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and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet.
Exodus 40:31 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.
  • KJV And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
  • NKJV and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.
  • NASB From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.
  • NLT Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons used water from it to wash their hands and feet.

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, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet at the basin. The priests had to be ceremonially clean to minister.

Overview

Before ministering, the priests washed at the basin, enacting the purity God required of those who serve in His presence. This washing was repeated, underscoring the continual need for cleansing in drawing near to a holy God. It anticipates the believer's cleansing in Christ and the ongoing renewal needed to walk in fellowship with God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Ps 51:6–7Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
  • Exod 30:19–20with which Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet.
  • 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  • 1 Jn 1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
  • Ps 26:6I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
  • John 13:10Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 40:31YouTube · 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 40:31 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.