Leviticus 1:3

Burnt Offering Regulations: Animal from the Herd

1:3 “‘If his offering is a burnt offering ¹  from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance ²  of the Meeting Tent for its ³  acceptance before the Lord.

Leviticus 1:12

1:12 Next, the one presenting the offering ⁴  must cut it into parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest must arrange them on the wood which is in the fire, on the altar.

Leviticus 4:24

4:24 He must lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter ⁵  it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord – it is a sin offering.

Leviticus 4:30

4:30 Then the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

Leviticus 5:7

5:7 “‘If he cannot afford an animal from the flock, ⁶  he must bring his penalty for guilt for his sin that he has committed, ⁷  two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ⁸  to the Lord, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 5:10

5:10 The second bird ⁹  he must make a burnt offering according to the standard regulation. ¹⁰  So the priest will make atonement ¹¹  on behalf of this person for ¹²  his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven. ¹³ 

Leviticus 6:10

6:10 Then the priest must put on his linen robe and must put linen leggings ¹⁴  over his bare flesh, and he must take up the fatty ashes of the burnt offering that the fire consumed on the altar, ¹⁵  and he must place them ¹⁶  beside the altar.

Leviticus 6:16

6:16 Aaron and his sons are to eat what is left over from it. It must be eaten unleavened in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Meeting Tent.

Leviticus 6:25

6:25 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered the sin offering must be slaughtered before the Lord. It is most holy. ¹⁷ 

Leviticus 9:3

9:3 Then tell the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat ¹⁸  for a sin offering and a calf and lamb, both a year old and flawless, ¹⁹  for a burnt offering,

Leviticus 9:24

9:24 Then fire went out from the presence of the Lord ²⁰  and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar, and all the people saw it, so they shouted loudly and fell down with their faces to the ground. ²¹ 

Leviticus 14:13

14:13 He must then slaughter ²²  the male lamb in the place where ²³  the sin offering ²⁴  and the burnt offering ²⁵  are slaughtered, ²⁶  in the sanctuary, because, like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; ²⁷  it is most holy.

Leviticus 14:31

14:31 a sin offering and the other a burnt offering along with the grain offering. ²⁸  So the priest is to make atonement for the one being cleansed before the Lord.

Leviticus 15:15

15:15 and the priest is to make one of them a sin offering ²⁹  and the other a burnt offering. ³⁰  So the priest ³¹  is to make atonement for him before the Lord for ³²  his discharge.

Leviticus 15:30

15:30 and the priest is to make one a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. ³³  So the priest ³⁴  is to make atonement for her before the Lord from her discharge of impurity.

Leviticus 16:13

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, ³⁵  so that he will not die. ³⁶ 

Leviticus 23:8

23:8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

¹ sn The burnt offering (עֹלָה, ’olah) was basically a “a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord” (vv. 9, 13, 17). It could serve as a votive or freewill offering (e.g., Lev 22:18-20), an accompaniment of prayer and supplication (e.g., 1 Sam 7:9-10), part of the regular daily, weekly, monthly, and festival cultic pattern (e.g., Num 28-29), or to make atonement either alone (e.g., Lev 1:4; 16:24) or in combination with the grain offering (e.g., Lev 14:20) or sin offering (e.g., Lev 5:7; 9:7). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:996-1022.

² tn Heb “door” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “doorway” (likewise throughout the book of Leviticus). The translation “door” or “doorway” may suggest a framed door in a casing to the modern reader, but here the term refers to the entrance to a tent.

³ tn The NIV correctly has “it” in the text, referring to the acceptance of the animal (cf., e.g., RSV, NEB, NLT), but “he” in the margin, referring to the acceptance of the offerer (cf. ASV, NASB, JB). The reference to a “flawless male” in the first half of this verse suggests that the issue here is the acceptability of the animal to make atonement on behalf of the offerer (Lev 1:4; cf. NRSV “for acceptance in your behalf”).

⁴ tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also in v. 13).

⁷ tn The LXX has a plural form here and also for the same verb later in the verse. See the note on Lev 1:5a.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach enough of a flock animal” (see the note on v. 11 below). The term translated “animal from the flock” (שֶׂה, seh) is often translated “lamb” (e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NCV) or “sheep” (e.g., NRSV, TEV, NLT), but it clearly includes either a sheep or a goat here (cf. v. 6), referring to the smaller pasture animals as opposed to the larger ones (i.e., cattle; cf. 4:3). Some English versions use the more generic “animal” (e.g., NAB, CEV).

¹¹ tn Heb “and he shall bring his guilt which he sinned,” which is an abbreviated form of Lev 5:6, “and he shall bring his [penalty for] guilt to the Lord for his sin which he committed.” The words “for his sin” have been left out in v. 7, and “to the Lord” has been moved so that it follows the mention of the birds.

¹² tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above.

¹³ tn The word “bird” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ sn The term “[standard] regulation” (מִשְׁפָּט, mishppat) here refers to the set of regulations for burnt offering birds in Lev 1:14-17.

¹⁵ sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).

¹⁶ tn See the note on 4:26 with regard to מִן, min.

¹⁷ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

¹⁶ tn The exact nature of this article of the priest’s clothing is difficult to determine. Cf. KJV, ASV “breeches”; NAB “drawers”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “undergarments”; NCV “underclothes”; CEV “underwear”; TEV “shorts.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he shall lift up the fatty ashes which the fire shall consume the burnt offering on the altar.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “it,” referring the “fatty ashes” as a single unit.

¹⁹ tn Heb “holiness of holinesses [or holy of holies] it is.” Cf. NAB “most sacred”; CEV “very sacred”; TEV “very holy.”

²² tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”

²³ tn Heb “and a calf and a lamb, sons of a year, flawless”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “without blemish”; NASB, NIV “without defect”; NLT “with no physical defects.”

²⁵ tn Heb “from to the faces of the Lord.” The rendering here is based on the use of “my faces” and “your faces” referring to the very “presence” of the Lord in Exod 33:14-15.

²⁶ tn Heb “fell on their faces.” Many English versions and commentaries render here “shouted for joy” (e.g., NIV; cf. NCV, NLT) or “shouted joyfully,” but the fact the people “fell on their faces” immediately afterward suggests that they were frightened as, for example, in Exod 19:16b; 20:18-21.

²⁸ tn Heb “And he shall slaughter.”

²⁹ tn Heb “in the place which.”

³⁰ sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”

³¹ sn See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”

³² tn Since the priest himself presents this offering as a wave offering (v. 12), it would seem that the offering is already in his hands and he would, therefore, be the one who slaughtered the male lamb in this instance rather than the offerer. Smr and LXX make the second verb “to slaughter” plural rather than singular, which suggests that it is to be taken as an impersonal passive (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:852).

³³ tn Heb “the guilt offering, it [is] to the Lord.” Regarding the “guilt offering,” see the note on Lev 5:15.

³¹ tn Heb “and the one a burnt offering on the grain offering.”

³⁴ sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”

³⁵ tn Heb “and the priest shall make them one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”

³⁶ tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

³⁷ tn Heb “from”; see the note on 4:26.

³⁷ tn Heb “And the priest shall make the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.”

³⁸ tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.

⁴⁰ tn The text here has only “above the testimony,” but this is surely a shortened form of “above the ark of the testimony” (see Exod 25:22 etc.; cf. Lev 16:2). The term “testimony” in this expression refers to the ark as the container of the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them (see Exod 25:16 with Deut 10:1, 5, etc.).

⁴¹ tn Heb “and he will not die,” but it is clear that the purpose for the incense cloud was to protect the priest from death in the presence of the Lord (cf. vv. 1-2 above).