Bible Commentaries
Exodus 30

Verse 1

30:1 And thou shalt make an altar {a} to burn incense upon: [of] shittim wood shalt thou make it.

(a) Upon which the sweet perfume was burnt, Exodus 30:34.

Verse 2

30:2 A cubit [shall be] the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits [shall be] the height thereof: the horns thereof [shall be] {b} of the same.

(b) Of the same wood and matter.

Verse 6

30:6 And thou shalt put it {c} before the vail that [is] by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that [is] over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

(c) That is, in the sanctuary, and not in the holiest of all.

Verse 7

30:7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he {d} dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

(d) Meaning, when he trims them, and refreshes the oil.

Verse 9

30:9 Ye shall offer no {e} strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering {f} thereon.

(e) Otherwise made them this, which is described.

(f) But it must only serve to burn perfume.

Verse 12

30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man {g} a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when [thou] numberest them.

(g) By which he testified that he redeemed his life which he had forfeit, as is declared by David, 2 Samuel 24:1.

Verse 13

30:13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the {h} shekel of the sanctuary:

(a shekel [is] twenty gerahs:) an half shekel [shall be] the offering of the LORD.

(h) This shekel was worth two common shekels: and the gerah about 12 pence at a rate of five shillings sterling to an ounce of silver.

Verse 15

30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [they] give an offering unto the LORD, {i} to make an atonement for your souls.

(i) That God should be merciful to you.

Verse 19

30:19 For Aaron and his sons shall {k} wash their hands and their feet thereat:

(k) Signifying that he that comes to God must be washed from all sin and corruption.

Verse 21

30:21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute {l} for ever to them, [even] to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

(l) So long as the priesthood shall last.

Verse 23

30:23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred {m} [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon half so much, [even] two hundred and fifty [shekels], and of sweet {n} calamus two hundred and fifty [shekels],

(m) Weighing so much.

(n) It is a type of reed with a very sweet savour within, and it is used in powders and odours.

Verse 26

30:26 And thou shalt anoint the {o} tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,

(o) All things which belong to the tabernacle.

Verse 32

30:32 Upon {p} man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make [any other] like it, after the composition of it: it [is] holy, [and] it shall be holy unto you.

(p) Neither at their burials nor otherwise.

Verse 33

30:33 Whosoever compoundeth [any] like it, or whosoever putteth [any] of it upon {q} a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.

(q) Either a stranger or an Israelite, save only the priests.

Verse 34

30:34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and {r} onycha, and galbanum; [these] sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like [weight]:

(r) In Hebrew, Sheheleth: which is a sweet kind of gum and shines as the nail.