Exodus 30:10
in Exodus 30Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year; with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement once in the year shall he make atonement for it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto Jehovah.
KJV
And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.
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This verse in Exodus 30
Commentary
7 notes on this verseTherefore, if I should consider how the true "high priest," my Lord Jesus Christ, having indeed been placed in the flesh, was with the people all year, that year about which he himself says, "He sent me to proclaim good news to the poor and to announce the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of forgiveness," I perceive how "once" in this "year" on the Day of Atonement he enters into "the Holy of Holies."
This site's exposition
no strange incense thereon
on Exodus 30:9-10
Four things are forbidden on this altar and every one of them belongs on the altar in the court, so the two altars are held to separate work. The single exception is blood, put on its horns once a year with the sin offering of atonements, which ties the golden altar to the day Leviticus 16 sets out. Leviticus 10:1 records the first breach of the rule, when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire in the week the priesthood began.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Although this was only done once a year, yet it was daily to be called to mind, in order that they might offer the death of Christ by faith and prayer, and yet might know that their prayers had no sweet savor, unless in so far as they were sprinkled with the blood of atonement. __________________________________________________________________ A.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This incense-altar typified, 1. The brazen altar in the court was a type of Christ dying on earth; the golden altar in the sanctuary was a type of Christ interceding in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. This altar was before the mercy-seat; for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; he is our advocate with the father ( 1 John ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
This altar was purified with the blood of the sin-offering put upon the horns of it every year, upon the day of atonement.
And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
An atonement - once in a year - On the tenth day of the seventh month. See Lev 16:18 (note), etc., and the notes there. See Clarke on Lev 16:21 (note), etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the tenth day of the seventh month. 29 The Day of Atonement.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Aharon shall make atonement on its horn-like elevations once each year.
[THE LORD] SPOKE, etc. When Moshe gathered Israel to separate out the offerings for the Mishkan, he counted them, and this silver was given for the service of the Mishkan, as it is written in [Parashat] Eleh P'kudei (Ex.:25), "The silver of the enumeration of the congregation was 100 etc."
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִפֶּ֤ר | vekhiper | and he will make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| אַהֲרֹן֙ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| קַרְנֹתָ֔יו | karnotav | horns its | H7161 → | 76 times |
| אַחַ֖ת | ʾachat | one [time] | H259 → | 971 times |
| בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה | bashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| מִדַּ֞ם | midam | from [the] blood of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| חַטַּ֣את | chatat | [the] sin offering of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| הַכִּפֻּרִ֗ים | hakipurim | <the> atonement<s> | H3725 → | 8 times |
| אַחַ֤ת | ʾachat | one [time] | H259 → | 971 times |
| בַּשָּׁנָה֙ | bashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| יְכַפֵּ֤ר | yekhaper | he will make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם | ledoroteikhem | to generations your | H1755 → | 167 times |
| קֹֽדֶשׁ־ | kodesh- | [is] holiness of | H6944 → | 469 times |
| קָֽדָשִׁ֥ים | kadashim | holiness<es> | H6944 → | 469 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לַיהוָֽה׃ פ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְכִפֶּ֤רand he will make atonement
vekhiperH3722 →102 times
אַהֲרֹן֙Aaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
קַרְנֹתָ֔יוhorns its
karnotavH7161 →76 times
אַחַ֖תone [time]
ʾachatH259 →971 times
בַּשָּׁנָ֑הin the year
bashanahH8141 →877 times
מִדַּ֞םfrom [the] blood of
midamH1818 →360 times
חַטַּ֣את[the] sin offering of
chatatH2403 →295 times
הַכִּפֻּרִ֗ים<the> atonement<s>
hakipurimH3725 →8 times
אַחַ֤תone [time]
ʾachatH259 →971 times
בַּשָּׁנָה֙in the year
bashanahH8141 →877 times
יְכַפֵּ֤רhe will make atonement
yekhaperH3722 →102 times
עָלָיו֙on it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔םto generations your
ledoroteikhemH1755 →167 times
קֹֽדֶשׁ־[is] holiness of
kodesh-H6944 →469 times
קָֽדָשִׁ֥יםholiness<es>
kadashimH6944 →469 times
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לַיהוָֽה׃ פto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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 23:27“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 16:29–31
This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among…
- Leviticus 16:24
He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering to make…
- Numbers 29:7–11
On the tenth day of this seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you must not do any work.
- Leviticus 16:15
Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood:…
- Isaiah 58:5
Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a…
- Leviticus 16:29–31
Through
Hebrews 9:25Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- Hebrews 9:7
But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- Hebrews 9:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); 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 Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 9:8-9.