2 Chronicles 30:16
in 2 Chronicles 30They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they stood in their place after their order, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood which they received of the hand of the Levites.
KJV
And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 30
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
After their manner - According to the Mishna, the custom was for the priests to stand in two rows extending from the altar to the outer court, where the people were assembled. As each offerer killed his lamb the blood was caught in a basin, which was handed to the nearest priest, who passed it on to his neighbor, and he to the next; the blood was thus conveyed to the altar, at the base of which it was thrown by the last priest in the row.
This site's exposition
the priests and the Levites were ashamed
on 2 Chronicles 30:15-17
The lamb is killed on the fourteenth of the second month, the day Num 9:11 names for exactly this case, and the priests and Levites, shamed into readiness by a laity more eager than they were, sanctify themselves and take their place after the manner the law of Moses prescribes, the blood passed hand to hand from Levite to priest to altar. Verse 17 records an irregularity the law does not anticipate: many in the congregation were not sanctified, so the Levites themselves killed the passover lambs for everyone who was not clean, standing in for a purity the offerer lacked rather than turning him away.
How the passage was read
On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27On 2 Chronicles 30:1-27
The Passover held a month late
Hezekiah's great Passover is kept in the SECOND month, and that is not an irregularity he invented: the Law itself provides a one-month make-up date for those unclean or far off (Numbers 9:10–11, the “Second Passover”). Hezekiah applies the provision nationally because the priests and the people could not be ready in time. Notice the chapter's heart: many northerners ate the Passover ritually unclean, and the king prays for them, “may the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God,” and the LORD heals the people. The feast's paperwork bends; the seeking heart is heard.
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and the priests and the Levites were embarrassed that they had delayed to consecrate themselves. They tarried so long and did not come until now for the following reason: they could not believe that this was true beforehand, because Ahaz had dismissed them from officiating as priests.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
for everyone who was unclean a Levite took his place to sanctify it for the Lord.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Numbers 9:10–11 (the Second-Passover provision) · Mishnah Pesachim 9:1 (the provision in the oral law)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּֽעַמְד֤וּ | vaiyaamdu | and they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | at | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עָמְדָם֙ | ʾamedam | place their | H5977 → | 9 times |
| כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֔ם | kemishpatam | according to custom their | H4941 → | 422 times |
| כְּתוֹרַ֖ת | ketorat | according to [the] law of | H8451 → | 219 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| זֹרְקִ֣ים | zorekim | [were] sprinkling | H2236 → | 35 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּ֔ם | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| מִיַּ֖ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַלְוִיִּֽם׃ | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
וַיַּֽעַמְד֤וּand they stood
vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times
עַל־at
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עָמְדָם֙place their
ʾamedamH5977 →9 times
כְּמִשְׁפָּטָ֔םaccording to custom their
kemishpatamH4941 →422 times
כְּתוֹרַ֖תaccording to [the] law of
ketoratH8451 →219 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אִישׁ־[the] man of
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙the priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
זֹרְקִ֣ים[were] sprinkling
zorekimH2236 →35 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּ֔םthe blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
מִיַּ֖דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
הַלְוִיִּֽם׃the Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 1:5And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the…
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 1:11
He shall slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.
- Leviticus 3:8
He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the…
- Leviticus 3:2
He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on all…
- Leviticus 3:13
He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.
- Hebrews 12:24
Through
Hebrews 11:28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:21–30
Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.
- Hebrews 9:19
For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and…
- Exodus 12:21–30
Through
Deuteronomy 33:1This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
it leads to
- Joshua 14:6
Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about…
- Joshua 14:6
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.