Imamat 18:1-30
Konteks18:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God! 18:3 You must not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you have been living, 1 and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you; 2 you must not 3 walk in their statutes. 18:4 You must observe my regulations 4 and you must be sure to walk in my statutes. 5 I am the Lord your God. 18:5 So you must keep 6 my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. 7 I am the Lord.
18:6 “‘No man is to approach any close relative 8 to have sexual intercourse with her. 9 I am the Lord. 10 18:7 You must not 11 expose your father’s nakedness by having sexual intercourse with your mother. 12 She is your mother; you must not have intercourse with her. 18:8 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s wife; she is your father’s nakedness. 13 18:9 You must not have sexual intercourse with your sister, whether she is your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, 14 whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; 15 you must not have sexual intercourse with either of them. 16 18:10 You must not expose the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter by having sexual intercourse with them, because they are your own nakedness. 17 18:11 You must not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have intercourse with her. 18 18:12 You must not have sexual intercourse with your father’s sister; she is your father’s flesh. 19 18:13 You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s flesh. 18:14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not approach his wife to have sexual intercourse with her. 20 She is your aunt. 21 18:15 You must not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife. You must not have intercourse with her. 18:16 You must not have sexual intercourse with your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 22 18:17 You must not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter; you must not take as wife either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to have intercourse with them. 23 They are closely related to her 24 – it is lewdness. 25 18:18 You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife 26 while she is still alive, 27 to have sexual intercourse with her.
18:19 “‘You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity 28 to have sexual intercourse with her. 18:20 You must not have sexual intercourse 29 with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her. 18:21 You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, 30 so that you do not profane 31 the name of your God. I am the Lord! 18:22 You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; 32 it is a detestable act. 33 18:23 You must not have sexual intercourse 34 with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual intercourse with it; 35 it is a perversion. 36
18:24 “‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations which I am about to drive out before you 37 have been defiled with all these things. 18:25 Therefore 38 the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, 39 so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 18:26 You yourselves must obey 40 my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, 41 18:27 for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, 42 and the land has become unclean. 18:28 So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it 43 just as it has vomited out the nations 44 that were before you. 18:29 For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. 45 18:30 You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes 46 that have been done before you, so that you do not 47 defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.’”
Imamat 4:1-35
Konteks4:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 48 4:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally 49 from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any 50 one of them 51 –
4:3 “‘If the high priest 52 sins so that the people are guilty, 53 on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord 54 for a sin offering. 55 4:4 He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord. 4:5 Then that high priest must take some of the blood 56 of the bull and bring it to the Meeting Tent. 4:6 The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle 57 some of it 58 seven times before the Lord toward 59 the front of the veil-canopy 60 of the sanctuary. 4:7 The priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the bull’s blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
4:8 “‘Then he must take up all the fat from the sin offering bull: 61 the fat covering the entrails 62 and all the fat surrounding the entrails, 63 4:9 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys) 64 4:10 – just as it is taken from the ox of the peace offering sacrifice 65 – and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 4:11 But the hide of the bull, all its flesh along with its head and its legs, its entrails, and its dung – 4:12 all the rest of the bull 66 – he must bring outside the camp 67 to a ceremonially clean place, 68 to the fatty ash pile, 69 and he must burn 70 it on a wood fire; it must be burned on the fatty ash pile.
4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally 71 and the matter is not noticed by 72 the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, 73 so they become guilty, 4:14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed 74 becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, 4:15 the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter 75 the bull before the Lord. 4:16 Then the high priest 76 must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent, 4:17 and that priest must dip his finger in the blood 77 and sprinkle 78 some of the blood seven times 79 before the Lord toward 80 the front of the veil-canopy. 81 4:18 He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar 82 which is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
4:19 “‘Then the priest 83 must take all its fat 84 and offer the fat 85 up in smoke on the altar. 4:20 He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it. 86 So the priest will make atonement 87 on their behalf and they will be forgiven. 88 4:21 He 89 must bring the rest of the bull outside the camp 90 and burn it just as he burned the first bull – it is the sin offering of the assembly.
4:22 “‘Whenever 91 a leader, by straying unintentionally, 92 sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, 93 and he pleads guilty, 4:23 or his sin that he committed 94 is made known to him, 95 he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering. 96 4:24 He must lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter 97 it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord – it is a sin offering. 4:25 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 4:26 Then the priest 98 must offer all of its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat of the peace offering sacrifice. So the priest will make atonement 99 on his behalf for 100 his sin and he will be forgiven. 101
4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual 102 sins by straying unintentionally 103 when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, 104 and he pleads guilty 4:28 or his sin that he committed 105 is made known to him, 106 he must bring a flawless female goat 107 as his offering for the sin 108 that he committed. 4:29 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter 109 the sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 4:30 Then the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 4:31 Then he must remove all of its fat (just as fat was removed from the peace offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest will make atonement 110 on his behalf and he will be forgiven. 111
4:32 “‘But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female. 4:33 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it for a sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 4:34 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 4:35 Then the one who brought the offering 112 must remove all its fat (just as the fat of the sheep is removed from the peace offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar on top of the other gifts of the Lord. So the priest will make atonement 113 on his behalf for his sin which he has committed and he will be forgiven. 114
[18:3] 1 tn Heb “As the work [or “deed”] of the land of Egypt, which you were dwelling in it, you must not do.”
[18:3] 2 tn Heb “and as the work [or “deed”] of the land of Canaan which I am bringing you to there, you must not do.” The participle “I am bringing” is inceptive; the
[18:3] 3 tn Heb “and you shall not walk.”
[18:4] 4 tn Heb “My regulations you shall do”; KJV, NASB “my judgments”; NRSV “My ordinances”; NIV, TEV “my laws.”
[18:4] sn The Hebrew term translated “regulation” (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat) 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 especially the thematic and formulaic relationships between the introduction here in Lev 18:1-5 and the paraenesis in Lev 20:22-26, both of which refer explicitly to the corrupt nations and the need to separate from them by keeping the
[18:4] 5 tn Heb “and my statutes you shall keep [or “watch; guard”] to walk in them.”
[18:5] 6 tn Heb “And you shall keep.”
[18:5] 7 tn Heb “which the man shall do them and shall live in them.” The term for “a man, human being; mankind” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female. The expression וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living” so it is written וְחָיָה (vÿkhayah) in Smr, but the MT form is simply the same verb written as a double ayin verb (see HALOT 309 s.v. חיה qal and GKC 218 §76.i; cf. Lev 25:35).
[18:6] 8 tn Heb “Man, man shall not draw near to any flesh (שְׁאֵר, shÿ’er) of his body/flesh (בָּשָׂר, basar).” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or “every”) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2). The two words for “flesh” are combined to refer to emphasize the physical familial relatedness (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119).
[18:6] 9 tn Heb “to uncover [her] nakedness” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV), which is clearly euphemistic for sexual intercourse (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 282, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 119). This expression occurs a number of times in the following context and is generally translated “have sexual intercourse with [someone],” although in the case of the father mentioned in the following verse the expression may be connected to the shame or disgrace that would belong to the father whose wife’s sexuality is violated by his son. See the note on the word “mother” in v. 7.
[18:6] 10 sn The general statement prohibiting sexual intercourse between close relatives serves as an opening summary statement for the following section, which gives details concerning which degrees of relationship are specifically forbidden.
[18:7] 11 tn 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.
[18:7] 12 tn Heb “The nakedness of your father and [i.e., even] the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover.”
[18:7] 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 B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 120, and J. E. 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.
[18:8] 13 tn 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).
[18:9] 14 tn Heb “the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother.”
[18:9] 15 tn Heb “born of house or born of outside.” CEV interprets as “whether you grew up together or not” (cf. also TEV, NLT).
[18:9] 16 tc Several medieval Hebrew
[18:9] tn For a smooth English translation “either of” was added.
[18:10] 17 sn That is, to have sexual intercourse with one’s granddaughter would be like openly exposing one’s own shameful nakedness (see the note on v. 7 above).
[18:11] 18 tn Heb “The nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife born of your father, she is your sister; you must not uncover her nakedness.” 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 intercourse with her.
[18:12] 19 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[18:14] 20 tn Heb “you must not draw near to his wife.” In the context this refers to approaching one’s aunt to have sexual intercourse with her, so this has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:14] 21 tn As in v. 12 (see the note there), some
[18:16] 22 sn Regarding the last clause, see the notes on vv. 7 and 10 above.
[18:17] 23 tn Heb “You must not uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter; the daughter of her son and the daughter of her daughter you must not take to uncover her nakedness.” Translating “her” as “them” provides consistency in the English. 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.
[18:17] 24 tc Heb “they are her flesh.” The LXX reads “your” here (followed by NRSV). If the LXX reading were followed by the present translation, the result would be “They are closely related to you.”
[18:17] 25 tn The term rendered “lewdness” almost always carries a connotation of cunning, evil device, and divisiveness (cf. HALOT 272 s.v. I זִמָּה 2, “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). Recent English versions differ on how they handle this: NAB “would be shameful”; CEV “would make you unclean”; NIV “wickedness”; NLT “horrible wickedness”; NRSV “depravity”; TEV “incest.”
[18:18] 26 tn Or “as a concubine”; Heb “And a woman to her sister you shall not take to be a second wife [or “to be a concubine”].” According to HALOT 1059 s.v. III צרר, the infinitive “to be a second wife” (לִצְרֹר, litsror) is a denominative verb from II צָרָה A (“concubine; second wife”), which, in turn, derives from II צר “to treat with hostility” (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 283, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 122).
[18:18] 27 tn Heb “on her in her life.”
[18:19] 28 tn Heb “in the menstruation of her impurity”; NIV “during the uncleanness of her monthly period.”
[18:20] 29 tn Heb “And to the wife of your fellow citizen you shall not give your layer for seed.” The meaning of “your layer” (שְׁכָבְתְּךָ, shÿkhavtÿkha) is uncertain (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 122, “you shall not place your layer of semen”; but cf. also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 283, and the literature cited there for the rendering, “you shall not give your penis for seed”).
[18:21] 30 tn Heb “And from your seed you shall not give to cause to pass over to Molech.” Smr (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 N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NCBC), 87-88; P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 259-60; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 333-37, and the literature 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 Kgs 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 זֶרַע (zera’) meaning “seed, semen” in v. 20 but “offspring” in v. 21.
[18:21] 31 tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
[18:22] 32 tn Heb “And with a male you shall not lay [as the] lyings of a woman” (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 123). The specific reference here is to homosexual intercourse between males.
[18:22] 33 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, 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
[18:23] 34 tn See the note on v. 20 above.
[18:23] 35 tn Heb “to copulate with it” (cf. Lev 20:16).
[18:23] 36 tn The Hebrew term תֶּבֶל (tevel, “perversion”) derives from the verb “to mix; to confuse” and therefore refers to illegitimate mixtures of species or violation of the natural order of things.
[18:24] 37 tn Heb “which I am sending away (Piel participle of שָׁלַח [shalakh, “to send”]) from your faces.” The rendering here takes the participle as anticipatory of the coming conquest events.
[18:25] 38 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.
[18:25] 39 tn Heb “and I have visited its [punishment for] iniquity on it.” See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
[18:26] 40 tn Heb “And you shall keep, you.” The latter emphatic personal pronoun “you” is left out of a few medieval Hebrew
[18:26] 41 tn Heb “the native and the sojourner”; NIV “The native-born and the aliens”; NAB “whether natives or resident aliens.”
[18:27] 42 tn Heb “for all these abominations the men of the land who were before you have done.”
[18:28] 43 tn Heb “And the land will not vomit you out in your defiling it.”
[18:28] 44 tc The MT reads the singular “nation” and is followed by ASV, NASB, NRSV; the LXX, Syriac, and Targum have the plural “nations” (cf. v. 24).
[18:29] 45 sn Regarding the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
[18:30] 46 tn Heb “to not do from the statutes of the detestable acts.”
[18:30] 47 tn Heb “and you will not.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[4:1] 48 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 HT] below.
[4:2] 49 tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְׁגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in 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 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [bÿyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the
[4:2] 50 tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).
[4:2] 51 tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [’im] 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.”
[4:3] 52 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[4:3] 53 tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”
[4:3] 54 tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
[4:3] 55 sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “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” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “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 R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.
[4:5] 56 tn Heb “from the blood of the bull” (and similarly throughout this chapter).
[4:6] 57 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vÿhizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb meaning “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
[4:6] 58 tn Heb “of the blood.” The relative pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
[4:6] 59 tn 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” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:234; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 60); cf. NAB, CEV.
[4:6] 60 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB) or “curtain” (e.g., NIV, NRSV), 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 R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
[4:8] 61 tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”
[4:8] 62 tc The MT has here the preposition עַל (’al, “on, upon” [i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English]), but Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums read אֶת (’et), which is what would be expected (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (עַל) the entrails” at the end of the verse.
[4:8] 63 tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).
[4:9] 64 tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
[4:10] 65 tn Heb “taken up from”; KJV, ASV “taken off from”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “removed.” See the notes on Lev 3:3-4 above (cf. also 3:9-10, 14-15).
[4:12] 66 tn All of v. 11 is a so-called casus pendens (also known as an extraposition or a nominative absolute), 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).
[4:12] 67 tn Heb “And he (the offerer) shall bring out all the bull to from outside to the camp to a clean place.”
[4:12] 68 tn Heb “a clean place,” but referring to a place that is ceremonially clean. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:12] 69 tn Heb “the pouring out [place] of fatty ash.”
[4:12] 70 tn Heb “burn with fire.” This expression is somewhat redundant in English, so the translation collocates “fire” with “wood,” thus “a wood fire.”
[4:13] 71 tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).
[4:13] 72 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”
[4:13] 73 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the
[4:14] 74 tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known”; KJV “which they have sinned against it.” The Hebrew עָלֶיהָ (’aleha, “on it”) probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:243).
[4:15] 75 tn 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 officiating priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”
[4:16] 76 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV).
[4:17] 77 tn 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.
[4:17] 78 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vÿhizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb translated “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
[4:17] 79 tc 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; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 47).
[4:17] 80 tn See the note on v. 6 above.
[4:17] 81 tn See the note on v. 6 above.
[4:18] 82 sn See v. 7, where this altar is identified as the altar of fragrant incense.
[4:19] 83 tn 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.
[4:19] 84 tn Heb “take up all its fat from it”; NASB “shall remove all its fat from it.”
[4:19] sn See the full discussion of the fat regulations in Lev 4:8-9 above.
[4:19] 85 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fat) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Only the fat is meant here, since the “rest” of the bull is mentioned in v. 21.
[4:20] 86 sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the [rest of] the bull.”
[4:20] 87 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:20] 88 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”
[4:21] 89 sn See the note on the word “slaughter” in v. 15.
[4:21] 90 tn Heb “And he shall bring out the bull to from outside to the camp.”
[4:22] 91 tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
[4:22] 92 tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
[4:22] 93 tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the
[4:23] 94 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him”; NAB “if he learns of the sin he committed.”
[4:23] 95 tn Lev 4:22b-23a is difficult. The present translation suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew אוֹ (’o, “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 (“his sin…is made known to him”). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:95-96; Lev 4:27-28; and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
[4:23] 96 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a male without defect”; cf. NLT “with no physical defects.”
[4:24] 97 tn The LXX has a plural form here and also for the same verb later in the verse. See the note on Lev 1:5a.
[4:26] 98 tn 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.
[4:26] 99 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:26] 100 tn Heb “from.” In this phrase the preposition מִן (min) may be referring to the reason or cause (“on account of, because of”; GKC 383 §119.z). As J. E. Hartley (Leviticus [WBC], 47) points out, “from” may refer to the removal of the sin, but is an awkward expression. Hartley also suggests that the phrasing might be “an elliptical expression for יְכַפֵּר עַל־לְטַהֵר אֶת־מִן, ‘he will make expiation for…to cleanse…from…,’ as in 16:30.”
[4:26] 101 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[4:27] 102 tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”
[4:27] 103 tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”
[4:27] 104 tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the
[4:28] 105 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned is made known to him”; cf. NCV “when that person learns about his sin.”
[4:28] 106 tn Lev 4:27b-28a is essentially the same as 4:22b-23a (see the notes there).
[4:28] 107 tn Heb “a she-goat of goats, a female without defect”; NAB “an unblemished she-goat.”
[4:28] 108 tn Heb “on his sin.”
[4:29] 109 tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).
[4:31] 110 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:31] 111 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[4:35] 112 tn 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).
[4:35] 113 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:35] 114 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
