¹ tn See the remarks on Lev 1:3-5 above for some of the details of translation here.

² tn See the note on this term at 1:5.

³ tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statements in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.

⁴ sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).

⁵ tn Heb “from.” In this phrase the preposition מִן (min) may be referring to the reason or cause (“on account of, because of”; GKC 383 §119.z). As J. E. Hartley (Leviticus [WBC], 47) points out, “from” may refer to the removal of the sin, but is an awkward expression. Hartley also suggests that the phrasing might be “an elliptical expression for יְכַפֵּר עַל־לְטַהֵר אֶת־מִן, ‘he will make expiation for…to cleanse…from…,’ as in 16:30.”

⁶ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

⁷ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root מַעַל, ma’al). See the note on 5:15.

⁸ tn Or “neighbor” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NASB “companion”; TEV “a fellow-Israelite.”

⁹ tn Heb “has extorted his neighbor”; ASV “oppressed”; NRSV “defrauded.”

¹⁰ tn For the distinction between votive and freewill offerings see the note on Lev 22:23 and the literature cited there.

¹¹ tn Heb “and on the next day and the left over from it shall be eaten.”

¹² tn Again, Aaron probably did the slaughtering (cf. the notes on Lev 8:15-16 above).

¹³ tn Heb “on the lobe of the ear of Aaron, the right one.”

¹⁴ tn The term for “big toe” (בֹּהֶן, bohen) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.

¹⁵ tn Heb “A man, if [or when] he has….” The term for “a man, human being” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2) in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female, since either could be afflicted with infections on the skin.

¹⁶ tn Some of the terms for disease or symptoms of disease in this chapter present difficulties for the translator. Most modern English versions render the Hebrew term שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) as “swelling,” which has been retained here (see the explanation in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 189). Some have argued that “deeper (עָמֹק, ’amoq) than the skin of his body” in v. 3 means that “this sore was lower than the surrounding skin” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:773), in which case “swelling” would be an inappropriate translation of שְׂאֵת in v. 2. Similarly, שְׂאֵת also occurs in v. 19, and then v. 20 raises the issue of whether or not it appears to be “lower (שָׁפָל, shafal) than the skin” (cf. also 14:37 for a mark on the wall of a house), which may mean that the sore sinks below the surface of the skin rather than protruding above it as a swelling would (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 76-77). Thus, one could translate here, for example, “discoloration” (so Milgrom and II שְׂאֵת “spot, blemish on the skin” in HALOT 1301 s.v. II שְׂאֵת) or “local inflammation, boil, mole” (so Levine). However, one could interpret “lower” as “deeper,” i.e., visibly extending below the surface of the skin into the deeper layers as suggested by J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 188, 192. “Swelling” often extends deeply below the surface of the skin, it is certainly a common symptom of skin diseases, and the alternation of these two terms (i.e., “deeper” and “lower”) in vv. 25-26 below shows that they both refer to the same phenomenon (see also the note on v. 20 below), so it is retained in the present translation.

¹⁷ tn The etymology and meaning of this term is unknown. It could mean “scab” (KJV, ASV, NASB) or possibly “rash” (NIV, NLT), “flaking skin,” or an “eruption” (NRSV) of some sort.

¹⁸ tn Heb “shiny spot” or “white spot,” but to render this term “white spot” in this chapter would create redundancy in v. 4 where the regular term for “white” occurs alongside this word for “bright spot.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “in the skin of his flesh” as opposed to the head or the beard (v. 29).

²⁰ tn Heb “a mark [or stroke; or plague] of disease.” In some places in this context (vv. 2, 3) it could be translated “a contagious skin disease.” Although the Hebrew term צָרָעַת (tsara’at) rendered here “diseased” is translated in many English versions as “leprosy,” it does not refer to Hanson’s disease, which is the modern technical understanding of the term “leprosy” (HALOT 1057 s.v. צָרְעַת a). There has been much discussion of the proper meaning of the term and the disease(s) to which it may refer (see, e.g., J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:774-76, 816-26; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 187-89; and the literature cited by them). The further description of the actual condition in the text suggests that the regulations are concerned with any kind of infectious diseases that are observable on the surface of the skin and, in addition to that, penetrate below the surface of the skin (vv. 3-4) or spread further across the surface of the skin (vv. 5-8). It is true that, in the OT, the term “disease” is often associated specifically with white “scaly” skin diseases that resemble the wasting away of the skin after death (see Milgrom who, in fact, translates “scale disease”; cf., e.g., Exod 4:6-7 and Num 12:9-12, esp. v. 12), but here it appears to be a broader term for any skin disease that penetrates deep or spreads far on the body. Scaly skin diseases would be included in this category, but also other types. Thus, a “swelling,” “scab,” or “bright spot” on the skin might be a symptom of disease, but not necessarily so. In this sense, “diseased” is a technical term. The term “infection” can apply to any “mark” on the skin whether it belongs to the category of “disease” or not (compare and contrast v. 3, where the “infection” is not “diseased,” with v. 4, where the “infection” is found to be “diseased”).

²¹ tn Or “it shall be reported to Aaron the priest.” This alternative rendering may be better in light of the parallel use of the same expression in Lev 14:2, where the priest had to go outside the camp in order to inspect the person who had been diseased. Since the rendering “he shall be brought to Aaron the priest” might confuse matters there, this expression should be rendered “it shall be reported” both here in 13:2 (cf. also v. 9) and in 14:2. See, however, the further note on 14:2 below, where it is argued that the diseased person would still need to “be brought” to the priest even if this happened outside the camp. Most English versions retain the idea of the afflicted person being “brought” to the priest for inspection.

²² tn Heb “And if spreading [infinitive absolute] it spreads out [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

²³ tn Heb “all the skin of the infection,” but see v. 4 above.

²⁴ tn Heb “to all the appearance of the eyes of the priest.”

²⁵ tn See the note on Lev 17:16 above.

²⁶ sn Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

²⁷ tn Heb “the holiness of the Lord.”

²⁸ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20.

²⁹ tn Heb “on his sin which he has sinned.”

³⁰ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him.”

³¹ tn Heb “from his sin.”

³² tn Heb “And I, I shall give my faces.”

³³ sn On the “cut off” penalty see the notes on Lev 7:20 and 17:4.

³⁴ tn Heb “for the sake of defiling my sanctuary and to profane my holy name.”

³⁵ sn See the note on Lev 18:7 above.

³⁶ tn See the note on v. 9 above.

³⁷ sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.

³⁸ tn Heb “and a priest, if he buys a person, the property of his silver.”

³⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person whom the priest has purchased) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁰ tn Heb “eat it”; the referent (the holy offerings) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴² tn Heb “and the [slave] born of his house, they shall eat in his food.” The LXX, Syriac, Tg. Onq., Tg. Ps.-J., and some mss of Smr have plural “ones born,” which matches the following plural “they” pronoun and the plural form of the verb.