Imamat 9:1

Inauguration of Tabernacle Worship

9:1 On the eighth day ¹  Moses summoned ²  Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

Imamat 19:16

19:16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. ³  You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. ⁴  I am the Lord.

Imamat 21:4

21:4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself. ⁵ 

Imamat 21:15

21:15 He must not profane his children among his people, ⁶  for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

Imamat 23:29

23:29 Indeed, ⁷  any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. ⁸ 

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

² tn Heb “called to”; CEV, NLT “called together.”

³ tn The term רָכִיל (rakhil) is traditionally rendered “slanderer” here (so NASB, NIV, NRSV; see also J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 304, 316), but the exact meaning is uncertain (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129). It is sometimes related to I רָכַל (“to go about as a trader [or “merchant”]”; BDB 940 s.v. רָכַל), and taken to refer to cutthroat business dealings, but there may be a II רָכַל, the meaning of which is dubious (HALOT 1237 s.v. II *רכל). Some would render it “to go about as a spy.”

⁴ tn Heb “You shall not stand on the blood of your neighbor.” This part of the verse is also difficult to interpret. The rendering here suggests that one will not allow a neighbor to be victimized, whether in court (cf. v. 15) or in any other situation (see the discussion in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 129).

⁵ tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).

⁶ tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.

⁷ tn The particular כִּי (ki) is taken in an asseverative sense here (“Indeed,” see the NJPS translation).

⁸ tn Heb “it [i.e., that person; literally “soul,” feminine] shall be cut off from its peoples [plural]”; NLT “from the community.”