Exodus 40:9

. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony,.... Not in the most holy place where the ark was, but over against it in the holy place: and put the hanging of the door of the tabernacle; the door of entrance into the holy place, where there were to be no other things set but those now mentioned, the shewbread table, the candlestick, and the altar of incense; and these being brought in, the hanging was to be put up, which hid the sight of the above things, and forbid the entrance of the people there. Exodus 40:6 Ver. 6. And thou shall set the altar of the burnt offering,.... Where the sacrifices of the people were to be brought, and offered up by the priests; and this was to be set up in the open court, as it was proper it should, both because of the smell and smoke of the sacrifices: before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation; just a little before the entrance into the holy place. Exodus 40:7 Ver. 7. And thou shall set the laver,.... As is directed in Exodus 30:18. Exodus 40:8 Ver. 8. And thou shall set up the court round about,.... Which consisted of various hangings, east, west, north, and south; see Exodus 27:9. Exodus 40:9 Ver. 9-11. And thou shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle,....

40:1-15 When a new year begins, we should seek to serve God better than the year before. In half a year the tabernacle was completed. When the hearts of numbers are earnest in a good cause, much may be done in a short time; and when the commandments of God are continually attended to, as the rule of working, all will be done well. The high-priesthood was in the family of Aaron till Christ came, and in Him, the substance of all these shadows, it continues for ever.

And thou shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle,.... In this, and the two following verses Exodus 40:10 , orders are given for the anointing of the tabernacle and its vessels, the altar of burnt offering and its vessels, the laver and its foot, whereby they were consecrated for divine use and service, according to

THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CONSECRATION OF THE TABERNACLE AND THE PRIESTS. (9-15) Instructions for the consecration of the Tabernacle, its furniture and its vessels, by anointing, and for the consecration of Aaron and his sons by ablution, anointing, and investiture, were attached to those given concerning the setting up of the Tabernacle, and are here recorded, although their execution appears to have been delayed to a later date. (See Leviticus 8:1-13.) Moses perhaps found that there was not time for the completion of the ceremony on the day of the erection of the Tabernacle, and therefore deferred a part of it. (9) The anointing oil.—Directions for the composition of the oil had been already given (Exodus 30:23-25); and at the same time it had been ordered that the Tabernacle, the ark, the table, the candlestick, the two altars, the laver, and the various vessels of the sanctuary, should be consecrated by anointing them (Exodus 30:26-29).

Verses 9-16. - The directions to anoint , etc. Verses 9-16. - It does not appear that these directions were carried out at this time. Probably, there would not have been time to go through all the ceremonies enjoined ( Exodus 29:1-34 ) on the same day with the erection of the sanctuary. They were consequently deferred, either till the next day, or possibly to a later date. (See Leviticus 8 .) The anointing of the tabernacle is recorded in ver. 10; of the vessels in ver. 11; of the altar and laver in the same. The washing of Aaron and his sons in ver. 6; their investiture in vers. 7-9; the anointing of Aaron in ver. 12; and a further anointing of Aaron together with his sons in ver. 30. Exodus 40:9

Most holy - In Exodus 40:9 the tabernacle and its utensils are said to be rendered holy by the anointing; the altar and its utensils are in Exodus 40:10 said to be "most holy". The difference does not express a higher degree of holiness: it is only used as a caution. The position of the altar exposed it to the chance of being touched by the people when they assembled in the court, while they were not permitted to enter the tabernacle. The tabernacle itself, with all that belonged to it, is called most holy in Exodus 30:29 .

9, 10 . It is remarkable that, while in Exodus 30:29 (see vv. 26–28), the Tent of Meeting with all the vessels belonging to it, are, by anointing, made ‘most holy’ (see for this term on Exodus 29:37 ), here the altar only is ‘most holy,’ and the Tent of Meeting and all its contents are only ‘holy.’ 9–11 . The Dwelling, and everything belonging to it, to be anointed with the holy anointing oil: see Exodus 30:26-29 ; and cf. Exodus 29:36 f. (the altar alone).

2. On the first day of the first month—From a careful consideration of the incidents recorded to have happened after the exodus (Ex 12:2; 13:4; 19:1; 20:18; 34:28, &c.), it has been computed that the work of the tabernacle was commenced within six months after that emigration; and consequently, that other six months had been occupied in building it. So long a period spent in preparing the materials of a movable pavilion, it would be difficult to understand, were it not for what we are told of the vast dimensions of the tabernacle, as well as the immense variety of curious and elaborate workmanship which its different articles of furniture required. the tabernacle—the entire edifice. the tent—the covering that surmounted it (Ex 40:19).

After the completion of all the works, the command was given by God to Moses to set up the dwelling of the tabernacle on the first day of the first month (see at Exodus 19:1 ), sc., in the second year of the Exodus (see Exodus 40:17 ), and to put all the vessels, both of the dwelling and court, in the places appointed by God; also to furnish the table of shew-bread with its fitting out (ערכּו equals לחם ערך Exodus 40:23 ), i.e., to arrange the bread upon it in the manner prescribed ( Exodus 40:4 cf. Leviticus 24:6-7 ), and to put water in the laver of the court ( Exodus 40:7 ). After that he was to anoint the dwelling and everything in it, also the altar of burnt-offering and laver, with the anointing oil, and to sanctify them ( Exodus 40:9-11 ); and to consecrate Aaron and his sons before the door of the tabernacle, and clothe them, anoint them, and sanctify them as priests ( Exodus 40:12-15 ).

When we read here, however, that the dwelling and the vessels therein would be rendered "holy" through the anointing, but the altar of burnt-offering "most holy," we are not to understand this as attributing a higher degree of holiness to the altar of burnt-offering than to the dwelling and its furniture; but the former is called "most holy" merely in the sense ascribed to it in Exodus 30:10 namely, that every one who touched it was to become holy; in other words, the distinction has reference to the fact, that, standing as it did in the court, it was more exposed to contact from the people than the vessels in the dwelling, which no layman was allowed to enter. In this relative sense we find the same statement in Exodus 30:29 , with reference to the tabernacle and all the vessels therein, the dwelling as well as the court, that they would become most holy in consequence of the anointing (see the remarks on Exodus 30:10 ). It is stated provisionally, in Exodus 40:16 , that this command was fulfilled by Moses. But from the further history we find that the consecration of the priests did not take place contemporaneously with the erection of the tabernacle, but somewhat later, or not till after the promulgation of the laws of sacrifice (cf. Leviticus 8 and Leviticus 1:1 .).