Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 16:18
And he shall go out unto the altar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put [it] upon the horns of the altar round about.
18. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord ] The Mishna sees here a reference to the golden altar ( Yoma, 58 b), but this must be questioned: throughout this chapter ‘the altar’ is mentioned, and in Lev 16:12, where it undoubtedly means the altar of Burnt-Offering, it is described as ‘the altar before the Lord,’ as in this verse. The words ‘and he shall go out,’ after the purification of the whole tabernacle enjoined in Lev 16:16-17, can hardly have any other meaning than ‘he shall go out of the tabernacle into the court in which was the brasen altar.’ In Exo 30:10 the high priest is commanded to make atonement for the altar of incense once a year with the blood of the Sin-Offering of atonement, but the performance of this rite is not recorded here.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Unto the altar, to wit, the altar of incense, where the blood of sacrifices was to be put, Lev 4:7; and particularly the blood of the sin-offerings offered upon this day of atonement, Exo 30:10; and which is most truly and properly said to be before the Lord, i.e. before the place where God in special manner dwelt, to wit, the holy of holies. Some understand it of the altar of burnt-offerings, because he is said to go out to it. But that going out relates not to the tabernacle, but to the holy of holies, into which he was said to go in, Lev 16:17. Add to this, that this altar which is atoned by the high priest seems to be in that place where he only might now come, and therefore in the holy place, called here the tabernacle, from which all other priests were for this day excluded, whereas the altar of burnt-offerings was without the holy place or tabernacle, to wit, at the door of it, and in the court of the priests.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he shall go out unto the altar that [is] before the Lord,…. The golden altar, the altar of incense, which stood in the holy place without the vail, over against the most holy place, where Jehovah dwelt, and so is said to be before him; of this altar the Misnah r understands it, and so do Jarchi and Ben Gersom; and, according to Ex 30:10; once a year Aaron was to make an atonement on the horns of it, with the blood of the sin offering, which plainly refers to this time, the day of atonement; but Aben Ezra is of opinion, that the altar of burnt offering is meant; and Bishop Patrick is inclined to think so too, because he supposes the high priest’s going out signifies his coming from the sanctuary, where the golden altar was, and which had been cleansed, Le 16:16; and because, if the altar of burnt offering is not here meant, no care seems to be taken of its cleansing; but it should be observed, that the holy place, Le 16:16, means the holy of holies, and not the holy place where the altar of incense stood; and that the altar of burnt offering was atoned for and cleansed, when the tabernacle of the congregation was, in which it stood, and from which, this altar is manifestly distinguished,
Le 16:20; wherefore the reason given for the altar of burnt offering holds good for the altar of incense, since if that is not intended, no care is taken about it; add to this, that the last account of the high priest was, that he was in the most holy place, and not the holy place,
Le 16:17; out of which he now came into the holy place, where the altar of incense was:
and make an atonement for it; where incense was daily offered up, signifying the prayers of the saints, which having many failings and imperfections in them, yea, many sins and transgressions attending them, need atonement by the blood of Christ, of which this was a type:
and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat; mixed, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it; and so Jarchi asks, what is the atonement of it? he takes the blood of the bullock, and the blood of the goat, and mixes them together: the account given of this affair in the Misnah s is; he poured the blood of the bullock into the blood of the goat, and then put a full basin into an empty one, that it might be well mixed together: and having so done, he did as follows,
and put [it] upon the horns of the altar round about; upon the four horns which were around it; and it is asked in the Misnah t, where did he begin? at the northeast horn, and so to the northwest, and then to the southwest, and (ended) at the southeast; at the place where he began with the sin offering on the outward altar, there he finished on the inward altar, and as he went along he put the blood on each horn, which was the atonement for the altar.
r Yoma, c. 5. Sect. 5. s lbid. Sect. 4. t Ut supra. (Misn. Yoma, c.5. sect, 3.)
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After he had made atonement for the dwelling, Aaron was to expiate the altar in the court, by first of all putting some of the blood of the bullock and he-goat upon the horns of the altar, and then sprinkling it seven times with his finger, and thus cleansing and sanctifying it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel. The application of blood to the horns of the altar was intended to expiate the sins of the priests as well as those of the nation; just as in the case of ordinary sin-offerings it expiated the sins of individual members of the nation (Lev 4:25, Lev 4:30, Lev 4:34), to which the priests also belonged; and the sevenfold sprinkling effected the purification of the place of sacrifice from the uncleannesses of the congregation.
The meaning of the sprinkling of blood upon the capporeth and the horns of the two altars was the same as in the case of every sin-offering. The peculiar features in the expiatory ritual of the day of atonement were the following. In the first place, the blood of both sacrifices was taken not merely into the holy place, but into the most holy, and sprinkled directly upon the throne of God. This was done to show that the true atonement could only take place before the throne of God Himself, and that the sinner was only then truly reconciled to God, and placed in the full and living fellowship of peace with God, when he could come directly to the throne of God, and not merely to the place where, although the Lord indeed manifested His grace to him, He was still separated from him by a curtain. In this respect, therefore, the bringing of the blood of atonement into the most holy place had a prophetic signification, and was a predictive sign that the curtain, which then separated Israel from its God, would one day be removed, and that with the entrance of the full and eternal atonement free access would be opened to the throne of the Lord. The second peculiarity in this act of atonement was the sprinkling of the blood seven times upon the holy places, the floor of the holy of holies and holy place, and the altar of the court; also the application of blood to the media of atonement in the three divisions of the tabernacle, for the cleansing of the holy places from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. As this uncleanness cannot be regarded as consisting of physical defilement, but simply as the ideal effluence of their sins, which had been transferred to the objects in question; so, on the other hand, the cleansing of the holy places can only be understood as consisting in an ideal transference of the influence of the atoning blood to the inanimate objects which had been defiled by sin. If the way in which the sacrificial blood, regarded as the expiation of souls, produced its cleansing effects was, that by virtue thereof the sin was covered over, whilst the sinner was reconciled to God and received forgiveness of sin and the means of sanctification, we must regard the sin-destroying virtue of the blood as working in the same way also upon the objects defiled by sin, namely, that powers were transferred to them which removed the effects proceeding from sin, and in this way wiped out the uncleanness of the children of Israel that was in them. This communication of purifying powers to the holy things was represented by the sprinkling of the atoning blood upon and against them, and indeed by their being sprinkled seven times, to set forth the communication as raised to an efficiency corresponding to its purpose, and to impress upon it the stamp of a divine act through the number seven, which was sanctified by the work of God in creation.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(18) And he shall go out unto the altar.The authorities during the second Temple took this to denote the golden altar, or the altar of incense which stood in the Holy place over against the Holy of Holies, as this was the altar for which expiation was made once a year on this day (see Exo. 30:10); hence it was cleansed next. Beginning at the north-eastern corner, the high priest then went to the north-western, then the south-western, and last round to the south-eastern corner.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Blood horns of the altar The horns of the incense-altar symbolized the divine favour and mercy. The annual application of the blood renewed the expression of that favour when forfeited by Israel’s sin. Some suppose that the altar of burnt offerings is referred to, and that the purification of the incense altar is implied in that of the holy place, Lev 16:16. See Lev 4:7, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And he shall go out to the altar that is before Yahweh, and make atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bull ox, and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar round about.”
After the presentations of blood in the Holy of Holies, ‘the altar that is before Yahweh’ was to be atoned for. The blood of both bull ox and goat was to be put on its four horns. There is divided opinion on whether this unique description refers to the golden altar of incense or the altar of burnt offerings. The phrase would have been clear at the time (see Lev 4:6-7; Lev 4:17; Exo 30:8). In view of the fact that the purpose here is of the purification of the whole sanctuary, and the work was being done by the High Priest alone with no other present, some argue that it was the golden altar of incense. Others argue equally that it was the altar of burnt offering which in its own way was ‘before Yahweh’ (compare Lev 1:3), for it stood in the court before the entrance to the tabernacle. But Israel then would have known what the description referred to. Some would see Lev 16:20 as pointing to the altar of burnt offering.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Doth not this return of the high priest from within the vail to the altar, sweetly shadow out the coming forth of the LORD JESUS, by the influences of the HOLY GHOST, to bless and meet his church and people in the way of ordinances, and the several means of grace by his gospel? And may we not consider it also, as a striking resemblance of his second coming without sin unto salvation, when he will come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe? 2Th 1:10 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put [it] upon the horns of the altar round about.
Ver. 18. And he shall go out unto the altar. ] This signified, saith one, that every church assembly is acceptable to God, only through the blood of Christ, by the remission of all their sins.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
out unto the altar
Dispensationally, for Israel, this is yet future; the High Priest is still in the holiest. When He comes out to His ancient people they will be converted and restored Rom 11:23-27; Zec 12:10; Zec 12:12; Zec 13:1; Rev 1:7 Meantime, believers of this dispensation as priests 1Pe 2:9 enter into the holiest where He is. Heb 10:19-22.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Lev 16:16, Lev 4:7, Lev 4:18, Exo 30:10, Joh 17:19, Heb 2:11, Heb 5:7, Heb 5:8, Heb 9:22, Heb 9:23
Reciprocal: Exo 27:2 – horns of it upon the four corners thereof Exo 29:12 – the blood Lev 4:25 – put Lev 9:9 – General Lev 16:33 – General Eze 45:19 – and upon the four corners
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 16:18. The altar before the Lord That is, the altar of incense, where the blood of sacrifices was to be put, particularly the blood of the sin- offerings offered upon this day of atonement, and which is most properly said to be before the Lord; that is, before the place where God in a special manner dwelt. His going out relates to the holy of holies, into which he was said to go in, Lev 16:17.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:18 And he shall go out unto the {f} altar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put [it] upon the horns of the altar round about.
(f) Upon which the sweet incense and perfume was offered.