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
2:8 “‘You must bring the grain offering that must be made from these to the Lord. Present it to the priest, 6 and he will bring it to the altar.
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. 9
4:22 “‘Whenever 11 a leader, by straying unintentionally, 12 sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, 13 and he pleads guilty,
4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual 14 sins by straying unintentionally 15 when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, 16 and he pleads guilty
6:14 “‘This is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron are to present it 21 before the Lord in front of the altar,
14:23 “On the eighth day he must bring them for his purification to the priest at the entrance 38 of the Meeting Tent before the Lord,
19:5 “‘When you sacrifice a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord, you must sacrifice it so that it is accepted for you. 52
26:46 These are the statutes, regulations, and instructions which the Lord established 93 between himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai through 94 Moses.
1 tn Heb “from the [category] ‘bird.’”
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).
3 tn Heb “…is to Aaron and to his sons.” The preposition “to” (לְ, lamed) indicates ownership. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV and other English versions.
4 tn The words “it is” (הוּא, hu’) are not in the MT, but are supplied for the sake of translation into English. The Syriac also for translational reasons adds it between “most holy” and “from the gifts” (cf. 1:13, 17).
5 tn Heb “holy of holies”; KJV, NASB “a thing most holy.”
6 tc 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” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:185). Second, the MT has “which shall be made” (i.e., the 3rd person masculine Niphal passive verb which, in fact, does not agree with its feminine subject, מִנְחָה, minkhah, “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 J. E. 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.
7 tn See the note on “it is” in v. 9b.
8 sn The “first fruit” referred to here was given to the priests as a prebend for their service to the
9 tn Heb “a male or female without defect he shall present it”; cf. NLT “must have no physical defects.”
10 sn See the note on this phrase in 3:3.
11 tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
12 tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
13 tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the
14 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.”
15 tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”
16 tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the
17 tn The words “into silver shekels” are supplied here. See the full expression in Lev 5:15, and compare 5:18. Cf. NRSV “or its equivalent”; NLT “or the animal’s equivalent value in silver.”
18 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
19 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
20 tn Heb “on one from all which he does to become guilty in it”; NAB “whatever guilt he may have incurred.”
21 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”).
22 tn See the note on Lev 1:9 above.
23 tn Heb “and his unclean condition is on him.”
24 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 (cf. TEV, CEV), or his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation), etc. See J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 100; J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:457-60; and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 241-42 for further discussion.
25 sn See the note on Lev 7:20.
26 tn Heb “the day he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “which the
28 tn Heb “for your generations”; cf. NIV “for the generations to come”; TEV “for all time to come.”
29 tc The MT has here “sash” (singular), but the context is clearly plural and Smr has it in the plural.
tn Heb “girded them with sashes” (so NAB, NASB); NRSV “fastened sashes around them.”
30 tn Heb “wrapped headdresses to them”; cf. KJV “bonnets”; NASB, TEV “caps”; NIV, NCV “headbands”; NAB, NLT “turbans.”
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).
31 tn Heb “he burned with fire,” an expression which is sometimes redundant in English, but here means “burned up,” “burned up entirely.”
32 sn See Lev 4:11-12, 21; 6:30 [23 HT].
33 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.
34 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).
35 sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.
36 tn Heb “to the faces of.”
37 tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
38 tn Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”
39 tn Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”
40 tn Heb “which the lot has gone up on it for the
41 tn The phrase “from all your sins” could go with the previous clause as the verse is rendered here (see, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109, and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1011), or it could go with the following clause (i.e., “you shall be clean from all your sins before the
42 tn Heb “to make it,” meaning “to make the sacrifice.”
43 tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
44 tn Heb “My regulations you shall do”; KJV, NASB “my judgments”; NRSV “My ordinances”; NIV, TEV “my laws.”
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
45 tn Heb “and my statutes you shall keep [or “watch; guard”] to walk in them.”
46 tn Heb “And you shall keep.”
47 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).
48 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.
49 tn Heb “and you shall not profane.” Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
50 tn Heb “A man his mother and his father you [plural] shall fear.” The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain Targum
51 sn Regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִים, ’elilim), see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 126; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 304; N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NBC), 89; and Judith M. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:411. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’el, “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.”
52 tn Heb “for your acceptance”; cf. NIV, NLT “it will be accepted on your behalf.”
53 tn Heb “And you shall not swear to the falsehood.”
54 tn Heb “and you shall not profane”; NAB “thus profaning.”
55 tn Heb “You shall not curse a deaf [person] and before a blind [person] you shall not put a stumbling block.”
56 tn Heb “And you shall fear.” Many English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV) regard the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) as adversative in force here (“but”).
57 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).
58 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).
59 tn 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 אָסַף (’asaf, “to gather”) rather than יָסַף (yasaf, “to add; to increase”), rendering the verse, “to gather to you the produce” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 260, and see the versions referenced in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 306). Others take it to mean that by following the regulations given previously they will honor the
60 sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.
61 tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation.
62 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.”
63 tn Heb “iniquity of guilt”; NASB “cause them to bear punishment for guilt.” The Hebrew word עָוֹן (’avon, “iniquity”) can designate either acts of iniquity or the penalty (i.e., punishment) for such acts.
64 sn 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.
65 sn Compare Lev 21:20b.
66 tn Heb “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).
67 tn Heb “On that day”; NIV, NCV “that same day.”
68 tn Heb “from it.”
69 tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”
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.
70 tn Heb “to this month.”
71 tn Heb “for your acceptance.”
72 sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”
73 tn Heb “And you shall make in the day of your waving the sheaf.”
74 tn Heb “a flawless lamb, a son of its year”; KJV “of the first year”; NLT “a year-old male lamb.”
75 tn Heb “and.” In the translation “then” is supplied to clarify the sequence.
76 tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”
77 tn Heb “on you [plural]”; cf. NASB, NRSV “on your behalf.”
78 tn The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut, booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast (see the following verses) as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.
79 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).
80 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
81 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]).
82 sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”
83 tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew
84 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
85 tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to.
86 tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
87 tn 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 [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the
88 tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.”
89 tn Heb “the land shall rest a Sabbath.”
90 tn Heb “And you shall not oppress a man his fellow citizen.”
91 tn Heb “to be to you for a God.”
92 tn Heb “because to me the sons of Israel are servants.”
93 tn Heb “gave” (so NLT); KJV, ASV, NCV “made.”
94 tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).
95 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.
96 tn Heb “in your valuation, persons to the
97 tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34).
98 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
99 tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”
100 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).