Discovery BoxLeviticus 5:2 
Context5:2 Or when there is 1 a person who touches anything ceremonially 2 unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domesticated animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing, even if he did not realize it, 3 but he himself has become unclean and is guilty; 4
Leviticus 5:4
Context5:4 or when a person swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly 5 with his lips, whether to do evil or to do good, with regard to anything which the individual might speak thoughtlessly in an oath, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has later come to know it and is guilty with regard to one of these oaths 6 –
Leviticus 5:17
Context5:17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated 7 (although he did not know it at the time, 8 but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity 9
Leviticus 6:12
Context6:12 but the fire which is on the altar must be kept burning on it. 10 It must not be extinguished. So the priest must kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he must arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat of the peace offering up in smoke on it.
Leviticus 8:21
Context8:21 but the entrails and the legs he washed with water, 11 and Moses offered the whole ram up in smoke on the altar – it was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma, a gift to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 12
Leviticus 10:19
Context10:19 But Aaron spoke to Moses, “See here! 13 Just today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord and such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten a sin offering today would the Lord have been pleased?” 14
Leviticus 11:10
Context11:10 But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you.
Leviticus 13:4
Context13:4 “If 15 it is a white bright spot on the skin of his body, but it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, 16 and the hair has not turned white, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the infection for seven days. 17
Leviticus 13:28
Context13:28 But if the bright spot stays in its place, has not spread on the skin, 18 and it has faded, then it is the swelling of the burn, so the priest is to pronounce him clean, 19 because it is the scar of the burn.
Leviticus 13:31
Context13:31 But if the priest examines the scall infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, 20 and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall infection for seven days. 21
Leviticus 17:4
Context17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent 22 to present it as 23 an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. 24
Leviticus 23:3
Context23:3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, 25 a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
Leviticus 25:28
Context25:28 If he has not prospered enough to refund 26 a balance to him, then what he sold 27 will belong to 28 the one who bought it until the jubilee year, but it must revert 29 in the jubilee and the original owner 30 may return to his property.
1 tc The insertion of the words “when there is” is a reflection of the few Hebrew
2 tn The word “ceremonially” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the uncleanness involved is ritual or ceremonial in nature.
3 tn Heb “and it is hidden from him,” meaning that the person who contracted the ceremonial uncleanness was not aware at the time what had happened, but later found out that he had become ceremonially unclean. This same phrase occurs again in both vv. 3 and 4.
4 sn Lev 5:2-3 are parallel laws of uncleanness (contracted from animals and people, respectively), and both seem to assume that the contraction of uncleanness was originally unknown to the person (vv. 2 and 3) but became known to him or her at a later time (v. 3; i.e., “has come to know” in v. 3 is to be assumed for v. 2 as well). Uncleanness itself did not make a person “guilty” unless he or she failed to handle it according to the normal purification regulations (see, e.g., “wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening,” Lev 15:5 NIV; cf. Lev 11:39-40; 15:5-12, 16-24; Num 19, etc.). The problem here in Lev 5:2-3 is that, because the person had not been aware of his or her uncleanness, he or she had incurred guilt for not carrying out these regular procedures, and it would now be too late for that. Thus, the unclean person needs to bring a sin offering to atone for the contamination caused by his or her neglect of the purity regulations.
5 tn Heb “to speak thoughtlessly”; cf. NAB “rashly utters an oath.”
6 tn Heb “and is guilty to one from these,” probably referring here to any of “these” things about which one might swear a thoughtless oath (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 45), with the word “oath” supplied in the translation for clarity. Another possibility is that “to one from these” is a dittography from v. 5 (cf. the note on v. 5a), and that v. 4 ends with “and is guilty” like vv. 2 and 3 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:300).
7 tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the
8 tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
9 tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the
10 tn Heb “in it,” apparently referring to the “hearth” which was on top of the altar (cf. the note on v. 9).
11 tn Again, Aaron probably did the washing (v. 21a), but Moses presented the portions on the altar (v. 21b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).
12 tn See Lev 1:9, 13.
13 tn Or “Behold!” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NRSV “See.”
14 tn Heb “today they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the
15 tn Heb “and if.”
16 tn Heb “and deep is not its appearance from the skin”; cf. NAB “does not seem to have penetrated below the skin.”
17 tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection seven days.”
18 tn Heb “and if under it the bright spot stands, it has not spread in the skin.”
19 tn This is the declarative Piel of the verb טָהֵר (taher; cf. the note on v. 6 above).
20 tn Heb “and behold there is not its appearance deep ‘from’ (comparative מִן, min, meaning “deeper than”) the skin.”
21 tn Heb “and the priest will shut up the infection of the scall seven days.”
22 tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the
23 tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.
24 sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.
25 tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”
26 tn Heb “And if his hand has not found sufficiency of returning.” Although some versions take this to mean that he has not made enough to regain the land (e.g., NASB, NRSV; see also B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 176), the combination of terms in Hebrew corresponds to the portion of v. 27 that refers specifically to refunding the money (cf. v. 27; see NIV and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 315).
27 tn Heb “his sale.”
28 tn Heb “will be in the hand of.” This refers to the temporary control of the one who purchased its produce until the next year of jubilee, at which time it would revert to the original owner.
29 tn Heb “it shall go out” (so KJV, ASV; see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 176).
30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the original owner of the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
