Leviticus 22:19

22:19 if it is to be acceptable for your benefit ¹  it must be a flawless male from the cattle, sheep, or goats.

Leviticus 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. ² 

Leviticus 22:21

22:21 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering ³  or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable; ⁴  it must have no flaw. ⁵ 

Leviticus 22:23

22:23 As for an ox ⁶  or a sheep with a limb too long or stunted, ⁷  you may present it as a freewill offering, but it will not be acceptable for a votive offering. ⁸ 

Leviticus 22:25

22:25 Even from a foreigner ⁹  you must not present the food of your God from such animals as these, for they are ruined and flawed; ¹⁰  they will not be acceptable for your benefit.’”

Leviticus 22:27

22:27 “When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of ¹¹  its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift ¹²  to the Lord.

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¹ tn Heb “for your acceptance.” See Lev 1:3-4 above and the notes there.

² tn Heb “for your acceptance” (see the notes on Lev 1:3-4 and 22:19 above).

³ tn The meaning of the expression לְפַלֵּא־נֶדֶר (lÿfalle’-neder) rendered here “for a special votive offering” is much debated. Some take it as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NAB, 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 פָלַא (pala’, “to be wonderful, to be remarkable”); cf. J. 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 arises as a special gift to God out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.

⁴ tn Heb “for acceptance”; NAB “if it is to find acceptance.”

⁵ tn Heb “all/any flaw shall not be in it.”

⁶ tn Heb “And an ox.”

⁷ tn Heb “and stunted” (see HALOT 1102 s.v. I קלט).

⁸ sn The freewill offering was voluntary, so the regulations regarding it were more relaxed. Once a vow was made, the paying of it was not voluntary (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 151-52, for very helpful remarks on this verse).

⁹ tn Heb “And from the hand of a son of a foreigner.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “for their being ruined [is] in them, flaw is in them”; NRSV “are mutilated, with a blemish in them”; NIV “are deformed and have defects.” The MT term מָשְׁחָתָם (moshkhatam, “their being ruined”) is a Muqtal form (= Hophal participle) from שָׁחַת (shakhat, “to ruin”). Smr has plural בהם משׁחתים (“deformities in them”; cf. the LXX translation). The Qumran Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev) has תימ הם[…], in which case the restored participle would appear to be the same as Smr, but there is no בְּ (bet) preposition before the pronoun, yielding “they are deformed” (see D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, 41 and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 358).

¹¹ tn The words “the care of” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Although many modern English versions render “with its mother” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), the literal phrase “under its mother” refers to the young animal nursing from its mother. Cf. KJV, ASV “it shall be seven days under the dam,” which would probably be misunderstood.

¹² tn Heb “for an offering of a gift.”