THEOSISRoshdestwenski W.G.
Moses declared that the offerings presented to the Lord God must be sanctified, or else the Lord God might bring destruction upon them. The Lord instructed him to descend and ascend with Aaron, yet the offerings were not required to be brought before God, for the Lord God would not accept them. Those who held the Levitical priesthood prior to the giving of the Law had not been ordained to that rank, since in the subsequent chapter, Exodus 29:44, God promised to designate them as Levites. Initially, He committed to consecrating Aaron's sons for the priesthood.
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Some interpret the term "sacrifices" to refer to the elders and leaders of the tribe of Judah, as mentioned by the same author in verse 7. They reference 2 Samuel 8:18, where David's sons are called sacrifices. However, this interpretation is considered unlikely as those elders were not granted priestly authority and, according to Jewish tradition, the office of the Levitical ministry was reserved for individuals from the Levitical tribe. Thus, while the elders of Judah are referred to as priests in Scripture, their roles pertained to civil matters, originating from the tribe of Judah. This explains why the Chronicler refers to them in 1 Chronicles 18:17 as the chief advisors to the king, indicating their involvement in significant state responsibilities. Therefore, they could be termed priests by analogy, not in the strict sense.
The term "priest" is specifically reserved for those assigned to perform sacred duties, to approach the Lord’s altar, and to instruct the people in the Law. It is clear that in the writings of Moses, the priests had varying roles: some engaged in civil matters, while others were dedicated to public worship. Regarding those priests who were consistently devoted to divine service, Scripture confirms that they were drawn from the firstborn whom God had previously consecrated, referred to in Exodus 24:5 as the young men of the children of Israel. These individuals were dispatched by Moses to perform sacrifices, aligning with the designation of Reuben as Jacob's firstborn in Genesis 49:3.