And you shall put them upon Aaron your brother is literally “And you [singular] shall cause Aaron your [older] brother to be clothed.” The verb means to dress or put on clothes, but the causative form suggests that Moses was supposed to dress Aaron in all the priestly vestments. This was evidently to be part of the ceremony of consecration. (See 29.1, 5-6.) And upon his sons with him indicates that Aaron’s four sons (verse 1) were to be included in the same ceremony. Good News Translation has a helpful model: “Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons.”

And shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them lists three more ceremonial acts. (But see below.) The word for anoint literally means to spread liquid. Here it means to pour or apply the special anointing oil (30.22-25) on their heads and on their priestly garments (29.21). Aaron was also to have this oil poured on his head (29.7). The oil was most likely “olive oil.” (See the comment on “olive” at 25.6). In some languages one may express this sentence as “Then take olive oil and apply [or, pour] it on their heads.”

Ordain them is literally “and you [singular] will fill their hand.” This is an idiom that may originally have referred to the act of placing some object in the hand of the person being installed into office. This does not mean that Moses was to lay his hand upon them. Possibly some token of their new authority was actually to be placed in their hands. Revised English Bible uses the word “install,” which may be more accurate.

Consecrate them is literally “and you [singular] will make them holy.” Good News Translation has “dedicate them,” and Durham has “set them apart.” It is unlikely that this was a separate ritual act. Probably the command to consecrate them summarizes the effect of two ritual acts: anoint and ordain. So New American Bible has “Anoint and ordain them, consecrating them as my priests.”

Good News Translation, however, suggests that “anointing” was the only ritual act intended: “Ordain them and dedicate them by anointing them.” This means that they were considered “ordained” and “dedicated” by the one act of “anointing.” This interpretation is possible, but it really has no textual support. All three verbs have the same form and are connected with “and.” (See the discussion at 29.9b.)

That they may serve me as priests is literally “and they will function to [or, for] me (as priests).” As in verse 1, a verb form of “priest” is used in the sense of “priesting.” American Standard Version has “that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• After that, pour [or, apply] olive oil on their heads, and ordain them. In this way you will set them apart to serve me as priests.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .