And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
Thou ... shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, х uwmilee'taa (H4390) 'et (H854) yaadaam (H3027)] - and fill their hands [Septuagint, empleeseis autoon tas cheiras]; in allusion to the ceremony of consecration, when the priest's hands were filled with a sample of sacrifices, (see the note at Exodus 29:9; Leviticus 8:1.)
And sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. To discharge the functions of the priestly office was synonymous with ministering unto God. He was the special and exclusive object of those sacred acts. The priests, when they ministered unto God - i:e., when they performed sacrificial rites-drew near unto God; and all the ceremonial observances of religion bear more or less a specific reference to Him. This, then, is the difference between the ministers of the New and the priests of the Old Testament Church. The function of the former is to negotiate God's business with men, whereas that of the latter was to negotiate for men with God (Hebrews 5:1).