Leviticus 1:12

1:12 Next, the one presenting the offering ¹  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 1:15

1:15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off ²  its head and offer the head ³  up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar.

Leviticus 3:13

3:13 lay his hand on its head, and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent, and the sons of Aaron must splash its blood against the altar’s sides.

Leviticus 5:8

5:8 He must bring them to the priest and present first the one that is for a sin offering. The priest ⁴  must pinch ⁵  its head at the nape of its neck, but must not sever the head from the body. ⁶ 

Leviticus 24:14

24:14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death. ⁷ 

[1:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Then he”; the referent (the offerer) has been specified in the translation for clarity (so also in v. 13).

[1:15]  ² 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.”

[1:15]  ³ 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.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “he.” The subject (“he”) refers to the priest here, not the offerer who presented the birds to the priest (cf. v. 8a).

[5:8]  ⁴ sn The action 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, but in this case not severing the head from the main body (note the rest of this verse).

[5:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “he shall not divide [it]” (see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:305).

[24:14]  ⁴ tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16.