Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and sanctify the altar: and the altar will be most holy.
- KJV And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
- NKJV You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy.
- NASB You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.
- NLT Anoint the altar of burnt offering and its utensils to consecrate them. Then the altar will become absolutely holy.
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 was to anoint the altar of burnt offering and its utensils, making the altar most holy. The place of sacrifice was specially consecrated.
Overview
The bronze altar received particular consecration, declared 'most holy,' because of its central role in atonement. Its heightened holiness underscored the gravity of dealing with sin before God. The altar's sanctity points to the supreme holiness of the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, by which true and lasting atonement is accomplished.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Luke 1:35The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
- Exod 29:36–37Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.
- 2 Cor 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Heb 7:26Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
- 1 Cor 1:30It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- John 3:34For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
- John 17:19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
- Lev 8:11He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
- Isa 11:2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
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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 40:10 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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