Leviticus 14:21-32

The Eighth Day Atonement Rituals for the Poor Person

14:21 “If the person is poor and does not have sufficient means, ¹  he must take one male lamb as a guilt offering for a wave offering to make atonement for himself, one-tenth of an ephah of choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil, ²  14:22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ³  which are within his means. ⁴  One will be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. ⁵ 

14:23 “On the eighth day he must bring them for his purification to the priest at the entrance ⁶  of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, 14:24 and the priest is to take the male lamb of the guilt offering and the log of olive oil and wave them ⁷  as a wave offering before the Lord. 14:25 Then he is to slaughter the male lamb of the guilt offering, and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, ⁸  on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe ⁹  of his right foot. 14:26 The priest will then pour some of the olive oil into his own left hand, ¹⁰  14:27 and sprinkle some of the olive oil that is in his left hand with his right forefinger ¹¹  seven times before the Lord. 14:28 Then the priest is to put some of the olive oil that is in his hand ¹²  on the right earlobe of the one being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering, 14:29 and the remainder of the olive oil that is in the hand ¹³  of the priest he is to put ¹⁴  on the head of the one being cleansed to make atonement for him before the Lord.

14:30 “He will then make one of the turtledoves ¹⁵  or young pigeons, which are within his means, ¹⁶  14:31 a sin offering and the other a burnt offering along with the grain offering. ¹⁷  So the priest is to make atonement for the one being cleansed before the Lord. 14:32 This is the law of the one in whom there is a diseased infection, ¹⁸  who does not have sufficient means for his purification.” ¹⁹ 

[14:21]  ¹ tn Heb “and his hand does not reach”; NAB, NRSV “and cannot afford so much (afford these NIV).”

[14:21]  ² tn See the notes on v. 10 above.

[14:22]  ³ tn Heb “from the sons of the pigeon,” referring either to “young pigeons” or “various species of pigeon” (contrast J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:168 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 14; cf. Lev 1:14 and esp. 5:7-10).

[14:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “which his hand reaches”; NRSV “such as (which NIV) he can afford.”

[14:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “and one shall be a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” The versions struggle with whether or not “one” should or should not have the definite article in its two occurrences in this verse (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB all have the English definite article with both). The MT has the first without and the second with the article.

[14:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the doorway of”; KJV, ASV “unto the door of.”

[14:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the priest shall wave them.” In the present translation “priest” is not repeated a second time in the verse for stylistic reasons. With regard to the “waving” of the “wave offering,” see the note on v. 12 above.

[14:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the priest shall put [literally ‘give’] on the lobe of the ear of the one being cleansed, the right one.”

[14:25]  ⁹ tn The term for “big toe” (בֹּהֶן, bohen) is the same as that for “thumb.” It refers to the larger appendage on either the hand or the foot.

[14:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And from the oil the priest shall pour out on the left hand of the priest.” Regarding the repetition of “priest” in this verse see the note on v. 15 above.

[14:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil which is on his left hand.”

[14:28]  ¹² tn Heb “on his hand.”

[14:29]  ¹³ tn Heb “on the hand.”

[14:29]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “give.”

[14:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the one from the turtledoves.”

[14:30]  ¹⁶ 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).

[14:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the one a burnt offering on the grain offering.”

[14:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “This is the law of who in him [is] a diseased infection.”

[14:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “who his hand does not reach in his purification”; NASB “whose means are limited for his cleansing”; NIV “who cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.”