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Texts -- Leviticus 16:3-34 (NET)

Context
Day of Atonement Offerings
16:3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary – with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering . 16:4 He must put on a holy linen tunic , linen leggings are to cover his body , and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban . They are holy garments , so he must bathe his body in water and put them on . 16:5 He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering . 16:6 Then Aaron is to present the sin offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household . 16:7 He must then take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent , 16:8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats , one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel . 16:9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord , and he is to make it a sin offering , 16:10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away to Azazel into the wilderness .
The Sin Offering Sacrificial Procedures
16:11 “Aaron is to present the sin offering bull which is for himself, and he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household . He is to slaughter the sin offering bull which is for himself, 16:12 and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense , and bring them inside the veil-canopy . 16:13 He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord , and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement plate which is above the ark of the testimony , so that he will not die . 16:14 Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement plate , and in front of the atonement plate he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger . 16:15 “He must then slaughter the sin offering goat which is for the people . He is to bring its blood inside the veil-canopy , and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull : He is to sprinkle it on the atonement plate and in front of the atonement plate . 16:16 So he is to make atonement for the holy place from the impurities of the Israelites and from their transgressions with regard to all their sins , and thus he is to do for the Meeting Tent which resides with them in the midst of their impurities . 16:17 Nobody is to be in the Meeting Tent when he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he goes out , and he has made atonement on his behalf , on behalf of his household , and on behalf of the whole assembly of Israel . 16:18 “Then he is to go out to the altar which is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat , and put it all around on the horns of the altar . 16:19 Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times , and cleanse and consecrate it from the impurities of the Israelites .
The Live Goat Ritual Procedures
16:20 “When he has finished purifying the holy place, the Meeting Tent , and the altar , he is to present the live goat . 16:21 Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins , and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready . 16:22 The goat is to bear on itself all their iniquities into an inaccessible land , so he is to send the goat away in the wilderness .
The Concluding Rituals
16:23 “Aaron must then enter the Meeting Tent and take off the linen garments which he had put on when he entered the sanctuary , and leave them there . 16:24 Then he must bathe his body in water in a holy place , put on his clothes , and go out and make his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering . So he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and the people . 16:25 “Then he is to offer up the fat of the sin offering in smoke on the altar , 16:26 and the one who sent the goat away to Azazel must wash his clothes , bathe his body in water , and afterward he may reenter the camp . 16:27 The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering , whose blood was brought to make atonement in the holy place , must be brought outside the camp and their hide , their flesh , and their dung must be burned up , 16:28 and the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water , and afterward he may reenter the camp .
Review of the Day of Atonement
16:29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. In the seventh month , on the tenth day of the month , you must humble yourselves and do no work of any kind, both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides in your midst , 16:30 for on this day atonement is to be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins ; you must be clean before the Lord . 16:31 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves . It is a perpetual statute . 16:32 “The priest who is anointed and ordained to act as high priest in place of his father is to make atonement . He is to put on the linen garments , the holy garments , 16:33 and he is to purify the Most Holy Place , he is to purify the Meeting Tent and the altar , and he is to make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly . 16:34 This is to be a perpetual statute for you to make atonement for the Israelites for all their sins once a year .” So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • ATONEMENT, DAY OF

    [ebd] the great annual day of humiliation and expiation for the sins of the nation, "the fast" (Acts 27:9), and the only one commanded in the law of Moses. The mode of its observance is described in Lev. 16:3-10; 23:26-32; and Num...
    [isbe] ATONEMENT, DAY OF - a-ton'-ment: I. THE LEGAL ENACTMENTS 1. Named 2. Leviticus 16 (1) Contents, Structure and Position (a) Leviticus 16:1-10 (b) Leviticus 16:11-24 (c) Leviticus 16:25-28 (d) Leviticus 16:29-34 Use of Number ...

  • Holy of Holies

    [isbe] HOLY OF HOLIES - ho'-liz (qodhesh ha-qodhashim, Ex 26:33, debhir, 1 Ki 6:16, etc.; in the New Testament, hagia hagion, Heb 9:3): The name given to the innermost shrine, or adytum of the sanctuary of Yahweh. 1. In the Taberna...
    [nave] HOLY OF HOLIES Ex. 26:33, 34; Lev. 16:2, 16, 17, 20, 23, 27, 33; 1 Kin. 6:16; 7:50; 8:6; 1 Chr. 6:49; 2 Chr. 3:8, 10; 4:22; 5:7; Psa. 28:2; Ezek. 41:4, 21, 23; 45:3; Heb. 9:3, 8, 12, 25; 10:19; 13:11

  • Azazel

    [ebd] (Lev. 16:8, 10, 26, Revised Version only here; rendered "scape-goat" in the Authorized Version). This word has given rise to many different views. Some Jewish interpreters regard it as the name of a place some 12 miles east ...
    [isbe] AZAZEL - a-za'-zel `aza'zel apopompaios; the King James Version Scapegoat, the Revised Version, margin "removal"): I. THE MEANING OF THE WORD 1. The Passages to Be Considered 2. The Proposed Interpretations (1) The Etymology...
    [nave] AZAZEL, the scapegoat, Lev. 16:8, 10, 26.

  • Scapegoat

    [ebd] Lev. 16:8-26; R.V., "the goat for Azazel" (q.v.), the name given to the goat which was taken away into the wilderness on the day of Atonement (16:20-22). The priest made atonement over the scapegoat, laying Israel's guilt up...
    [nave] SCAPEGOAT, Lev. 16:7-10, 20-34.

  • Atonement

    [isbe] ATONEMENT - a-ton'-ment: Translates kaphar; chaTa'; ratsah, the last employed only of human relations (1 Sam 29:4); translates the following Greek stems hilas-, simple and compounded with various prepositions; allag- in comp...
    [nave] ATONEMENT For tabernacle and furniture, Lev. 16:15-20, 33. In consecration of the Levites, Num. 8:21. For those defiled by the dead, Num. 6:11. Made for houses, Lev. 14:53. For sin, see below. By meat offerings, Lev. 5:...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 2 - II. Structure of the Book According to the Scriptures and According to Modern Analyses. In the following section (a) serves for the understanding of the Biblical text; (b) is devoted to the discussio...

  • EZEKIEL, 2

    [isbe] EZEKIEL, 2 - II. Significance of Ezekiel in Israel's Religious History. Under the first head we will consider the formal characteristics and significance of the book; and the examination of its contents will form the subject...

  • Priest

    [nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....

  • LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

    [isbe] LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT - || I. TERMS USED 1. Torah ("Law") 2. Synonyms of Torah (1) Mitswah ("Command") (2) `Edhah ("Witness," "Testimony") (3) MishpaTim ("Judgments") (4) Chuqqim ("Statutes") (5) Piqqudhim ("Precepts") II...

  • TYPE

    [isbe] TYPE - tip: 1. Definition of Type 2. Distinctive Features 3. Classification of Types 4. How Much of the Old Testament Is Typical? LITERATURE The Bible furnishes abundant evidence of the presence of types and of typical instr...

  • TALMUD

    [isbe] TALMUD - tal'-mud (talmudh): I. PRELIMINARY REMARKS AND VERBAL EXPLANATIONS II. IMPORTANCE OF THE TALMUD III. THE TRADITIONAL LAW UNTIL THE COMPOSITION OF THE MISHNA IV. DIVISION AND CONTENTS OF THE MISHNA (AND THE TALMUD) 1...

  • LEVITICUS, 2

    [isbe] LEVITICUS, 2 - III. Origin. 1. Against the Wellhausen Hypothesis: As in the article ATONEMENT, DAY OF, sec. I, 2, (2), we took a stand against the modern attempts at splitting up the text, and in III, 1 against theory of the...

  • LEVITICUS, 1

    [isbe] LEVITICUS, 1 - le-vit'-i-kus: I. GENERAL DATA 1. Name 2. Character of Book 3. Unity of Book: Law of Holiness Examination of Critical Theory II. STRUCTURE 1. Modern Analyses (1) Theories of Disintegration (2) Reasons for Dism...

  • IMPUTATION

    [isbe] IMPUTATION - im-pu-ta'-shun: I. MEANING AND USE OF THE TERM II. THE THREEFOLD USE OF THE TERM IN THEOLOGY Original Sin, Atonement, Justification III. THE SCRIPTURAL BASIS OF THESE DOCTRINES 1. Imputation of Adam's Sin to His...

  • EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 1

    [isbe] EXODUS, THE BOOK OF, 1 - ek'-so-dus: I. IN GENERAL 1. Name 2. Contents in General 3. Connection with the Other Books of the Pentateuch 4. Significance of These Events for Israel 5. Connecting Links for Christianity II. STRUC...

  • Burnt offering

    [ebd] Hebrew olah; i.e., "ascending," the whole being consumed by fire, and regarded as ascending to God while being consumed. Part of every offering was burnt in the sacred fire, but this was wholly burnt, a "whole burnt offering...

  • High priest

    [ebd] Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides those garments which he wore...

  • SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2

    [isbe] SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2 - V. The Mosaic Sacrificial System. 1. The Covenant Sacrifice: The fundamental function of Moses' work was to establish the covenant between Israel and God. This important transaction took ...

  • Church

    [nave] CHURCH, place of worship. Called Courts, Psa. 65:4; 84:2, 10; 92:13; 96:8; 100:4; 116:19; Isa. 1:12; 62:9; Zech. 3:7; House of God, Gen. 28:17, 22; Josh. 9:23; Judg. 18:31; 20:18, 26; 21:2; 1 Chr. 9:11; 24:5; 2 Chr. 5:14; 22:...
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  • [Lev 16:27] A Song And A Carol For Christmastide

Questions

  • Curtis Mitchell's article in Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol 147 #588 Oct 1990 answers this question well. The Practice of Fasting in the New Testament Is religious fasting a legitimate practice for today? If it is, how and wh...
  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 2:4 Having related the creation of the universe as we know it, God next inspired Moses to explain for his readers what became of it.129Sin entered it and devastated it."The destiny of the human creation is to live in God's wo...
  • The ark was the throne of Yahweh where He dwelt in a localized way and met with the Israelites through their high priest. It was the seat of His sovereignty but also the place where He met with His people (v. 22). This is why...
  • The extent to which these curtains were visible from inside the tabernacle is not clear in the text and has been the subject of debate by commentators. They were of four colors that some writers have interpreted as having sym...
  • The courtyard was 50 cubits wide by 100 cubits long (75 feet by 150 feet, half the length of an American football field). This area is about the size of a modest residential lot in the United States. The curtains that formed ...
  • Aaron had been functioning as a priest (Heb. cohen; 4:16). Now Moses officially appointed him and his sons to this office. God apparently specified Aaron because he was the brother of Moses whom God had already designated as ...
  • Moses had obtained God's promise to renew the covenant bond with Israel (33:14). Now God directed him to restore the covenant revelation by recopying the Ten Commandments on two new stone tablets. God both provided and wrote ...
  • The renewal of the covenant made the erection of the tabernacle possible. Here begins what scholars refer to as the Code of the Priests (Exod. 35--Lev. 16). Having broken the covenant once, God proceeded to give His people mo...
  • "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
  • Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
  • Keil and Delitzsch pointed out that ancient Near Easterners offered certain offerings before God incorporated these into the Mosaic Law. Moses previously mentioned burnt offerings in Genesis 12:7; 13:4, 18; 22; 26:25; 33:20; ...
  • A change of subject matter indicates another major division in Leviticus. We move now from narrative to more legislation. These five chapters pick up the idea introduced in 10:10: ". . . make a distinction between the holy an...
  • We have here the same threefold division of animals that inhabit the land, sea, and air as the one that appears in the story of creation (Gen. 1:20-23)."It has long been recognized . . . that the order of the purity laws in L...
  • The procedures described here were not curative but ritual. God prescribed no treatment for the cure of leprosy here, but He explained how the priests and the Israelites could recognize healed skin so formerly afflicted indiv...
  • This chapter concludes the regulations on uncleanness (chs. 11-15)."The uncleanness laws start with uncleanness that is permanent: that associated with various animals and food (ch. 11). Then they deal with the uncleanness of...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • This section contains a general introduction to what follows in the chapter (vv. 1-2), information about the animals and priestly dress used in the ceremonies (vv. 3-5), and an outline of the events of the day (vv. 6-10)....
  • Aaron first offered the bull as a sin (purification) offering to cover his sins and the sins of the other priests (v. 6). Then he cast lots to decide which of the two goats would die as a sin offering for the people and which...
  • Verses 11-14 describe the purification offering that Aaron was to offer for himself and the other priests. The act of offering incense represented the act of offering prayer that God would mercifully accept the sacrifices off...
  • These verses describe the fourth and most striking phase of this day's ceremony. The second goat symbolically bore the sins of the people taking them to an unclean place far from God. There is difference of opinion among the ...
  • These verses also contain instructions for the yearly celebration of the Day of Atonement. The fact that the Israelites repeated it year by year points to the incompleteness of the atonement that animal sacrifices made (cf. H...
  • The second major division of Leviticus deals with how the Israelites were to express their worship of Yahweh in their private lives."The first sixteen chapters of Leviticus are concerned primarily with establishment and maint...
  • We move from public regulations in chapter 16 to intimate regulations in chapter 18 with chapter 17 providing the transition. In contrast to the first sixteen chapters, chapter 17 says very little about the role of the priest...
  • The preceding two chapters specify correct behavior. This one sets forth the punishments for disobedience. Chapters 18-19 already discussed most of the subjects dealt with in this chapter."The difference between the laws in t...
  • Moses described this day (Heb. Yom Kippur) in chapter 16 more fully for the priests' benefit. Here he stressed the responsibilities of the average Israelite.This day was a fast rather than a feast. The people were to "humble"...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell, The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. H...
  • God eventually withdrew the famine from Judah (v. 6) probably in response to His people's calling out to Him for deliverance (cf. Judg. 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6; 10:10; 16:28). This verse sounds one of the major themes of the story:...
  • During its history the Northern Kingdom had three capitals: first Shechem (v. 25), then Tirzah (14:17; 15:33), and finally Samaria (16:23-24). Perhaps the king strengthened Penuel in west-central Gilead as a Transjordanian pr...
  • 32:3-4 David's failure to confess his sin immediately resulted in internal grief and external weakness for him. God oppressed him severely with discipline (cf. Heb. 12:6). Consequently David felt drained of energy. Evidently ...
  • There is general correspondence between this sixth "woe"and the third one (29:15-24), but this one deals more with application and the third one more with principles. It is the most eschatological of the "woes,"though it cont...
  • It becomes clear in this stanza of the song that the Servant's sufferings were not His own fault, as onlookers thought. They were for the sins of humankind and resulted in our healing. Furthermore, He would not merely suffer ...
  • Isaiah contrasted God's conception of fasting with that of His people.58:6 The type of fasting that pleases God is giving up wickedness, oppression, enslavement, and binding of other people, not just food. Isaiah did not mean...
  • 3:11 Yahweh instructed His prophet that though both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms had committed spiritual harlotry, Judah's sin was worse than Israel's. Here the Lord personified Judah as "Treachery"as he again personifi...
  • This is the first of several symbolic acts that Jeremiah performed to communicate divine messages (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 32:1-15; 43:8-13; 51:59-64). Other prophets did the same thing (cf. Isa. 20:2-...
  • 44:15-16 The Levites from Zadok's branch of the priestly family, however, would have special privileges since Zadok and his sons had served the Lord faithfully in the past (cf. 40:46; 1 Sam. 2:35; 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24-29; 1 Kin...
  • The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
  • The preceding vision described the future removal of individual sinners from the land through divine judgment, and this one pictures the eventual removal of all wickedness from the future "holy land"(2:12; cf. 3:9)."In line w...
  • The focus now changes from physical to spiritual deliverance (cf. Deut. 30:1-10).12:10 The Lord also promised to pour out on the Davidic rulers and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, representing all the Israelites, a spirit of re...
  • 6:16 Fasting in Israel involved going without food to engage in a spiritual exercise, usually prayer, with greater concentration. Fasting fostered and indicated self-humiliation before God, and confession often accompanied it...
  • The third objection the religious leaders voiced arose from the failure of Jesus' disciples to observe the traditional, not Scriptural, fast days that the Pharisees observed (cf. Lev. 16:29). Jesus' association with tax gathe...
  • The setting of this controversy is the same as the previous one, Levi's banquet.5:33 The religious leaders (v. 30; Mark 2:18) and John's disciples (Matt. 9:14; Mark 2:18) raised the question of fasting. They did so because it...
  • 1:15 In view of Peter's leadership gifts, so obvious in the Gospels, it is no surprise that he is the one who took the initiative on this occasion."Undoubtedly, the key disciple in Luke's writings is Peter. He was the represe...
  • The writer proceeded to explain what the community of Christians that he addressed should do to rectify its dangerous condition.6:1 Since they needed stretching mentally they should with the writer "press on to maturity."That...
  • 7:26 In view of His superior ministry it is only fitting that our High Priest should be a superior Person. "Holy"(Gr. hosios) stresses blamelessness.230"Innocent"means without guile or malice. "Undefiled"looks at His absolute...
  • "Within the structure of 13:7-19, vv 7-9 and vv 17-19 constitute the literary frame for the central unit of explanatory parenesis in vv 10-16."43713:7 The example of our spiritual leaders is one we should follow (cf. 12:1; 13...
  • 2:26 The "these things"in view probably refer to what John had just written (vv. 18-25)."The author concludes his attack on the false teachers with a warning and a word of encouragement for his followers."992:27 The "anointin...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Lev. 16:1-19And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered before the Lord, and died; 2. And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into...
  • First, Aaron was to bathe, and then to role himself in pure white, The dress is in singular contrast to the splendor of his usual official costume, in which he stood before men as representing God, and evidently signifies the...
  • The first part of the ritual proper (vs. 11-14) is the expiation for the sins of Aaron and the priesthood, and his entrance into the most holy place. The bullock was slain in the usual manner of the sin offering, but its bloo...
  • The two goats had been, during all this time, standing at the door of the Tabernacle. We have already pointed out that they are to be considered as one sacrifice. There are two of them, for the same reason, as has been often ...
  • Lev. 16:22And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited …'--Lev. 16:22.The import Of the remarkable treatment of this goat does not depend on the interpretation of the obscure phrase ren...
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