¹ tn Heb “And he (the LORD) called (ar`q=Y]w~) to Moses and the LORD spoke (rB@d^y+w~) to him from the Tent of Meeting.” The MT assumes “LORD” in the first clause but places it in the second clause (after “spoke”). This seems awkward. The Syriac version places “LORD” in the first clause (right after “called”).
sn The best explanation for the MT of Lev 1:1 arises from its function as a transition from Exod 40 to Lev 1. The first clause, “And he (the LORD) called to Moses,” links v. 1 back to Exod 40:35, “But Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it and the glory of the LORD had filled the tabernacle” (cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 134). Exod 40:36-38 is a parenthetical explanation of the ongoing function of the cloud in leading the people through the wilderness. Since Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, the Lord “called” to him “from” the Tent of Meeting.
<sup>2</sup>sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the LORD spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,” introduces the following discourse. This is a standard introductory formula (see, e.g., Exod 20:1; 25:1; 31:1; etc.). The combination of the first and second clauses is, therefore, “bulky” because of the way they happen to be juxtaposed in this transitional verse (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 8). The first clause of v. 1 connects the book back to the end of the Book of Exodus while the second looks forward the ritual legislation that follows in Lev 1:2ff. There are two “Tents of Meeting”: the one that stood outside the camp (see, e.g., Exod 33:7) and the one that stood in the midst of the camp (Exod 40:2; Num 2:2ff) and served as the Lord’s residence until the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon (Exod 27:21; 29:4; 1 Kgs 8:4; 2 Chr 5:5, etc.; cf. 2 Sam 7:6). Exod 40:35 uses both “tabernacle” and “Tent of Meeting” to refer to the same tent: “Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” It is clear that “Tent of Meeting” in Lev 1:1 refers to the “tabernacle.” The latter term refers to the tent as a “residence,” while the former refers to it as a divinely appointed place of “meeting” between God and man (see NIDOTTE 2.873-877 and 2.1130-1134). This corresponds to the change in terms in Exod 40:35, where “Tent of Meeting” is used when referring to Moses’ inability to enter the tent, but “tabernacle” when referring to the Lord taking up residence there in the form of the glory cloud.
<sup>3</sup>sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 1:2 through 3:17, and encompasses the burnt, grain, and peace offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 4:1; 5:14; and 6:1[5:20] below.
<sup>4</sup>tn “When” here translates MT yK! “if, when,” which regularly introduces main clauses in legislative contexts (see, e.g., Lev 2:1, 4; 4:2, etc.) in contrast to <a! “if,” which usually introduces subordinate sections (see, e.g., Lev 1:3, 10, 14; 2:5, 7, 14; 4:3, 13, etc.; cf. yK! in Exod 21:2 and 7 as opposed to <a! in vv. 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11).
sn Lev 1:1-2 serves as a heading for Lev 1-3 (i.e., the basic regulations regarding the presentation of the burnt, grain, and peace offerings) and, at the same time, leads directly into the section on “burnt offerings” in Lev 1:3. In turn, Lev 1:3-17 divides into three subsections, all introduced by <a! “if” (Lev 1:3-9, 10-13, and 14-17, respectively). Similar patterns are discernible throughout Lev 1:2-6:7[5:26].
<sup>5</sup>tn Literally, “a man, human being” (<d*a*), which in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female, since women could also bring such offerings (see, e.g., Lev 12:6-8; 15:29-30; cf. KBL3 [ET] 14).
<sup>6</sup>tn The verb “presents” is cognate to the noun “offering” in v. 2 and throughout the book of Leviticus (both from the root brq qrB). One could translate the verb “offers,” but this becomes awkward and, in fact, inaccurate in some passages. For example, in Lev. 9:9 this verb is used for the presenting or giving of the blood to Aaron so that he could offer it to the Lord. The blood is certainly not being “offered” as an offering to Aaron there.
<sup>7</sup>tn The whole clause is more literally, “A human being (<d`a*), if he brings from among you an offering to the LORD.”
⁸tn The shift to the second person plural verb here corresponds to the previous second person plural pronoun “among you.” It is distinct from the regular pattern of third person singular verbs throughout the rest of Lev 1-3. This too labels Lev 1:1-2 as an introduction to all of Lev 1-3, not just the burnt offering regulations in Lev 1 (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 146; cf. note 3 above).
⁹tn Heb “from the domesticated animal, from the herd, and from the flock.”
sn It is clear from the subsequent division between animals from the “herd” (rq*B* Lev 1:3-9) and the “flock” (/aX) Lev 1:10-13), that the term for “domesticated animal” (hm*h@B=) is a general term meant to introduce the category of pastoral quadrupeds. The stronger disjunctive accent over hm*h@B= in the MT as well as the lack of a vav between it and rq*B* also suggest hm*h@B= is an overall category that includes both “herd” and “flock” quadrupeds. The bird category (Lev 1:14-17) is not included in this introduction because bird offerings were, by and large, concessions to the poor (cf., e.g., Lev 5:7-10; 12:8; 14:21-32) and, therefore, not considered to be one of the primary categories of animal offerings.
¹⁰sn The burnt offering (hl*u)) was basically a “a gift of a soothing aroma to the LORD” (vv. 9, 13, 17). It could serve as a votive or freewill offering (e.g., Lev 22:18-20), an accompaniment of prayer and supplication (e.g., 1 Sam 7:9-10), part of the regular daily, weekly, monthly, and festival cultic pattern (e.g., Num 28-29), or to make atonement either alone (e.g., Lev 1:4; 16:24) or in combination with the grain offering (e.g., Lev 14:20) or sin offering (e.g., Lev 5:7; 9:7). See NIDOTTE 4.996-1022.
¹¹tn NIV correctly has “it” in the text, referring to the acceptance of the animal (cf. e.g., RSV, NEB, NASB), but “he” in the margin, referring to the acceptance of the offerer (cf. NRSV, JB). The reference to a “flawless male” in the first half of this verse suggests that the issue here is the acceptability of the animal to make atonement on behalf of the offerer (Lev 1:4).
¹²sn “To make atonement” is the standard translation of the Hebrew term rP#K!. The English word derives from a combination of “at” plus Middle English “one(ment),” referring primarily to reconciliation or reparation that is made in order to accomplish reconciliation. The primary meaning of the Hebrew verb, however, is “to wipe (something off or on)” (see esp. the goal of the sin offering, Lev 4, “to purge” the tabernacle from impurities), but in some cases it refers metaphorically to “wiping away” anything that might stand in the way of good relations by bringing a gift (see, e.g., Gen 32:20[21], “to appease, pacify” as an illustration of this). The translation “make atonement” has been retained here because, ultimately, the goal of either purging or appeasing was to maintain a proper relationship between the Lord (who dwelt in the tabernacle) and Israelites in whose midst the tabernacle was pitched (see NIDOTTE 2.689-710 for a full discussion of the Hebrew word meaning “to make atonement” and its theological significance).
¹³tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The LXX has “they” rather than “he,” suggesting that the priests, not the offerer, were to slaughter the bull (cf. the notes on vv. 6a and 9a).
¹⁴tn Heb “the son of the herd.”
¹⁵tn “Splash” or “dash” is better than “sprinkle,” which is the common English translation of this verb (qr~z`; see, e.g., NIV). “Sprinkle” is not strong enough (contrast hz`n`, which does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter”; cf. Lev 4:6).
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The LXX and the Sam. Pent. have “they” rather than “he” in both halves of this verse, suggesting that the priests not the offerer were to skin and cut the carcass of the bull into pieces (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 9a).
<sup>17</sup>tn A few Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targum Onqelos have plural “priests” here (cf. 1:5, 8) rather than the MT singular “priest.” The MS evidence for the plural is strong and has been followed here, but it is possible that one should read “priest” meaning (a) Aaron, the (high) priest, or (b) the officiating priest, as in Lev 1:9 (cf. 6:10[3], etc.), and consider “the sons of Aaron” to be a textual corruption caused by conflation with Lev 1:5, 8 (cf. the remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 13).
<sup>18</sup>tn A few Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targum Onqelos have the conjunction “and” before “the head,” which would suggest the rendering “and the head and the suet” rather than the rendering of the MT here, “with the head and the suet.”
<sup>19</sup>tn Heb “on the wood, which is on the fire, which is on the altar.”
<sup>20</sup>tn Heb “Finally, he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Once again, the MT assigns the preparation of the offering (here the entrails and legs) to the offerer because it did not bring him into direct contact with the altar, but reserves the actual placing on the altar for the officiating priest (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 6a).
<sup>21</sup>tn Heb “toward the altar,” but the so-called locative h attached to the word for “altar” can indicate the place where something is or happens (GKC §90d and §118g; cf. also Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 161). This is a standard way of expressing “on/at the altar” with the verb “offer up in smoke” (hiphil of rfq, qfr; cf. also Exod 29:13, 18, 25; Lev 1:9, 13, 15, 17; 2:2, etc.).
<sup>22</sup>tc A few Hebrew MSS and possibly the Leningrad B19a MS itself (the basis of the BHS Hebrew text of the MT), under an apparent erasure, plus the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan suggest that Hebrew aWh (rendered “it is”) should be added here as in vv. 13 and 17. Whether or not the text should be changed, the meaning is the same as in vv. 13 and 17, so it has been included in the translation here.
<sup>23</sup>sn The standard English translation of “gift” (hV#a!) is “an offering (made) by fire.” It is based on a supposed etymological relationship to the Hebrew word for “fire” (va@) and is still maintained in many versions (e.g., NIV, RSV, NRSV; Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 7-8). For various reasons, including the fact that some offerings referred to by this term are not burned on the altar (see, e.g., Lev 24:9), it is probably better to understand the term to mean “gift” (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 22) or “food gift” (“food offering” in NEB and TEV; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 161-162). See NIDOTTE 1.540-549 for a complete discussion.
<sup>24</sup>tn Heb “And if from the flock is his offering, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering.”
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>26</sup>tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>27</sup>tn Heb “from the (category) ‘bird.’”
<sup>28</sup>tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 168 with Hartley, Leviticus, 14).
<sup>29</sup>sn The action here seems to involve both a twisting action, breaking the neck of the bird and severing its vertebrae, as well as pinching or nipping the skin to severe the head from the main body.
<sup>30</sup>sn The “it” refers to the head of the bird, which the priest immediately tossed on the altar fire. As the following lines show, certain things needed to be done to the body of the bird before it could be placed on the altar.
<sup>31</sup>tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (apparently still the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>32</sup>tn This translation (“set aside its entrails by [cutting off] its tail wing”) is based on Milgrom’s discussion in Leviticus 1-16, AB, 169-171, although he translates, “remove its crissum by its feathers.” Others possibilities include “its crop with its contents” (Targum Onqelos, NIV, NRSV; Hartley, Leviticus, 23) or “its crop with its feathers” (LXX, NASB, RSV; “crop” refers to the enlarged part of a bird’s gullet that serves a pouch for the preliminary maceration of food).
<sup>33</sup>tn The pronoun “them” here is feminine singular in Hebrew and refers collectively to the entrails and tail wing which have been removed.
<sup>34</sup>tn Heb “he shall not divide it.” several Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Syriac, etc. have a vav on the negative, yielding the translation, “but he shall not divide it into two parts.”
<sup>1</sup>sn The “grain offering” (hj*n+m!; here hj*n+m! /B^r+q* lit. “an offering of a grain offering”) generally accompanied a burnt or peace offering to supplement the meat with bread (the libation provided the drink; cf. Num 15:1-10), thus completing the food “gift” to the Lord. It made atonement (see the note on Lev 1:4) along with the burnt offering (e.g., Lev 14:20) or alone as a sin offering for the poor (Lev 5:11-13).
<sup>2</sup>tn The Hebrew term for “choice wheat flour” (tl#s)) is often translated “fine flour,” but it refers specifically to wheat as opposed to barley (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 10). Moreover, the translation “flour” might be problematic, since the Hebrew term may designate the “grits” rather than the more finely ground “flour” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 179 as opposed Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 10 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 30).
<sup>3</sup>sn This is not just any “incense” (tr#f)q=; NIDOTTE 3.913-916), but specifically “frankincense” (hn`b)l=; NIDOTTE 2.756-757).
⁴tn Heb “and he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.The syntax is strange here and might suggest that it was the offerer who scooped out a handful of the grain offering for the memorial portion (Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 66), but based on v. 9 below it should be understood that it was the priest who performed this act (see, e.g., NRSV “After taking from it a handful of the choice flour and oil,…the priest shall…”; see also Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 177, 181 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 30).
⁵sn The “memorial portion” (hr`k*z+a^) was the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see the previous clause), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (v. 3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23[7-16]). It was probably intended to call to mind (i.e., memorialize) before the Lord the reason for the presentation of the particular offering (see the remarks in NIDOTTE 1.335-339).
<sup>6</sup>tn The words “it is” have been supplied. See the notes on Lev 1:9 and 2:3. There is no text critical problem here, but the syntax suggests the same translation.
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “…is to Aaron and to his sons.” The preposition “to” (l=) indicates ownership.
<sup>8</sup>tn The words “it is” (aWh in Hebrew) are not in the MT, but are assumed. The Syriac adds it between “most holy” and “from the gifts” (cf. 1:13, 17).
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “holy of holies.”
<sup>10</sup>tn The insertion of the words “it must be made of” is justified by the context and the expressed “it shall be made of” in vv. 7 and 8 below.
<sup>11</sup>tn The Hebrew word is hx*m*.
<sup>12</sup>sn These “loaves” were either “ring-shaped” (KBL3 [ET], 317) or “perforated” (BDB 319; cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 184).
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “and.”
<sup>14</sup>tn The Hebrew word (the root is jvm) translated here as “smeared” is often translated “anointed” in other contexts.
<sup>15</sup>tn There is no vav “and” in the MT at the beginning of v. 6 and the verb is pointed as an infinite absolute. I have rendered it as an imperative (see GKC §113bb) and, therefore, the same for the following vav consecutive perfect verb (see NIV “Crumble it and pour oil on it”; cf. also NRSV, NEB, and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 185, but note the objections to this rendering in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 26). The LXX translation seems to suggest adding a vav “and,” and pointing the verb as a consecutive perfect, which yields “and you shall break it in pieces” (cf. the BHS textual note; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 26 prefers the LXX).
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “a grain offering of a pan.”
<sup>17</sup>sn Lev 7:9 makes it clear that one cooked “on” a griddle but “in” a pan. This suggests that the oil in the pan served for deep fat frying, hence the translation “deep fried in oil” (see, e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 185).
<sup>18</sup>tn There are several person, gender, and voice verb problems in this verse. First, the MT has “And you shall bring the grain offering,” but the LXX and Qumran have “he” rather than “you” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 185). Second, the MT has “which shall be made” (i.e., the 3rd person masc. niphal passive verb which, in fact, does not agree with its fem. subject, hj*n+m! “grain offering”), while the LXX has “which he shall make” (3rd person qal), thus agreeing with the LXX 3rd person verb at the beginning of the verse (see above). Third, the MT has a 3rd person vav consecutive verb “and he shall present it to the priest,” which agrees with the LXX but is not internally consistent with the 2nd person verb at the beginning of the verse in the MT. The BHS editors conjecture that the latter might be repointed to an imperative verb yielding “present it to the priest.” This would require no change of consonants and corresponds to the person of the first verb in the MT. This solution has been tentatively accepted here (cf. also Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 26-27), even though it neither resolves the gender problem of the second verb nor fits the general grammatical pattern of the chapter in the MT.
<sup>19</sup>sn The Hebrew verb <yr]h@ “take up” is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and NIDOTTE 4.335-336).
<sup>20</sup>tn The words “it is” (aWh in Hebrew) both here and in vv. 10 and 16 are not in the MT, but are assumed. (cf. vv. 2b and 3b and the notes there).
<sup>21</sup>tn See the note on “it is” in v. 9b.
<sup>22</sup>tn Heb “Every grain offering which you offer to the LORD must not be made leavened.”
<sup>23</sup>tc A few Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have the verb “present” rather than “offer up in smoke,” but the MT is clearly correct. One could indeed present leavened and honey sweetened offerings as first fruit offerings, which were not burned on the altar (see v. 12 and the note there), but they could not be offered up in fire on the altar.
tn Heb “for all leaven and all honey you must not offer up in smoke from it a gift to the LORD.”
<sup>24</sup>sn The “first fruit” referred to here was given to the priests as a prebend for their service to the Lord, not offered on the altar (Num 18:12).
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “from on your grain offering.”
<sup>26</sup>tn The translation of this whole section of the clause is difficult. Theoretically, it could describe one, two, or three different ways of preparing first ripe grain offerings (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 27). The translation here takes it as a description of only one kind of prepared grain. This is suggested by the fact that v. 16 uses only one term “crushed bits” (cr\G\) to refer back to the grain as it is prepared in v. 14 (a more technical translation is “groats,” Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 178, 194).
<sup>27</sup>tn See the note on “it is” in 2:9b.
<sup>1</sup>sn The “peace offering sacrifice” (lit. “sacrifice of peace offering[s]”; <ym!l*v= jb^z\) primarily enacted and practiced communion between God and man (and between the people of God). This was illustrated by the fact that the fat parts of the animal were consumed on the altar of the Lord but the meat was consumed by the worshippers in a meal before God. This is the only kind of offering in which common worshippers partook of the meat of the animal. When there was a series of offerings that includes a peace offering (see, e.g., Lev 9:8-21, sin offerings, burnt offerings, and afterward the peace offerings in vv. 18-21), the peace offering was always offered last because it expressed the fact that all was well between God and his worshipper(s). There were various kinds of peace offerings, depending on the worship intended on the specific occasion. The “thank offering” expressed thanksgiving (e.g., Lev 7:11-15; 22:29-30), the “votive offering” fulfilled a vow (e.g., Lev 7:16-18; 22:21-25), and the “freewill offering” was offered as an expression of devotion and praise to God (e.g., Lev 7:16-18; 22:21-25). The so-called “ordination offering” was also a kind of peace offering that was used to consecrate the priests at their ordination (e.g., Exod 29:19-34; Lev 7:37; 8:22-32). See NIDOTTE 1.1066-1073 and 4.135-143.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “if a male if a female, perfect he shall present it before the LORD.” The “or” in our translation is not expressed here, but see v. 6 below.
<sup>3</sup>tn See the remarks on Lev 1:3-5 above for some of the details of translation here.
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the person presenting the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. the note on Lev 1:5).
<sup>5</sup>sn The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “which covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds the various organs (i.e., “which is on the entrails”; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 205-207).
<sup>6</sup>tn Heb “…and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
<sup>7</sup>tn Or translate, “…on the fire—(it is) a gift of a soothing aroma to the LORD” (see Lev 1:13b, 17b, and the note on 1:9b).
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “a flawless male or female he shall present it.”
<sup>9</sup>sn See the note on this phrase in 3:3.
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “…and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “food, a gift to the LORD.”
<sup>12</sup>sn See the note on this phrase in 3:3.
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “…and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
<sup>14</sup>tn The words “This is” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied due to requirements of English style.
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “for your generations.”
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “all fat and all blood you must not eat.”
<sup>1</sup>sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 4:2 through 5:13, and encompasses all the sin offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1 above, and 5:14 and 6:1[5:20] below.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.”
sn The English translations of “by straying” (hg`g`v=B! lit. “in going astray, making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 228-229). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Targum Onqelos “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; RSV, Tanakh “unwittingly”; NIV, NASB, NRSV “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; etc. However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., hm*r` dy~B= “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the Lord. Thus, he “blasphemes” the Lord and has “despised” his word, for which he should be “cut off from among his people” (Num 15:30-31). One could not bring an offering for such a sin. The expression here in Lev 4:2 combines “by straying” with the preposition “from” which fits naturally with “straying” (i.e., “straying from” the Lord’s commandments). For sins committed “by straying” from the commandments (Lev 4 throughout) or other types of transgressions (Lev 5:1-6) there was indeed forgiveness available through the sin offering. See NIDOTTE 2.94-95.
³tn The “when” clause (yK! in Hebrew) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (Heb. <a! vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”
⁴tn Heb “to the guilt of the people.”
⁵tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
⁶sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes transl. “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (taF*j^) was to “purge” (rP#K! “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See NIDOTTE 2.93-103.
⁷tn Heb “from the blood of the bull” and similarly throughout this chapter.
⁸tn The Hebrew verb hzn (hiphil) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast “splash” in Lev 1:5 (qrz).
⁹tn The particle here translated “toward” usually serves as a direct object indicator or a preposition meaning “with.” With the verb of motion it probably means “toward,” “in the direction of” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 234 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 60).
¹⁰tn The Hebrew term tk#r)P* is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see NIDOTTE 3.687-689).
¹¹tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”
¹²tn The MT has here the preposition lu^ (u^l) “on, upon” (i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English), but the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targums read ta# (a#T), which we would expect (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (lu^) the entrails” at the end of the verse.
¹³tn Heb “…and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
¹⁴tn See the notes on Lev 3:3-4 above (cf. also 3:9-10, 14-15).
¹⁵tn All of v. 11 is a so-called casus pendens, which means that it anticipates the next verse, being the full description of “all (the rest of) the bull” (lit. “all the bull”) at the beginning of v. 12 (actually after the first verb of the verse; see the next note below).
¹⁶tn Heb “And he (the offerer) shall bring out all the bull to from outside to the camp to a clean place…”
¹⁷sn That is, to a place that is ceremonially clean.
¹⁸tn Literally, “the pouring out (place) of fatty ash.”
¹⁹sn The verb “strays” is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).
²⁰tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the LORD which must not be done” (cf. v. 2).
²¹tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known.” The Hebrew h*yl#u* “on it” probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 243).
²²tn Heb “and he shall slaughter.” The singular verb seems to refer to an individual who represents the whole congregation, perhaps one of the elders referred to at the beginning of the verse, or the priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”
²³tn The words “in the blood” are not repeated in the Hebrew text at this point, but must be supplied in the English translation for clarity.
²⁴tn The Hebrew verb hzn (hiphil) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast “splash” in Lev 1:5 (qrz).
²⁵tc The MT reads literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger from the blood and sprinkle seven times.” This is awkward. Compare v. 6, which has literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle from the blood seven times.” The MT appears to be corrupt by haplography (i.e., assuming v. 6 to be the correct form, in v. 17 the scribe skipped from “his finger” to “from the blood,” thus missing “in the blood”) and metathesis (i.e., this also resulted in a text where “from the blood” stands before “sprinkle” rather than after it; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 47).
²⁶tn See the note on v. 6 above.
²⁷tn See the note on v. 6 above.
²⁸tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statement in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
²⁹sn See the full rendition of the fat regulations in Lev 4:8-9 above.
³⁰sn This “it” refers to the fat just mentioned, not the animal as a whole (see presently).
³¹sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the (rest of) the bull.”
³²sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
³³tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”
³⁴sn See the note on v. 15.
³⁵tn Heb “And he shall bring out the bull to from outside to the camp.”
³⁶tn This section begins with the relative pronoun rv#a& which usually means “who, which,” but here means “whenever.”
³⁷tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the LORD his God which must not be done.”
³⁸tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
³⁹tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him.”
⁴⁰tn Lev 4:22b-23a is difficult. The translation offered here suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew oa “or” at the beginning of v. 23. Lev 4:22b refers to any case in which the leader readily admits his guilt (i.e., “pleads guilty”), whereas v. 23a refers to cases where the leader is convicted of his guilt by legal action. See NIDOTTE 2.95-96 and Lev 4:27-28 and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
⁴¹tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a flawless male.”
⁴²tn The LXX has a plural form here and also for the same verb later in the verse. See the note on Lev 1:5a.
⁴³tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statements in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
⁴⁴sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
⁴⁵tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the LORD which must not be done.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned is made known to him.”
⁴⁹tn Lev 4:27b-28a is essentially the same as 4:22b-23a (see the notes there).
⁵⁰tn Heb “a she-goat of goats, a flawless female.”
⁵¹tn Heb “on his sin.”
⁵²tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).
⁵³sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
⁵⁴tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here “he” refers to the offerer rather than the priest (contrast the clauses before and after).
⁵⁶sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
⁵⁷tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
¹tn Heb “And a person when he sins.”
sn The same expression occurs in Lev 4:2 where it introduces sins done “by straying from any of the commandments of the LORD which must not be done” (see the notes there). Lev 5:1-13 is an additional section of sin offering regulations directed at violations other than those referred to by this expression in Lev 4:2 (see esp. 5:1-6), and expanding on the offering regulations for the common person in Lev 4:27-35 with concessions to the poor common person (5:7-13).
²tn The words “against one who fails to testify” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to make sense of the remark about the “curse” for the modern reader. For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 292-297.
³tn The words “what had happened” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
⁴tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”
⁵tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment (for the iniquity)” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
⁶tc The insertion of the words “when there is” is a reflection of the few Hebrew MSS, Sam. Pent., and LXX that have yK! “when, if” (cf. vv. 3 and esp. 4) rather than the MT rv#a& “who.”
⁷tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
⁸sn Lev 5:2-3 are parallel laws of uncleanness (contracted from animals and people, respectively), and both seem to assume that the contraction of uncleanness was originally unknown to the person (vv. 2 and 3) but became known to him or her at a later time (v. 3; i.e., “has come to know” in v. 3 is to be assumed for v. 2 as well). Uncleanness itself did not make a person “guilty” unless he or she failed to handle it according to the normal purification regulations (see, e.g., “wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening,” Lev 15:5 NIV; cf. Lev 11:39-40; 15:5-12, 16-24; Num 19, etc.). The problem here in Lev. 5:2-3 is that, because the person had not been aware of his or her uncleanness, he or she had incurred guilt for not carrying out these regular procedures, and it would now be too late for that. Thus, the unclean person needs to bring a sin offering to atone for the contamination caused by his or her neglect of the purity regulations.
⁹tn Heb “or if he touches uncleanness of mankind to any of his uncleanness which he becomes unclean in it.”
¹⁰tn Heb “to speak thoughtlessly.”
¹¹tn Heb “and is guilty to one from these,” probably referring here to any of “these” things about which one might swear a thoughtless oath (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 45), with the word “oath” supplied in the translation for clarity. Another possibility is that “to one from these” is a dittography from v. 5 (cf. the note on v. 5a), and that v. 4 ends with “and is guilty” like vv. 2 and 3 (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 300).
¹²tn Heb “and it shall happen when he becomes guilty to one from these,” referring to any of “these” possible transgressions in Lev 5:1-4. Targum Onqelos, the original Greek translation, and the Latin Vulgate omit this clause, possibly due to homoeoteleuton because of the repetition of “to one from these” from the end of v. 4 in v. 5a (cf. the note on v. 4b).
sn What all the transgressions in Lev 5:1-4 have in common is that the time is past for handling the original situation properly (i.e., testifying in court, following purity regulations, or fulfilling an oath), so now the person has become guilty and needs to follow corrective sacrificial procedures.
¹³tn Heb “which he sinned on it.”
¹⁴tn In this context the word for “guilt” (<v*a*) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential a*v*m (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 303; cf. the note on Lev 5:1).
¹⁵sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
¹⁶tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach enough of a flock animal” (see the note on v. 11 below). The term translated “animal from the flock” (hc c#h) is often translated “lamb” or “sheep,” but it clearly includes either a sheep or a goat here (cf. v. 6), referring to the smaller pasture animals as opposed to the larger ones (i.e., cattle; cf. 4:3).
¹⁷tn Heb “and he shall bring his guilt which he sinned,” which is an abbreviated form of Lev 5:6, “and he shall bring his (penalty for) guilt to the LORD for his sin which he committed.” The words “for his sin” have been left out in v. 7, and “to the LORD” has been moved so that it follows the mention of the birds.
¹⁸tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above.
¹⁹sn The subject (“he”) refers to the priest here, not the offerer who presented the birds to the priest (cf. v. 8a). The action seems to involve both a twisting action, breaking the neck of the bird and severing its vertebrae, as well as pinching or nipping the skin, but in this case not severing the head from the main body (see the end of this verse and the note there).
²⁰tn Heb “he shall not divide [it]” (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 305).
²¹tn The Hebrew verb hzn (hiphil) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter” (cf. Lev 4:6, 17). Contrast “splash” in Lev 1:5, etc. (qrz).
²²tn Heb “the remainder in the blood.” The Heb. preposition “in” (B=) is used here to mean “some among” a whole collection of something.
²³sn The term “(standard) regulation” (fP*v=m!) here refers to the set of regulations for burnt offering birds in Lev 1:14-17.
²⁴sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
²⁵tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
²⁶tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach (or is not sufficient) to.” The expression is the same as that in Lev 5:7 above except for the verb (gcn “to collect, reach; be sufficient” here, but ugn “to touch, reach” in v. 7; the Sam. Pent. has the former in both v. 7 and 11).
²⁷tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above (cf. also 5:7).
²⁸tn Heb “and he shall bring his offering which he sinned.” Like the similar expression in v. 7 above (see the note there), this is an abbreviated form of Lev 5:6, “and he shall bring his (penalty for) guilt to the LORD for his sin which he committed.” Here the words “to the LORD for his sin” have been left out, and “his (penalty for) guilt” has been changed to “his offering.”
²⁹sn A tenth of an ephah would be about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 306).
³⁰tn See the note on Lev 2:1 above.
³¹sn The “memorial portion” (hr`K*z+a^) was the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (Lev 2:2), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23[7-16]). It was probably intended to call to mind (i.e., memorialize) before the Lord the reason for the presentation of the particular offering (see the remarks in NIDOTTE 1.335-339).
<sup>32</sup>sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
<sup>33</sup>tn Heb “from one from these,” referring to the four kinds of violations of the law delineated in Lev 5:1-4 (see the note on Lev 5:5 above and cf. Lev 4:27).
<sup>34</sup>tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
<sup>35</sup>tn Heb “and it”; the referent (the remaining portion of the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>36</sup>tn Heb “and it shall be to the priest like the grain offering,” referring to the rest of the grain that was not offered on the altar (cf. the regulations in Lev 2:3, 10).
<sup>37</sup>sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 5:14 through 5:19, encompassing the first main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 6:1[5:20].
<sup>38</sup>tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, lum). The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see presently). See the note on Lev 10:10.
<sup>39</sup>tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”
<sup>40</sup>sn Heb “from the holy things of the LORD.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the LORD.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 320-327).
<sup>41</sup>tn Here the word for “guilt” (<v*a*) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of <v*a* (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 303).
<sup>42</sup>tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV, Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 326-327, etc.). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 72-73, 81).
sn The sanctuary shekel was about 10 grams (= ca. two fifths of an ounce; NIDOTTE 4.237-238).
<sup>43</sup>sn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes transl. “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “guilt offering” (<v*a*) was to “atone” (rP#K! “to make atonement,” see the note on Lev 1:4 above) for “trespassing” on the Lord’s “holy things” (see later in this verse) or the property of others in the community (Lev 6:1-7[5:20-26]; 19:20-22; Num 5:5-10). It was closely associated with reconsecration of the Lord’s sacred things or his sacred people (see, e.g., Lev 14:12-18; Num 6:11b-12). Moreover, there was usually an associated reparation made for the trespass, including restitution of that which was violated plus one fifth of its value as a fine (Lev 5:16; 6:5[5:24]). See NIDOTTE 1.557-566.
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”
<sup>45</sup>sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
<sup>46</sup>tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
<sup>47</sup>tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the LORD which must not be done.”
<sup>48</sup>tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1. This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the Lord’s commandments, but then came to know it and dealt with it accordingly (cf. the corresponding sin offering section in Lev 5:1-4). Another possibility is that it refers to a situation where a person suspects that he violated something although he does not recollect it. Thus, he brings a guilt offering for his suspected violation (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 331-334, 361-363). See NIDOTTE 1.561-562.
<sup>49</sup>tn See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.
<sup>50</sup>sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
<sup>51</sup>tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.
<sup>52</sup>tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
<sup>53</sup>sn Beginning with 6:1, the verse numbers through 6:30 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 6:1 ET = 5:20 HT, 6:2 ET = 5:21 HT, 6:8 ET = 6:1 HT, etc., through 6:30 ET = 6:23 HT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English text and Hebrew text are again the same.
<sup>54</sup>tn This paragraph is Lev 6:1-7 in the English Bible but Lev 5:20-26 in the Hebrew text. The quotation introduced by v. 1 extends from Lev 6:2(5:21) through 6:7[5:26], encompassing the third main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 5:14 above.
<sup>55</sup>tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root lum). See the note on 5:15.
<sup>56</sup>tn Or “neighbor” (so NIV).
<sup>57</sup>tn Heb “has extorted (or ‘oppressed’) his fellow citizen.”
<sup>58</sup>tn Heb “and swears on falsehood.”
<sup>59</sup>tn Heb “on one from all which the man shall do to sin in them.”
<sup>60</sup>tn Heb “and it shall happen, when he sins and becomes guilty,” which is both resumptive of the previous (vv. 2-3) and the conclusion to the protasis (cf. “then” introducing the next clause as the apodosis). In this case, “becomes guilty” probably refers to his legal status as one who has been convicted of a crime in court. Thus, the transl. “he is found guilty.” See NIDOTTE 1.559-561.
<sup>61</sup>tn Heb “with him.”
<sup>62</sup>tn Heb “or from all which he swears on it to falsehood.”
<sup>63</sup>tn Heb “in its head.” This refers “the full amount” in terms of the “principal”; the original item or amount obtained illegally (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 338 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 84).
<sup>64</sup>tn Heb “to whom it is to him he shall give it in the day of his being guilty.” The transl. offered here is based on the view that he has been found guilty through the legal process (see the note on v. 4 above; cf., e.g., TEV and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 33-34). Others transl. the latter part as “in the day he offers his guilt (reparation) offering” (e.g., NIV and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 73, 84) or “in the day he realizes his guilt” (e.g., NRSV and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 319, 338).
<sup>65</sup>tn The words “into silver shekels” are supplied here. See the full expression in Lev 5:15, and compare 5:18.
<sup>66</sup>sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
<sup>67</sup>tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
<sup>68</sup>tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it.”
<sup>69</sup>sn Lev 6:8 in the English Bible = 6:1 in the Hebrew text. See also the note on 6:1.
<sup>70</sup>tn The following paragraphs are Lev 6:8-30 in the English Bible but 6:1-23 in the Hebrew text.
sn This initial verse makes the special priestly regulations for the people’s burnt and grain offerings into a single unit (i.e., Lev 6:8-18[6:1-11]; cf. Lev 1-2 above). Note also the separate introductions for various priestly regulations in Lev 6:19<sup>12</sup>, 24[17], and for the common people in Lev 7:22, 28 below.
<sup>71</sup>tn Heb “It is the burnt offering on the hearth.”
<sup>72</sup>tn In this context “in it” apparently refers to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar.
<sup>73</sup>tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”
<sup>74</sup>tn Literally, “it” in Hebrew, referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.
<sup>75</sup>tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness of the place involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
<sup>76</sup>tn Here “in it” apparently refers to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar (cf. the note on v. 9).
<sup>77</sup>tn Heb “offering it, the sons of Aaron.” The verb is a hiphil, infinitive, absolute, which is used here in place of the finite verb as either a jussive (GKC §113cc, “let the sons of Aaron offer”) or more likely an injunctive in light of the verbs that follow (Joüon/Muraoka §123v, “the sons of Aaron shall/must offer”).
<sup>78</sup>tn Heb “and he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. The “he” refers to the officiating priest. A similar shift between singular and plural occurs in Lev 1:7-9, but see the note on Lev 1:7 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 89 for the possibility of textual corruption.
<sup>79</sup>tn Heb “shall take up from it with his hand some of the choice wheat flour of the grain offering.”
<sup>80</sup>sn See the note on Lev 2:2.
<sup>81</sup>tc The Sam. Pent. reading, which includes the locative h (transl. “on” the altar), is preferred here. This is the normal construction with the verb “offer up in smoke” in Lev 1-7 (see the note on Lev 1:9).
<sup>82</sup>tn Heb “and he shall offer up in smoke (on) the altar a soothing aroma, its memorial portion, to the LORD.”
<sup>83</sup>tn Heb “It must not be baked leavened” (cf. Lev 2:11).
<sup>84</sup>tn Heb “holiness of holinesses (or holy of holies) it is.”
<sup>85</sup>tn Or, “a perpetual regulation.”
<sup>86</sup>tn Heb “for your generations.”
<sup>87</sup>tn Heb “touches them”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. In this context “them” must refer to the “gifts” of the Lord.
<sup>88</sup>tn Or, “anyone/anything that touches them shall become holy” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 443-456). The question is whether this refers to the contagious nature of holy objects or whether it simply sets forth a demand that anyone who touches the holy gifts of the Lord must be a holy person. See NIDOTTE 2.900-902.
<sup>89</sup>sn See the note on Lev 6:8[1] above.
<sup>90</sup>sn A tenth of an ephah is about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 306).
<sup>91</sup>tn For the rendering “choice wheat flour” see the note on Lev 2:1.
<sup>92</sup>tn The term rendered here “well soaked” (see, e.g., NRSV; the Hebrew term is tk#B#r+m%) occurs only three times (here; 7:12, and 1 Chr 23:29), and is sometimes translate “well-mixed” (e.g., NIV). The meaning is uncertain (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 399-400), but in Lev 7:12 it stands parallel to already prepared grain offerings either “mixed” (the Hebrew term is llb, not tk#B#r+m% as in Lev 6:21[14]) or anointed with oil.
<sup>93</sup>tn Heb “broken bits(?) of a grain offering of pieces,” but meaning of the Hebrew term rendered here “broken bits” (yn}yp!T%) is quite uncertain. Some take it from the Hebrew verb “to break up, crumble” (ttp; e.g., the Syriac and NIV “broken” pieces) and others from “to bake” (hpa; e.g., NRSV “baked” pieces). For a good summary of other proposed options see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 90. Compare Lev 2:5-6 for the general regulations regarding this manner of grain offering. Similar but less problematic terminology is used there.
<sup>94</sup>tn Heb “And the anointed priest under him.”
<sup>95</sup>sn See the note on Lev 6:8[1].
<sup>96</sup>tn Heb “holiness of holinesses (or holy of holies) it is.”
<sup>97</sup>tn Heb “on the garment.”
<sup>98</sup>tc The translation “you shall wash” is based on the MT as it stands. Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and the Vulgate have a third person masculine singular passive form (pual), “(the garment) shall be washed.” This could also be supported from the verbs in the following verse, and it requires only a repointing of the Hebrew text with no change in consonants. See the remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 90 and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 404.
<sup>99</sup>tn Heb “holiness of holinesses (or holy of holies) it is.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “holiness of holinesses (or holy of holies) it is.”
<sup>2</sup>tn This pronoun “he” refers to the officiating priest, who was responsible for any actions involving direct contact with the altar (e.g., the splashing of the blood).
<sup>3</sup>tn See the note on Lev 1:5.
<sup>4</sup>tn This “he” pronoun refers to the offerer, who was responsible for slaughtering the animal. Contrast v. 2 above and v. 5 below.
<sup>5</sup>tn See the notes on Lev 3:3-4.
<sup>6</sup>tn See the note on Lev 1:9 above.
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “holiness of holinesses (or holy of holies) it is.”
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “like the sin offering like the guilt offering, one law to them.”
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “and” rather than “or” (cf. also the next “or”).
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “and all made in the pan.”
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “a man like his brother.”
<sup>12</sup>tn This “he” pronoun refers to the offerer. The Sam. Pent. and LXX have plural “they.”
<sup>13</sup>tn Or, “for a thank offering.”
<sup>14</sup>tn See the notes on Lev 2:4.
<sup>15</sup>tn See the note on Lev 6:21[14].
<sup>16</sup>tn See the note on Lev 2:1. Heb “choice wheat flour well soaked ring-shaped loaves.”
<sup>17</sup>tn The rendering “this (grain) offering” is more literally “his offering,” but it refers to the series of grain offerings listed just previously in v. 12.
<sup>18</sup>tn The words “which regularly come” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity.
<sup>19</sup>sn The translation “(which regularly come) with…” is based on the practice of bringing bread (and wine) to eat with the portions of the peace offering meat eaten by the priests and worshippers (see v. 14 and Num 15:1-13). This was in addition to the memorial portion of the unleavened bread that was offered to the Lord on the altar (cf. Lev 2:2, 9, and the note on 7:12).
<sup>20</sup>tn Literally, the text reads “offering” (/B*r+q*) not “grain offering” (hj*n+m!), but in this context refers once again to the list in 7:12.
<sup>21</sup>tn The term rendered “contribution offering” is hm*WrT=, which generally refers to that which is set aside from the offerings to the Lord as prebends for the officiating priests (cf. esp. Lev 7:28-34 and NIDOTTE 4.335-337).
<sup>22</sup>tn In the verse “his” refers to the offerer.
<sup>23</sup>tn For the distinction between votive and freewill offerings see the note on Lev 22:23 and the literature cited there.
<sup>24</sup>tn Heb “and on the next day and the left over from it shall be eaten.”
<sup>25</sup>tn Or “desecrated,” or “defiled,” or “forbidden.” For this difficult term see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 422.
<sup>26</sup>tn Heb “his iniquity he shall bear” (cf. Lev 5:1).
<sup>27</sup>tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation both here and in the following sentence to clarify that the uncleanness involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
<sup>28</sup>tn The Hebrew has simply “the flesh,” but this certainly refers to “clean” flesh in contrast to the unclean flesh in the first half of the verse.
<sup>29</sup>tn Heb “and his unclean condition is on him.”
<sup>30</sup>sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation), etc. See Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 100; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 457-460; and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 241-242 for further discussion.
<sup>31</sup>sn For these categories of unclean animals see Lev 11.
<sup>32</sup>sn For the interpretation of this last clause see the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>33</sup>sn See the note on Lev 6:8[1] above.
<sup>34</sup>sn The term “carcass” refers to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice.
<sup>35</sup>tn Heb “shall be used for any work.”
<sup>36</sup>sn See the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>37</sup>tn Heb “and any blood you must not eat in any of your dwelling places, to the bird and to the animal.”
<sup>38</sup>sn See the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>39</sup>sn See the note on Lev 6:8[1].
<sup>40</sup>tn Heb “on the breast.”
<sup>41</sup>tc Many Hebrew MSS and some versions (esp. the LXX) limit the offerings in the last part of this verse to the fat portions, specifically, the fat and the fat lobe of the liver (see the BHS footnote). The verse is somewhat awkward in Hebrew but nevertheless correct.
tn Heb “the breast to wave it, a wave offering before the LORD.” Other translations are “to elevate the breast (as) an elevation offering before the LORD,” or “to present the breast (as) a presentation offering before the LORD.” See Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 91, Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 430-431, 461-472, and NIDOTTE 3.63-67.
<sup>42</sup>tn The KJV translates this Hebrew term (hm*WrT=) “heave offering,” derives from the idea of “to raise, lift” found in the verbal root. “Contribution offering” is a better English rendering because it refers to something taken out from (i.e., “lifted up from”; cf. the Hebrew term <yr]h@ in, e.g., Lev 2:9; 4:8, etc.) the offering as a special contribution to the specific priest who presided over the offering procedures in any particular instance (see the next verse and NIDOTTE 4.335-337).
<sup>43</sup>tn Or, “a perpetual regulation.”
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “the day he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>45</sup>tn Heb “in the day of he presented them to serve as priests to the LORD.” The grammar here is relatively unusual. First, the verb “presented” appears to be in the perfect rather than the infinitive (but see GKC §53l), the latter being normal in such temporal expressions. Second, the active verb form appears to be used as a passive plural (“they were presented”). However, if it is translated active and singular then Moses would the subject: “on the day he (Moses) offered them (Aaron and his sons).”
<sup>46</sup>tn Heb “which the LORD commanded to give to them in the day he anointed them from the children of Israel.” Thus, vv. 36 is tied syntactically to v. 35 (see the note there).
<sup>47</sup>tn Heb
<sup>48</sup>tn Heb “for your generations.”
<sup>49</sup>sn The Hebrew term translated “law” (hrwt Tor>) occurs up to this point in the book only in Lev 6:9[2], 14[7], 25[18], 7:1, 7, 11, and here in 7:37. This suggests that Lev 7:37-38 is a summary of only this section of the book (i.e., Lev 6:8[1]-7:36), not all of Lev 1-7.
<sup>50</sup>tn In the MT only “the grain offering” lacks a connecting w+. However, many Hebrew MSS, Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and some Targum Onqelos MSS have the w+ on “the grain offering” as well.
<sup>51</sup>sn The inclusion of the “ordination offering” (<ya!WLm!; the term apparently comes from the notion of “filling [of the hand],” cf. Lev 8:33) here anticipates Lev 8. It is a kind of peace offering, as the regulations in Lev 8:22-32 will show (cf. Exod 29:19-34). In the context of the ordination ritual for the priests it fit into the sequence of offerings as a peace offering would: sin offering (Lev 8:14-17), burnt and grain offering (Lev 8:18-21), and finally peace (i.e., ordination) offering (Lev 8:22-32). Moreover, in this case, Moses received the breast of the ordination offering as his due since he was the presiding priest over the sacrificial procedures (Lev 8:29; cf. Lev 7:30-31), while Aaron and his sons ate the portions that would have been consumed by the common worshippers in a regular peace offering procedure (Exod 29:31-34; cf. Lev 7:15-18). For a general introduction to the peace offering see the note on Lev 3:1.
<sup>1</sup>sn Lev 8 is the fulfillment account of the ordination legislation recorded in Exod 29, and is directly connected to the command to ordain the tabernacle and priesthood in Exod 40:1-16 as well as the partial record of its fulfillment in Exod 40:17-38.
<sup>2</sup>sn For “Tent of Meeting” see the note on Lev 1:1 above.
<sup>3</sup>sn Here Moses actually clothes Aaron (cf. v. 13 below for Aaron’s sons). Regarding the various articles of clothing see , Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 111-112 and esp. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 501-513.
<sup>4</sup>sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27).
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “on him”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
<sup>6</sup>sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).
<sup>7</sup>sn The robe was a long shirt-like over-garment that reached down below the knees. It’s hem had an embroidery of pomegranates and golden bells around the bottom (Exod 28:4, 31-35; 29:5; 39:22-26).
<sup>8</sup>sn The ephod was an apron like garment suspended from shoulder straps. It draped over the robe and extended from the chest down to the thighs (Exod 28:4, 6-14, 25-28; 29:5; 39:2-7).
<sup>9</sup>sn The “decorated band of the ephod” served as a sort of belt around Aaron’s body that would hold the ephod closely to him rather than allowing it to hang loosely across his front (Exod 28:8, 27; 29:5; 39:5, 20).
<sup>10</sup>sn The breastpiece was made of the same material as the ephod and was attached to it by means of gold rings and chains on its four corners (Exod 28:15-30; 29:5; 39:8-21). It had twelve stones attached to it (representing the twelve tribes of Israel), and a pocket in which the Urim and Thummim were kept (see presently).
<sup>11</sup>sn The Urim and Thummim were two small objects used in the casting of lots to discern the will of God (see Exod 28:30; Num 27:21; Deut 33:8; 1 Sam 14:41 in the LXX and 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Neh 7:65). It appears that by casting them one could obtain a yes or no answer, or no answer at all (1 Sam 28:6; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 111-112). See the extensive discussion in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 507-511.
<sup>12</sup>sn The “turban” consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (KBL3 [ET] 624).
<sup>13</sup>sn The “the gold plate” was attached as a “holy diadem” to the front of the turban by means of a blue cord, and had written on it “Holy to the LORD” (Exod 28:36-37; 39:30-31). This was a particularly important article of high priestly clothing in that it served as the main emblem indicating Aaron’s acceptable representation of Israel before the Lord (Exod 28:38).
<sup>14</sup>sn The expression “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the anointing earlier in the verse (cf. “to consecrate them/him” in vv. 11 and 12). “To consecrate” means “to make holy” or “make sacred”; i.e., put something into the category of holy/sacred as opposed to common/profane (see Lev 10:10 below). Thus, the person or thing consecrated is put into the realm of God’s holy things.
<sup>15</sup>tn The MT has here “sash” (sing.), but the context is clearly plural and the Sam. Pent. has it in the plural.
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “wrapped headdresses to them.”
sn Notice that the priestly garments of Aaron’s sons are quite limited compared to those of Aaron himself, the high priest (cf. vv. 7-9 above). The terms for “tunic” and “sash” are the same but not the headgear (cf. Exod 28:40; 29:8-9; 39:27-29).
<sup>17</sup>sn See Lev 4:3-12 above for the sin offering of the priests. In this case, however, the blood manipulation is different because Moses, not Aaron (and his sons), is functioning as the priest. On the one hand, Aaron and his sons are, in a sense, treated as if they were commoners so that the blood manipulation took place at the burnt offering altar in the court of the tabernacle (see v. 15 below), not at the incense altar inside the tabernacle tent itself (contrast Lev 4:5-7 and compare 4:30). On the other hand, since it was a sin offering for the priests, therefore, the priests themselves could not eat its flesh (Lev 4:11-12; 6:30[23]), which was the normal priestly practice for sin offerings of commoners (Lev 6:26[19], 29[22]).
<sup>18</sup>sn Contrary to some English translations (e.g., NASB, NIV), Aaron (not Moses) most likely slaughtered the bull, possibly with the help of his sons, although the verb is sing., not plur. Moses then performed the ritual procedures that involved direct contact with the altar. Compare the pattern in Lev 1:5-9, where the offerer does the slaughtering and the priests perform the procedures that involve direct contact with the altar. In Lev 8 Moses is functioning as the priest in order to consecrate the priesthood. The explicit reintroduction of the name of Moses as the subject of the next verb seems to reinforce this understanding of the passage (cf. also vv. 19 and 23 below).
<sup>19</sup>tn The verb is the piel of afj “to sin,” means “to de-sin” the altar. This verse is important for confirming the main purpose of the sin offering, which was to decontaminate the tabernacle and its furniture from any impurities. See the note on Lev 4:3.
<sup>20</sup>tn Similar to v. 10 above, “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the blood manipulation earlier in the verse. The goal here was to consecrate the altar in order that it might become a place on which it would be appropriate “to make atonement” before the Lord.
<sup>21</sup>tn Again, Aaron probably performed the slaughter and collected the fat parts (v. 16a), but Moses presented it all on the altar (v. 16b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
<sup>22</sup>sn See Lev 3:3-4 for the terminology of fat and kidneys here.
<sup>23</sup>tn Heb “toward the altar” (see the note on Lev 1:9).
<sup>24</sup>sn See Lev 4:11-12, 21; 6:30(23).
<sup>25</sup>tn Aaron probably did the slaughtering (cf. the notes on Lev 8:15-16 above).
<sup>26</sup>tn Again, Aaron probably cut the ram up into parts (v. 20a), but Moses presented them on the altar (v. 20b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
<sup>27</sup>tn Heb “cut it into its parts.” One could translate here, “quartered it” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 133; cf. Lev 1:6, 12 above).
<sup>28</sup>tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
<sup>29</sup>tn See Lev 1:9, 13.
<sup>30</sup>tn For “ordination offering” see Lev 7:37
<sup>31</sup>tn Again, Aaron probably did the slaughtering (cf. the notes on Lev 8:15-16 above).
<sup>32</sup>tn Heb “on the lobe of the ear of Aaron, the right one.”
<sup>33</sup>tn The term for “big toe” (/h#B)) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
<sup>34</sup>tn See Lev 3:9.
<sup>35</sup>tn See Lev 8:16.
<sup>36</sup>tn See Lev 7:32-34.
<sup>37</sup>tn See Lev 2:4.
<sup>38</sup>sn The “palms” refer to the up-turned hands, positioned in such a way that the articles of the offering could be placed on them.
<sup>39</sup>tn The subject of the verb “he waved” is Aaron, but Aaron’s sons also performed the action (see “Aaron and his sons” just previously). See the similar shifts from Moses to Aaron as the subject of the action above (vv. 15, 16, 19, 20, 23), and esp. the note on Lev 8:15.
<sup>40</sup>sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.
<sup>41</sup>tn Heb “toward the altar” (see the note on Lev 1:9).
<sup>42</sup>tn Several major ancient versions have the passive form of the verb (see BHS v. 31 note c; cf. Lev 8:35; 10:13). In that case we would translate, “just as I was commanded.”
<sup>43</sup>tn Heb “but the remainder in the flesh and in the bread.”
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “because seven days he shall fill your hands.”
sn It is apparent that the term for “ordination offering” (<ya!L%m!; cf. Lev 7:37 and the note there) is closely related to the expression “he shall fill (piel aL@m!) your hands” in this verse. Some derive the terminology from the procedure in Lev 8:27-28, but the term for “hands” there is actually “palms.” It seems more likely that it derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities (or possibly its associated prebends) under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with authority; see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 538-539). The command “to keep the charge of the LORD” in v. 35 and the expression “by the hand of Moses” (i.e., under the authoritative hand of Moses, v. 36) may also support this interpretation.
<sup>45</sup>tn Heb “just as he has done” (cf. the note on v. 33).
<sup>46</sup>tn Heb “the LORD has commanded to do” (cf. the note on v. 33).
<sup>1</sup>sn This eighth day is the one after the seven days of ordination referred to in Lev 8:33-35.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “called to.”
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “and a calf and a lamb, sons of a year, flawless.”
<sup>5</sup>tn The verb is either a prophetic perfect (“will appear to you”) as in the MT (cf. Waltke and O’Connor, 490), or a futurum instans participle (“is going to appear to you”) as in the LXX and several other versions (see the BHS footnote; cf. Waltke and O’Connor, 627). In either case, the point is that the Moses was anticipating that the Lord would indeed appear to them on this day (cf. vv. 6, 22-24).
<sup>6</sup>tn Heb “to the faces of.”
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “which the LORD commanded you shall/should do.”
<sup>8</sup>tn/ Heb “and the glory of the LORD will appear,” but the construction with the simple vav plus the imperfect/jussive (ar`y}w+ lit., “and he will appear”) suggests purpose in this context, not just succession of events (i.e., “so that he might appear”).
⁹tn Instead of “on behalf of the people,” the LXX has “on behalf of your house” as in the Hebrew text of Lev 16:6, 11, 17. Many commentaries follow the LXX here (e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 578 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 118), but others argue that, as on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), the offerings of the priests also effected the people, even though there was still the need to have special offerings made on behalf of the people as reflected in the second half of the verse (e.g., Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 56).
¹⁰tn Heb “from.”
¹¹sn See Lev 4:5-12 and the notes there regarding the sin offering for priest(s). The distinction here is that the blood of the sin offering for the priests was applied to the horns of the burnt offering altar in the court of the tabernacle, not the incense altar inside the tabernacle tent itself. See the notes on Lev 8:14-15.
¹²tn The verb is a hiphil form of ax*m* “to find” (i.e., causative, literally “to cause to find,” but here the meaning is “to hand to” or “pass to”; see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 117-118, and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 581-582). The distinction between this verb and “presented” in v. 9 above (see the note there) is that in v. 9 Aaron’s sons held the bowl while Aaron manipulated some of the blood at the altar, while here in v. 12 they simply handed the bowl to him so he could splash all the blood around on the altar (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 581).
¹³tn For “splashed” see the note on Lev 1:5.
¹⁴tn See the note on v. 12.
¹⁵tn Heb “and the burnt offering they handed to him to its parts and the head.”
¹⁶tn The expression “and performed a decontamination rite (with) it” reads literally in the MT, “and decontaminated (with) it.” The verb is the piel of afj (qal = “to sin”), which means “to decontaminate, purify” (i.e., “to de-sin”; see the note on Lev 8:15).
¹⁷sn The phrase “like the first one” at the end of the verse refers back to the sin offering for the priests in vv. 8-11 above. The blood of the sin offering of the common people was applied to the burnt offering altar just like that of the priests.
¹⁸tn The term “standard regulation” (fp*v=m!) here refers to the set of regulations for burnt offering goats in Lev 1:10-13.
¹⁹sn The latter part of the verse (“in addition to the morning burnt offering”) refers to the complex of morning (and evening) burnt and grain offerings that was the daily regulation for the tabernacle from the time of its erection (Exod 40:29). The regulations for it were appended to the end of the section of priestly consecration regulations in Exod 29 (see Exod 29:38-40) precisely because they were to be maintained throughout the priestly consecration period and beyond (Lev 8:33-36). Thus, the morning burnt and grain offerings would already have been placed on the altar before the inaugural burnt and grain offerings referred to here.
²⁰tn See the note on Lev 9:12.
²¹tn Heb “And the fat from the ox and from the ram.”
²²tn The text here has only the participle “the cover” or “that which covers,” which is elliptical for “the fat which covers the entrails” (see Lev 3:3, 9, 14; 7:3).
²³tn The plur. “they” refers to the sons of Aaron (cf. v. 18). Several early versions (the LXX, Sam. Pent., and Syriac) have sing. “he,” referring to Aaron alone as in the latter half of the verse.
²⁴tn Heb “from to the faces of the LORD.” The rendering here is based on the use of “my faces” and “your faces” referring to the very “presence” of the Lord in Exod 33:14-15.
²⁵tn Many translations and commentaries render here “shouted for joy” or “shouted joyfully,” but the fact the people “feel on their faces” immediately afterward suggests that they were frightened as, for example, in Exod 19:16b; 20:18-21.
¹tn Although it has been used elsewhere in this translation as an English variation from the ubiquitous use of vav in Hebrew, in this instance “then” as a rendering for vav is intended to show that the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe took place on the inauguration day described in Lev 9. The tragic incident in Lev 10 happened in close temporal connection to the Lord’s fire that consumed the offerings at the end of Lev 9. Thus, for example, the “sin offering” male goat referred to in Lev 10:16-19 is the very one referred to in Lev 9:15.
²sn The expression “strange fire” (hr`z` va@) seems imprecise and has been interpreted numerous ways (see the helpful summary in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC 132-133). The infraction may have involved any of the following or a combination thereof: (1) using coals from someplace other than the burnt offering altar (i.e., “unauthorized coals” according to Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 598; cf. Lev 16:12 and cf. “unauthorized person” rz` vya! in Num 16:40[17:5], NASB “layman”), (2) using the wrong kind of incense (cf. the Exod 30:9 regulation against “strange incense” hr`z` tr#f)q= on the incense altar and the possible connection to Exod 30:34-38), (3) performing an incense offering at an unprescribed time (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 59), or (4) entering the Holy of Holies at an inappropriate time (Lev 16:1-2).
<sup>3</sup>tn See the note on 9:24a.
<sup>4</sup>tn The niphal verb of the Hebrew root vdq can mean either “to be treated as holy” (so here, e.g., BDB 873, LXX, NASB, and NEB) or “to show oneself holy” (so here, e.g., KBL3 [ET] 1073b, NIV, NRSV; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 595, 601-603; and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 133-134). The latter rendering seems more likely here since, in the immediate context, the Lord Himself had indeed shown Himself to be holy by the way He responded to the illegitimate incense offering of Nadab and Abihu. They had not treated the Lord as holy so the Lord acted on His own behalf to show that He was indeed holy.
<sup>5</sup>tn In this context the niphal of the Hebrew root dbk can mean “to be honored” (e.g., NASB and NIV here), “be glorified” (NRSV here), or “glorify oneself, show one’s glory” (e.g., specifically in this verse KBL3 [ET] 455b; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 595, 603-604; and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 126, 134). Comparing this clause with the previous one (see the note above), the point may be that when the Lord shows himself to be holy as he has done in 10:1-2, this results in him being honored (i.e., reverenced, feared, treated with respect) among the people. This suggests the passive rendering. It is possible, however, that one should use the reflexive rendering here as in the previous clause. If so, the passage means that the Lord showed both his holiness and his glory in one outbreak against Nadab and Abihu.
<sup>6</sup>tn The Sam. Pent. has “you must not” (aO) rather than the MT “do not” (la^; cf. the following negative aO in the MT).
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “do not let free your heads.” Some have taken this to mean, “do not take off your headgear,” but it probably also involves leaving one’s hair unkempt as a sign of mourning (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 608-609).
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “shall weep (for) the burning which the LORD has burned.”
<sup>9</sup>tn The Hebrew grammar here suggests that the last portion of v. 9 (lit. “a perpetual statute for your generations”) functions as both a conclusion to v. 9 and an introduction to vv. 10-11. It is a pivot clause, as it were. Thus, it was a “perpetual statute” to not drink alcoholic beverages when ministering in the tabernacle, but it was also a “perpetual statue” to distinguish between holy and profane and unclean and clean (v. 10) as well as to teach the children Israel all such statutes (v. 11).
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “and” rather than “as well as,” but see the note on v. 9.
<sup>11</sup>sn The two pairs of categories in this verse refer to: (1) the status of a person, place, thing, or time—“holy” (vd\q)) versus “common” (lj)); as opposed to (2) the condition of a person, place, or thing—“unclean” (am@f*) versus “clean” (rohf*). Someone or something could gain “holy” status by being “consecrated” (i.e., made holy; e.g., the Hebrew piel vD}q! in Lev 8:15, 30), and to treat someone or something that was holy as if it were “common” would be to “profane” that person or thing (the Hebrew piel lL@h!, e.g., in Lev 19:29 and 22:15). Similarly, on another level, someone or something could be in a “clean” condition, but one could “defile” (the Hebrew piel aM@f!, e.g., in Gen 34:5 and Num 6:9) that person or thing and thereby make it “unclean.” To “purify” (the Hebrew piel rh@f!, e.g., in Lev 16:19 and Num 8:6, 15) that unclean person or thing would be to make it “clean” once again. With regard to the animals (Lev 11), some were by nature “unclean,” so they could never be eaten, but others were by nature “clean” and, therefore, edible (Lev 11:2, 46-47). The meat of clean animals could become inedible by too long of a delay in eating it, in which case the Hebrew term lWGP! “foul, spoiled” is used to describe it (Lev 7:18; 19:7; cf. also Ezek 4:14 and Isa 65:4), not the term for “unclean” (rohf*). Strictly speaking, therefore, unclean meat never becomes clean, and clean meat never becomes unclean.
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “statute” (cf. 10:9, 11).
<sup>13</sup>tn For the rendering of the Hebrew hv#a! as “gift” rather than “offering (made) by fire,” see the note on Lev 1:9.
<sup>14</sup>sn Cf. Lev 2:3 and 6:14-18[7-11] for these regulations.
<sup>15</sup>tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the cleanness of the place specified is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
<sup>16</sup>sn Cf. Lev 7:14, 28-34 for these regulations.
<sup>17</sup>sn This is the very same male goat offered in Lev 9:15 (cf. the note on Lev 10:1 above).
<sup>18</sup>tn Heb “but behold, it had been burnt.”
<sup>19</sup>sn This translation is quite literal. On the surface it appears to mean that the priests would “bear the iniquity” of the congregation by the act of eating the sin offering (so Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 622-625, 635-640). Such a notion is, however, found nowhere else in the levitical regulations and seems unlikely (so Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 136). A more likely interpretation is reflected in this interpretive rendering: “he gave it to you (as payment) for (your work of) bearing the iniquity of the congregation.” The previous section of the chapter deals with the prebends that the priests received for performing the ministry of the tabernacle (Lev 10:12-15). Lev 10:16-18, therefore, seems to continue the very same topic in the light of the most immediate situation (see NIDOTTE 2.702-704).
<sup>20</sup>tn Or “Behold!”
<sup>21</sup>sn The term here rendered “within” refers to the bringing of the blood inside the holy place for application to the altar of incense rather than to the altar of burnt offering in the courtyard of the tabernacle (cf. Lev 4:7, 16-18; 6:30[23]).
<sup>22</sup>tn Or “Behold!”
<sup>23</sup>tn Heb “today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, and like these things have happened to me, and (if) I had eaten sin offering today would it be good in the eyes of the LORD?” The idiom “would it be good in the eyes of (the LORD)” has been translated “would (the LORD) have been pleased.”
<sup>24</sup>Heb “it was good in his eyes” (an idiom).
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “the animal,” but as a collective plural, and so throughout this chapter.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “every divider of hoof and cleaver of the cleft of hooves.”
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “bringer up of the cud” (a few of the early versions have the copula “and” written, but it does not appear in the MT). The following verses make it clear that both dividing the hoof and chewing the cud were required; one would not be enough to make the animal suitable for eating without the other.
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “this,” but as a collective plural (see the following context).
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “because a chewer of the cud it is” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
<sup>6</sup>tn Heb “and hoof there is not dividing” (see also vv. 5 and 6).
<sup>7</sup>sn Regarding “clean” versus “unclean,” see the note on Lev 10:10.
<sup>8</sup>sn A small animal generally understood to be Hyrax syriacus; KJV, NIV “coney”; NKJV “rock hyrax”; NASB (1995 update) “shaphan.”
<sup>9</sup>tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
<sup>10</sup>tn The meaning and basic rendering of this clause is quite certain, but the verb for “chewing” the cud here is not the same as the preceding verses, where the expression is “to bring up the cud” (see the note on v. 3 above). It appears to be a cognate verb for the noun “cud” (hr`G}) and could mean either “to drag up” (i.e., from the Hebrew qal of rrg meaning “to drag,” referring to the dragging the cud up and down between the stomach and mouth of the ruminant animal; so Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 647, 653) or “to chew” (i.e., from the Hebrew niphal [or qal B] of rrg used in a reciprocal sense; so Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 149, and compare BDB 176 “to chew” with KBL3 [ET] 204 “to ruminate”).
¹¹sn The regulations against touching the carcasses of dead unclean animals (contrast the restriction against eating their flesh) is treated in more detail in Lev 11:24-28 (cf. also vv. 29-40). For the time being, this chapter continues to develop the issue of what can and cannot be eaten.
¹²tn Heb “all which have fin and scale” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
¹³tn Heb “in he water, in the seas and in the streams” (see also vv. 10 and 12).
¹⁴tn For zoological remarks on the following list of birds see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 662-664 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 159-160.
¹⁵tn Heb “and the buzzard to its kind” (see also vv. 16 and 19 for the same expression “of any kind”).
¹⁶tn Heb “every crow to its kind.”
¹⁷tn Literally, “the daughter of the wasteland.”
¹⁸tn Heb “the one walking on four” (cf. vv. 21-23 and 27-28).
¹⁹tn Heb “which to it are lower legs from above to its feet” (reading the Qere “to it” rather than the Kethiv “not”).
²⁰tn For entomological remarks on the following list of insects see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 665-666 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 160-161.
²¹tn Heb “and to these.”
²²tn Heb “to all” (cf. the note on v. 24). This and the following verses develop more fully the categories of uncleanness set forth in principle in vv. 24-25.
²³tn Heb “divides hoof and cleft it does not cleave.”
²⁴tn See the note on Lev 11:3.
²⁵sn Compare the regulations in Lev 11:2-8.
²⁶tn Heb “the one walking on four.” Compare Lev 11:20-23.
²⁷tn For zoological analyses of the list of creatures in vv. 29-30 see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 671-672 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 161-162.
²⁸tn Heb “And all which it shall fall on it from them.”
²⁹tn Heb “in water it shall be brought.”
³⁰tn Heb “And any earthenware vessel which shall fall from them into its midst.”
³¹tn Heb “all which is in its midst.”
³²tn Heb “which water comes on it.”
³³tn This half of the verse assumes that the unclean carcass has fallen into the food or drink (cf. v. 33 and also vv. 35-38).
³⁴tn Heb “be unclean.”
³⁵tn Heb “a spring and a cistern collection of water.”
³⁶tn Heb “And if there falls from their carcass on any seed of sowing which shall be sown.”
³⁷tn This word for “animal” refers to land animal quadrupeds, not just any beast that dwells on the land (cf. 11:2).
³⁸tn Heb “which is food for you” or “which is for you to eat.”
³⁹tn Heb “goes.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “goes.”
⁴¹tn Heb “until all multiplying of legs.”
⁴²tn Heb “by any of the swarming things that swarm.”
⁴³tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
⁴⁴sn The Hebrew term translated “law” (hrwt Tor>) introduces here a summary or colophon for all of Lev. 11. Similar summaries are found in Lev. 7:37-38; 13:59; 14:54-57; and 15:32-33.
⁴⁵tn Heb “for all the creatures.”
¹tn Heb “produces seed” (hi. of urz; used only elsewhere in Gen 1:11-12 for plants “producing” their own “seed”), referring to the process of childbearing as a whole, from conception to the time of birth (TDOT 4.144; cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 164-165 and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 742-743). The Sam. Pent. and LXX have niphal “be impregnated” (see, e.g., Num 5:28).
²sn The regulations for the “male child” in vv. 2-4 contrast with those for the “female child” in v. 5 (see the note there).
³tn Heb “as the days of the menstrual flow (nom.) of her menstruating (q. inf.) she shall be unclean” (NIDOTTE 1.925-926; the verb appears only in this verse in the OT).
sn See Lev 15:19-24 for the standard purity regulations for a woman’s menstrual period.
⁴tn Heb “and in…”
⁵tn This rendering, “the flesh of his foreskin,” is literal. Based on Lev 15:2-3, one could argue that the Hebrew word for “flesh” here (rc*B*) is euphemistic for the male genital member and, therefore, translate “the foreskin of his member” (see, e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 748).
⁶tn Heb “sit, dwell” (bvy normally means “to sit, dwell”), but here it means “to remain, stay” in the same condition for a period of time (cf., e.g., Gen 24:55).
⁷tn Heb “in bloods of purification” or “purifying” or “purity.” See the following note.
⁸sn The initial seven days after the birth of a son were days of blood impurity for the woman as if she was on her menstrual period. Her impurity was contagious during this period, so no one should touch her or even furniture on which she has sat or reclined (Lev 15:19-23), lest they too become impure. Even her husband would become impure for seven days if he had sexual relations with her during this time (Lev 15:24; cf. 18:19). The next thirty three days were either “days of purification, purifying” or “days of purity,” depending on how one understands the abstract noun hr`h(f) “purification, purity” in this context. During this time the woman could not touch anything holy or enter the sanctuary, but she was no longer contagious like she had been during the first seven days. She could engage in normal everyday life, including sexual intercourse, without fear of contaminating anyone else (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 73-74; cf. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 749-750). Thus, in a sense, the thirty three days were a time of blood “purity” as compared to the previous seven days, but they were also a time of blood “purification” (or “purifying”) as compared to the time after the thirty three days, when the blood atonement had been made and she was pronounced “clean” by the priest (see vv. 6-8 below). In other words, the thirty three day period was a time of “blood” (flow), but this was “pure blood,” as opposed to the blood of the first seven days.
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “on purity blood.” The preposition here is lu^ rather than B= (as it is in the middle of v. 4), but no doubt the same meaning is intended.
<sup>10</sup>tn For clarification of the translation here, see the notes on vv. 2-4 above.
sn The doubling of the time after the birth of a female child is puzzling (see the remarks in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 750-751 and Wenham, Leviticus NICOT, 188). Some have argued, for example, that it derives from the relative status of the sexes, or a supposed longer blood flow for the birth of a woman, or even to compensate for the future menstrual periods of the female just born. Perhaps there is a better explanation. First, a male child must be circumcised on the eighth day, so the impurity of the mother could not last beyond the first seven days lest it interfere with the circumcision rite. A female child, of course, was not circumcised, so the impurity of the mother could not interfere and the length of the impure time could be extended further. Second, it would be natural to expect that the increased severity of the blood flow after childbirth, as compared to that of a woman’s menstrual period, would call for a longer period of impurity than the normal seven days of the menstrual period impurity (compare Lev 15:19 with 15:25-30). Third, this suggests that the fourteen day impurity period for the female child would have been more appropriate, and the impurity period for the birth of a male child had to be shortened. Fourth, not only the principle of multiples of seven but also multiples of forty applies to this reckoning. Since the woman’s blood discharge after bearing a child continues for more than seven days, her discharge keeps her from contact with sacred things for a longer period of time in order to avoid contaminating the tabernacle (note Lev 15:31). This ended up totaling forty days for the birth of a male child (seven plus thirty three) and a corresponding doubling of the second set of days for the woman (fourteen plus sixty six). See NIDOTTE 2.368-370. The fact that the offerings were the same for either a male or a female infant (vv. 6-8) suggests that the other differences in the regulations are not due to the notion that a male child had greater intrinsic value than a female child (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 169).
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “And when…”
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “a lamb the son of his year.”
<sup>13</sup>sn See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
<sup>14</sup>sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “and he” (i.e., the priest mentioned at the end of v. 6).
<sup>16</sup>sn See the note on Lev 1:4 “make atonement.” The purpose of sin offering “atonement,” in particular, was to purge impurities from the tabernacle (see Lev 15:31 and 16:5-19, 29-34), whether they were caused by physical uncleannesses or sins and iniquities. In this case, the woman has not “sinned” morally by having a child. Even Mary brought such offerings for bearing Jesus (Luke 2:22-24). She certainly did not “sin” in giving birth to our savior. Note that the result of bringing this “sin offering” was “she will be clean,” not “she will be forgiven” (cf. Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13). The impurity of the blood flow has caused the need for this “sin offering,” not some moral or relational infringement of the law (contrast Lev 4:2, “‘When a person sins by straying from any of the commandments of the LORD”).
<sup>17</sup>tn Or “she will be(come) pure.”
<sup>18</sup>tn Heb “from her source (i.e., spring) of blood,” possibly referring to the female genital area, not just the “flow of blood” itself (as suggested by Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 761).
<sup>19</sup>tn Heb “If her hand cannot find the sufficiency of a sheep.”
<sup>20</sup>tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 168 with Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
<sup>21</sup>tn Or “she will be(come) pure.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “A man, if (or when) he has…” The term for “a man, human being” (<d*a*; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female, since either could be afflicted with infections on the skin.
<sup>2</sup>tn It is sometimes difficult to know how to render some of the terms for disease or symptoms of disease in this chapter. Most modern English versions render the Hebrew ta@c= “swelling” (from acn “to lift up”), which has been retained here (see the explanation in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 189). Some have argued that “deeper (qm)u*) than the skin of his body” in v. 3 means that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 773), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of ta@c= in v. 2. Similarly, ta@c= also occurs in v. 19, and then v. 20 raises the issue of whether or not it appears to be “lower (lp*v*) than the skin” (cf. also 14:37 for a mark on the wall of a house), which may mean that the sore sinks below the surface of the skin rather than protruding above it as a swelling (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 76-77). Thus, one could translate here, for example, “discoloration” (Milgrom and II ta@c= “spot, blemish on the skin” in KBL3 [ET] 1301b) or “local inflammation, boil, mole” (Levine). However, one could interpret “lower” (lp*v*) as “deeper” (qm)u*; i.e., visibly extending below the surface of the skin into the deeper layers as suggested by Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 188, 192). “Swelling” often extends deeply below the surface of the skin, it is certainly a common symptom of skin diseases, and the alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25-26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon (see also the note on v. 20 below).
<sup>3</sup>tn The etymology and meaning of this term is unknown. It could mean “scab” or possibly “rash,” “flaking skin,” or an “eruption” of some sort.
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “shiny spot” or “white spot,” but to render this term “white spot” in this chapter would create redundancy in v. 4 where the regular term for “white” occurs alongside this word for “bright spot.”
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “in the skin of his flesh” as opposed to the head or the beard (v. 29).
<sup>6</sup>tn Heb “a mark (or ‘stroke’ or ‘plague’) of disease.”
sn Although the Hebrew term tu^r`x* rendered here “diseased” is translated in many English versions as “leprosy,” it does not refer to Hanson’s disease, which is the modern technical understanding of the term “leprosy” (KBL3 [ET] 1057a). There has been much discussion of the proper meaning of the term and the disease(s) to which it may refer (see, e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 774-776, 816-826; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 187-189 and the literature cited by them). The further description of the actual condition in the text suggests that the regulations are concerned with any kind of infectious diseases that are observable on the surface of the skin and, in addition to that, penetrate below the surface of the skin (vv. 3-4) or spread further across the surface of the skin (vv. 5-8). It is true that, in the OT, the term “disease” is often associated specifically with white “scaly” skin diseases that resemble the wasting away of the skin after death (see Milgrom who, in fact, translates “scale disease”; cf., e.g., Exod 4:6-7 and Num 12:9-12, esp. v. 12), but here it appears to be a broader term for any skin disease that penetrates deep or spreads far on the body. Scaly skin diseases would be included in this category, but also other types. Thus, a “swelling,” “scab,” or “bright spot” on the skin might be a symptom of disease, but not necessarily so. In this sense, “diseased” is a technical term. The term “infection” can apply to any “mark” on the skin whether it belongs to the category of “disease” or not (compare and contrast v. 3, where the “infection” is not “diseased,” with v. 4, where the “infection” is found to be “diseased”).
⁷tn The alternative rendering, “it shall be reported to Aaron the priest…” may be better in light of the parallel use of the same expression in Lev 14:2, where the priest had to go outside the camp in order to inspect the person who had been diseased. Since the rendering “he shall be brought to Aaron the priest…” might confuse matter there, this expression should be rendered “it shall be reported…” both here in 13:2 (cf. also v. 9) and in 14:2. See, however, the further note on 14:2 below, where it is argued that the diseased person would still need to “be brought” to the priest even if this happened outside the camp.
⁸tn Heb “and the priest shall see the infection.”
⁹tn There is no “if” expressed, but the contrast between the priestly finding in this verse and the next verse clearly implies it.
¹⁰tn Heb “and the appearance of the infection is deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin of the his flesh.” See the note on v. 20 below.
¹¹tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
¹²tn The pronoun “it” here refers to the “infection,” not the person who has the infection (cf. the object of “examine” at the beginning of the verse).
¹³tn Heb “he shall make him unclean.” The verb is the piel of amf “to be unclean.” Here it is a so-called “declarative” piel (i.e., “to declare unclean”), but it also implies that the person is put into the category of actually being “unclean” by the pronouncement itself (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 175; cf. the corresponding opposite in v. 6 below).
¹⁴tn Heb “and if.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and deep is not its appearance from the skin.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection seven days.”
¹⁷tn Heb “and behold.”
¹⁸tn Heb “and behold the infection has stood in his eyes.”
¹⁹tn Although there is no expressed “and” at the beginning of this clause, there is in the corresponding clause of v. 6 so it should be assumed here as well.
²⁰tn Heb “a second seven days.”
²¹tn That is, at the end of the second set of seven days referred to at the end of v. 5.
²²tn Heb “and behold.”
²³tn Heb “he shall make him clean.” The verb is the piel of rhf “to be clean.” Here it is a so-called “declarative” piel (i.e., “to declare clean”), but it also implies that the person is put into the category of being “clean” by the pronouncement itself (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 176; cf. the corresponding opposite in v. 3 above).
²⁴tn On the term “scab” see the note on v. 2 above.
²⁵tn Heb “and he shall wash his clothes.”
²⁶tn Heb “And if spreading (inf. abs.) it spreads (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
²⁷tn The “it” is not expressed but is to be understood. It refers to the “infection” (cf. the note on v. 2 above).
²⁸tn Heb “and behold.”
²⁹tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
³⁰tn Heb “When there is an infection of disease in a man.” The term for “a man, human being” (<d*a*; see the note on Lev 1:2 and cf. v. 2 above) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
³¹tn Heb “and the priest shall see.” The pronoun “it” is unexpressed, but it should be assumed and it refers to the infection (cf. the note on v. 8 above).
³²tn Heb “and behold.”
³³tn Heb “and rawness (i.e., something living) of living flesh is in the swelling.”
³⁴tn The term rendered here “chronic” is a niphal participle meaning “grown old” (KBL3 [ET] 448a). The idea is that this is an old enduring skin disease that keeps on developing or recurring.
³⁵tn Heb “in the skin of his flesh” as opposed to the head or the beard (v. 29; cf. v. 2 above).
³⁶tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
³⁷sn Instead of just the normal quarantine isolation (see “just” in parenthesis), this condition calls for the more drastic and enduring response stated in Lev 13:45-46. Raw flesh, of course, sometimes oozes blood to one degree or another, and blood flows are by nature impure (see, e.g., Lev 12 and 15; cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 191).
³⁸tn Heb “And if spreading (inf. abs.) it spreads out (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
³⁹tn Heb “all the skin of the infection,” but see v. 4 above.
⁴⁰tn Heb “to all the appearance of the eyes of the priest.”
⁴¹tn Heb “and the priest shall see.” The pronoun “it” is unexpressed, but it should be assumed and it refers to the infection (cf. the note on v. 8 above).
⁴²tn Heb “and behold.”
⁴³tn Heb “he shall pronounce the infection clean,” but see v. 4 above. Also, this is another use of the declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
⁴⁴tn Heb “all of him has turned white, and he is clean.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “and in the day of there appears in it living flesh.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “and the priest shall see the living flesh.”
⁴⁷tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
⁴⁸tn Heb “Or if/when.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “the living flesh returns and is turned/changed to white.” The Hebrew verb “returns” is bWv, which often functions adverbially when combined with a second verb as it is here (cf. “and is turned”) and, in such cases, is usually rendered “again” (see, e.g., GKC 120g and J. C. L. Gibson, Davidson’s Introductory Hebrew Grammar~Syntax, 4th edition [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994], 96-97, pp. 119-121). Another suggestion is that here bWv means “to recede” (cf., e.g., 2 Kings 20:9), so one could translate “the raw flesh recedes and turns white.” This would mean that the new “white” skin “has grown over” the raw flesh (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 79).
⁵⁰tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”
⁵¹tn Heb “and behold.”
⁵²tn Heb “the priest shall pronounce the infection clean,” but see v. 4 above. Also, this is another use of the declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
⁵³tn Heb (MT) reads, “And flesh if/when there is in it, in its skin, a boil.” The Sam. Pent. has only “in it,” not “in its skin,” and a few medieval Hebrew MSS as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have only “in its skin” (cf. v. 24 below), not “in it.” It does not effect the meaning of the verse, but one is tempted to suggested that “in it” (ob) was added in error as a partial dittography from the beginning of “in its skin” (oru)b=).
⁵⁴tn Some translate, “it shall be shown to (or ‘be seen by’) the priest,” taking the infection to be the subject of the verb (KJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV). From there grammar there is no way to be sure which is intended.
⁵⁵tn Heb “and the priest shall see.” The pronoun “it” is unexpressed, but it should be assumed and it refers to the infection (cf. the note on v. 8 above).
⁵⁶tn Heb “and behold.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “and behold its appearance is low (lp*v*) ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘lower than’) the skin.” Compare “deeper” in v. 3 above where, however, a different word is used (qm)u*), and see the note on “swelling” in v. 1 above (cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 192; note that, contrary to the MT, Targum Onqelos has qmu “deeper” in this verse as well as v. 4). The alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25-26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon. Some have argued that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 773, 788), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of ta@c= in v. 19. It seems unlikely, however, that the surface of a “boil” would sink below the surface of the surrounding skin. The infectious pus etc. that makes up a boil normally causes “swelling.”
⁵⁸tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
⁵⁹tn Heb “It is an infection of disease. In the boil it has broken out.” For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
⁶⁰tn Heb “and if.”
⁶¹tn Heb “and behold.”
⁶²tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”
⁶³tn Heb “and if.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “is indeed spreading.”
⁶⁵tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
⁶⁶tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread.”
⁶⁷tn The declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
⁶⁸tn Heb “Or a body, if there is in its skin a burn of fire.”
⁶⁹tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”
⁷⁰tn Heb “and behold.”
⁷¹tn Heb “and its appearance is deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin.”
⁷²tn Heb “it is a disease. In the burn it has broken out.”
⁷³tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
⁷⁴tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
⁷⁵tn Heb “and if.”
⁷⁶tn Heb “and behold.”
⁷⁷tn Heb “and low it is not ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘lower than’) the skin.” See the note on v. 20 above.
⁷⁸tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”
⁷⁹tn Heb “is indeed spreading.”
⁸⁰tn For the rendering “diseased infection” see the note on v. 2 above.
⁸¹tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread in the skin.”
⁸²tn The declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
⁸³tn Heb “And a man or a woman if there is in him an infection in head or in beard.”
sn The shift here is from diseases that are on the (relatively) bare skin of the body to the scalp area of the male or female head or the bearded area of the male face.
⁸⁴tn Heb “and the priest shall see the infection.”
⁸⁵tn Heb “and behold.”
⁸⁶tn Heb “its appearance is deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin.”
⁸⁷tn The declarative piel of the verb amf (cf. the note on v. 3 above).
⁸⁸tn The exact identification of this disease is unknown. For a discussion of “scall” disease in the hair, which is a crusty scabby disease of the skin under the hair that also effects the hair itself, see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 192-193 and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 793-794. The Hebrew word rendered “scall” (qt#n\) is related to a verb meaning “to tear, tear out, tear apart.” It may derive from the scratching and/or the tearing out of the hair or the scales of the skin in response to the itching sensation caused by the disease.
⁸⁹tn Heb “It is scall. It is the disease of the head or the beard.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “and behold there is not its appearance deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin.”
⁹¹tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection of the scall seven days.”
⁹²tn Heb “and behold.”
⁹³tn Heb “and the appearance of the scall is not deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin.”
⁹⁴tn The shaving is done by the one who has the infection.
⁹⁵tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the scall a second seven days.”
⁹⁶tn Heb “and behold.”
⁹⁷tn Heb “and its appearance is not deep ‘from’ (comparative /m! meaning ‘deeper than’) the skin.”
⁹⁸tn The declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
⁹⁹tn Heb “And if spreading (inf. abs.) it spreads further (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
¹⁰⁰tn Heb “and behold.”
¹⁰¹tn Heb “the priest shall not search to the reddish yellow hair.”
¹⁰²tn Heb “and if in his eyes the infection has stood.”
¹⁰³tn The declarative piel of the verb rhf (cf. the note on v. 6 above).
¹⁰⁴tn Heb “and the priest shall see.”
¹⁰⁵tn Heb “and behold.”
¹⁰⁶tn The pronoun is “he,” but the regulation applies to a man or a woman (v. 38a).
¹⁰⁷tn Heb “And a man, when his head is rubbed bare, he is bald-headed.” The translation offered here, referring to the back of the head (i.e., the area from the top of the head sloping backwards), is based on the contrast between this condition and that of the following verse. See also Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 82.
¹⁰⁸tn Heb “And if from the front edge of his face, his head is rubbed bare.” See the note on v. 40 above.
¹⁰⁹tn The rendering “balding in front” corresponds to the location of the bareness at the beginning of the verse.
¹¹⁰tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.” The MT has “him, it” which some take to refer to the person as a whole (i.e., “him”; see, e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 770, NIV, NRSV, etc.), while others take it as a reference to the “infection” (ug~n\) in v. 42 (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 172, 177). The Sam. Pent. has “her, it,” which would probably refer to “disease” (tu^r~x*) in v. 42. The general pattern in the chapter suggests that “it,” either the infection or the disease, is the object of the examination (see, e.g., v. 3 above and v. 50 below).
¹¹¹tn Heb “and behold.”
¹¹²tn Heb “like appearance of disease of skin of flesh.”
¹¹³tn Or perhaps translate, “His infection (is) on his head,” as a separate independent sentence. There is no causal expression in the Hebrew text connecting these two clauses, but the logical relationship between them seems to be causal.
¹¹⁴tn Heb “And the diseased one who in him is the infection.”
¹¹⁵tn Heb “and his head shall be unbound, and he shall cover on (his) mustache.” Tearing one’s garments, allowing the hair to hang loose rather than bound up in a turban, and covering the mustache on the upper lip are all ways of expressing shame, grief, or distress (cf., e.g., Lev 10:6 and Micah 3:7).
¹¹⁶tn Heb “All the days which the infection is in him.”
¹¹⁷tn Heb “And the garment, if there is in it a mark of disease.”
¹¹⁸tn Heb “in a wool garment or in a linen garment.”
¹¹⁹sn The warp (vertical) and woof (horizontal) thread may be two different sets of thread not yet woven together, or they may refer to two different kinds of thread already woven, in which case one might have the disease in it while the other does not. See the explanation in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 809-810.
¹²⁰tn Heb “in any handiwork of skin.”
¹²¹tn Heb “and the infection is.”
¹²²tn Heb “And the priest shall see the infection and he shall shut up the infection seven days.”
¹²³tn Heb “to all which the leather was made into a handiwork.”
¹²⁴tn Heb “And if the priest sees and behold…”
¹²⁵tn Heb “a second seven days.”
¹²⁶tn Heb “and behold.”
¹²⁷tn Heb “the infection has not changed its eye.” The Sam. Pent. has “its/his eyes,” as in vv. 5 and 37, but here it refers to the appearance of the article of cloth or leather, unlike vv. 5 and 37 where there is a preposition attached and it refers to the eyes of the priest.
¹²⁸tn The terms “backside” and “front side” are the same as those used in v. 42 for the “back or front bald area” of a man’s head. The exact meaning of these terms when applied to articles of cloth or leather is uncertain. It could refer, for example, to the inside versus the outside of a garment, or the back versus the front side of an article of cloth or leather. See Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 814 for various possibilities.
¹²⁹tn Heb “And if the priest saw and behold…”
¹³⁰tn Heb “and he shall tear it from.”
¹³¹tn Heb “And if.”
¹³²tn Heb “and the infection turns aside from them.”
¹³³sn The Hebrew term translated “law” (hrwt Tor>) introduces here a summary or colophon for all of Lev 13. Similar summaries are found in Lev 7:37-38; 11:46-47; 14:54-57; and 15:32-33.
¹³⁴tn Declarative piel forms of the verbs rhf and amf, respectively (cf. the notes on vv. 3 and 6 above).
¹tn Heb “And.”
²tn The alternative rendering, “when it is reported to the priest” may be better in light of the fact that the priest had to go outside the camp. Since he or she had been declared “unclean” by a priest (Lev 13:3) and was, therefore, required to remain outside the camp (13:46), the formerly diseased person could not reenter the camp until he or she had been declared “clean” by a priest (cf. Lev 13:6 for “declaring clean.”). See esp. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 831, who supports this rendering both here and in Lev 13:2 and 9. Levine, however, prefers our rendering (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 76 and 85). It is the most natural meaning of the verb (i.e., “to be brought” from aoB “to come” in the hophal stem, which means “to be brought” in all other occurrences in Leviticus other than 13:2, 9, and 14:2; see only 6:30; 10:18; 11:32; and 16:27), it suits the context well in 13:2, and the rendering “to be brought” is supported by 13:7b, “he shall show himself to the priest a second time.” Although it is true that the priest needed to go outside the camp to examine such a person, the person still needed to “be brought” to the priest there. The translation of vv. 2-3 here suggests that v. 2 introduces the proceeding and then v. 3 proceeds to
³tn Heb “and he shall be brought to the priest and the priest shall go out to from outside to the camp and the priest shall see (it).” The understood “it” refers to the skin infection itself (see the note on 13:3 above).
⁴tn Heb “And behold, the diseased infection has been healed from the diseased person.”
⁵tn The term rendered here “crimson fabric” consists of two Hebrew words and means literally, “crimson of worm” (in this order only in Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51, 52 and Num 19:6; for the more common reverse order, “worm of crimson,” see, e.g., the colored fabrics used in making the tabernacle, Exod 25:4, etc.). This particular “worm” is an insect that lives on the leaves of palm trees, the eggs of which are the source for a “crimson” dye used to color various kinds of clothe (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 86). That a kind of dyed “fabric” is intended, not just the dye substance itself, is made certain by the dipping of it with the other ritual materials listed here into the blood and water mixture for sprinkling on the person being cleansed (Lev 14:6; cf. also the burning of it in the fire of the red heifer in Num 19:6). Both the reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric seem to correspond to the color of blood and may, therefore, symbolize either “life,” which is in the blood, or the use of blood to “make atonement” (see, e.g., Gen 9:4 and Lev 17:11). See further the note on v. 7 below.
⁶sn Twigs of hyssop (probably one or several species of marjoram thymus), a spice and herb plant that grows out of walls in Palestine (see 1 Kings 4:33[5:13], KBL3 [ET] 27, and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 195), were particularly leafy and therefore especially useful for sprinkling the purifying liquid (cf. vv. 5-7). Many of the details of the ritual procedure are obscure. It has been proposed, for example, that the “cedar wood” was a stick to which the hyssop was bound with the crimson material to make a sort of sprinkling instrument (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 195). In light of the burning of these three materials as part of the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer in Num. 19:5-6, however, this seems unlikely.
⁷tn The MT reads literally, “And the priest shall command and he shall take.” Clearly, the second verb (“and he shall take”) contains the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that he take” (cf. also v. 5a). Since the priest issues the command here, he cannot be the subject of the second verb because he cannot be commanding himself to “take” up these ritual materials. Moreover, since the ritual is being performed “for the one being cleansed,” the antecedent of the pronoun “he” cannot refer to him. The LXX, Sam. Pent., and Syriac versions have the third person plural here and in v. 5a, which corresponds to other combinations with the verb hW`x!w+ “and he (the priest) shall command” in this context (see Lev 13:54; 14:36, 40). This suggests an impersonal (i.e., “someone shall take” and “someone shall slaughter,” respectively) or perhaps even passive rendering of the verbs in 14:4, 5 (i.e., “there shall be taken” and “there shall be slaughtered,” respectively). The latter option has been chosen here.
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., hithpael participle of rh@f* “to be clean”).
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “And the priest shall command and he shall slaughter.” See the note on “be taken up” (v. 4).
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “into a vessel of clay over living water.” The expression “living (i.e., ‘fresh’) water” (cf. Lev 14:50; 15:13; Num 19:17) refers to water that flows. It includes such water sources as artesian wells (Gen 26:19; Song of Songs 4:15), springs (Jer 2:13, as opposed to cisterns; cf. 17:13), and flowing streams (Zech 14:8). In other words, this is water that has not stood stagnant as, for example, in a sealed off cistern.
sn Although there are those who argue that the water and the blood rites are separate (e.g., Gerstenberger, Leviticus, OTL, 175-176), it is usually agreed that v. 5b refers to the slaughtering of the bird in such a way that its blood runs into the bowl, which contained fresh water (see, e.g., Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers, NCB, 74; Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 208; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 836-838; cf. esp. Lev 14:51b, “and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water”). This mixture of blood and water was then to be sprinkled on the person being cleansed from the disease.
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “the live bird he (i.e., the priest) shall take it.” Although the MT has no w+ “and” at the beginning of this clause, a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the Sam. Pent. have one and the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate translate as if it is there. The “but” in our rendering reflects this text critical background, the object first clause word order with the resumptive pronoun at the end, and the obvious contrast between the slaughtered bird in v. 5 and the live bird in v. 6.
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., hithpael participle of rh@f* “to be clean”).
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “and he shall make him clean.” The verb is the piel of rhf “to be clean,” here used as a so-called “declarative” piel (i.e., “to declare clean”; cf. 13:6, etc.).
<sup>14</sup>sn The reddish color of cedar wood and the crimson colored fabric called for in v. 4 (see the note there, esp. the association with the color of blood) as well as the priestly commands to bring “two live” birds (v. 4a), to slaughter one of them “over fresh water” (lit. “living water,” v. 5b), and the subsequent ritual with the (second) “live” bird (vv. 6-7) combine to communicate the concept of “life” and “being alive” in this passage. This contrasts with the fear of death associated with the serious skin diseases in view here (see, e.g., Aaron’s description of Miriam skin disease in Num 12:12, “Do not let her be like the dead one when it goes out from its mother’s womb and its flesh half eaten away”). Since the slaughtered bird here is not sacrificed at the altar and is not designated as an expiatory “sin offering,” this ritual procedure probably symbolizes the renewed life of the diseased person and displays it publicly for all to see. It is preparatory to the expiatory rituals that will follow (vv. 10-20, esp. vv. 18-20), but is not itself expiatory. Thus, although there are important similarities between the bird ritual here, the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:20-22), and the red heifer for cleansing from corpse contamination (Num 19), this bird ritual is different in that the latter two constitute “sin offerings” (Lev 16:5, 8-10; Num 19:9, 17). Neither of the birds in Lev 14:4-7 is designated or treated as a “sin offering.” Nevertheless, the very nature of the live bird ritual itself and its obvious similarity to the scapegoat ritual suggests that the patient’s disease has been removed far away so that he or she is free from its effects both personally and communally.
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., hithpael participle of rh@f* “to be clean”).
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “and he shall be clean.” The end result of the ritual procedures in vv. 4-7 and the washing and shaving in v. 8a is that the formerly diseased person has now officially become clean in the sense that he can enter the community (see v. 8b; contrast living outside the community as an unclean diseased person, Lev 13:46). There are, however, further cleansing rituals and pronouncements for him to undergo in the tabernacle as outlined in vv. 10-20 (see qal “be[come] clean” in vv. 9 and 20, piel “pronounce clean” in v. 11, and hithpael “the one being cleansed” in vv. 11, 14, 17, 18, and 19). Obviously, in order to enter the tabernacle he must already “be clean” in the sense of having access to the community.
<sup>17</sup>tn Heb “And it shall be on the seventh day.”
<sup>18</sup>tn Heb “and he shall be clean” (see the note on v. 8).
<sup>19</sup>tn The subject “he” probably refers to the formerly diseased person in this case (see the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).
<sup>20</sup>tn This term is often rendered “fine flour,” but it refers specifically to wheat as opposed to barley (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 10) and, although the translation “flour” is used here, it may indicate “grits” rather than finely ground flour (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 179; see the note on Lev 2:1). The unit of measure is most certainly an “ephah” even though it is not stated explicitly (see, e.g., Num 28:5; cf. 15:4, 6, 8), and three-tenths of an ephah would amount to about a gallon, or perhaps one-third of a bushel (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 196; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 845). Since the normal amount of flour for a lamb is one-tenth of an ephah (Num 28:4-5; cf. 15:4), three-tenths is about right for the three lambs offered in Lev 14:10-20.
<sup>21</sup>tn A “log” (gO) of oil is about one-sixth of a liter, or one-third of a pint, or two-thirds of a cup.
<sup>22</sup>tn The MT here is awkward for translation into English. It reads literally, “and the priest who pronounces clean (piel participle of rhf) shall cause to stand (hiphil of dmu) the man who is cleansing himself (hithpael participle of rhf) and them” (i.e., the offerings listed in v. 10; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity). Alternatively, the piel of rhf could be rendered “who performs the cleansing/purification” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 827) perhaps even as a technical term for one who holds the office of “purification priest” (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 87). It is probably better, however, to retain the same meaning here as in v. 7 above (see the note there regarding the declarative piel use of this verb).
<sup>23</sup>tn Heb “And the priest shall take the one lamb.”
<sup>24</sup>tn See the note on Lev 5:15 above. The primary purpose of the “guilt offering” (<v*a*) was to “atone” (rP#K! “to make atonement,” see v. 18 below and the note on Lev 1:4) for “trespassing” on the Lord’s “holy things,” whether sacred objects or sacred people. It is, therefore, closely associated with the reconsecration of the Lord’s holy people as, for example, here and in the case of the corpse contaminated Nazirite (Num 6:11b-12). Since the nation of Israel was “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” to the Lord (Exod 19:6; cf. the blood splashed on all the people in Exod 24:8), the skin diseased person was essentially a member of the “holy nation” who had been expelled from the community. Therefore, he or she had been desecrated and the guilt offering was essential to restoring him or her to the community. In fact, the manipulation of blood and oil in the guilt offering ritual procedure for the healed person (see vv. 14-18 below) is reminiscent of that employed for the ordination offering in the consecration of the holy Aaronic priests of the nation (Exod 29:19-21; Lev 8:22-30).
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “wave them [as] a wave offering before the LORD.” See the note on Lev 7:30 and the literature cited there. Other possible translations include “elevate them (as) an elevation offering before the LORD,” or “present them (as) a presentation offering before the LORD.” To be sure, the actual physical “waving” of a male lamb seems unlikely, but some waving gesture may have been performed in the presentation of the offering (cf. also the “waving” of the Levites as a “wave offering” in Num 8:11, etc.).
<sup>26</sup>tn Heb “And he shall slaughter.”
<sup>27</sup>tn Heb “in the place which.”
<sup>28</sup>sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
<sup>29</sup>sn See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
<sup>30</sup>tn Since the priest himself presents this offering as a wave offering (v. 12), it would seem that the offering is already in his hands and he would, therefore, be the one who slaughtered the male lamb in this instance rather than the offerer. The Sam. Pent. and LXX make the second verb “to slaughter” plural rather than singular, which suggests that it is to be taken as an impersonal passive (see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 852).
<sup>31</sup>tn Heb “the guilt offering, it (is) to the LORD.” Regarding the “guilt offering,” see the note on Lev 5:15.
<sup>32</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall put (lit. ‘give’) on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”
<sup>33</sup>tn The term for “big toe” (/h#B)) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
<sup>34</sup>tn Heb “And the priest…shall pour on the left hand of the priest.” As the Rabbis observe, the repetition of “priest” as the expressed subject of both verbs in this verse may suggest that two priests were involved in this ritual (see Mishnah Nega’im 14:8 referred to by Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 852), but the seemingly unnecessary repetition of “priest” in several verses throughout the chapter argues against this (see esp. vv. 3, 14, 18, 20, 24, and 26). Moreover, in this case, “priest” may be repeated to avoid confusing the priest’s hand with that of the one being cleansed (cf. v. 14).
<sup>35</sup>tn Heb “his right finger from the oil.”
<sup>36</sup>tn Heb “on his hand.”
<sup>37</sup>tn Heb “and the remainder in the oil.”
<sup>38</sup>tn Heb “do (or make) the sin offering.”
<sup>39</sup>tn Heb “And after(ward) he (i.e., the offerer) shall slaughter.” The LXX adds “the priest” as the subject of the verb, but the offerer is normally the one who does the actually slaughtering of the sacrificial animal (cf. the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).
<sup>40</sup>tn Heb “cause to go up.”
<sup>41</sup>tn Heb “and his hand does not reached.”
<sup>42</sup>tn See the notes on v. 10 above.
<sup>43</sup>tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 168 with Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “which his hand reaches.”
<sup>45</sup>tn Heb “and one shall be a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” The versions struggle with whether or not “one” should or should not have the definite article in its two occurrences in this verse. The MT has the first without and the second with the article.
<sup>46</sup>tn Heb “to the doorway.”
<sup>47</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall wave them.” With regard to the “waving” of the “wave offering,” see the note on v. 12 above.
<sup>48</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall put (lit. ‘give’) on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”
<sup>49</sup>tn The term for “big toe” (/h#B)) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.
<sup>50</sup>tn Heb “And from the oil the priest shall pour out on the left hand of the priest.” Regarding the repetition of “priest” in this verse see the note on v. 15 above.
<sup>51</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”
<sup>52</sup>tn Heb “on his hand.”
<sup>53</sup>tn Heb “on the hand.”
<sup>54</sup>tn Heb “give.”
<sup>55</sup>tn Heb “the one from the turtledoves.”
<sup>56</sup>tn Heb “from which his hand reaches.” The repetition of virtually the same expression at the beginning of v. 31 in the MT is probably due to dittography (cf. the LXX and Syriac).
<sup>57</sup>tn Heb “and the one a burnt offering on the grain offering.”
<sup>58</sup>tn Heb “This is the law of who in him (is) a diseased infection.”
<sup>59</sup>tn Heb “who his hand does not reach in his purification.”
<sup>60</sup>tn Heb “which I am giving.”
<sup>61</sup>tn Heb “give.”
<sup>62</sup>tn Heb “who to him the house.”
<sup>63</sup>tn Heb “And the priest shall command and they shall clear the house.” The second verb (“and they shall clear”) states the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that they clear” (cf. also vv. 4a and 5a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb see the note on v. 4 above.
<sup>64</sup>tn Heb “to see the infection.”
<sup>65</sup>tn Heb “all which (is) in the house.”
<sup>66</sup>sn Once the priest pronounced the house “unclean” everything in it was also officially unclean. Therefore, if they emptied the house of its furniture, etc. before the official pronouncement by the priest those possessions would thereby remain officially “clean” and avoid destruction or purification procedures.
<sup>67</sup>tn Heb “and after thus.”
<sup>68</sup>tn Heb “and behold.”
<sup>69</sup>tn For “yellowish green and reddish” see Lev 13:49. The Hebrew term rendered “eruptions” occurs only here and its meaning is uncertain. For a detailed summary of the issues and views see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 870. The suggestions include, among others: (1) “depressions” from Hebrew vqu “sink” or qur as the root of the Hebrew term for “bowl” (LXX, Targums, NASB, NIV; see also Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 90), (2) “streaks” (Tanakh), (3) and “eruptions” as a loan-word from Egyptian sqr r rwtj “eruption, rash” (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 870; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 198-199). The latter view is taken here.
<sup>70</sup>tn The Hebrew term ryq! “wall” refers to the surface of the wall in this case, which consisted of a coating of plaster made of limestone and sand (see KBL3 [ET] 1099a; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 871; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 199).
<sup>71</sup>tn Heb “and he shall shut up the house seven days.”
<sup>72</sup>tn Heb “and behold.”
<sup>73</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall command and they shall pull out the stones which in them is the infection, and they shall cast them.” The second and third verbs (“they shall pull out” and “they shall throw”) state the thrust of the priest’s command, which suggests the translation “that they pull out…and throw” (cf. also vv. 4a, 5a, and 36a above), and for the impersonal passive rendering of the active verb see the note on v. 4 above.
<sup>74</sup>tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
<sup>75</sup>tn Or, according to the plurality of the verb in the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targums, “Then the house shall be scraped” (cf. the note on v. 40).
<sup>76</sup>tn Heb “from house all around.”
<sup>77</sup>tn Heb “dust” or “rubble.”
<sup>78</sup>tn Heb “which they have scraped off.” The MT has Wxq=h! (perhaps from hxq, “to cut off”; BDB 892), the original Greek does not have this clause, the Sam. Pent. has wxyqh (?), and the BHS editors and KBL3 [ET] (pp. 1123-1124) suggest emending the verb to Wux!q=h! (see the same verb at the beginning of this verse; cf. some Greek MSS, Syriac, and the Targums). The emendation seems reasonable and is accepted by many commentators, but the root hxq “to cut off” does occur in the Bible (2 Kings 10:32; Hab 2:10) and in post-biblical Hebrew (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 179 notes 41c and 43d; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 873; cf. also Jxq “to cut off”).
<sup>79</sup>tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
<sup>80</sup>tn Heb “and bring into under the stones.”
<sup>81</sup>tn Heb “after he has pulled out the stones, and after scraping (variant form of the hiph. inf. constr., GKC 53l) the house, and after being replastered” (niph. inf. constr.).
<sup>82</sup>tn Heb “and behold.”
<sup>83</sup>tn The Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have the plural verb, perhaps suggesting a passive translation, “The house…shall be torn down” (see the note on v. 4b above).
<sup>84</sup>tn Once again, the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Syriac have the plural verb, perhaps to be rendered passive, “shall be brought.”
<sup>85</sup>tn Heb “the one who comes into.”
<sup>86</sup>tn The pronoun “he” refers the priest (see v. 38).
<sup>87</sup>tn Heb “And if the priest entering (inf. abs.) enters (finite vb.)” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
<sup>88</sup>tn Heb “and behold.”
<sup>89</sup>tn The pronoun “he” refers to the priest mentioned in the previous verse.
<sup>90</sup>tn Regarding these ritual materials, see the note on v. 4 above.
<sup>91</sup>tn Regarding the piel of afj (cf. v. 52) meaning to “decontaminate” or “perform a decontamination,” see the notes on Lev 8:15 and 9:15.
sn In Lev 8:15, for example, the “sin offering” is used to “decontaminate” the burnt offering altar. As we have argued above (see the note on v. 7 above), these ritual materials and the procedures performed with them do not constitute a “sin offering” (contrast vv. 19 and 31 above). In fact, no sin offering was required for the purification of a house.
<sup>92</sup>tn See the note on v. 5 above.
<sup>93</sup>tn Heb “to from outside to the city.”
<sup>94</sup>sn Heb “and for the scall.” Cf. Lev 13:29-37.
<sup>95</sup>sn Cf. Lev 13:47-59.
<sup>96</sup>sn Cf. Lev 14:33-53.
<sup>97</sup>sn Cf. Lev 13:9-28, 43.
<sup>98</sup>sn Cf. Lev 13:2.
<sup>99</sup>sn Cf. Lev 13:4, 18-28, 38-39. For explanations of all these terms for disease in Lev 14:56 see 13:2.
<sup>100</sup>tn Heb “to teach in the day of the unclean and in the day of the clean.”
<sup>101</sup>tn Heb “This is the law of the disease.”
sn For an explanation of the term “disease” see Lev 13:2.
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 17:3; 22:18, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 123c).
<sup>2</sup>tn The term “discharge” actually means “to flow,” whether referring to a full flow as at a spring of water (Psa 78:20 and parallels) or in reference to the promised land as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3:8 and parallels).
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “man, man when there is a discharge from his flesh.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 123c). It is well-recognized that the term “flesh” (i.e., “body”) in this chapter refers regularly and euphemistically to the male and female genital members or areas of the body (KBL3 [ET] 164a; see also, e.g., Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 93). The euphemism has been retained in this translation since it is, in fact, intended in the text.
<sup>4</sup>tn The LXX has “this the law of his uncleanness…” (cf. v. 32 and compare, e.g., 13:59; 14:2, 56).
<sup>5</sup>tn The Sam. Pent., LXX, and “Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll” (11QpaleoLev; Fragment G contains Lev 14:52-15:5 and 16:2-4, and agrees with the LXX of Lev 15:3b) texts are in essential although not complete agreement against the MT in Lev 15:3b and are to be preferred in this case. The shorter MT text has probably arisen due to a lengthy haplography. See K. A. Mathews, “The Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev) and the Text of the Hebrew Bible,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 48 (1986): 177-178, 198; D. N. Freedman, “Variant Readings in the Leviticus Scroll from Qumran Cave 11,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36 (1974): 528-529; D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev) (American Schools of Oriental Research, 1985) 32. The MT of Lev 15:3 reads: “Now this is his uncleanness in (regard to) his discharge—whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” The Sam. Pent. adds after MT “blocks his discharge” the following: “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” Thus, the MT appears to skip from the Sam. Pent. awh amf “he is unclean” in the middle of the verse to ay/wh wtamf “this is his uncleanness” at the end of the verse, leaving out “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge” (cf. the BHS footnote). 11QpaleoLev Fragment G is indeed fragmentary, but it does have z ymy lk wb “…in him, all the days of the fl[ow],” supporting the Sam. Pent. and LXX tradition. The LXX adds after MT “blocks his discharge” the following: “all the days of the flow of his body, by which his body is affected by the flow,” followed by “it is his uncleanness” (i.e., the last two words of the MT).
sn The contrast between the dripping or flowing from the male sexual member as opposed to there being a blockage is important. One might not understand that even though a blockage actually causes a lack of discharge, it is still unclean.
<sup>6</sup>tn Heb “it is his uncleanness,” but the last clause recapitulates the effect of the first clause in this verse, both of which introduce the regulations for such uncleanness in the following verses. In other words, whether his discharge flows from his sexual member or is blocked in it, he is still unclean and must proceed according to the following regulations (vv. 4ff).
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “All the bed which the man with a discharge sits on it shall be unclean.”
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “and all the vessel which he sits on it shall be unclean.”
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “And a man who touches in his bed.”
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening” (cf. also vv. 6-8, 10-11, etc.).
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “And the one who touches in the flesh.” In this instance, “flesh” (or “body”) probably refers literally to any part of the body, not the sexual member specifically (see the discussion in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 914).
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “And if the man with a discharge spits in the clean one.”
<sup>13</sup>tn The Hebrew term for “means of riding” is a cognate noun from the verb “ride” later in this verse. It refers to anything on which one may ride without the feet touching the ground including, for example, a saddle, a (saddle) blanket, or a seat on a chariot (see, e.g., Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 916).
<sup>14</sup>tn Heb “which shall be under him.” The verb is perhaps a future perfect, “which shall have been.”
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “And all who the man with the discharge touches in him and his hands he has not rinsed in water.”
<sup>16</sup>tn The Hebrew term yl!K= can mean “vessel” (v. 12a) or “utensil, implement, article” (v. 12b). An article of clay would have been a vessel of some sort, one of wood would have been some kind of tool or instrument.
<sup>17</sup>tn For the expression “fresh water” see the note on Lev 14:5 above.
<sup>18</sup>tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 168 with Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
<sup>19</sup>tn The MT has the qal form of the verb awb “to come” here, but the LXX (followed generally by the Syriac and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan) has the hiphil form of the same verb, “to bring” as in v. 29 below. In v. 29, however, there is no additional clause “and give them to the priest,” so the hiphil is necessary in that context while it is not necessary here in v. 14.
<sup>20</sup>sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
<sup>21</sup>tn Heb “and the priest shall make them one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
<sup>22</sup>tn Heb “And the priest.”
<sup>23</sup>tn Heb “And a man when a lying of seed goes out from him.”
<sup>24</sup>tn Heb “and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “And a woman who a man lies with her a lying of seed.”
<sup>26</sup>tn See the note on Lev 15:2 above.
<sup>27</sup>tn Heb “blood shall be her discharge in her flesh.” The term “flesh” here refers euphemistically to the female sexual area (cf. the note on v. 2 above).
<sup>28</sup>tn See the note on Lev 12:2 and NIDOTTE 1.925-927.
<sup>29</sup>tn Heb “and if on the bed it (awh) is or on the vessel which she sits on it, when he touches it…” The translation and meaning of this verse is a subject of much debate in the commentaries (see the summary in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 938-940). It is difficult to determine what awh refers to, whether it means “he” referring to the one who does the touching, “it” for the furniture or the seat in v. 22, “she” referring to the woman herself (see the Sam. Pent. ayh rather than awh), or perhaps anything that was lying on the furniture or the bed of vv. 21-22. The latter view is taken here (cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 202).
<sup>30</sup>tn The MT accent suggest that “when he touches it” goes with the preceding line, but it seems to be better to take it as an introduction to what follows (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 202).
<sup>31</sup>tn Heb “and if a man indeed lies with her and her menstrual impurity is on him.”
<sup>32</sup>tn Heb “And a woman when the flow of her blood flows.”
<sup>33</sup>tn Heb “in not the time of her menstruation or when it flows on her menstruation.”
<sup>34</sup>tn See the note on v. 5 above.
<sup>35</sup>tn Heb “And if…” Although this clause is parallel to v. 13 above, it begins with <a!w+ (“and if”) here rather than yk!w+ (“and when/if”) there.
<sup>36</sup>tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 168 with Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).
<sup>37</sup>tn Heb “And the priest shall make the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.”
<sup>38</sup>tn Heb “And the priest.”
<sup>39</sup>tn Heb “And you shall…”
<sup>40</sup>tn Heb “and they…”
<sup>41</sup>tn Heb “and who a lying of seed goes out from him.”
<sup>42</sup>tn Heb “to become unclean in it.”
<sup>43</sup>tn Heb “and the one with a discharge, his discharge to the male and the female.”
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “and for a man.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “in their drawing near to the faces of the LORD.” The rendering here relies on the use of this expression for the very “presence” of God in Exod 33:14-15 and in the Lev 9:24-10:2 passage, where the Nadab and Abihu catastrophe referred to here is narrated.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “into the holy place from house to the veil-canopy.” In this instance, the Hebrew term “the holy place” refers to “the most holy place” (lit. “holy of holies”), since it is the area “inside the veil-canopy” (cf. Exod 26:33-34). The Hebrew term tk#r)P* is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see NIDOTTE 3.687-689).
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “to the faces of the atonement plate.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew term tr\P)K^ here rendered “atonement plate” is much debated. The traditional “mercy seat” does not suit the cognate relationship between this term and the piel verb rP#K! “to make atonement; make expiation.” The translation of the word should also reflect the fact that the most important atonement procedures on the Day of Atonement were performed in relation to it. Since the Lord would “appear in the cloud over the atonement plate,” and since it was so closely associated with the ark of the covenant (the ark being his “footstool”; cf. 1 Chr 28:2 and Psa 137:7-8), one could take it to be the place of his throne at which he accepts atonement. See Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1014; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 234-235; and NIDOTTE 2.691, 699.
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”
<sup>5</sup>sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
<sup>6</sup>sn For the “burnt offering” see the note on Lev 1:3.
<sup>7</sup>sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). It covered the upper body only. For detailed remarks on the terminology for the priestly clothing in this verse (except the “linen leggings”) see the notes on Lev 8:7-9 and the literature cited there.
<sup>8</sup>tn Heb “shall be on his flesh.” As in many instances in Lev 15, the term “flesh” or “body” here is euphemistic for the male genitals (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1017 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 222; cf. the note on Lev 15:2), which the priest must be careful not to expose during such ritual procedures (see Exod 20:26 with 28:42-43).
<sup>9</sup>sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “and in a turban of linen he shall wrap.”
sn The “turban” consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (KBL3 [ET] 624).
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “and he shall bathe…”
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “And he shall take.”
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “he-goats of goats.”
<sup>14</sup>tn Heb “the two he-goats,” referred to as “two he-goats of goats” in v. 5.
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “and Aaron shall give lots on the two he-goats.” See the note on Lev 8:8 for the priestly casting of lots in Israel and the explanation in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 102 on Lev 16:8-9. Milgrom suggests, however, that the expression here signifies that, the lots having been cast, the priest was to literally “place” (lit. “give”) the one marked “for the LORD” on the head of the goat to be sacrificed and the one marked “for Azazel” on the head of the one to be released in the wilderness in order to avoid confusing them later in the ritual sequence (Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1019-1020).
<sup>16</sup>sn The meaning of the Hebrew term lz}az`u& (four times in the OT, all of them in this chapter; vv. 8, 10[2x], and 26) is much debated. There are three or perhaps four major views (see the summaries and literature cited in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1020-1021; Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 102; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 237-238; David P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity, 21-25; NIDOTTE 3.362-363 and 4.421-422). First, some derive the term from a combination of the Hebrew word zu@ “goat” (i.e., the word for “goats” in v. 5) and lz~a* “to go away,” meaning “the goat that departs” or “scapegoat” (cf., e.g., the LXX). This meaning suits the ritual practice of sending the so-called scapegoat away into the wilderness (vv. 10, 21-22, 26). Similarly, some derive the term from Arabic u~z~l~ “to banish, remove,” meaning “entire removal” as an abstract concept (see already BDB 736b). Second, some see the term as a description of the wilderness area to which the goat was dispatched, deriving it somehow from Arabic u~z`z% “rough ground” or perhaps zzu “to be strong, fierce.” Third, the most common view among scholars today is that it is the proper name of a particular demon (perhaps even the devil himself) associated with the wilderness desert regions. Levine has proposed that it may perhaps derive from a reduplication of the z in zu@ “goat” (see above) combined with la@ “mighty,” meaning “mighty goat.” The final consonantal form of lz}az`u& would have resulted from the inversion of the a with the second z. He makes the point that the close association between zu@ “goat” and <yr]yu!c=, which seems to refer to “goat-demons” of the desert in Lev 17:7 (cf. Isa 13:21, etc.), should not be ignored in the derivation of Azazel, although the term ultimately became the name of “the demonic ruler of the wilderness.” The latter view is support by the parallel between the one goat “for (l prep.) the LORD” and the one “for (l prep.) Azazel” here in v. 8. The rendering as a proper name has been tentatively accepted here. Perhaps a play on words between the proper name and the term for “goat” has occurred so that the etymology has become obscure. Even if a demon or the demonic realm is the source for the name, however, there is no intention here of appeasing the demons. The goal is to remove the impurity and iniquity from the community in order to avoid offending the Lord and the repercussions of such (see esp. vv. 21-22 and cf. Lev 15:31).
¹⁷tn Heb “which the lot has gone up on it for the LORD.”
¹⁸tn The LXX has “he shall stand it” (cf. v. 7).
¹⁹tn Heb “to make atonement on it to send it away to Azazel toward the wilderness.”
²⁰tn Heb “and he shall take the fullness of the censer, coals of fire, from on the altar from to the faces of the LORD.”
²¹tn Heb “and the fullness of the hollow of his two hands, finely ground fragrant incense.”
²²tn Heb “and he shall bring from house to the veil-canopy.”
²³tn The text here has only “above the testimony,” but this is surely a shortened form of “above the ark of the testimony” (see Exod 25:22 etc.; cf. Lev 16:2). The term “testimony” in this expression refers to the ark as the container of the two stone tablets with the ten commandments written on them (see Exod 25:16 with Deut 10:1, 5, etc.).
²⁴tn Heb “and he will not die,” but it is clear that the purpose for the incense cloud was to protect the priest from death in the presence of the Lord (cf. vv. 1-2 above).
²⁵tn Heb “on the faces of the atonement plate toward the east.” Some have taken this to mean that the ark was stationed just behind the veil-canopy on the eastern side of the most holy place. Thus, the high priest would need to enter and walk toward the west end of the most holy place and then turn eastward in order to face the ark and sprinkle the blood in an eastward direction. The rendering here, however, requires that the ark was stationed on the western end, or perhaps in the middle of the area, so that as the priest entered he was already facing the ark and would sprinkle the blood on the eastern face of the atonement plate, in a westward direction (see, e.g., Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 239 versus Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1032).
²⁶sn Presumably, in this case the blood was sprinkled seven times on the ground in front of the ark on which the atonement plate was mounted.
²⁷tn Heb “and he shall bring its blood into from house to the veil-canopy.”
²⁸tn Heb “And…”
²⁹tn Heb “to all their sins.”
³⁰tn Heb “And all man shall not be in the Tent of Meeting.” The term for “a man, human being” (<d*a*; see the note on Lev 1:2) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female.
³¹tn Heb “And.”
³²tn Heb “And he shall take.”
³³tn Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”
³⁴tn Heb “And he shall finish from atoning the holy place.” In this case, the holy place etc. are direct objects of the verb “to atone” (cf. v. 33a below). In this case, therefore, the basic meaning of the verb (i.e., “to purge” or “wipe clean”) comes to the forefront. When the prepositions lu^ or du^B& occur with the verb rP#K! the purging is almost always being done “for” or “on behalf of” priests or people (see the note on Lev 1:4 as well as NIDOTTE 2.698, the literature cited there, and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 110 for more details).
³⁵tn Heb “to all their sins.”
³⁶tn Heb “and he shall give them.”
³⁷tn The meaning of the Hebrew term yT!u! is uncertain. It is apparently related to tu@ “time,” and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., NIV and NRSV) or “ready” (e.g., NASB and NEB).
³⁸tn The Hebrew term rendered “inaccessible” derives from a root meaning “to cut off.”
³⁹tn Heb “and he (the man [standing] ready, v. 21) shall send the goat away.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “And Aaron shall enter.”
⁴¹tn Heb “And he shall make atonement.”
⁴²tn Heb “on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people.” After “on behalf of himself” the LXX adds the expected “and on behalf of his household” (cf. vv. 6, 11, and 17).
⁴³tn Heb “And the fat of the sin offering.”
⁴⁴tn For “Azazel” see the note on v. 8 above.
⁴⁵tn Heb “he shall bring into from outside to the camp.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “they shall burn with fire.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “And it (fem.) shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The LXX has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).
⁴⁸tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Psa 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 8.1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16-17, 20; see the remarks in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1054; Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 109; and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 242).
⁴⁹tn Heb “and all work you shall not do.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”
⁵¹tn The phrase “from all your sins” could go with the previous clause as the verse is rendered here (see, e.g., Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 109 and Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1011), or it could go with the following clause (i.e., “you shall be clean from all your sins before the LORD”; see the MT accents as well as Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 221 and most of the recent English versions, e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV, etc.).
⁵²tn See the note on v. 29 above.
⁵³tn Compare v. 29a above.
⁵⁴tn Heb “And the priest whom he shall anointed him and whom he shall fill his hand to act as priest under his father.” Imperfect active verbs are often used as passives (see, e.g., v. 27 above and the note on Lev 14:4).
⁵⁵tn Heb “the sanctuary of the holy place.” Although this is the only place this expression occurs in the OT, it clearly refers to the inner most shrine behind the veil-canopy, where the ark of the covenant was located.
⁵⁶tn Heb “and the Tent of Meeting and the alter he shall atone.” The repetition of the verb rP#K! (“to atone”) at the beginning and end of the sequence appears to be strange, but the MT accents suggest that only “the Most Holy Place” goes with the verb at the beginning of the verse. Of course, the purging of “the Most Holy Place” has been the main emphasis of this chapter from the start (see vv. 2-3 and 11-17).
⁵⁷tn At this point in the verse the verb rP#K! “to make atonement” takes its object with the preposition lu^ “for” (lit. “upon”; contrast the first part of the verse and cf. the notes on Lev 1:4 and 16:20 above).
⁵⁸tn Heb “And this shall be for you to a statute of eternity” (cf. v. 29a above).
⁵⁹tn Heb “one (fem.) in the year.”
⁶⁰tn The MT of Lev 16:34b reads literally, “and he did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.” This has been retained here in spite of the fact that it suggests that Aaron immediately performed the rituals outlined in Lev 16 (see, e.g., Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 224 and 243; Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 1059; note that Aaron was the one to whom Moses was to speak the regulations in this chapter, v. 2). The problem is that the chapter presents these procedures as regulations for “the tenth day of the seventh month” and calls for their fulfillment at that time (Lev 16:29; cf. Lev 23:26-32 and the remarks in Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 237), not during the current (first) month (Exod 40:2; note also that they left Sinai in the second month, long before the next seventh month, Num 10:11). The LXX translates, “once in the year it shall be done as the LORD commanded Moses,” attaching “once in the year” to this clause rather than the former one, and rendering the verb as passive, “it shall be done” (cf. NIV, RSV, NRSV, etc.). We have already observed the passive use of active verbs in this context (see the note on v. 32 above). The RSV (cf. also the NRSV) translates, “And Moses did as the LORD commanded him,” ignoring the fact that the name Moses in the Hebrew text has the direct object indicator. Passive verbs, however, regularly take subjects with direct object indicators (see, e.g., v. 27 above). The NIV renders it “And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses,” following the LXX passive translation. The NASB translates, “And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did,” transposing the introductory verb to the end of the sentence and supplying “so” in order to make it fit the context.
¹tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on Lev 15:2.
²tn The original LXX adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).
³tn Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”
⁴tn The Sam. Pent. and LXX add after “Tent of Meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the LORD for your acceptance as a soothing aroma, and slaughters it outside, and at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting has not brought it.”
⁵tn The Sam. Pent. includes the suffix “it.”
⁶tn The Hebrew text has here simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5-7; 7:26-27, etc.; cf. vv. 10-16 below for more details).
⁷sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See the note on Lev 7:20.
⁸tn Heb “So that which.”
⁹tn Heb “on the faces of the field.”
¹⁰tn The LXX adds “all around” (i.e., Hebrew byb!s* “all around”), which is normal for this overall construction (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:8, etc.).
¹¹tn On “goat demons” of the desert regions see the note on Lev 16:8.
¹²tn Heb “which they are committing harlotry after them.”
¹³tn Heb “for your generations.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 123c; cf. Lev 15:2).
¹⁵tn Heb “and.”
¹⁶tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
¹⁷tn The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plur.) rather than “their.”
¹⁸tn Heb “cause to go up.”
¹⁹tn Heb “to make it.”
²⁰tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
²¹tn Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 123c; cf. Lev 15:2).
²²tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
²³tn The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plur.) rather than “their.”
²⁴tn Heb “I will give my faces against (lit. ‘in’) the soul/person/life (vp#n\ fem.) who eats the blood and I will cut it (i.e., that vp#n\) off from the midst of its people.” The uses of vp#n\ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 244-245). No matter which translation of vp#n\ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have vp#n\ and that this vp#n\ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. 11 below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).
²⁵tn Heb “for the soul/life (vp#n\) of the flesh, it is in the blood” (cf. the note of v. 10 above and v. 14 below). Although most modern translations begin a new sentence in v. 11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood,…” (see, e.g., Tanakh, NASB, NIV, NRSV, etc.), the yK! “for, because” at the beginning of the verse suggests continuation from v. 10, as the rendering here indicates (see, e.g., the NEB, Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 261, and Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 239).
sn This verse is a well-known crux interpretum for blood atonement in the Bible. The close association between the blood and “the soul/life (vp#n\) of the flesh (rc*B*)” (v. 11a) begins in Gen 9:2-5 (if not Gen 4:10-11), where the Lord grants man the eating of meat (i.e., the “flesh” of animals) but also issues a warning: “But flesh (rc*B*) with its soul/life (vp#n\), (which is) its blood, you shall not eat” (cf. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, WBC, 151 and 193). Unfortunately, the difficulty in translating vp#n\ consistently (see the note on v. 10 above) obscures the close connection between the (human) “person” in v. 10 and “the life” (of animals, 2x) and “your (human) lives” in v. 11, all of which are renderings of vp#n\ in Hebrew. The basic logic of the passage is that (a) no vp#n\ should eat the blood when he eats the rc*B* of an animal (v. 10) because (b) the vp#n\ of rc*B* is identified with the blood that flows through and permeates it (v. 11a), and (c) the Lord himself has assigned (i.e., limited the use of) animal blood, that is, animal vp#n\, to be the instrument or price of making atonement for the vp#n\ of people (v. 11b). See the detailed remarks and literature cited in NIDOTTE 2.693-695, 697-698.
²⁶tn Heb “And I myself have given it to you.”
²⁷tn Heb “for the blood, it by (b prep. “in”) the life makes atonement.” The interpretation of the preposition is pivotal here. Some scholars have argued that it is a b of exchange; that is, “the blood makes atonement in exchange for the life (of the slaughtered animal)” (see NIDOTTE 2.694-695, 697 for analysis and criticism of this view). It is more likely that, as in the previous clause (“your lives”), “life/soul” (vp#n\) here refers to the person who makes the offering, not the animal offered. The blood of the animal makes atonement for the person who offers it either “by means of” (instrumental b) the “life/soul” of the animal, which it symbolizes or embodies (the meaning of the translation given here); or perhaps the blood of the animal functions as “the price” (b of price) for ransoming the “life/soul” of the person.
²⁸tn Heb “all/any person from you shall not eat blood.”
²⁹tn Heb “and the sojourner, the one sojourning in your midst, shall not eat blood.”
³⁰tn A few medieval Hebrew MSS, Sam. Pent., and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have “from the house of Israel” as in vv. 3, 8, and 10, but the LXX agrees with the MT.
³¹tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
³²tn The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain MSS of the Sam. Pent. have “your” (plur.) rather than “their” (cf. v. 10 above).
³³tn Heb “(wild) game of animal.”
³⁴tn That is, it must be a clean animal, not an unclean animal (cf. Lev 11).
³⁵tn Heb “for the life/soul (vp#n\) of all flesh, its blood in its life/soul (vp#n\) it is.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate leave out “in its life/soul,” which would naturally yield “for the life of all flesh, its blood it is” (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 261 and 263). This is a simpler reading, and it may not be correct, but the basic rendering is probably the same in any case.
³⁶tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
³⁷tn Heb “And an soul.”
³⁸sn The term “carcass” refers to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice.
³⁹tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”
⁴⁰tn The words “his clothes” are not in the Hebrew text, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
⁴¹tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment for the iniquity” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).
sn For the interpretation of this verse reflected in our rendering see the remarks on Lev 5:1 in Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 292-297.
¹tn Heb “As the work of the land of Egypt, which you were dwelling in it.”
²tn Heb “and as the work of the land of Canaan which I am bringing you to there.” The participle “I am bringing” is inceptive; the Lord is “about to” bring them into the land of Canaan, as opposed to their having dwelt previously in the land of Egypt (see the first part of the verse).
³tn Heb “and you shall not walk.”
⁴tn Heb “My regulations you shall do.”
sn The Hebrew term translated “regulation” (fp*v=m!) refers to the set of regulations about to be set forth in the following chapters (cf. Lev 19:37; 20:22; 25:18; 26:46). Note esp. the thematic and formulaic relationships between the introduction here in Lev 18:1-5 and the paranesis in Lev 20:22-26, both of which refer explicitly to the corrupt nations and the need to separate from them by keeping the Lord’s regulations.
⁵tn Heb “and my statutes you shall keep (or ‘watch, guard’) to walk in them.”
⁶tn Heb “And you shall keep.”
⁷tn Heb “which the man shall do them and shall live in them.” The term for “a man, human being; mankind” (<d*a*; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. The expression yj^w` “and shall live” looks like the adj. “living” so it is written hy`j*w+ in the Sam. Pent., but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see KBL3 [ET] 309a and GKC 76i; cf. Lev 25:35).
⁸tn Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (ra@v=) of his body/flesh (rc*B*).” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 123c; cf. Lev 15:2). The two words for “flesh” are combined to refer to emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 282 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 119).
⁹tn Heb “to uncover nakedness,” which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 282 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 119).
¹⁰tn The verbal negative here is the same as that used in the ten commandments (Exod 20:4-5, 7, 13-17). It suggests permanent prohibition rather than a simple negative command and could, therefore, be rendered “must not” here and throughout the following section as it is in vv. 3-4 above.
¹¹tn Heb “The nakedness of your father and (i.e., even) the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover.”
sn Commentators suggest that the point of referring to the father’s nakedness is that the mother’s sexuality belongs to the father and is forbidden to the son on that account (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 120 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 294). The expression may, however, derive from the shame of nakedness when exposed. If one exposes his mother’s nakedness to himself it is like openly exposing the father’s nakedness (cf. Gen 9:22-23 with the background of Gen 2:25 and 3:7, 21). The same essential construction is used in v. 10 where the latter explanation makes more sense than the former.
¹²tn Heb “the nakedness of your father she is.” See the note on v. 7 above. This law refers to another wife of the man’s father, who is not that man’s mother. The laws in the Pentateuch sometimes assume the possibility that a man may have more than one wife (cf., e.g., Deut 21:15-17).
¹³tn Heb “the daughter your father or the daughter of your mother.”
¹⁴tn Heb “born of house or born of outside.”
¹⁵tn Several medieval Hebrew Manuscripts, the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Syriac have “her nakedness” rather than “their nakedness,” thus agreeing with sing. sister at the beginning of the verse.
¹⁶sn That is, to have sexual relations with one’s granddaughter would be like openly exposing one’s own shameful nakedness (see the note on v. 7 above).
¹⁷sn That is, a half sister, the daughter of the man’s father by another wife, who is not the man’s mother, is to be considered a true sister. Therefore, the man must not have sexual relations with her.
¹⁸tn A few medieval Hebrew Manuscripts, the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all read “because she is the flesh of your father,” like the MT of v. 13.
¹⁹tn As in v. 57 (see the note there), some MSS and versions have “because she is your aunt.”
²⁰sn Regarding the last clause, see the notes on vv. 7 and 10 above.
²¹tn In this kind of context, “take” means to “take in marriage” (cf. also v. 18). The LXX and Syriac have “their nakedness,” referring to the nakedness of the woman’s granddaughters, rather than the nakedness of the woman herself.
²²tn The term rendered here “lewdness” almost always carries a connotation of cunning, evil device, and divisiveness (cf. KBL3 [ET] 272 “infamy”), and is closely associated with sexual and religious infidelity (cf., e.g., Lev 19:29; 20:14; Job 31:11; Jer 13:27; Ezek 16:27; 22:9, etc.).
²³tn Heb “And a woman to her sister you shall not take to be a second wife (or to be a concubine).” According to KBL3 [ET] 1059b (III rrx), the infinitive “to be a second wife” (rr)x=l!) is a denominative verb from II hr`x* A “concubine, second wife” which, in turn, derives from II rrx “to treat with hostility” (cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 283 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 122).
<sup>24</sup>tn Heb “on her in her life.”
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “in the menstruation of her impurity.”
<sup>26</sup>tn Heb “And to the wife of your fellow citizen you shall not give your layer for seed.” The meaning of “your layer” ;T=b=k*v= is uncertain (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 122, “you shall not place your layer of semen”; but cf. also Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 283 and the literature cited there for the rendering, “you shall not give your penis for seed”).
<sup>27</sup>tn Heb “And from your seed you shall not give to cause to pass over to Molech.” The Sam. Pent. (cf. also the LXX) has “to cause to serve” rather than “to cause to pass over.” For detailed remarks on Molech and Molech worship see Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers, NCB, 87-88; Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 259-260; and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 333-337 and the lit. cited there. It could refer to either human sacrifice or a devotion of children to some sort of service of Molech, perhaps of a sexual sort (cf. Lev 20:2-5; 2 Kings 23:10, etc.). The inclusion of this prohibition against Molech worship here may be due to some sexual connection of this kind, or perhaps simply to the lexical link between ur~z\ meaning “seed, semen” in v. 20 but “offspring” in v. 21.
<sup>28</sup>tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
<sup>29</sup>tn Heb “And with a male you shall not lay (as the) lyings of a woman” (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 123). The reference is to homosexual intercourse.
<sup>30</sup>tn The Hebrew term hb*u@oT rendered “detestable act” refers to the repugnant practices of foreigners, whether from the viewpoint of other peoples toward the Hebrews (e.g., Gen 43:32; 46:34; Exod 8:26) or of the Lord toward other peoples (see esp. Lev 18:26-27, 29-30). It can also designate, as here, detestable acts that might be perpetrated by the native peoples (see it again for homosexuality in Lev 20:13; cf. also its use for unclean food, Deut 14:3; idol worship, Isa 41:24; remarriage of a former wife has been married in between, Deut 24:4; etc.).
<sup>31</sup>tn See the note on v. 20 above.
<sup>32</sup>tn Heb “to copulate it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
<sup>33</sup>tn The Hebrew term lb#T# “perversion” derives from the verb “to mix, confuse” and, therefore, refers to illegitimate mixtures of species or violation of the natural order of things.
<sup>34</sup>tn Heb “which I am sending away (piel part. of jlv ‘to send’) from your faces.” The rendering here takes the participle as anticipatory of the coming conquest events.
<sup>35</sup>tn Heb “And.”
<sup>36</sup>tn Heb “and I have visited its (punishment for) iniquity on it.” See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
<sup>37</sup>tn Heb “And you shall keep, you.” The latter emphatic personal pronoun “you” is left out of a few medieval Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate.
<sup>38</sup>tn Heb “the native and the sojourner.”
<sup>39</sup>tn Heb “for all these abominations the men of the land who were before you have done.”
<sup>40</sup>tn Heb “And the land will not vomit you out in your defiling it.”
<sup>41</sup>tn The LXX, Syriac, and Targum have plural “nations” (cf. v. 24).
<sup>42</sup>sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>43</sup>tn Heb “to not do from the statutes of the detestable acts.”
<sup>44</sup>tn Heb “and you will not.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “A man his mother and his father you (plur.) shall fear.” The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain Targum MSS reverse the order, “his father and his mother.” The term “fear” is subject to misunderstanding by the modern reader, so the term “respect” has been used in the translation.
<sup>2</sup>sn Regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” <yl!yl!a$ see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 126; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 304; Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers, NBC, 89; and NIDOTTE 1.411. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with la@ “god, God” and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “for your acceptance.”
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “from the following day” (KBL3 [ET] 572).
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “And if being eaten (inf. abs.) it is eaten (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
<sup>6</sup>tn Or “desecrated,” or “defiled,” or “forbidden.” For this difficult term see Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB, 422 on Lev 7:18.
<sup>7</sup>tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
<sup>8</sup>sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “the holiness of the LORD.”
<sup>10</sup>sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “And in your harvesting the harvest.”
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field to harvest.”
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “And you shall not deal severely with your vineyard.”
<sup>14</sup>tn Heb “you shall not deal falsely a man with his fellow citizen.”
<sup>15</sup>tn Heb “And you shall not swear to the falsehood.”
<sup>16</sup>tn Heb “and you shall not profane.”
<sup>17</sup>tn Heb “You shall not oppress your neighbor and you shall not rob.”
<sup>18</sup>tn Heb “You shall not curse a deaf (person) and before a blind (person) you shall not put a stumbling block.”
<sup>19</sup>tn Heb “And you shall fear…”
<sup>20</sup>tn The Sam. Pent. has the sing. rather than the plur. “you” of the MT, which brings this verb form into line with the ones surrounding it.
<sup>21</sup>tn Heb “You shall not do injustice in judgment.”
<sup>22</sup>tn Heb “You shall not lift up faces of poor (people) and you shall not honor faces of great.”
<sup>23</sup>tn Heb “In righteousness you shall judge your fellow citizen.”
<sup>24</sup>tn The term lyk!r` is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (NASB, NIV, NRSV, etc.; see also Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 129). It is sometimes related to I lkr “to go about as a trader, merchant” (BDB 940a), and taken to refer to a cut throat business dealings, but there may be a II lkr, the meaning of which is dubious (KBL3 [ET] 1237). Some would render it “go about as a spy.”
²⁵tn Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 129).
²⁶tn Heb “and you will not lift up on him sin.”
sn The meaning of the line is somewhat obscure. It means that one either should rebuke one’s neighbor when he sins lest one also becomes guilty, which is the way it is rendered here (see NIV, NRSV, NEB, JB, Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 129-130, and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 303, and the discussion on pp. 316-317), or may rebuke one’s neighbor without incurring sin just as long as he does not hate him in his heart (see the first part of the verse; cf. NASB, NAB).
²⁷tn Heb “and you shall not retain (anger?).” This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 305).
²⁸sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb bha “to love” with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition l as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 305 and esp. 317-318). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).
²⁹tn Heb “Your animals, you shall not cross-breed two different kinds.”
³⁰tn Heb “you shall not cause to go up on you.”
³¹sn Cf. Deut 22:11 where the Hebrew term <y]a^l=K! “two different kinds” refers to a mixture of linen and wool woven together in a garment.
³²tn Heb “And a man when he lies with a woman the lying of seed.”
³³sn That is, the woman had been previously been assigned for marriage to another man but the marriage deal had not yet been consummated. In the meantime, the woman has lost her virginity and has, therefore, lost part of her value to the master in the sale to the man for whom she had been designated. Compensation was, therefore, required (see the explanation in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 130-131).
³⁴sn On the guilt offering see the note on Lev 5:15 above.
³⁵tn Heb “on his sin which he has sinned.”
³⁶tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”
³⁷tn Heb “from his sin.”
³⁸tn Heb “tree of food.”
³⁹tn Heb “you shall circumcise its fruit (as) its foreskin,” taking the fruit to be that which is to be removed and, therefore, forbidden. Since the fruit is uncircumcised it is forbidden (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 306 and esp. Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 131-132).
⁴⁰tn Heb “it shall be to you uncircumcised.”
⁴¹tn See Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 132, where the translation reads “set aside for jubilation”; a special celebration before the Lord.
⁴²tn Heb “to add to you its produce.” The rendering here assumes that the point of this clause is simply that finally being allowed to eat the fruit in the fifth year adds the fruit of the tree to their harvest. Some take the verb to be from [sa “to gather” rather than [sy “to add, increase,” rendering the verse, “to gather to you the produce” (Gerstenberger, Leviticus, OTL, 260, and see the versions referred to in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 306). Others take it mean that by following the regulations given previously they will honor the Lord so that the Lord will cause the trees to increase the amount of fruit they would normally produce (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 303 and 306).
⁴³tn Heb “You shall not eat on the blood.” See the extensive remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 319-320 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 132-133). The LXX has “on the mountains,” suggesting that this is a prohibition against illegitimate places and occasions of worship, not the eating of blood.
⁴⁴tn Heb “You shall not practice divination and you shall not practice soothsaying.” For suggestions regarding the practices involved see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 133 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 320.
⁴⁵tn Heb “and you (singular) shall not ruin the corner of your (singular) beard.” The Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have the plural pronouns (i.e., “you” and “your” plural) rather than the singular of the MT.
⁴⁶tn Heb “And slash for the soul you shall not give.” The Hebrew term vp#n\ “soul, person, life” can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 21:1, 5; 22:5). See Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 306 and 320-321.
⁴⁷tn Heb “and a writing of incision you shall not give in you.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “to make her practice harlotry.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and the land become full of lewdness.” Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
⁵⁰sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives (i.e., familiar spirits; see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 321 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.
⁵¹tn Heb “And when a sojourner sojourns.”
⁵²tn Heb “and.”
⁵³tn That is, liquid capacity (KBL3 [ET] 640).
⁵⁴tn Heb “balances of righteousness,” and so throughout this sentence.
⁵⁵sn An ephah is a dry measure which measures about four gallons, or perhaps one third of a bushel, and a hin is a liquid measure of about 3.6 liters (= ca. 1 quart).
⁵⁶tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
¹tn Heb “or from the sojourner who sojourns.”
²tn Heb “his seed.”
³tn Regarding Molech and Molech worship see the note on Lev 18:21.
⁴sn This is not the most regular Hebrew verb for stoning (see instead lqs), but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (<gr; see KBL3 [ET] 1187a and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 136).
⁵tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
⁶sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
⁷tn Heb “his seed.”
⁸tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
⁹tn Heb “And if shutting (inf. abs.) they shut (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
¹⁰tn Heb “from that man.”
¹¹tn Heb “his seed.”
¹²tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
¹³sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.
¹⁴tn See the note on Lev 19:30 above.
¹⁵tn Heb “I will give my faces.”
¹⁶tn Heb “And you shall keep my statutes and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
¹⁷sn Compare the regulations in Lev 18:6-23.
¹⁸tn Heb “If a man a man who.”
¹⁹tn Heb “makes light of his father and his mother.”
²⁰tn Heb “his blood (plur.) is in him.”
sn The rendering “blood-guilt” refers to the fact that the shedding of blood brings guilt on those who shed it illegitimately (see the even the of blood of animals shed illegitimately, Lev 17:4; cf. the background of Gen 4:10-11). If the community performs a legitimate execution, however, the blood-guilt rests on the person who has been legitimately executed (see the remarks and literature cited in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 328).
²¹tn Heb “And a man who.” The syntax here and at the beginning of the following verses elliptically mirrors that of v. 9, which justifies the rendering as a conditional clause.
²²tn The LXX minuscule MSS have been followed here (see the BHS footnote a-a). The MT has a dittography, repeating “a man who commits adultery with the wife of” (see the explanation in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 328).
²³sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
²⁴tn See the note on v. 9 above.
²⁵tn The Hebrew term lb#T# “perversion” derives from the verb “to mix, confuse.”
²⁶tn Heb “(as the) lyings of a woman.” The reference is to homosexual intercourse.
²⁷tn Heb “And a man who takes a woman and her mother.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”
²⁸tn Regarding “lewdness,” see the note on Lev 18:17 above.
²⁹tn Heb “in fire they shall burn him and them.” The active plural verb sometimes requires a passive translation (GKC 144f and g), esp. when no active plural subject has been expressed in the context.
³⁰tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.
³¹tn Heb “to copulate it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
³²tn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
³³tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
³⁴tn Heb “and the two of them.”
³⁵tn Heb “his flesh.”
³⁶tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
³⁷sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.
³⁸tn Heb “And you shall keep all my statutes and all my regulations and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31, etc.).
³⁹tn Heb “and.”
⁴⁰tn One medieval Hebrew MS, the Sam. Pent., and all the major versions have plural “nations.”
⁴¹tn The LXX adds “all,” yielding lit. “all the peoples.”
⁴²tn Heb “And you shall distinguish.” The verb is the same as “set apart” at the end of the previous verse. The fact that God had “set them apart” from the other peoples roundabout them called for them to “distinguish between” the clean and the unclean, etc.
⁴³tn The MT has “to defile,” but the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Syriac have “to uncleanness.”
⁴⁴tn The LXX adds “all,” yielding lit. “all the peoples.”
⁴⁵tn The Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and some Targum MSS have the relative pronoun rv#a& “who, which,” rather than MT yK! “for, because; that.”
⁴⁶tn See the note on Lev 19:30 above.
⁴⁷sn This is not the must regular verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). The Sam. Pent. and LXX have “you (plur.) shall pelt them with stones.” At first glance Lev 20:27 appears to be out of place but, on closer examination, one could argue that it constitutes the back side of an envelope around the case laws in 20:9-21, with Lev 20:6 forming the front of the envelope (note also that execution of mediums and spiritists by stoning in v. 27 is not explicitly stated in v. 6). This creates a chiastic structure: prohibition against mediums and spiritists (vv. 6 and 27), variations of the holiness formula (vv. 7 and 25-26), and exhortations to keep the Lord’s statutes (and judgments; vv. 8 and 22-24). Again, in the middle we have the case laws (vv. 9-21).
¹tn The Hebrew term vp#n\ “soul, person, life” can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the lit. cited there).
²tn The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
³tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”
⁴tn Cf. v. 2a.
⁵tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the flesh relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 142-143 with Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 343 and 348).
⁶tn Heb “and in their body they shall not slash(es)” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).
⁷sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
⁸sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).
⁹tn The Sam. Pent. and all versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”
¹⁰tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 143 as opposed to that in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 343 and 348; cf. v. 14 below).
¹¹sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 143-144.
¹²tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.
¹³tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.
¹⁴tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b).
¹⁵tn Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).
¹⁶sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
¹⁷tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”
¹⁸tn The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
¹⁹tn The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
²⁰tn Heb “to their generations.”
²¹tn Heb “who in him is a flaw.” The rendering “physical flaw” is used to refer to any birth defect or physical injury of the kind described in the following verses (cf. the same Hebrew word also in Lev 24:19-20). The same term is used for “flawed” animals, which must not be offered to the Lord in Lev 22:20-25.
²²tn The particle yK! in this context is asseverative, indicating absolutely certainty (GKC 159ee).
²³tn Lexically, the Hebrew term <r|j* seems to refer to a split nose or perhaps any number of other facial defects (KBL3 [ET] 354; cf. Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 292 n. 7). The JPS Tanakh translation is “a limb too short” as a balance to the following term which means “extended, raised,” and apparently refers to “a limb too long” (see the explanation in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 146).
²⁴tn Heb “who there is in him a broken leg or a broken arm,” or perhaps “broken foot or broken hand.” The Hebrew term lg\r\ is commonly rendered “foot,” but it can also refer to the “leg,” and the Hebrew dy` is most often translated “hand,” but can also refer to the “(fore)arm” (as opposed to [K^ “palm of the hand” or “hand”). See KBL3 [ET] 386 and 1184, respectively (cf. the Tanakh translation). In this context, these terms probably apply to any part of the limb that was broken, including hand and the foot. Levine (Leviticus, JPSTC, 146) points out that such injuries often did not heal properly in antiquity because they were not properly set and, therefore, remained a “physical flaw” permanently.
<sup>25</sup>tn Heb “thin.” This could refer to either an exceptionally small (i.e., dwarfed) man (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 146) or perhaps one with a “withered limb” (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 342 and 344).
<sup>26</sup>tn The term rendered “spot” derives from a root meaning “mixed” or “confused.” It apparently refers to any kind of marked flaw in the eye that can be seen by others. The Sam. Pent., Syriac, Targum Onqelos, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have plural “his eyes.”
<sup>27</sup>sn The exact meaning and medical reference of the terms rendered “festering eruption” and “feverish rash” is unknown, but see the translations and remarks in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 146; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 342, 344, 349-350; and NIDOTTE 1.890 and 2.461.
<sup>28</sup>tn Or “shall approach” (see KBL3 [ET] 670).
<sup>29</sup>sn See the note on Lev 16:2 for the rendering “veil-canopy.”
<sup>30</sup>tn Heb “And.”
<sup>31</sup>tn Heb “And.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “holy things,” which means the “holy offerings” in this context, as the following verses show.
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and they shall not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me.” The latter (relative) clause applies to the “the holy things of the sons of Israel” (the first clause), not the Lord’s name (i.e., the immediately preceding clause).
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “To your generations.”
<sup>4</sup>tn The piel (v. 2) and hiphil (v. 3) forms of the verb vdq appear to be interchangeable in this context. Both mean “to consecrate” (lit. “make holy or sacred”).
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “and his impurity (is) on him.”
<sup>6</sup>sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty, see the note on Lev 7:20.
<sup>7</sup>tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.), but with a negative command it means “No man” (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 147).
<sup>8</sup>sn The diseases and discharges here are those described in Lev 13-15.
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “And the one.”
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “in all unclean of a person/soul” for the Hebrew term vp#n\ meaning a (dead) person.” See the note on Lev 19:28.
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “or a man who goes out from him a lying of seed.”
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “which there shall be uncleanness to him.”
<sup>13</sup>tn The Hebrew term for “person” here is <d`a* “human being,” which could either a male or a female person.
¹⁴tn Heb “to all his impurity.” The phrase refers to the impurity of the person who the man touches to become unclean (see the previous clause).
¹⁵sn The pronoun “it” refers back to the unclean things touched in vv. 4b-5.
¹⁶sn The term “carcass” refers to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice.
¹⁷tn Heb “and they will not lift up on it sin.” The pronoun “it” (masc.) apparently refers to any item of food that belongs to the category of “holy offerings” (see above).
¹⁸tn Heb “in it.”
¹⁹tn Heb “No stranger,” which refers here to anyone other than the Aaronic priests.
²⁰tn Heb “A resident (bv*oT from bvy “to dwell, reside”) of a priest and a hired laborer.” The meaning of the former term is uncertain. It could refer to a “guest” (NIV) or perhaps “bound servant” (NRSV; see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 149).
²¹tn Heb “and a priest, if he buys a person, the property of his silver.”
²²tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person whom the priest has purchased) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²³tn Heb “eat it”; the referent (the holy offerings) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁴tn Heb “and the (slave) born of his house, they shall eat in his food.” The LXX, Syriac, Targum Onqelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and some MSS of the Sam. Pent. have plural “ones born,” which matches the following plural “they” pronoun and the plural form of the verb.
²⁵tn Heb “And a daughter of a priest, if she is to a man, a stranger” (cf. the note on v. 10 above).
²⁶tn Heb “she in the contribution of the holy offerings shall not eat.” For “contribution (offering)” see the note on Lev 7:14 and the lit. cited there.
²⁷tn Heb “and seed there is not to her and she returns to the house of her father as her youth.”
²⁸tn Heb “And a man, if he eats a holy thing in error” (see the Lev 4:2 not on “straying,” which is the term rendered “by mistake” here).
²⁹sn When a person trespassed on something sacred to the Lord, there was reparation made for the trespass involving restitution of that which was violated plus one fifth of its value as a fine. It is possible that the restoration of the offering and the additional one fifth of its value was all in payment of money (see, e.g., Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 150). See the regulations for the “guilt offering” in Lev 5:16; 6:5[5:24] and the notes there.
³⁰sn Contextually, “They” could refer either to the people (v. 14a; cf. NRSV “No one”) or the priests (v. 14b; cf. NIV “The priests”), but the latter seems more likely (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 356 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 150). The priests were responsible to see that the portions of the offerings that were to be consumed by the priests as prebends not become accessible to the people. Mistakes in this matter (cf. v. 14) would bring “guilt” on the people, requiring punishment (v. 16).
³¹sn The Hebrew verb <yr]h@ rendered “contribute” here is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and NIDOTTE 4.335-336). The subject “they” here refers to the children of Israel (see the most immediate antecedent).
³²tn Heb “iniquity of guilt.” The Hebrew word /ou* “iniquity” can designate either acts of iniquity or the penalty (i.e., punishment) for such acts.
³³sn That is, when the lay people eat portions of offerings that should have been eaten only by priests and those who belonged to priestly households.
³⁴tn Heb “Man, man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 17:3, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 123c).
³⁵tn Heb “and from the foreigner (sing.) in Israel.” Some medieval Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate add “(the foreigner) who resides (in Israel)” (cf., e.g., Lev 20:2 above).
³⁶tn Heb “for your acceptance.” See Lev 1:3-4 above and the notes there.
³⁷tn Heb “in.”
³⁸tn Heb “all which in it (is) a flaw.” Note that the same term is used for physical flaws of people in Lev 21:17-24.
³⁹tn Heb “not for acceptance shall it be for you.”
⁴⁰tn The meaning of the expression rd\n\-aL@p^l= rendered here “for a special votive offering” is much debated. Some take it as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., KBL3 [ET] 927-928 and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (KBL3 [ET] 928). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb alp “to be wonderful, remarkable” (Milgrom, Numbers, JPSTC, 44). Levine suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to hlp “to set aside”; Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 151 and 193). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice arises as a special gift to God out of special circumstances in the life of the worshipper.
⁴¹tn Heb “in.”
⁴²tn Heb “for acceptance.”
⁴³tn Heb “all/any flaw shall not be in it.”
⁴⁴tn Or perhaps “a wart” (KBL3 [ET] 383; but see the remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 358).
⁴⁵sn See the note on Lev 21:20 above.
⁴⁶sn This term for offering “gift” is explained in the note on Lev 1:9.
⁴⁷tn Heb “And an ox.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “and stunted” (see KBL3 [ET] 1102).
⁴⁹sn The freewill offering was voluntary, so the regulations regarding it were more relaxed. Once a vow was made, the paying of it was not voluntary (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 151-152 for very helpful remarks on this verse).
⁵⁰sn Compare Lev. 21:20b.
⁵¹tn Heb “And from the hand of a son of a foreigner.”
⁵²tn Heb “for their being ruined (is) in them, flaw is in them.” The MT term <t*j*v=m* “their being ruined” is a muqtal form (= hophal participle) from tjv “to ruin.” The Sam. Pent. has plural <hb <ytjvm “deformities in them” (cf. the LXX translation). The Qumran Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev) has mh myt[ ], in which case the restored participle would appear to be the same as the Sam. Pent., but there is no b preposition before the pronoun, yielding “they are deformed” (see Freedman and Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, ASOR, 1985, p. 41 and the remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 358).
⁵³tn The words “the care of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
⁵⁴tn Heb “for an offering of a gift.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “And an ox or a sheep, it and its son, you shall not slaughter.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “in one day.”
⁵⁷tn More literally “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).
⁵⁸tn Heb “On that day.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “from it.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “And you shall keep my commandments and you shall do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8, etc.).
⁶¹tn Heb “to be to you for God.”
¹tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”
sn The term du@om rendered “appointed time” here can refer to either a time or place of meeting. See the note on “Tent of Meeting” du@om lh#a) “Tent of Meeting” in Lev 1:1.
²tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 155).
³tn Heb “between the two evenings,” perhaps designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night.
sn See Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC. 156 for a full discussion of the issues raised in this verse. The rabbinic tradition places the slaughter of passover offerings between ca. 3:00pm and 6:00pm, not precisely at twilight. Moreover, the term js^P# may mean “protective offering” rather than “passover offering,” although they amount to about the same thing in the historical context of the exodus from Egypt (see Exod 11-12).
⁴tn Heb “to this month.”
⁵tn Heb “work of service.”
⁶tn Heb “and you harvest its harvest.”
⁷tn Heb “the sheaf of the first of your harvest.”
⁸tn Heb “for your acceptance.”
⁹sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”
¹⁰tn Heb “And you shall make in the day of your waving the sheaf.”
¹¹tn Heb “a flawless lamb, a son of its year.”
¹²sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
¹³sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
¹⁴sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
¹⁵sn Heb “wine, one fourth of the hin.” A pre-exilic hin is about 3.6 liters (= ca. 1 quart), so one fourth of a hin would be about one cup.
¹⁶tn Heb “until the bone of this day.”
¹⁷tn Heb “for your generations.”
¹⁸tn Heb “seven sabbaths, they shall be complete.” The disjunctive accent under “sabbaths” keeps us from translating “seven complete sabbaths” (contrast NASB and NIV with NRSV). The text is somewhat awkward, which may explain why the LXX tradition is confused here, either adding “you shall count” again at the end of the verse, or leaving out “they shall be,” or keeping “they shall be” and adding “to you.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and.”
²⁰tn The Sam. Pent., LXX, Syriac, Targum Onqelos, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan insert the word toLj^ “loaves” (cf. Lev 2:4 and the note there). Even though “loaves” is not explicit in the MT, the number “two” suggests that these are discrete units, not just a measure of flour, so “loaves” should be assumed even in the MT.
²¹tn Heb “And you shall present on the bread.”
²²tn Heb “seven flawless lambs, sons of a year.”
²³tn Heb “and one bull, a son of a herd.”
²⁴tn The Sam. Pent. and LXX add “flawless.”
²⁵tn Heb “and their grain offering.”
²⁶sn See the note on Lev 1:9.
²⁷tn Heb “And you shall make.”
²⁸tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”
²⁹tn The Sam. Pent. and LXX have the article on “lambs.” The syntax of this verse is difficult. The object of the verb (two lambs) is far removed from the verb itself (shall wave) in the MT, and the preposition lu^ “upon,” rendered “along with” in this verse, is also added to the far removed subject (lit. “upon [the] two lambs”; see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 159). It is clear, however, that the two lambs and the loaves (along with their associated grain and drink offerings) constituted the “wave offering,” which served as the prebend “for the priest.” Burnt and sin offerings (vv. 18-19a) were not included in this (see Lev 7:11-14, 28-36)
³⁰tn Heb “And you shall proclaim [an assembly] in the bone of this day; a holy assembly it shall be to you” (see the remarks in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 160, and the remarks on the LXX rendering in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 367).
³¹tn Heb “for your generations.”
³²tn Heb “And when you harvest the harvest.”
³³tn Heb “you shall not complete the corner of your field in your harvest.”
³⁴sn Compare Lev 19:9-10.
³⁵tn Heb “a memorial of loud blasts.” Although the term for “horn” does not occur here, allowing for the possibility that vocal “shouts” of acclamation are envisioned (see Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 325), the “blast” of the shophar (made from a ram’s “horn”) is most likely what is intended. On this occasion, the loud blasts on the horn announced the coming of the new year on the first day of the seventh month (see the explanations in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 387 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 160).
³⁶tn Heb “and.”
³⁷sn See the description of this day and its regulations in Lev 16 and the notes there.
³⁸tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” See the note on Lev 16:29 above.
³⁹tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “on you (plur.).”
⁴¹tn The particular yK! is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the Tanakh translation).
⁴²tn Heb “it (i.e., that person; lit. “soul,” feminine) shall be cut off from its peoples (plur.).”
⁴³tn Heb “And any person.”
⁴⁴tn See KBL3 [ET] 3.
⁴⁵tn Heb “its people” (‘its’ is feminine to agree with “person,” lit. “soul,” which is feminine in Hebrew (cf. v. 29).
⁴⁶tn Heb “for your generations.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “you shall rest your sabbath.”
⁴⁸tn The rendering “booths” is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term hK*s% “hut, booth” and the nature of the celebration during this feast (see the following verses).
⁴⁹tn Heb “work of service.”
⁵⁰tn The Hebrew term tr\x#u& “solemn assembly (day)” derives from a root associated with restraint or closure. It could refer either to the last day as “closing assembly” day of the festival (e.g., NIV) or a special day of restraint expressed in a “solemn assembly” (e.g., NRSV).
⁵¹tn The LXX has “(their) burnt offerings, and their sacrifices, and their drink offerings.”
⁵²tn Heb “a matter of a day in its day.”
⁵³tn Heb “from to separation.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “fruit of majestic trees,” but the following terms and verses define what is meant by this expression. For extensive remarks on the celebration of this festival in history and tradition see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 163; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 389-390; and Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 328-329.
⁵⁵tn Heb “for your generations.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “in the booths,” perhaps referring to booths (i.e., huts) made of the foliage referred to in v. 40 (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 389).
⁵⁷tn Heb “in the booths.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “in the booths.” See the note on v. 42 above.
⁵⁹sn Gerstenberger takes v. 44 to be an introduction to another set of festival regulations, perhaps something like those found in Exod 23:14-17 (Gerstenberger, Leviticus, OTL, 352). For others this verse reemphasizes the Mosaic authority of the preceding festival regulations (e.g., Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 390).
¹tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb jql “to take” following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause.
²tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.”
³tn The Hebrew term tk#r)P* is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see NIDOTTE 3.687-689).
⁴tn Several medieval Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., and the LXX add “and his sons.”
⁵tn Heb “for your generations.”
⁶tn Alternatively, “pure (gold) lampstand,” based on Exod 25:31, etc., where the term for “gold” actually appears (see NASB, NIV, NRSV, and the remarks in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 395, etc.). However, in Lev 24:4 the adjective “pure” is feminine, corresponding to “lampstand,” not an assumed noun “gold” (contrast Exod 25:31), and the “table” in v. 6 was overlaid with gold, but was not made of pure gold. Therefore, it is probably better to translate “(ritually) pure lampstand” (v. 4) and “(ritually) pure table” (v. 6); see NEB, Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 164-165, and Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 307.
⁷sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
⁸tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves.”
⁹sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
¹⁰tn Heb “six of the row.”
¹¹sn This is not just any “incense” (tr#f)q=; NIDOTTE 3.913-916), but specifically “frankincense” (hn`b)l=; NIDOTTE 2.756-757).
<sup>12</sup>tn Heb “on (lu^) the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 395-396). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (see, e.g., NIV, NRSV, Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.
<sup>13</sup>sn The “memorial portion” (hr`k*z+a^) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23[7-16]).
¹⁴sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”
¹⁵tn Heb “In the day of the sabbath, in the day of the sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, and the Syriac delete the second occurrence of the expression.
¹⁶tn Or, “a perpetual regulation.”
¹⁷tn Heb “And.”
¹⁸tn Heb “the Israelite man,” but the Sam. Pent. has no article, and the point is that there was a conflict between the man of mixed background and a man of full Israelite descent.
¹⁹tn The verb rendered “misused” means literally to “bore through, pierce” (KBL3 [ET] 719; it is from bqn not bbq, see the participial form in v. 16a). Its exact meaning here is uncertain. The two verbs together may form a hendiadys, “he pronounced by cursing blasphemously” (Levine, Leviticus. JPSTC, 166), the idea being one of the following: (1) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” in a way or with words that amounted to “some sort of verbal aggression against Yahweh himself” (Gerstenberger, Leviticus, OTL, 362), (2) he pronounced a curse against the man using the name “Yahweh” (Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers, NCB, 110; Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 311), or (3) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” and thereby blasphemed, since the “Name” was never to be pronounced (a standard Jewish explanation). In one way or another, the offense surely violated Exod 20:7, one of the ten commandments, and the same verb for cursing is used explicitly in Exod 22:28[27] prohibition against “cursing” God. For a full remarks on these and related options for interpreting this verse see Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 335-336; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 408-409; and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 166.
²⁰tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
²¹tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision (KBL3 [ET] 976) for themselves on the mouth of the LORD.” In any case, they were apparently waiting for a direct word from the Lord regarding this matter (see vv. 13ff).
²²tn Heb “And.”
²³sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28[27].
²⁴sn See the note on v. 11 above.
²⁵tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul (vp#n\) of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (lit. soul) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (KBL3 [ET] 698). On the difficult of the meaning and significance of the term vp#n\ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11.
²⁶tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.”
²⁷tn Heb “soul under soul.”
²⁸tn Heb “gives a flaw in.”
²⁹tn Or “neighbor” (NIV).
³⁰tn Heb “in the man (<d`a*).”
<sup>31</sup>sn See the note on v. 18 above.
<sup>32</sup>tn Heb “and,” but here it is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death.
<sup>33</sup>tn Heb “a regulation of one.”
<sup>1</sup>tn Heb “the land shall rest a sabbath.”
<sup>2</sup>tn Heb “its produce,” but the feminine pronoun “its” probably refers to the “land” (a fem. noun in Hebrew; cf. v. 2), not the “field” or the “vineyard,” both of which are normally masculine nouns (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 170).
<sup>3</sup>tn Heb “and in the seventh year a sabbath of complete shall be to the land.” The expression “a sabbath of complete rest” is superlative, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the during the seventh year of the sabbatical cycle.
<sup>4</sup>tn Heb “and.”
<sup>5</sup>tn Heb “consecrated, devoted, forbidden” (ryz]n`). The same term is used for the “consecration” of the “Nazirite” (and his hair, Num 6:2, 18, etc.), a designation which, in turn, derives from the very same root.
⁶tn The word “produce” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
⁷tn A sojourning resident would be a foreign person who was probably residing as another kind of laborer in the household of a landowner (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 170-171). See v. 35 below.
⁸tn The words “for you” are implied.
⁹tn Heb “And you shall count off for yourself.”
¹⁰tn Heb “seven years seven times.”
¹¹tn Heb “and they shall be for you, the days of the seven sabbaths of years, forty-nine years.”
¹²sn On the “loud horn blasts” see the note on Lev 23:24, but unlike the language there, the Hebrew term for “horn” (rp*ov) actually appears here in this verse (twice).
¹³tn Heb “the year of the fifty years,” or perhaps “the year, fifty years” (GKC 134o, note 2).
¹⁴tn The characteristics of this “release” are detailed in the following verses. For substantial summaries and bibliography on the biblical and ancient Near Eastern material regarding such a “release” see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 427-434 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 270-274.
¹⁵tn Heb “A jubilee that shall be to you.” See verse 11a on the pronoun “that.”
sn Although there has been some significant debate about the original meaning of lb@oy “jubilee” (see the summary in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 434), the term most likely means “ram” and can refer also to a “ram’s horn.” The fiftieth year would, therefore, be called the “jubilee” because of the associated sounding of the “ram’s horn” (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 172 and the literature cited there).
¹⁶tn Heb
¹⁷tn Heb “you shall not sow and you shall not…and you shall not…”
sn See v. 5 above and the notes there.
¹⁸tn That is, the produce of the land (fem.; cf. v. 7 above).
¹⁹tn Heb “you (plural) shall return, a man.”
²⁰tn Heb “sell a sale.”
²¹tn Or “countryman” (NIV).
²²tn The Hebrew infinitive absolute hn{q* “buying” substitutes for the finite verb here in sequence with the previous finite verb “sell” at the beginning of the verse (see GKC 113z).
²³tn Heb “do not oppress a man his brother.” Here “brother” does not refer only to a sibling, but to a fellow Israelite.
²⁴tn Heb “in the number of years after.”
²⁵tn The words “that are left” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
sn That is, the person is buying the crops that the land will produce until the next jubilee, since the land will revert to the original owner at that time. The purchaser, therefore, is not actually buying the land itself.
²⁶tn Heb “To the mouth of the many years.”
²⁷tn Heb “to the mouth of the few years.”
tn Heb “a number of produce”; the words “years of” are implied.
²⁹tn Heb “And you shall not oppress a man his fellow citizen.”
³⁰tn Heb “And you shall keep and do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8, etc.).
³¹tn Heb “and you shall dwell on the land to security.”
³²tn Heb “and it (i.e., the land) shall make the produce.” Hebrew tc*u*w+ “and it shall make” is probably an older third, fem., sing. form of the verb (GKC 75m). The Sam. Pent. has the normal form.
³³tn The Sam. Pent. and LXX have “its produce” (cf. 25:3, 7, etc.) rather than “the produce.”
³⁴tn Heb “the produce,” referring to “the produce” of the sixth year of v. 21. The words “sixth year” are supplied for clarity.
³⁵tn Heb “until the ninth year, until bringing (in) its produce.”
³⁶tn The term rendered “without reclaim” means that the land has been bought for the full price and is, therefore, not subject to reclaim under any circumstances. This was not to be done with land in ancient Israel (contrast the final full sale of houses in v. 30; see the evidence cited in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 174).
³⁷tn That is, the Israelites were strangers and residents who were attached to the Lord’s household. They did not own the land. Compare the “priest’s resident” in Lev 22:10.
³⁸tn Heb “And in all the land of your property.”
³⁹tn Heb “right of redemption you shall give to the land.’
⁴⁰tn Heb “the sale of his brother.”
⁴¹tn Heb “and his hand reaches.”
⁴²tn Heb “and he finds as sufficiency of its redemption.”
⁴³tn Heb “and he shall calculate its years of sale.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “and return the excess.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “And if his hand has not found sufficiency of returning.” Although some versions take this to mean that he has not made enough to regain the land (e.g., NASB, NRSV; see also Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 176), the combination of terms in Hebrew corresponds to the portion of v. 27 that it refers specifically to refunding the money (cf. v. 27; see NIV and Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 315).
⁴⁶tn Heb “his sale.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “and it shall go out” (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 176).
⁴⁸tn Heb “a house of a residence of a walled city.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “shall be.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “of its sale.”
⁵¹tn Heb “days its right of redemption shall be” (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 176).
⁵²tn Heb “until fulfilling to it a complete year.’
⁵³tn Heb “the house which (is) in the city which to it (is) a wall.” The Kethiv has aO “no, not” rather than ol “to it,” which is the Qere.
⁵⁴tn See the note on v. 23 above.
⁵⁵tn Heb “And the houses of the villages.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “which there is not to them a wall.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “on the field.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “And.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “the houses of the cities of their property.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “And which he shall redeem from the Levites shall go out, sale of house and city, his property in the jubilee.”
sn Although the end of this verse is clear, the first part is notoriously difficult. There are five main views. (1) The first clause of the verse actually attaches to the previous verse, and refers to the fact that their houses retain a perpetual right of redemption (v. 32b), “which any of the Levites may exercise” (v. 33a; Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 418, 421). (2) It refers to property that one Levite sells to another Levite, which is then redeemed by still another Levite (v. 33a). In such cases, the property reverts to the original Levite owner in the jubilee year (v. 33b; Wenham, Leviticus, NICOT, 321). (3) It refers to houses in a city that had come to be declared as a levitical city but had original non-levitical owners. Once the city was declared to belong to the Levites, however, an owner could only sell his house to a Levite, and he could only redeem it back from a Levite up until the time of the first jubilee after the city was declared to be a levitical city. Thus, the first part of the verse translates, “Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites” (NRSV and Tanakh). At the first jubilee, however, all such houses became the property of the Levites (v. 33b; Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 353). (4) It refers to property “which is appropriated from the Levites” (not ‘redeemed from the Levites,’ v. 33a) by those who have bought it or taken it as security for debts owed to them by Levites who had fallen on bad times. Again, such property reverts back to the original Levite owners at the jubilee (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 177). (5) It simply refers to the fact that a Levite has the option of redeeming his house (i.e., the prefix form of the verb is taken to be subjunctive, “may or might redeem”), which he had to sell because he had fallen into debt or perhaps even become destitute. Even if he never gained the resources to do so, however, it would still revert to him in the jubilee year. The rendering offered in the main text above is intended to reflect this latter view.
⁶¹tn Heb “And.”
⁶²sn This refers to the region of fields just outside and surrounding the city where cattle were kept and garden crops were grown (Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 177).
⁶³tn Heb “and his hand slips with you.”
⁶⁴tn The form yj^w` “and shall live” looks like the adj. “living,” but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see KBL3 [ET] 309a and GKC 76i; cf. Lev 18:5).
⁶⁵tn Heb “a foreigner and resident,” which is probably to be combined (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 171 remark on Lev 25:6, and the note there above).
⁶⁶tn The meaning of the terms rendered “interest” and “profit” is much debated (see the summaries in Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 354-355 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 178). Verse 37, however, suggests that the first refers to a percentage of money and the second percentage of produce (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 421).
⁶⁷tn In form the Hebrew term yj@w+ “shall live” is the construct plural noun (i.e., “the life of”), but here it is used as the finite verb (cf. v. 35 and GKC 76i).
⁶⁸tn Heb “your money” and “your food.” With regard to “interest” and “profit” see the note on v. 36 above.
⁶⁹tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
⁷⁰tn Heb “you shall not serve against him service of a slave.”
⁷¹tn See the note on Lev 25:6 above.
⁷²tn Heb “and.”
⁷³tn Or perhaps reflexive niphal rather than passive, “they shall not sell themselves (as in) a slave sale.”
⁷⁴tn Heb “You shall not rule in him in violence.”
⁷⁵tn Heb “And your male slave and your female slave.” The Sam. Pent. has these as plural terms, “slaves,” not singular.
⁷⁶tn Heb “ from the nations which surround you, from them you shall buy male slave and female slave.”
⁷⁷tn The word “slaves” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied here.
⁷⁸tn Heb “family which is,” singular.
⁷⁹tn Heb “and your brothers, the sons of Israel, a man in his brother you shall not rule in him in violence.”
⁸⁰tn Heb “And if the hand of a foreigner and resident with you reaches” (cf. v. 26 for this idiom).
⁸¹tn Heb “and.”
⁸²tn Heb “offshoot, descendant.”
⁸³tn Heb “right of redemption shall be to him.”
⁸⁴tn Heb “the son of his uncle.”
⁸⁵tn Heb “or from the remainder of his flesh from his family.”
⁸⁶tc The LXX, followed by the Syriac, actually has “if,” which is not in the MT.
⁸⁷tn Heb “the years.”
⁸⁸tn Heb “as days of a hired worker he shall be with him.” For this and the following verses see the explanation in Budd, Leviticus, NCBC, 358-359.
⁸⁹tn Heb “to the mouth of them.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “but if a little remains in the years.”
⁹¹tn Heb “be with him”; the referent (the one who bought him) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁹²tn Heb “As a hired worker year in year.”
⁹³tn Heb “He”; the referent (the one who bought him) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁹⁴tn Heb “And if.”
⁹⁵tn Heb “because to me the sons of Israel are servants.”
¹sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” <l!yl!a$ see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4 above. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with la@ “god, God” and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”
²tn Heb “on.” The “sculpted stone” appears to be some sort of stone with images carved into (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 181 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 449).
³tn Heb “and my sanctuary you shall fear.”
⁴tn Heb “and my commandments you shall keep and do them.” This appears to be a kind of verbal hendiadys, where the first verb is a modifier of the action of the second verb (see GKC 120d, although rmv “to keep” is not cited there; cf. Lev 20:8; 25:18, etc.).
⁵tn Heb “and.”
⁶tn Heb “will reach for you the vintage season.”
⁷tn Heb “and.”
⁸tn Heb “and.”
⁹tn Heb “and there will be no one who terrifies.”
¹⁰tn Heb “harmful animal,” singular, but taken here as a collective plural.
¹¹tn Heb “to the sword.”
¹²tn Heb “cause to arise,” but probably used here for the Lord’s intention of confirming or maintaining the covenant commitment made a Sinai.
¹³tn Heb “old (produce) growing old.”
¹⁴tn Heb “and old from the presence of new you will bring out.”
¹⁵tn LXX codexes Vaticanus and Alexandrinus have “my covenant” rather than “my tabernacle.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and my soul (vp#n\) will not abhor you.”
¹⁷tn Heb “from being to them slaves.”
¹⁸tn Heb “And if.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and do not do.”
²⁰tn Heb “to not do.”
²¹tn Or “I also” (see KBL3 [ET] 76a).
²²tn Heb “soul.” These expressions may refer either to the physical effects of consumption and fever as our rendering suggests (e.g., Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 452 and 454, “diminishing eyesight and loss of appetite”), or perhaps the more psychological effects, “which exhausts the eyes” because of anxious hope “and causes depression” (lit. ‘causes soul [vp#n\] to pine away’)” (e.g., Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 185).
²³tn Heb “and.”
²⁴tn That is, “your enemies will eat” the produce that grows from the sown seed.
²⁵tn Heb “And if until these.”
²⁶tn Heb “I will add to discipline you seven (times) on your sins.”
²⁷tn Targum Onqelos, some medieval Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., LXX, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan have “the field” like in v. 4, rather than “the land.”
²⁸tn Heb “hostile with me,” but see the added prep. B= “in hostility” in v. 24 and 27.
²⁹tn Heb “your blow, stroke.”
³⁰tn The words “of your children” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
³¹tn Heb “and diminish you.”
³²tn Heb “And if in these.”
³³tn Heb “with me,” but see the added prep. B= “in hostility” in vv. 24 and 27.
³⁴tn Heb “and I myself will also strike you.”
³⁵tn Heb “vengeance of covenant.”
³⁶tn Heb “and,” the vav being concessive in this context.
³⁷tn Heb “in hand of enemy,” but Targums Pseudo-Jonathan and Neophiti have “in the hands of your enemies” (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 454).
³⁸tn Heb “When I break to you staff of bread.”
³⁹tn Heb “they will return your bread in weight.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “And if in this.”
⁴¹tn Heb “with me.”
⁴²tn Heb “in rage of hostility with you.”
⁴³sn Regarding these cultic installations see the remarks in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 188 and NIDOTTE 2.903 sec. 29. The term rendered “incense altars” might better be rendered “sanctuaries (of foreign deities)” or “steles.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “and my soul will abhor you.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “And I will give your cities a waste.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “and I will empty sword” (see KBL3 [ET] 1228a).
⁴⁷tn There are two Hebrew roots hxr, one meaning “to be pleased with, take pleasure” (KBL3 [ET] 1280-1281; cf. “enjoy” in NASB, NIV, NRSV, and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 452), and the other “to restore” (KBL3 [ET] 1281-1282; cf. NAB “retrieve” and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 189 “make up for”).
⁴⁸tn Heb “it shall rest which it did not rest.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “And.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “and,” but used in a concessive sense here.
⁵¹tn The term rendered “to stand up” is a noun, not an infinitive. It occurs only here and appears to designate someone who would take a powerful stand for them against their enemies.
⁵²tn Heb “in.”
⁵³tn Heb “in.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “And.” Many English versions take this to be a conditional clause even though there is no conditional particle (see, e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV; but see the very different rendering in Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 190). The temporal translation offered here (“When”) takes into account the particle za* “then,” which occurs twice in v. 41. The obvious contextual contrast between vv. 39 and 40 is expressed by “however” in the translation.
⁵⁵tn Heb “in their trespassing which they trespassed in me.” See the note on Lev 5:15, although the term is used in a more technical sense there in relation to the “guilt offering.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “and also which they walked.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “with me.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “or then,” although the LXX has “then” and the Syriac “and then.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “and then they make up for.” On the verb “make up for” see the note on v. 34 above.
⁶⁰tn Heb “from them.” The preposition “from” refers here to the agent of the action (Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 455).
⁶¹tn The jussive form of the verb with the simple vav here calls for a translation that expresses purpose.
⁶²tn The verb is the hophal infinitive construct with the third feminine singular suffix (GKC 67y; cf. v. 34).
⁶³tn Heb “from them.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “because and in because,” a double expression, which is used only here and in Ezek 13:10 (without the vav) for emphasis (GKC 158b).
⁶⁵tn Heb “and their soul has abhorred.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “covenant of former ones.”
sn For similar expressions referring back to the ancestors who refused to follow the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant see, for example, Deut 19:14, Jer 11:10, and Psa 79:8 (see Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 192 and Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 471).
⁶⁷tn Heb “gave.”
¹tn Cf. the note on Lev 22:21. Some take this as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., KBL3 [ET] 927-928 and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (KBL3 [ET] 928). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb alp “to be wonderful, remarkable” (Milgrom, Numbers, JPSTC, 44). Levine suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to hlp “to set aside”; Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 151 and 193). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice is a special gift to God that arose out of special circumstances in the life of the worshipper.
²tn Heb “in your valuation, persons to the LORD,” but “in your valuation” is a frozen form and, therefore, the person (“your”) does not figure into the translation (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 73). Instead of offering a person to the Lord one could redeem that person with the appropriate amount of money delineated in the following verses (see the note on Lev 5:15 above and the explanation in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 480-481).
³tn Heb “your conversion value shall be (for) the male.”
⁴tn Heb “from a son of ten years and until a son of sixty years.”
⁵tn See the note on Lev 5:15.
⁶tn Heb “five shekels silver.”
⁷tn Heb “and the priest shall cause him to be valued.”
⁸tn Heb “on the mouth which the hand of the one who vowed reaches.”
⁹tn Heb “which they may present from it an offering.” The plural active verb is sometimes best rendered in the passive (GKC 144f and g). Some medieval Hebrew MSS, the Sam. Pent., a MS of the Targum, and the Vulgate all have the singular verb instead (cf. similarly v. 11).
¹⁰tn Heb “from it.” Masc. ‘it’ here is used for the fem. in the MT (see GKC 137o note 3), but one medieval Hebrew MS, some MSS of the Sam. Pent., the LXX, and the Syriac have the feminine.
¹¹tn Heb “and the priest shall cause it to be valued.” See the note on v. 8 above.
¹²tn Heb “And if redeeming (inf. abs.) he redeems it (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
¹³tn Heb “on.”
¹⁴tn The expression “it shall stand” may be a technical term for “it shall be legally valid.”
¹⁵tn Heb “on it.”
¹⁶tn Heb “and it shall be to him.”
¹⁷tn Heb “a conversion value shall be to the mouth of its seed.”
¹⁸tn Heb “seed of a homer of barley in fifty shekels of silver.”
¹⁹tn Heb “from the year of the jubilee.” For the meaning of “jubilee,” see the note on Lev 25:10 above.
²⁰tn Heb “And if.”
²¹tn Heb “the silver.”
²²tn Heb
²³tn Heb “And if redeeming (inf. abs.) he redeems (finite vb.) the field, the one who consecrated it.” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
²⁴tn Heb “the silver of the conversion value.”
²⁵tn Heb “and it shall rise to him.” See KBL3 [ET] 1087a meaning 7 for the rendering offered here, but see also the note on the end of v. 14 above (cf. Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 476 and 478).
²⁶tn Heb “and if he sells.”
²⁷tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34).
²⁸tn Heb “like the field of the permanent dedication.” The Hebrew word <r\j# is a much discussed term. In this and the following verses it refers in a general way to the fact that something is permanently devoted to the Lord and, therefore, cannot be redeemed (cf. v. 20b). See the NIDOTTE 2.276-277, TDOT 5.180-199 esp. pp. 184, 188, and 198-199, and the numerous explanations in Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 483-485.
²⁹tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”
³⁰tn Heb “his field of purchase,” which is to be distinguished from his own ancestral “landed property” (cf. v. 16 above).
³¹tn Heb “give.”
³²tn See the note on Lev 5:15.
³³tn Heb “to the LORD it is.”
³⁴tn Heb “And if.”
³⁵tn Heb “in” or “by.”
³⁶tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated (thing) which a man shall permanently dedicate to the LORD.” The Hebrew term <rj refers to things that are devoted permanently to the Lord (see the note on v. 21 above).
³⁷tn On the “tithe” system in Israel see NIDOTTE 2.1035-1055 and esp. pp. 1041-1042 on Lev 27:30-33.
³⁸tn Heb “And if redeeming (inf. abs.) a man redeems (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
³⁹tn Heb “its one fifth on it.”
⁴⁰sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see Hartley, Leviticus, WBC, 485 and Levine, Leviticus, JPSTC, 200).
⁴¹tn Heb “He”; the referent (the owner of the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴²tn Heb “And if exchanging (inf. abs.) he exchanges it (finite vb.).” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 113p.
⁴³tn Heb “it shall be and its substitute shall be holy.”
⁴⁴tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition la#, however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak (un)to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The rendering “to speak to” here reflects this pattern in the book.