Leviticus 1:5

1:5 Then the one presenting the offering ¹  must slaughter the bull ²  before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must present the blood and splash ³  the blood against the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.

Leviticus 3:8

3:8 He must lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent, and the sons of Aaron must splash ⁴  its blood against the altar’s sides.

Leviticus 8:15

8:15 and he slaughtered it. ⁵  Moses then took the blood and put it all around on the horns of the altar with his finger and decontaminated the altar, ⁶  and he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and so consecrated it to make atonement on it. ⁷ 

Leviticus 8:24

8:24 Next he brought Aaron’s sons forward, and Moses put some of the blood on their right earlobes, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet, and Moses splashed the rest of the blood against the altar’s sides.

Leviticus 9:18

9:18 Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram – the peace offering sacrifices which were for the people – and Aaron’s sons handed ⁸  the blood to him and he splashed it against the altar’s sides.

[1:5]  ¹ 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).

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “the son of the herd”; cf. KJV “bullock”; NASB, NIV “young bull.”

[1:5]  ³ 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).

[3:8]  ⁴ tn See the note on this term at 1:5.

[8:15]  ⁷ sn Contrary to some English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT), Aaron (not Moses) most likely slaughtered the bull, possibly with the help of his sons, although the verb is singular, not plural. Moses then performed the ritual procedures that involved direct contact with the altar. Compare the pattern in Lev 1:5-9, where the offerer does the slaughtering and the priests perform the procedures that involve direct contact with the altar. In Lev 8 Moses is functioning as the priest in order to consecrate the priesthood. The explicit reintroduction of the name of Moses as the subject of the next verb seems to reinforce this understanding of the passage (cf. also vv. 19 and 23 below).

[8:15]  ⁸ tn The verb is the Piel of חָטָא (khata’, “to sin”) and means “to de-sin” the altar. This verse is important for confirming the main purpose of the sin offering, which was to decontaminate the tabernacle and its furniture from any impurities. See the note on Lev 4:3.

[8:15]  ⁹ tn Similar to v. 10 above, “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the blood manipulation earlier in the verse. The goal here was to consecrate the altar in order that it might become a place on which it would be appropriate “to make atonement” before the Lord.

[9:18]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on Lev 9:12.