(Ver. 18 and following) And he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the rituals of the altar when it is made, to offer a burnt offering and pour out blood. And you shall give to the priests, the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach me, says the Lord God: to offer to me a young bull from the herd as a sin offering. And you shall take some of its blood, and put it on the four horns and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around; and you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. And you shall take the calf that was offered for sin and burn it in a separate place outside the sanctuary. And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for sin, and they shall make atonement for the altar as they made atonement for the calf. LXX: And he said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the statutes of the altar on the day it is made, upon which burnt offerings are offered and blood is poured out on it. And you shall give to the Levite priests who are of the seed of Sadduc, and who approach me, says the Lord God, to minister to me a calf from the cattle for a sin offering. And they shall take its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on its base all around, and they shall cleanse and make atonement for it. And they shall take the calf for a sin offering and burn it in a designated place outside the sanctuary of the house. And on the second day they shall take two male goats without blemish from the goats for a sin offering, and they shall make atonement for the altar as they made atonement with the calf. After the prophet showed the altar, and its cubit, which was two cubits, and again a cubit and four cubits, and a third cubit, as well as twelve cubits for the other twelve, and four horns of the altar: also twelve cubits for Ariel, by twelve cubits, and a ledge, that is, a mercy seat, of fourteen cubits, by fourteen cubits: also its crown, and a breast boundary of half a cubit and one cubit all around: and steps to the east, the number of which is uncertain, a man spoke, whose pen and cord were in his hand, and he instructed him how, with the work of the altar completed, the altar should be cleansed and consecrated. And first a victim is offered, and it is given to the priests of the tribe of Levi, who are from the descendants of Sadoc, whom the Seventy call Sadduc, which I cannot understand. But Sadoc means just. And according to the Seventy and Theodotion, a calf is offered; according to Symmachus, a bull, which is called Phar in Hebrew. But the calf that was sacrificed for us, and many passages of the Scriptures, and the notable Epistle of Barnabas, which is found among the apocryphal writings, mention it. And a male goat of the she-goats is offered on the second day. Hence, those who will celebrate Passover take a lamb and a kid from the flock, and those who could not celebrate the first Passover, celebrate it in the second month: one of which pertains to the righteous, the other to the penitents. But if we agree with the interpretation of the Seventy, who said: 'On the second day, they shall take two unblemished kids for the sin,' it is daring indeed what we are about to say, but the opinion of others must be simply presented, who say that two unblemished kids were offered after the Lord's passion on the altar of the Lord, Jacob and Stephen: one of whom was from the number of the apostles, the other was the chief among the seven chosen for the ministry of the Lord (Acts XXII). This is James, who saw the Transfigured Savior on the mountain (cf. Mark 9), who witnessed the raising of the daughter of the synagogue official with the Lord Peter and John (cf. Matthew 17), who is listed as the first among the apostles, with his name paired with his brother's (cf. Mark 9). He was killed by Herod (cf. Matthew 9), and like an unblemished lamb, he was sacrificed on the day after the Savior's passion (cf. Mark 3). The Jews also stoned Stephen, whose wisdom and teaching no one could resist (Acts 6:10), and he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, and said (Acts 7:59): Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And the Jews also stoned him. And just as the Apostle names certain first fruits of the believers in Achaia and Asia (1 Corinthians 16), so these were the first fruits of the martyrs, whom the confession of Christ afterwards crowned. And it should be noted that the whole calf is offered as a burnt offering, and the thickness of its body is consumed by the divine fire. For we used to know Christ according to the flesh, but now we no longer know Him according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). However, Jacob and Stephen, who were offered on the second day, or the goat, which is mentioned in the Hebrew narrative, is indeed offered as a sacrifice, but the burnt offering is reserved for the presence of the Lord. And as for the blood that Peter speaks of when he says, 'You were redeemed from your vain conversation by the precious blood of Christ' (1 Peter 1); and the Apostle Paul teaches, 'You were bought with a price' (1 Corinthians 7:23); and in another place, 'Making peace through the blood of His cross, whether on earth or in heaven' (Colossians 1:20), that signifies that by the blood of the Savior, the four horns of the altar are purified, that is, the four corners of the world are cleansed; and the mercy seat is sprinkled, or the bases are sprinkled all around, so that everything may be cleansed and the propitiation may be firm. Therefore, on the second day, either two young goats, of which we have spoken above, or a he-goat is taken; because the animal always hastens to higher places and sustains no danger on precipices, and there it finds a path where destruction is to other animals. Therefore, in Greek speech, the flock of goats and he-goats is called conversation of the sublime, that is, αἰπόλιον, as if αἰποπόλιον, since αἴπος, high, and πόλιον (Mss. πολεῖν), signifies conversation. Furthermore, the altar of Christ is cleansed with blood, so that the prayers of the saints may reach God in purity. It should also be noted that, according to the Hebrew Ezekiel himself, he is commanded to take a calf as a priest and offer it as a burnt offering, and sprinkle its blood around the altar, as well as the corners and the crown or base. However, the Seventy Interpreters show other priests doing this, of whom it is said: You shall give to the Levite priests, who are of the seed of Zadok, who come near to me.
[AD 420] Jerome on Ezekiel 43:18-22