Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it. When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. This shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”
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Exodus 30:19-21 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it. When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. This shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”
Parallel Translations
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Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.
When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they not die; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they not die. This shall be a statute forever to them, even to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”
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For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
Show all 3 translations
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And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat;
when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to cause an offering made by fire to smoke unto the LORD;
so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (20)
- Isaiah 52:11 (v19) Depart! Depart! Go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry Yahweh’s vessels.
- Exodus 28:43 (v21) They shall be on Aaron and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy…
- Exodus 40:31-32 (v19) Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there. When they went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came near to the…
- Psalms 26:6 (v19) I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, Yahweh,
- Hebrews 10:22 (v19) let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed…
Show all 20 cross-references
- Exodus 12:15 (v20) “ ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened…
- Exodus 27:21 (v21) In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning…
- Leviticus 10:1-3 (v20) Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before…
- Leviticus 16:1-2 (v20) Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Yahweh, and died; and Yahweh said to Moses,…
- 1 Samuel 6:19 (v20) He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into Yahweh’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the…
- 1 Chronicles 13:10 (v20) Yahweh’s anger burned against Uzza, and he struck him, because he put his hand on the ark; and he died there before God.
- Psalms 89:7 (v20) a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him?
- Acts 5:5 (v20) Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (v19) Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor…
- Titus 3:5 (v19) not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and…
- Hebrews 9:10 (v19) being only (with meats and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
- Hebrews 12:28-29 (v20) Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for…
- John 13:8-10 (v19) Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with me.” Simon Peter said to…
- Acts 5:10 (v20) She fell down immediately at his feet and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her…
- Revelation 1:5-6 (v19) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 Signifying, that he that cometh to God, must be…
Signifying, that he that cometh to God, must be washed from all sin and corruption.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Exo 30:19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash…
Exo 30:19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
Ver. 19. For Aaron and his sons.] Here they were to wash before they prayed for the people. {Heb 10:22} We must first make our own peace with God before we take upon us to intercede for others. So did David. {Psa 25:22; Psa 51:18-19} So we are advised to do, Lam 3:39-40.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19–20 To signify their natural impurity and unworthiness, either to…
To signify their natural impurity and unworthiness, either to handle holy things, or to come into the holy place, and their need of washing with the blood and Spirit of Christ, which was typified by this washing.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–21 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands…
For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat. Not in it, but at it; the laver had mouths or spouts, as Ben Melech says, from whence the water flowed when the priests washed their hands and feet at it; and so Bartenora says (z) they did not wash out of the laver, but from water flowing out of it; it is said "out of it", not in it; it seems at first there were but two of these spouts; for it is said (a) Ben Katin made twelve spouts or cocks, which had but two before; so that twelve priests could wash their hands and feet at one time, and which they could do at once, presently, by putting the right hand on the top of the right foot, and the left hand upon the left foot, as both Jarchi and Ben Melech relate: and now the hands being the instruments of action, and the feet of walking, this shows that the actions of good men, the priests of the Lord, and their walk and conversation, are not without sin, and that these need washing in the laver of Christ's blood, to which there must be daily application, see Zac 13:1. Our Lord seems to have reference to this ceremony, Joh 13:10 the Egyptian priests washed twice every day in cold water, and twice every night (b).
(z) In Misn. Zebachim, c. 2. sect. 1. (a) Misn. Yoma. c. 3. sect. 10. (b) Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 37.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v19 The high priest was to take this in his…
The high priest was to take this in his way as he came out from the holy of holies. This was to intimate, that the sins of the priests who ministered at this altar, and of the people for whom they ministered, put a ceremonial impurity upon it, from which it must be cleansed by the blood of atonement. This altar typified the mediation of Christ: 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. This altar was before the mercy- seat, for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; and his intercession is unto God of a sweet smelling savour. And it typified the devotions of the saints, whose prayers are said to be set forth before God as incense, Psalm 1xli, 2. As the smoke of the incense ascended, so must our desires, being kindled with the fire of holy love. When the priest was burning incense the people were praying, Luke i, 10, to signify that prayer is the true incense. This incense was a perpetual incense, for we must pray always. The lamps were dressed or lighted at the same time that the incense was burnt, to teach us that the reading of the scriptures (which are our light and lamp) is a part of our daily work, and should ordinarily accompany our prayers and praises. The devotions of sanctified souls are well-pleasing to God, of a sweet- smelling savour; the prayers of saints are compared to sweet odours, Rev. v, 8, but it is the incense which Christ adds to them that makes them acceptable; and his blood that atones for the guilt which cleaves to our best services. Yet if the heart and life be not holy, even incense is an abomination, Isaiah i, 13.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20–21 Verse 20. They shall wash with water, that they…
Verse 20. They shall wash with water, that they die not] This was certainly an emblematical washing; and as the hands and the feet are particularly mentioned, it must refer to the purity of their whole conduct. Their hands - all their works, their feet - all their goings, must be washed - must be holiness unto the Lord. And this washing must be repeated every time they entered into the tabernacle, or when they came near to the altar to minister. This washing was needful because the priests all ministered barefoot; but it was equally so because of the guilt they might have contracted, for the washing was emblematical of the putting away of sin, or what St. Paul calls the laver of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, (Tit 3:5), as the influences of the Spirit must be repeated for the purification of the soul, as frequently as any moral defilement has been contracted.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v19 Feet. The priests went barefoot in the tabernacle. In…
Feet. The priests went barefoot in the tabernacle. In the Misna we find the same law binds laymen. None were allowed to enter the temple of Diana, in Crete, with shoes on; and the Roman ladies followed the same custom, when they came down to the temple of Vesta. Huc pede matronam nudo descendere vidi. (Ovid, Fast. 6.) (Calmet) --- The priest is ordered to put off his shoes on Good Friday, out of respect for Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–21 20. that they die not] cf. Exo_28:35, with the…
20. that they die not] cf. Exo_28:35, with the note.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–21 (19) Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands…
(19) Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet.—Washing the hands symbolised purity in act; washing the feet, holiness in all their walk and conversation.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and…
Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet. Ablution by clear fresh water is so plain and simple a type of purity as to have been used in almost all religions. The hands and the feet would designate symbolically all a man"s active doings, and even his whole walk in life his "goings out" and his "comings in," in the phraseology of the Hebrews. There would also be a special practical need for such ablutions in the case of persons who were employed about bloody sacrifices, who slew the victims, sprinkled, the blood, and even dashed it against the base of the altar. On some rare occasions the priests were required to bathe their whole persons, and not their hands and feet only. (see above, Exo_29:4; and Lev_16:4)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses what the people must do.
Read full note →
water in it
"water in the basin"
for Aaron and his descendants throughout their people's generations
"for Aaron and all the generations of his descendants." See how you translated a similar phrase in Exodus 12:14.
translationWords
Aaron
tent of meeting
altar
servant
burnt offering
descend
generation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.