Exodus 30:9

Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) Ye shall offer no strange incense.—By “strange incense” is meant any that was composed differently from that of which the composition is laid down in Exodus 30:34-35.

Nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither . . . drink offering.—All these were to be offered on the brazen altar, not on the altar of incense, which was in no way suited for them.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

30:1-10 The altar of incense represented the Son of God in his human nature, and the incense burned thereon typified his pleading for his people. The continual intercession of Christ was represented by the daily burning of incense thereon, morning and evening. Once every year the blood of the atonement was to be applied to it, denoting that the intercession of Christ has all its virtue from his sufferings on earth, and that we need no other sacrifice or intercessor but Christ alone.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

By this regulation, the symbolism of the altar of incense was kept free from ambiguity. atonement was made by means of the victim on the brazen altar in the court ontside; the prayers of the reconciled worshippers had their type within the tabernacle.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9. Ye shall offer no strange incense—that is, of a different composition from that of which the ingredients are described so minutely.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No strange incense, i.e. of any other sort than what I shall here appoint, Exodus 30:34, &c.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon,.... Which had not the same, but was made of other materials, or had more or fewer; whatever was not exactly the same was not to be offered; and so to make use of other mediators than Christ, whether angels or men, or to put up prayer to God for the sake of our own righteousness, pleading the merits of our works, and not the blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of Christ, is to offer strange incense, unacceptable to God, and which will be of no avail to men:

nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; these were to be offered and burnt upon the altar of burnt offering:

neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon; as upon the other altar; everything in God's worship and service was to be done in the proper place and order; these offerings and sacrifices, though they were by divine appointment, yet must be offered on that altar which was peculiar for them.

Geneva Study Bible

Ye shall offer no {e} strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering {f} thereon.

(e) Otherwise made them this, which is described.

(f) But it must only serve to burn perfume.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. The altar is to be reserved exclusively for incense, and for incense moreover made from the authorized prescription (v. 34 ff.).

strange] i.e. strange to the law, unauthorized; cf. ‘strange fire,’ Leviticus 10:1, Numbers 3:4; Numbers 26:61. Comp. on Exodus 29:33; and see DB. iv. 623.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - By strange incense is meant any which was not prepared according to the directions given in vers. 34-38. None such was ever to be offered. Nor was the altar to be used for burnt-offering, meat-offering, or drink-offering. For burnt-offering it was manifestly unfit; but the prohibition of the others seems to show a determination to keep its use markedly distinct from that of the brazen altar in the court, which was to receive all that was offered either for expiation, or for self-dedication, or in gratitude. On the sole exception made to this general law, see the comment on the next verse. Exodus 30:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Upon this altar Aaron was to burn fragrant incense, the preparation of which is described in Exodus 30:34., every morning and evening before Jehovah, at the time when he trimmed the lamps. No "strange incense" was to be offered upon it, - i.e., incense which Jehovah had not appointed (cf. Leviticus 10:1), that is to say, which had not been prepared according to His instructions-nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat-offering; and no drink-offering was to be poured upon it. As the altar of incense was not only marked as a place of sacrifice by its name מזבּח, "place of slain-offering," but was put on a par with the altar of sacrifice by its square shape and its horns, it was important to describe minutely what sacrifices were to be offered upon it. For the burning of fragrant incense is shown to be a sacrifice, by the fact that it was offered upon a place of sacrifice, or altar. Moreover the word הקטיר, to cause to ascend in smoke and steam, from קטר to smoke or steam, is not only applied to the lighting of incense, but also to the lighting and burning of the bleeding and bloodless sacrifices upon the altar of incense. Lastly, the connection between the incense-offering and the burnt-offering is indicated by the rule that they were to be offered at the same time. Both offerings shadowed forth the devotion of Israel to its God, whilst the fact that they were offered every day exhibited this devotion as constant and uninterrupted. But the distinction between them consisted in this, that in the burnt or whole offering Israel consecrated and sanctified its whole life and action in both body and soul to the Lord, whilst in the incense-offering its prayer was embodied as the exaltation of the spiritual man to God (cf. Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4); and with this there was associated the still further distinction, that the devotion was completed in the burnt-offering solely upon the basis of the atoning sprinkling of blood, whereas the incense-offering presupposed reconciliation with God, and on the basis of this the soul rose to God in this embodiment of its prayer, and was thus absorbed into His Spirit. In this respect, the incense-offering was not only a spiritualizing and transfiguring of the burnt-offering, but a completion of that offering also.