Ezekiel 43:26

Eze 43:26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.

Ver. 26. They shall purge.] Thou and they together. We must also sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. {1Pe 3:15}

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.

43:26-27 These sin offerings properly set the Temple apart for holy use, so that the priests could once again sacrifice . . . the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. These offerings were necessary if the Lord were to accept his people.

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

Hebrew, fill his hand.

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

Seven days--referring to the original directions of Moses for seven days' purification services of the altar (Exo 29:37).

consecrate themselves--literally, "fill their hands," namely, with offerings; referring to the mode of consecrating a priest (Exo 29:24, Exo 29:35).

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

(26) Shall consecrate themselves.—Our version has here followed the Masoretic emendation of the text; the literal translation of the text itself is, shall fill its hand, referring to the altar. To “fill the hand” is a synonym for consecration, commonly applied to the priests, who were consecrated by placing in their hands the gifts they were to offer to God. Here it is better to keep to the text as it stands, “filling the hand of the altar” being a strong figurative expression to denote that it shall always be supplied with sacrificial gifts. Nothing is said throughout the passage of the consecration of the priests, the whole family of Aaron having been consecrated once for all by the ceremonies of Leviticus 8.

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

26. The ceremonial of consecrating the altar lasts seven days. On to “purge” cf. Eze_43:20.

consecrate themselves] consecrate it, i.e. the altar, lit. fill its hand (or, hands). The phrase is properly said of the priests, to install; here of the altar, to inaugurate it. Originally the expression had probably a literal meaning, to put the things to be offered into the hands of the priests (Lev_8:25 seq.), but later it came to be used generally in the sense of initiate, consecrate (Exo_28:41; Exo_29:9; Exo_29:29; Exo_29:33; Exo_29:35; Lev_7:37; Num_3:3; Jdg_17:5; Jdg_17:12), cf. Exo_32:29. Wellh. Hist. p. 152, argues that the priest’s hand was originally “filled” with money (Judges 17). The phrase “fill the hand” of one appears also in the general meaning “to invest with office” in Assyrian; Fd. Del. Heb. Lang. p. 20, Prolegomena, p. 48.

In all the above passage it is the altar not the priests that is consecrated. The consecration of the altar appears to carry with it that of the whole sanctuary. The altar needs atonement not because it is a work of human hands, but because it belongs to the things of the world. The sin of the world has defiled all things, penetrating even to the precincts of that where Jehovah abides as he is in himself (Heb_9:23). The passage can scarcely be compared with Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8 because there the ceremonies refer to the consecration of the priests chiefly and little to the altar. Cf. Exo_29:36; Lev_8:11; Lev_8:15; Lev_8:33. In these passages the altar is said to have been anointed with oil, a ceremony wanting in Ezek.; the sin-offering was a young bullock each day and the burnt—offering simply a ram each day.

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.

Seven days shall they purge the altar, and purify it,.... Which denotes the perfect purity and sanctification of it; which how to be applied to Christ; see Gill on Eze 43:20;

and they shall consecrate themselves: the priests shall consecrate themselves, or devote themselves to the service of the altar; so Gospel ministers to the ministry of a crucified Christ: or they themselves should consecrate the altar by the above rites: or rather it may be literally rendered,

and they shall fill its hands, or "their own hands" (b); that is, either they shall fill the sides of the altar with sacrifices, as much as it could hold; or the hands of the priests with parts of the sacrifice, or with gifts, as a token of their being inaugurated into, and invested with, the priestly office: so Gospel ministers should have their hands full of, or be filled with, the gifts and graces of the Spirit, and with the knowledge of Christ, his person, offices, grace, righteousness, and sacrifice, that they may minister unto others.

(b) There is a double reading of the words; the Cetib or textual reading is "its hand"; the Keri or marginal reading is "their own hands".

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

Consecrate it. Literally, "fill his hand;" that is, dedicate and apply it to holy service, (Challoner) as the Hebrew, &c., speak of the altar. Septuagint, "they shall fill their hands," seems more natural, (Exodus xxviii. 41.) and is adopted by Pagnin, Vatable, &c. (Calmet)

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).

They, the priests in course,

shall purge the altar: the same with what is said of the priests; they and the altar were thus consecrated and dedicated unto God, to be his in peculiar manner.

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

They shall purge the altar. Smend thinks it strange that only the purification of the altar should be mentioned here, while that of the sanctuary is referred to later, (Eze_45:18) and finds in this an explanation (at least, perhaps) of the fact that in Exo_29:36 only the consecration of the Mosaic altar not of the Mosaic tabernacle is reported. He conceives it likely that the author of Exo_29:36 copied Ezekiel, but does not explain why Ezekiel may not have copied the author Exo_29:36. And they shall consecrate themselves; more correctly, they i.e. the priestsshall consecrate it; literally, fill its hand. The phrase, dy; aLemi, "to fill one"s hand," sc. with gifts, occurs with reference to Jehovah. (Exo_32:29; 1Ch_29:5; 2Ch_29:31) It is also employed in the sense of filling the hand of another, as e.g. of a priest, with sacrificial gifts, when he is instituted into his sacred office. (Exo_28:41 Exo_29:9; Lev_21:10; comp, Lev_8:27) Here the hand to be filled is that of the altar, which is personified for the purpose (compare the use of the terms "bosom" and "lip" in connection with the altar). The meaning is that the altar, at its consecration, should have a plentiful supply of gifts, to symbolize that the offering of such gifts was the work for which it was set apart, and that it should never be without them.

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

They - The priests in course.

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