¹ tn “To make atonement” is the standard translation of the Hebrew term כִּפֶּר, (kipper); cf. however TEV “as a sacrifice to take away his sins” (CEV similar). The English word derives from a combination of “at” plus Middle English “one[ment],” referring primarily to reconciliation or reparation that is made in order to accomplish reconciliation. The primary meaning of the Hebrew verb, however, is “to wipe [something off (or on)]” (see esp. the goal of the sin offering, Lev 4, “to purge” the tabernacle from impurities), but in some cases it refers metaphorically to “wiping away” anything that might stand in the way of good relations by bringing a gift (see, e.g., Gen 32:20 [21 HT], “to appease; to pacify” as an illustration of this). The translation “make atonement” has been retained here because, ultimately, the goal of either purging or appeasing was to maintain a proper relationship between the Lord (who dwelt in the tabernacle) and Israelites in whose midst the tabernacle was pitched (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:689-710 for a full discussion of the Hebrew word meaning “to make atonement” and its theological significance).

² tn Heb “And if from the flock is his offering, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering.” Here “flock” specifies the broad category, with “sheep or goats” giving specific examples.

³ tn Heb “from the [category] ‘bird.’”

⁴ 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).

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.” Cf. NRSV “the appendage of the liver”; NIV “the covering of the liver” (KJV “the caul above the liver”).

⁷ tn Heb “a male or female without defect he shall present it”; cf. NLT “must have no physical defects.”

⁸ tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”

⁹ sn See the note on this phrase in 3:3.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”

¹¹ tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”

¹² tc The MT has here the preposition עַל (’al, “on, upon” [i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English]), but Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums read אֶת (’et), which is what would be expected (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (עַל) the entrails” at the end of the verse.

¹³ tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).

¹⁴ tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”

¹⁵ tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”

¹⁶ tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be done”; cf. NRSV “ought not to be done”; NIV “does what is forbidden in any of the commands.”

¹⁸ tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).

¹⁹ 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.”

²⁰ tn See the notes on Lev 3:3-4.

²¹ tn The rendering “this [grain] offering” is more literally “his offering,” but it refers to the series of grain offerings listed just previously in v. 12.

²² tn The words “which regularly accompany” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity.

sn The translation “[which regularly accompany]…” is based on the practice of bringing bread (and wine) to eat with the portions of the peace offering meat eaten by the priests and worshipers (see v. 14 and Num 15:1-13). This was in addition to the memorial portion of the unleavened bread that was offered to the Lord on the altar (cf. Lev 2:2, 9, and the note on 7:12).

²³ tn In the verse “his” refers to the offerer.

²⁴ sn See the note on Lev 7:20.

²⁵ sn See Lev 4:3-12 above for the sin offering of the priests. In this case, however, the blood manipulation is different because Moses, not Aaron (and his sons), is functioning as the priest. On the one hand, Aaron and his sons are, in a sense, treated as if they were commoners so that the blood manipulation took place at the burnt offering altar in the court of the tabernacle (see v. 15 below), not at the incense altar inside the tabernacle tent itself (contrast Lev 4:5-7 and compare 4:30). On the other hand, since it was a sin offering for the priests, therefore, the priests themselves could not eat its flesh (Lev 4:11-12; 6:30 [23 HT]), which was the normal priestly practice for sin offerings of commoners (Lev 6:26[19], 29[22]).

²⁶ tn Heb “he burned with fire,” an expression which is sometimes redundant in English, but here means “burned up,” “burned up entirely.”

²⁷ sn See Lev 4:11-12, 21; 6:30 [23 HT].

²⁸ tn For “ordination offering” see Lev 7:37

²⁹ 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.

³⁰ 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).

³¹ sn See Lev 7:30-31, 34.

³² tn See the note on v. 12.

³³ tn Heb “and the burnt offering they handed to him to its parts and the head.”

³⁴ tn Heb “and the priest shall see it.”

³⁵ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

³⁶ tn Heb “the priest shall pronounce the infection clean,” but see v. 4 above. Also, this is another use of the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher, cf. the note on v. 6 above).

³⁷ tn Some English versions translate “it shall be shown to [or “be seen by”] the priest,” taking the infection to be the subject of the verb (e.g., KJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV). Based on the Hebrew grammar there is no way to be sure which is intended.

³⁸ tn Heb “and.” Here KJV, ASV use a semicolon; NASB begins a new sentence with “Now.”

³⁹ tn The alternative rendering, “when it is reported to the priest” may be better in light of the fact that the priest had to go outside the camp. Since he or she had been declared “unclean” by a priest (Lev 13:3) and was, therefore, required to remain outside the camp (13:46), the formerly diseased person could not reenter the camp until he or she had been declared “clean” by a priest (cf. Lev 13:6 for “declaring clean.”). See especially J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:831, who supports this rendering both here and in Lev 13:2 and 9. B. A. Levine, however, prefers the rendering in the text (Leviticus [JPSTC], 76 and 85). It is the most natural meaning of the verb (i.e., “to be brought” from בּוֹא [bo’, “to come”] in the Hophal stem, which means “to be brought” in all other occurrences in Leviticus other than 13:2, 9, and 14:2; see only 6:30; 10:18; 11:32; and 16:27), it suits the context well in 13:2, and the rendering “to be brought” is supported by 13:7b, “he shall show himself to the priest a second time.” Although it is true that the priest needed to go outside the camp to examine such a person, the person still needed to “be brought” to the priest there. The translation of vv. 2-3 employed here suggests that v. 2 introduces the proceeding and then v. 3 goes on to describe the specific details of the examination and purification.

⁴⁰ tn Heb “do [or “make”] the sin offering.”

⁴¹ tn Heb “And after[ward] he [i.e., the offerer] shall slaughter.” The LXX adds “the priest” as the subject of the verb (as do several English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT), but the offerer is normally the one who does the actually slaughtering of the sacrificial animal (cf. the notes on Lev 1:5a, 6a, and 9a).

⁴² tn Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”

⁴³ tn Heb “and bring into under the stones.”

⁴⁴ tn Heb “after he has pulled out the stones, and after scraping (variant form of the Hiphil infinitive construct, GKC 531) the house, and after being replastered (Niphal infinitive construct).”

⁴⁵ tn The pronoun “he” refers to the priest mentioned in the previous verse.

⁴⁶ tn Regarding these ritual materials, see the note on v. 4 above.

⁴⁷ tn Regarding the Piel of חָטָא (khata’, cf. v. 52) meaning to “decontaminate” or “perform a decontamination,” see the notes on Lev 8:15 and 9:15.

sn In Lev 8:15, for example, the “sin offering” is used to “decontaminate” the burnt offering altar. As argued above (see the note on v. 7 above), these ritual materials and the procedures performed with them do not constitute a “sin offering” (contrast vv. 19 and 31 above). In fact, no sin offering was required for the purification of a house.

⁴⁸ tn Heb “All the bed which the man with a discharge sits on it shall be unclean”; cf. NLT “Any bedding.”

⁴⁹ tn Heb “and all the vessel which he sits on it shall be unclean”; NASB “everything on which he sits.”

⁵⁰ tn See the note on v. 5 above.

⁵¹ tn Heb “And he shall take.”

⁵² tn Heb “he-goats of goats”; CEV “two goats, both of them males.”

⁵³ tn Heb “which the lot has gone up on it for the Lord.”

⁵⁴ tn Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”

⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew term rendered “inaccessible” derives from a root meaning “to cut off” (cf. NAB “an isolated region”). Another possible translation would be “infertile land” (see HALOT 187 s.v. *גָּזֵּר and cf. NRSV “a barren region”; NLT “a desolate land.”

⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he [the man (standing) ready, v. 21] shall send the goat away.”

⁵⁷ tn For “Azazel” see the note on v. 8 above.

⁵⁸ tn See the note on Lev 18:20 above.

⁵⁹ tn Heb “takes.” The verb “to take” in this context means “to engage in sexual intercourse.”

⁶⁰ sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.

⁶¹ sn The phrase “any of these” refers back to the unclean things touched in vv. 4b-5.

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 “And a man, if he eats a holy thing in error” (see the Lev 4:2 not on “straying,” which is the term rendered “by mistake” here).

⁶⁴ sn When a person trespassed in regard to something sacred to the Lord, reparation was to be made for the trespass, involving restitution of that which was violated plus one fifth of its value as a fine. It is possible that the restoration of the offering and the additional one fifth of its value were made as a monetary payment (see, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 150). See the regulations for the “guilt offering” in Lev 5:16; 6:5 [5:24 HT] and the notes there.

⁶⁵ tn Heb “for your acceptance.”

⁶⁶ sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”

⁶⁷ tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.”

⁶⁸ tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.”

⁶⁹ tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ’adam].”

⁷⁰ tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷¹ tn It is not clear to whom this refers. It is probably broader than “sibling” (cf. NRSV “any of your kin”; NLT “any of your Israelite relatives”) but some English versions take it to mean “fellow Israelite” (so TEV; cf. NAB, NIV “countrymen”) and others are ambiguous (cf. CEV “any of your people”).

⁷² tn Heb “and his hand slips with you.”

⁷³ tn Heb “strengthen”; NASB “sustain.”

⁷⁴ tn The form וָחַי (vakhay, “and shall live”) looks like the adjective “living,” 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 18:5).

⁷⁵ tn Heb “a foreigner and resident,” which is probably to be combined (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 170-71).

⁷⁶ tn Heb “you shall not serve against him service of a slave.” A distinction is being made here between the status of slave and indentured servant.

⁷⁷ tn Heb “to the mouth of them.”

⁷⁸ tn Heb “but if a little remains in the years.”

⁷⁹ tn Heb “be with him”; the referent (the one who bought him) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸⁰ tn Heb “As a hired worker year in year.”

⁸¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (the one who bought him) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸² tn Heb “and it shall be to him.”

⁸³ tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems [finite verb] the field, the one who consecrated it.” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

⁸⁴ tn Heb “the silver of the conversion value.”

⁸⁵ tn Heb “and it shall rise to him.” See HALOT 1087 s.v. קום 7 for the rendering offered here, but see also the note on the end of v. 14 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 476, 478).