Consecration of the Priests

Biblical Text and Content

Exodus 29 contains God's command to Moses concerning the consecration, and Leviticus 8 records how Moses, in accordance with that command, installed Aaron and his sons as priests. The ceremony proceeds as follows.

• Washing and vesting: Moses washes Aaron and his sons with water (Leviticus 8:6) and clothes Aaron in the garments of the high priest. These garments include the ephod, the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim, and the miter bearing the golden plate.
• Anointing: The anointing oil (oil used to set things apart as holy) is applied to the tabernacle and its furnishings and poured on Aaron's head to sanctify him (Leviticus 8:10–12). This act is called anointing.
• Three offerings: First, the bullock for the sin offering (a sacrifice to cleanse from sin) is offered, and its blood is put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. Next, the ram for the burnt offering (a sacrifice in which the entire offering is burned) is offered, and finally the "ram of consecration" is offered (Leviticus 8:14–29).
• Application of blood: The blood of the ram of consecration is put on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons (Leviticus 8:23–24). Portions of the sacrifice and bread are then placed in their hands and presented as a wave offering (an offering waved before the Lord).
• Remaining at the tabernacle for seven days: The priests do not leave the door of the tabernacle of the congregation during the seven days until the consecration is completed (Leviticus 8:33–35).

On the eighth day, when Aaron offers sacrifices himself for the first time, fire comes out from before the LORD and consumes the offering (Leviticus 9:24).

Background and Terminology

The Hebrew word millu'im, rendered "consecration," means "filling." The Hebrew Bible expresses the installation of priests with the idiom "to fill the hand" (Exodus 29:9). Some hold that this expression is connected with the rite of placing offerings in the priests' hands, but its precise origin is uncertain. The rite of applying blood to the ear, thumb, and great toe also appears in the ceremony for cleansing a person healed of leprosy (Leviticus 14:14).

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Psalms 133:2 uses the oil poured on Aaron's head as an image of the unity of brethren. Hebrews contrasts Christ with the Levitical priests. It states that Christ did not make himself high priest but was appointed by God (Hebrews 5:4–5), and that whereas the law made men high priests who have infirmity, the word of the oath made "the Son, who is consecrated for evermore" (Hebrews 7:28; the Greek term carries the sense of "made perfect"). The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendered the consecration with a word meaning "perfecting," and some scholars regard this as the background to the language of Hebrews. The New Testament also calls all believers priests (1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6).

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

In church tradition, the three places where the blood was applied are often interpreted as signifying the dedication of the whole of life—hearing, working, and walking. This, however, is a symbolic interpretation that the text itself does not state.

The Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion understand priestly ordination as a New Testament ministry and sometimes refer to the Old Testament priesthood as its type (a foreshadowing figure). Most Protestant denominations, following the principle of the priesthood of all believers, do not regard pastors as holding the same office as the Old Testament priests. Accordingly, they do not consider pastoral ordination a direct continuation of the priestly consecration.

In the Korean Church

This passage is sometimes cited in sermons at ordination and installation services to explain that church officers are set apart to God and appointed. The terms wiim moksa ("installed pastor") and wiimsik ("installation service"), used in Presbyterian and other churches, are terms of church polity tied to the procedures of the session and presbytery, and they denote a concept distinct from the biblical consecration of the priests.