Exodus 24:8

24:8 So Moses took the blood and splashed it on ¹  the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant ²  that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Exodus 29:12

29:12 and take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar ³  with your finger; all the rest of ⁴  the blood you are to pour out at the base of the altar.

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¹ tn Given the size of the congregation, the preposition might be rendered here “toward the people” rather than on them (all).

² sn The construct relationship “the blood of the covenant” means “the blood by which the covenant is ratified” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 254). The parallel with the inauguration of the new covenant in the blood of Christ is striking (see, e.g., Matt 26:28, 1 Cor 11:25). When Jesus was inaugurating the new covenant, he was bringing to an end the old.

³ sn This act seems to have signified the efficacious nature of the blood, since the horns represented power. This is part of the ritual of the sin offering for laity, because before the priests become priests they are treated as laity. The offering is better described as a purification offering rather than a sin offering, because it was offered, according to Leviticus, for both sins and impurities. Moreover, it was offered primarily to purify the sanctuary so that the once-defiled or sinful person could enter (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB]).

⁴ tn The phrase “rest of” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.