Leviticus 16:12
in Leviticus 16Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:
KJV
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
It is important, in reference to the meaning of the day of atonement, to observe the order of the rites as they are described in these verses. Lev 16:12 A censer - See Exo 25:38 note. The altar before the Lord - i. e. the altar of burnt-offering on which the fire was always burning. Lev 16:14 The high priest must have come out from the most holy place to fetch the blood, leaving the censer smoking within, and then have entered again within the veil.
This site's exposition
the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself
on Leviticus 16:11-13
Coals from the altar and incense beaten small go in before any blood does. The cloud of the incense is to cover the mercy seat, and the stated purpose is again that he die not, which is the second time in thirteen verses. The place the high priest is walking into is described as lethal, and the chapter says so twice before he arrives.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he shall take a censer,....
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
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: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָקַ֣ח | velakach | and he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מְלֹֽא־ | melo'- | <the> fullness of | H4393 → | 38 times |
| הַ֠מַּחְתָּה | hamachtah | <the> censer | H4289 → | |
| גַּֽחֲלֵי־ | gachalei- | coals of | H1513 → | |
| אֵ֞שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מֵעַ֤ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| מִלִּפְנֵ֣י | milifnei | from to before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּמְלֹ֣א | umelo' | and [the] fullness of | H4393 → | 38 times |
| חָפְנָ֔יו | chafenav | hands his | H2651 → | |
| קְטֹ֥רֶת | ketoret | incense of | H7004 → | 60 times |
| סַמִּ֖ים | samim | perfume<s> | H5561 → | |
| דַּקָּ֑ה | dakah | fine | H1851 → | 14 times |
| וְהֵבִ֖יא | vehevi' | and he will bring [them] | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from inside | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| לַפָּרֹֽכֶת׃ | laparokhet | to the curtain | H6532 → | 25 times |
וְלָקַ֣חand he will take
velakachH3947 →966 times
מְלֹֽא־<the> fullness of
melo'-H4393 →38 times
הַ֠מַּחְתָּה<the> censer
hamachtahH4289 →
גַּֽחֲלֵי־coals of
gachalei-H1513 →
אֵ֞שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מֵעַ֤לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
מִלִּפְנֵ֣יfrom to before
milifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּמְלֹ֣אand [the] fullness of
umelo'H4393 →38 times
חָפְנָ֔יוhands his
chafenavH2651 →
קְטֹ֥רֶתincense of
ketoretH7004 →60 times
סַמִּ֖יםperfume<s>
samimH5561 →
דַּקָּ֑הfine
dakahH1851 →14 times
וְהֵבִ֖יאand he will bring [them]
vehevi'H935 →2568 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom inside
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
לַפָּרֹֽכֶת׃to the curtain
laparokhetH6532 →25 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 10:1Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:61
but Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 12:32
See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
- Numbers 16:46
Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the…
- Exodus 24:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
- Exodus 6:23
And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
- Numbers 26:61
Through
Numbers 16:46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the…
it leads to
- Numbers 8:19
And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to perform the service for the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement…
- 1 Chronicles 27:24
Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles…
- Leviticus 10:6
Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be…
- Numbers 8:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this chapter
About Leviticus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.