Leviticus 1:15

1:15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off ¹  its head and offer the head ²  up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar.

Leviticus 5:8

5:8 He must bring them to the priest and present first the one that is for a sin offering. The priest ³  must pinch ⁴  its head at the nape of its neck, but must not sever the head from the body. ⁵ 

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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 “he.” The subject (“he”) refers to the priest here, not the offerer who presented the birds to the priest (cf. v. 8a).

⁴ sn The action 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, but in this case not severing the head from the main body (note the rest of this verse).

⁵ tn Heb “he shall not divide [it]” (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:305).