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Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”
Exodus 40:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
  • KJV And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
  • NKJV You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
  • NASB and you shall anoint them just as you have anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”
  • NLT Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests. With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.”

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 Aaron's sons as he had their father, establishing an everlasting priesthood for their generations. The Aaronic line was permanently set apart for God's service.

Overview

The sons' anointing inaugurated a lasting, hereditary priesthood to mediate between God and Israel through the ages. Yet this priesthood, bound to mortal men, was ultimately provisional, pointing beyond itself. Hebrews shows it fulfilled and surpassed in Christ, the eternal High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, whose priesthood never passes away (Hebrews 7:23-25).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Num 25:13It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”
  • Ps 110:4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
  • Heb 7:17–24For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
  • Heb 8:1–10The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
  • Heb 5:1–14Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
  • Heb 7:3Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
  • Exod 29:9Wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons and tie headbands on them. The priesthood shall be theirs by a permanent statute. In this way you are to ordain Aaron and his sons.
  • Heb 7:7And indisputably, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
  • Exod 30:33Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”
  • Exod 12:14And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
  • Exod 30:31And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 40:15YouTube · 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 40:15 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.