1Then, the eighth day having arrived, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and those greater by birth from Israel, and he said to Aaron:
2“Take a calf for sin from the herd, and a ram as a holocaust, both immaculate, and offer them in the sight of the Lord.
3And to the sons of Israel, you shall say: ‘Take a he-goat for sin, and a calf as well as a lamb, both one-year-old and without blemish, as a holocaust.
4Take also an ox and a ram for peace offerings. And immolate them before the Lord, offering with the sacrifice of each one fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.’ ”
5And so they brought everything that Moses had ordered before the door of the tabernacle, where, when all the multitude stood together,
6Moses said: “This is the word, which the Lord has instructed. Accomplish it, and his glory will appear to you.”
7And he said to Aaron: “Approach toward the altar, and immolate on behalf of your sin. Offer the holocaust, and pray for yourself and for the people. And when you have slain the victim for the people, pray for them, just as the Lord has instructed.”
8And immediately Aaron, approaching toward the altar, immolated the calf for his sin.
9And his sons brought its blood to him, and dipping his finger in it, he touched the horns of the altar, and he poured out the remainder at its base.
10And the fat, and the little kidneys, and the mesh of the liver, which are for sin, he burned upon the altar, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
11Yet truly, the flesh and its skins he burned with fire beyond the camp.
12He also immolated the victim of holocaust. And his sons brought its blood to him, which he poured out all around the altar.
13And when the victim itself was cut into pieces, they brought him the head and each of the limbs, all of which he burned with fire upon the altar,
14having first washed the intestines and the feet with water.
15And making an offering for the sin of the people, he slew the he-goat. And expiating the altar,
16he accomplished the holocaust,
17adding to it the sacrifice of the libations, which are to be offered together, and burning them upon the altar, separately from the ceremonies of the morning holocaust.
18He also immolated the ox, as well as the ram, as peace offerings for the people. And his sons brought him the blood, which he poured out upon the altar all around.
19Then the fat of the ox, and the rump of the ram, and the two little kidneys with their fat, and the mesh of the liver,
20they placed upon the breasts. And when the fat had been burned upon the altar,
21Aaron separated their breasts and the right shoulders, lifting them up in the sight of the Lord, as Moses had instructed.
22And extending his hands to the people, he blessed them. And so, the victims for sin, and the holocausts, and the peace offerings being completed, he descended.
23Then Moses and Aaron entered the tabernacle of the testimony, and afterwards came out and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire multitude.
24And, behold, a fire from the Lord devoured the holocaust, and the fat which was on the altar. When the crowd had seen this, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces.
Verse 3
I had intended to say a few words about sacrifices, which, since they contain the figure of the true priest’s offering, must also be spiritually offered by us to the Lord. For through the calf is signified our labor; through the lamb, innocence; through the goat, the mortification of sinful lust; through the she-goat, which grazes in high pastures, the contemplative life; through the ram, the work of preaching, which generates lambs for the good shepherd.
Verse 7
It seems that they have not paid sufficient attention to the fact that Zachary was a priest and that all priests at that time were obliged by the law of God to offer sacrifice first for their own sins and then for those of the people. Therefore, as it is now proved by the sacrifice of prayer that we are not sinless, since we are [daily] commanded to say, “Forgive us our debts,” so it was proved then by the sacrifice of animal victims that the priests were not sinless, since they were commanded to offer the victim for their own sins.
Verse 22
Something of this sort has also been written about Aaron in the book of Leviticus, namely, that “he raised up his hands over the people and blessed them.” I gather from this that the saying expresses a mystery, namely, that the one who blesses someone must be adorned with works that distinguish him from the many and raise him above them. For when he is going to bless the people, the hands of Aaron are raised on high. So if someone has his hands down toward earthly things, he does not intend to bless anyone.