4:3 “‘If the high priest 4 sins so that the people are guilty, 5 on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord 6 for a sin offering. 7
4:32 “‘But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female.
16:3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary – with a young bull 16 for a sin offering 17 and a ram for a burnt offering. 18
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,
8:35 The exiles who were returning from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel – twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs, along with twelve male goats as a sin offering. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord.
1 tn The word “atonements” (plural in Hebrew) is a genitive showing the result or product of the sacrifice made.
2 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.
3 sn The phrase “most holy to the
4 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
5 tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”
6 tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
7 sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.
8 tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).
9 tn In this context the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential אָשָׁם (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303; cf. the note on Lev 5:1).
10 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
11 tn See the note on 4:26 regarding the use of מִן (min).
12 tn Heb “he.” The subject (“he”) refers to the priest here, not the offerer who presented the birds to the priest (cf. v. 8a).
13 sn The action seems to involve both a twisting action, breaking the neck of the bird and severing its vertebrae, as well as pinching or nipping the skin, but in this case not severing the head from the main body (note the rest of this verse).
14 tn Heb “he shall not divide [it]” (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:305).
15 tn Heb “holiness of holinesses [or holy of holies] it is.” Cf. NAB “most sacred”; CEV “very sacred”; TEV “very holy.”
16 tn Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”
17 sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
18 sn For the “burnt offering” see the note on Lev 1:3.
19 tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”
20 tn The form is the Qal active participle from the verb “to stand” (עָמַד, ’amad). The form describes these leaders as “the ones standing over [the ones numbered].” The expression, along with the clear indication of the first census in chapter 1, shows that this was a supervisory capacity.