Exodus 29:37
in Exodus 29For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will become most holy; whatever touches the altar will be holy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it: and the altar shall be most holy; whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
KJV
Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
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This verse in Exodus 29
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhatsoever touches the altar shall be holy - To this our Lord refers Mat 23:19, where he says the altar sanctifies the gift; and this may be understood as implying that whatever was laid on the altar became the Lord’s property, and must be wholly devoted to sacred uses, for in no other sense could such things be sanctified by touching the altar.
This site's exposition
This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons
on Exodus 29:35-37
A bull is offered on each of the seven days for the altar, so the furniture is cleansed alongside the priests. The section closes on a clause it leaves unexplained, “whatever touches the altar will be holy”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And atonement was made for the altar. The altar was also sanctified, not only set apart itself to a sacred use, but made so holy as to sanctify the gifts that were offered upon it, Matt. xxiii, 19. Christ is our altar, for our sakes he sanctified himself, that we and our performances might be sanctified and recommended to God, John xvii, 19.
An atonement was made for the altar. Though that was not a subject capable of sin, nor, having never yet been used, could it be said to be polluted with the sins of the people, yet, since the fall, there can be no sanctification to God but there must first be an atonement for sin, which renders us both unworthy and unfit to be employed for God.
Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it,.... That it might be thoroughly fit to have sacrifices offered on it: and it shall be an altar most holy; as Christ is, and is called the Most Holy, and said to be anointed, Dan 9:
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִ֗ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| תְּכַפֵּר֙ | tekhaper | you will make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֖ | vekidashta | and you will consecrate | H6942 → | 171 times |
| אֹת֑וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְהָיָ֤ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| קֹ֣דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| קָֽדָשִׁ֔ים | kadashim | holiness<es> | H6944 → | 469 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ | hanogea' | <the> [thing which] touches | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בַּמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ | bamizbeach | <in> the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| יִקְדָּֽשׁ׃ ס | yikdash | it will be holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִ֗יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
תְּכַפֵּר֙you will make atonement
tekhaperH3722 →102 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
וְקִדַּשְׁתָּ֖and you will consecrate
vekidashtaH6942 →171 times
אֹת֑וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וְהָיָ֤הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
קֹ֣דֶשׁholiness of
kodeshH6944 →469 times
קָֽדָשִׁ֔יםholiness<es>
kadashimH6944 →469 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנֹּגֵ֥עַ<the> [thing which] touches
hanogea'H5060 →150 times
בַּמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ<in> the altar
bamizbeachH4196 →401 times
יִקְדָּֽשׁ׃ סit will be holy
yikdashH6942 →171 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
Daniel 9:24Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up…
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:11–14
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part…
- Romans 5:10
For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Leviticus 25:8
And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years.
- Numbers 14:34
In keeping with the forty days you spied out the land, you shall bear your guilt forty years—a year for each day—and you will experience My alienation.
- Hebrews 9:11–14
Through
Matthew 23:17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
it leads to
- Matthew 23:19
You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
- Matthew 23:19
Through
Exodus 40:10Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy.
it leads to
- Luke 1:35
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
- Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Luke 1:35
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.