16:29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. 1 In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves 2 and do no work of any kind, 3 both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides 4 in your midst,
16:1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they approached the presence of the Lord 5 and died,
27:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When a man makes a special votive offering 6 based on the conversion value of persons to the Lord, 7 27:3 the conversion value of the male 8 from twenty years old up to sixty years old 9 is fifty shekels by the standard of the sanctuary shekel. 10 27:4 If the person is a female, the conversion value is thirty shekels. 27:5 If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the conversion value of the male is twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 27:6 If the person is one month old up to five years old, the conversion value of the male is five shekels of silver, 11 and for the female the conversion value is three shekels of silver. 27:7 If the person is from sixty years old and older, if he is a male the conversion value is fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 27:8 If he is too poor to pay the conversion value, he must stand the person before the priest and the priest will establish his conversion value; 12 according to what the man who made the vow can afford, 13 the priest will establish his conversion value.
27:9 “‘If what is vowed is a kind of animal from which an offering may be presented 14 to the Lord, anything which he gives to the Lord from this kind of animal 15 will be holy. 27:10 He must not replace or exchange it, good for bad or bad for good, and if he does indeed exchange one animal for another animal, then both the original animal 16 and its substitute will be holy. 27:11 If what is vowed is an unclean animal from which an offering must not be presented to the Lord, then he must stand the animal before the priest, 27:12 and the priest will establish its conversion value, 17 whether good or bad. According to the assessed conversion value of the priest, thus it will be. 27:13 If, however, the person who made the vow redeems the animal, 18 he must add one fifth to 19 its conversion value.
27:14 “‘If a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord, the priest will establish its conversion value, whether good or bad. Just as the priest establishes its conversion value, thus it will stand. 20 27:15 If the one who consecrates it redeems his house, he must add to it one fifth of its conversion value in silver, and it will belong to him. 21
27:16 “‘If a man consecrates to the Lord some of his own landed property, the conversion value must be calculated in accordance with the amount of seed needed to sow it, 22 a homer of barley seed being priced at fifty shekels of silver. 23 27:17 If he consecrates his field in the jubilee year, 24 the conversion value will stand, 27:18 but if 25 he consecrates his field after the jubilee, the priest will calculate the price 26 for him according to the years that are left until the next jubilee year, and it will be deducted from the conversion value. 27:19 If, however, the one who consecrated the field redeems it, 27 he must add to it one fifth of the conversion price 28 and it will belong to him. 29 27:20 If he does not redeem the field, but sells 30 the field to someone else, he may never redeem it. 27:21 When it reverts 31 in the jubilee, the field will be holy to the Lord like a permanently dedicated field; 32 it will become the priest’s property. 33
27:22 “‘If he consecrates to the Lord a field he has purchased, 34 which is not part of his own landed property, 27:23 the priest will calculate for him the amount of its conversion value until the jubilee year, and he must pay 35 the conversion value on that jubilee day as something that is holy to the Lord. 27:24 In the jubilee year the field will return to the one from whom he bought it, the one to whom it belongs as landed property. 27:25 Every conversion value must be calculated by the standard of the sanctuary shekel; 36 twenty gerahs to the shekel.
27:26 “‘Surely no man may consecrate a firstborn that already belongs to the Lord as a firstborn among the animals; whether it is an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord. 37 27:27 If, however, 38 it is among the unclean animals, he may ransom it according to 39 its conversion value and must add one fifth to it, but if it is not redeemed it must be sold according to its conversion value.
27:28 “‘Surely anything which a man permanently dedicates to the Lord 40 from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord. 27:29 Any human being who is permanently dedicated 41 must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.
27:30 “‘Any tithe 42 of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 27:31 If a man redeems 43 part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it. 44 27:32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord. 45 27:33 The owner 46 must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it, 47 both the original animal 48 and its substitute will be holy. 49 It must not be redeemed.’”
27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites 50 at Mount Sinai.
1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him 51 from the Meeting Tent: 52 1:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When 53 someone 54 among you presents an offering 55 to the Lord, 56 you 57 must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock. 58
1:3 “‘If his offering is a burnt offering 59 from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance 60 of the Meeting Tent for its 61 acceptance before the Lord. 1:4 He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement 62 on his behalf. 1:5 Then the one presenting the offering 63 must slaughter the bull 64 before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must present the blood and splash 65 the blood against the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 1:6 Next, the one presenting the offering 66 must skin the burnt offering and cut it into parts, 1:7 and the sons of Aaron, the priest, 67 must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 1:8 Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, must arrange the parts with the head and the suet 68 on the wood that is in the fire on the altar. 69 1:9 Finally, the one presenting the offering 70 must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar 71 – it is 72 a burnt offering, a gift 73 of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
1:10 “‘If his offering is from the flock for a burnt offering 74 – from the sheep or the goats – he must present a flawless male, 1:11 and must slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, will splash its blood against the altar’s sides. 1:12 Next, the one presenting the offering 75 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. 1:13 Then the one presenting the offering must wash the entrails and the legs in water, and the priest must present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar – it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
1:14 “‘If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering from the birds, 76 he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons. 77 1:15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off 78 its head and offer the head 79 up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar. 1:16 Then the priest 80 must remove its entrails by cutting off its tail feathers, 81 and throw them 82 to the east side of the altar into the place of fatty ashes, 1:17 and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. 83 Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire – it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
1 tn Heb “And it [feminine] shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The LXX has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).
2 tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Ps 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 8:1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16-17, 20; see the remarks in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1054; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 242).
3 tn Heb “and all work you shall not do.”
4 tn Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”
5 tn Heb “in their drawing near to the faces of the
9 tn Cf. the note on Lev 22:21. Some take this as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT 927-28 s.v. פלא piel and NASB; cf. NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT 928 s.v. פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be remarkable”), cf. Milgrom, Numbers [JPSTC], 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה, palah, “to set aside”). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice is a special gift to God that arose out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.
10 tn Heb “in your valuation, persons to the
13 tn Heb “your conversion value shall be [for] the male.”
14 tn Heb “from a son of twenty years and until a son of sixty years.”
15 tn See the note on Lev 5:15.
17 tn Heb “five shekels silver.”
21 tn Heb “and the priest shall cause him to be valued.”
22 tn Heb “on the mouth which the hand of the one who vowed reaches.”
25 tn Heb “which they may present from it an offering.” The plural active verb is sometimes best rendered in the passive (GKC 460 §144.f, g). Some medieval Hebrew
26 tn Heb “from it.” The masculine suffix “it” here is used for the feminine in the MT, but one medieval Hebrew
29 tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 tn Heb “and the priest shall cause it to be valued.” See the note on v. 8 above.
37 tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p. The referent of “he” (the person who made the vow) and “it” (the animal) have both been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Heb “on,” meaning “on top of, in addition to” (likewise in v. 15).
41 tn The expression “it shall stand” may be a technical term for “it shall be legally valid”; cf. NLT “assessment will be final.”
45 tn Heb “and it shall be to him.”
49 tn Heb “a conversion value shall be to the mouth of its seed.”
50 tn Heb “seed of a homer of barley in fifty shekels of silver.”
53 tn Heb “from the year of the jubilee.” For the meaning of “jubilee,” see the note on Lev 25:10 above.
57 tn Heb “And if.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have adversative force here.
58 tn Heb “the silver.”
61 tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] he redeems [finite verb] the field, the one who consecrated it.” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
62 tn Heb “the silver of the conversion value.”
63 tn Heb “and it shall rise to him.” See HALOT 1087 s.v. קום 7 for the rendering offered here, but see also the note on the end of v. 14 above (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 476, 478).
65 tn Heb “and if he sells.”
69 tn Heb “When it goes out” (cf. Lev 25:25-34).
70 tn Heb “like the field of the permanent dedication.” The Hebrew word חֵרֶם (kherem) is a much discussed term. In this and the following verses it refers in a general way to the fact that something is permanently devoted to the
71 tn Heb “to the priest it shall be his property.”
73 tn Heb “his field of purchase,” which is to be distinguished from his own ancestral “landed property” (cf. v. 16 above).
77 tn Heb “give” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT).
81 tn See the note on Lev 5:15.
85 tn Heb “to the
89 tn Heb “And if.”
90 tn Heb “in” or “by.”
93 tn Heb “Surely, any permanently dedicated [thing] which a man shall permanently dedicate to the
97 tn Heb “permanently dedicated from among men.”
101 tn On the “tithe” system in Israel, see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:1035-55 and esp. pp. 1041-42 on Lev 27:30-33.
105 tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] a man redeems [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
106 tn Heb “its one fifth on it.”
109 sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 485, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 200).
113 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
114 tn Heb “And if exchanging [infinitive absolute] he exchanges it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.
115 tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
116 tn Heb “it shall be and its substitute shall be holy.”
117 tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the
121 tn Heb “And he (the
122 sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the
125 tn “When” here translates the MT’s כִּי (ki, “if, when”), which regularly introduces main clauses in legislative contexts (see, e.g., Lev 2:1, 4; 4:2, etc.) in contrast to אִם (’im, “if”), which usually introduces subordinate sections (see, e.g., Lev 1:3, 10, 14; 2:5, 7, 14; 4:3, 13, etc.; cf. כִּי in Exod 21:2 and 7 as opposed to אִם in vv. 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11).
126 tn Heb “a man, human being” (אָדָם, ’adam), which in this case refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female, since women could also bring such offerings (see, e.g., Lev 12:6-8; 15:29-30; cf. HALOT 14 s.v. I אָדָם); cf. NIV “any of you.”
127 tn The verb “presents” is cognate to the noun “offering” in v. 2 and throughout the book of Leviticus (both from the root קרב [qrb]). One could translate the verb “offers,” but this becomes awkward and, in fact, inaccurate in some passages. For example, in Lev 9:9 this verb is used for the presenting or giving of the blood to Aaron so that he could offer it to the
128 tn The whole clause reads more literally, “A human being (אָדָם, ’adam), if he brings from among you an offering to the
129 tn The shift to the second person plural verb here corresponds to the previous second person plural pronoun “among you.” It is distinct from the regular pattern of third person singular verbs throughout the rest of Lev 1-3. This too labels Lev 1:1-2 as an introduction to all of Lev 1-3, not just the burnt offering regulations in Lev 1 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:146; cf. note 3 above).
130 tn Heb “from the domesticated animal, from the herd, and from the flock.” It is clear from the subsequent division between animals from the “herd” (בָּקָר, baqar, in Lev 1:3-9) and the “flock” (צֹאן, tso’n; see Lev 1:10-13) that the term for “domesticated animal” (בְּהֵמָה, bÿhemah) is a general term meant to introduce the category of pastoral quadrupeds. The stronger disjunctive accent over בְּהֵמָה in the MT as well as the lack of a vav (ו) between it and בָּקָר also suggest בְּהֵמָה is an overall category that includes both “herd” and “flock” quadrupeds.
129 sn The burnt offering (עֹלָה, ’olah) was basically a “a gift of a soothing aroma to the
130 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.
131 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”).
133 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
137 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The LXX has “they” rather than “he,” suggesting that the priests, not the offerer, were to slaughter the bull (cf. the notes on vv. 6a and 9a).
138 tn Heb “the son of the herd”; cf. KJV “bullock”; NASB, NIV “young bull.”
139 tn “Splash” (cf. NAB) or “dash” (cf. NRSV) is better than “sprinkle,” which is the common English translation of this verb (זָרַק, zaraq; see, e.g., KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). “Sprinkle” is not strong enough (contrast נָזָה [nazah], which does indeed mean “to sprinkle” or “to splatter”; cf. Lev 4:6).
141 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The LXX and Smr have “they” rather than “he” in both halves of this verse, suggesting that the priests, not the offerer, were to skin and cut the carcass of the bull into pieces (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 9a).
145 tc A few medieval Hebrew
149 tc A few Hebrew
150 tn Heb “on the wood, which is on the fire, which is on the altar.” Cf. NIV “on the burning wood”; NLT “on the wood fire.”
153 tn Heb “Finally, he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Once again, the MT assigns the preparation of the offering (here the entrails and legs) to the offerer because it did not bring him into direct contact with the altar, but reserves the actual placing of the sacrifice on the altar for the officiating priest (cf. the notes on vv. 5a and 6a).
154 tn Heb “toward the altar,” but the so-called locative ה (hey) attached to the word for “altar” can indicate the place where something is or happens (GKC 250 §90.d and GKC 373-74 §118.g; cf. also J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161). This is a standard way of expressing “on/at the altar” with the verb “to offer up in smoke” (Hiphil of קָטַר [qatar]; cf. also Exod 29:13, 18, 25; Lev 1:9, 13, 15, 17; 2:2, etc.).
155 tc A few Hebrew
156 sn The standard English translation of “gift” (אִשֶּׁה, ’isheh) is “an offering [made] by fire” (cf. KJV, ASV). It is based on a supposed etymological relationship to the Hebrew word for “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) and is still maintained in many versions (e.g., NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 7-8). For various reasons, including the fact that some offerings referred to by this term are not burned on the altar (see, e.g., Lev 24:9), it is probably better to understand the term to mean “gift” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 22) or “food gift” (“food offering” in NEB and TEV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:161-62). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:540-49 for a complete discussion.
157 tn Heb “And if from the flock is his offering, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering.” Here “flock” specifies the broad category, with “sheep or goats” giving specific examples.
161 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also in v. 13).
165 tn Heb “from the [category] ‘bird.’”
166 tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT) or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168, with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14).
169 tn The action here 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 to sever the head from the main body. Cf. NASB, NRSV “wring off its head”; NAB “snap its head loose”; NLT “twist off its head.”
170 tn Many English versions have “it” here, referring to the head of the bird, which the priest immediately tossed on the altar fire. However, “it” could be misunderstood to refer to the bird’s body, so “head” is repeated in the present translation for clarity. As the following lines show, certain things needed to be done to the body of the bird before it could be placed on the altar.
173 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (apparently still the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
174 tn This translation (“remove its entrails by [cutting off] its tail feathers”) is based on the discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:169-71, although he translates, “remove its crissum by its feathers.” Others possibilities include “its crop with its contents” (Tg. Onq., cf. NIV, NRSV; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 23) or “its crop with its feathers” (LXX, NASB, RSV; “crop” refers to the enlarged part of a bird’s gullet that serves a pouch for the preliminary maceration of food).
175 tn The pronoun “them” here is feminine singular in Hebrew and refers collectively to the entrails and tail wing which have been removed.
177 tn Heb “he shall not divide it.” Several Hebrew