Leviticus 1:4

1:4 He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement ¹  on his behalf.

Leviticus 4:11

4:11 But the hide of the bull, all its flesh along with its head and its legs, its entrails, and its dung –

Leviticus 4:29

4:29 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter ²  the sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.

Leviticus 8:12

8:12 He then poured some of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron and anointed him to consecrate him.

Leviticus 8:18

8:18 Then he presented the burnt offering ram and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

Leviticus 8:20

8:20 Then he ³  cut the ram into parts, ⁴  and Moses offered the head, the parts, and the suet up in smoke,

Leviticus 9:13

9:13 The burnt offering itself they handed ⁵  to him by its parts, including the head, ⁶  and he offered them up in smoke on the altar,

Leviticus 13:29

Scall on the Head or in the Beard

13:29 “When a man or a woman has an infection on the head or in the beard, ⁷ 

Leviticus 13:41

13:41 If his head is bare on the forehead ⁸  so that he is balding in front, ⁹  he is clean.

Leviticus 13:44

13:44 he is a diseased man. He is unclean. The priest must surely pronounce him unclean because of his infection on his head. ¹⁰ 

Leviticus 19:27

19:27 You must not round off the corners of the hair on your head or ruin the corners of your beard. ¹¹ 

Leviticus 21:5

21:5 Priests ¹²  must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. ¹³ 

¹ tn “To make atonement” is the standard translation of the Hebrew term כִּפֶּר, (kipper); cf. however TEV “as a sacrifice to take away his sins” (CEV similar). The English word derives from a combination of “at” plus Middle English “one[ment],” referring primarily to reconciliation or reparation that is made in order to accomplish reconciliation. The primary meaning of the Hebrew verb, however, is “to wipe [something off (or on)]” (see esp. the goal of the sin offering, Lev 4, “to purge” the tabernacle from impurities), but in some cases it refers metaphorically to “wiping away” anything that might stand in the way of good relations by bringing a gift (see, e.g., Gen 32:20 [21 HT], “to appease; to pacify” as an illustration of this). The translation “make atonement” has been retained here because, ultimately, the goal of either purging or appeasing was to maintain a proper relationship between the Lord (who dwelt in the tabernacle) and Israelites in whose midst the tabernacle was pitched (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:689-710 for a full discussion of the Hebrew word meaning “to make atonement” and its theological significance).

² tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).

³ tn Again, Aaron probably cut the ram up into parts (v. 20a), but Moses presented them on the altar (v. 20b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).

⁴ tn Heb “cut it into its parts.” One could translate here, “quartered it” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:133; cf. Lev 1:6, 12 above).

⁴ tn See the note on v. 12.

⁵ tn Heb “and the burnt offering they handed to him to its parts and the head.”

⁵ tn Heb “And a man or a woman if there is in him an infection in head or in beard.”

⁶ tn Heb “And if from the front edge of his face, his head is rubbed bare.” See the note on v. 40 above.

⁷ tn The rendering “balding in front” corresponds to the location of the bareness at the beginning of the verse.

⁷ tn Or perhaps translate, “His infection [is] on his head,” as a separate independent sentence (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). There is no causal expression in the Hebrew text connecting these two clauses, but the logical relationship between them seems to be causal.

⁸ tc Heb “and you [singular] shall not ruin the corner of your [singular] beard.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural pronouns (i.e., “you” and “your” plural) rather than the singular of the MT.

⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).