Leviticus 4:13

For the Whole Congregation

4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally 1  and the matter is not noticed by 2  the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, 3  so they become guilty,

Leviticus 10:17

10:17 “Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sanctuary? For it is most holy and he gave it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, 4  to make atonement on their behalf before the Lord.

Leviticus 24:3

24:3 Outside the veil-canopy 5  of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron 6  must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 7 

Leviticus 24:14

24:14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death. 8 

1 tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).

2 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”

3 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the Lord which must not be done” (cf. v. 2).

4 sn This translation is quite literal. On the surface it appears to mean that the priests would “bear the iniquity” of the congregation by the act of eating the sin offering (so J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:622-25, 635-40). Such a notion is, however, found nowhere else in the Levitical regulations and seems unlikely (so J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 136). A more likely interpretation is reflected in this interpretive rendering: “he gave it to you [as payment] for [your work of] bearing the iniquity of the congregation.” The previous section of the chapter deals with the prebends that the priests received for performing the ministry of the tabernacle (Lev 10:12-15). Lev 10:16-18, therefore, seems to continue the very same topic in the light of the most immediate situation (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:702-4).

5 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).

6 tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.”

7 tn Heb “for your generations.”

8 tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16.