Exodus 40:15

Exo 40:15. Their anointing shall be an everlasting priesthood — A seal that their priesthood shall continue as long as the Jewish polity lasts. He signifies that this unction should be sufficient for all succeeding priests. None were afterward anointed but the high-priests.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Till both the Priesthood and the ceremonies should end, which was at Christ’s coming.

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

anoint them, as thou didst anoint their fathers--The sacred oil was used, but it does not appear that the ceremony was performed exactly in the same manner; for although the anointing oil was sprinkled over the garments both of Aaron and his sons (Exo 29:21; Lev 8:30), it was not poured over the heads of the latter. This distinction was reserved for the high priest (Exo 29:7; Lev 8:12; Psa 133:2).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. For their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood] By this anointing a right was given to Aaron and his family to be high priests among the Jews for ever; so that all who should be born of this family should have a right to the priesthood without the repetition of this unction, as they should enjoy this honour in their father's right, who had it by a particular grant from God. But it appears that the high priest, on his consecration, did receive the holy unction; see Le 4:3; Le 6:22; Le 21:10. And this continued till the destruction of the first temple, and the Babylonish captivity; and according to Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, and others, this custom continued among the Jews to the advent of our Lord, after which there is no evidence it was ever practised. See Calmet's note on chap. xxix. 7. See Clarke on Ex 29:7. The Jewish high priest was a type of Him who is called the high priest over the house of God, Heb 10:21; and when he came, the functions of the other necessarily ceased. This case is worthy of observation. The Jewish sacrifices were never resumed after the destruction of their city and temple, for they hold it unlawful to sacrifice anywhere out of Jerusalem; and the unction of their high priest ceased from that period also: and why? Because the true priest and the true sacrifice were come, and the types of course were no longer necessary after the manifestation of the antitype.

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

(15) Thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father.—By the narrative of Leviticus 8, it would seem that Aaron’s sons were not anointed in the same way as himself. He had the oil poured over his head (Lev_8:12; Psa_133:2). They were merely sprinkled with a mixture of oil and blood (Lev_8:30). The difference implied a lower degree of official holiness.

Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood.—The Jewish commentators maintain that the one anointing of the sons of Aaron sufficed for all time, and was not repeated in the case of any subsequent priests, who became fully possessed of the sacerdotal office without it. Each high priest was, on the contrary, inducted into his office by anointing, whence the high priest came to be spoken of as “the anointed priest (Lev_4:3; Lev_4:5; Lev_4:16; Lev_21:12, &c.).

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

15a. For the common priests being anointed exactly as the high-priest (not prescribed in ch. 29), see Exo_28:41; and cf. on Exo_30:30.

15b. an everlasting priesthood] It is to be for ever hereditary in Aaron’s family. A perpetual priesthood is also promised to Aaron’s ‘sons’ in Exo_29:9 : but it is not, as here, based upon their being anointed; in fact, no anointing is there prescribed for them at all. The Rabbis, understanding the pron. in ‘their anointing’ to refer to Aaron’s sons alone, inferred that the anointing of Aaron’s actual sons sufficed for the ordinary priests in all future ages, and that in the case of the ordinary priests the ceremony was never afterwards repeated (cf. Di., and Kalisch, Leviticus, pp. 666–8). But this is a forced and artificial interpretation: their and to them refer naturally to Aaron and his sons together (Di.).

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.

And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year,.... Of the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt:

on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up; so that this was in the spring of the year, about the vernal equinox, on a new year's day, that this was done, which was beginning the year well: it was within a fortnight of a year after their coming out of Egypt, and when they had been about five months and a half in building the tabernacle; for such a time it seems they were in doing that, and which, considering the many things to be done, and in the winter season, it shows great dispatch. Where was the place, in which the tabernacle was reared up, is not said: it is (d) observed, that near the southwest corner of that part of Mount Sinai, which is called Mount Episteme, there is a little hill called Araone by the Arabs, and by the Greeks the tabernacle of the testimony, where they say Aaron was consecrated, and first performed the offices of the priesthood: probably, says a learned man (e), on this hill was placed the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses was ordered to place without the camp afar off; but he seems to mistake the tent of Moses, or however the little tabernacle erected before the grand one was made, for this tabernacle in Exo 33:7 which he seems to refer to; it is more probable that it was now reared up in the midst of the camp of Israel, see Num 2:2.

(d) Pocock's Travels, p. 147. (e) Clayton's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 350.

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

i.e. A sign or seal that their priesthood shall continue as long as their polity lasts, till the coming of Messias. He signifies that this unction should be sufficient for all succeeding priests; they should not need to be anointed again, except the successive high priests. See Exo 29:7,29; Le 4:3; 16:32; 21:10

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

Thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father. The mode of anointing does not seem to have been identical in the two cases. The oil was first poured upon Aaron"s head (Lev_8:12; Psa_133:2) and afterwards sprinkled upon him. (Lev_8:30) It was, apparently, only sprinkled upon the priests (ib,). This was a lower form of anointing; and hence the high priest was sometimes called the anointed priest". (Lev_4:5, 16 6:22 16:32, etc.) Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood. The Rabbinical commentators maintain that these words apply to the ordinary priests only, and on the strength of them establish a difference between the ordinary priests and the high priests. The latter were in every ease to be anointed to their office. A single anointing sainted for the former. It is scarcely necessary to say that there is no Scriptural ground for this distinction. The natural sense of the words is, rather, that as long as the anointing continued, the priesthood should continue.

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

Their anointing shall be an everlasting priesthood - A seal that their priesthood shall continue as long as the Jewish polity lasts. He signifies that this unction should be sufficient for all succeeding priests. None were afterwards anointed but the high- priests.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.