Leviticus 16:3-5

Day of Atonement Offerings

16:3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary – with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 16:4 He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on. 16:5 He must also take two male goats 10  from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.


tn Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”

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

sn For the “burnt offering” see the note on Lev 1:3.

sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). It covered the upper body only. For detailed remarks on the terminology for the priestly clothing in this verse (except the “linen leggings”) see the notes on Lev 8:7-9 and the literature cited there.

tn Heb “shall be on his flesh.” As in many instances in Lev 15, the term “flesh” or “body” here is euphemistic for the male genitals (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1017, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 222; cf. the note on Lev 15:2), which the priest must be careful not to expose during such ritual procedures (see Exod 20:26 with 28:42-43).

sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).

tn Heb “and in a turban of linen he shall wrap.”

tn Heb “and he shall bathe….”

tn Heb “And he shall take.”

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