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Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exodus 24:6 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
  • KJV And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
  • BSB Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.
  • NKJV And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
  • NLT Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Moses divided the sacrificial blood, putting half in basins and sprinkling half on the altar. The blood, representing life given, consecrates the covenant before God.

Overview

The altar, representing God, receives half the blood, signifying His part in the covenant bond. The reserved half awaits application to the people, joining both parties through the shed blood. This ritual highlights that covenant fellowship with a holy God is established only through atoning blood. It vividly anticipates the blood of Christ, by which the new covenant is ratified.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • 1 Pet 1:19but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ;
  • Exod 24:8Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words.”
  • Heb 9:18Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood.
  • Lev 4:6The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before Yahweh, before the veil of the sanctuary.
  • Lev 3:8and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
  • Heb 12:24to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.
  • Exod 12:7They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it.
  • Exod 12:22You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
  • Lev 1:11He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
  • Exod 29:16You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.
  • Col 1:20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
  • Lev 3:2He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the Tent of Meeting: and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar.
  • Exod 29:20Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood around on the altar.
  • 1 Pet 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
  • Lev 1:5He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 24:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.

How Exodus 24:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.