Exodus 30:10

And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year,.... On the day of atonement, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra explain it; and the atonement here referred

And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.

Once in a year, on the day of expiation, . With the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; to note, that the prayers of the saints are acceptable to God no otherwise but through the blood of Christ, who was offered for the expiation of our sins.

Exodus 30:10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it [is] most holy unto the LORD.Ver. 10. An atonement upon the horns of it.] Pardon must be sought for the defects found in prayers; as Nehemiah craved mercy for his reformations.

(10) Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year.—This passage seems to determine the sense of Lev 16:18, where some have supposed that “the altar that is before the Lord” is the brazen altar. Once in the year, on the great day of atonement, the high priest, after entering within the vail and sprinkling the blood of the offerings upon the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14-15), was to “go out unto the altar that was before the Lord, and put of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, upon the horns of the altar round about, and sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times,” and so “cleanse it, and hallow it,” and “make an atonement for it” (Leviticus 16:18-19).

Verse 10. An atonement - once in a year] On the tenth day of the seventh month. See Leviticus 16:18, &c., and the notes there. See Clarke on Leviticus 16:21, &c.

10. An annual rite of atonement to be performed for it. The law presupposes Leviticus 16 (which prescribes the ceremonial of the annual Day of Atonement), and is thus later than it. Leviticus 16:16; Leviticus 16:18; Leviticus 16:20 prescribes a rite of atonement for the Holy place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar of burnt-offering, but none for the altar of incense: the present verse supplies the deficiency. upon the horns of it] by putting some of the blood of the sin-offering of atonement (the goat for the people of Lev 16:5; Leviticus 16:15-19) upon them: cf. Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 4:18. The marg. for may be disregarded. for it] to preserve it, like the other sacred objects, in its ideal holiness: cf. Exodus 29:36, with the note. most holy] see on Exodus 29:37. make atonement] both here and elsewhere make propitiation would be a better rend. of kipper, and propitiation, &c., of its derivatives (cf. propitiatory, suggested on Exodus 25:17 for kappτreth): not only is this the idea of the word, but kipper and its derivatives are usually represented in LXX. by (ἐξ)ιλάσκομαι‚ ἱλασμός, &c., which in the NT. are expressed in English by ‘(make) propitiation’ (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Hebrews 2:17 RV.): an important link of connexion between OT. and NT. is thus lost, when, of the two corresponding terms, the rend. is atonement in the OT. and propitiation in the NT. (note that in NT. ‘atonement’ occurs in AV. Romans 5:11 only, RV. reconciliation; in RV. never). For a fuller discussion of the meaning and use of the Heb. term, reference must be made to the notes on Leviticus 4, and to the writer’s art. Propitiation in DB.; see also H. M. P. Smith’s arts. in the Biblical World (Chicago), Jan., Feb., Mar., 1908. Here it can only be briefly explained that kipper is used in two applications: (1) with a human subject, to make appeasement or propitiation, Exodus 32:30 (see the note), Genesis 32:20, 2 Samuel 21:3 (cf. in the passive, the implicit subject being some act or rite, 1 Samuel 3:14, Deuteronomy 21:8 b, Isaiah 6:7; Isaiah 22:14; Isaiah 27:9, Proverbs 16:6); so in P, where the subject is always either the priest, or (rarely) an offering, and the means of effecting the propitiation usually a sacrifice (as ch. Exodus 29:36-37, Leviticus 1:4), but occasionally some other act or offering (as below, vv. 15, 16, Numbers 25:13 : see further details in DB. iv. 130); (2) with God as subject, to treat propitiously (EVV. to be merciful, forgive, &c.) either an offender (Deuteronomy 21:8 a, Deuteronomy 32:43, Ezekiel 16:63, 2 Chronicles 30:18) or an offence (Jeremiah 18:23, Psalms 65:3; Psalms 78:38; Psalms 79:9, Daniel 9:24). The actual meanings, and usages, of kipper can be determined from the OT. itself (see DB. l.c.). Whether, however, as used to be supposed, its primary meaning was either (Arab.) to cover, or (Syr.) to wipe away, is very doubtful. In Ass.

10. Once in the year shall he make atonement — The absolute holiness of Jehovah was further enhanced in the minds of the people by the thought that altars and holy places would after a time be liable