Exodus 29:20

Exo 29:20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put [it] upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

Ver. 20. Upon the tip of the right ear.] To set the holy obedience required of them in all senses, actions, and motions. {Joh 13:5-6; Joh 13:9}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29:20-21 The placing of the blood on the earlobes, thumbs, and big toes represented dedication of the entire person to God. Sprinkling it on their clothes indicated that the clothing, too, could be used only for holy purposes.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning the soft and nether part of the ear.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 20. Take of his blood] The putting the blood of the sacrifice on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, was doubtless intended to signify that they should dedicate all their faculties and powers to the service of God; their ears to the hearing and study of his law, their hands to diligence in the sacred ministry and to all acts of obedience, and their feet to walking in the way of God's precepts. And this sprinkling appears to have been used to teach them that they could neither hear, work, nor walk profitably, uprightly, and well-pleasing in the sight of God, without this application of the blood of the sacrifice. And as the blood of rams, bulls, and goats, could never take away sin, does not this prove to us that something infinitely better is shadowed out, and that we can do nothing holy and pure in the sight of a just and holy God, but through the blood of atonement? See Clarke on Ex 30:20.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) Take of his blood.—The blood was regarded as the life (Gen_9:4). The life consecrated to God and accepted by Him was given back by Him to His ministers, that it might consecrate them wholly to His service, and so fit them for it. Placed upon the tip of the right ear, it reminded them that their ears were to be ever open and attentive to the whispers of the Divine voice; placed on the thumb of the right hand, it taught that they should take in hand nothing but what was sanctified; placed upon the great toe of the right foot, it was a warning that they were to walk thenceforth in the paths of holiness.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. The organs of hearing, handling, and walking are touched by the blood, implying that the priest is to have hallowed ears to listen to God’s commands, hallowed hands to perform his sacred offices, and hallowed feet to tread lightly the sacred places, as also to walk generally in holy ways (Kn. Di. Bä). Cf. Lev_8:23-24.

and sprinkle] and toss: see on v. 16.

21 (cf. Lev_8:30). A mixture of the sacrificial blood, and of the anointing oil (v. 7), to be sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons, and also upon their garments.

sprinkle] here this rend. is correct (Heb. hizzâh from nâzâh).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then shall thou kill the ram,.... As the other:

and take of his blood, some part of it being received into a basin:

and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons; according to Jarchi, this is the middle gristle within the ear; but Saadiah more rightly says it is the tender part which joins to the orb of the ear. The blood was put upon this part to sanctify it, and cleanse from sins that come thereby, and to teach the high priest that he ought attentively to listen to what should be said unto him of the Lord, that he might faithfully report it to the people; and as our great High Priest had his ear opened and awakened, to hear as the learned; and happy are his people who have ears to hear the joyful sound, and take pleasure in it, and who are cleansed from their hearing sins, by his precious blood:

and upon the thumb of their right hand; on the middle joint of it, as Jarchi:

and upon the great toe of the right foot; the hands and fingers being the instruments of action, and the feet and toes of walking, show that the life and conversation of the priests of the Lord ought to be pure and holy, and so their antitype perfectly was; and whereas there is imperfection in all the actions, and even in the best righteousness of the saints, and their walk and conversation is not without sin, they have need to have them sprinkled with, and their conversation garments washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb:

and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about; as was done with the blood of the other ram, Exo 29:16.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tip, or "softer part," Septuagint. This ceremony insinuated, that the priests ought to be all attentive, and perform their office with diligence. (Philo, Vit. Mos. 3)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

These parts are consecrated in the name and stead of all the rest; the ear, as the instrument of hearing and receiving the mind and will of God in all their sacred administrations, and in their whole conversation; the hand and foot, as the instruments of action and execution of that which they hear and understand to be the mind of God; and the right parts are chosen rather than the left, as being usually more vigorous and expeditious. And all these parts are sprinkled with this blood, to show the absolute necessity of Christ’s blood to qualify them for an acceptable and successful discharge of their office.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20, 21. His blood… right ear… thumb… toe — Thus this peace offering for the priests served an exceptional purpose in consecrating them to their holy office and work. Their ears were thus consecrated to listen to the commandments of Jehovah; their hands to a faithful discharge of sacred functions, and their feet to an obedient walking in the ordinances of the house of God. The sprinkling of the blood, and also the anointing oil upon the garments of Aaron and his sons, was a like consecration of these to the holy services of the priesthood. Also, as in the burnt offering, the blood was sprinkled about the altar.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The victim having been offered and accepted, its blood had a sanctifying power. Placed upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, it sanctified that organ, which was to be ever open to the Divine voice; placed upon the thumb of their right hand, it sanctified their ministerial actions; placed upon the great toe of their right foot, it sanctified their whole walk in life, their "going out," and their "coming in." The consecrated life of the victim which they had offered "was given back to them, in order that it might be devoted to the service of the Lord."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

תנוך — This is the inner cartilage which is within the ear, which they call tendrons in old French (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 14:14).

בהן ידם — i. e. the thumb; and the blood was placed on the middle joint (Chullin 11a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.