Imamat 2:4

Processed Grain Offerings

2:4 “‘When you present an offering of grain baked in an oven, it must be made of ¹  choice wheat flour baked into unleavened loaves ²  mixed with olive oil or ³  unleavened wafers smeared ⁴  with olive oil.

Imamat 3:9

3:9 Then he must present a gift to the Lord from the peace offering sacrifice: He must remove all the fatty tail up to the end of the spine, the fat covering the entrails, and all the fat on the entrails, ⁵ 

Imamat 4:3

For the Priest

4:3 “‘If the high priest ⁶  sins so that the people are guilty, ⁷  on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord ⁸  for a sin offering. ⁹ 

Imamat 4:20

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. ¹⁰  So the priest will make atonement ¹¹  on their behalf and they will be forgiven. ¹² 

Imamat 5:11

5:11 “‘If he cannot afford ¹³  two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ¹⁴  he must bring as his offering for his sin which he has committed ¹⁵  a tenth of an ephah ¹⁶  of choice wheat flour ¹⁷  for a sin offering. He must not place olive oil on it and he must not put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.

Imamat 5:18

5:18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, ¹⁸  for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ¹⁹  on his behalf for his error which he committed ²⁰  (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven. ²¹ 

Imamat 6:15

6:15 and the priest ²²  must take up with his hand some of the choice wheat flour of the grain offering ²³  and some of its olive oil, and all of the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he must offer its memorial portion ²⁴  up in smoke on the altar ²⁵  as a soothing aroma to the Lord. ²⁶ 

Imamat 7:12

7:12 If he presents it on account of thanksgiving, ²⁷  along with the thank offering sacrifice he must present unleavened loaves mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers smeared with olive oil, ²⁸  and well soaked ²⁹  ring-shaped loaves made of choice wheat flour ³⁰  mixed with olive oil.

Imamat 8:31

8:31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the meat at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and there you are to eat it and the bread which is in the ordination offering basket, just as I have commanded, ³¹  saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it,’

Imamat 11:32

11:32 Also, anything they fall on ³²  when they die will become unclean – any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water ³³  and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean.

Imamat 13:21

13:21 If, however, ³⁴  the priest examines it, and ³⁵  there is no white hair in it, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days. ³⁶ 

Imamat 13:26

13:26 If, however, ³⁷  the priest examines it and ³⁸  there is no white hair in the bright spot, it is not deeper than the skin, ³⁹  and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days. ⁴⁰ 

Imamat 13:31-32

13:31 But if the priest examines the scall infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ⁴¹  and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall infection for seven days. ⁴²  13:32 The priest must then examine the infection on the seventh day, and if ⁴³  the scall has not spread, there is no reddish yellow hair in it, and the scall does not appear to be deeper than the skin, ⁴⁴ 

Imamat 14:10

The Eighth Day Atonement Rituals

14:10 “On the eighth day he ⁴⁵  must take two flawless male lambs, one flawless yearling female lamb, three-tenths of an ephah of choice wheat flour as a grain offering mixed with olive oil, ⁴⁶  and one log of olive oil, ⁴⁷ 

Imamat 14:17

14:17 The priest will then put some of the rest of the olive oil that is in his hand ⁴⁸  on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering,

Imamat 14:28

14:28 Then the priest is to put some of the olive oil that is in his hand ⁴⁹  on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering,

Imamat 15:10

15:10 Anyone who touches anything that was under him ⁵⁰  will be unclean until evening, and the one who carries those items ⁵¹  must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.

Imamat 17:15

Regulations for Eating Carcasses

17:15 “‘Any person ⁵²  who eats an animal that has died of natural causes ⁵³  or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, ⁵⁴  must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean.

Imamat 20:25

20:25 Therefore you must distinguish ⁵⁵  between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground – creatures ⁵⁶  I have distinguished for you as unclean. ⁵⁷ 

Imamat 25:33

25:33 Whatever someone among the Levites might redeem – the sale of a house which is his property in a city – must revert in the jubilee, ⁵⁸  because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the Israelites.

[2:4]  ¹ tn The insertion of the words “it must be made of” is justified by the context and the expressed words “it shall be made of” in vv. 7 and 8 below.

[2:4]  ² sn These “loaves” were either “ring-shaped” (HALOT 317 s.v. חַלָּה) or “perforated” (BDB 319 s.v. חַלָּה; cf. J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:184).

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “and.” Here the conjunction vav (ו) has an alternative sense (“or”).

[2:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew word מְשֻׁחִים (mÿshukhim) translated here as “smeared” is often translated “anointed” in other contexts. Cf. TEV “brushed with olive oil” (CEV similar).

[3:9]  ⁵ sn See the note on this phrase in 3:3.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”

[4:3]  ⁹ 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.

[4:20]  ¹⁰ sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the [rest of] the bull.”

[4:20]  ¹¹ sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).

[4:20]  ¹² tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”

[5:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach [or is not sufficient] to”; cf. NASB “if his means are insufficient for.” The expression is the same as that in Lev 5:7 above except for the verb: נָשַׂג (nasag, “to collect, to reach, to be sufficient”) is used here, but נָגַע (nagah, “to touch, to reach”) is used in v. 7. Smr has the former in both v. 7 and 11.

[5:11]  ¹⁴ tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above (cf. also 5:7).

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn 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.”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ sn A tenth of an ephah would be about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:306). English versions handle the amount somewhat differently, cf. NCV “about two quarts”; TEV “one kilogramme”; CEV “two pounds.”

[5:11]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on Lev 2:1 above.

[5:18]  ¹⁸ tn The statement here is condensed. See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.

[5:18]  ¹⁹ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[5:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.

[5:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV and NASB both similar).

[6:15]  ²² 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 J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 89 for the possibility of textual corruption.

[6:15]  ²³ tn Heb “shall take up from it with his hand some of the choice wheat flour of the grain offering.”

[6:15]  ²⁴ sn See the note on Lev 2:2.

[6:15]  ²⁵ tc Smr reading, which includes the locative ה (hey, translated “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).

[6:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he shall offer up in smoke [on] the altar a soothing aroma, its memorial portion, to the Lord.”

[7:12]  ²⁷ tn Or “for a thank offering.”

[7:12]  ²⁸ tn See the notes on Lev 2:4.

[7:12]  ²⁹ tn See the note on Lev 6:21 [6:14 HT].

[7:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “choice wheat flour well soaked ring-shaped loaves.” See the note on Lev 2:1.

[8:31]  ³¹ 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.”

[11:32]  ³² tn Heb “And all which it shall fall on it from them.”

[11:32]  ³³ tn Heb “in water it shall be brought.”

[13:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and if.”

[13:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[13:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”

[13:26]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and if.”

[13:26]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “and indeed.”

[13:26]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and low it is not ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, “lower than”) the skin.” See the note on v. 20 above. Cf. TEV “not deeper than the surrounding skin.”

[13:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and the priest will shut him up seven days.”

[13:31]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and behold there is not its appearance deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”

[13:31]  ⁴² tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection of the scall seven days.”

[13:32]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV).

[13:32]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and the appearance of the scall is not deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”

[14:10]  ⁴⁵ tn The subject “he” probably refers to the formerly diseased person in this case (see the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).

[14:10]  ⁴⁶ tn This term is often rendered “fine flour,” but it refers specifically to wheat as opposed to barley (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 10) and, although the translation “flour” is used here, it may indicate “grits” rather than finely ground flour (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:179; 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 (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 196; Milgrom, 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.

[14:10]  ⁴⁷ tn A “log” (לֹג, log) of oil is about one-sixth of a liter, or one-third of a pint, or two-thirds of a cup.

[14:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “on his hand.”

[14:28]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “on his hand.”

[15:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “which shall be under him.” The verb is perhaps a future perfect, “which shall have been.”

[15:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the previously mentioned items which were under the unclean person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).

[17:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”

[17:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”

[20:25]  ⁵⁵ tn 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.

[20:25]  ⁵⁶ tn The word “creatures” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear that the following relative clause modifies the animal, bird, or creeping thing mentioned earlier, and not the ground itself.

[20:25]  ⁵⁷ tc The MT has “to defile,” but Smr, LXX, and Syriac have “to uncleanness.”

[25:33]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “And which he shall redeem from the Levites shall go out, sale of house and city, his property in the jubilee.” 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; J. E. 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; G. J. 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. In this case the first part of the verse would be translated, “Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites” (NRSV, NJPS). At the first jubilee, however, all such houses became the property of the Levites (v. 33b; P. J. 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 (B. A. 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 present translation is intended to reflect this latter view.