14:8 “The one being cleansed 6 must then wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and so be clean. 7 Then afterward he may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent seven days.
15:13 “‘When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, 13 and be clean.
20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits 24 to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face 25 against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
1 tn 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 sever the head from the main body. Cf. NASB, NRSV “wring off its head”; NAB “snap its head loose”; NLT “twist off its head.”
2 tn Many English versions have “it” here, referring to the head of the bird, which the priest immediately tossed on the altar fire. However, “it” could be misunderstood to refer to the bird’s body, so “head” is repeated in the present translation for clarity. 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.
3 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (apparently still the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn This translation (“remove its entrails by [cutting off] its tail feathers”) is based on the discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:169-71, although he translates, “remove its crissum by its feathers.” Others possibilities include “its crop with its contents” (Tg. Onq., cf. NIV, NRSV; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 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).
5 tn The pronoun “them” here is feminine singular in Hebrew and refers collectively to the entrails and tail wing which have been removed.
6 tn Heb “the one cleansing himself” (i.e., Hitpael participle of טָהֵר [taher, “to be clean”]).
7 tn Heb “and he shall be clean” (so ASV). 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 reenter 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 Hitpael “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.
8 tn Or, according to the plurality of the verb in Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums, “Then the house shall be scraped” (cf. NAB, NLT, and the note on v. 40).
9 tn Heb “from house all around.”
10 tn Heb “dust” (so KJV) or “rubble”; NIV “the material”; NLT “the scrapings.”
11 tn Heb “which they have scraped off.” The MT term קִיר (qir, “wall” from קָצָה, qatsah, “to cut off”; BDB 892), the original Greek does not have this clause, Smr has הקיצו (with uncertain meaning), and the BHS editors and HALOT 1123-24 s.v. I קצע hif.a suggest emending the verb to הִקְצִעוּ (hiqtsi’u, see the same verb at the beginning of this verse; cf. some Greek
12 tn Heb “into from outside to the city.”
13 tn For the expression “fresh water” see the note on Lev 14:5 above.
14 tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.
15 sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
16 tn Heb “the holiness of the
17 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
18 tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”
19 sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.
20 tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”
21 tn The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that this is not a reference to literal prostitution, but figuratively compares idolatry to prostitution.
22 tn Heb “to commit harlotry after Molech.” The translation employs “worshiping” here for clarity (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.
23 sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.
24 tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.
25 tn Heb “I will give my faces.”
26 tn Heb “When I break to you staff of bread” (KJV, ASV, and NASB all similar).
27 tn Heb “they will return your bread in weight.”