Leviticus 9:1-7

Inauguration of Tabernacle Worship

9:1 On the eighth day ¹  Moses summoned ²  Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 9:2 and said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both flawless, and present them before the Lord. 9:3 Then tell the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat ³  for a sin offering and a calf and lamb, both a year old and flawless, ⁴  for a burnt offering, 9:4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil, for today the Lord is going to appear ⁵  to you.’” 9:5 So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of ⁶  the Meeting Tent and the whole congregation presented them and stood before the Lord. 9:6 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do ⁷  so that the glory of the Lord may appear ⁸  to you.” 9:7 Moses then said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and make your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement on behalf of yourself and on behalf of the people; ⁹  and also make the people’s offering and make atonement on behalf of them just as the Lord has commanded.”

[9:1]  ¹ sn This eighth day is the one after the seven days of ordination referred to in Lev 8:33-35.

[9:1]  ² tn Heb “called to”; CEV, NLT “called together.”

[9:3]  ³ tn Heb “a he-goat of goats.”

[9:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a calf and a lamb, sons of a year, flawless”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “without blemish”; NASB, NIV “without defect”; NLT “with no physical defects.”

[9:4]  ⁵ tn The verb is either a prophetic perfect (“will appear to you”) as in the MT (cf. IBHS §30.5.1.e; so many English versions), or a futurum instans participle (“is going to appear to you”) as in the LXX and several other versions (see the BHS footnote; cf. IBHS 627 §37.6f). In either case, the point is that Moses was anticipating that the Lord would indeed appear to them on this day (cf. vv. 6, 22-24).

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the faces of.”

[9:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “which the Lord commanded you shall/should do.”

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the glory of the Lord will appear,” but the construction with the simple vav (ו) plus the imperfect/jussive (וְיֵרָא, vÿyera’; literally, “and he will appear”) suggests purpose in this context, not just succession of events (i.e., “so that he might appear”).

[9:7]  ⁹ tn Instead of “on behalf of the people,” the LXX has “on behalf of your house” as in the Hebrew text of Lev 16:6, 11, 17. Many commentaries follow the LXX here (e.g., J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:578; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 118) as do a few English versions (e.g., NAB), but others argue that, as on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16), the offerings of the priests also effected the people, even though there was still the need to have special offerings made on behalf of the people as reflected in the second half of the verse (e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 56).