Imamat 4:1-35
Konteks4:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 1 4:2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally 2 from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any 3 one of them 4 –
4:3 “‘If the high priest 5 sins so that the people are guilty, 6 on account of the sin he has committed he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord 7 for a sin offering. 8 4:4 He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord. 4:5 Then that high priest must take some of the blood 9 of the bull and bring it to the Meeting Tent. 4:6 The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle 10 some of it 11 seven times before the Lord toward 12 the front of the veil-canopy 13 of the sanctuary. 4:7 The priest must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the bull’s blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
4:8 “‘Then he must take up all the fat from the sin offering bull: 14 the fat covering the entrails 15 and all the fat surrounding the entrails, 16 4:9 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys) 17 4:10 – just as it is taken from the ox of the peace offering sacrifice 18 – and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering. 4:11 But the hide of the bull, all its flesh along with its head and its legs, its entrails, and its dung – 4:12 all the rest of the bull 19 – he must bring outside the camp 20 to a ceremonially clean place, 21 to the fatty ash pile, 22 and he must burn 23 it on a wood fire; it must be burned on the fatty ash pile.
4:13 “‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally 24 and the matter is not noticed by 25 the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, 26 so they become guilty, 4:14 the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed 27 becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, 4:15 the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter 28 the bull before the Lord. 4:16 Then the high priest 29 must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent, 4:17 and that priest must dip his finger in the blood 30 and sprinkle 31 some of the blood seven times 32 before the Lord toward 33 the front of the veil-canopy. 34 4:18 He must put some of the blood on the horns of the altar 35 which is before the Lord in the Meeting Tent, and all the rest of the blood he must pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.
4:19 “‘Then the priest 36 must take all its fat 37 and offer the fat 38 up in smoke on the altar. 4:20 He must do with the rest of the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; this is what he must do with it. 39 So the priest will make atonement 40 on their behalf and they will be forgiven. 41 4:21 He 42 must bring the rest of the bull outside the camp 43 and burn it just as he burned the first bull – it is the sin offering of the assembly.
4:22 “‘Whenever 44 a leader, by straying unintentionally, 45 sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord his God which must not be violated, 46 and he pleads guilty, 4:23 or his sin that he committed 47 is made known to him, 48 he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering. 49 4:24 He must lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter 50 it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord – it is a sin offering. 4:25 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 4:26 Then the priest 51 must offer all of its fat up in smoke on the altar like the fat of the peace offering sacrifice. So the priest will make atonement 52 on his behalf for 53 his sin and he will be forgiven. 54
4:27 “‘If an ordinary individual 55 sins by straying unintentionally 56 when he violates one of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, 57 and he pleads guilty 4:28 or his sin that he committed 58 is made known to him, 59 he must bring a flawless female goat 60 as his offering for the sin 61 that he committed. 4:29 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter 62 the sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 4:30 Then the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 4:31 Then he must remove all of its fat (just as fat was removed from the peace offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest will make atonement 63 on his behalf and he will be forgiven. 64
4:32 “‘But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female. 4:33 He must lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it for a sin offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. 4:34 Then the priest must take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he must pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 4:35 Then the one who brought the offering 65 must remove all its fat (just as the fat of the sheep is removed from the peace offering sacrifice) and the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar on top of the other gifts of the Lord. So the priest will make atonement 66 on his behalf for his sin which he has committed and he will be forgiven. 67
Imamat 4:6
Konteks4:6 The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle 68 some of it 69 seven times before the Lord toward 70 the front of the veil-canopy 71 of the sanctuary.
Imamat 24:1-23
Konteks24:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24:2 “Command the Israelites to bring 72 to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. 73 24:3 Outside the veil-canopy 74 of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron 75 must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 76 24:4 On the ceremonially pure lampstand 77 he must arrange the lamps before the Lord continually.
24:5 “You must take choice wheat flour 78 and bake twelve loaves; 79 there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in 80 each loaf, 24:6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row, 81 on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 24:7 You must put pure frankincense 82 on each row, 83 and it will become a memorial portion 84 for the bread, a gift 85 to the Lord. 24:8 Each Sabbath day 86 Aaron 87 must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion 88 is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant. 24:9 It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion 89 from the gifts of the Lord.”
24:10 Now 90 an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man 91 had a fight in the camp. 24:11 The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed, 92 so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 24:12 So they placed him in custody until they were able 93 to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord. 94
24:13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 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. 95 24:15 Moreover, 96 you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God 97 he will bear responsibility for his sin, 24:16 and one who misuses 98 the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.
24:17 “‘If a man beats any person to death, 99 he must be put to death. 24:18 One who beats an animal to death 100 must make restitution for it, life for life. 101 24:19 If a man inflicts an injury on 102 his fellow citizen, 103 just as he has done it must be done to him – 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth – just as he inflicts an injury on another person 104 that same injury 105 must be inflicted on him. 24:21 One who beats an animal to death 106 must make restitution for it, but 107 one who beats a person to death must be put to death. 24:22 There will be one regulation 108 for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”
24:23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
[4:1] 1 sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 4:2 through 5:13, and encompasses all the sin offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1 above, and 5:14 and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.
[4:2] 2 tn Heb “And a person, when he sins in straying.” The English translation of “by straying” (בִּשְׁגָגָה [bishgagah] literally, “in going astray; in making an error”) varies greatly, but almost all suggest that this term refers to sins that were committed by mistake or done not knowing that the particular act was sinful (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:228-29). See, e.g., LXX “involuntarily”; Tg. Onq. “by neglect”; KJV “through ignorance”; ASV, RSV, NJPS “unwittingly”; NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “unintentionally”; NAB, NEB “inadvertently”; NCV “by accident.” However, we know from Num 15:27-31 that committing a sin “by straying” is the opposite of committing a sin “defiantly” (i.e., בְּיַד רָמָה [bÿyad ramah] “with a raised hand,” v. 30). In the latter case the person, as it were, raises his fist in presumptuous defiance against the
[4:2] 3 tn This is an emphatic use of the preposition מִן (min; see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 56-57, §325).
[4:2] 4 tn The “when” clause (כִּי, ki) breaks off here before its resolution, thus creating an open-ended introduction to the following subsections, which are introduced by “if” (אִם [’im] vv. 3, 13, 27, 32). Also, the last part of the verse reads literally, “which must not be done and does from one from them.”
[4:3] 5 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[4:3] 6 tn Heb “to the guilt of the people”; NRSV “thus bringing guilt on the people.”
[4:3] 7 tn Heb “and he shall offer on his sin which he sinned, a bull, a son of the herd, flawless.”
[4:3] 8 sn The word for “sin offering” (sometimes translated “purification offering”) is the same as the word for “sin” earlier in the verse. One can tell which rendering is intended only by the context. The primary purpose of the “sin offering” (חַטָּאת, khatta’t) was to “purge” (כִּפֶּר, kipper, “to make atonement,” see 4:20, 26, 31, 35, and the notes on Lev 1:4 and esp. Lev 16:20, 33) the sanctuary or its furniture in order to cleanse it from any impurities and/or (re)consecrate it for holy purposes (see, e.g., Lev 8:15; 16:19). By making this atonement the impurities of the person or community were cleansed and the people became clean. See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:93-103.
[4:5] 9 tn Heb “from the blood of the bull” (and similarly throughout this chapter).
[4:6] 10 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vÿhizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb meaning “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
[4:6] 11 tn Heb “of the blood.” The relative pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
[4:6] 12 tn The particle here translated “toward” usually serves as a direct object indicator or a preposition meaning “with.” With the verb of motion it probably means “toward,” “in the direction of” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:234; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 60); cf. NAB, CEV.
[4:6] 13 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB) or “curtain” (e.g., NIV, NRSV), but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
[4:8] 14 tn Heb “all the fat of the bull of the sin offering he shall take up from it.”
[4:8] 15 tc The MT has here the preposition עַל (’al, “on, upon” [i.e., “which covers on the entrails,” as awkward in Hebrew as it is in English]), but Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Targums read אֶת (’et), which is what would be expected (i.e., “which covers the entrails”; cf. Lev 3:3, 9, 14). It may have been mistakenly inserted here under the influence of “on (עַל) the entrails” at the end of the verse.
[4:8] 16 tn Heb “and all the fat on the entrails.” The fat layer that covers the entrails as a whole (i.e., “that covers the entrails”) is different from the fat that surrounds and adheres to the various organs (“on the entrails,” i.e., surrounding them; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:205-7).
[4:9] 17 tn Heb “and the protruding lobe on the liver on the kidneys he shall remove it.”
[4:10] 18 tn Heb “taken up from”; KJV, ASV “taken off from”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “removed.” See the notes on Lev 3:3-4 above (cf. also 3:9-10, 14-15).
[4:12] 19 tn All of v. 11 is a so-called casus pendens (also known as an extraposition or a nominative absolute), which means that it anticipates the next verse, being the full description of “all (the rest of) the bull” (lit. “all the bull”) at the beginning of v. 12 (actually after the first verb of the verse; see the next note below).
[4:12] 20 tn Heb “And he (the offerer) shall bring out all the bull to from outside to the camp to a clean place.”
[4:12] 21 tn Heb “a clean place,” but referring to a place that is ceremonially clean. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:12] 22 tn Heb “the pouring out [place] of fatty ash.”
[4:12] 23 tn Heb “burn with fire.” This expression is somewhat redundant in English, so the translation collocates “fire” with “wood,” thus “a wood fire.”
[4:13] 24 tn Heb “strays”; KJV “sin through ignorance.” The verb “strays” here is the verbal form of the noun in the expression “by straying” (see the note on Lev 4:2 above).
[4:13] 25 tn Heb “is concealed from the eyes of”; NASB, NRSV, NLT “escapes the notice of.”
[4:13] 26 tn Heb “and they do one from all the commandments of the
[4:14] 27 tn Heb “and the sin which they committed on it becomes known”; KJV “which they have sinned against it.” The Hebrew עָלֶיהָ (’aleha, “on it”) probably refers back to “one of the commandments” in v. 13 (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:243).
[4:15] 28 tn Heb “and he shall slaughter.” The singular verb seems to refer to an individual who represents the whole congregation, perhaps one of the elders referred to at the beginning of the verse, or the officiating priest (cf. v. 21). The LXX and Syriac make the verb plural, referring to “the elders of the congregation.”
[4:16] 29 tn Heb “the anointed priest” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the high priest (cf. TEV).
[4:17] 30 tn The words “in the blood” are not repeated in the Hebrew text at this point, but must be supplied in the English translation for clarity.
[4:17] 31 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vÿhizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb translated “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
[4:17] 32 tc The MT reads literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger from the blood and sprinkle seven times.” This is awkward. Compare v. 6, which has literally, “and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle from the blood seven times.” The MT appears to be corrupt by haplography (i.e., assuming v. 6 to be the correct form, in v. 17 the scribe skipped from “his finger” to “from the blood,” thus missing “in the blood”) and metathesis (i.e., this also resulted in a text where “from the blood” stands before “sprinkle” rather than after it; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 47).
[4:17] 33 tn See the note on v. 6 above.
[4:17] 34 tn See the note on v. 6 above.
[4:18] 35 sn See v. 7, where this altar is identified as the altar of fragrant incense.
[4:19] 36 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statement in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
[4:19] 37 tn Heb “take up all its fat from it”; NASB “shall remove all its fat from it.”
[4:19] sn See the full discussion of the fat regulations in Lev 4:8-9 above.
[4:19] 38 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fat) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Only the fat is meant here, since the “rest” of the bull is mentioned in v. 21.
[4:20] 39 sn Cf. Lev 4:11-12 above for the disposition of “the [rest of] the bull.”
[4:20] 40 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:20] 41 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to them” or “it shall be forgiven to them.”
[4:21] 42 sn See the note on the word “slaughter” in v. 15.
[4:21] 43 tn Heb “And he shall bring out the bull to from outside to the camp.”
[4:22] 44 tn This section begins with the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher) which usually means “who” or “which,” but here means “whenever.”
[4:22] 45 tn See the Lev 4:2 note on “straying.”
[4:22] 46 tn Heb “and does one from all the commandments of the
[4:23] 47 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned in it is made known to him”; NAB “if he learns of the sin he committed.”
[4:23] 48 tn Lev 4:22b-23a is difficult. The present translation suggests that there are two possible legal situations envisioned, separated by the Hebrew אוֹ (’o, “or”) at the beginning of v. 23. Lev 4:22b refers to any case in which the leader readily admits his guilt (i.e., “pleads guilty”), whereas v. 23a refers to cases where the leader is convicted of his guilt by legal action (“his sin…is made known to him”). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:95-96; Lev 4:27-28; and esp. the notes on Lev 5:1 below.
[4:23] 49 tn Heb “a he-goat of goats, a male without defect”; cf. NLT “with no physical defects.”
[4:24] 50 tn The LXX has a plural form here and also for the same verb later in the verse. See the note on Lev 1:5a.
[4:26] 51 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Based on the parallel statements in 4:10 and 4:31, it is the priest who performs this action rather than the person who brought the offering.
[4:26] 52 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:26] 53 tn Heb “from.” In this phrase the preposition מִן (min) may be referring to the reason or cause (“on account of, because of”; GKC 383 §119.z). As J. E. Hartley (Leviticus [WBC], 47) points out, “from” may refer to the removal of the sin, but is an awkward expression. Hartley also suggests that the phrasing might be “an elliptical expression for יְכַפֵּר עַל־לְטַהֵר אֶת־מִן, ‘he will make expiation for…to cleanse…from…,’ as in 16:30.”
[4:26] 54 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[4:27] 55 tn Heb “an individual from the people of the land”; cf. NASB “anyone of the common people” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “a private person.”
[4:27] 56 tn Heb “If one person sins by straying, from the people of the land.” See Lev 4:2 for a note on “straying.”
[4:27] 57 tn Heb “by doing it, one from the commandments of the
[4:28] 58 tn Heb “or his sin which he sinned is made known to him”; cf. NCV “when that person learns about his sin.”
[4:28] 59 tn Lev 4:27b-28a is essentially the same as 4:22b-23a (see the notes there).
[4:28] 60 tn Heb “a she-goat of goats, a female without defect”; NAB “an unblemished she-goat.”
[4:28] 61 tn Heb “on his sin.”
[4:29] 62 tc The LXX has a plural form here (see v. 24 above and the note on Lev 1:5a).
[4:31] 63 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:31] 64 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[4:35] 65 tn Heb “Then he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here “he” refers to the offerer rather than the priest (contrast the clauses before and after).
[4:35] 66 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[4:35] 67 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[4:6] 68 tn The Hebrew verb וְהִזָּה (vÿhizzah, Hiphil of נָזָה, nazah) does indeed mean “sprinkle” or “splatter.” Contrast the different Hebrew verb meaning “splash” in Lev 1:5 (זָרָק, zaraq).
[4:6] 69 tn Heb “of the blood.” The relative pronoun (“it”) has been used in the translation here for stylistic reasons.
[4:6] 70 tn The particle here translated “toward” usually serves as a direct object indicator or a preposition meaning “with.” With the verb of motion it probably means “toward,” “in the direction of” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:234; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 60); cf. NAB, CEV.
[4:6] 71 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB) or “curtain” (e.g., NIV, NRSV), but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
[24:2] 72 tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav (ו) on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause (“to bring…”).
[24:2] 73 tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.”
[24:3] 74 tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
[24:3] 75 tc Several medieval Hebrew
[24:3] 76 tn Heb “for your generations.”
[24:4] 77 tn Alternatively, “pure [gold] lampstand,” based on Exod 25:31, etc., where the term for “gold” actually appears (see NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395, etc.). However, in Lev 24:4 the adjective “pure” is feminine, corresponding to “lampstand,” not an assumed noun “gold” (contrast Exod 25:31), and the “table” in v. 6 was overlaid with gold, but was not made of pure gold. Therefore, it is probably better to translate “[ceremonially] pure lampstand” (v. 4) and “[ceremonially] pure table” (v. 6); see NEB; cf. KJV, ASV; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 164-65; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 307.
[24:5] 78 sn See the note on Lev 2:1.
[24:5] 79 tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.”
[24:5] 80 tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[24:5] sn See the note on Lev 5:11.
[24:6] 81 tn Heb “six of the row.”
[24:7] 82 tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57).
[24:7] 83 tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the
[24:7] 84 sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]).
[24:7] 85 sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.”
[24:8] 86 tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew
[24:8] 87 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:8] 88 tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to.
[24:9] 89 tn Or “a perpetual regulation”; NRSV “a perpetual due.”
[24:10] 91 tn Heb “the Israelite man,” but Smr has no article, and the point is that there was a conflict between the man of mixed background and a man of full Israelite descent.
[24:11] 92 tn The verb rendered “misused” means literally “to bore through, to pierce” (HALOT 719 s.v. נקב qal); it is from נָקַב (naqav), not קָבַב (qavav; see the participial form in v. 16a). Its exact meaning here is uncertain. The two verbs together may form a hendiadys, “he pronounced by cursing blasphemously” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 166), the idea being one of the following: (1) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” in a way or with words that amounted to “some sort of verbal aggression against Yahweh himself” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 362), (2) he pronounced a curse against the man using the name “Yahweh” (N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 110; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 311), or (3) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” and thereby blasphemed, since the “Name” was never to be pronounced (a standard Jewish explanation). In one way or another, the offense surely violated Exod 20:7, one of the ten commandments, and the same verb for cursing is used explicitly in Exod 22:28 (27 HT) prohibition against “cursing” God. For a full discussion of these and related options for interpreting this verse see P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 335-36; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 408-9; and Levine, 166.
[24:12] 93 tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[24:12] 94 tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the
[24:14] 95 tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16.
[24:15] 97 sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT].
[24:16] 98 sn See the note on v. 11 above.
[24:17] 99 tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficult of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11.
[24:18] 100 tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.”
[24:18] 101 tn Heb “soul under soul.” Cf. KJV “beast for beast”; NCV “must give…another animal to take its place.”
[24:19] 102 tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.”
[24:19] 103 tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.”
[24:20] 104 tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ’adam].”
[24:20] 105 tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:21] 106 sn See the note on v. 18 above.
[24:21] 107 tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death.
[24:22] 108 tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.”
