Imamat 15:1--16:34
Konteks15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 15:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When any man 1 has a discharge 2 from his body, 3 his discharge is unclean. 15:3 Now this is his uncleanness in regard to his discharge 4 – whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, he is unclean. All the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, 5 this is his uncleanness. 6
15:4 “‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, 7 and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. 8 15:5 Anyone who touches his bed 9 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 10 15:6 The one who sits on the furniture the man with a discharge sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:7 The one who touches the body 11 of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:8 If the man with a discharge spits on a person who is ceremonially clean, 12 that person must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:9 Any means of riding 13 the man with a discharge rides on will be unclean. 15:10 Anyone who touches anything that was under him 14 will be unclean until evening, and the one who carries those items 15 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:11 Anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water 16 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:12 A clay vessel 17 which the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed in water.
15:13 “‘When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, 18 and be clean. 15:14 Then on the eighth day he is to take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons, 19 and he is to present himself 20 before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent and give them to the priest, 15:15 and the priest is to make one of them a sin offering 21 and the other a burnt offering. 22 So the priest 23 is to make atonement for him before the Lord for 24 his discharge.
15:16 “‘When a man has a seminal emission, 25 he must bathe his whole body in water 26 and be unclean until evening, 15:17 and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. 15:18 When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and there is a seminal emission, 27 they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
15:19 “‘When a woman has a discharge 28 and her discharge is blood from her body, 29 she is to be in her menstruation 30 seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 15:20 Anything she lies on during her menstruation will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 15:21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:22 Anyone who touches any furniture she sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 15:23 If there is something on the bed or on the furniture she sits on, 31 when he touches it 32 he will be unclean until evening, 15:24 and if a man actually has sexual intercourse with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him, 33 then he will be unclean seven days and any bed he lies on will be unclean.
15:25 “‘When a woman’s discharge of blood flows 34 many days not at the time of her menstruation, or if it flows beyond the time of her menstruation, 35 all the days of her discharge of impurity will be like the days of her menstruation – she is unclean. 15:26 Any bed she lies on all the days of her discharge will be to her like the bed of her menstruation, any furniture she sits on will be unclean like the impurity of her menstruation, 15:27 and anyone who touches them will be unclean, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 36
15:28 “‘If 37 she becomes clean from her discharge, then she is to count off for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean. 15:29 Then on the eighth day she must take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons 38 and she must bring them to the priest at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 15:30 and the priest is to make one a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 39 So the priest 40 is to make atonement for her before the Lord from her discharge of impurity.
15:31 “‘Thus you 41 are to set the Israelites apart from their impurity so that they 42 do not die in their impurity by defiling my tabernacle which is in their midst. 15:32 This is the law of the one with a discharge: the one who has a seminal emission 43 and becomes unclean by it, 44 15:33 the one who is sick in her menstruation, the one with a discharge, whether male or female, 45 and a man 46 who has sexual intercourse with an unclean woman.’”
16:1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons when they approached the presence of the Lord 47 and died, 16:2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil-canopy 48 in front of the atonement plate 49 that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement plate.
16:3 “In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary – with a young bull 50 for a sin offering 51 and a ram for a burnt offering. 52 16:4 He must put on a holy linen tunic, 53 linen leggings are to cover his body, 54 and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash 55 and wrap his head with a linen turban. 56 They are holy garments, so he must bathe 57 his body in water and put them on. 16:5 He must also take 58 two male goats 59 from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 16:6 Then Aaron is to present the sin offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. 16:7 He must then take the two goats 60 and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 16:8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, 61 one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. 62 16:9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, 63 and he is to make it a sin offering, 16:10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive 64 before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away to Azazel into the wilderness. 65
16:11 “Aaron is to present the sin offering bull which is for himself, and he is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. He is to slaughter the sin offering bull which is for himself, 16:12 and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord 66 and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, 67 and bring them inside the veil-canopy. 68 16:13 He must then put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the cloud of incense will cover the atonement plate which is above the ark of the testimony, 69 so that he will not die. 70 16:14 Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement plate, 71 and in front of the atonement plate he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger. 72
16:15 “He must then slaughter the sin offering goat which is for the people. He is to bring its blood inside the veil-canopy, 73 and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the atonement plate and in front of the atonement plate. 16:16 So 74 he is to make atonement for the holy place from the impurities of the Israelites and from their transgressions with regard to all their sins, 75 and thus he is to do for the Meeting Tent which resides with them in the midst of their impurities. 16:17 Nobody is to be in the Meeting Tent 76 when he enters to make atonement in the holy place until he goes out, and he has made atonement on his behalf, on behalf of his household, and on behalf of the whole assembly of Israel.
16:18 “Then 77 he is to go out to the altar which is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take 78 some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it all around on the horns of the altar. 16:19 Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it 79 from the impurities of the Israelites.
16:20 “When he has finished purifying the holy place, 80 the Meeting Tent, and the altar, he is to present the live goat. 16:21 Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, 81 and thus he is to put them 82 on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready. 83 16:22 The goat is to bear on itself all their iniquities into an inaccessible land, 84 so he is to send the goat away 85 in the wilderness.
16:23 “Aaron must then enter 86 the Meeting Tent and take off the linen garments which he had put on when he entered the sanctuary, and leave them there. 16:24 Then he must bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his clothes, and go out and make his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering. So he is to make atonement 87 on behalf of himself and the people. 88
16:25 “Then he is to offer up the fat of the sin offering 89 in smoke on the altar, 16:26 and the one who sent the goat away to Azazel 90 must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp. 16:27 The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the holy place, must be brought outside the camp 91 and their hide, their flesh, and their dung must be burned up, 92 16:28 and the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
16:29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. 93 In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves 94 and do no work of any kind, 95 both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides 96 in your midst, 16:30 for on this day atonement is to be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins; you must be clean before the Lord. 97 16:31 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves. 98 It is a perpetual statute. 99
16:32 “The priest who is anointed and ordained to act as high priest in place of his father 100 is to make atonement. He is to put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 16:33 and he is to purify 101 the Most Holy Place, 102 he is to purify the Meeting Tent and the altar, 103 and he is to make atonement for 104 the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 16:34 This is to be a perpetual statute for you 105 to make atonement for the Israelites for 106 all their sins once a year.” 107 So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 108
[15:2] 1 tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is a way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 17:3; 22:18, etc.; see the distributive repetition of the noun in GKC 395-96 §123.c).
[15:2] 2 tn The term “discharge” actually means “to flow,” whether referring to a full flow as at a spring of water (Ps 78:20 and parallels) or in reference to the promised land as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exod 3:8 and parallels).
[15:2] 3 tn Heb “man, man when there is a discharge from his flesh.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c). It is well-recognized that the term “flesh” (i.e., “body”) in this chapter refers regularly and euphemistically to the male and female genital members or areas of the body (HALOT 164 s.v. בָּשָׂר 5.b; see also, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 93). The euphemism has been retained in this translation since it is, in fact, intended in the Hebrew text. Some English versions partially remove the euphemism (e.g., NAB “from his private parts”; NRSV “from his member”) while some remove it completely (e.g., NLT “a genital discharge”; TEV “from his penis”; CEV “with an infected penis”).
[15:3] 4 tn The LXX has “this the law of his uncleanness…” (cf. v. 32 and compare, e.g., 13:59; 14:2, 56).
[15:3] 5 tc Smr, LXX, and the Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll from Qumran (11QpaleoLev; Fragment G contains Lev 14:52-15:5 and 16:2-4, and agrees with the LXX of Lev 15:3b) are in essential (although not complete) agreement against the MT in Lev 15:3b and are to be preferred in this case. The shorter MT text has probably arisen due to a lengthy haplography. See K. A. Mathews, “The Leviticus Scroll (11QpaleoLev) and the Text of the Hebrew Bible,” CBQ 48 (1986): 177-78, 198; D. N. Freedman, “Variant Readings in the Leviticus Scroll from Qumran Cave 11,” CBQ 36 (1974): 528-29; D. N. Freedman and K. A. Mathews, The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll, 32. The MT of Lev 15:3 reads: “Now this is his uncleanness in [regard to] his discharge – whether his body secretes his discharge or blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” Smr adds after MT’s “blocks his discharge” the following: “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge, this is his uncleanness.” Thus, the MT appears to skip from Smr טמא הוא “he is unclean” in the middle of the verse to יא/טמאתו הו “this is his uncleanness” at the end of the verse, leaving out “he is unclean; all the days that his body has a discharge or his body blocks his discharge” (cf. the BHS footnote). 11Q1 (paleoLeva frag. G) is indeed fragmentary, but it does have ימי ז בו כל “…in him, all the days of the fl[ow],” supporting Smr and LXX tradition. The LXX adds after MT “blocks his discharge” the following: “all the days of the flow of his body, by which his body is affected by the flow,” followed by “it is his uncleanness” (i.e., the last two words of the MT).
[15:3] sn The contrast between the dripping or flowing from the male sexual member as opposed to there being a blockage is important. One might not understand that even though a blockage actually causes a lack of discharge, it is still unclean.
[15:3] 6 tn Heb “it is his uncleanness,” but the last clause recapitulates the effect of the first clause in this verse, both of which introduce the regulations for such uncleanness in the following verses. In other words, whether his discharge flows from his penis or is blocked in it, he is still unclean and must proceed according to the following regulations (vv. 4ff).
[15:4] 7 tn Heb “All the bed which the man with a discharge sits on it shall be unclean”; cf. NLT “Any bedding.”
[15:4] 8 tn Heb “and all the vessel which he sits on it shall be unclean”; NASB “everything on which he sits.”
[15:5] 9 tn Heb “And a man who touches in his bed”; NLT “touch the man’s bedding.”
[15:5] 10 tn Heb “he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening” (cf. also vv. 6-8, 10-11, etc.).
[15:7] 11 tn Heb “And the one who touches in the flesh.” In this instance, “flesh” (or “body”) probably refers literally to any part of the body, not the genitals specifically (see the discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:914).
[15:8] 12 tn Heb “And if the man with a discharge spits in the clean one.”
[15:9] 13 tn The Hebrew term for “means of riding” is a cognate noun from the verb “ride” later in this verse. It refers to anything on which one may ride without the feet touching the ground including, for example, a saddle, a (saddle) blanket, or a seat on a chariot (see, e.g., J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:916).
[15:10] 14 tn Heb “which shall be under him.” The verb is perhaps a future perfect, “which shall have been.”
[15:10] 15 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the previously mentioned items which were under the unclean person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:11] 16 tn Heb “And all who the man with the discharge touches in him and his hands he has not rinsed in water.”
[15:12] 17 tn The Hebrew term כְּלִי (kÿli) can mean “vessel” (v. 12a) or “utensil, implement, article” (v. 12b). An article of clay would refer to a vessel or container of some sort, while one made of wood would refer to some kind of tool or instrument.
[15:13] 18 tn For the expression “fresh water” see the note on Lev 14:5 above.
[15:14] 19 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).
[15:14] 20 tc The MT has the Qal form of the verb בּוֹא (bo’) “to come” here, but the LXX (followed generally by the Syriac and Tg. Ps.-J.) reflects the Hiphil form of the same verb, “to bring” as in v. 29 below. In v. 29, however, there is no additional clause “and give them to the priest,” so the Hiphil is necessary in that context while it is not necessary here in v. 14.
[15:15] 21 sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
[15:15] 22 tn Heb “and the priest shall make them one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.” See the note on Lev 1:3 regarding the “burnt offering.”
[15:15] 23 tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[15:15] 24 tn Heb “from”; see the note on 4:26.
[15:16] 25 tn Heb “And a man when a lying of seed goes out from him”; KJV, ASV “any man’s seed of copulation”; NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT “an emission of semen.”
[15:16] 26 tn Heb “and he shall bathe all his flesh in water.”
[15:18] 27 tn Heb “And a woman who a man lies with her a lying of seed.”
[15:19] 28 tn See the note on Lev 15:2 above.
[15:19] 29 tn Heb “blood shall be her discharge in her flesh.” The term “flesh” here refers euphemistically to the female sexual area (cf. the note on v. 2 above).
[15:19] 30 tn See the note on Lev 12:2 and R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:925-27.
[15:23] 31 tn Heb “and if on the bed it (הוּא, hu’) is or on the vessel which she sits on it, when he touches it….” The translation and meaning of this verse is a subject of much debate in the commentaries (see the summary in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:938-40). It is difficult to determine what הוּא refers to, whether it means “he” referring to the one who does the touching, “it” for the furniture or the seat in v. 22, “she” referring to the woman herself (see Smr היא rather than הוא), or perhaps anything that was lying on the furniture or the bed of vv. 21-22. The latter view is taken here (cf. J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
[15:23] 32 tn The MT accent suggest that “when he touches it” goes with the preceding line, but it seems to be better to take it as an introduction to what follows (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 202).
[15:24] 33 tn Heb “and if a man indeed lies with her and her menstrual impurity is on him.”
[15:25] 34 tn Heb “And a woman when the flow of her blood flows.”
[15:25] 35 tn Heb “in not the time of her menstruation or when it flows on her menstruation.”
[15:27] 36 tn See the note on v. 5 above.
[15:28] 37 tn Heb “And if…” Although this clause is parallel to v. 13 above, it begins with וְאִם (vÿ’im, “and if”) here rather than וְכִי (vÿkhi, “and when/if”) there.
[15:29] 38 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).
[15:30] 39 tn Heb “And the priest shall make the one a sin offering and the one a burnt offering.”
[15:30] 40 tn Heb “And the priest.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here.
[15:31] 41 tn Heb “And you shall.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative force here (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NCV, NRSV).
[15:31] 42 tn Heb “and they.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) indicates a negative purpose (“lest,” so NAB, NASB).
[15:32] 43 tn Heb “and who a lying of seed goes out from him.”
[15:32] 44 tn Heb “to become unclean in it.”
[15:33] 45 tn Heb “and the one with a discharge, his discharge to the male and the female.”
[15:33] 46 tn Heb “and for a man.”
[16:1] 47 tn Heb “in their drawing near to the faces of the
[16:2] 48 tn Heb “into the holy place from house to the veil-canopy.” In this instance, the Hebrew term “the holy place” refers to “the most holy place” (lit. “holy of holies”), since it is the area “inside the veil-canopy” (cf. Exod 26:33-34). 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, and thus formed more of a canopy than simply a curtain (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89).
[16:2] 49 tn Heb “to the faces of the atonement plate.” The exact meaning of the Hebrew term כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet) here rendered “atonement plate” is much debated. The traditional “mercy seat” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) does not suit the cognate relationship between this term and the Piel verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement, to make expiation”). The translation of the word should also reflect the fact that the most important atonement procedures on the Day of Atonement were performed in relation to it. Since the
[16:3] 50 tn Heb “with a bull, a son of the herd.”
[16:3] 51 sn See the note on Lev 4:3 regarding the term “sin offering.”
[16:3] 52 sn For the “burnt offering” see the note on Lev 1:3.
[16:4] 53 sn The term “tunic” refers to a shirt-like garment worn next to the skin and, therefore, put on first (cf. Exod 28:4, 39-40; 29:5, 8; 39:27). It covered the upper body only. For detailed remarks on the terminology for the priestly clothing in this verse (except the “linen leggings”) see the notes on Lev 8:7-9 and the literature cited there.
[16:4] 54 tn Heb “shall be on his flesh.” As in many instances in Lev 15, the term “flesh” or “body” here is euphemistic for the male genitals (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1017, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 222; cf. the note on Lev 15:2), which the priest must be careful not to expose during such ritual procedures (see Exod 20:26 with 28:42-43).
[16:4] 55 sn The sash fastened the tunic around the waist (Exod 28:4, 39; 29:9; 39:29).
[16:4] 56 tn Heb “and in a turban of linen he shall wrap.”
[16:4] sn The turban consisted of wound up linen (cf. Exod 28:4, 37, 39; 29:6; 39:31; Lev 16:4). It is usually thought to be a “turban,” but it might be only a “turban-like headband” wound around the forehead area (HALOT 624 s.v. מִצְנֶפֶת).
[16:4] 57 tn Heb “and he shall bathe….”
[16:5] 58 tn Heb “And he shall take.”
[16:5] 59 tn Heb “he-goats of goats”; CEV “two goats, both of them males.”
[16:7] 60 tn Heb “the two he-goats,” referred to as “two he-goats of goats” in v. 5.
[16:8] 61 tn Heb “and Aaron shall give lots on the two he-goats.” See the note on Lev 8:8 for the priestly casting of lots in Israel and the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 102, on Lev 16:8-9. J. Milgrom, Leviticus (AB), 1:1019-20, suggests, however, that the expression here signifies that, the lots having been cast, the priest was to literally “place” (Heb “give”) the one marked “for the
[16:8] 62 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲזָאזֵל (’aza’zel, four times in the OT, all of them in this chapter; vv. 8, 10 [2 times], and 26) is much debated. There are three or perhaps four major views (see the summaries and literature cited in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1020-21; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 102; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 237-38; D. P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity [SBLDS], 21-25; M. V. Van Pelt and W. C. Kaiser, NIDOTTE 3:362-63; and M. S. Moore, NIDOTTE 4:421-22). (1) Some derive the term from a combination of the Hebrew word עֵז (’ez, “goat”; i.e., the word for “goats” in v. 5) and אָזַל (’azal, “to go away”), meaning “the goat that departs” or “scapegoat” (cf., e.g., the LXX and KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). This meaning suits the ritual practice of sending the so-called “scapegoat” away into the wilderness (vv. 10, 21-22, 26). Similarly, some derive the term from Arabic ’azala (“to banish, remove”), meaning “entire removal” as an abstract concept (see BDB 736 s.v. עֲזָאזֵל). (2) Some see the term as a description of the wilderness area to which the goat was dispatched, deriving it somehow from Arabic ’azazu (“rough ground”) or perhaps עָזָז, (’azaz, “to be strong, fierce”). (3) The most common view among scholars today is that it is the proper name of a particular demon (perhaps even the Devil himself) associated with the wilderness desert regions. Levine has proposed that it may perhaps derive from a reduplication of the ז (zayin) in עֵז combined with אֵל (’el, “mighty”), meaning “mighty goat.” The final consonantal form of עֲזָאזֵל would have resulted from the inversion of the א (aleph) with the second ז. He makes the point that the close association between עֵז and שְׂעִירִים (shÿ’irim), which seems to refer to “goat-demons” of the desert in Lev 17:7 (cf. Isa 13:21, etc.), should not be ignored in the derivation of Azazel, although the term ultimately became the name of “the demonic ruler of the wilderness.” The latter view is supported by the parallel between the one goat “for (לְ, lamed preposition) the
[16:9] 63 tn Heb “which the lot has gone up on it for the
[16:10] 64 tn The LXX has “he shall stand it” (cf. v. 7).
[16:10] 65 tn Heb “to make atonement on it to send it away to Azazel toward the wilderness.”
[16:12] 66 tn Heb “and he shall take the fullness of the censer, coals of fire, from on the altar from to the faces of the
[16:12] 67 tn Heb “and the fullness of the hollow of his two hands, finely ground fragrant incense.”
[16:12] 68 tn Heb “and he shall bring from house to the veil-canopy.”
[16:13] 69 tn The text here has only “above the testimony,” but this is surely a shortened form of “above the ark of the testimony” (see Exod 25:22 etc.; cf. Lev 16:2). The term “testimony” in this expression refers to the ark as the container of the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them (see Exod 25:16 with Deut 10:1, 5, etc.).
[16:13] 70 tn Heb “and he will not die,” but it is clear that the purpose for the incense cloud was to protect the priest from death in the presence of the
[16:14] 71 tn Heb “on the faces of the atonement plate toward the east.” Some have taken this to mean that the ark was stationed just behind the veil-canopy on the eastern side of the most holy place. Thus, the high priest would need to enter and walk toward the west end of the most holy place and then turn eastward in order to face the ark and sprinkle the blood in an eastward direction. The rendering here, however, requires that the ark was stationed on the western end, or perhaps in the middle of the area, so that as the priest entered he was already facing the ark and would sprinkle the blood on the eastern face of the atonement plate, in a westward direction (see, e.g., J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 239 versus J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1032).
[16:14] 72 sn Presumably in this case the blood was sprinkled seven times on the ground in front of the ark on which the atonement plate was mounted.
[16:15] 73 tn Heb “and he shall bring its blood into from house to the veil-canopy.”
[16:16] 74 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) can be considered to have resultative or even inferential force here.
[16:16] 75 tn Heb “to all their sins.”
[16:17] 76 tn Heb “And all man shall not be in the tent of meeting.” The term for “a man, human being” (אָדָם, ’adam; see the note on Lev 1:2) refers to any person among “mankind,” male or female.
[16:18] 77 tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) indicates the sequence of events here.
[16:18] 78 tn Heb “And he shall take.”
[16:19] 79 tn Heb “and he shall purify it and he shall consecrate it.”
[16:20] 80 tn Heb “And he shall finish from atoning the holy place.” In this case, the “holy place” etc. are direct objects of the verb “to atone” (cf. v. 33a below). In this case, therefore, the basic meaning of the verb (i.e., “to purge” or “wipe clean”) comes to the forefront. When the prepositions עַל (’al) or בֲּעַד (ba’ad) occur with the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper) the purging is almost always being done “for” or “on behalf of” priests or people (see the note on Lev 1:4 as well as R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:698, the literature cited there, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 110, for more details).
[16:21] 81 tn Heb “transgressions to all their sins.”
[16:21] 82 tn Heb “and he shall give them.”
[16:21] 83 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term עִתִּי (’itti) is uncertain. It is apparently related to עֵת (’et, “time”), and could perhaps mean either that he has been properly “appointed” (i.e., designated) for the task (e.g., NIV and NRSV) or “ready” (e.g., NASB and NEB).
[16:22] 84 tn The Hebrew term rendered “inaccessible” derives from a root meaning “to cut off” (cf. NAB “an isolated region”). Another possible translation would be “infertile land” (see HALOT 187 s.v. *גָּזֵּר and cf. NRSV “a barren region”; NLT “a desolate land.”
[16:22] 85 tn Heb “and he [the man (standing) ready, v. 21] shall send the goat away.”
[16:23] 86 tn Heb “And Aaron shall enter.”
[16:24] 87 tn Heb “And he shall make atonement.”
[16:24] 88 tn Heb “on behalf of himself and on behalf of the people.” After “on behalf of himself” the LXX adds the expected “and on behalf of his household” (cf. vv. 6, 11, and 17).
[16:25] 89 tn Heb “And the fat of the sin offering he is to offer up.”
[16:26] 90 tn For “Azazel” see the note on v. 8 above.
[16:27] 91 tn Heb “he shall bring into from outside to the camp.”
[16:27] 92 tn Heb “they shall burn with fire”; KJV “burn in the fire.” Because “to burn with fire” is redundant in contemporary English the present translation simply has “must be burned up.”
[16:29] 93 tn Heb “And it [feminine] shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The LXX has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).
[16:29] 94 tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Ps 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 8:1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16-17, 20; see the remarks in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1054; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 242).
[16:29] 95 tn Heb “and all work you shall not do.”
[16:29] 96 tn Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”
[16:30] 97 tn The phrase “from all your sins” could go with the previous clause as the verse is rendered here (see, e.g., B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109, and J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1011), or it could go with the following clause (i.e., “you shall be clean from all your sins before the
[16:31] 98 tn See the note on v. 29 above.
[16:31] 99 tn Compare v. 29a above.
[16:32] 100 tn Heb “And the priest whom he shall anointed him and whom he shall fill his hand to act as priest under his father.” Imperfect active verbs are often used as passives (see, e.g., v. 27 above and the note on Lev 14:4).
[16:33] 101 tn Heb “to atone” (also later in this verse); see the note on “purifying the holy place” in 16:20.
[16:33] 102 tn Heb “the sanctuary of the holy place.” Although this is the only place this expression occurs in the OT, it clearly refers to the innermost shrine behind the veil-canopy, where the ark of the covenant was located.
[16:33] 103 tn Heb “and the tent of meeting and the alter he shall atone.” The repetition of the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to atone”) at the beginning and end of the sequence appears to be strange, but the MT accents suggest that only “the Most Holy Place” goes with the verb at the beginning of the verse. Of course, the purging of “the Most Holy Place” has been the main emphasis of this chapter from the start (see vv. 2-3 and 11-17).
[16:33] 104 tn At this point in the verse the verb כִּפֶּר (kipper, “to make atonement”) takes its object with the preposition עַל (’al, “for”; literally, “upon”; contrast the first part of the verse and cf. the notes on Lev 1:4 and 16:20 above).
[16:34] 105 tn Heb “And this shall be for you to a statute of eternity” (cf. v. 29a above). cf. NASB “a permanent statute”; NIV “a lasting ordinance.”
[16:34] 106 tn Heb “from”; see note on 4:26.
[16:34] 107 tn Heb “one [feminine] in the year.”
[16:34] 108 tn The MT of Lev 16:34b reads literally, “and he did just as the
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