripts and in the Samaritan Text. Exo 25:21, Exo 25:22; Lev 16:13; 1Ch 28:11; Heb 4:16, Heb 9:5

I will : Exo 30:36, Exo 29:42, Exo 29:43; Num 17:4

TSK: Exo 30:7 - sweet incense // dresseth

sweet incense : Heb. incense of spices, Exo 30:34-38

dresseth : Exo 27:20, Exo 27:21; 1Sa 2:28, 1Sa 3:3; 1Ch 23:13; Luk 1:9; Act 6:4

TSK: Exo 30:8 - lighteth // at even // a perpetual

lighteth : or, setteth up, Heb. causeth to ascend

at even : Heb. between the two evens. Exo 12:6 *marg.

a perpetual : Rom 8:34; 1Th 5:17; Heb 7:25, Heb 9:24

TSK: Exo 30:9

Lev 10:1

TSK: Exo 30:10 - Aaron // sin offering

Aaron : Exo 29:36, Exo 29:37; Lev 16:18, Lev 16:29, Lev 16:30, Lev 23:27; Heb 1:3, Heb 9:7, Heb 9:22, Heb 9:23, Heb 9:25

sin offering : Lev 16:5, Lev 16:6

TSK: Exo 30:12 - takest // their number // a ransom // no plague

takest : Exo 38:25, Exo 38:26; Num 1:2-5, Num 26:2-4; 2Sa 24:1

their number : Heb. them that are to be numbered

a ransom : Num 31:50; 2Ch 24:6; Job 33:24, Job 36:18; Psa 49:7; Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45; 1Ti 2:6; 1Pe 1:18, 1Pe 1:19

no plague : 2Sa 24:2-15; 1Ch 21:12, 1Ch 21:14, 1Ch 27:24

TSK: Exo 30:13 - a shekel is // an half shekel

a shekel is : Lev 27:25; Num 3:47; Eze 45:12

an half shekel : Exo 38:26; Mat 27:24 *Gr.

TSK: Exo 30:14 - from twenty

from twenty : Num 1:3, Num 1:18, Num 1:20, Num 14:29, Num 26:2, Num 32:11

TSK: Exo 30:15 - rich // give more // give less than

rich : Job 34:19; Pro 22:2; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25

give more : Heb. multiply

give less than : Heb. diminish, an atonement. Exo 30:12; Lev 17:11; Num 31:50; 2Sa 21:3

TSK: Exo 30:16 - appoint // a memorial

appoint : Exo 38:25-31; Neh 10:32, Neh 10:33

a memorial : Exo 12:14; Num 16:40; Luk 22:19

TSK: Exo 30:18 - a laver // put it

a laver : Exo 31:9, Exo 38:8; Lev 8:11; 1Ki 7:23, 1Ki 7:38; 2Ch 4:2, 2Ch 4:6, 2Ch 4:14, 2Ch 4:15; Zec 13:1; Tit 3:5 *Gr: 1Jo 1:7

put it : Exo 40:7, Exo 40:30-32

TSK: Exo 30:19

Exo 40:31, Exo 40:32; Psa 26:6; Isa 52:11; Joh 13:8-10; 1Co 6:9-11; Tit 3:5; Heb 9:10, Heb 10:22; Rev 1:5, Rev 1:6

TSK: Exo 30:20 - die not

die not : Exo 12:15; Lev 10:1-3, Lev 16:1, Lev 16:2; 1Sa 6:19; 1Ch 13:10; Psa 89:7; Act 5:5, Act 5:10; Heb 12:28, Heb 12:29

TSK: Exo 30:21 - a statute

a statute : Exo 28:43

TSK: Exo 30:23 - thee principal // pure myrrh // cinnamon // sweet calamus

thee principal : Exo 37:29; Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 1:3, Son 1:13, Son 4:14; Jer 6:20; Eze 27:19, Eze 27:22

pure myrrh : Myrrh is a white gum, issuing from the trunk and larger branches of a thorny tree resembling the acacia, growing in Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia. Its taste is extremely bitter; but its smell, though strong, is agreeable; and it entered into the composition of the most costly ointments among the ancients. The epithet deror , rendered pure, properly denotes fluid, from the Arabic darra , to flow; by which is meant the finest and most excellent kind, called stacte , which issues of itself from the bark without incision.

cinnamon : Kinnamon bosem , odoriferous or spicy cinnamon, is the bark of the canella, a small tree of the size of a willow growing in the island of Ceylon.

sweet calamus : Kenaih bosem , calamus aromaticus , or odoriferous cane, is a reed growing in Egypt, Syria, and India, about two feet in height, bearing from the root a knotted stalk, quite round, containing in its cavity a soft white pith. It is said to scent the air while growing; and when cut down, dried, and powdered, makes an ingredient in the richest perfumes.

TSK: Exo 30:24 - cassia // the shekel // hin

cassia : Psa 45:8

the shekel : Num 3:47; Eze 45:12

hin : Exo 29:40; Lev 19:36; Num 15:5

TSK: Exo 30:25 - apothecary // an holy

apothecary : or, perfumer, 1Ch 9:30

an holy : Exo 37:29; Num 35:25; Psa 89:20, Psa 133:2; Heb 1:9

TSK: Exo 30:26

Exo 40:9-15; Lev 8:10-12; Num 7:1, Num 7:10; Isa 61:1; Act 10:38; 2Co 1:21, 2Co 1:22; 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27

TSK: Exo 30:29 - whatsoever

whatsoever : Exo 29:37; Lev 6:18; Mat 23:17, Mat 23:19

TSK: Exo 30:30 - anoint // consecrate

anoint : Exod. 29:7-37, Exo 40:15; Lev 8:12, Lev 8:30; Num 3:3

consecrate : Exo 28:3, Exo 29:9, Exo 29:35

TSK: Exo 30:31 - an holy

an holy : Exo 37:29; Lev 8:12, Lev 21:10; Psa 89:20

TSK: Exo 30:32 - man’ s // it is

man’ s : Lev 21:10; Mat 7:6

it is : Exo 30:25, Exo 30:37, Exo 30:38

TSK: Exo 30:33 - compoundeth // a stranger // cut off

compoundeth : Exo 30:38; Luk 12:1, Luk 12:2; Heb 10:26-29

a stranger : Exo 29:33

cut off : Exo 12:15, Exo 12:19; Gen 17:14; Lev 7:20, Lev 7:21, Lev 17:4, Lev 17:9, Lev 19:8, Lev 23:29; Num 9:13

TSK: Exo 30:34 - unto thee // stacte // onycha // galbanum // frankincense

unto thee : Exo 30:23, Exo 25:6, Exo 37:29

stacte : Heb. nataph, The Jews and others suppose it to be what was afterwards called the balm of Jericho, or Gilead.

onycha : The word shechaileth is generally allowed to denote onycha (nail-fish, from its form), as it is rendered by the LXX and Vulgate. It is the shell of the purpura , and of the whole class of murex ; and serves as the basis of the principal perfumes in India.

galbanum : Chelbenah , (probably from chalay , milk or gum, and lavan , white), is the gummy, resinous juice of an umbelliferous plant, the bubon gumniferum of Linneus, growing in Syria, Persia, and Africa. It rises with a ligneous stalk from eight to ten feet, and is garnished with leaves at every joint. The top of the stalk is terminated by an umbel of yellow flowers which are succeeded by oblong channelled seeds, which have a thin membrane or wing on their border. When any part of the plant is broken, there issues out a little thin juice, of a cream colour, of a fat, tough substance, like gum ammoniac, composed of many small, shining grains, of a strong, piercing smell and a sharp, warm taste.

frankincense : Lev 2:1, Lev 2:15, Lev 5:11, Lev 24:7; 1Ch 9:29, 1Ch 9:30; Neh 13:5; Son 3:6; Mat 2:11

TSK: Exo 30:35 - perfume // after the // tempered

perfume : Pro 27:9; Son 1:3, Son 3:6; Joh 12:3

after the : Exo 30:25

tempered : Heb. salted, Lev 2:13

TSK: Exo 30:36 - the testimony // where I will

the testimony : Exo 16:34

where I will : Exo 30:6, Exo 25:22, Exo 29:42, Exo 29:43; Lev 16:2

TSK: Exo 30:37 - ye shall // it shall

ye shall : Exo 30:32, Exo 30:33

it shall : Exo 29:37; Lev 2:3

TSK: Exo 30:38 - be cut off

be cut off : Exo 30:33

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Exo 30:1 - Incense

Incense signifies the prayers of God’ s people, Psa 141:2 Rev 8:3 ; which are not acceptable to God except they be offered upon the true altar, Christ. This incense also was useful to correct the bad smell of the sacrifices, which were offered on another altar not far from it. Yea, some sacrifices were offered upon this altar, as appears from Exo 30:10 Lev 4:7 . But here only the principal and constant use of it is noted.

Poole: Exo 30:2

See Exo 27:2 . Though these horns, as they were for another use, so they seem to be here of another form, and for ornament more than for service.

Poole: Exo 30:3 - The top // crown

The top was made hollow like a grate, that the ashes might fall through it. The

crown was a border which encompassed the altar, that the things laid on it might not fall off.

Poole: Exo 30:6 - Before the veil

Before the veil ; before the second veil, in the holy place, and near to the holy of holies, and consequently to the ark and mercy-seat.

Poole: Exo 30:7 - When he dresseth the lamps

Aaron was to do this for the first time, but afterwards any priest might do it, as appears from Luk 1:9 ; this not being done in the holy of holies, which was the high priest’ s peculiar.

When he dresseth the lamps , i.e. cleansed them, and prepared them for the receiving of the new light.

Poole: Exo 30:8

The even was the time when all the lamps were to be lighted, 1Sa 3:3 . See Poole on "Exo 27:20" , See Poole on "Exo 27:21" .

Poole: Exo 30:9 - No strange incense

No strange incense , i.e. of any other sort than what I shall here appoint, Exo 30:34 , &c.

Poole: Exo 30:10 - Once in a year // With the blood of the sin-offering of atonements

Once in a year , on the day of expiation, Lev 16:19 Num 29:7 .

With the blood of the sin-offering of atonements ; to note, that the prayers of the saints are acceptable to God no otherwise but through the blood of Christ, who was offered for the expiation of our sins.

Poole: Exo 30:12 - A ransom for his soul // When thou numberest them

A ransom for his soul ; a certain price for the redemption of their lives; whereby they acknowledge the right and power which God had over their lives, and that they had forfeited them by their sins, and that it was God’ s mercy to continue their lives to them.

When thou numberest them , to wit, upon any just occasion, either now in the wilderness, or afterwards. It may seem that this payment was neither to be made at this time only, as some would have it; nor yet every year, as Josephus and others affirm, because it is not said to be a perpetual statute , as other things of constant observance are, but upon any eminent occasions, when the service of the tabernacle (which is the end and use of this collection) or temple required it, as may he gathered from 2Ki 12:4 , compared with 2Ch 24:6 . Compare Neh 10:32 Mat 17:24 . And as now it was employed in the building of the tabernacle, so afterwards it might be laid out upon the repairs or other services of it.

Poole: Exo 30:13 - The shekel of the sanctuary // An half shekel shall be the offering

The shekel of the sanctuary hath been commonly conceived to be double to the common shekel, yet divers late learned men seem more truly to judge that it was no more than the common shekel, consisting of half a crown of English money; which is called the shekel of the sanctuary , because the standard by which all shekels were to be examined was kept in the sanctuary, as afterwards the just weights and measures were kept in Christian temples, or other public places. See Lev 27:25 Num 3:47 Eze 45:10-12 . Add to this, that it was a part of the priest’ s office to look to the weights and measures, as plainly appears from 1Ch 23:29 .

An half shekel shall be the offering ; not less, lest it should be contemptible; nor more, lest it should be too burdensome for the poor.

Poole: Exo 30:14 - From twenty years old and above

From twenty years old and above ; the time when they began to be fit for employment, and capable of getting and paying money. Women and children are not included here, because they are reckoned in their fathers or husbands.

Poole: Exo 30:15

This was partly to teach them that all souls are of equal worth in themselves and price with God; that there is no respect of persons with God, and in God’ s worship and service, but gospel graces, ordinances, and privileges are common and equal to all, Ex 12 16:18 Gal 3:28 Col 3:11 ; that all persons are alike obnoxious to Divine justice, and are redeemed by one and the same price: partly to check the arrogance and vanity of the rich, who are very apt to despise the poor; and partly that by this means the number of the people might be exactly known when occasion required it.

Poole: Exo 30:16 - For the service of the tabernacle // That it may be a memorial

For the service of the tabernacle ; for the building and furniture of it, and the maintenance of God’ s worship in it.

That it may be a memorial ; either to the people, who hereby profess God to be their Lord and Owner, and themselves his subjects and tributaries; or to God, who hereby takes occasion to remember them, and to own them for his people.

Poole: Exo 30:17

The frequent repetition of this phrase, and the shortness of these discourses, in comparison of the length of the forty days, show that God did not deliver all these laws and prescriptions at one time, but successively at several times, possibly upon the sabbath days.

Poole: Exo 30:18

See the accomplishment Exo 38:8 ; to wash both the priests and the parts of the sacrifices. The altar, to wit, of burnt-offerings.

Poole: Exo 30:19

To signify their natural impurity and unworthiness, either to handle holy things, or to come into the holy place, and their need of washing with the blood and Spirit of Christ, which was typified by this washing.

Poole: Exo 30:20 - That they die not

That they die not ; for though the fault might seem small, yet the command was evident and easy, and therefore the disobedience was worse, arguing presumption, rebellion, and contempt. And God is more severe in the matters of his worship than in other cases.

Poole: Exo 30:23 - Take thou also unto thee // Pure myrrh // Calamus

Take thou also unto thee : the words are very emphatical, and the Jews from hence do rightly infer, that this ointment was but once made, and that by Moses’ s own hands. Spices: see Son 4:14 Eze 27:22 ; and compare Psa 45:8 Amo 6:6 .

Pure myrrh , Heb. myrrh of liberty ; either,

1. Free from adulteration or mixture; or rather,

2. Freely dropping from the tree, which is esteemed better than that which is forced out of it.

Calamus ; a sweet reed, of which see Isa 43:24 Jer 6:20 .

Poole: Exo 30:24

Not the common kind of cassia, which we use in purging, but another kind of it, there being seven several kinds of it, as the learned note.

Poole: Exo 30:26

This was only an outward ceremony, signifying the separation and sanctification of these things for the service of God; as the anointing of kings and priests noted their designation to their offices.

Poole: Exo 30:30

Not all of them, but only those who succeed him in the high priest’ s office, as appears from Exo 40:15 Lev 4:3,5,16 ; Exo 16:32 21:10 . This anointing of them signified both God’ s election or calling them to this office, and the inward qualifications requisite for it, to wit, the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, which are oft designed by this word of anointing, as Isa 61:1 Dan 9:24 1Jo 2:27 , and the solemn setting apart of Christ, the true High Priest, for the mediatorial office.

Poole: Exo 30:31

i.e. Reserved for my service alone, not employed to any profane or civil use, as it follows.

Poole: Exo 30:32 - Upon man’ s flesh shall it not be poured // It shall be holy unto you

Upon man’ s flesh shall it not be poured , except those whom God himself, the author of this law, excepts, to wit, the high priests, of which see Exo 30:30 ; and some of the kings, of which see 1Ki 1:39 Psa 89:20 , though others think the kings were only anointed with common oil.

It shall be holy unto you , as it is unto me, Exo 30:31 ; you shall account it holy, as I do.

Poole: Exo 30:33

The word stranger is commonly used to note the Gentiles, or such as were not of Israel’ s race; but sometimes it notes those that are not of the priestly race, as Exo 29:33 Lev 22:12,13 ; and so it seems to be here. And if any of the kings were anointed with this oil, it was done by God’ s special appointment, who may dispense with his own laws.

Poole: Exo 30:34 - Stacte, and onycha, and galbanum // Of each shall there be a like weight

Stacte, and onycha, and galbanum : the Jews themselves are not agreed what these were, and it concerns not Christians much to know, the use of them being abolished. It is evident they were each of them sweet spices, and therefore this galbanum was not of the common kind, which gives a very ball scent.

Of each shall there be a like weight , Heb. alone shall be with alone , i.e. each of these alone shall be with another alone, to wit, in equal quantity. Or it may note, that’ each of these was to be taken and beaten apart, and then mixed together. Or, it shall be alone alone , i.e. absolutely and certainly alone, the doubling of the word increasing the signification, and thus it doth not belong to all the ingredients, because the Hebrew verb is here of the singular number, but only to the frankincense; and the sense may be, that whereas the other things shall be tempered together, the frankincense should be alone, which may seem most agreeable both to the common use of frankincense, and to its differing nature from the other things mentioned, two of them at least being confessedly liquid things.

Poole: Exo 30:35 - Tempered together // Pure

Tempered together , Heb. salted ; either,

1. Properly, for salt was to be offered with all offerings, Lev 2:13 . And the Hebrew doctors tell us that six egg-shells full of salt were used. Or,

2. Metaphorically, well mixed together, as salt was with things either offered to God, or eaten by man.

Pure , of the best of each kind of drugs, the most perfect and uncorrupted.

Poole: Exo 30:36 - Some of it

Some of it ; so much as is sufficient for the daily incense.

Haydock: Exo 30:1 - An altar to burn incense

An altar to burn incense. This burning of incense was an emblem of prayer, ascending to God from an inflamed heart. See Psalm cxl. 2; Apocalypse v. 8, and viii. 4. (Challoner) ---

Nothing but incense was daily offered by the high priest upon this altar. On the day of expiation he touched the four corners with blood. It stood over-against the bread of proposition.

Haydock: Exo 30:2 - Height

Height. Ezechiel (xli. 42,) describes his altar of incense, a cubit higher.

Haydock: Exo 30:3 - Grate // Walls // Crown

Grate, or covering. Some think the fire and incense were placed on this grate, and the ashes fell under the altar. But fire was taken hence, and put in the thuribles; (Numbers xvi. 17; Calmet) or a brazen thurible was placed on the fire, Leviticus x. 1. (Menochius) ---

Walls, or sides, of setim-wood. ---

Crown, cornice or moulding. See chap. xxv. 25.

Haydock: Exo 30:6 - Where

Where, &c. Hence some infer, that its situation was in the most holy place. But God spoke also to Moses at the door of the sanctuary (chap. xxix. 42.; Haydock); and most people suppose, that it was placed out of the holy of holies, beside the veil. The golden censer, which St. Paul (Hebrews ix. 4,) tells us was within, might be that of Aaron, which was placed there after the sedition of Core, (Numbers xvi.) or one that might be left smoking before the ark, on the day of expiation. (Calmet) ---

St. Augustine, &c., believe, however, that it was in the holy of holies. (q. 133.; Origen, hom. 19.; St. Gregory; 1 Kings xiv.; &c.)

Haydock: Exo 30:7 - Aaron

Aaron, or some other priest. They did it by turns, and were bound to observe continence during the time of their ministry. (Leviticus xv. 16; Luke i. 9.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Exo 30:9 - Composition

Composition, than what is prescribed, ver. 34. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 30:10 - It

It. This altar, or this rite; all deserve a singular respect.

Haydock: Exo 30:12 - Sum

Sum. David perhaps neglected this injunction. (2 Kings xxiv; Josephus, Antiquities vii. 10.) Yet we do not read that Moses took the half sicle when he numbered the people, Numbers i. Whence others gather, that this sum was to be paid every year, as it was done in our Saviour's time, for the support of the temple, Matthew xvii. 23. Vespasian ordered the Jews to pay the same money for the capitol. (Josephus, Jewish Wars vii. 13.) After the captivity, the third part of a sicle was demanded, 2 Esdras x. 32. (Calmet)

Haydock: Exo 30:13 - Half a sicle

Half a sicle. A sicle or shekel of silver, (which was also called a stater ) according to the standard or weight of the sanctuary, which was the most just and exact, was half an ounce of silver; that is, about half a crown of English money. The obol, or gerah, was about three halfpence. (Challoner) ---

A priest kept the weights and measures, 1 Paralipomenon xxiii. 29. The Egyptians and Romans took the like precaution to prevent any fraud; and Justinian required that such things should be kept in churches. Some have supposed, that the royal or common sicle was less than that of the sanctuary. But Moses admits of no distinction. (Leviticus xxvii. 25.; Ezechiel xiv. 12.) Perhaps the weights of the Egyptians, &c., might differ from this, which Moses therefore particularizes so well. (Calmet) ---

Arbuthnot makes the weight of the sicle equal to 9 dwt. 2,57 gr. English Troy weight; and he values that of silver at 2s. 3,375d. sterling. (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 30:15 - Rich

Rich. The life of every man is equal in the sight of God, and He will not give the rich occasion to despise his poor neighbour. Thus also the number of people would be ascertained. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 30:18 - Its foot

Its foot also of brass, made of mirrors which the women gave, chap. xxxviii. 8. It was double; one vessel being shallower, to wash the feet &c., and the other containing a quantity of water, which was let out by pipes. The pagans had lavers also; and our holy-water vessels should remind us of that purity and holiness which became the house of God. (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 30:19 - Feet

Feet. The priests went barefoot in the tabernacle. In the Misna we find the same law binds laymen. None were allowed to enter the temple of Diana, in Crete, with shoes on; and the Roman ladies followed the same custom, when they came down to the temple of Vesta. Huc pede matronam nudo descendere vidi. (Ovid, Fast. 6.) (Calmet) ---

The priest is ordered to put off his shoes on Good Friday, out of respect for Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross. (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 30:23 - Spices // Myrrh // Sicles // Cinnamon // Calamus

Spices. Perfumes were probably first invented in Arabia and Egypt. Ovid makes Bacchus the author of bloody sacrifices, and of incense offered to Jupiter. (Fast. 3.) ---

Myrrh. Hebrew, "the head of the myrrh of liberty," or such as flowed freely and was most excellent, free from any mixture. Sudant sponte....stacten dictam. (Pliny, [Natural History?] xii. 15. (Calmet) ---

Stacte takes its name from distilling. (Menochius) ---

Sicles; this is not expressed in the Hebrew, as this measure is commonly meant. ---

Cinnamon, a plant extremely rare. Matthcole assures us, that it is not now to be found in Arabia, no more than balm in Judea. ---

Calamus. Hebrew adds the epithet sweet-smelling both to cinnamon and calamus, or cane, the latter of which grows in the Indies. (Dioscor. i. 17.) That which druggists sell, under this name, is not a proper ingredient for ointments.

Haydock: Exo 30:24 - Cassia

Cassia, not the common sort, which would spoil the perfumes, but the essence of iris, (Hebrew, kode) mentioned in the Septuagint; Ezechiel xxvii. 19; Josephus; &c. (Calmet)

Haydock: Exo 30:29 - Sanctified

Sanctified. But if he ought not to touch it, he shall be defiled the more: (Deuteronomy xxii. 9) a double effect, which we perceive in the Christian sacraments. (Calmet)

Haydock: Exo 30:31 - Holy

Holy unto me, or set apart for the persons and things employed in my service. (Haydock)

Haydock: Exo 30:32 - Of man

Of man. Some except the king of Juda, till the reign of Josias. (Rabbins) ---

But they were anointed with common oil. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 30:33 - Cut off

Cut off. Excommunicated, and deprived of all the privileges of the Israelites; (Calmet) or even put to death for his presumption. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 30:34 - Onycha // Galbanum // Frankincense // Weight

Onycha. An aromatic root, shining like "the nail," or perhaps the bdellium of Arabia, which is clearer than that of the Indies. (Dioscor.; Gallen Medic.) It distills from a tree. Others affirm, that it is the shell of a fish which feeds on spikenard (spica nardi) in the watery places of India. ---

Galbanum, an unctuous gum, of a strong but not very agreeable smell when alone. ---

Frankincense, is a juice proceeding by incision from the trees of Saba. ---

Weight. The Rabbins say 70 or 74 pounds of each.

Haydock: Exo 30:35 - Together

Together. Hebrew literally, "salted," (Chaldean) as salt was to accompany all the sacrifices, Leviticus ii. 13. But it was not, perhaps, to be mixed with this perfume, no more than with the wine of libations. The word may signify "a thing used in embalming, pure and holy."

Haydock: Exo 30:36 - Place

Place. On the table of perfumes, to be burnt morning and evening. (Calmet)

Gill: Exo 30:1 - And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon // of shittim wood shall thou make it

And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon,.... The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call it incense of spices, properly enough, for it was made of various spices; of which see Exo 30:34 and this was necessary on a natural and civil account, to remove those ill smells from the sanctuary, occasioned by the number of beasts continually slain in it; but chiefly on a religions account, to denote the acceptableness of the service of the sanctuary to God:

of shittim wood shall thou make it: of the same that the altar of burnt offering was made, which was covered with brass, but this with gold, as after related; of this sort of wood; see Gill on Exo 25:5 as this altar was a type of Christ, the shittim wood may respect his human nature; which wood, though it sprung out of the earth, was not common, but choice and excellent, and very strong durable, and incorruptible; and so Christ, though he was man made of an earthly woman in his human nature, yet was chosen out of the people, is the chiefest among ten thousand, and excellent as the cedars, the man of God's right hand, whom he made strong for himself; and though he died in it, he saw no corruption, he now lives, and will live for evermore; in which nature he acts the part of a Mediator, and intercedes for his people, and offers up their prayers, perfumed with the much incense of his mediation, to which this altar has a special respect.

Gill: Exo 30:2 - A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, four square shall it be // and two cubits shall be the height thereof // the horns thereof shall be of the same

A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, four square shall it be,.... It was one Jewish square cubit, which is in surface, according to Bishop Cumberland, three English square feet, and about forty seven square inches; which may denote the solidity, perfection, and extensiveness of Christ's priesthood, it being unchangeable, firm, and lasting; and which passes not from one to another, and the which makes something perfect, which the law and priesthood of Aaron could not, even perfects for ever them that are sanctified; and is very extensive; the virtue of it reaches to all the elect of God, from the beginning of the world to the end of it; not his sacrifice only, but his intercession, which is principally respected; that is made for all the people of God, in all places, and in all ages, and for all things for them, both for this life, and that which is to come:

and two cubits shall be the height thereof; so that it was as high again as it was long and broad: Christ, our interceding high priest, is made higher than the heavens:

the horns thereof shall be of the same; of the same wood the altar itself was made: these were a sort of spires that rose up at the four corners of the altar; and the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the words,"and of it its horns shall be erect;''which were chiefly for decoration and ornament; and may denote the honour and glory of Christ, as well as his power and ability to save, to the uttermost, all that come to God by him, or lay hold upon him, since he ever lives to make intercession.

Gill: Exo 30:3 - And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold // the top thereof, and the sides thereof, round about, and the horns thereof // and thou shall make unto it a crown of gold round about

And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,.... Hence this altar is sometimes called the golden altar, Num 4:11 this may figure the deity of Christ, whose head is as the most fine gold, and is in the divine nature, in the form of God, and is the brightness of his glory, and possessed of the same perfections; or rather the glorification of his human nature in heaven, where he is highly exalted, and the preciousness of his intercession, which is always powerful and prevalent, and the duration of it:

the top thereof, and the sides thereof, round about, and the horns thereof: all and each of them were covered with gold; this altar had a top, when the altar of burnt offering had none, but its hollow place was filled up with earth at every encampment; so Jarchi observes: this was not a grate, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, for here were neither blood nor ashes to be let through; but it was a flat covering like the roof of a house, as the word signifies, on which was set a golden dish, with live coals and incense burning on them; and which, when burnt, was carried away: and the sides are the four sides of the frame, it being a square, or the two sides and two ends of it; and the horns, the four horns at each corner, all were covered with plates of gold; so that this altar was a richer and more excellent one than that of burnt offering; and may signify the superior excellency of Christ's state of exaltation to that of his humiliation: in the latter, which the altar of burnt offering respected, he was made of no reputation, and became obedient to the death of the cross, yea, was made sin, and a curse for his people; but in the former, which the altar of incense respected, he was raised from the dead, and had glory given him; he was raised for the justification of his people, and was himself justified in the Spirit, ascended on high, was received into glory, sat down at the right hand of God, making continual intercession for his saints:

and thou shall make unto it a crown of gold round about; which was partly to keep from slipping what was put upon it, but chiefly for ornament; and plainly points at the exaltation of Christ in our nature in heaven, as our interceding high priest, where he is a priest upon his throne; and is crowned with glory and honour.

Gill: Exo 30:4 - And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it // by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shall thou make them // and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal

And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it,.... The crown was on the top of the altar, at the edge of it all around; and just underneath it were two rings of gold, two on each side:

by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shall thou make them; at each corner a ring, and at each side; the use of them follows:

and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal; these rings were for the staves to be put into when the altar was to be carried from place to place, as it was in the wilderness, during the travels of Israel there; and this signifies that Christ never leaves his people; when they are in the wilderness he is with them, interceding for them, providing all things necessary for their food, safety, and protection, Rev 12:14.

Gill: Exo 30:5 - And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood // and overlay them with gold

And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood,.... Of the same wood the altar itself was made:

and overlay them with gold; as that was; these rings and staves may be an emblem of the precious ordinances of Christ, in which he grants his presence; and where he is held forth in different ages and places as the interceding high priest of his people, their advocate with the Father, pleading continually his propitiatory sacrifice in their favour.

Gill: Exo 30:6 - Thou shalt put it before the vail // that is by the ark of the testimony // before the mercy seat // where I will meet thee

Thou shalt put it before the vail,.... That divides between the holy and the most holy place; not within the vail in the holy of holies, but before it at the holy place, for there the altar of incense stood: Josephus ^o says, between the candlestick and the table, i.e. of shewbread, stood the altar of incense; now the candlestick and shewbread were in the holy place; and with this account the Talmudists ^p agree, who say, that the table was in the north, distant from the wall two cubits and a half, and the candlestick on the south, distant from the wall two cubits and a half, and the altar was in the middle, and stood between them: and Maimonides ^q gives the like account of its situation, which is here further described:

that is by the ark of the testimony; which vail was by it, before which the altar was placed; the ark of the testimony was the chest or coffer in which the law was put, and which was the testimony of the will of God, from whence it had this name; and it stood in the most holy place; and not by it in the same place, but over against it, in the holy place stood the altar of incense:

before the mercy seat, that is over the testimony; the mercy seat that was over the ark, a lid or cover to it, where the testimony was; and towards this, before the face of it, was the altar of incense, where the priest officiating, looked directly towards it; having that in view for the acceptance of the people's prayers to God through Christ, which they were making while he was burning the incense:

where I will meet thee; as he had before promised, Exo 25:22.

Gill: Exo 30:7 - And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning // when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it

And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning,.... This in later times was done by a common priest, who obtained this service by lots as we find in the times of Zacharias, Luk 1:9 the incense was fetched out of the house of Abtines, where it was made, and burning coals were taken off of the altar of burnt offering in a vessel, and the incense was spread upon them and burnt: the Jewish canons about this matter run thus ^r; he that was worthy of, or allotted to, the incense, took a vessel that held three kabs, and a bowl in the midst of it, full and heaped up with incense, and took a silver censer, and went up to the top of the altar, and moved the coals to and fro, and took them and went down and poured them into a golden censer: and again ^s, he that was worthy of, or allotted to, a censer, gathered the coals upon the top of the altar, and spread them with the edges of the censer, and bowing himself went out; and he that was worthy of, or allotted to, the incense, took the bowl out of the midst of the vessel, and gave it to his friend or neighbour: and he that burns the incense may not burn until the president says to him, burn; and if he was an high priest, the president says, lord high priest, burn; the people depart, and he burns the incense, and bows and goes away: the burning of the sweet incense was typical of the mediation and intercession of Christ; the burning coals typified his sufferings, which were painful to his body, and in which he endured the wrath of God in his soul, and both must be very distressing to him: the incense put upon these shows that Christ's mediation and intercession proceeds upon his sufferings and death, his bloodshed, satisfaction, and sacrifice; which mediation of his, like the sweet incense, is frequent, is pure and holy, though made for transgressors, and there is none like unto it; there is but one Mediator between God and man: likewise this was typical of the prayers of the saints; and at the same time that the incense was burnt the people were at prayer, which was set before the Lord as incense, see Psa 141:3, these go upwards to God, and come up with acceptance to him, from off the golden altar, being offered up to him by Christ, with his much incense, through his blood and righteousness, and are pure, holy, fervent, and fragrant, and called odours, Rev 5:8.

when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it; which he did every morning he went into the holy place, where the candlestick with its lamps was; these he trimmed and dressed, snuffed those that were ready to go out, lighted those that were gone out, supplied them with oil and wicks, and cleared the snuff dishes, and the like: now near to the candlestick stood the altar of incense, so that when the priest looked after the one, he did the service of the other; and hence we learn, that our intercessor and lamplighter is one and the same; he that was seen amidst the golden candlesticks dressing the lamps of them, appears at the golden altar with a golden censer, to offer up the prayers of his saints, Rev 1:13 and we learn also, that the light of the word and prayer should go together, as they do in faithful ministers and conscientious Christians, who give themselves up unto and employ themselves therein; the one to and in the ministry of the word and prayer, and the other to and in the reading and hearing of the word and prayer.

Gill: Exo 30:8 - And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it // a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations

And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it,.... In the evening the priest went into the holy place to light the lamps that were gone out; see Gill on Exo 27:20 at the same time he burnt incense on the altar; and as the daily sacrifice was offered up morning and evening, so the incense was burnt every morning and evening, and much about the same time: the Jews say ^t, that the incense of the morning was offered between the blood (i.e. the sprinkling of the blood of the daily sacrifice) and the members, or the laying of the pieces on the altar; and the incense of the evening was between the pieces and the drink offering: and with this Philo agrees ^u, who says, twice every day most fragrant odours were offered, at the sun rising and setting, before the morning and after the evening sacrifice:

a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations; thus Christ's mediation and intercession is constant and continual; as his sacrifice continually takes away the sin of the world, in which it was the antitype of the daily sacrifice; so his blood continually speaks for peace and pardon, and every blessing of grace for his people, in which it is the antitype of the morning and evening incense; for he ever lives to make intercession; and so the prayers of the saints are directed to God both morning and evening, and they cease not praying as long as they live.

Gill: Exo 30:9 - Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon // nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering // neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon

Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon,.... Which had not the same, but was made of other materials, or had more or fewer; whatever was not exactly the same was not to be offered; and so to make use of other mediators than Christ, whether angels or men, or to put up prayer to God for the sake of our own righteousness, pleading the merits of our works, and not the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ, is to offer strange incense, unacceptable to God, and which will be of no avail to men:

nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; these were to be offered and burnt upon the altar of burnt offering:

neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon; as upon the other altar; everything in God's worship and service was to be done in the proper place and order; these offerings and sacrifices, though they were by divine appointment, yet must be offered on that altar which was peculiar for them.

Gill: Exo 30:10 - And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year // with the blood of the sin offering of atonement // once in the year shall he make atonement upon it, throughout your generations // it is most holy unto the Lord

And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year,.... On the day of atonement, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra explain it; and the atonement here referred to seems to be an atonement for the altar itself, see Lev 16:18 and as the altar of burnt offering was first expiated and then used, Exo 29:36 so it seems the altar of incense had not only an atonement made on it, but for it: and this was done

with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; by sprinkling the blood of that offering upon the horns of it, as we learn from the afore mentioned place; and this shows that Christ's mediation and intercession is founded upon the virtue of his blood, and the efficacy of his atoning sacrifice, see 1Jo 2:1.

once in the year shall he make atonement upon it, throughout your generations; which proves the insufficiency of all legal sacrifices of themselves to take away sin, since every year, as the apostle observes, there was a remembrance of it, Heb 10:3.

it is most holy unto the Lord; either the atonement made on the day of atonement, which was a most holy part of service, and pointed at the great atonement made by the most Holy One, the Son of God; or this altar thus expiated, and devoted to sacred use, was reckoned a most sacred one to the Lord, and so was to have nothing offered upon it but what he ordered; with which Jarchi agrees in his note,"the altar is sanctified to these things only, and not to any other service.''

Gill: Exo 30:11 - And the Lord spake unto Moses // saying

And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Continued his discourse; or, there being some intermission, reassumed it:

saying; as follows.

Gill: Exo 30:12 - When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, after their number // then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them // that there be no plague amongst them when thou numberest them

When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, after their number,.... An account of them, how many they are; which was sometimes done, and was proper to be done, especially in time of war; though the present case seems to be for the sake of raising money for the tabernacle and the service of it:

then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; which was not done yearly, nor was it perpetual; we have but two instances of it after this until the times of David, Num 1:2 yet it seems to have been a yearly tax or tribute, in the times of Christ; see Gill on Mat 17:24, Mat 21:12; and in the Misnah is a whole treatise called "Shekalim", in which an account is given of the time and manner of collecting this ransom money, and for what uses, and who were obliged to pay it, and who not; on the first of Adar (or February) they proclaimed concerning the payment of it, on the fifteenth the tables were set for that purpose, and on the twenty fifth the proper persons sat in the sanctuary to receive it ^w: this was typical of the ransom of souls by Christ, who are not all the world, for they are ransomed out of it, but Israelites, the whole mystical Israel of God, and are a numbered people; their names are written in the book of life, they are told into the hands of Christ, are exactly known by God and Christ; and these are many and even numberless to men:

that there be no plague amongst them when thou numberest them; as there was when David numbered them; which some have thought was owing to the non-payment of the ransom money after mentioned; the Septuagint version is, "no fall", the ransom of souls by Christ preserves them from a total and final fall by sin into everlasting ruin and destruction; or, "no death" as the Targum of Onkelos, for redemption by Christ secures from the second death, and even from a corporeal death as a penal evil.

Gill: Exo 30:13 - This they shall give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered // half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary // an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord

This they shall give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered,.... And their number, according to Jarchi, was known by what was paid; for he says the sum was taken not by heads, but everyone gave the half shekel, and by counting them the number was known, as follows:

half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary; that is, after the standard of a shekel kept in the sanctuary as a rule for all; and so Jarchi paraphrases it,"according to the weight of a shekel, which I have fixed for thee to weigh, the shekel of the sanctuary.''It was about fourteen pence: a shekel is twenty gerahs; a gerah being the twentieth part of a shekel, it was not quite three halfpence of our money:

an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord; which was to be offered to him for the ransom of souls, whose lives were forfeited by sin; and of the redemption of which this was an acknowledgment; and was typical of the ransom price of souls by Christ, which is not silver or gold, but his precious blood, his life, himself, which is given as an offering and sacrifice to God, in the room and stead of his people; and which is given to God, against whom sin is committed, the lawgiver, whose law is broken, the Judge, whose justice must be satisfied, and the creditor, to whom the price must be paid.

Gill: Exo 30:14 - Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above // shall give an offering to the Lord

Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above,.... Even Levites, Israelites, proselytes, and servants freed, but not women, bond servants, or children ^x:

shall give an offering to the Lord; the half shekel before mentioned.

Gill: Exo 30:15 - The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel // when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make atonement for your souls

The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel,.... Which shows that the Israelites were alike in the esteem of God, their worldly circumstances making no difference; their souls being alike, the same ransom price was given for them; and that they were all to have an equal share in the service and sanctuary of God, and the price was set so low, that the poorest man might be able to pay it: and even Maimonides ^y says, if he lived on alms, he was to beg it of others, or sell his clothes from off his back to pay it. This shows the equality of the redeemed and ransomed of the Lord; for though some sins and sinners are greater than others, and some are redeemed from more sins than others, yet all sins being infinite, as committed against an infinite God, but one price is paid for all, and that is the precious blood of Christ, the Son of God, an infinite and divine Person; hence all the ransomed ones have the same faith, righteousness, salvation, and eternal life:

when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make atonement for your souls; which have sinned, are liable to death for it, are the more excellent part of men, and require a great price for the redemption and ransom of them; and hence it is so great a blessing to be ransomed, because it is the ransom of the soul: and such is the efficacy of Christ's ransom, that it is a full atonement for the souls of men, and their sins, and completely delivers from sin, Satan, the law, death, and hell.

Gill: Exo 30:16 - And thou shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel // and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation // that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls

And thou shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel,.... The half shekel, the ransom of their souls:

and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; for the building of the tabernacle, for the repairs of it, and for the sacrifices offered in it; particularly we find that this first collection this way was appropriated to the silver sockets of the sanctuary, and the vail, for the silver hooks, and for the pillars, Exo 38:27,

that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls; to put them in mind that they were sinners, that their lives were forfeited, that a ransom price was given and accepted of God, that hereby atonement, in a typical sense, was made for them; and this was before the Lord, as a token of their gratitude to him, and of their acknowledgment of the favour.

Gill: Exo 30:17 - And the Lord spake unto Moses // saying

And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Again, at another time, and upon another subject:

saying, as follows.

Gill: Exo 30:18 - Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal // and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar // and thou shall put water therein

Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal,.... For Aaron, and his sons, and the priests in succession, to wash at before their entrance on their ministry; and denotes in general the necessity of purity, in order to minister in the priestly office; and which was in its perfection in Christ, who being holy and harmless, was an high priest becoming us, and suitable to us, qualified to offer himself without spot to God, and to take away sin; of which purity his baptism in water might be a symbol, which he submitted to before he entered publicly on the execution of his office as a prophet and priest; and as this may respect the ministers of the Gospel, it shows that they should be pure and holy in their lives and conversations, and be examples in purity of conversation to others: and as this may chiefly respect all the saints who are priests unto God; it may be either typical of the laver of regeneration, in which grace, comparable to water, is given, and in which a clean heart is created; and which has an influence on purity of life and conversation, and secures from death: or rather of the blood of Christ, the laver and fountain to wash in for sin and uncleanness; which is large and capacious for all the priests of the Lord, and stands open and uncovered for all to come unto; and as this was made of brass, and that brass the looking glasses of the women, Exo 38:8 as it may respect the laver of regeneration, may denote the durableness of that grace, which is an immortal seed, a well of living water, springing up to everlasting life, and was a clear evidence of election of God, and redemption by Christ; and as it may be an emblem of the blood of Christ, it signifies the duration and continued virtue of that blood to cleanse from all sin; and that such who are washed in it, and cleansed by it, are not only beheld as clean and pure by the Lord, but in their own sight also, God having caused their iniquities to pass from them, and justified them from them by his blood:

and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar; that is, the altar of burnt offering, which was by the door of the tabernacle; and between that and the tabernacle or tent of the congregation stood the laver for the priests to wash in, just as they entered into the tabernacle, Exo 40:29 it stood inclining to one of the sides, as Aben Ezra says; a little on the south side, as Jarchi observes:

and thou shall put water therein; or order it to be put in for the use next mentioned.

Gill: Exo 30:19 - For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat.

For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat. Not in it, but at it; the laver had mouths or spouts, as Ben Melech says, from whence the water flowed when the priests washed their hands and feet at it; and so Bartenora says ^z they did not wash out of the laver, but from water flowing out of it; it is said "out of it", not in it; it seems at first there were but two of these spouts; for it is said ^a Ben Katin made twelve spouts or cocks, which had but two before; so that twelve priests could wash their hands and feet at one time, and which they could do at once, presently, by putting the right hand on the top of the right foot, and the left hand upon the left foot, as both Jarchi and Ben Melech relate: and now the hands being the instruments of action, and the feet of walking, this shows that the actions of good men, the priests of the Lord, and their walk and conversation, are not without sin, and that these need washing in the laver of Christ's blood, to which there must be daily application, see Zec 13:1. Our Lord seems to have reference to this ceremony, Joh 13:10 the Egyptian priests washed twice every day in cold water, and twice every night ^b.

Gill: Exo 30:20 - When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water // that they die not // or when they come near to the altar to minister // to burn offering made by fire to the Lord

When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water,.... The laver standing near the door of the tabernacle, they washed at it as soon as they entered; and no man, we are told ^c, entered into the court before he washed, even though he was clean; though he had contracted no filthiness, and even though he had washed his hands and feet at home, he was obliged to do it when he went into the tabernacle, before he attempted to perform any service. This intimates to us the necessity as of pure hearts, so of pure hands, in order to compass the altar of God, to attend public worship, and particularly prayer, in which holy hands should be lifted up, 1Ti 2:8,

that they die not: sin exposes to death, eternal death; that is the wages of it, and it is only the blood of Christ, and being washed in that, that can secure from it:

or when they come near to the altar to minister; to the altar of burnt offering to minister there, by laying on the wood and the pieces in order, and burning them on it, as follows:

to burn offering made by fire to the Lord; no man was fit for this service, or might be admitted to it, until he was washed; and it was usual among other nations to wash before they entered on religious service ^d; even in the East Indies, the priests do not sacrifice to their idols before they wash in water that is about the temple ^e; which seems to be a satanical imitation of this practice among the Jews.

Gill: Exo 30:21 - So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not // and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed, throughout their generations

So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not,.... By the immediate hand of God, who would so greatly resent such a neglect of his command; and by how much easier it was to perform it, by so much the more were they inexcusable, and to be treated with greater severity; and this is repeated, that they might carefully observe it, lest they perish:

and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed, throughout their generations; to be observed by Aaron and his descendants in all ages, as long as their priesthood lasted, until the Messiah should come, and wash all his people, his priests, with his own blood, from all their sins, Rev 1:5.

Gill: Exo 30:22 - Moreover, the Lord spake unto Moses // saying

Moreover, the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Some little time afterwards, while he was yet with him on the mount:

saying; as follows.

Gill: Exo 30:23 - Take thou also unto thee principal spices // of pure myrrh five hundred shekels // and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels // and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels

Take thou also unto thee principal spices,.... To make the anointing oil with, and are as follow:

of pure myrrh five hundred shekels; it is strange that Saadiah, and so Maimonides ^f, should take this for musk, which comes from a beast, and is confuted by Aben Ezra from Son 5:1 from whence it plainly appears to be what comes from a tree; and the word "mor", here used, gives the tree the name of myrrh almost in all languages. And it is justly mentioned first among the chief of spices; since, as Pliny ^g says, none is preferred unto the stacte or liquor that flows from it, that which is pure myrrh, unmixed, unadulterated; or "myrrh of freedom" ^h, which flows freely, either of itself, or, when cut, which is the best; and this was fitly used as a principal ingredient in the anointing oil, since oil was made out of it itself, called oil of myrrh, Est 2:12 and as a shekel is generally supposed to weigh half an ounce, the quantity of this to be taken was two hundred and fifty ounces:

and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels; or one hundred twenty five ounces: it is here called sweet cinnamon, to distinguish it from that which was not sweet; so Jarchi observes,"there is one sort that has a good smell and taste, another that has not, but is as wood (common wood), therefore it was necessary to say sweet cinnamon.''So Pliny ⁱ speaks of two sorts of it, one whiter, and another blacker; sometimes the white is preferred, and sometimes the black is commended. The cinnamon tree grows in great plenty in the island of Zeilon in India (Ceylon or called Srilanka today, Editor), as Vartomanus ^k relates, who says it is not much unlike a bay tree, especially the leaves; it beareth berries as does the bay tree, but less and white; it is doubtless no other than the bark of a tree, and gathered in this manner; every third year they cut the branches of the tree--when it is first gathered it is not yet so sweet, but a month after, when it waxeth dry; and with this Pliny ^l agrees, who says it is not odorous while it is green. Pancirollus ^m reckons cinnamon among the things that are lost; and says, that we have no knowledge of the true cinnamon; and reports from Galen, that in his time it was so scarce, that it was rarely found but in the cabinets of emperors. Pliny ⁿ makes mention of it, as used in ointments:

and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels; or one hundred and twenty five ounces; and this is called sweet, because there is a calamus that is not sweet, as Jarchi; this is the same with the sweet cane from a far country, Jer 6:20 from India, as is generally thought; but rather perhaps from Sheba, or some part of Arabia; it must be nearer at hand than India, from whence the Israelites had these spices; and Moses is bid to take them, as if they were near indeed; and Pliny speaks of myrrh, and of sweet calamus, as growing in many places of Arabia, and of cinnamon in Syria ^o; and Dionysius Periegetes ^p mentions calamus along with frankincense, myrrh, and cassia, and calls it sweet smelling calamus; and so Strabo ^q speaks of cassia and cinnamon as in Arabia Felix; and Diodorus Siculus ^r makes mention of all these in Arabia, and of cassia that follows.

Gill: Exo 30:24 - And of cassia five hundred shekels // after the shekel of the sanctuary // and of oil olive an hin

And of cassia five hundred shekels,.... Or two hundred and fifty ounces:

after the shekel of the sanctuary; according to the standard weight kept there. This "cassia" was not the "cassia solutiva", which is of a purgative nature, and now in use in physic, but the "cassia odorata", or the sweet smelling "cassia": which, Pancirollus ^s says, some take to be the nard, out of which a most sweet oil is pressed; and Servius ^t says, that cassia is an herb of a most sweet smell. Pliny ^u speaks of it along with cinnamon; and Galen says, when cinnamon was wanting, it was usual to put in its stead a double quantity of cassia ^w; Leo Africanus speaks of trees in Africa bearing cassia, and which chiefly grew in Egypt ^x:

and of oil olive an hin; containing twelve logs: according to Godwin ^y, it was of our measure three quarts; but, as Bishop Cumberland has more exactly calculated it, it held a wine gallon, a quart, and a little more: this was the purest and best of oil, and most fit and proper to be a part of this holy anointing oil.

Gill: Exo 30:25 - And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment // an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary // it shall be an holy anointing oil

And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment,.... All the above spices and oil being put together, an ointment was to be made out of them, not thick, as ointments usually are, but a liquid to be poured, and therefore called an "oil of ointment", and "holy", because devoted only to sacred uses:

an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: or confectioner; the spices bruised, and pounded, and mixed together, and boiled or distilled, and so an oil or ointment extracted from them:

it shall be an holy anointing oil; for the uses next mentioned: it signified the Holy Spirit of God, and his graces, that oil of gladness with which Christ and his people are anointed; and is that anointing which teacheth all things, see Psa 45:7 1Jo 2:20 comparable to these several spices, and oil olive, for their sweet smell, cheering and reviving nature, and supplying quality, and for their valuableness and preciousness, and of which there was a certain weight and measure; for though Christ received this unction without measure, yet there is a certain measure of grace and gifts bestowed upon his people, and by which they are made holy and fit for their master's use.

Gill: Exo 30:26 - And thou shall anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith // and the ark of the testimony

And thou shall anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith,.... It cannot be thought the whole of it should be anointed all over, but only a part of it for the whole; and this was either typical of the human nature of Christ, the true tabernacle God pitched, and not man, and which was anointed with the Holy Ghost; or of the church and people of God, who are an holy tabernacle or temple of the Lord, and who receive the unction from the Holy One:

and the ark of the testimony; the chest where the law was, and stood in the most holy place of the tabernacle; and was a type of the Messiah, the anointed One, in whose heart the law was, and who is the fulfilling end of it for righteousness.

Gill: Exo 30:27 - And the table, and all his vessels // and the candlestick and his vessels // and the altar of incense

And the table, and all his vessels,.... The shewbread table, with all things appertaining to it, rings, staves, dishes, spoons, bowls, &c. all were anointed; which had respect to Christ, and the communion of his people with him, feeding on him, that food which endures for ever, whom God the Father has sealed and sanctified:

and the candlestick and his vessels; an emblem of the church, and of the light of the word held forth in it, which being accompanied with the grace of the Spirit of God, is the savour of life unto life:

and the altar of incense; on which the odours, the prayers of the saints, come up before God through the mediation of Christ.

Gill: Exo 30:28 - And the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels // and the laver, and his foot

And the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels,.... Pans, shovels, basins, &c. and this altar particularly was sprinkled with it seven times, Lev 8:10,

and the laver, and his foot; the laver of brass for the priests to wash their hands and feet in, and the foot or base of it on which it stood, see Exo 30:18.

Gill: Exo 30:29 - And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy // whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy

And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy,.... By anointing them, and so be set apart for sacred uses only; as by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the people of God, the vessels of mercy, are really sanctified, and made meet for the master's use; and therefore it is called the sanctification of the Spirit, which is true holiness, in opposition to typical or ceremonial holiness, here intended; and if this holy anointing oil made those things most holy that were anointed with it, how much more must the grace of the Spirit those who partake of it; and though it is at present imperfect, it will be perfected, and become complete holiness, without which no man can see the Lord:

whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy; as is said of the most holy altar; see Gill on Exo 29:37. The Targum of Jonathan interprets it of persons that approach these holy places, and things so anointed and sanctified, paraphrasing the words thus;"whosoever cometh unto them of the priests shall be holy, but of the rest of the tribes shall be burnt with flaming fire before the Lord.''

Gill: Exo 30:30 - And thou shall anoint Aaron and his sons // and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office

And thou shall anoint Aaron and his sons,.... Them alone, and not others, as Aben Ezra, who were typical of Christ anointed with the Spirit of God without measure, to his various offices of prophet, priest and King; and also of all the saints, who are anointed priests to God, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ:

and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office; by anointing them, and by other rites mentioned in the preceding chapter; whereby they were set apart for that office, and were qualified for it, and had authority to exercise it.

Gill: Exo 30:31 - And thou shall speak unto the children of Israel // saying, this shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations

And thou shall speak unto the children of Israel,.... When he was come down from the mount, and gave the instructions about the making and using of this oil:

saying, this shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations; Abarbinel, and other Jewish writers, conclude from hence, that this same oil, which was made by Moses, lasted throughout the generations to the times of Josiah, when it was hid with other things; but this, notion is justly exploded by Aben Ezra; it is not probable, that so small a quantity that was now made, which is supposed by some to be no more than a gallon and a half of wine measure, should suffice so long: it does not seem to be more than what was sufficient for present use; for the anointing of so many persons, and things as were anointed, and much less to be sufficient for the anointing of priests and kings in after times, until that period. This cannot be supposed without a miraculous interposition, to which the Talmudists ^z fly, and observe, that there were many miracles in this affair; but there is no need to have recourse to them, since, for aught that is said, it might be made again in like manner for sacred uses, which is meant by the phrase "unto me"; though it might not be made for any other use, private or profane.

Gill: Exo 30:32 - Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured // neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it // it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you

Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured,.... That is, not upon common men, or on men's flesh in common, as was usual at feasts and entertainments in the eastern countries, see Psa 23:5 but this was not to be used on such occasions, otherwise it was poured on the flesh of some men, as Aaron and his sons, on whose head it was poured and ran down to the beard:

neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it; for private uses:

it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you; it was set apart for sacred use by the Lord, and so it was to be reckoned by them, and not to be used in any way, or for any other purpose than he had directed: all which shows, that the grace of the Spirit belongs to the Lord's people, his priests; other men are carnal, and have no lot or part in this matter, and are not to be admitted to holy ordinances, as if they were holy persons; nor is fellowship in holy things to be allowed them; nor is counterfeit grace of any avail, which, though it may bear a likeness to true grace, is not that, nor to be so accounted, nor rested on, as feigned faith, the hypocrite's hope, dissembled love, and pretended humility.

Gill: Exo 30:33 - Whosoever compoundeth any like it // whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger // shall even be cut off from his people

Whosoever compoundeth any like it,.... For his own use, or for any other than what God appointed it for: or

whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger; meaning not a Gentile, an alien from the commonwealth of israel; though Japhet interprets it of such a stranger who was not of the children of Israel; this Aben Ezra says is not right, but he says it means one that is not of the seed of Aaron; and so the Targum of Jonathan,"upon a profane person (or a common person, a laic) that is not of the sons of Aaron:''though the kings of Israel seem to be an exception to this, which might be by a special order from the Lord; yet it is a question whether it was with this, or with common oil, that they were anointed: indeed, the oil with which Solomon was anointed was taken out of the tabernacle, 1Ki 1:39.

shall even be cut off from his people; either by death, by the immediate hand of God inflicting some disease upon him, or by excommunication from the congregation of Israel, or by not favouring him with any posterity, to keep up his name in the nation.

Gill: Exo 30:34 - And the Lord said unto Moses // take unto thee sweet spices // these sweet spices with pure frankincense // of each shall there be a like weight

And the Lord said unto Moses,.... In a continued discourse, or some time after the former, though more probably at the same time; since it concerns the incense to be offered on the altar of incense, about which directions are given in the former part of the chapter:

take unto thee sweet spices: which are as follow, "stacte", "onycha", and "galbanum"; the former of these has its name from dropping; and of the same signification is the Hebrew word "Nataph", here used. Pancirollus says ^a, myrrh is a drop or tear distilling from a tree in Arabia Felix; and stacte is a drop of myrrh, which is extracted from it, and yields a most precious liquor: and so Pliny ^b relates, that myrrh trees sweat out of their own accord, before they are cut, what is called stacte, to which nothing is preferable: though some naturalists, as Theophrastus and Dioscorides ^c speak of this as flowing from it when it is cut; however, all agree it is a liquor that drops from myrrh; though the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret it "balsam" or "rosin"; as does Jarchi on the place, and Maimonides ^d: the second of these, "onycha", has its name from being of the colour of a man's nail, as the onyx stone is, and is the same with the "unguis odorata" or "blatta byzantia". Jarchi says it is the root of a spice, smooth and shining like a man's nail. It is by some"understood of "laudanum" or "balellium"; but the greatest part of commentators explain it by the "onyx", or the odoriferous shell, which is a shell like to that of the shell fish called "purpura": the onyx is fished for in watery places of the Indies, where grows the "spica nardi", which is the food of this fish, and what makes its shell so aromatic: they go to gather these shells when the heat has dried up the marshes. The best onyx is found in the Red sea, and is white and large, the Babylonian is black and smaller; this is what Dioscorides says of it ^e.''And the best being found in the Red sea, it may be reasonably supposed it was what Moses was bid to take. In all India, it is the principal thing in all perfumes, as the aloe is in pills ^f; the Targum of Jonathan interprets it by "costus"; and the Jerusalem Targum by spike of myrrh, meaning perhaps spikenard. The last of these, "galbanum", what now goes by that name, is of a very ill smell, and therefore cannot be thought to be one of these sweet spices; but another is meant, and which, by its name "Chelbanah", was of a fat and unctuous nature; though Jarchi says, galbanum, whose smell is ill, is put among the spices; and Maimonides ^g and Kimchi ^h describe it like black honey, and of an offensive smell; but it must be something odoriferous, and therefore most likely to be the galbanum Pliny ⁱ speaks of as growing on Mount Areanus in Syria, which he mentions along with several sorts of balsams, and as a sort of frankincense; and the Vulgate Latin version, to distinguish it, calls it "galbanum" of a "good smell":

these sweet spices with pure frankincense; for which Sabaea in Arabia Felix was very famous, and was called the thuriferous country, as Pliny ^k says; who observes that there were in it two times of gathering the frankincense, the one in autumn, that which was white, and the purest, the other in the spring, which was reddish, and not to be compared with the former:

of each shall there be a like weight; just as much of one as of the other: in the Hebrew text it is, "alone by alone"; and the sense may be, that each spice was beaten alone, and after that mixed, as Aben Ezra, or weighed alone, and then put together.

Gill: Exo 30:35 - And thou shalt make it a perfume // a confection after the art of the apothecary // tempered together // pure and holy

And thou shalt make it a perfume,.... By mixing the above spices together:

a confection after the art of the apothecary; in the manner they beat, compound, and mix several ingredients together:

tempered together; or "salted" ^l, with salt of Sodom, as Aben Ezra interprets it; and Maimonides ^m says, there was a fourth part of a kab of salt of Sodom put into it: and whether this incense or perfume respects the intercession of Christ or the prayers of his people, they are both savoury and acceptable to God, the latter on account of the former; in all sacrifices salt was used, and every spiritual sacrifice of ours should be seasoned with grace:

pure and holy; such should be the prayers of the saints, and such most certainly is the mediation of Christ, which is his much incense.

Gill: Exo 30:36 - And thou shall beat some of it very small // and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation // where I will meet with thee // it shall be unto you most holy

And thou shall beat some of it very small,.... Or every one of the spices; for this does not seem to respect any different usage of some part of the incense from the rest; but it was all to be beat very small, that it might mix together the better, and be easier spread upon the coals, and the smoke thereof go up the sooner:

and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation; that is, upon the altar of incense, which was placed there, Exo 30:6 and here it was to be put in order to be burnt, not to be kept, either to be looked at, or smelled to:

where I will meet with thee; See Gill on Exo 30:6.

it shall be unto you most holy; reckoned by them most sacred, and not to be put to any private or profane uses.

Gill: Exo 30:37 - And as for the perfume which thou shalt make // ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof // it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord

And as for the perfume which thou shalt make,.... As above directed:

ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof; that is, for their own use, for the scenting of their rooms, or to snuff up, or smell to, as in the next verse:

it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord; separated entirely for his service, to be burned upon his altar, and to be no otherwise used.

Gill: Exo 30:38 - Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto // shall even be cut off from his people

Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto,.... A man might make a perfume of the same ingredients, and of the same weight, and exactly like it, but not to burn for his own delight and pleasure; but if he made it and sold it to the congregation, as Jarchi observes, he was not guilty; but if it was for his own private use and pleasure, then he

shall even be cut off from his people; See Gill on Exo 30:33.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Ayat / Catatan Kaki

NET Notes: Exo 30:1

¹ sn Why this section has been held until now is a mystery. One would have expected to find it with the instructions for the other furnishings. The widespread contemporary view that it was composed later does not answer the question, it merely moves the issue to the work of an editor rather than the author. N. M. Sarna notes concerning the items in chapter 30 that “all the materials for these final items were anticipated in the list of invited donations in 25:3-6” and that they were not needed for installing Aaron and his sons (Exodus [JPSTC], 193). Verses 1-10 can be divided into three sections: the instructions for building the incense altar (1-5), its placement (6), and its proper use (7-10).

² tn The expression is מִזְבֵּחַ מִקְטַר קְטֹרֶת (mizbeakh miqtar qÿtoret), either “an altar, namely an altar of incense,” or “an altar, [for] burning incense.” The second noun is “altar of incense,” although some suggest it is an active noun meaning “burning.” If the former, then it is in apposition to the word for “altar” (which is not in construct). The last noun is “incense” or “sweet smoke.” It either qualifies the “altar of incense” or serves as the object of the active noun. B. Jacob says that in order to designate that this altar be used only for incense, the Torah prepared the second word for this passage alone. It specifies the kind of altar this is (Exodus, 828).

³ tn This is an adverbial accusative explaining the material used in building the altar.

⁴ sn See M. Haran, “The Uses of Incense in Ancient Israel Ritual,” VT 10 (1960): 113-15; N. Glueck, “Incense Altars,” Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, 325-29.

NET Notes: Exo 30:2

¹ tn Heb “a cubit.”

² tn Heb “two cubits.”

³ tn Heb “its horns from it.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:3

¹ tn Heb “roof.”

² tn Heb “its walls around.”

³ tn Heb “and make for it border gold around.” The verb is a consecutive perfect. See Exod 25:11, where the ark also has such a molding.

NET Notes: Exo 30:4

¹ sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second clause clarifies that the rings should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.

² tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.

³ tn Heb “for houses.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:7

¹ tn The text uses a cognate accusative (“incense”) with the verb “to burn” or “to make into incense/sweet smoke.” Then, the noun “sweet spices” is added in apposition to clarify the incense as sweet.

² tn The Hebrew is בְּהֵיטִיבוֹ (bÿhetivo), a Hiphil infinitive construct serving in a temporal clause. The Hebrew verb means “to make good” and so in this context “to fix” or “to dress.” This refers to cleansing and trimming the lamps.

³ sn The point of the little golden altar of incense is normally for intercessory prayer, and then at the Day of Atonement for blood applied atonement. The instructions for making it show that God wanted his people to make a place for prayer. The instructions for its use show that God expects that the requests of his people will be pleasing to him.

NET Notes: Exo 30:10

¹ tn The word “atonements” (plural in Hebrew) is a genitive showing the result or product of the sacrifice made.

² sn This ruling presupposes that the instruction for the Day of Atonement has been given, or at the very least, is to be given shortly. That is the one day of the year that all sin and all ritual impurity would be removed.

³ sn The phrase “most holy to the Lord” means that the altar cannot be used for any other purpose than what is stated here.

NET Notes: Exo 30:11

¹ sn This brief section has been interpreted a number of ways by biblical scholars (for a good survey and discussion, see B. Jacob, Exodus, 829-35). In this context the danger of erecting and caring for a sanctuary may have been in view. A census would be taken to count the losses and to cover the danger of coming into such proximity with the holy place; payment was made to ransom the lives of the people numbered so that they would not die. The money collected would then be used for the care of the sanctuary. The principle was fairly straightforward: Those numbered among the redeemed of the Lord were to support the work of the Lord to maintain their fellowship with the covenant. The passage is fairly easy to outline: I. Every covenant member must give a ransom for his life to avoid death (11-12); II. The ransom is the same for all, whether rich or poor (13-15); and III. The ransom money supports the sanctuary as a memorial for the ransomed (16).

² tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.” This full means for introducing a quotation from the Lord is used again in 30:17, 22; 31:1; and 40:1. It appears first in 6:10. Cynthia L. Miller discusses its use in detail (The Representation of Speech in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, 373-86).

NET Notes: Exo 30:12

¹ tn The expression is “when you take [lift up] the sum [head] of the Israelites.”

² tn The form is לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם (lifqudehem, “according to those that are numbered of/by them”) from the verb פָּקַד (paqad, “to visit”). But the idea of this word seems more to be that of changing or determining the destiny, and so “appoint” and “number” become clear categories of meaning for the word. Here it simply refers to the census, but when this word is used for a census it often involves mustering an army for a military purpose. Here there is no indication of a war, but it may be laying down the principle that when they should do this, here is the price. B. Jacob (Exodus, 835) uses Num 31 as a good illustration, showing that the warrior was essentially a murderer, if he killed anyone in battle. For this reason his blood was forfeit; if he survived he must pay a כֹּפֶר (kofer) because every human life possesses value and must be atoned for. The payment during the census represented a “presumptive ransom” so that they could not be faulted for what they might do in war.

³ tn The “ransom” is כֹּפֶר (kofer), a word related to words translated “atone” and “atonement.” Here the noun refers to what is paid for the life. The idea is that of delivering or redeeming by a substitute – here the substitute is the money. If they paid the amount, their lives would be safe (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:473).

⁴ tn The temporal clause uses a preposition, an infinitive construct, and then an accusative. The subject is supplied: “in numbering them” means “when [you] number them.” The verb could also be rendered “when you muster them.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:13

¹ sn Each man was to pass in front of the counting officer and join those already counted on the other side.

² sn The half shekel weight of silver would be about one-fifth of an ounce (6 grams).

³ sn It appears that some standard is in view for the amount of a shekel weight. The sanctuary shekel is sometimes considered to be twice the value of the ordinary shekel. The “gerah,” also of uncertain meaning, was mentioned as a reference point for the ancient reader to understand the value of the required payment. It may also be that the expression meant “a sacred shekel” and looked at the purpose more – a shekel for sanctuary dues. This would mean that the standard of the shekel weight was set because it was the traditional amount of sacred dues (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 333). “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams…Whether an official standard is meant [by ‘sanctuary shekel’] or whether the sanctuary shekel had a different weight than the ‘ordinary’ shekel is not known” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181).

⁴ tn Or “contribution” (תְּרוּמָה, tÿrumah).

NET Notes: Exo 30:15

¹ tn Or “pay more.”

² tn The form is לָתֵת (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The infinitive here is explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.

³ tn This infinitive construct (לְכַפֵּר, lÿkhapper) provides the purpose of the giving the offering – to atone.

NET Notes: Exo 30:16

¹ tn Heb “the silver of the atonements.” The genitive here is the result (as in “sheep of slaughter”) telling what the money will be used for (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 11, §44).

² sn The idea of “service” is maintenance and care of the sanctuary and its service, meaning the morning and evening sacrifices and the other elements to be used.

³ sn S. R. Driver says this is “to keep Jehovah in continual remembrance of the ransom which had been paid for their lives” (Exodus, 334).

⁴ tn The infinitive could be taken in a couple of ways here. It could be an epexegetical infinitive: “making atonement.” Or it could be the infinitive expressing result: “so that atonement will be made for your lives.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:17

¹ sn Another piece of furniture is now introduced, the laver, or washing basin. It was a round (the root means to be round) basin for holding water, but it had to be up on a pedestal or base to let water run out (through taps of some kind) for the priests to wash – they could not simply dip dirty hands into the basin. This was for the priests primarily to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent. It stood in the courtyard between the altar and the tent. No dimensions are given. The passage can be divided into three sections: the instructions (17-18), the rules for washing (19-20), and the reminder that this is a perpetual statute.

² tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:18

¹ sn The metal for this object was obtained from the women from their mirrors (see Exod 38:8).

² tn Heb “and its stand bronze.”

³ tn The form is the adverb “there” with the directive qamets-he ( ָה).

NET Notes: Exo 30:19

¹ tn That is, from water from it.

NET Notes: Exo 30:20

¹ tn The form is an infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב), and a suffixed subjective genitive: “in their going in,” or, whenever they enter.

² tn “Water” is an adverbial accusative of means, and so is translated “with water.” Gesenius classifies this with verbs of “covering with something.” But he prefers to emend the text with a preposition (see GKC 369 §117.y, n. 1).

³ tn The verb is a Qal imperfect with a nuance of final imperfect. The purpose/result clause here is indicated only with the conjunction: “and they do not die.” But clearly from the context this is the intended result of their washing – it is in order that they not die.

⁴ tn Here, too, the infinitive is used in a temporal clause construction. The verb נָגַשׁ (nagash) is the common verb used for drawing near to the altar to make offerings – the official duties of the priest.

⁵ tn The text uses two infinitives construct: “to minister to burn incense”; the first is the general term and expresses the purpose of the drawing near, and the second infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first infinitive.

⁶ tn The translation “as an offering made by fire” is a standard rendering of the one word in the text that appears to refer to “fire.” Milgrom and others contend that it simply means a “gift” (Leviticus 1-16, 161).

NET Notes: Exo 30:21

¹ tn Heb “and [then] they will wash.”

² tn The verb is “it will be.”

³ tn Heb “for his seed.”

⁴ tn Or “for generations to come”; it literally is “to their generations.”

sn The symbolic meaning of washing has been taught throughout the ages. This was a practical matter of cleaning hands and feet, but it was also symbolic of purification before Yahweh. It was an outward sign of inner spiritual cleansing, or forgiveness. Jesus washed the disciples feet (Jn 13) to show this same teaching; he asked the disciples if they knew what he had done (so it was more than washing feet). In this passage the theological points for the outline would be these: I. God provides the means of cleansing; II. Cleansing is a prerequisite for participating in the worship, and III. (Believers) priests must regularly appropriate God’s provision of cleansing.

NET Notes: Exo 30:22

¹ sn The chapter ends with these two sections. The oil (22-33) is the mark of consecration, and the incense (34-38) is a mark of pleasing service, especially in prayer. So the essence of the message of the chapter is that the servants of God must be set apart by the Spirit for ministry and must be pleasing to God in the ministry.

² tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:23

¹ tn The construction uses the imperative “take,” but before it is the independent pronoun to add emphasis to it. After the imperative is the ethical dative (lit. “to you”) to stress the task to Moses as a personal responsibility: “and you, take to yourself.”

² tn Heb “spices head.” This must mean the chief spices, or perhaps the top spice, meaning fine spices or choice spices. See Song 4:14; Ezek 27:22.

³ tn Or “500 shekels.” Verse 24 specifies that the sanctuary shekel was the unit for weighing the spices. The total of 1500 shekels for the four spices is estimated at between 77 and 100 pounds, or 17 to 22 kilograms, depending on how much a shekel weighed (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:576).

⁴ sn Myrrh is an aromatic substance that flows from the bark of certain trees in Arabia and Africa and then hardens. “The hardened globules of the gum appear also to have been ground into a powder that would have been easy to store and would have been poured from a container” (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).

NET Notes: Exo 30:24

¹ tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.

² tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).

NET Notes: Exo 30:25

¹ tn Heb “it.”

² tn The word “oil” is an adverbial accusative, indicating the product that results from the verb (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §52).

³ tn The somewhat rare words rendered “a perfumed compound” are both associated with a verbal root having to do with mixing spices and other ingredients to make fragrant ointments. They are used with the next phrase, “the work of a perfumer,” to describe the finished oil as a special mixture of aromatic spices and one requiring the knowledge and skills of an experienced maker.

NET Notes: Exo 30:29

¹ tn The verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; in this verse it is summarizing or explaining what the anointing has accomplished. This is the effect of the anointing (see Exod 29:36).

² tn This is the superlative genitive again, Heb “holy of holies.”

³ tn See Exod 29:37; as before, this could refer to anything or anyone touching the sanctified items.

NET Notes: Exo 30:30

¹ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.

NET Notes: Exo 30:32

¹ tn Without an expressed subject, the verb may be treated as a passive. Any common use, as in personal hygiene, would be a complete desecration.

NET Notes: Exo 30:33

¹ tn Heb “a stranger,” meaning someone not ordained a priest.

² sn The rabbinic interpretation of this is that it is a penalty imposed by heaven, that the life will be cut short and the person could die childless.

NET Notes: Exo 30:34

¹ tn The construction is “take to you,” which could be left in that literal sense, but more likely the suffix is an ethical dative, stressing the subject of the imperative.

² sn This is from a word that means “to drip”; the spice is a balsam that drips from a resinous tree.

³ sn This may be a plant, or it may be from a species of mollusks; it is mentioned in Ugaritic and Akkadian; it gives a pungent odor when burnt.

⁴ sn This is a gum from plants of the genus Ferula; it has an unpleasant odor, but when mixed with others is pleasant.

⁵ tn The word “spice is repeated here, suggesting that the first three formed half of the ingredient and this spice the other half – but this is conjecture (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 400).

⁶ tn Heb “of each part there will be an equal part.”

NET Notes: Exo 30:35

¹ tn This is an accusative of result or product.

² tn The word is in apposition to “incense,” further defining the kind of incense that is to be made.

³ tn The word מְמֻלָּח (mÿmullakh), a passive participle, is usually taken to mean “salted.” Since there is no meaning like that for the Pual form, the word probably should be taken as “mixed,” as in Rashi and Tg. Onq. Seasoning with salt would work if it were food, but since it is not food, if it means “salted” it would be a symbol of what was sound and whole for the covenant. Some have thought that it would have helped the incense burn quickly with more smoke.

NET Notes: Exo 30:38

¹ tn Or to smell it, to use for the maker’s own pleasure.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:1

And thou shalt make an altar ^{( a )} to burn incense upon: [of] shittim wood shalt thou make it.

^{( a )} Upon which the sweet perfume was burnt, (Exo 30:34).

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:2

A cubit [shall be] the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits [shall be] the height thereof: the horns thereof [shall be] ^{( b )} of the same.

^{( b )} Of the same wood and matter.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:6

And thou shalt put it ^{( c )} before the vail that [is] by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that [is] over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

^{( c )} That is, in the sanctuary, and not in the holiest of all.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:7

And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he ^{( d )} dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

^{( d )} Meaning, when he trims them, and refreshes the oil.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:9

Ye shall offer no ^{( e )} strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering ^{( f )} thereon.

^{( e )} Otherwise made them this, which is described.

^{( f )} But it must only serve to burn perfume.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:12

When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man ^{( g )} a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when [thou] numberest them.

^{( g )} By which he testified that he redeemed his life which he had forfeit, as is declared by David, (2Sa 24:1).

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:13

This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the ^{( h )} shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel [is] twenty gerahs:) an half shekel [shall be] the offering of the LORD.

^{( h )} This shekel was worth two common shekels: and the gerah about 12 pence at a rate of five shillings sterling to an ounce of silver.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:15

The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [they] give an offering unto the LORD, ^{( i )} to make an atonement for your souls.

^{( i )} That God should be merciful to you.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:19

For Aaron and his sons shall ^{( k )} wash their hands and their feet thereat:

^{( k )} Signifying that he that comes to God must be washed from all sin and corruption.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:21

So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute ^{( l )} for ever to them, [even] to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

^{( l )} So long as the priesthood shall last.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:23

Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred ^{( m )} [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon half so much, [even] two hundred and fifty [shekels], and of sweet ^{( n )} calamus two hundred and fifty [shekels],

^{( m )} Weighing so much.

^{( n )} It is a type of reed with a very sweet savour within, and it is used in powders and odours.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:26

And thou shalt anoint the ^{( o )} tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

^{( o )} All things which belong to the tabernacle.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:32

Upon ^{( p )} man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make [any other] like it, after the composition of it: it [is] holy, [and] it shall be holy unto you.

^{( p )} Neither at their burials nor otherwise.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:33

Whosoever compoundeth [any] like it, or whosoever putteth [any] of it upon ^{( q )} a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

^{( q )} Either a stranger or an Israelite, save only the priests.

Geneva Bible: Exo 30:34

And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and ^{( r )} onycha, and galbanum; [these] sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like [weight]:

^{( r )} In Hebrew, Sheheleth: which is a sweet kind of gum and shines as the nail.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Rentang Ayat

Maclaren: Exo 30:1 - The Altar Of Incense

Exodus 30:1

Ceremonies are embodied thoughts. Religious ceremonies are molded by, and seek to express, the worshipper's conception of his God, and his own relation to Him; his aspirations and his need. Of late years scholars have been busy studying the religions of the more backward races, and explaining rude and repulsive rites by pointing to the often profound and sometimes beautiful ideas underlying them. When that process is applied to Australian and Fijian savages, it is honored as a new and important study; when we apply it to the Mosaic Ritual it is pooh-poohed as foolish spiritualizing.' Now, no doubt, there has been a great deal of nonsense talked in regard to this matter, and a great deal of ingenuity wasted in giving a Christian meaning--or, may! say, a Christian twist?-to every pin of the Tabernacle, and every detail of the ritual. Of course, to exaggerate a truth is the surest way to discredit a truth, but the truth remains true all the same, and underneath that elaborate legislation, which makes such wearisome and profitless reading for the most of us, in the Pentateuch, there lie, if we can only grasp them, great thoughts and lessons that we shall all be the better for pondering.

To one item of these, this altar of incense, I call attention now, because it is rich in suggestions, and leads us into very sacred regions of the Christian life which are by no means so familiar to many of us as they ought to be. Let me just for one moment state the facts with which I wish to deal The Jewish Tabernacle, and subsequently the Temple, were arranged in three compartments: the outermost court, which was accessible to all the people; the second, which was trodden by the priests alone; and the third, where the Shechinah dwelt in solitude, broken only once a year by the foot of the High Priest. That second court we are concerned with now. There are three pieces of ecclesiastical furniture in it: an altar in the center, flanked on either side by a great lampstand, and a table on which were piled loaves. It is to that central piece of furniture that I ask your attention now, and to the thoughts that underlie it, and the lessons that it teaches.

I. This Altar Shows Us What Prayer Is.

Suppose we had been in that court when in the morning or in the evening the priest came with the glowing pan of coals from another altar in the outer court, and laid it on this altar, and heaped upon it the sticks of incense, we should have seen the curling, fragrant wreaths ascending till the House was filled with smoke,' as a prophet once saw it. We should not have wanted any interpreter to tell us what that meant. What could that rising cloud of sweet odorous signify but the ascent of the soul towards God? Put that into more abstract words, and it is just the old, hackneyed commonplace which I seek to try to freshen a little now, that incense is the symbol of prayer. That is so is plain enough, not only from the natural propriety of the case, but because you find the identification distinctly stated in several places in Scripture, of which I quote but two instances. In one psalm we read, Let my prayer come before Thee as incense.' In the Book of the Apocalypse we read of golden bowls full of odorous, which are the prayers of saints.' And that the symbolism was understood by, and modified the practice of, the nation, we are taught when we read that whilst Zechariah the priest was within the court offering incense, as it was his lot to do,' the whole multitude of the people were without praying,' doing that which the priest within the court symbolized by his offering. So then we come to this, dear friends, that we fearfully misunderstand and limit the nobleness and the essential character of prayer when, as we are always tempted to do by our inherent self-regard, we make petition its main feature and form. Of course, so long as we are what we shall always be in this world, needy and sinful creatures; and so long as we are what we shall ever be in all worlds, creatures absolutely dependent for life and everything on the will and energy of God, petition must necessarily be a very large part of prayer. But the more we grow into His likeness, and the more we understand the large privileges and the glorious possibilities which lie in prayer, the more will the relative proportions of its component parts be changed, and petition will become less, and aspiration will become more. The essence of prayer, the noblest form of it, is thus typified by the cloud of sweet odorous that went up before God.

In all true prayer there must be the lowest prostration in reverence before the Infinite Majesty. But the noblest prayer is that which lifts' them that are bowed down' rather than that which prostrates men before an inaccessible Deity. And so, whilst we lie low at His feet, that may be the prayer of a mere theist, but when our hearts go out towards Him, and we are drawn to Himself, that is the prayer that befits Christian aspiration; the ascent of the soul toward God is the true essence of prayer. As one of the non-Christian philosophers--seekers after God, if ever there were such, and who, I doubt not, found Him whom they sought--has put it, the flight of the lonely soul to the only God'; that is prayer. Is that my prayer? We come to Him many a time burdened with some very real sorrow, or weighted with some pressing responsibility, and we should not be true to ourselves, or to Him, if our prayer did not take the shape of petition. But, as we pray, the blessing of the transformation of its character should be realized by us, and that which began with the cry for help and deliverance should always be, and it always will be, if the cry for help and deliverance has been of the right sort, sublimed into Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' The Book of Ecclesiastes describes death as the return of the spirit to God who gave it.' That is the true description of prayer, a going back to the fountain's source. Flames aspire; to the place' whence the rivers came thither they return again.' The homing pigeon or the migrating bird goes straight through many degrees of latitude, and across all sorts of weather, to the place whence it came. Ah! brethren, let us ask ourselves if our spirits thus aspire and soar. Do we know what it is to be, if I might so say, like those captive balloons that are ever yearning upwards, and stretching to the loftiest point permitted them by the cord that tethers them to earth?

Now another thought that this altar of incense may teach us is that the prayer that soars must be kindled. There is no fragrance in a stick of incense lying there. No wreaths of ascending smoke come from it. It has to be kindled before its sweet odor can be set free and ascend. That is why so much of our prayer is of no delight to God, and of no benefit to us, because it is not on fire with the flame of a heart kindled into love and thankfulness by the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The cold vapors lie like a winding-sheet down in the valleys until the sun smites them, warms them, and draws them up. And our desires will hover in the low levels, and be dank and damp, until they are drawn up to the heights by the warmth of the Sun of righteousness. Oh! brethren, the formality and the coldness, to say nothing of the inconsecutiveness and the interruptedness by rambling thoughts that we all know in our petitions, in our aspirations, are only to be cured in one way :--

Come! shed abroad a Savior's love,And that will kindle ours.'

It is the stretched string that gives out musical notes; the slack one is dumb. And if we desire that we may be able to be sure, as our Master was, when He said, I know that Thou hearest me always,' we must pray as He did, of whom it is recorded that He prayed the more earnestly,' and was heard in that He feared.' The word rendered the more earnestly' carries in it a metaphor drawn from that very fact that I have referred to. It means with the more stretched-out extension and intensity.' If our prayers are to be heard as music in heaven, they must come from a stretched string.

Once more, this altar of incense teaches us that kindled prayer delights God. That emblem of the sweet odor is laid hold of with great boldness by more than one Old and New Testament writer, in order to express the marvelous thought that there is a mutual joy in the prayer of faith and love, and that it rises as an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.' The cuneiform inscriptions give that thought with characteristic vividness and grossness when they speak about the gods being gathered like flies round the steam of the sacrifice.' We have the same thought, freed from all its grossness, when we think that the curling wreaths going up from a heart aspiring and enflamed, come to Him as a sweet odor, and delight His soul. People say, that is anthropomorphism making God too like a man.' Well, man is like God, at any rate, and surely the teaching of that great name Father' carries with it the assurance that just as fathers of flesh are glad when they see that their children like best to be with them, so there is something analogous in that joy before the angels of heaven which the Father has, not only because of the prodigal who comes back, but because of the child who has long been with Him, and is ever seeking to nestle closer to His heart. The Psalmist was lost in wonder and thankfulness that he was able to say tie was ex-toiled with my tongue.' Surely it should be a gracious, encouraging, strengthening thought to us all, that even our poor aspirations may minister to the divine gladness.

Now let us turn to another thought.

II. This Altar Shows Us Where Prayer Stands In The Christian Life.

There are two or three points in regard to its position which it is no fanciful spiritualizing, but simply grasping the underlying meaning of the institution, if we emphasize. First, let me remind you that there was another altar in the outer court, whereon was offered the daily sacrifice for the sins of the people. That altar came first, and the sacrifice had to be offered on it first, before the priest came into the inner court with the coals from that altar, and the incense kindled by them. What does that say to us? The altar of incense is not approached until we have been to the altar of sacrifice. It is no mere arbitrary appointment, nor piece of evangelical narrowness, which says that there is no real access to God, in all the fullness and reality of His revealed character for us sinful men, until our sins have been dealt with, taken away by the Lamb of God, sacrificed for us. And it is simply the transcript of experience which declares that there will be little inclination or desire to come to God with the sacrifice of praise and prayer until we have been to Christ, the sacrifice of propitiation and pardon. Brethren, we need to be cleansed, and we can only be delivered from the unholiness which is the perpetual and necessary barrier to our vision of God by making our very own, through simple faith, the energy and the blessedness of that great Sacrifice of propitiation. Then, and then only, do we properly come to the altar of incense. Its place in the Christian life is second, not first. First be reconciled to thy' Father, then lay' the incense on the altar.'

Again, great and deep lessons are given to us in the place of our altar in regard to the other articles that stood in that inner court. I have said that there were three of them. In the center this altar of incense; on the one hand the great lampstand; on the other hand the table with loaves thereon. The one symbolized Israel's function in the world to be its light, which is our function too, and the other with loaves thereon symbolized the consecration to God of Israel's activities, and their results.

But between the two, central to both, stood the altar of incense. What does that say as to the place of prayer, defined as I have defined it, in the Christian life? It says this, that the light will burn dim and go out, and the loaves, the expression and the consequences of our activities, will become moldy and dry, unless both are hallowed and sustained by prayer. And that lesson is one which we all need, and which I suppose this generation needs quite as much as, if not more than, any that has gone before it. For life has become so swift and rushing, and from all sides, the Church, the world, society, there come such temptations, and exhortations, and necessities, for. strenuous and continuous work, that the basis of all wholesome and vigorous work, communion with God, is but too apt to be put aside and relegated to some inferior position. The carbon points of the electric arc-light are eaten away with tremendous rapidity in the very act of giving forth their illumination, and they need to be continually approximated and to be frequently renewed. The oil is burned away in the act of shining, and the lamp needs to be charged again. If we are to do our work in the world as its lights, and if we are to have any activities fit to be consecrated to God and laid on the Table before the Veil, it can only be by our making the altar of incense the center, and these others subsidiary.

One last thought--the place of prayer in the Christian life is shadowed for us by the position of this altar in reference to the secret place of the Most High,' that mysterious inner court which was dark but for the Shechinah's light, and lonely but for the presence of the worshipping cherubim and the worshipped God. It stood, as we are told a verse or two after my text, before the veil.' A straight line drawn from the altar of sacrifice would have bisected the altar of incense as it passed into the mercy-seat and the glory. And that just tells us that the place of prayer in the Christian lift is that it is the direct way of coming close to God. Dear brother, we shall never lift the veil, and stand in the secret place of the Most High,' unless we take the altar of incense on our road.

There is one more thought here--

III. The Altar Of Incense Shows Us How Prayer Is To Be Cultivated.

Twice a day, morning and evening, came the officiating priest with his pan of coals and incense, and laid it there; and during all the intervening hours between the morning and the evening the glow lay half hidden in the incense, and there was a faint but continual emission of fragrance from the smoldering mass that had been renewed in the morning, and again in the evening. And does not that say something to us? There must be definite times of distinct prayer if the aroma of devotion is to be diffused through our else scentless days. I ask for no pedantic adherence, with monastic mechanicalness, to hours and times, and forms of petitions. These are needful crutches to many of us. But what I do maintain is that all that talk which we hear so much of in certain quarters nowadays as to its not being necessary for us to have special times of prayer, and as to its being far better to have devotion diffused through our lives, and of how laborare est orate--to labor is to pray--all that is pernicious nonsense if it is meant to say that the incense will be fragrant and smolder unless it is stirred up and renewed night and morning. There must be definite times of prayer if there is to be diffused devotion through the day. What would you think of people that said, Run your cars by electricity. Get it out of the wires; it will come! Never mind putting up any generating stations ? And not less foolish are they who seek for a devotion permeating life which is not often concentrated into definite and specific acts.

But the other side is as true. It is bad to clot your religion into lumps, and to leave the rest of the life without it. There must be the smoldering all day long. Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing.' You can pray thus. Not set prayer, of course; but a reference to Him, a thought of Him, like some sweet melody, so sweet we know not we are listening to it,' may breathe its fragrance, and diffuse its warmth into the commonest and smallest of our daily activities. It was when Gideon was threshing wheat that the angel appeared to him. It was when Elisha was ploughing that the divine inspiration touched him. It was when the disciples were fishing that they saw the Form on the shore. And when we are in the way of our common life it is possible that the Lord may meet us, and that our souls may be aspiring to Him. Then work will be worship; then burdens will be lightened; then our lamps will burn; then the fruits of our daily lives will ripen; then our lives will be noble; then our spirits will rest as well as soar, and find fruition and aspiration perpetually alternating in stable succession of eternal progress.

Maclaren: Exo 30:12 - Ransom For Souls--I.

Exodus 30:12

This remarkable provision had a religious intention. Connect it with the tax-money which Peter found in the fish's mouth.

I. Its Meaning. Try To Realize An Israelite's Thoughts At The Census.

I am enrolled among the people and army of God: am I worthy? What am I, to serve so holy a God?' The payment was meant-

(a) To excite the sense of sin. This should be present in all approach to God, in all service; accompanying the recognition of our Christian standing. Our sense of sin is far too slight and weak; this defect is at the root of much feebleness in popular religion. The sense of sin must embrace not outward acts only, but inner spirit also.

(b) To suggest the possibility of expiation. It was ransom,' i.e. covering,' something paid that guilt might be taken away and sin regarded as non-existent. This is, of course, obviously, only a symbol. No tax could satisfy God for sin. The very smallness of the amount shows that it is symbolical only. Not with corruptible things as silver' is man redeemed.

II. Its Identity For All. Rich Or Poor, High Or Low, All Men Are Equal In Sin.

There are surface differences and degrees, but a deep identity beneath. So on the same principle all souls are of the same value. Here is the true democracy of Christianity. So there is one ransom for all, for the need of all is identical.

III. It Was Melted Down For Use In The Sanctuary.

Its use. It was melted down for use in the sanctuary, so as to be a memorial' permanently present to God when His people met with Him. The greater portion was made into bases for the boards of the sanctuary. That is, God's dwelling with men and our communion with Him all rest on the basis of ransom. We are brought nigh by the blood of Christ,'

Maclaren: Exo 30:15 - Ransom For Souls--II

Exodus 30:15

This tax was exacted on numbering the people. It was a very small amount, about fifteen pence, so it was clearly symbolical in its significance. Notice--

I. The Broad Principle Of Equality,

Of all souls in the sight of God. Contrast the reign of caste and class in heathendom with the democracy of Judaism and of Christianity.

II. The Universal Sinfulness.

Payment of the tax was a confession that all were alike in this: not that all were equally sinful, but all were sinful, whatever variations of degree might exist.

There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.'

III. The One Ransom.

It was a prophecy of which we know the meaning. Recall the incident of the stater' in the fish's mouth.

Christ declares His exemption from the tax. Yet He voluntarily comes under it, and He provides the payment of it for Himself and for Peter.

He does so by a miracle.

The Apostle has to take and give it'; so faith is called into exercise.

Thus there is but one Sacrifice for all; and the poorest can exercise faith and the richest can do no more. None other name.'

MHCC: Exo 30:1-10

The altar of incense represented the Son of God in his human nature, and the incense burned thereon typified his pleading for his people. The continual intercession of Christ was represented by the daily burning of incense thereon, morning and evening. Once every year the blood of the atonement was to be applied to it, denoting that the intercession of Christ has all its virtue from his sufferings on earth, and that we need no other sacrifice or intercessor but Christ alone.

MHCC: Exo 30:11-16

The tribute was half a shekel, about fifteen pence of our money. The rich were not to give more, nor the poor less; the souls of the rich and poor are alike precious, and God is no respecter of persons, Act 10:34; Job 34:19. In other offerings men were to give according to their wordly ability; but this, which was the ransom of the soul, must be alike for all. The souls of all are of equal value, equally in danger, and all equally need a ransom. The money raised was to be used in the service of the tabernacle. Those who have the benefit, must not grudge the necessary charges of God's public worship. Money cannot make atonement for the soul, but it may be used for the honour of Him who has made the atonement, and for the maintenance of the gospel by which the atonement is applied.

MHCC: Exo 30:17-21

A large vessel of brass, holding water, was to be set near the door of the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet at this laver, every time they went in to minister. This was to teach them purity in all their services, and to dread the pollution of sin. They must not only wash and be made clean, when first made priests, but must wash and be kept clean, whenever they went to minister. It teaches us daily to attend upon God, daily to renew our repentance for sin, and our looking to the blood of Christ for remission; for in many things we daily offend.

MHCC: Exo 30:22-38

Directions are here given for making the holy anointing oil, and the incense to be used in the service of the tabernacle. To show the excellency of holiness, there was this spiced oil in the tabernacle, which was grateful to the sight and to the smell. Christ's name is as ointment poured forth, Son 1:3, and the good name of Christians is like precious ointment, Ecc 7:1. The incense burned upon the golden altar was prepared of sweet spices. When it was used, it was to be beaten very small; thus it pleased the Lord to bruise the Redeemer, when he offered himself for a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour. The like should not be made for any common use. Thus God would keep in the people's minds reverence for his own services, and teach us not to profane or abuse any thing whereby God makes himself known. It is a great affront to God to jest with sacred things, and to make sport with his word and ordinances. It is most dangerous and fatal to use professions of the gospel of Christ to forward wordly interests.

Matthew Henry: Exo 30:1-10

I. The orders given concerning the altar of incense are, 1. That it was to be made of wood, and covered with gold, pure gold, about a yard high and half a yard square, with horns at the corners, a golden cornice round it, with rings and staves of gold, for the convenience of carrying it, Exo 30:1-5. It does not appear that there was any grate to this altar for the ashes to fall into, that they might be taken away; but, when they burnt incense, a golden censer was brought with coals in it, and placed upon the altar, and in that censer the incense was burnt, and with it all the coals were taken away, so that no coals nor ashes fell upon the altar. The measure of the altar of incense in Ezekiel's temple is double to what it is here (Eze 41:22), and it is there called an altar of wood, and there is no mention of gold, to signify that the incense, in gospel times, should be spiritual, the worship plain, and the service of God enlarged, for in every place incense should be offered, Mal 1:11. 2. That it was to be placed before the veil, on the outside of that partition, but before the mercy-seat, which was within the veil, Exo 30:6. For though he that ministered at the altar could not see the mercy-seat, the veil interposing, yet he must look towards it, and direct his incense that way, to teach us that though we cannot with our bodily eyes see the throne of grace, that blessed mercy-seat (for it is such a throne of glory that God, in compassion to us, holds back the face of it, and spreads a cloud upon it), yet we must in prayer by faith set ourselves before it, direct our prayer, and look up. 3. That Aaron was to burn sweet incense upon this altar, every morning and every evening, about half a pound at a time, which was intended, not only to take away the ill smell of the flesh that was burnt daily on the brazen altar, but for the honour of God, and to show the acceptableness of his people's services to him, and the pleasure which they should take in ministering to him, Exo 30:7, Exo 30:8. As by the offerings on the brazen altar satisfaction was made for what had been done displeasing to God, so, by the offering on this, what they did well was, as it were, recommended to the divine acceptance; for our two great concerns with God are to be acquitted from guilt and accepted as righteous in his sight. 4. That nothing was to be offered upon it but incense, nor any incense but that which was appointed, Exo 30:9. God will have his own service done according to his own appointment, and not otherwise. 5. That this altar should be purified with the blood of the sin-offering put upon the horns of it, every year, upon the day of atonement, Exo 30:10. See Lev 16:18, Lev 16:19. The high priest was to take this in his way, as he came out from the holy of holies. This was to intimate to them that the sins of the priests who ministered at this altar, and of the people for whom they ministered, put a ceremonial impurity upon it, from which it must be cleansed by the blood of atonement.

II. This incense-altar typified, 1. The mediation of Christ. The brazen altar in the court was a type of Christ dying on earth; the golden altar in the sanctuary was a type of Christ interceding in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. This altar was before the mercy-seat; for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; he is our advocate with the father (1Jo 2:1), and his intercession is unto God of a sweet-smelling savour. This altar had a crown fixed to it; for Christ intercedes as king. Father, I will, Joh 17:24. 2. The devotions of the saints, whose prayers are said to be set forth before God as incense, Psa 141:2. As the smoke of the incense ascended, so much our desires towards God rise in prayer, being kindled with the fire of holy love and other pious affections. When the priest was burning incense the people were praying (Luk 1:10), to signify that prayer is the true incense. This incense was offered daily, it was a perpetual incense (Exo 30:8); for we must pray always, that is, we must keep up stated times for prayer every day, morning and evening, at least, and never omit it, but thus pray without ceasing. The lamps were dressed or lighted at the same time that the incense was burnt, to teach us that the reading of the scriptures (which are our light and lamp) is a part of our daily work, and should ordinarily accompany our prayers and praises. When we speak to God we must hear what God says to us, and thus the communion is complete. The devotions of sanctified souls are well-pleasing to God, of a sweet-smelling savour; the prayers of saints are compared to sweet odours (Rev 5:8), but it is the incense which Christ adds to them that makes them acceptable (Rev 8:3), and his blood that atones for the guilt which cleaves to our best services. And, if the heart and life be not holy, even incense is an abomination (Isa 1:13), and he that offers it is as if he blessed an idol, Isa 66:3.

Matthew Henry: Exo 30:11-16

Some observe that the repetition of those words, The Lord spoke unto Moses, here and afterwards (Exo 30:17, Exo 30:22, Exo 30:34), intimates that God did not deliver these precepts to Moses in the mount, in a continued discourse, but with many intermissions, giving him time either to write what was said to him or at least to charge his memory with it. Christ gave instructions to his disciples as they were able to hear them. Moses is here ordered to levy money upon the people by way of poll, so much a head, for the service of the tabernacle. This he must do when he numbered the people. Some think that it refers only to the first numbering of them, now when the tabernacle was set up; and that this tax was to make up what was deficient in the voluntary contributions for the finishing of the work, or rather for the beginning of the service in the tabernacle. Others think that it was afterwards repeated upon any emergency and always when the people were numbered, and that David offended in not demanding it when he numbered the people. But many of the Jewish writers, and others from them, are of opinion that it was to be an annual tribute, only it was begun when Moses first numbered the people. This was that tribute-money which Christ paid, for fear of offending his adversaries (Mat 17:27), when yet he showed good reason why he should have been excused. Men were appointed in every city to receive this payment yearly. Now, 1. The tribute to be paid was half a shekel, about fifteen pence of our money. The rich were not to give more, nor the poor less (Exo 30:15), to intimate that the souls of the rich and poor are alike precious, and that God is no respecter of persons, Act 10:34; Job 34:19. In other offerings men were to give according to their ability; but this, which was the ransom of the soul, must be alike for all; for the rich have as much need of Christ as the poor, and the poor are as welcome to him as the rich. They both alike contributed to the maintenance of the temple-service, because both were to have a like interest in it and benefit by it. In Christ and his ordinances rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker, the Lord Christ is the Redeemer of them both, Pro 22:2. The Jews say, "If a man refused to pay this tribute, he was not comprehended in the expiation."2. this tribute was to be paid as a ransom of the soul, that there might be no plague among them. Hereby they acknowledged that they received their lives from God, that they had forfeited their lives to him, and that they depended upon his power and patience for the continuance of them; and thus they did homage to the God of their lives, and deprecated those plagues which their sins had deserved. 3. This money that was raised was to be employed in the service of the tabernacle (Exo 30:16); with it they bought sacrifices, flour, incense, wine, oil, fuel, salt, priests' garments, and all other things which the whole congregation was interested in. Note, Those that have the benefit of God's tabernacle among them must be willing to defray the expenses of it, and not grudge the necessary charges of God's public worship. Thus we must honour the Lord with our substance, and reckon that best laid out which is laid out in the service of God. Money indeed cannot make an atonement for the soul, but it may be used for the honour of him who has made the atonement, and for the maintenance of the gospel by which the atonement is applied.

Matthew Henry: Exo 30:17-21

Orders are here given, 1. For the making of a laver, or font, of brass, a large vessel, that would contain a good quantity of water, which was to be set near the door of the tabernacle, Exo 30:18. The foot of brass, it is supposed, was so contrived as to receive the water, which was let into it out of the laver by spouts or cocks. They then had a laver for the priests only to wash in, but to us now there is a fountain open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in (Zec 13:1), an inexhaustible fountain of living water, so that it is our own fault if we remain in our pollution. 2. For the using of this laver. Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet at this laver every time they went in to minister, every morning, at least, Exo 30:19-21. For this purpose clean water was put into the laver fresh every day. Though they washed themselves ever so clean at their own houses, that would not serve; they must wash at the laver, because that was appointed for washing, 2Ki 5:12-14. This was designed, (1.) To teach them purity in all their ministrations, and to possess them with a reverence of God's holiness and a dread of the pollutions of sin. They must not only wash and be made clean when they were first consecrated, but they must wash and be kept clean whenever they went in to minister. He only shall stand in God's holy place that has clean hands and a pure heart, Psa 24:3, Psa 24:4. And, (2.) It was to teach us, who are daily to attend upon God, daily to renew our repentance for sin and our believing application of the blood of Christ to our souls for remission; for in many things we daily offend and contract pollution, Joh 13:8, Joh 13:10; Jam 3:2. This is the preparation we are to make for solemn ordinances. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts, and then draw nigh to God, Jam 4:8. To this law David alludes in Psa 26:6, I will wash my hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar, O Lord.

Matthew Henry: Exo 30:22-38

Directions are here given for the composition of the holy anointing oil and the incense that were to be used in the service of the tabernacle; with these God was to be honoured, and therefore he would appoint the making of them; for nothing comes to God but what comes from him. 1. The holy anointing oil is here ordered to be made up the ingredients, and their quantities, are prescribed, Exo 30:23-25. Interpreters are not agreed concerning them; we are sure, in general, they were the best and fittest for the purpose; they must needs be so when the divine wisdom appointed them for the divine honour. It was to be compounded secundum artem - after the art of the apothecary (Exo 30:25); the spices, which were in all nearly half a hundred weight, were to be infused in the oil, which was to be about five or six quarts, and then strained out, leaving an admirable sweet smell in the oil. With this oil God's tent and all the furniture of it were to be anointed; it was to be used also in the consecration of the priests, Exo 30:26-30. It was to be continued throughout their generations, Exo 30:31. The tradition of the Jews is that this very oil which was prepared by Moses himself lasted till near the captivity. But bishop Patrick shows the great improbability of the tradition, and supposes that it was repeated according to the prescription here, for Solomon was anointed with it (1Ki 1:39), and some other of the kings; and all the high priests with such a quantity of it that it ran down to the skirts of the garments; and we read of the making up of this ointment (1Ch 9:30): yet all agree that in the second temple there was none of this holy oil, which he supposes was owing to a notion they had that it was not lawful to make it up, Providence overruling that want as a presage of the better unction of the Holy Ghost in gospel times, the variety of whose gifts was typified by these several sweet ingredients. To show the excellency of holiness, there was that in the tabernacle which was in the highest degree grateful both to the sight and to the smell. Christ's name is said to be as ointment poured forth (Son 1:3), and the good name of Christians better than precious ointment, Ecc 7:1. 2. The incense which was burned upon the golden altar was prepared of sweet spices likewise, though not so rare and rich as those of which the anointing oil was compounded, Exo 30:34, Exo 30:35. This was prepared once a year (the Jews say), a pound for each day of the year, and three pounds over for the day of atonement. When it was used, it was to be beaten very small: thus it pleased the Lord to bruise the Redeemer when he offered himself for a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour. 3. Concerning both these preparations the same law is here given (Exo 30:32, Exo 30:33, Exo 30:37, Exo 30:38), that the like should not be made for any common use. Thus God would preserve in the people's minds a reverence for his own institutions, and teach us not to profane nor abuse any thing whereby God makes himself known, as those did who invented to themselves (for their common entertainments) instruments of music like David, Amo 6:5. It is a great affront to God to jest with sacred things, particularly to make sport with the word and ordinances of God, or to treat them with lightness, Mat 22:5. That which is God's peculiar must not be used as a common thing.

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:1-10

The Altar of Incense and Incense-Offering bring the directions concerning the sanctuary to a close. What follows, from Ex 30:11-31:17, is shown to be merely supplementary to the larger whole by the formula "and Jehovah spake unto Moses,"with which every separate command is introduced (cf. Exo 30:11, Exo 30:17, Exo 30:22, Exo 30:24, Exo 31:1, Exo 31:12).

Exo 30:1-6

(cf. Exo 37:25-28). Moses was directed to make an altar of burning of incense (lit., incensing of incense), of acacia-wood, one cubit long and one broad, four-cornered, two cubits high, furnished with horns like the altar of burnt-offering (Exo 27:1-2), and to plate it with pure gold, the roof ( גּג ) thereof (i.e., its upper side or surface, which was also made of wood), and its walls round about, and its horns; so that it was covered with gold quite down to the ground upon which it stood, and for this reason is often called the golden altar (Exo 39:38; Exo 40:5, Exo 40:26; Num 4:11). Moreover it was to be ornamented with a golden wreath, and furnished with golden rings at the corners for the carrying-poles, as the ark of the covenant and the table of shew-bread were (Exo 25:11., Exo 25:25.); and its place was to be in front of the curtain, which concealed the ark of the covenant (Exo 26:31), "before the capporeth"(Exo 40:5), so that, although it really stood in the holy place between the candlestick on the south side and the table on the north (Exo 26:35; Exo 40:22, Exo 40:24), it was placed in the closest relation to the capporeth , and for this reason is not only connected with the most holy place in 1Ki 6:22, but is reckoned in Heb 9:4 as part of the furniture of the most holy place (see Delitzsch on Heb 9:4).

Exo 30:7-9

Upon this altar Aaron was to burn fragrant incense, the preparation of which is described in Exo 30:34., every morning and evening before Jehovah, at the time when he trimmed the lamps. No "strange incense"was to be offered upon it, - i.e., incense which Jehovah had not appointed (cf. Lev 10:1), that is to say, which had not been prepared according to His instructions-nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat-offering; and no drink-offering was to be poured upon it. As the altar of incense was not only marked as a place of sacrifice by its name מזבּח , "place of slain-offering,"but was put on a par with the altar of sacrifice by its square shape and its horns, it was important to describe minutely what sacrifices were to be offered upon it. For the burning of fragrant incense is shown to be a sacrifice, by the fact that it was offered upon a place of sacrifice, or altar. Moreover the word הקטיר , to cause to ascend in smoke and steam, from קטר to smoke or steam, is not only applied to the lighting of incense, but also to the lighting and burning of the bleeding and bloodless sacrifices upon the altar of incense. Lastly, the connection between the incense-offering and the burnt-offering is indicated by the rule that they were to be offered at the same time. Both offerings shadowed forth the devotion of Israel to its God, whilst the fact that they were offered every day exhibited this devotion as constant and uninterrupted. But the distinction between them consisted in this, that in the burnt or whole offering Israel consecrated and sanctified its whole life and action in both body and soul to the Lord, whilst in the incense-offering its prayer was embodied as the exaltation of the spiritual man to God (cf. Psa 141:2; Rev 5:8; Rev 8:3-4); and with this there was associated the still further distinction, that the devotion was completed in the burnt-offering solely upon the basis of the atoning sprinkling of blood, whereas the incense-offering presupposed reconciliation with God, and on the basis of this the soul rose to God in this embodiment of its prayer, and was thus absorbed into His Spirit. In this respect, the incense-offering was not only a spiritualizing and transfiguring of the burnt-offering, but a completion of that offering also.

Exo 30:10

Once a year Aaron was to expiate the altar of incense with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement, because it was most holy to the Lord, that is to say, as is expressly observed in the directions concerning this expiatory act (Lev 16:18-19), to purify it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel. כּפּר , with על objecti constr. , signifies literally to cover over a thing, then to cover over sin, or make expiation. In the second clause we have " upon it "(the altar) instead of "upon the horns of it,"because the altar itself was expiated in its horns. The use of מן in מדּם is to be explained on the ground that only a part of the blood of the sin-offering was smeared with the finger upon the horns. (For further remarks, see at Lev 16:18-19.) The term "most holy"is not only applied to this altar, in common with the inner division of the tabernacle (Exo 26:33), but also to the altar of burnt-offering (Exo 29:37; Exo 40:10), and all the vessels of the sanctuary (Exo 30:29), which were anointed with holy oil; then to the whole of the tabernacle in its holiest aspect (Num 18:10); and lastly, to all the sacrifices, which were given up entirely to Jehovah (see at Lev 2:3); - consequently to everything which stood in so intimate a relation to Jehovah as to be altogether removed, not only from use and enjoyment on the part of man, but also from contact on the part of unsanctified men. Whoever touched a most holy thing was sanctified thereby (compare Exo 30:29 with Exo 29:37).

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:11-16

The Atonement-Money, which every Israelite had to pay at the numbering of the people, has the first place among the supplementary instructions concerning the erection and furnishing of the sanctuary, and serves to complete the demand for freewill-offerings for the sanctuary (Exo 25:1-9).

Exo 30:12-15

" When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel according to them that are numbered, they shall give every one an expiation for his soul to the Lord at their numbering, that a plague may not strike them (happen to them) at their numbering ." פּקד , lit., adspexit, then inspexit explorandi causa, hence to review, or number an army or a nation, for the purpose of enrolling for military service. לפקדיהם with reference to the numbered, qui in censum veniunt . כּפר (expiation, expiation-money, from כּפּר to expiate) is to be traced to the idea that the object for which expiation was made was thereby withdrawn from the view of the person to be won or reconciled. It is applied in two ways: (1) on the supposition that the face of the person to be won was covered by the gift (Gen 32:21; 1Sa 12:3); and (2) on the supposition that the guilt itself was covered up (Psa 32:1), or wiped away (Jer 18:23), so far as the eye of God was concerned, as though it had no longer any existence, and that the sinful man was protected from the punishment of the judge in consequence of this covering. In this way כּפר has acquired the meaning λύτρον , a payment by which the guilty are redeemed (Exo 21:30; Num 35:31); and this is the meaning which it has in the passage before us, where the soul is said to be protected by the copher , so as to be able to come without danger into the presence of the holy God (Num 8:19. See Oehler in Herzog's Cycl.). Such an approach to God took place at the numbering of the people for the purpose of enrolling them in the army of Jehovah (Num 1:3, cf. Exo 7:4; Exo 12:41). Hence "every one who passed over to those that were numbered,"who was enrolled among them, i.e., in the army of Jehovah, - that is to say, every male Israelite of 20 years old and upwards (Exo 30:14), - was to pay half a shekel of the sanctuary as atonement-money; the rich no more, the poor no less (Exo 30:15), because all were equal in the sight of Jehovah; and this payment was to be a "heave"( terumah , see Exo 25:2) for Jehovah for the expiation of the souls. The shekel of the sanctuary, which contained 20 gerahs, was no doubt the original shekel of full weight, as distinguished from the lighter shekel which was current in ordinary use. In Exo 38:26 the half shekel is called בּקע , lit., the split, i.e., half, from בּקע to split; and we find it mentioned as early as the time of the patriarchs as a weight in common use for valuing gold (Gen 24:22), so that, no doubt, even at that time there were distinct silver pieces of this weight, which were probably called shekels when employed for purposes of trade, since the word shekel itself does not denote any particular weight, as we may perceive at once form a comparison of 1Ki 10:17 and 2Ch 9:16, at least so far as later times are concerned. The sacred shekel, to judge from the weight of Maccabean shekels, which are in existence still, and vary from 256 to 272 Parisian grains, weighed 274 grains, and therefore, according to present valuation, would be worth 26 groschen (about 2s. 7d.), so that the half-shekel of bekah would be 13 groschen (1s. 3 1/2d.).

Exo 30:16

This atonement-money Moses was to appropriate to the work of the sanctuary (cf. Exo 38:25-28, where the amount and appropriation are reported). Through this appropriation it became " a memorial to the children of Israel before the Lord to expiate their souls, "i.e., a permanent reminder of their expiation before the Lord, who would henceforth treat them as reconciled because of this payment. It was no ordinary tribute, therefore, which Israel was to pay to Jehovah as its King, but an act demanded by the holiness of the theocratic covenant. As an expiation for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel's nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin. It was not till this sinful nature had been sanctified by a perfect atonement, and servitude under the law had been glorified and fully transformed into that sonship to which Israel was called as the first-born son of Jehovah, that as children of the kingdom they had no longer to pay this atonement-money for their souls (Mat 17:25-26). - According to Num 1:1, Num 1:18, as compared with Exo 40:17, the census of the nation was not taken till a month after the building of the tabernacle was completed, and yet the atonement-money to be paid at the taking of the census was to be appropriated to the purpose of the building, and must therefore have been paid before. This apparent discrepancy may be reconciled by the simple assumption, that immediately after the command of God had been issued respecting the building of the tabernacle and the contributions which the people were to make for the purpose, the numbering of the males was commenced and the atonement-money collected from the different individuals, that the tabernacle was then built and the whole ceremonial instituted, and that, after all this had been done, the whole nation was enrolled according to its tribes, fathers' houses, and families, on the basis of this provisional numbering, and thus the census was completed. For this reason the census gave exactly the same number of males as the numbering (cf. Exo 38:26 and Num 1:46), although the one had been carried out nine months before the other.

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:17-21

(cf. Exo 38:8). The Brazen Laver, and its use. - The making of this vessel is not only mentioned in a supplementary manner, but no description is given of it because of the subordinate position which it occupied, and from the fact that it was not directly connected with the sanctuary, but was only used by the priests to cleanse themselves for the performance of their duties. כּיּור : a basin, a round, caldron-shaped vessel. כּגּו (its support): by this we are not to understand the pedestal of the caldron, but something separate from the basin, which was no doubt used for drawing off as much water as was required for washing the officiating priests. For although כּן belongs to כּיּור , the fact that it is always specially mentioned in connection with the basin necessarily leads to the conclusion, that it had a certain kind of independence (cf. Exo 31:9; Exo 35:16; Exo 39:39; Exo 40:11; Lev 8:11). These two vessels were to be made of brass or copper, like the other things in the court; and, according to Exo 38:8, they were made of the brass of the mirrors of the women who served before the door of the tabernacle. הצּבאת בּמראת does not mean either "provided with mirrors of the women"(Bähr, i. pp. 485-6), or ornamented "with forms, figures of women, as they were accustomed to appear at the sanctuary"( Knobel ). But these views are overthrown by the fact, that ב never signifies with in the sense of an outward addition, but always denotes the means, "not an independent object, but something accompanying and contributing to the action referred to"( Ewald , §217, f . 3). In this case ב can only apply to the material used, whether we connect it with ויּעשׂ as in Exo 31:4, or, what seems decidedly more correct, with נחשׁת as a more precise definition; so that ב would denote that particular quality which distinguished the brass of which the basin was made ( Ewald , §217 f .), - apart altogether from the fact, that neither the mirrors of women, nor the figures of women, would form a fitting ornament for the basin, as the priests did not require to look at themselves when they washed their hands and feet; and there is still less ground for Knobel's fiction, that Levitical women went to the sanctuary at particular times, forming a certain procession, and taking things with them for the purpose of washing, cleaning, and polishing. The true meaning is given by the Septuagint, ἐκ τῶν κατόπτρων . According to 1Sa 2:22, the צבאת were women, though not washer-women, but women who dedicated their lives to the service of Jehovah, and spent them in religious exercises, in fasting and in prayer, like Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, mentioned in Luk 2:37.

(Note: Knobel's objection to this explanation, viz., that "at a time when the sanctuary was not yet erected, the author could not speak of women as coming to the door of the sanctuary, or performing religious service there,"would contain its own refutation, if there were any ground for it at all. For before the sanctuary was erected, the author could not speak of Levitical women as coming at particular times to the sanctuary, and bringing things with them for the purpose of washing and cleaning. But the participle צבאתdoes not imply that they had served there before the erection of the sanctuary, but only that from that time forward, they did perform service there.)

צבא denotes spiritual warfare, and is accordingly rendered by the lxx νηστεύειν , by Onkelos , orare , with which the Rabbins agree. The mirrors of the women had been used for the purpose of earthly adorning. But now the pious Israelites renounced this earthly adorning, and offered it to the Lord as a heave-offering to make the purifying laver in front of the sanctuary, in order that "what had hitherto served as a means of procuring applause in the world might henceforth be the means of procuring the approbation of God"(Hengstenberg, Dissert . vol. ii.). - The laver was to be placed between the tabernacle, i.e., the dwelling, and the altar in the court (Exo 30:18), probably not in a straight line with the door of the dwelling and the altar of burnt-offering, but more sideways, so as to be convenient for the use of the priests, whether they were going into the tabernacle, or going up to the altar for service, to kindle a firing for Jehovah, i.e., to offer sacrifice upon the altar. They were to wash their hands, with which they touched the holy things, and their feet, with which they trod the holy ground (see Exo 3:5), "that they might not die,"as is again emphatically stated in Exo 30:20 and Exo 30:21. For touching holy things with unclean hands, and treading upon the floor of the sanctuary with dirty feet, would have been a sin against Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, deserving of death. These directions do not imply "that, notwithstanding all their consecration, they were regarded as still defiled by natural uncleanness"( Baumgarten ), but rather that consecration did not stamp them with a character indelebilis , or protect them from the impurities of the sinful nation in the midst of which they lived, or of their own nature, which was still affected with mortal corruption and sin.

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:22-25

The Holy Anointing Oil. - This was to be prepared from the best perfumes ראשׁע בּשׂמים , where ראשׁע , caput , the principal or chief, is subordinate to בּשׂמים ), viz., of four fragrant spices and olive-oil. The spices were, (1) liquid myrrh, as distinguished from the dry gum; - (2) קנּמן־בּשׂם , cinnamon of fragrance , the name having been introduced to the Semitic nations along with the thing itself, and then by the Phoenicians to the Greeks and Romans ( κίνναμον , cinnamum ): whether it came from Ceylon, the great mart of cinnamon, is very doubtful, as there is not word that can be discovered in the Indian dialects corresponding to cinnamon ; - (3) cane of fragrance , the κάλαμος ἀρωματικός , calamus odoratus , of the Greek sand Romans, i.e., the scented calamus which is imported from India; - and (4) kiddah , probably cassia , and possibly the species called κιττώ in Dioscor. 1, 12, in which case קציעה (Psa 45:9) is either the generic name for cassia, or else refers to a different species. The proportion in which these spices were to be taken was 500 shekels or 14 1/2 lbs. of myrrh, half the quantity, i.e., 7 lbs, of cinnamon, and the same of calamus and cassia; in all, therefore, 21 lbs. of dry spices, which were to be mixed with one hin of oil (about 5 quarts) and 14 lbs. of liquid myrrh. These proportions preclude the supposition, that the spices were pulverized and mixed with the oil and myrrh in their natural condition, for the result in that case would have been a thick mess: they rather favour the statement of the Rabbins, that the dry spices were softened in water and boiled, to extract their essence, which was then mixed with oil and myrrh, and boiled again until all the watery part had evaporated. An artificial production of this kind is also indicated by the expressions מרקחת רקח "spice-work of spice-mixture," and רקח מעשׂה " labour (work) of the perfumer or ointment-maker ."

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:26-33

(see at Lev 8:10.). This anointing oil was holy, either because it was made from the four fragrant substances according to the proportions commanded by Jehovah, or because God declared this kind of mixture and preparation holy (cf. Exo 30:32), and forbade for all time, on pain of death (Exo 30:31), not only the use of ointment so prepared for any ordinary anointings, but even an imitation of it. "Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured," i.e., it is not to be used for the ordinary practice of anointing the human body (Exo 30:32). "Man,"i.e., the ordinary man in distinction from the priests. בּמתכּנתּו according to its measure, i.e., according to the proportions prescribed for its manufacture. זר (Exo 30:33) a stranger, is not only the non-Israelite, but laymen or non-priests in general. On the expression, "cut off from his people,"see at Gen 17:14.

Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 30:34-38

The Holy Incense was also to be made of four ingredients, viz., (1) nataph ( στακτή , stacte ), i.e., not the resinous myrrh, or sap obtained from the fragrant myrrh and dried, but a kind of storax gum resembling myrrh, which was baked, and then used, like incense, for fumigating; - (2) shecheleth ( ὄνυξ , ungius odoratus ), the shell of a shell-fish resembling the purpura , of an agreeable odour; - (3) chelbenah ( χαλβάνη ), a resin of a pungent, bitter flavour, obtained, by means of an incision in the bark, from the ferula , a shrub which grows in Syria, Arabia, and Abyssinia, and then mixed with fragrant substances to give greater pungency to their odour; - and (4) lebonah ( λίβανος or λιβανωτός ), frankincense, a resin of a pleasant smell, obtained from a tree in Arabia Felix or India, but what tree has not been discovered. זכּה pure, i.e., unadulterated. The words יהיה בּבד בּד "part for part shall it be,"are explained by the lxx as meaning ἴσον ἴσῳ ἔσται , Vulg. aequalis ponderis erunt omnia , i.e., with equal parts of all the different substances. But this is hardly correct, as בּד literally means separation, and the use of ב in this sense would be very striking. The explanation given by Aben Ezra is more correct, viz., "every part shall be for itself;"that is to say, each part was to be first of all prepared by itself, and then all the four to be mixed together afterwards.

Exo 30:35

Of this Moses was to make incense, spicework, etc. (as in Exo 30:25), salted, seasoned with salt ( ממלּח , a denom. from מלח salt), like the meat-offering in Lev 2:13. The word does not mean μεμιγμένον , mixtum (lxx, Vulg .), or rubbed to powder, for the rubbing or pulverizing is expressed by שׁחקתּ־הרק in the following verse.

Exo 30:36

Of this incense (a portion) was to be placed "before the testimony in the tabernacle," i.e., not in the most holy place, but where the altar of incense stood (cf. Exo 30:6 and Lev 16:12). The remainder was of course to be kept elsewhere.

Exo 30:37-38

There is the same prohibition against imitating or applying it to a strange use as in the case of the anointing oil (Exo 30:32, Exo 30:33). "To smell thereto," i.e., to enjoy the perfume of it.

Constable: Exo 15:22--Lev 1:1

II. THE ADOPTION OF ISRAEL 15:22--40:38

The second major section of Exodus records the events associated with God's adoption of Israel as His chosen people. Having redeemed Israel out of slavery in Egypt He now made the nation His privileged son. Redemption is the end of one journey but the beginning of another.

Constable: Exo 24:12--32:1

C. Directions regarding God's dwelling among His people 24:12-31:18

Having given directions clarifying Israel's obedience in the Book of the Covenant (20:22-23:33) God now summoned Moses up into the mountain again to receive His directions regarding Israel's worship. The Book of the Covenant specified how the Israelites were to live with one another, but the tabernacle showed them how God wanted them to worship Him.⁴²⁷

"The establishment of a covenant relationship necessitated a means whereby the vassal party could regularly appear before the Great King to render his accountability. In normal historical relationships of this kind between mere men, some sort of intercession was frequently mandatory and, in any case, a strict protocol had to be adhered to.⁴²⁸ How much more must this be required in the case of a sinful people such as Israel, who must, notwithstanding, communicate with and give account to an infinitely transcendent and holy God."⁴²⁹

Why did Moses record God's instructions for the tabernacle before the people sinned by making the golden calf? It was, after all, the golden calf incident that led to the giving of the priestly laws.

". . . according to the logic of the narrative, it was Israel's fear that had created the need for a safe approach to God, that is, one in which the people as such were kept at a distance and a mediator was allowed to represent them. It was precisely for this reason that the tabernacle was given to Israel."⁴³⁰

Constable: Exo 30:1-10

The altar of incense and the incense offering 30:1-10

The place of this altar in the tabernacle has been a problem for some readers of the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 9:4 can be understood as describing its location as being inside the holy of holies with the ark.⁴⁸⁷ However Old Testament passages say that it was inside the holy place with the golden lampstand and the table of showbread (cf. 30:6; 40:3-5, 21-27). Most commentators on Exodus locate it in the holy place.⁴⁸⁸ Furthermore, Leviticus 16:2 and Hebrews 9:7 say that the high priest went into the holy of holies only once a year on the day of Atonement.⁴⁸⁹

The priests would offer incense on this altar each morning and each evening, and the incense would burn all the time. The priests made the daily burnt offering and the daily incense offering together each day. Both were demonstrations of constant uninterrupted devotion to God. Students of Exodus have almost universally recognized the incense offered as a symbol of prayer that ascends to God. It was a sweet aroma in His nostrils and was essential to the maintenance of the divine-human relationship.

"Morning and evening prayers have been the habit of all ages. With the one we go forth to our labour till the evening, asking that our Father will give us His God-speed and guidance and protection. With the other we entreat forgiveness and mercy."⁴⁹⁰

"He who offers no sacrifice in his prayer, who does not sacrifice his self-will, does not really pray."⁴⁹¹

The horns of this altar (v. 10), as well as the horns on the altar of burnt offerings (the brazen altar), probably symbolized strength.⁴⁹²

Once a year Aaron applied the atonement blood on this altar to cleanse it afresh for another year (v. 10).

The directions concerning the sanctuary conclude with this section.

Constable: Exo 30:11-16

The atonement money 30:11-16

The directions regarding the tabernacle opened with instructions concerning contributions for its construction (25:1-9). They close with this directive that every Israelite 20 years or older was to pay a flat fee of half a shekel during Israel's census for the tabernacle's maintenance (Num. 1:2; 26:2). Everyone was to pay the same amount because the cost of everyone's atonement was the same in the Lord's sight.

"It was no ordinary tribute, therefore, which Israel was to pay to Jehovah as its King, but an act demanded by the holiness of the theocratic covenant. As an expiation for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel's nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin."⁴⁹³

Israel's leaders collected this money whenever they took a census. In time it became a yearly "temple tax" (Matt. 17:24). A half shekel weighed .2 ounces, and it was silver. "Money" in verse 16 is literally "silver." In our Lord's day it amounted to two days wages (Matt. 17:24). Evidently the taking of a census incurred some guilt (v. 12). Perhaps it reflected lack of complete trust in God to multiply the nation as He had promised (cf. 2 Sam. 24).

"Do you recognize that you belong to a redeemed world? Even if all do not avail themselves of the Redemption which has been achieved, yet it is available for all; and more benefits than we can ever estimate are always accruing since God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."⁴⁹⁴

Constable: Exo 30:17-21

The brazen laver 30:17-21

The laver was a large reservoir for the water that the priests used to wash with as they performed their duties. It stood between the brazen altar and the sanctuary. Its presence there symbolized the fact that cleansing is necessary after the making of atonement and before the enjoyment of fellowship with God.

"The necessity of daily cleansing on the part of those who are engaged even in the most holy service, and of all who would approach God, is so obvious as hardly to require comment. The body washed with pure water has for its counterpart the daily cleansing of the soul, without which no man may minister in the Divine presence [cf. John 13:10]."⁴⁹⁵

The "base" (v. 18) was probably not a pedestal but a smaller vessel used to draw as much water out of the laver as the priest might need to wash. The priests washed their feet as well as their hands (v. 21).

Constable: Exo 30:22-33

The anointing oil 30:22-33

The special mixture God specified here was for use only in anointing the tabernacle, its furnishings, its utensils, and the priests. Four fragrant spices blended with olive oil to produce an excellent perfume. It was holy in that the Israelites used it exclusively for this special purpose in the service of God. The priests could use it for no other purpose in Israel.

Constable: Exo 30:34-38

The incense 30:34-38

As with the anointing oil, only a certain mixture of four ingredients was acceptable as incense for burning on the incense altar. Similarly not just any prayer is acceptable to God; only prayers offered as He has instructed will be acceptable (cf. 1 John 5:14).

"Stacte is a fragrant resin obtained from some species of cistus, or rockrose.' Onycha is the horny plate that covers a species of mussel found in the lakes of India which, when burned, emits a musky odor. Galbanum is a pleasantly aromatic gum resin derived from certain umbelliferous plants. Frankincense (from the Old French for pure incense'), as used by the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, was a gum resin now called olibanum which was derived from certain trees of the genus boswellia found growing on the limestone of South Arabia and Somaliland. Thus, three of the four ingredients in the incense burned on the golden altar were gum resins. Gum resins are mixtures of gum and resin obtained from plants or trees by incision. Resins burn readily because they contain volatile oils."⁴⁹⁶

Guzik: Exo 30:1-38 - More Tabernacle Related Subjects

Exodus 30 - More Tabernacle Related Subjects

A. The altar of incense.

1. (1-5) How to make the altar of incense.

"You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width; it shall be square; and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

a. Make an altar to burn incense on: The altar of incense was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. It was 18 inches (0.5 meter) square and 3 feet (1 meter) high.

b. Two gold rings you shall make for it . . . they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it: The altar of incense was also carried by the system of rings and poles, just like the Ark of the Covenant, the table of showbread, and the brazen altar with its grate.

2. (6-10) The use of the altar of incense.

"And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD."

a. You shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony: The altar of incense stood outside the veil, in the holy place (not in the most holy place). Therefore it was fairly close to the Ark of the Covenant, yet separated by the veil.

b. Where I will meet with you: Sprinkled throughout this description of the tabernacle and the furnishings are reminders of the purpose of the tabernacle. It is a place for man to meet with God.

b. Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: Aaron (and other priests after him) were instructed to burn incense on this altar every day as part of their normal priestly duties, both in the morning and in the evening (when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it).

i. Incense is a picture of prayer, in the sweetness of its smell and the way it ascends to heaven (golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, according to Revelation 5:8). The ministry at the altar of incense speaks of how God's people should continually come to Him in prayer.

ii. Revelation 8:3-4 describes the golden altar of incense standing before Gods' throne: Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand.

c. You shall not offer strange incense on it: Priests were not permitted to offer God whatever you wanted on the altar of incense. Strange incense was prohibited. Also, it was not a place of sacrifice in the sense that no animal or grain or drink offering was ever to be placed on it.

i. Prayer is not the place sacrificial atonement is made; it is the place sacrificial atonement is enjoyed. We don't save ourselves through prayer; we pray because of Jesus' saving work on the cross.

d. Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement: The altar of incense was not a place of sacrifice, but it was a place for atoning blood. On the Day of Atonement, Aaron had to anoint the horns of the altar of incense with blood from the atoning sacrifice.

i. Prayer does not atone for our sins, but must always be made in reference to Jesus' atoning blood. The Day of Atonement was only once a year, but every day when the priests brought a morning and evening offering of incense they saw the blood stained horns of the altar. This was a constant reminder of the work of atoning blood.

B. The ransom money for a census.

1. (11-12) The reason for the ransom money.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

a. When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number: Later in the book of Numbers, two significant censuses are recorded of the nation of Israel. Here God made provision to make a census without being plagued.

b. That there may be no plague among them when you number them: A census put Israel at risk of plague because a census (a numbering) signified ownership. This spoke against God's ownership of Israel, because in their thinking, a man only had the right to count or number what belonged to him. Israel didn't belong to Israel; Israel belonged to God. It was up to Him to command a counting.

i. If a count was made with receiving the ransom money, a census communicated the idea that a king or a human leader "owned" Israel, when God alone did. This was David's problem in 2 Samuel 24:1-25, when David took a census without the ransom money and God plagued Israel.

2. (13-16) How to take a census with ransom money.

"This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves."

a. Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD: The census was to include everyone aged twenty and over. This seems to be the Israelite age of full adulthood in this sense. Everyone also had to give an equal amount - one-half shekel.

i. This was a true "flat tax" - everybody paid the same amount, rich or poor. In this sense, it is not a pattern for our giving under the New Covenant. New Covenant giving should be proportional, under the principle that we should give in proportion to our blessing. (1 Corinthians 16:2)

ii. Instead of a pattern of our own giving, this money is a picture of the cost of our own redemption. "The rich were not to give more, the poor not to give less; to signify that all souls were equally precious in the sight of God, and that no difference of outward circumstances could affect the state of the soul; all had sinned, and all must be redeemed by the same price." (Clarke)

iii. As well, everyone had to pay their own redemption money. No "lump sum" for every member of the tribe or family could pay it.

b. Appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting: This money was given to the service of the tabernacle. There was a great deal of silver needed in the construction of the tabernacle, and this is how it was obtained.

C. Other needs for the tabernacle.

1. (17-21) The bronze laver.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them; to him and his descendants throughout their generations."

a. Make a laver of bronze: The bronze laver had no specific dimensions. It was essentially a pool for ceremonial washings, set between the brazen altar and the tent of meeting.

b. Of bronze, with its base also of bronze: When it was made, the metal for the bronze laver came from the mirrors of the women of Israel (Exodus 38:8). It was a wonderful thing for people to give up the measure of their own appearance for God's cleansing.

c. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die: The bronze laver speaks of the washing that is necessary for anyone who would come to God.

i. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4)

ii. When Jesus washed the disciple's feet, He told them: He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean (John 13:10). When we come to Jesus we are initially cleansed (1 Corinthians 6:11), but must also be continually washed from the dust and dirt of the world by having our feet washed by Jesus.

iii. An important way this washing takes place is through God's Word: the washing of water by the word. (Ephesians 5:26)

2. (22-33) The holy anointing oil.

Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Also take for yourself quality spices; five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on man's flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.' "

a. Make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer: This oil was used for anointing the priests and the articles pertaining to service. It was regarded as a sacred compound that could not be imitated nor used as normal perfuming oil.

b. It shall not be poured on man's flesh: Since oil is emblematic of the Holy Spirit, we see that the Holy Spirit is not poured out to enhance our flesh, but to glorify Himself.

c. Nor shall you make any other like it . . . it is holy, and it shall be holy to you: This shows that the work of the Holy Spirit is never to be imitated. There is to be no place for encouraging a fleshly imitation of the gifts or operations of the Holy Spirit. To do this denies the holiness of the Holy Spirit, regarding His work as something we can do just as well on our own.

3. (34-38) The holy incense.

And the LORD said to Moses: "Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD. Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people."

a. Make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy: The special incense for the tabernacle was made according to the same principles as the anointing oil. God didn't want this sacred smell - symbolizing the sweetness of prayer - to be used for human attraction or adornment.

b. Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people: God was so concerned to protect the unique character of the tabernacle incense that He commanded excommunication for anyone who would make these holy things common.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Pendahuluan / Garis Besar

JFB: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

EXODUS, a "going forth," derives its name from its being occupied principally with a relation of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and the incidents that immediately preceded as well as followed that memorable migration. Its authorship by Moses is distinctly asserted by himself (Exo 24:4), as well as by our Lord (Mar 12:26; Luk 20:37). Besides, the thorough knowledge it exhibits of the institutions and usages of the ancient Egyptians and the minute geographical details of the journey to Sinai, establish in the clearest manner the authenticity of this book.

JFB: Exodus (Garis Besar)

• INCREASE OF THE ISRAELITES. (Exo. 1:1-22)
• BIRTH AND PRESERVATION OF MOSES. (Exo 2:1-10) there went a man of the house of Levi, &c. Amram was the husband and Jochebed the wife (compare Exo 6:20; Num 26:59). The marriage took place, and two children, Miriam and Aaron, were born some years before the infanticidal edict.
• HIS SYMPATHY WITH THE HEBREWS. (Exo 2:11-25)
• DIVINE APPEARANCE AND COMMISSION TO MOSES. (Exo. 3:1-22)
• MIRACULOUS CHANGE OF THE ROD, &c. (Exo. 4:1-31)
• FIRST INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. (Exo. 5:1-23)
• RENEWAL OF THE PROMISE. (Exo 6:1-13)
• THE GENEALOGY OF MOSES. (Exo. 6:14-30)
• SECOND INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. (Exo. 7:1-25)
• PLAGUE OF FROGS. (Exo 8:1-15)
• PLAGUE OF LICE. (Exo 8:16-19)
• PLAGUE OF FLIES. (Exo 8:20-32)
• MURRAIN OF BEASTS. (Exo 9:1-7)
• PLAGUE OF BOILS. (Exo 9:8-17)
• PLAGUE OF HAIL. (Exo. 9:18-35)
• PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS. (Exo. 10:1-20)
• PLAGUE OF DARKNESS. (Exo 10:21-29)
• DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN THREATENED. (Exo 11:1-10)
• THE PASSOVER INSTITUTED. (Exo 12:1-10)
• THE RITE OF THE PASSOVER. (Exo 12:11-14)
• UNLEAVENED BREAD. (Exo. 12:15-51)
• THE FIRST-BORN SANCTIFIED. (Exo 13:1-2)
• MEMORIAL OF THE PASSOVER. (Exo 13:3-10)
• FIRSTLINGS OF BEASTS. (Exo 13:11-16)
• JOURNEY FROM EGYPT. (Exo 13:17-21)
• GOD INSTRUCTS THE ISRAELITES AS TO THEIR JOURNEY. (Exo. 14:1-31)
• SONG OF MOSES. (Exo. 15:1-27)
• MURMURS FOR WANT OF BREAD. (Exo. 16:1-36)
• THE PEOPLE MURMUR FOR WATER. (Exo 17:1-7)
• ATTACK OF AMALEK. (Exo 17:8-16)
• VISIT OF JETHRO. (Exo. 18:1-27)
• ARRIVAL AT SINAI. (Exo. 19:1-25)
• THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. (Exo. 20:1-26)
• LAWS FOR MENSERVANTS. (Exo 21:1-6)
• LAWS FOR MAIDSERVANTS. (Exo. 21:7-36)
• LAWS CONCERNING THEFT. (Exo. 22:1-31)
• LAWS CONCERNING SLANDER, &c. (Exo. 23:1-33)
• DELIVERY OF THE LAW AND COVENANT. (Exo. 24:1-18)
• CONCERNING AN OFFERING. (Exo. 25:1-40)
• TEN CURTAINS. (Exo. 26:1-37)
• ALTAR FOR BURNT OFFERING. (Exo. 27:1-21)
• APPOINTMENT TO THE PRIESTHOOD. (Exo. 28:1-43)
• CONSECRATING THE PRIESTS AND THE ALTAR. (Exo. 29:1-35)
• CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR. (Exo 29:36-37)
• INSTITUTION OF DAILY SERVICE. (Exo 29:38-46)
• THE ALTAR OF INCENSE. (Exo. 30:1-38)
• BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB. (Exo. 31:1-18)
• THE GOLDEN CALF. (Exo. 32:1-35)
• THE LORD REFUSES TO GO WITH THE PEOPLE. (Exo. 33:1-23)
• THE TABLES ARE RENEWED. (Exo. 34:1-35)
• CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TABERNACLE. (Exo. 35:1-35)
• OFFERINGS DELIVERED TO THE WORKMEN. (Exo. 36:1-38)
• FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE. (Exo. 37:1-29)
• FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE. (Exo. 38:1-31)
• GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS. (Exo. 39:1-43)
• THE TABERNACLE REARED AND ANOINTED. (Exo. 40:1-38)

TSK: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The title of this Book is derived from the Septuagint; in which it is called ΕΞΟΔΟΣ , " Exodus;" or, as it is in the Codex Alexandrinus, ΕΞΟΔΟΣ Αιγυπτου , " the Exodus or departure from Egypt;" but it is called in Hebrew Bibles ואלה שׁמות , Weelleh Shemoth , " these are the names," or merely, שׁמות , Shemoth , " names," from the words with which it commences.

Moses was undoubtedly the author of this Book, which forms a continuation of the preceding, and was evidently written after the promulgation of the law. it embraces the history of about 145 years. Moses, having in the Book of Genesis described the creation of the world, the origin of nations, and the peopling of the earth, details in the Book of Exodus the commencement and nature of the Jewish Church and Polity, which has very properly been termed a Theocracy (Θεοκρατια , from Θεος [Strong’s 2316], God, and κρατεω [Strong’s 2902], to rule), in which Jehovah appears not merely as their Creator and God, but as their King. Hence this and the following books of Moses are not purely historical; but contain not only laws for the regulation of their moral conduct and the rites and ceremonies of their religious worship, but judicial and political laws relating to government and civil life. The stupendous facts connected with these events, may be clearly perceived by consulting the marginal references; and many of the circumstances are confirmed by the testimony of heathen writers. Numenius, a Pythagorean philosopher, mentioned by Eusebius, speaks of the opposition of the magicians, whom he calls Jannes and Jambres, to the miracles of Moses. Though the names of these magicians are not preserved in the Sacred Text, yet tradition had preserved them in the Jewish records, from which St. Paul (2Ti 3:8) undoubtedly quotes. Add to this that many of the notions of the heathen respecting the appearance of the Deity, and their religious institutions and laws, were borrowed from this book; and many of their fables were nothing more than distorted traditions of those events which are here plainly related by Moses.

TSK: Exodus 30 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Overview

Exo 30:1, The altar of incense; Exo 30:11, The ransom of souls; Exo 30:17, The brazen laver; Exo 30:22, The holy anointing oil; Exo 30:34, The composition of the incense.

Poole: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

SECOND BOOK OF MOSES CALLED EXODUS.

THE ARGUMENT.

AFTER the death of Joseph, who had sent for his father’ s house into Egypt, the children of Israel exceedingly multiplied, notwithstanding Pharaoh’ s cruel oppressing of them; from under which God, hearing their cry, brought them with a strong hand. Wherefore this book is called by the Greeks EXODUS, i.e. a going forth; containing an historical account of passages for about one hundred and forty years; with the wonderful raising up of Moses, who, together with Aaron, were to be instruments of their deliverance; and accordingly, after the inflicting ten dreadful plagues upon Pharaoh, brought them into the wilderness through the Red Sea, wherein Pharaoh (his heart being hardened under all these plagues) and all his host pursuing of them were drowned; God having first instituted the passover, as an abiding sacrament to bring to their remembrance in after-times this great deliverance.

In their conduct through the wilderness, God gave them the signal mark of his presence in the pillar of a cloud, and the pillar of fire; who, notwithstanding their great and reiterated murmurings, gave them food, both bread and flesh from heaven, and drink out of the rock; and when they were come to Mount Sinai, he there gave them the moral law, beside other both politic and ecclesiastical ordinances. Afterwards, the breaking of the tables being occasioned by the idolatry of the golden calf, God graciously renewed his covenant with them. There being also a tabernacle, and ark, and other things to be made by God’ s command, the bounty of the people, in order to the making and furnishing thereof, is here set down; which, being finished, the tabernacle is anointed, and filled with the glory of God.

Poole: Exodus 30 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

CHAPTER 30

He commands to make an altar for incense, and of what, Exo 30:1 . The length and breadth of it, Exo 30:2 . The form of it, Exo 30:3-6 . Whereon the priest was to kindle incense every morning, being commanded, Exo 30:7 . All the children of Israel to bring half a shekel for their souls, Exo 30:11-16 . A laver of brass, Exo 30:17,18 ; wherein Aaron and his sons wash their hands and their feet, Exo 30:19-21 . The making the oil of holy ointment, Exo 30:22-25 . Its use, Exo 30:26-28 . None might make the like, Exo 30:32,33 . The composition of the perfume, Exo 30:34-38 .

MHCC: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

The Book of Exodus relates the forming of the children of Israel into a church and a nation. We have hitherto seen true religion shown in domestic life, now, we begin to trace its effects upon the concerns of kingdoms and nations. Exodus signifies " the departure;" the chief event therein recorded is the departure of Israel from Egypt and Egyptian bondage; it plainly points out the fulfilling of several promises and prophecies to Abraham respecting his seed, and shadows forth the state of the church, in the wilderness of this world, until her arrival at the heavenly Canaan, an eternal rest.

MHCC: Exodus 30 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

(Exo 30:1-10) The altar of incense.

(Exo 30:11-16) The ransom of souls.

(Exo 30:17-21) The brazen laver.

(v. 22-38) The holy anointing oil, The perfume.

Matthew Henry: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Moses, Called Exodus

Moses (the servant of the Lord in writing for him as well as in acting for him - with the pen of God as well as with the rod of God in his hand) having, in the first book of his history, preserved and transmitted the records of the church, while it existed in private families, comes, in this second book, to give us an account of its growth into a great nation; and, as the former furnishes us with the best economics, so this with the best politics. The beginning of the former book shows us how God formed the world for himself; the beginning of this shows us how he formed Israel for himself, and both show forth his praise, Isa 43:21. There we have the creation of the world in history, here the redemption of the world in type. The Greek translators called this book Exodus (which signifies a departure or going out ) because it begins with the story of the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt. Some allude to the names of this and the foregoing book, and observe that immediately after Genesis, which signifies the beginning or original, follows Exodus, which signifies a departure; for a time to be born is immediately succeeded by a time to die. No sooner have we made our entrance into the world than we must think of making our exit, and going out of the world. When we begin to live we begin to die. The forming of Israel into a people was a new creation. As the earth was, in the beginning, first fetched from under water, and then beautified and replenished, so Israel was first by an almighty power made to emerge out of Egyptian slavery, and then enriched with God's law and tabernacle. This book gives us, I. The accomplishment of the promises made before to Abraham (ch. 1-19), and then, II. The establishment of the ordinances which were afterwards observed by Israel (ch. 20-40). Moses, in this book, begins, like Caesar, to write his own Commentaries; nay, a greater, a far greater, than Caesar is here. But henceforward the penman is himself the hero, and gives us the history of those things of which he was himself an eye and ear-witness, et quorum pars magna fuit - and in which he bore a conspicuous part. There are more types of Christ in this book than perhaps in any other book of the Old Testament; for Moses wrote of him, Joh 5:46. The way of man's reconciliation to God, and coming into covenant and communion with him by a Mediator, is here variously represented; and it is of great use to us for the illustration of the New Testament, now that we have that to assist us in the explication of the Old.

Matthew Henry: Exodus 30 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

Moses is, in this chapter, further instructed, I. Concerning the altar of incense (Exo 30:1-10). II. Concerning the ransom-money which the Israelites were to pay, when they were numbered (Exo 30:11-16). III. Concerning the laver of brass, which was set for the priests to wash in (Exo 30:17-21). IV. Concerning the making up of the anointing oil, and the use of it (Exo 30:22-33). V. Concerning the incense and perfume which were to be burned on the golden altar (Exo 30:34, etc.).

Constable: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

Introduction

Title

The Hebrew title of this book (we'elleh shemot) originated from the ancient practice of naming a Bible book after its first word or words. "Now these are the names of" is the translation of the first two Hebrew words.

"The Hebrew title of the Book of Exodus, therefore, was to remind us that Exodus is the sequel to Genesis and that one of its purposes is to continue the history of God's people as well as elaborate further on the great themes so nobly introduced in Genesis."¹

Exodus cannot stand alone. It would not make much sense without Genesis. The very first word of the book, translated "now," is a conjunction that means "and."

The English title "Exodus" is a transliteration of the Greek word exodos from the Septuagint translation meaning "exit," "way out," or "departure." The Septuagint translators gave the book this title because of the major event in it, namely, the Israelites' departure from Egypt.

"The exodus is the most significant historical and theological event of the Old Testament . . ."²

Date and Writer

Moses, who lived from about 1525 to 1405 B.C., wrote Exodus. He could have written it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit any time after the events recorded (after about 1444 B.C.). He may have written it during the year the Israelites camped at the base of Mt. Sinai. He may have done so during the 38-year period of wandering in the wilderness following the Israelites' failure to enter the land from Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num. 13-14; ca. 1443-1405 B.C.). On the other hand he may have written it on the plains of Moab just before his death (cf. 16:35).³

Scope

Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.). However 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's family. If we eliminate this section, the narrative resumes the story of the Israelites where Genesis ends, after the death of Joseph. About 364 years elapsed between the death of Joseph and the building of the tabernacle. The bulk of the book (chs. 3-40) deals with only two of these years, the year before and the year after the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus event is clearly the focus of this book.

The Israelites lived in Egypt 430 years (12:40). Genesis 15:13 has the round number 400 years as the time of Israel's oppression in Egypt.⁴

Purpose

"The purpose of the Book of Exodus is to celebrate God's gracious deliverance of His chosen people Israel from Egyptian slavery to the freedom of covenant relationship and fellowship with Him."⁵

Importance

"No other biblical book surfaces elsewhere in the OT as frequently as the Book of Exodus does; in the NT only the Books of Psalms and Isaiah are cited more, and that for the fairly obvious reasons of liturgy and messianism."⁶

Message⁷

The great contribution of this book is the revelation that Yahweh is the sovereign God who provides deliverance for man from the slavery in which he finds himself.

The major teaching of Exodus is primarily threefold.

1. The sovereignty of God.

2. The salvation of man.

3. The methods by which the sovereign God affects man's salvation.

First, Exodus teaches the sovereignty of God.

In Genesis we learned that the only way we can realize the purpose for which God created us is through faith in a trustworthy God that expresses itself in obedience.

In Exodus we learn that the God with whom we can have a relationship is not only trustworthy but sovereign. This realization should produce within us the double effect of worship and obedience.

Sovereignty is the attribute of God that expresses the fact that Yahweh is the ultimate ruler of the universe. There is no one higher in authority than He. As sovereign, He has all power. Sovereignty does not refer to how God rules, the method by which He governs. In particular, it does not imply that God controls every detail of life immediately (directly). God exercises His sovereignty by allowing human beings certain freedoms. He does not control us like puppets on strings but as a father controls his children. We have limited freedom.

We can see God's sovereignty clearly in His superiority over all the so-called gods of Egypt. He displayed His great power in all of His activity that resulted in the liberation of the Israelites and His adoption of them as His people. Scripture teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. No one has been able to explain this mystery adequately (cf. Job).

Second, Exodus teaches the salvation of man.

In Genesis we saw the need for salvation (i.e., the Fall and the repeated failures of man).

In Exodus, God revealed the method of salvation and explained the consequences of salvation initially.

Exodus teaches that God provides salvation for man. Man does not provide it for himself. It also reveals that man appropriates what God has provided by faith.

Two activities become prominent as major expressions of faith in Exodus: worship and obedience. Worship and obedience are the Godward and the manward expressions of faith respectively.

Worship consists of putting God at the center of life (cf. Rom. 12:1-2). Worship was to characterize the Israelites nationally and personally. God illustrated the importance of placing Him at the center of life by locating the ark of the covenant in the center of the tabernacle. He further did so by placing the tabernacle in the center of the Israelite camp.

Obedience consists of arranging all the parts of life in proper relation to God who is at the center. If something in life does not orient toward God properly, there is disobedience. In this way Exodus deepens the revelation concerning obedience that God has given us in Genesis.

Third, Exodus teaches the methods by which the sovereign God affects man's salvation.

God's method of dealing with the human race generally (outside Israel) was by creating a pattern, namely, the nation of Israel. God created the nation of Israel so that He could demonstrate through Israel for all other nations and peoples to see how glorious it can be to live under God's government. God's election of Israel was not the selection of a pet that God would favor at the expense of all others. It was the construction of a pattern. Israel was to be a demonstration to all the world of how wonderful life can be under the rule of Yahweh (cf. 19:5-6).

God's method of dealing with Israel was by revealing a person, namely, Himself. In many revelations to the Israelites, God sought to deepen their understanding of and appreciation for Himself and His will. The special privilege of receiving the revelation was a blessing to them and should have resulted in their being a blessing to the whole world. Israel was to do this by demonstrating how good it is to live under God's kingship. Some of the most important revelations occur in the following passages: 3:4-16; 6:2-8; 19:3-6; 20:1-7; 24:1, 9-11; 34:5-8; and 40:34-35. They are not all different, but God intended them to have the cumulative effect of deepening the Israelites' concept of God. They came to the people like waves beating on the shore. All the details of the Mosaic Code, which begins in Exodus and continues through Numbers, reinforce the main point of this revelation, which is the character of God.

God's method of dealing with individuals was by providing opportunities, choices.

We can see this most easily in God's dealing with the two major characters in Exodus, Moses and Pharaoh. God's method of dealing with both men was the same, but their responses were different and consequently so were their fates.

Pharaoh was a strong, wise leader who acted wholly by sight rather than by faith in Yahweh. He is typical of people of the world. God's method of dealing with him was to give him opportunities to make the right choices and so experience the blessing of God. Pharaoh chose not to trust God, and his disobedience resulted in personal tragedy for himself and national tragedy for Egypt.

Moses on the other hand was also a strong, wise leader, but he acted by faith rather than by sight (Heb. 11:27). God's method of dealing with him in Exodus was the same. He gave him opportunities to make the right choices and so experience God's blessing. Moses chose to trust and obey God, and his life is a story of personal triumph and national triumph for Israel.

In both cases God patiently worked with these representative individuals and gently encouraged them to do His will. Moses developed into a noble character because he chose to submit to God's government even though he was faulty, failing, and fearful. Pharaoh was a more admirable person in many respects, but he sank into destruction because he chose to refuse to submit to God's government (authoritative rule).

Exodus teaches that individuals are personally responsible under God, and their choices determine their destinies. There is ample New Testament evidence for this in John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:47; 20:31; et al. Divine sovereignty does not negate human responsibility.

If we look at the record of God's activity in Exodus, we see progress. The unbelief of His enemies does not frustrate Him. His ultimate purposes for Israel came to fruition.

However if we look at the record of man's activity in this book, we see failure. Even Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites who trusted God constantly failed. We observed this in the lives of the characters in Genesis as well.

While man constantly falls short of what God requires, human failure does not frustrate God's ultimate purposes. This proves that God is indeed sovereign.

Constable: Exodus (Garis Besar)

Outline

I. The liberation of Israel 1:1-15:21

A. God's preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-4

1. The growth of Jacob's family 1:1-7

2. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-22

3. Moses' birth and education 2:1-10

4. Moses' flight from Egypt to Midian 2:11-15

5. Moses' life in Midian 2:16-25

6. Moses' call 3:1-4:18

7. Moses' return to Egypt 4:19-31

B. God's demonstrations of His sovereignty chs. 5-11

1. Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron's initial request 5:1-6:1

2. Moses and Aaron's equipment as God's messengers 6:2-7:7

3. The attestation of Moses and Aaron's divine mission 7:8-13

4. The first three plagues 7:14-8:19

5. The fourth, fifth, and sixth plagues 8:20-9:12

6. The seventh, eight, and ninth plagues 9:13-10:29

7. The proclamation of the tenth plague ch. 11

C. God's redemption of His people 12:1-13:16

1. The consecration of Israel as the covenant nation 12:1-28

2. The death of the first-born and the release of Israel 12:29-36

3. The exodus of Israel out of Egypt 12:37-42

4. Regulations concerning the Passover 12:43-51

5. The sanctification of the first-born 13:1-16

D. God's completion of Israel's liberation 13:17-15:21

1. The journey from Succoth to Etham 13:17-22

2. Israel's passage through the Red Sea ch. 14

3. Israel's song of deliverance 15:1-21

II. The adoption of Israel 15:22-40:38

A. God's preparatory instruction of Israel 15:22-18:27

1. Events in the wilderness of Shur 15:22-27

2. Quails and manna in the wilderness of Sin ch. 16

3. The lack of water at Rephidim 17:1-7

4. The hostility of the Amalekites 17:18-36

5. The friendliness of Jethro the Midianite ch. 18

B. The establishment of the Mosaic Covenant 19:1-24:11

1. Preparation for the Covenant ch. 19

2. The Ten Commandments 20:1-17

3. The response of the Israelites 20:18-21

4. The stipulations of the Book of the Covenant 20:22-23:33

5. The ratification of the Covenant 24:1-11

C. Directions regarding God's dwelling among His people 24:12-31:18

1. The revelation of these directions 24:12-18

2. Contributions for the construction of the sanctuary 25:1-9

3. The tabernacle furnishings 25:10-41

4. The tabernacle structure ch. 26

5. The tabernacle courtyard 27:1-19

6. The investiture of the priests 27:20-28:43

7. The consecration of the priests 29:1-37

8. The service of the priests 29:38-30:38

9. The builders of the tabernacle 31:1-11

10. The sign of the Sabbath 31:12-18

D. The breaking and renewing of the covenant chs. 32-34

1. The failure of Israel ch. 32

2. The re-establishment of fellowship ch. 33

3. The renewal of the covenant ch. 34

E. The construction and dedication of the objects used in Israel's worship chs. 35-40

1. Preparations for construction 35:1-36:7

2. Execution of the work 36:8-39:43

3. The erection and consecration of the tabernacle ch. 40

In an interesting and original chart of Exodus, Ted Grove suggested the following structural outline of Exodus.⁸

I. Israel's liberation chs. 1-18

A. Israel's affliction (Israel is Egypt's possession) 1:1-2:14

B. Deliverance 2:15-18:27

Ted saw the following chiastic structure in this section.

A Midian: Moses' commission 2:15-4:28

B Enemy: Egypt defeated 4:29-15:21

C Water: bitter to sweet and 12 springs 15:22-27

D Food: manna and quail ch. 16

C' Water: out of rock 17:1-7

B' Enemy: Amalek defeated 17:8-16

A' Midian: Moses accepts wisdom ch. 18

II. Israel's adoption chs. 19-40

A. Covenant delivered 19:1-24:11

B. Sanctuary planned 24:12-31:18

C. Covenant broken ch. 32

D. Covenant renewed chs. 33-34

E. Sanctuary's construction 35:1-40:33

F. Covenant sealed (Israel is God's possession) 40:34-38

Ted also saw a chiasm in this part of the book.

A Covenant delivered 19:1-24:11

B Tabernacle planned 24:12-27:21

C Priestly instructions chs. 28-30

D Craftsmen's direction 31:1-11

E Sabbath instructions 31:12-18

F Covenant broken ch. 32

F' Covenant renewed chs. 33-34

E' Sabbath reminded 35:1-3

D' Craftsmen and construction 35:4-38:31

C' Priests prepared ch. 39

B' Tabernacle completed 40:1-33

A' Covenant sealed 40:34-38

The center of the first chiasm is the manna. The center of the second chiasm is the tablets of the Law. These were the two items God instructed Moses to preserve in the ark of the covenant.

Ted saw the key verse of the book as 34:9.

Constable: Exodus

Exodus

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

THE BOOK OF EXODUS.

INTRODUCTION.

The second Book of Moses is called Exodus from the Greek word Exodos, which signifies going out; because it contains the history of the going out of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Hebrews, from the words with which it begins, call it Veelle Shemoth : These are the names. (Challoner) --- It contains the space of 143 years, till the beginning of the second year after the liberation of the Israelites. (Tirinus) --- Their slavery is described in the first chapters; and is supposed to have continued ninety years. (Du Hamel) --- The laws prescribed by God to his people, the sacrifices, tabernacle, &c., were all intended to prefigure the Christian dispensation. (St. Augustine, City of God vii. 31.) --- Moses himself was a type of Jesus Christ, who was rejected by the synagogue, and received by the Gentiles, as the Jewish Legislator was abandoned by his mother, and educated by the Egyptian princess. She delivers him back to his mother; and thus the Jews will, at last, acknowledge our Saviour. (Du Hamel) --- God deigns to address his people in the character of a powerful Eastern monarch, and requires the like attention. He appoints his ministers, like guards, to attend before his tabernacle, &c. The laws which he enacts, are such as suited the Jewish people: they were not to rise all at once to perfection; but these laws guide them, as it were, on the road. They are infinitely more perfect than those of the surrounding nations. (Calmet)

Gill: Exodus (Pendahuluan Kitab)

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS

This book is called by the Jews Veelleh Shemoth, from the first words with which it begins, and sometimes Sepher Shemoth, and sometimes only Shemoth. It is by the Septuagint called Exodus, from whom we have the name of Exodus, which signifies "a going out"; see Luk 9:31, because it treats of the going of the children of Israel out of Egypt; and hence in the Alexandrian copy it is called the Exodus of Egypt; and so the Syriac version entitles it the second book of the law, called "the going out"; and to the same purpose the Arabic version. The Jews sometimes give it the name of Nezikin, as Buxtorf ^a observes out of the Masora on Gen 24:8 because in it some account is given of losses, and the restitution of them. That this book is of divine inspiration, and to be reckoned in the canon of the sacred writings, is sufficiently evident to all that believe the New Testament; since there are so many quotations out of it there by Christ, and his apostles; particularly see Mar 12:26 and that it was wrote by Moses is not to be doubted, but when is not certain; it must be after the setting up of the tabernacle in the wilderness; the greatest part of what is contained in it, he was an eye and ear witness of; it plainly points out the accomplishment of the promises and prophecies delivered to Abraham, that his posterity would be very numerous, that they would be afflicted in a land not theirs, and in the fourth generation come out of it with great substance. It treats of the afflictions of the Israelites in Egypt, after the death of Joseph, until their deliverance by Moses; of his birth, calling, and mission to Pharaoh, to demand of him to let the children of Israel go; of the ten plagues upon him and his people, for refusing to dismiss them; of the departure of Israel from Egypt, and the institution of the passover on that account; of their passage through the Red sea into the wilderness, and of the various exercises and afflictions, supplies and supports they met with there; of the giving of a body of laws unto them, moral, ceremonial, and judicial; and of the building of the tabernacle, and all things appertaining to it; and throughout the whole, as there is a figure and representation of the passage of the people of God out of spiritual Egypt, through the wilderness of this world, to the heavenly Canaan, and of various things they must meet with in their passage, so there are many types of Christ, his person, office, and grace, and of his church, his word, and ordinances, which are very edifying and instructing. The book contains a history of about one hundred and forty years, from the death of Joseph, to the erection of the tabernacle.

Gill: Exodus 30 (Pendahuluan Pasal)

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 30

This chapter treats of the altar of incense, its form and use, Exo 30:1 of the ransom of the Israelites, with the half shekel when numbered, Exo 30:11 of the laver for the priests to wash their hands and feet at before service, Exo 30:17 of the anointing oil, the ingredients of it, and what was to be done with it, Exo 30:22, and of the perfume, the composition and use of it, Exo 30:34.