Leviticus 16:12

Lev 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring [it] within the vail:

Ver. 12. And bring it within the vail.] So to prepare the way into the holy place. This incense small beaten might prefigure Christ in his agony, praying more earnestly, before he entered with his own blood into the most holy place of heaven.

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.

The Holiest of all.

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

(12) A censer full of burning coals.—After the bullock was slain, and before its blood was sprinkled, the high priest took the censer, which on this occasion was a golden one, and filled it with brightly glowing coals. These he took off from that part of the ever-burning fire on the altar of burnt offering or brazen altar which was next to the west, towards the Holy of Holies, where the Lord had His dwelling. This is the sense which the canonical law attached to the phrase here “before the Lord.”

And his hands full of sweet incense.—Having provided himself with two handfuls of the finest incense, and holding the censer with the fire in his right hand, and the cup with the incense in his left, he now entered for the first time through the second vail into the Holy of Holies, advanced to the ark of the covenant, and deposited the censer between its two staves. During the second Temple he stepped forward to the stone which was the substitute of the Ark, and placed the censer upon it.

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

And he shall take a censer,.... A fire pan, a sort of chafing dish or perfuming pot; this was a golden one, as appears from Heb 9:4; hence Christ, the Angel of God's presence, our interceding High Priest, is said to have such an one, Rev 8:3; and so Josephus says (g), it was a golden one the high priest used on the day of atonement; with which agree the Misnic doctors (h), who say, on other days he took off the coals with a silver one, and poured them into a golden one, but on this day he took them off with a golden one:

full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord; these were bright lively coals, not smoking and half extinct; and they were taken from off the altar of burnt offering, from the western side of it, as Jarchi says, which was towards the holy of holies, where the Lord had his dwelling: these burning coals denoted the sufferings of Christ, which were properly punishments for the sins he bore, flowed from the wrath of God comparable to fire, were the curses of a fiery law, and equal to the sufferings of the wicked, often expressed by fire; they were many, and very painful and excruciating, though no ways inconsistent with the love of God to him as his Son, for they were endured by him as the surety of his people, and by which he expressed his flaming love and affection for them: he himself is altar, sacrifice, and priest, the altar which sanctifies the gift; and the coals as on the altar, denote the sufferings of Christ as upon him, which he was able to bear; and the taking off the coals signifies the cessation of his sufferings; and the altar, coals, and taking of them off, being before the Lord and in his sight, show that Christ, as a divine Person, is, and always was before him; that his sufferings were ever in view, being appointed and foretold by him, and when endured were grateful to him, a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour; and that the cessation of them was in his presence, and according to his will; and Christ now is the Lamb in the midst of the throne, as though he had been slain, where, as such, he is always beheld with pleasure and acceptance by the Lord:

and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small; both his hands, as Aben Ezra, two handfuls of this he took and put into a cup: of this sweet incense and its composition, see Exo 30:34; this was small itself, but on the evening of the day of atonement it was put into the mortar again, as Jarchi says, and beaten very small, and so was, as expressed in the Misnah (i), "small of small": this may represent the intercession of Christ our high priest for his people; for as the prayers of the saints are set before the Lord as incense, Psa 141:2; so the intercession and mediation of Christ in favour of the acceptance of their prayers is signified by "much incense", Rev 8:3; and which is always acceptable to God, and may well be expressed by sweet incense: handfuls of it may denote the largeness of his intercession, being for all the elect of God, and for all things for them they stand in need of; and the infinite perfection and virtue of his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, to make his intercession effectual: and being "beaten small" may signify his intercession made for particular persons, and those the meanest, and for particular things of every sort they want; as well as it may point at the fragrance and acceptance of Christ's mediation on such accounts, the incense being more fragrant the smaller it is beaten:

and bring it within the vail: not the incense only, but the burning coals of fire also, the one in one hand, and the other in the other hand; so the Misnah (k); they brought out to him (the high priest) the cup and the censer; he took his handful and put it into the cup, a large one according to its largeness, and a small one according to its smallness, and so was its measure; he took the censer in his right hand, and the cup in his left, and went into the sanctuary, until he came between the two rails which divide between the holy and holy of holies: this was typical of Christ our high priest, who is entered within the vail into the holiest of all, with his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, where he ever lives to make intercession for us; not that Christ is considered in heaven as in a suffering state, for he is in a most exalted one; but the virtue and efficacy of his sufferings and death always continue, and which he ever improves on the behalf of his people, by interceding for them; and their faith and hope enter within the vail, and deal with him as having suffered for them.

(g) Antiqu. l. 3. c. 8. sect. 3. (h) Misn. Yoma, c. 4. sect. 4. (i) Misn. Yoma, c. 4. sect. 4. (k) lb. c. 5. sect. 1.

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

Censer, which resembled one of our chalices; without any chains, &c., Apocalypse v. 8. (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).

From off the altar, to wit, of burnt-offering, where the fire was always burning, and whence fire was taken for such uses as these.

Incense; of which see Exo 30:34,35,38.

Within the veil, i.e. into the holy of holies, Lev 16:2.

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

12. The altar before the Lord — The great or brazen altar.

Sweet incense — Aromatic spices. Since the cloud of sweet incense symbolizes ascending prayer perfumed by the merits of the great Mediator, the Hebrew was taught that after his representative had with all pains purified himself, he must come into the holy presence, not on the ground of right, but as a suppliant imploring mercy.

Beaten small — It was pulverized, that, when thrown into the censer, it might instantly produce a cloud of smoke, to soften the intense brightness of the shekinah between the cherubim.

Within the vail — The holy of holies.

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

Vers. 12, 13. This is the first entry of the high priest into the holy of holies. He takes with him a censer literally, the censer, that is, the censer that he was to use on the occasionfull of burning coals of fire from off the altar; and his hands are full of sweet incense beaten small; his object being to fill the holy of holies with the smoke of the incense which may serve as at least a thin vail between himself and the Presence of the Lord, that he die not. (cf. Exo_33:20, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live;" cf. also Gen_32:30 Deu_5:24 Jud_1:6:22 13:22) Here we see taught the lesson of the vision of God, as he is, being impossible to the human faculties. He must be vailed in one way or another. After passing through the outer chamber of the tabernacle, the high priest found himself in the smaller chamber where stood the ark. Immediately he threw the incense on the coals of the censer, until the holy of holies was filled with the smoke, after which, according to later practice, he offered a prayer outside the vail. The following form of prayer, breathing, however, the spirit of ages long subsequent to the tabernacle, or even the first temple, is found in the Talmud: it please thee, O Lord our God, the God of our fathers, that neither this day nor this year any captivity come upon us. Yet if captivity befall us this day or this year, let it be to a place where the Law is cultivated. May it please thee, O Lord our God, the God of our fathers, that want come not upon us this day or this year. But if want visit us this day or this year, let it be due to the liberality of our charitable deeds. May it please thee, O Lord, the God of our fathers, that this year may be a year of cheapness, of fullness, of intercourse and trade; a year with abundance of rain, of sunshine, and of dew; one in which thy people Israel shall not require assistance one from another. And listen not to the prayers of those who are about to set out on a journey (against rain). And as to thy people Israel, may no enemy exalt himself against them. May it please thee, O Lord our God, the God of our fathers, that the houses of the men of Saron (exposed to floods) may not become their graves" (Edersheim, "Temple Service").

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

Within the veil - That is, into the holy of holies, ver. 2.

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

censer

a container for fire and incense, used by the priests

sweet incense

"sweet-smelling incense." This refers to the smell and not to the taste of the incense.

translationWords

altar

incense

curtain

atonement lid

ark of the covenant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

מעל המזבח FROM OFF THE ALTAR — i. e. the outer altar (that was in the fore-court) (Yoma 45b).

מלפני ה׳ FROM BEFORE THE LORD — from that side of the altar which was before the entrance — that is, the west side (cf. Yoma 45b.)

דקה [AND HIS HANDS FULL OF INCENSE OF AROMATICS] FINE — Why is it stated that it shall be fine? Was not all incense fine, for so it is said, (Exodus 30:36) "And thou shall rub some of it very fine” -? But it is intended to teach that it (the incense used on the Day of Atonement) was to be of the very finest powder, for on the Eve of the Day of Atonement it (the ordinary incense) was put again into the mortar in order that it should be again beaten into a finer powder. (Sifra, Acharei Mot, Chapter 3 8-9; Keritot 6b; Yoma 45a).

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.