Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 30:17-21
The Bronze Laver (Exodus 30:17).
As with the golden Altar of Incense the bronze Laver had no place in God's revelation of Himself to them or in the making of atonement. Rather it was a means for the priest to remove any earthiness when entering the Sanctuary. Thus it is mentioned here along with the golden altar and the census requirements.
a A laver and associated other receptacle were to be made of brazen copper. It was to be placed between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, with water put in it (Exodus 30:17).
b Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet in it (Exodus 30:19).
c They were to wash their hands and feet in it when they went into the Tent of Meeting so that they did not die (Exodus 30:20 a).
c Or when they came near to the brazen altar to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh (Exodus 30:20 b).
b So were they to wash their hands and their feet that they die not (Exodus 30:21 a).
a It was to be a statute for ever to them, even to Aaron and his seed throughout their generations (Exodus 30:21 b)
In ‘a' we have a description of the making of the laver which was to placed in the Sanctuary court, and in its parallel its permanence is established through all generations. In ‘b Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet in it, and in the parallel it was so that they might not die. In' c' it was to be done both when they went into the Holy Place and when they approached the brazen altar in order to offer an offering made by fire.
And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a bronze laver, and its base (ken) of bronze, with which to wash, and you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet at it. When they go into the Tent of Meeting they shall wash with water that they die not. Or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh. So shall they wash their hands and their feet that they die not.”'
Not only sin but earthiness had to be removed in approaching Yahweh. Man was not only sinful but creaturely and unworthy. The washing of water was a standard part of Israel's religion, removing earthiness but not cleansing the soul. It was preparatory only. We should note that water, unless treated with the ashes of sacrifice, never ‘cleansed'. Note the constant refrain - ‘wash -- and shall be unclean until --' in Leviticus 15). It was preparatory for whatever followed next which would result in the cleansing. Here it was required as priests moved from one holy thing to another. The contamination of earthiness had to be constantly removed. Thus the hands that touched holy things and the feet that touched holy ground had to be constantly washed prior to doing so lest they contaminate holy things with the taint of earth. Full bathing was only required at certain times (Exodus 29:4; Leviticus 16:4). It also removed the blood that would get on their hands as they dealt with the sacrifices. To fail to wash was to incur the death penalty. It was to defile holy things and show contempt for Yahweh.
It is possible that Jesus had these regulations in mind when He said, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet' (John 13:10). But if so He had extended its significance to include cleansing from sin.
“ A bronze laver.” Made of copper alloyed with tin it was a basin, or similar, set on a base. Such was their love for God at this time that it would be made from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 38:8). The serving women gave their most prized possessions to God. No indication is given of size or shape but it must have been fair sized. It was to be kept constantly filled, presumably by those same women. The ‘base' or ‘ken' is regularly mentioned separately from the basin which may signify it was a separate item for removing the water from the laver for use. Compare Exodus 31:9; Exodus 35:16; Exodus 39:39; Exodus 40:11; Leviticus 8:11.
“And it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”
This confirms the importance of the requirement. It was a permanent one, a statute lasting for ever through generation after generation, for Aaron and his seed.