Leviticus 1:7

1:7 and the sons of Aaron, the priest, ¹  must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

Leviticus 7:10

7:10 Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, each one alike. ² 

Leviticus 7:23

7:23 “Tell the Israelites, ‘You must not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat.

Leviticus 14:30

14:30 “He will then make one of the turtledoves ³  or young pigeons, which are within his means, ⁴ 

Leviticus 16:5

16:5 He must also take ⁵  two male goats ⁶  from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:19

16:19 Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it ⁷  from the impurities of the Israelites.

Leviticus 18:2

18:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘I am the Lord your God!

Leviticus 19:18

19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge ⁸  against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. ⁹  I am the Lord.

Leviticus 21:24

21:24 So ¹⁰  Moses spoke these things ¹¹  to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.

Leviticus 22:15

22:15 They ¹²  must not profane the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute ¹³  to the Lord, ¹⁴ 

Leviticus 22:32

22:32 You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the Lord who sanctifies you,

Leviticus 23:19

23:19 You must also offer ¹⁵  one male goat ¹⁶  for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace offering sacrifice,

Leviticus 24:15

24:15 Moreover, ¹⁷  you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God ¹⁸  he will bear responsibility for his sin,

Leviticus 27:34

Final Colophon

27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites ¹⁹  at Mount Sinai.

¹ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Onq. have plural “priests” here (cf. 1:5, 8) rather than the MT singular “priest” (cf. NAB). The singular “priest” would mean (1) Aaron, the (high) priest, or (2) the officiating priest, as in Lev 1:9 (cf. 6:10 [3 HT], etc.). “The sons of Aaron” is probably a textual corruption caused by conflation with Lev 1:5, 8 (cf. the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 13).

² tn Heb “a man like his brother.”

³ tn Heb “the one from the turtledoves.”

⁴ tc Heb “from which his hand reaches.” The repetition of virtually the same expression at the beginning of v. 31 in the MT is probably due to dittography (cf. the LXX and Syriac). However, the MT may be retained if it is understood as “one of the turtledoves or young pigeons that are within his means – whichever he can afford” (see J. Milgrom’s translation in Leviticus [AB], 1:828, contra his commentary, 862; cf. REB).

⁴ tn Heb “And he shall take.”

⁵ tn Heb “he-goats of goats”; CEV “two goats, both of them males.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”

⁶ tn Heb “and you shall not retain [anger?].” This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305).

⁷ sn Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ (lamed) as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” (Matt 7:12).

⁷ tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) introduces a concluding statement for all the preceding material.

⁸ tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Contextually, “They” could refer either to the people (v. 14a; cf. NRSV “No one”) or the priests (v. 14b; cf. NIV “The priests”), but the latter seems more likely (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 356, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 150). The priests were responsible to see that the portions of the offerings that were to be consumed by the priests as prebends did not become accessible to the people. Mistakes in this matter (cf. v. 14) would bring “guilt” on the people, requiring punishment (v. 16).

⁹ tn The Hebrew verb הֵרִים (herim, rendered “contribute” here) is commonly used for setting aside portions of an offering (see, e.g., Lev 4:8-10 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 4:335-36).

¹⁰ tn Heb “the holy offerings of the sons of Israel which they contribute to the Lord.” The subject “they” here refers to the Israelites (“the sons of Israel”) which is the most immediate antecedent. To make this clear, the present translation has “the holy offerings which the Israelites contribute to the Lord.”

⁹ tn Heb “And you shall make.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “And.”

¹¹ sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT].

¹¹ tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus.