Exodus 29:24

And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) Thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons.—Rather, on the hands. Having placed the offerings on the hands of his brother and his brother’s sons, Moses was to put his own hands beneath theirs, and to make a waving motion towards the four quarters of the sky, thus presenting the offerings to the ubiquitous God. Aaron and his sons thus performed their first priestly act, as passive instruments in Moses’ hands, by his muscular energy. Their priestly character was by these means made complete. (On “wave offerings,” see Note upon Leviticus 7:30.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

29:1-37 Aaron and his sons were to be set apart for the priest's office, with ceremony and solemnity. Our Lord Jesus is the great High Priest of our profession, called of God to be so; anointed with the Spirit, whence he is called Messiah, the Christ; clothed with glory and beauty; sanctified by his own blood; made perfect, or consecrated through sufferings, Heb 2:10. All believers are spiritual priests, to offer spiritual sacrifices,

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Door of the tabernacle - Entrance of the tent. See Leviticus 8:3.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10-22. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle—This part of the ceremonial consisted of three sacrifices: (1) The sacrifice of a bullock, as a sin offering; and in rendering it, the priest was directed to put his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, expressing by that act a consciousness of personal guilt, and a wish that it might be accepted as a vicarious satisfaction. (2) The sacrifice of a ram as a burnt offering (Ex 29:15-18). The ram was to be wholly burnt, in token of the priest's dedication of himself to God and His service. The sin offering was first to be presented, and then the burnt offering; for until guilt be removed, no acceptable service can be performed. (3) There was to be a peace offering, called "the ram of consecration" (Ex 29:19-22). And there was a marked peculiarity in the manner in which this other ram was to be disposed of. The former was for the glory of God—this was for the comfort of the priest himself; and as a sign of a mutual covenant being ratified, the blood of the sacrifice was divided—part sprinkled on the altar round about, and part upon the persons and garments of the priests. Nay, the blood was, by a singular act, directed to be put upon the extremities of the body, thereby signifying that the benefits of the atonement would be applied to the whole nature of man. Moreover, the flesh of this sacrifice was to be divided, as it were, between God and the priest—part of it to be put into his hand to be waved up and down, in token of its being offered to God, and then it was to be burnt upon the altar; the other part was to be eaten by the priests at the door of the tabernacle—that feast being a symbol of communion or fellowship with God. These ceremonies, performed in the order described, showed the qualifications necessary for the priests. (See Heb 7:26, 27; 10:14).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Either toss them from one hand to another, as giving all from themselves to God; or shake them to and fro, towards the several parts of the world, to note God’s dominion over all places and people, and the extent of that true and great sacrifice, represented in these types to all.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons,.... Which accounts for the use of the phrase, filling the hand for consecration, Exodus 29:9 for all the above things of the ram, bread, cakes, and wafers, were put into their hands when consecrated, denoting their investiture with their office: all things are in the hands of Christ, relative to the glory of God and the good of his people; their persons are in his hands, and all grace and blessings of it for them; a commission to execute his office as a priest is given to him; and as it was proper that he also should have somewhat to offer, his hands are filled, and he has a sufficiency for that purpose, as Aaron and his sons had, Hebrews 8:3.

and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: which was waved or shook to and fro, from east to west, and from north to south, to or before him, as Jarchi observes, whose are the four winds of the world (g); and this was done by Moses and Aaron also; for, according to the same writer,"both were employed in waving, both the owners and the priest, how? the priest put his hand under the hand of the owner and waved, and in this Aaron and his sons were the owners and Moses the priest.''

(g) Vid. T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 62. 1.

Geneva Study Bible

And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. hands] lit. palms; hence ‘upon,’ i.e. upon the open palms.

wave them] Moses is to ‘wave’ the offerings enumerated in vv. 22, 23, as they lie upon the priests’ hands, before Jehovah—i.e. to wave them not from right to left, but towards the altar and back. The ceremony of ‘waving’—first in H, Leviticus 23:11; Leviticus 23:20—is prescribed mostly for offerings which become ultimately the perquisite of the priests: and it seems to be intended as a symbolical expression of the fact that such offerings are first given to God, and then given back by Him to the priest for his own use (Di. on Leviticus 7:30, Now. ii. 239, Bä.): cf. Numbers 5:25; and see further on Leviticus 7:30. Here, as the offerings were afterwards, not given to the priests, but burned upon the altar (v. 25), the symbolism of the ceremony must be different; perhaps it is meant as a symbolical induction of the priests by Moses into their office of presenting sacrifices upon the altar (Bä.).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - Thou shalt put all in the hands, or "on the hands." The offerings were to be laid first, on the hands of Aaron, and then on those of his sons, which were to support them; while Moses, putting his hands under theirs, made a waving motion with them towards the four corners of the heavens, to indicate that the gifts were offered to the omnipresent God. This process was that "filling of the hand," by which the actual installation in office took place. Moses, by the act, transferred the priestly functions, which he had hitherto exercised, to his brother and his brother's descendants. He made them by his muscular energy perform their first priestly act. Exodus 29:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Consecration of Aaron and his Sons through the anointing of their persons and the offering of sacrifices, the directions for which form the subject of vv. 1-35. This can only be fully understood in connection with the sacrificial law contained in Leviticus 1-7. It will be more advisable therefore to defer the examination of this ceremony till we come to Leviticus 8, where the consecration itself is described. The same may also be said of the expiation and anointing of the altar, which are commanded in Exodus 29:36 and Exodus 29:37, and carried out in Leviticus 8:11.