What Does Exodus 40:15 Mean in the King James?
And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The oil marks particular people for a priesthood that continues through generations.
THE MEANING
This verse presents priestly service as a received role: anointing marks the sons for service to God, and their priesthood continues through generations. Each generation carries the same office forward.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a role of service ends with the person first entrusted with it: the verse carries the priesthood through their generations.
THE ROOT
וּמָשַׁחְתָּ
ūmāšaḥtā
GROWS FROM
משח
to smear, anoint
“anoint” in this verse is ūmāšaḥtā. The root also gives מִשְׁחָה (mishchah, anointing) and מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach, anointed one). Here the repeated act marks a role that is conferred on the sons and carried forward through generations.
ALSO GROWS
mishchah: anointing
מִשְׁחָה
It names the act that marks the sons for their priestly role.
mashiach: anointed one
מָשִׁיחַ
It shows how the same root can name the person marked by anointing.
וְכִהֲנוּ
wə-kihănû
GROWS FROM
כהן
to serve as a priest
The verb translated “minister” shares its root with כֹּהֵן (kohen, priest) and כְּהֻנָּה (kehunah, priesthood). The Hebrew ties their service directly to the priestly office that continues through generations.
ALSO GROWS
kohen: priest
כֹּהֵן
It identifies the specific role the sons serve in.
kehunah: priesthood
כְּהֻנָּה
It names the office linked to their service and its continuation.
THE PATTERN
Anointing marks a calling that continues beyond the moment it is received.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.THE THREAD
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.The Hebrew root מָשַׁח (māšaḥ, to anoint) is the same root behind “anointed” here and in David’s anointing. There, the LORD’s breath comes upon David from that day forward; here, the anointing carries a priesthood through generations.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us