Numbers 8:2

8:2 “Speak to Aaron and tell him, ‘When you set up ¹  the lamps, the seven lamps are to give light ²  in front of the lampstand.’”

Exodus 27:21

27:21 In the tent of meeting ³  outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening ⁴  to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come. ⁵ 

Exodus 30:7-10

30:7 Aaron is to burn sweet incense ⁶  on it morning by morning; when he attends ⁷  to the lamps he is to burn incense. ⁸  30:8 When Aaron sets up the lamps around sundown he is to burn incense on it; it is to be a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. 30:9 You must not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering, and you must not pour out a drink offering on it. 30:10 Aaron is to make atonement on its horns once in the year with some of the blood of the sin offering for atonement; ⁹  once in the year ¹⁰  he is to make atonement on it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” ¹¹ 

Leviticus 24:3

24:3 Outside the veil-canopy ¹²  of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron ¹³  must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ¹⁴ 

Leviticus 24:1

Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread

24:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 9:19

9:19 As for the fat parts from the ox and from the ram ¹⁵  (the fatty tail, the fat covering the entrails, ¹⁶  the kidneys, and the protruding lobe of the liver),

Leviticus 9:23

9:23 Moses and Aaron then entered into the Meeting Tent. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

Leviticus 9:1

Inauguration of Tabernacle Worship

9:1 On the eighth day ¹⁷  Moses summoned ¹⁸  Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

Leviticus 24:5

24:5 “You must take choice wheat flour ¹⁹  and bake twelve loaves; ²⁰  there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in ²¹  each loaf,

Leviticus 24:1

Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread

24:1 The Lord spoke to Moses:

Leviticus 1:1

Introduction to the Sacrificial Regulations

1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him ²²  from the Meeting Tent: ²³ 

Leviticus 1:1

Introduction to the Sacrificial Regulations

1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him ²⁴  from the Meeting Tent: ²⁵ 

Leviticus 3:15

3:15 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys). ²⁶ 

Leviticus 5:1

Additional Sin Offering Regulations

5:1 “‘When a person sins ²⁷  in that he hears a public curse against one who fails to testify ²⁸  and he is a witness (he either saw or knew what had happened ²⁹ ) and he does not make it known, ³⁰  then he will bear his punishment for iniquity. ³¹ 

Leviticus 6:20

6:20 “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons which they must present to the Lord on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah ³²  of choice wheat flour ³³  as a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.

[8:2]  ¹ tn The verb is עָלָה (’alah). The Hiphil infinitive construct functions in a temporal clause. The idea of arranging the lamps on the lampstand certainly involved raising the lamps and placing them on the tops of each shaft and branch. Some have taken the idea to mean cause the flame to go up, or light the lamps.

[8:2]  ² tn The imperfect tense forms part of the instruction, and so the translation has to indicate that. The instruction would seem obvious, but the light was to shine in the area immediately in front of the lampstand, so that it would illumine the way and illumine the table that was across the room (hence, “in front of”).

[27:21]  ³ tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”

[27:21]  ⁴ sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.

[27:21]  ⁵ sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.

[30:7]  ⁶ tn The text uses a cognate accusative (“incense”) with the verb “to burn” or “to make into incense/sweet smoke.” Then, the noun “sweet spices” is added in apposition to clarify the incense as sweet.

[30:7]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew is בְּהֵיטִיבוֹ (bÿhetivo), a Hiphil infinitive construct serving in a temporal clause. The Hebrew verb means “to make good” and so in this context “to fix” or “to dress.” This refers to cleansing and trimming the lamps.

[30:7]  ⁸ sn The point of the little golden altar of incense is normally for intercessory prayer, and then at the Day of Atonement for blood applied atonement. The instructions for making it show that God wanted his people to make a place for prayer. The instructions for its use show that God expects that the requests of his people will be pleasing to him.

[30:10]  ⁹ tn The word “atonements” (plural in Hebrew) is a genitive showing the result or product of the sacrifice made.

[30:10]  ¹⁰ sn This ruling presupposes that the instruction for the Day of Atonement has been given, or at the very least, is to be given shortly. That is the one day of the year that all sin and all ritual impurity would be removed.

[30:10]  ¹¹ sn The phrase “most holy to the Lord” means that the altar cannot be used for any other purpose than what is stated here.

[24:3]  ¹² 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).

[24:3]  ¹³ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.”

[24:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for your generations.”

[9:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And the fat from the ox and from the ram.”

[9:19]  ¹⁶ tn The text here has only the participle “the cover” or “that which covers,” which is elliptical for “the fat which covers the entrails” (see Lev 3:3, 9, 14; 7:3).

[9:1]  ¹⁷ sn This eighth day is the one after the seven days of ordination referred to in Lev 8:33-35.

[9:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “called to”; CEV, NLT “called together.”

[24:5]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on Lev 2:1.

[24:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”

[24:5]  ²¹ tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:1]  ²² tn Heb “And he (the Lord) called (וַיִּקְרָא, vayyiqra’) to Moses and the Lord spoke (וַיְדַבֵּר, vayÿdabber) to him from the tent of meeting.” The MT assumes “Lord” in the first clause but places it in the second clause (after “spoke”). This is somewhat awkward, especially in terms of English style; most English versions reverse this and place “Lord” in the first clause (right after “called”). The Syriac version does the same.

[1:1]  ²³ sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the Lord spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,” introduces the following discourse. This is a standard introductory formula (see, e.g., Exod 20:1; 25:1; 31:1; etc.). The combination of the first and second clauses is, therefore, “bulky” because of the way they happen to be juxtaposed in this transitional verse (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 8). The first clause of v. 1 connects the book back to the end of the Book of Exodus while the second looks forward the ritual legislation that follows in Lev 1:2ff. There are two “Tents of Meeting”: the one that stood outside the camp (see, e.g., Exod 33:7) and the one that stood in the midst of the camp (Exod 40:2; Num 2:2ff) and served as the Lord’s residence until the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon (Exod 27:21; 29:4; 1 Kgs 8:4; 2 Chr 5:5, etc.; cf. 2 Sam 7:6). Exod 40:35 uses both “tabernacle” and “tent of meeting” to refer to the same tent: “Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” It is clear that “tent of meeting” in Lev 1:1 refers to the “tabernacle.” The latter term refers to the tent as a “residence,” while the former refers to it as a divinely appointed place of “meeting” between God and man (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:873-77 and 2:1130-34). This corresponds to the change in terms in Exod 40:35, where “tent of meeting” is used when referring to Moses’ inability to enter the tent, but “tabernacle” when referring to the Lord taking up residence there in the form of the glory cloud. The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 1:2 through 3:17, and encompasses the burnt, grain, and peace offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 4:1; 5:14; and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.

[1:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And he (the Lord) called (וַיִּקְרָא, vayyiqra’) to Moses and the Lord spoke (וַיְדַבֵּר, vayÿdabber) to him from the tent of meeting.” The MT assumes “Lord” in the first clause but places it in the second clause (after “spoke”). This is somewhat awkward, especially in terms of English style; most English versions reverse this and place “Lord” in the first clause (right after “called”). The Syriac version does the same.

[1:1]  ²⁵ sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the Lord spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,” introduces the following discourse. This is a standard introductory formula (see, e.g., Exod 20:1; 25:1; 31:1; etc.). The combination of the first and second clauses is, therefore, “bulky” because of the way they happen to be juxtaposed in this transitional verse (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 8). The first clause of v. 1 connects the book back to the end of the Book of Exodus while the second looks forward the ritual legislation that follows in Lev 1:2ff. There are two “Tents of Meeting”: the one that stood outside the camp (see, e.g., Exod 33:7) and the one that stood in the midst of the camp (Exod 40:2; Num 2:2ff) and served as the Lord’s residence until the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon (Exod 27:21; 29:4; 1 Kgs 8:4; 2 Chr 5:5, etc.; cf. 2 Sam 7:6). Exod 40:35 uses both “tabernacle” and “tent of meeting” to refer to the same tent: “Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” It is clear that “tent of meeting” in Lev 1:1 refers to the “tabernacle.” The latter term refers to the tent as a “residence,” while the former refers to it as a divinely appointed place of “meeting” between God and man (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:873-77 and 2:1130-34). This corresponds to the change in terms in Exod 40:35, where “tent of meeting” is used when referring to Moses’ inability to enter the tent, but “tabernacle” when referring to the Lord taking up residence there in the form of the glory cloud. The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 1:2 through 3:17, and encompasses the burnt, grain, and peace offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 4:1; 5:14; and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”

[5:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “And a person when he sins.” Most English versions translate this as the protasis of a conditional clause: “if a person sins” (NASB, NIV).

[5:1]  ²⁸ tn The words “against one who fails to testify” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied to make sense of the remark about the “curse” (“imprecation” or “oath”; cf. ASV “adjuration”; NIV “public charge”) for the modern reader. For the interpretation of this verse reflected in the present translation see J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:292-97.

[5:1]  ²⁹ tn The words “what had happened” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[5:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and hears a voice of curse, and he is a witness or he saw or he knew, if he does not declare.”

[5:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment (for the iniquity)” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity (cf. NRSV, NLT “subject to punishment”). It is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).

[6:20]  ³² sn A tenth of an ephah is about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:306).

[6:20]  ³³ tn For the rendering “choice wheat flour” see the note on Lev 2:1.