Leviticus 8
23 Jul 2026 - Theology
The Ordination of the Priests
The Torah now tells us how Moses prepared Aaron and his sons to officially become priests. The ceremony was called “ordination”, and it lasted seven days.
Leviticus 8:4-5 - “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.”
This ordination can be broken down into four steps:
- Washing
- Clothing
- Annointing
- Sacrifice
Washing:
Leviticus 8:6 - “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.”
Clothing:
Leviticus 8:7-9 - “And he [Moses] put upon him [Aaron] the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses.”
What are the Urim and the Thummim? We read about them before in Exodus 28:
Exodus 28:30 - “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.”
You can read more about the Urim and the Thummim here.
Aaron’s sons were also given given special clothing by Moses after the annointing was complete:
Leviticus 8:13 - “And Moses brought Aaron’s sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the Lord commanded Moses.”
Annointing:
Leviticus 8:10-12 - “And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.”
Sacrifice:
There were three animals that were sacrificed for the ceremony of ordination (Leviticus 8:2):
- bullock (young male bull) - sin offering
- ram - burnt offering
- “other ram” - ram of consecration
Leviticus 8:22-24 - “And he [Moses] brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.”
Philo of Alexandria said that the ear, the thumb, and the toe have a lesson to teach us. The priest’s whole life had to become holy, “for words are judged by hearing, the hand is the symbol of action, and the foot [is the symbol] of the pilgrimage of life.”
This powerful physical imagery dedicated their hearing, action, and walk entirely to God’s service.
The chapter ends with the verse:
Leviticus 8:36 - “So Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.”
Throughout the chapter, we read the recurring phrase, “as the Lord commanded Moses.”
References
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)
- The Urim and the Thummim