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Oil and Incense

22 [a] The Lord spoke to Moses,[b] 23 “Take[c] choice spices:[d] 12½ pounds[e] of free-flowing myrrh,[f] half that—about 6¼ pounds—of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 6¼ pounds of sweet-smelling cane, 24 and 12½ pounds of cassia, all weighed[g] according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts[h] of olive oil. 25 You are to make this[i] into[j] a sacred anointing oil, a perfumed compound,[k] the work of a perfumer. It will be sacred anointing oil.

26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28 the altar for the burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 So you are to sanctify them,[l] and they will be most holy;[m] anything that touches them will be holy.[n]

30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and[o] sanctify them so that they may minister as my priests. 31 And you are to tell the Israelites: ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It must not be applied[p] to people’s bodies, and you must not make any like it with the same recipe. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts any of it on someone not a priest[q] will be cut off[r] from his people.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 30:22 sn The chapter ends with these two sections. The oil (22-33) is the mark of consecration, and the incense (34-38) is a mark of pleasing service, especially in prayer. So the essence of the message of the chapter is that the servants of God must be set apart by the Spirit for ministry and must be pleasing to God in the ministry.
  2. Exodus 30:22 tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”
  3. Exodus 30:23 tn The construction uses the imperative “take,” but before it is the independent pronoun to add emphasis to it. After the imperative is the ethical dative (lit. “to you”) to stress the task to Moses as a personal responsibility: “and you, take to yourself.”
  4. Exodus 30:23 tn Heb “spices head.” This must mean the chief spices, or perhaps the top spice, meaning fine spices or choice spices. See Song 4:14; Ezek 27:22.
  5. Exodus 30:23 tn Or “500 shekels.” Verse 24 specifies that the sanctuary shekel was the unit for weighing the spices. The total of 1500 shekels for the four spices is estimated at between 77 and 100 pounds, or 17 to 22 kilograms, depending on how much a shekel weighed (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:576).
  6. Exodus 30:23 sn Myrrh is an aromatic substance that flows from the bark of certain trees in Arabia and Africa and then hardens. “The hardened globules of the gum appear also to have been ground into a powder that would have been easy to store and would have been poured from a container” (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).
  7. Exodus 30:24 tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.
  8. Exodus 30:24 tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).
  9. Exodus 30:25 tn Heb “it.”
  10. Exodus 30:25 tn The word “oil” is an adverbial accusative, indicating the product that results from the verb (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §52).
  11. Exodus 30:25 tn The somewhat rare words rendered “a perfumed compound” are both associated with a verbal root having to do with mixing spices and other ingredients to make fragrant ointments. They are used with the next phrase, “the work of a perfumer,” to describe the finished oil as a special mixture of aromatic spices and one requiring the knowledge and skills of an experienced maker.
  12. Exodus 30:29 tn The verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; in this verse it is summarizing or explaining what the anointing has accomplished. This is the effect of the anointing (see Exod 29:36).
  13. Exodus 30:29 tn This is the superlative genitive again, Heb “holy of holies.”
  14. Exodus 30:29 tn See Exod 29:37; as before, this could refer to anything or anyone touching the sanctified items.
  15. Exodus 30:30 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.
  16. Exodus 30:32 tn Without an expressed subject, the verb may be treated as a passive. Any common use, as in personal hygiene, would be a complete desecration.
  17. Exodus 30:33 tn Heb “a stranger,” meaning someone not ordained a priest.
  18. Exodus 30:33 sn The rabbinic interpretation of this is that it is a penalty imposed by heaven, that the life will be cut short and the person could die childless.

The Anointing Oil

22 The Lord told Moses, 23 “You are to take for yourself the finest spices: 500 shekels[a]by weight of liquid myrrh, half as much fragrant cinnamon (250 shekels), 250 shekels of fragrant reeds, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the shekel of the sanctuary—and a hin[b] of olive oil. 25 You are to make them into a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture made by a perfumer. It is to be a holy anointing oil. 26 You are to use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28 the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin and its base. 29 You are to consecrate them and they are to be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy. 30 You are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and you are to consecrate them to serve as my priests. 31 You are to address the Israelis and tell them, ‘This is to be holy anointing oil for me from generation to generation. 32 It is not to be poured out on a person’s body,[c] nor are you to make anything like it with similar formulations. It is holy, and it is to be holy to you. 33 Anyone who mixes anything like it or who puts any of it on an unqualified person[d] is to be cut off from his people.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 30:23 The Heb. lacks shekels; Five hundred shekels is about 12 ½ pounds
  2. Exodus 30:24 I.e. about a quart
  3. Exodus 30:32 I.e. used for ordinary anointing purposes
  4. Exodus 30:33 Lit. a stranger; i.e. a person not qualified to serve as a priest