Leviticuschapter 9
24 verses · Moses, by tradition · 15th to 13th century BC · The Law
And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
Introduction
Moses, by tradition, The Law, Leviticus Overview.
This chapter is the eighth day, the morning after seven days of consecration and the first day Aaron serves as priest. The people had been promised that the LORD would appear to them, and the whole congregation stood waiting at the tent. The offerings set out in the first chapters of the book are handled in one service, in a fixed order. Listen for the promise given before any animal is killed, for whose sin is dealt with first, and for the blessing spoken twice. It shows the arrangement of the first eight chapters at work.
Context
- Who
- The whole congregation, present for Aaron's first service and for the appearing they had been promised that morning
- What
- The account of Aaron's first day of service, the offerings for himself and for the people, and the glory of the LORD appearing.
- Where
- The altar in the tabernacle court at Sinai, with the whole congregation drawn near and standing.
- When
- About 1445 BC on the traditional dating, the eighth day after the seven days of ordination, in the first month of the second year after the Exodus.
- Why
- To show that the LORD accepted the priesthood and the offerings He had commanded.
Historical context
The chapter is narrative. Moses gives the instructions, Aaron acts, and the narrator reports what happened.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
The seven days of consecration ended at 8:35, and this is the morning after. Aaron's first act in the office is a sin offering for himself, and the animal named for it is a calf.
A first hearer would have heard the promise before the work. Verse 4 says that today the LORD will appear to you, and verse 6 repeats it, so the offerings answer a promise already made rather than earning one.
Moses stops sacrificing at verse 7 and hands the work over. He states the order twice in that one verse, atonement for Aaron himself before the offering of the people, and the whole congregation stands there while Aaron works.
Four of the five kinds of offering set out in chapters 1 to 7 are handled in one day, and the guilt offering is the one absent. Verse 17 adds that the grain offering was presented in addition to the burnt offering of the morning. The daily service of Exodus 29:38 to 29:42 kept its place on the greatest day the camp had seen.
Aaron blesses the people with lifted hands at verse 22, and Moses and Aaron bless them together at verse 23 after coming out of the tent. The glory appears after the second blessing.
Significance
For Israel this was the day the arrangement was shown to work. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD, consumed the offering, and the people shouted and fell facedown.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
It was also the day the same fire became something to fear. The next event the book reports is 10:2, where fire came out from the same place and consumed two of Aaron's sons, told in nearly the same words.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
The day of this chapter is dated and described in the tradition. Rashi reads the eighth day as the first day of the month of Nisan, the day the Tabernacle was finally set up. He reports that Seder Olam 7 counts ten distinctions falling on it (Rashi on Leviticus 9:1:1). He is quoted from the Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann, 1929 to 1934, which the corpus marks public domain. The offerings of that day were owed rather than chosen, because God was to appear (Rashi on Leviticus 9:4:1). The grain offering was handled by filling the hand, which is the taking of the fistful named elsewhere (Rashi on Leviticus 9:17:1). After the waving of the fat and the breast, the priest who waved them passed them to another priest to burn, so that what had been on top was now underneath (Rashi on Leviticus 9:20:1). The blessing Aaron gave from the altar is read as the priestly blessing of Numbers 6, the three lines still called by that name (Rashi on Leviticus 9:22:1). The rites of the day belong to the sanctuary, and no sanctuary has stood since AD 70, a break this site records on its feasts layer (src/lib/hebraic/feasts.ts).
How it is read
The chapter is read as the repair of the golden calf. Rashi holds that the calf Aaron was told to bring as his own sin offering announced his pardon for the calf he had made (Rashi on Leviticus 9:2:1, citing Midrash Tanchuma, Shmini 4). The elders were summoned for a second reason of the same kind. They were to see that Aaron entered the sanctuary at the command of God, so that no one could say he took the office for himself (Rashi on Leviticus 9:1:2).
The reading of Aaron at the altar is the part a reader will carry away. Rashi reports that Aaron held back in shame and fear of the altar. Moses said to him that this was the very thing he had been chosen for (Rashi on Leviticus 9:7:1). The same hesitation returns at the end of the chapter. Rashi gives two explanations for the entry of Moses and Aaron into the Tent. The first, from the Mekhilta of the installation, is that Moses went in to teach Aaron the incense rite, which was the only rite performed inside the Tent that day. The second is that Aaron saw every offering made and no fire fall, and told Moses that he had entered the whole matter at his brother's bidding and had been put to shame. The two men prayed inside, and the glory came out to the people (Rashi on Leviticus 9:23:1).
Three smaller notes carry the chapter's detail. The burning of the flesh and the hide outside the camp was done here and at the installation alone, and both times at the express command of God (Rashi on Leviticus 9:11:1). The burnt offering of the day followed the rule set for the free will burnt offering of the first chapter (Rashi on Leviticus 9:16:1). The cry of the people at the end is read with the Targum as praise of God (Rashi on Leviticus 9:24:1). Sforno is quoted here from the translation of Eliyahu Munk, which the corpus marks CC-BY. He reads the handing over of the peace offerings as training the priests in the rites brought for the congregation (Sforno on Leviticus 9:18:1).
Ibn Ezra stands seven times in this chapter, on the second, third, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth and twenty first verses (Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 9:2:1, 9:3:1, 9:6:1, 9:8:1, 9:9:1, 9:10:1 and 9:21:1). The corpus keeps no text of him, because the licence Sefaria reports does not permit it. Malbim stands on the fifth, and Sefaria holds no English version of it (Malbim on Leviticus, Shmini 4:1).
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty Midrash and Talmud locators on this chapter and the text of none of them. Each is cited here rather than quoted, and what each teaches is reported as the teaching of the rabbis.
Twenty nine of them are midrashic. Midrash Lekach Tov carries four, at Leviticus 9:6:1, 9:10:1, 9:13:1 and 9:21:1. Bamidbar Rabbah carries four, at 13:5 on the day, at 11:4 and 13:10 on the blessing, and at 12:8 on the fire. Bereshit Rabbah carries three, at 42:3, 48:5 and 82:2. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah carries three, at 750:11, 521:5 and 523:3. Sifra stands twice in the Mekhilta of the installation, at Shemini, Mekhilta DeMiluim II 9 and II 13. Midrash Tanchuma Buber stands twice, at Nasso 19:1 and Bo 16:1, with a further entry of Midrash Tanchuma at V'Zot HaBerachah 1:1. Otzar Midrashim stands twice, in the Sefer Tagin at 24:92 and in the compilation from the Baraita of the forty nine rules at 5. Ein Yaakov stands twice on the ninth verse, at Moed Katan 3:18 in the Glick Edition and at Moed Katan 3:35. The two Mekhiltas stand on the fifth verse, at Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 19:17 and Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Bachodesh 3:26. The last four are Midrash Aggadah, Leviticus 9:3:1, Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Vayera 7, Vayikra Rabbah 12:1, and Kohelet Rabbah 4:9:1.
Eleven Talmudic locators run beside them. The Jerusalem Talmud carries six, at Yoma 1:1:5, 1:1:2 and 1:1:11, Nazir 5:1:12 and 5:2:1, and Shevuot 1:4:2. Menachot carries four, at 93b:3, 10a:6, 19b:4 and 62a:5. Beitzah 20a:5 stands on the burnt offering.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Leviticus 9:1:1 to 9:24:1, the Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann, 1929 to 1934, public domain; Sforno, Sforno on Leviticus 9:18:1, HaChut Hameshulash translated by Eliyahu Munk, CC-BY; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 9:2:1, 9:3:1, 9:6:1, 9:8:1, 9:9:1, 9:10:1 and 9:21:1, cited by ref because the licence Sefaria reports does not permit the text; Malbim, Malbim on Leviticus, Shmini 4:1, cited by ref because Sefaria holds no English version; MannaFest, the feasts layer, src/lib/hebraic/feasts.ts, on the Temple's fall in AD 70; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/leviticus/9.json, the 40 Midrash and Talmud locators of this chapter.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The eighth day: draw near
Leviticus 9:1-2
Seven days of consecration ended at Leviticus 8:35, and this is the morning after. Aaron's first act in the office is a sin offering for himself, and the animal named for it is a calf. Adam Clarke and Matthew Henry both pass on the reading of the Jewish writers that the calf was chosen to set Exodus 32 in front of him, and the text gives no reason of its own for the choice.
Leviticus 9:1
“Lev 9:1 On the eighth day - i. e., on the first day after the week of consecration. Lev 9:2 A young calf - A bull calf, which might have been what we should call a yearling ox. Lev 9:3 A kid of the goats - A shaggy he-goat. See Lev 4:23 note. Lev 9:6 The glory of the Lord - Compare Exo 16:7.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Leviticus 9:1
“On the eighth day - Namely, from the day of his consecration, or when the seven days of his consecration were ended. The eighth day is famous in scripture for the perfecting and purifying both of men and beasts.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Aaron supplies his own animals, a young bull and a ram, and the people bring theirs separately at verse 3. Adam Clarke explains that these were for Aaron's own sin and so came from him, and he points to Leviticus 4:3, the sin offering of an anointed priest. Both animals must be without blemish.
Leviticus 9:2
“Take thee a young calf, etc. - As these sacrifices were for Aaron himself, they are furnished by himself and not by the people, for they were designed to make atonement for his own sin. See Lev 4:3. And this is supposed by the Jews to have been intended to make an atonement for his sin in the matter of the golden calf. This is very probable, as no formal atonement for that transgression had yet been made.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 9:3-4
The people bring a male goat, a calf, a lamb, an ox and a ram with a grain offering, four of the five kinds, with only the guilt offering absent. Verse 4 states what the day is for: For today the LORD will appear to you. The promise comes before any slaughter, so the offerings answer it and do not earn it.
Leviticus 9:3
“Take ye a kid - In Lev 4:14 a young bullock is commanded to be offered for the sin of the people; but here the offering is a kid, which was the sacrifice appointed for the sin of the ruler, Lev 4:22, Lev 4:23, and hence some think that the reading of the Samaritan and the Septuagint is to be preferred. Speak unto the Elders of Israel, these being the only princes or rulers of Israel at that time; and for them it is possible this sacrifice was designed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The people's list ends with an ox and a ram for a peace offering and a grain offering mixed with oil, the offering of Leviticus 2. John Wesley notes that the Hebrew speaks of the LORD's appearing as though it had already happened, to give the people more assurance of it. Verse 23 records the appearing.
Leviticus 9:4
“The Lord will appear - Hebrew. He speaks of the thing to come as if it were past, which is frequent in scripture, to give them the more assurance of the thing.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 9:5-6
The whole congregation drew near and stood before the LORD, and it stands there while Aaron works. Moses fastens the appearing to the obedience in one sentence: This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you. Exodus 40:34-35 filled the tent with that glory and left Moses outside, and here it comes out to the people.
Leviticus 9:5
“And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation,.... That is, Aaron and his sons, and all the children of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it.”
Adam Clarke distinguishes two signs of the LORD's presence: the cloud on the tabernacle in general, and on this day the particular proof of the fire at verse 24 that consumed the burnt offering. Albert Barnes compares Exodus 16:7, where Israel was promised a sight of the LORD's glory in the morning.
Leviticus 9:6
“And the glory of the Lord shall appear - God shall give the most sensible signs of his presence among you; this he did in general by the cloud on the tabernacle, but in this case the particular proof was the fire that came out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering; see Lev 9:23, Lev 9:24.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 9:7-8
Moses hands the work over, and Aaron goes to the altar for the first time. The order is fixed, atonement for yourself and for the people, and Hebrews 7:27 turns on it: first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people. John Calvin reads this verse as the place where the legal priesthood shows what it lacks.
Leviticus 9:7
“And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar Here is repeated what was stated elsewhere, that the priest, as being himself a sinner, must first make entreaty for himself, before he propitiates God towards others. Hence the Apostle justly infers that the legal priesthood was weak and merely typical.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Leviticus 9:7
“Go and offer - Moses had hitherto sacrificed, but now he resigns his work to Aaron, and actually gives him that commission which from God he had received for him. For thyself and for the people - The order is very observable, first for thyself, otherwise thou art unfit to do it for the people.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 9:7
“It is to be remarked that Aaron offers no peace-offering for himself. It was enough that he should participate in the peace-offerings of the consecration Lev 8:31, and in the two peace-offerings about to be sacrificed for the people. His sin-offering was probably regarded not so much as a sacrifice for his own actual sins as a typical acknowledgment of his sinful nature and of his future duty to offer for his own sins and those of the People.”
Aaron offers first for himself
Aaron kills the calf himself, so the first animal he slays in office is his own sin offering. Albert Barnes observes that Aaron shares in the people's peace offerings and brings none of his own, and he takes this sin offering as an acknowledgment of Aaron's sinful nature and of his future duty to offer for himself and the people.
Leviticus 9:9-11
The blood goes on the horns of the altar in the court, following Moses at Leviticus 8:15 and not the rule of 4:5-7, where the anointed priest's blood goes in before the veil. Aaron is entering the office and has not yet acted inside the holy place. The flesh and the hide are burned outside the camp, which Hebrews 13:11-12 takes up for Jesus suffering outside the city gate.
Leviticus 9:9
“Aaron did not act according to the ordinary Law Lev 4:5-7, Lev 4:16-18, but as Moses had done in the sin-offering of the consecration ceremony (Lev 8:15; compare also Lev 4:25, Lev 4:30, Lev 4:34). The probable reason of this was that he had not yet been formally introduced as the high priest into the holy place of the tabernacle. Brought the blood - They most likely held the basons in which the blood was received as it ran from the victim, and then handed them to their father. See Lev 1:5.”
The fat, the kidneys and the lobe of the liver go on the altar, the portions Leviticus 4:8-10 reserves from a sin offering. John Gill points to Leviticus 4:8 for the rule. John Wesley argues that the fire of verse 24 consumed the burnt offering of verse 16 with its fat, and he gives that as the reason verse 16 speaks only of its offering.
Leviticus 9:10
“But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar,.... The Septuagint version is, "he offered them": as the Lord commanded Moses; see Lev 4:8.”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 9:10
“Add to this, that there is nothing said to be consumed by that heavenly fire, but the burnt-offering with the fat belonging to it, namely, that burnt- offering mentioned ver. 16, which therefore is not there said to be burnt, as it is said of the other burnt-offering, ver. 13, and of the rest of the sacrifices in their places.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
John Gill says this burning outside the camp used common fire, since the fire from the LORD came only upon the altar. He also corrects Jarchi, who said no other sin offering was burned outside the camp, by pointing to Leviticus 4:11, where the bull of the anointed priest's sin offering is carried out in the same way.
Leviticus 9:11
“And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp. With common fire, for the fire from the Lord came only upon the altar, which perhaps may be the reason of this expression being used when anything was burnt without the camp, and not on the altar, see Exo 29:14. Jarchi observes, that we do not find a sin offering burnt without the camp but this; which is a great mistake; see Lev 4:11.”
Leviticus 9:12-14
Chapters 1 to 7 are the law and this is the law done, in the same order: slaughtered, sprinkled, burned. Aaron's sons hand over the blood, and he does the rest with his own hands, the division of labour later priests keep. The washing of the entrails and the legs at verse 14 is the instruction of 1:9 carried out to the letter.
Leviticus 9:12
“And he slew the burnt offering,.... The ram, which was for himself also; this he slew at the north side of the altar, Lev 1:11. and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood: which they had received into a basin, when it was slain: which he sprinkled round about upon the altar; as he had seen Moses do before him, Lev 8:19.”
Aaron's sons bring the ram already cut into its pieces, with the head, and Aaron burns them on the altar. John Gill notes that it was divided as Moses had divided the ram of the burnt offering at Leviticus 8:20, so Aaron repeats what he had watched a week earlier. The Septuagint, Gill adds, reads that he put them on the altar.
Leviticus 9:13
“And they presented the burnt offering to him,.... After it was cut in pieces, as the ram of the burnt offering was by Moses, Lev 8:20 and so it was done to this, as appears by what follows: with the pieces thereof, and the head, and he burnt them upon the altar; the Septuagint version is, "he put them on the altar".”
The washed parts are laid on top of the pieces already on the altar, so the whole ram burns together. John Gill notes that Moses had done the same at Leviticus 8:21, and he reads atop the burnt offering either as upon the pieces or as after them. With this Aaron's own offerings are complete, and verse 15 turns to the people's.
Leviticus 9:14
“And he did wash the inwards and the legs,.... As Moses also had done, Lev 8:21. and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar; upon the pieces, and the head, before mentioned, said to be burnt, or "after" the burnt offering, after they were burnt: the Septuagint version is as before.”
Then the offerings of the people
Leviticus 9:15-17
Aaron now repeats for the people what he did for his own sin, and the text says like the first one instead of describing it again. The grain offering is burned in addition to the morning’s burnt offering. The daily offering of Exodus 29:38-42 kept its place on the greatest day the camp had seen, so the extraordinary service was laid on top of the ordinary one.
Leviticus 9:15
“In this first complete series of offerings made by the high priest, the sacrifices take their appointed order; first, the sin-offering to make atonement; then the burnt-offering, to signify the surrender of the body, soul and spirit to Yahweh in heaven; and lastly the peace-offering, to show forth the communion vouchsafed to those who are justified and sanctified. See Lev 8:14 note.”
The people's burnt offering is the calf and the lamb of verse 3, as John Gill identifies it, and John Wesley notes that it was offered for the people as their sin offering had been. The ordinance is the procedure of Leviticus 1, which Gill calls the appointment of God for that kind of offering.
Leviticus 9:16
“And he brought the burnt offering,.... The calf and the lamb, Lev 9:3. and offered it according to the manner; judgment, ordinance, and appointment of God respecting that sort of offerings; see Lev 1:1.”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 9:16
“The burnt-offering - Which also was offered for the people, as the last mentioned sin-offering was.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
The grain offering is handled by the rule of Leviticus 2:1-3, a handful burned and the rest given to the priests. John Gill reports Jarchi's reading of the last phrase as after the morning's burnt offering, since no sacrifice came before that one. John Wesley draws the lesson that God keeps his ordinary and stated service from being swallowed up by the extraordinary.
Leviticus 9:17
“And he brought the meat offering,.... Made of fine flour, with oil and frankincense put upon it, see Lev 2:1. and took a handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar; see Lev 2:2. beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning; the daily morning sacrifice, which was not to be omitted on account of these extraordinary sacrifices, both for the priest and for the people; or "after the burnt sacrifice of the morning"; for no sacrifice was offered up before that: so Jarchi.”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 9:17
“Besides the burnt-sacrifice - Which was to be first offered every morning; for God will not have his ordinary and stated service swallowed up by extraordinary.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 9:18-21
The peace offerings come last, following the priest's order of 6:8 to 7:38 and not the offerer's list of chapters 1 to 5, and by 7:15 these are the parts a worshipper eats. The breasts and the right thigh are waved as a wave offering and become the priests' portion. A day that opened with Aaron's own sin closes with food on his table.
Leviticus 9:18
“He slew also the bullock and the ram, a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people,.... That they might feast, rejoice, and be glad that atonement was made for their sins, and their gifts and sacrifices accepted of God, see Rom 5:11. and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood; of the peace offerings, the bullock and the ram, which they had received into a vessel as they were killing: which he sprinkled upon the altar round about; as he did with the blood of his own burnt offering, Lev 9:12.”
The sons bring the fat of both animals, and the verse lists it piece by piece: the fat tail, the fat over the entrails, the kidneys and the lobe of the liver. These are the portions Leviticus 3:3-4 and 3:9-10 assign to the LORD from a peace offering. John Gill notes that the blood of these animals had just been sprinkled on the altar as with Aaron's own burnt offering.
The fat is laid on top of the breasts so the two are handled together before the LORD. John Gill says the fat lay on the breasts while they were waved and was burned on the altar after the waving. The fat goes to the fire and the breasts go to the priests, the division Leviticus 7:30-31 sets out.
Leviticus 9:20
“And they put the fat upon the breasts,.... Both of the bullock and of the ram, while they were waving: and he burnt the fat upon the altar; after having been waved.”
John Gill reads the waving as an acknowledgment that the LORD is Lord of all and has a right to everything the people own. The parts are then given to the priests toward their support, as Leviticus 7:34 establishes. Gill refers to Exodus 29:27, and the verse closes on the command of Moses.
Leviticus 9:21
“And the breasts and the right shoulder,.... The breasts of the bullock and the ram, and the right shoulders of them both: Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord; which was given to him as his part of the peace offerings, after they had been thus waved before the Lord; whereby an acknowledgment was made that he was Lord of all, and had a right to all they had; in token of which these parts were given to his priests towards their maintenance: as Moses commanded; see Exo 29:27.”
Glory appears and fire falls
Leviticus 9:22-23
And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people: Aaron blesses with lifted hands and comes down from the altar, and Adam Clarke takes the words to be the form written out at Numbers 6:23-27. Then Moses and Aaron go into the tent together, come out, and bless a second time, and the glory appears to all the people rather than to the two men who had been inside. Matthew Henry marks the sequence, that the appearing followed the blessing the lawgiver and the priest gave together.
Leviticus 9:22
“Aaron lifted up his hand . . . and blessed them--The pronouncing of a benediction on the people assembled in the court was a necessary part of the high priest's duty, and the formula in which it was to be given is described (Nu 6:23-27). came down from offering--The altar was elevated above the level of the floor, and the ascent was by a gentle slope (Ex 20:26).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Leviticus 9:22
“Something of this sort has also been written about Aaron in the book of Leviticus, namely, that "he raised up his hands over the people and blessed them." I gather from this that the saying expresses a mystery, namely, that the one who blesses someone must be adorned with works that distinguish him from the many and raise him above them. For when he is going to bless the people, the hands of Aaron are raised on high. So if someone has his hands down toward earthly things, he does not intend to bless anyone.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · FRAGMENT ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 257patristic
Leviticus 9:22
“This was one part of the priest's work, in which he was a type of Christ, who came into the world to bless us, and when he was parted from his disciples, at his ascension, lifted up his hands and blessed them, and in them his whole church, of which they were the elders and representatives, as the great high priest of our profession.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 9:22
“And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them - On lifting up the hands in prayer, see Exo 9:29. The form of the blessing we have in Num 6:23, etc.: “The Lord bless thee and keep thee! The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee! The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace!” See the notes on these passages Exo 9:29 (note), and Num 6:23 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Moses and Aaron go into the tent together, and the text records only that when they came out, they blessed the people. John Wesley suggests that Moses went in to direct Aaron in the work of the holy place, the lamps, the table of the bread and the altar of incense. On that reading Moses hands over the inner service as he handed over the altar at verse 7.
Leviticus 9:23
“And Moses - Went in with Aaron to direct him, and to see him perform those parts of his office which were to be done in the holy place, about the lights, and the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense, upon which part of the blood of the sacrifices now offered was to be sprinkled, chap. iv, 7, 16.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the offering, and the people shouted for joy and fell facedown, the promise of verse 4 kept. The next event Leviticus reports is 10:2, where fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed two of Aaron's sons, in nearly the same words. The narrator lays the two side by side and adds nothing.
Leviticus 9:24
“From before the Lord - Or, from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the place where God was in a special manner present, either from heaven or from the holy of holies. They shouted - As wondering at, rejoicing in, and blessing God for this gracious discovery of himself, and his favour. This also was a figure of good things to come.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: Narrative, the first service of the priesthood ordained in the chapter before, as 2 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The promise stated before anything is killed | Verse 4 says that today the LORD will appear to you, and verse 6 repeats the appearing as the outcome of doing what was commanded. Both stand before the first animal is brought, so the offerings answer a promise already given.Counted for this lane over the store's Berean Standard Bible rows for Leviticus, 19 September 2026, Berean Standard Bible, Leviticus, read from the store. | Leviticus 9:4, Leviticus 9:6, Leviticus 9:23 |
| The same work done twice, for himself and for them | Aaron offers the sin offering and the burnt offering for himself at verses 8 to 14, then does the same for the people at verses 15 to 21. Verse 15 says he offered it in the same way as the first, so the text abbreviates the second run.Counted for this lane over the store's Berean Standard Bible rows for Leviticus, 19 September 2026, Berean Standard Bible, Leviticus, read from the store. | Leviticus 9:8, Leviticus 9:15 |
| The offerings named in the priest's order | The sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the peace offering, in that sequence. Four of the five kinds set out in chapters 1 to 7 are handled in one day, and the guilt offering is the one absent.Counted for this lane over the store's Berean Standard Bible rows for Leviticus, 19 September 2026, Berean Standard Bible, Leviticus, read from the store. | Leviticus 9:15, Leviticus 9:16, Leviticus 9:17, Leviticus 9:18 |
| The blessing given twice | Aaron blesses the people from the altar at verse 22, and then Moses and Aaron come out of the tent and bless them together at verse 23. The glory appears after the second blessing rather than the first.Counted for this lane over the store's Berean Standard Bible rows for Leviticus, 19 September 2026, Berean Standard Bible, Leviticus, read from the store. | Leviticus 9:22, Leviticus 9:23 |
The order Hebrews turns on
9 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verse 7 fixes the sequence, atonement for the priest before the offering of the people. Hebrews 7:27 turns on that order, that the high priests offered first for their own sins and then for the people's. John Calvin reads this verse as the place where the legal priesthood shows what it lacks. The flesh and the hide are burned outside the camp at verse 11, and Hebrews 13:11 to 13:13 sets the suffering of Jesus outside the gate beside that arrangement.
The glory that comes out to the people
Exodus 40:34 and 40:35 had already filled the tent with the glory and left Moses outside it. Here the same glory comes out to where the people are standing. Moses fastens the appearing to the obedience in one sentence at verse 6, that this is what the LORD has commanded you to do so that the glory may appear.
The blessing and its form
Aaron lifts his hands toward the people and blesses them at verse 22. Adam Clarke takes the words to be the form written out at Numbers 6:23 to 6:27. Matthew Henry marks the sequence, that the appearing followed the blessing which the lawgiver and the priest gave together.
The two fires told in the same words
Verse 24 has fire come out from the presence of the LORD, consume the burnt offering and the fat, and the people shout and fall facedown. That is the promise of verse 4 kept, and it is the high point of the book to this stage. The next event Leviticus reports is 10:2, where fire came out from the LORD and consumed two of Aaron's sons, told in nearly the same words. The same fire from the same place accepts an offering and kills two priests, and the narrator lays the two side by side and adds nothing.
The fire the priests then keep
Leviticus 6:9, 6:12 and 6:13 order the fire on the altar to be kept burning and never extinguished. Verse 24 is where that fire begins, so the wood a priest lays on every morning feeds a fire he did not kindle.
Keep studying
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Gordon Wenham, cited in this site's published structure for Leviticus, src/components/book/dossier-content/leviticus.ts, this site's published book dossier for Leviticus, the chiasm entry The book's own concentric shape, centered on the Day of Atonement, carried at status proposed; The store's published exposition note on Leviticus 9:1 to 2, MannaFest exposition of Leviticus 9, citing Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and The store's published exposition note on Leviticus 9:12 to 14, MannaFest exposition of Leviticus 9, citing John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; Andrew Bonar, A Commentary on Leviticus; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Sir Robert Anderson, Types in Hebrews.