Imamat 1:14

From the Birds

1:14 “‘If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering from the birds, ¹  he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons. ² 

Imamat 2:10

2:10 The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and to his sons – it is ³  most holy from the gifts of the Lord.

Imamat 2:12

2:12 You can present them to the Lord as an offering of first fruit, ⁴  but they must not go up to the altar for a soothing aroma.

Imamat 3:6-7

Animal from the Flock

3:6 “‘If his offering for a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock, he must present a flawless male or female. ⁵  3:7 If he presents a sheep as his offering, he must present it before the Lord.

Imamat 3:16

3:16 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar as a food gift for a soothing aroma – all the fat belongs to the Lord.

Imamat 4:17

4:17 and that priest must dip his finger in the blood ⁶  and sprinkle ⁷  some of the blood seven times ⁸  before the Lord toward ⁹  the front of the veil-canopy. ¹⁰ 

Imamat 6:7

6:7 So the priest will make atonement ¹¹  on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven ¹²  for whatever he has done to become guilty.” ¹³ 

Imamat 6:14

The Grain Offering of the Common Person

6:14 “‘This is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron are to present it ¹⁴  before the Lord in front of the altar,

Imamat 7:5

7:5 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar ¹⁵  as a gift to the Lord. It is a guilt offering.

Imamat 8:27

8:27 He then put all of them on the palms ¹⁶  of Aaron and his sons, who waved ¹⁷  them as a wave offering before the Lord. ¹⁸ 

Imamat 8:34

8:34 What has been done ¹⁹  on this day the Lord has commanded to be done ²⁰  to make atonement for you.

Imamat 9:5

9:5 So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of ²¹  the Meeting Tent and the whole congregation presented them and stood before the Lord.

Imamat 9:21

9:21 Finally Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before the Lord just as Moses had commanded.

Imamat 10:10

10:10 as well as ²²  to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ²³ 

Imamat 14:11

14:11 and the priest who pronounces him clean will have the man who is being cleansed stand along with these offerings ²⁴  before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

Imamat 14:23

14:23 “On the eighth day he must bring them for his purification to the priest at the entrance ²⁵  of the Meeting Tent before the Lord,

Imamat 14:27

14:27 and sprinkle some of the olive oil that is in his left hand with his right forefinger ²⁶  seven times before the Lord.

Imamat 14:29

14:29 and the remainder of the olive oil that is in the hand ²⁷  of the priest he is to put ²⁸  on the head of the one being cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord.

Imamat 16:7-8

16:7 He must then take the two goats ²⁹  and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 16:8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, ³⁰  one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. ³¹ 

Imamat 18:5

18:5 So you must keep ³²  my statutes and my regulations; anyone who does so will live by keeping them. ³³  I am the Lord.

Imamat 19:16

19:16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. ³⁴  You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. ³⁵  I am the Lord.

Imamat 19:18

19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge ³⁶  against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. ³⁷  I am the Lord.

Imamat 19:21

19:21 He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram, ³⁸ 

Imamat 19:28

19:28 You must not slash your body for a dead person ³⁹  or incise a tattoo on yourself. ⁴⁰  I am the Lord.

Imamat 19:35

19:35 You must not do injustice in the regulation of measures, whether of length, weight, or volume. ⁴¹ 

Imamat 19:37

19:37 You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations. ⁴²  I am the Lord.’”

Imamat 22:8

22:8 He must not eat an animal that has died of natural causes ⁴³  or an animal torn by beasts and thus become unclean by it. I am the Lord.

Imamat 22:24

22:24 You must not present to the Lord something with testicles that are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut off; ⁴⁴  you must not do this in your land.

Imamat 22:29

22:29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is acceptable for your benefit. ⁴⁵ 

Imamat 23:2

23:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies – my appointed times: ⁴⁶ 

Imamat 23:5

23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, ⁴⁷  is a Passover offering to the Lord.

Imamat 23:9

The Presentation of First Fruits

23:9 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Imamat 23:11

23:11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit ⁴⁸  – on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it. ⁴⁹ 

Imamat 23:26-27

The Day of Atonement

23:26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:27 “The ⁵⁰  tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. ⁵¹  It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves ⁵²  and present a gift to the Lord.

Imamat 23:29

23:29 Indeed, ⁵³  any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. ⁵⁴ 

Imamat 24:6-8

24:6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, ⁵⁵  on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 24:7 You must put pure frankincense ⁵⁶  on each row, ⁵⁷  and it will become a memorial portion ⁵⁸  for the bread, a gift ⁵⁹  to the Lord. 24:8 Each Sabbath day ⁶⁰  Aaron ⁶¹  must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion ⁶²  is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant.

Imamat 26:2

26:2 You must keep my Sabbaths and reverence ⁶³  my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

Imamat 26:46

Summary Colophon

26:46 These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established ⁶⁴  between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through ⁶⁵  Moses.

Imamat 27:2

27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When a man makes a special votive offering ⁶⁶  based on the conversion value of persons to the Lord, ⁶⁷ 

Imamat 27:21

27:21 When it reverts ⁶⁸  in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field; ⁶⁹  it will become the priest’s property. ⁷⁰ 

Imamat 27:32

27:32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord. ⁷¹ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn Heb “from the [category] ‘bird.’”

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT) or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168, with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14).

[2:10]  ³ tn See the note on “it is” in v. 9b.

[2:12]  ⁴ 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).

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “a male or female without defect he shall present it”; cf. NLT “must have no physical defects.”

[4:17]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn See the note on v. 6 above.

[4:17]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on v. 6 above.

[6:7]  ¹¹ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

[6:7]  ¹² tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

[6:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it”; NAB “whatever guilt he may have incurred.”

[6:14]  ¹⁴ 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 346 §113.cc, “let the sons of Aaron offer”) or more likely an injunctive in light of the verbs that follow (Joüon 2:430 §123.v, “the sons of Aaron shall/must offer”).

[7:5]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on Lev 1:9 above.

[8:27]  ¹⁶ 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.

[8:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he waved.” 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. In the present translation this is rendered as an adjectival clause (“who waved”) to indicate that the referent is not Moses but Aaron and his sons. Cf. CEV “who lifted it up”; NAB “whom he had wave” (with “he” referring to Moses here).

[8:27]  ¹⁸ sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.

[8:34]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “just as he has done” (cf. the note on v. 33).

[8:34]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the Lord has commanded to do” (cf. the note on v. 33).

[9:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “to the faces of.”

[10:10]  ²² tn Heb “and,” but regarding the translation “as well as,” see the note at the end of v. 9.

[10:10]  ²³ sn The two pairs of categories in this verse refer to: (1) the status of a person, place, thing, or time – “holy” (קֹדֶשׁ, qodesh) versus “common” (חֹל, khol); as opposed to (2) the condition of a person, place, or thing – “unclean” (טָמֵא, tame’) versus “clean” (טָהוֹר, tahor). Someone or something could gain “holy” status by being “consecrated” (i.e., made holy; e.g., the Hebrew Piel קִדֵּשׁ (qiddesh) 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 הִלֵּל [hillel], 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 טִמֵּא [timme’], e.g., in Gen 34:5 and Num 6:9) that person or thing and thereby make it “unclean.” To “purify” (the Hebrew Piel טִהֵר [tiher], 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 פִּגּוּל (pigul) “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” (טָהוֹר, tahor). Strictly speaking, therefore, unclean meat never becomes clean, and clean meat never becomes unclean.

[14:11]  ²⁴ tn The MT here is awkward to translate into English. It reads literally, “and the priest who pronounces clean (Piel participle of טָהֵר, taher) shall cause to stand (Hiphil of עָמַד, ’amad) the man who is cleansing himself (Hitpael participle of טָהֵר) and them” (i.e., the offerings listed in v. 10; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity). Alternatively, the Piel of טָהֵר could be rendered “who performs the cleansing/purification” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:827), perhaps even as a technical term for one who holds the office of “purification priest” (B. A. 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).

[14:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”

[14:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”

[14:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “on the hand.”

[14:29]  ²⁸ tn Heb “give.”

[16:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the two he-goats,” referred to as “two he-goats of goats” in v. 5.

[16:8]  ³⁰ 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 B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 102, on Lev 16:8-9. J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:1019-20, suggests, however, that the expression here signifies that, the lots having been cast, the priest was to literally “place” (Heb “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.

[16:8]  ³¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲזָאזֵל (’aza’zel, four times in the OT, all of them in this chapter; vv. 8, 10 [2 times], and 26) is much debated. There are three or perhaps four major views (see the summaries and literature cited in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1020-21; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 102; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 237-38; D. P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity [SBLDS], 21-25; M. V. Van Pelt and W. C. Kaiser, NIDOTTE 3:362-63; and M. S. Moore, NIDOTTE 4:421-22). (1) Some derive the term from a combination of the Hebrew word עֵז (’ez, “goat”; i.e., the word for “goats” in v. 5) and אָזַל (’azal, “to go away”), meaning “the goat that departs” or “scapegoat” (cf., e.g., the LXX and KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). 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 ’azala (“to banish, remove”), meaning “entire removal” as an abstract concept (see BDB 736 s.v. עֲזָאזֵל). (2) Some see the term as a description of the wilderness area to which the goat was dispatched, deriving it somehow from Arabic ’azazu (“rough ground”) or perhaps עָזָז, (’azaz, “to be strong, fierce”). (3) 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 ז (zayin) in עֵז combined with אֵל (’el, “mighty”), meaning “mighty goat.” The final consonantal form of עֲזָאזֵל would have resulted from the inversion of the א (aleph) with the second ז. He makes the point that the close association between עֵז and שְׂעִירִים (shÿ’irim), 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 supported by the parallel between the one goat “for (לְ, lamed preposition) the Lord” and the one “for (לְ) Azazel” here in v. 8. The rendering as a proper name has been tentatively accepted here (cf. ASV, NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV). 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).

[18:5]  ³² tn Heb “And you shall keep.”

[18:5]  ³³ 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).

[19:16]  ³⁴ tn The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; BDB 940 s.v. רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious (HALOT 1237 s.v. II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”

[19:16]  ³⁵ tn 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 B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129).

[19:18]  ³⁶ tn 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 J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305).

[19:18]  ³⁷ sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ (lamed) 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 J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).

[19:21]  ³⁸ sn On the guilt offering see the note on Lev 5:15 above.

[19:28]  ³⁹ tn Heb “And slash for the soul you shall not give.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 21:1, 5; 22:5). See J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 306, 320-21.

[19:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and a writing of incision you shall not give in you.”

[19:35]  ⁴¹ tn That is, liquid capacity (HALOT 640 s.v. מְשׂוּרָה). Cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, TEV “quantity”; NAB, NASB “capacity.”

[19:37]  ⁴² tn 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 386 §120.d, although שָׁמַר [shamar, “to keep”] is not cited there; cf. Lev 22:31).

[22:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a 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 has died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”

[22:24]  ⁴⁴ sn Compare Lev 21:20b.

[22:29]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).

[23:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”

[23:2]  sn The term מוֹעֵד (mo’ed, rendered “appointed time” here) can refer to either a time or place of meeting. See the note on “tent of meeting” (אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ohel mo’ed) in Lev 1:1.

[23:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “between the two evenings,” perhaps designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night. Cf. KJV, ASV “at even”; NAB “at the evening twilight.”

[23:5]  sn See B. A. 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 approximately 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., not precisely at twilight. Moreover, the term פֶּסַח (pesakh) 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).

[23:11]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “for your acceptance.”

[23:11]  ⁴⁹ sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”

[23:27]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Surely the tenth day” or perhaps “Precisely the tenth day.” The Hebrew adverbial particle אַךְ (’akh) is left untranslated by most recent English versions; cf. however NASB “On exactly the tenth day.”

[23:27]  ⁵¹ sn See the description of this day and its regulations in Lev 16 and the notes there.

[23:27]  ⁵² tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” See the note on Lev 16:29 above.

[23:29]  ⁵³ tn The particular כִּי (ki) is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the NJPS translation).

[23:29]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “it [i.e., that person; literally “soul,” feminine] shall be cut off from its peoples [plural]”; NLT “from the community.”

[24:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “six of the row.”

[24:7]  ⁵⁶ tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).

[24:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). 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 (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning.

[24:7]  ⁵⁸ sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) 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 [6:7-16 HT]).

[24:7]  ⁵⁹ sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”

[24:8]  ⁶⁰ tn 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.

[24:8]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:8]  ⁶² tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to.

[26:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and my sanctuary you shall fear.” Cf. NCV “respect”; CEV “honor.”

[26:46]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “gave” (so NLT); KJV, ASV, NCV “made.”

[26:46]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).

[27:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Cf. the note on Lev 22:21. Some take this as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be remarkable”), cf. Milgrom, Numbers [JPSTC], 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה, palah, “to set aside”). 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 worshiper.

[27:2]  ⁶⁷ tn 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 J. E. 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, 480-81).

[27:21]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34).

[27:21]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “like the field of the permanent dedication.” The Hebrew word חֵרֶם (kherem) 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 J. A. Naudé, NIDOTTE 2:276-77; N. Lohfink, TDOT 5:180-99, esp. pp. 184, 188, and 198-99; and the numerous explanations in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 483-85.

[27:21]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”

[27:32]  ⁷¹ sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 485, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 200).