Keluaran 27:21

27:21 In the tent of meeting ¹  outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening ²  to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come. ³ 

Keluaran 30:7-8

30:7 Aaron is to burn sweet incense ⁴  on it morning by morning; when he attends ⁵  to the lamps he is to burn incense. ⁶  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.

[27:21]  ¹ tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”

[27:21]  ² sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.

[27:21]  ³ sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.

[30:7]  ⁴ 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.

[30:7]  ⁵ 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.

[30:7]  ⁶ 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.