You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy. The incense which you shall make, according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for Yahweh. Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people.”
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Exodus 30:36-38 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh said to Moses, “Take to yourself sweet spices, gum resin, onycha, and galbanum; sweet spices with pure frankincense. There shall be an equal weight of each. You shall make incense of it, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy. The incense which you shall make, according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for Yahweh. Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people.”
Parallel Translations
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You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the covenant in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be to you most holy.
The incense which you shall make, according to its composition you shall not make for yourselves: it shall be to you holy for Yahweh.
Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people.”
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And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Show all 3 translations
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And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee; it shall be unto you most holy.
And the incense which thou shalt make, according to the composition thereof ye shall not make for yourselves; it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereof, he shall be cut off from his people.'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (9)
- Exodus 25:22 (v36) There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the…
- Exodus 30:33 (v38) Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
- Exodus 16:34 (v36) As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
- Exodus 29:37 (v37) Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall be…
- Exodus 29:42-43 (v36) It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with…
Show all 9 cross-references
- Exodus 30:6 (v36) You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, where I will meet…
- Exodus 30:32-33 (v37) It shall not be poured on man’s flesh, and do not make any like it, according to its composition. It is holy. It shall be holy to you.…
- Leviticus 2:3 (v37) That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
- Leviticus 16:2 (v36) and Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v37 Only dedicated to the use of the Tabernacle.
Only dedicated to the use of the Tabernacle.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v36 Exo 30:36 And thou shalt beat [some] of it…
Exo 30:36 And thou shalt beat [some] of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
Ver. 36. And thou shalt beat some of it very small.] This holy perfume, as in the matter costly, so in the manner it cost much pounding and beating: to show that Church prayer must be accurate and elaborate; it must cost setting on, as we say.
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 v36 Some of it; so much as is sufficient for…
Some of it; so much as is sufficient for the daily incense.
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 vv36–38 And thou shall beat some of it very small,....…
And thou shall beat some of it very small,.... Or every one of the spices; for this does not seem to respect any different usage of some part of the incense from the rest; but it was all to be beat very small, that it might mix together the better, and be easier spread upon the coals, and the smoke thereof go up the sooner:
and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation; that is, upon the altar of incense, which was placed there, Exo 30:6 and here it was to be put in order to be burnt, not to be kept, either to be looked at, or smelled to:
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where I will meet with thee; See Gill on Exo 30:6.
it shall be unto you most holy; reckoned by them most sacred, and not to be put to any private or profane uses.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v36 Place. On the table of perfumes, to be burnt…
Place. On the table of perfumes, to be burnt morning and evening. (Calmet)
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 vv36–38 36. beat some of it very small] cf. Lev_16:12…
36. beat some of it very small] cf. Lev_16:12 ‘incense beaten small.’ The ingredients named in v. 34 were mixed together, and then apparently melted down into a solid mass: small portions of this were broken off, from time to time, and beaten into a powder, which was then placed ready for use, every morning and evening (v. 7), outside the veil, near the altar of incense. Or (Di.) ‘put’ may mean, put upon the altar and burn.
before the testimony] i.e. before the ark, as Exo_16:34 : see on Exo_25:16.
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meet with thee] See on Exo_25:22.
most holy] See on Exo_29:37. The anointing oil, not being brought into such close proximity to Jehovah, was only ‘holy’ (v. 32).
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 vv36–37 (36) Thou shalt . . . put it before…
(36) Thou shalt . . . put it before the testimony.—Some pieces of the incense were to be continually before the ark of the covenant, either on the golden altar, or perhaps at its base ready for offering. This would symbolise the need of the perpetual offering of prayer.
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 vv36–37 Thou shalt beat some of it very small. This…
Thou shalt beat some of it very small. This is against Knobel"s rendering of malakh, which would imply that all was broken into small pieces. A certain portion only was to be thus prepared from time to time and placed ready for offering. It was to be put before the testimonyi.e. , opposite the m-k, but outside the vail. This near vicinity to the Divine Presence rendered it most holy.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v38 What is condemned here is making worship a mere…
smell
What is condemned here is making worship a mere pleasure to the natural man, whether sensuous, as in beautiful music to please the ear, or eloquence, merely to give delight to the natural mind. (Cf) Joh 4:23; Joh 4:24.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v37 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues to tell Moses what the people must do.
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you must not make any
The word "you" here refers to the people of Israel.
with the same formula
"with the same ingredients" or "with the same items." See how you translated this in Exodus 30:32.
It must be most holy to you
"You must consider it to be most holy"
perfume
This is a pleasant smelling liquid a person puts on his or her body.
must be cut off from his people
The metaphor "cut off" has at least three possible meanings. They can be expressed in active form: 1) "I will no longer consider him to be one of the people of Israel" 2) "the people of Israel must send him away" or 3) "the people of Israel must kill him." See how you translated this in Exodus 30:33. (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
translationWords
incense
holy
cut off
people group
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.