And you shall slaughter the bull before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall kill the bull before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- KJV And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
- BSB And you shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- NKJV Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
- NLT Then slaughter the bull in the Lord’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
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
The bull was to be killed before Yahweh at the entrance of the tent. Its death paid the penalty in the priests' place.
Overview
The slaying of the bull as a sin offering showed that consecration to God required atonement for sin. Even the priests needed cleansing before they could serve. This bloodshed foreshadows the death of Christ, who by his own sacrifice secured eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Lev 9:12He killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons delivered the blood to him, and he sprinkled it around on the altar.
- Lev 1:3–5“‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
- Lev 8:15He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.
- Exod 29:4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
- Lev 9:8So Aaron came near to the altar, and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 29:11 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
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