15.19 Laundering and bathing at the end of seven days must be presumed.
15.19–23 The menstruant is not banished but remains at home. She may prepare meals and perform her household chores. The family, in turn, has to avoid lying in her bed, sitting in her chair, or touching her.
15.23 The bed or anything, more precisely “on the bed or on anything.” An object can be contaminated at a third remove provided it is in unbroken contact with the menstruant.
15.24 If any man…on him may be translated “if any man lies with her, her impurity will fall upon him,” implying that copulation may have been a deliberate act, punishable by excision (20.18). The severe, seven-day impurity may be due to the loss of both life-giving semen and genital blood.
15.25 The days of her impurity, lit. “the days of her menstrual impurity,” a reference to vv. 20, 22.
15.27 These things. Possibly with Septuagint read “her,” in conformance with the law concerning men’s discharge (v. 7).
15.30 See v. 15.
15.31 Defiling my tabernacle. Severe impurity incurred anywhere in the community will pollute the sanctuary. For this spatial notion of impurity, see chs. 4 and 16.
LEVITICUS 16
The Day of Atonement
1The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died. 2The LORD said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seata that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.b 3Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy vestments. He shall bathe his body in water, and then put them on. 5He shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7He shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting; 8and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.c 9Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer it as a sin offering; 10but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazeld shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.e
11Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house; he shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12He shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of crushed sweet incense, and he shall bring it inside the curtain 13and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seatf that is upon the covenant,g or he will die. 14He shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat,h and before the mercy seati he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times.
15He shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seatj and before the mercy seat.k 16Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17No one shall be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement on its behalf, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on each of the horns of the altar. 19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task.l 22The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.
23Then Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting, and shall take off the linen vestments that he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. 24He shall bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making atonement for himself and for the people. 25The fat of the sin offering he shall turn into smoke on the altar. 26The one who sets the goat free for Azazelm shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward may come into the camp. 27The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be consumed in fire. 28The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward may come into the camp.
29This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves,n and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. 30For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the LORD. 31It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves;o it is a statute forever. 32The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments. 33He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.
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a Or the cover
b Or the cover
c Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
d Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
e Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
f Or the cover
g Or treaty, or testament; Heb eduth
h Or the cover
i Or the cover
j Or the cover
k Or the cover
l Meaning of Heb uncertain
m Traditionally rendered a scapegoat
n Or shall fast
o Or shall fast
16.1–34 The annual Day of Atonement for the sanctuary and people. According to v. 1, ch. 16 follows upon ch. 10. Thus, chs. 11–15 are an insert listing the specific impurities that will contaminate the sanctuary (15.31) for which the purification ritual of ch. 16 is mandated. The impurities of the sanctuary are eliminated by purification offerings (16.16–19). The iniquities of the people are eliminated by the confession of the high priest over the dispatched goat while the people fast (vv. 21–22, 29–31). The text strongly suggests that the original form of the purgation rite described in vv. 2–28 was an emergency measure invoked by the high priest whenever he felt that the entire sanctuary had to be purged. It is the appendix, vv. 29–34, that fixes this rite as an annual observance. That it comprises an appendix is ascertained by the change of person (direct address to Israel); the fact that not Aaron but his descendants are officiating (v. 32); a change in terminology (e.g., the adytum is now called “the holiest part of the sanctuary” see v. 33); the fact that only here is the date specified at the end (vv. 29, 34), whereas all o
ther festival prescriptions begin with the date; and the unexpected inclusion of resident aliens, its first occurrence in the book of Leviticus. All seventeen subsequent attestations in chs. 17–24 are, by common scholarly consent, attributed to H (see Introduction).
16.1 Drew near before, better “encroached upon.”
16.2 In the cloud, by means of the screen of incense raised by the high priest (v. 13).
16.2–3 Sanctuary/holy place, the adytum, innermost part of the tabernacle. Sin offering, better “purification offering” (see note on 4.1–35).
16.4 The high priest donned linen garments perhaps because entering the adytum was equivalent to being admitted to the heavenly council, whose members, the angels, were also dressed in linen (Ezek 9.2–3, 11; 10.2; Dan 10.5)
16.6 Offer, lit. “bring forward,” as in v. 11, present.
16.8 Azazel, probably the name of a demon who has been stripped of his alleged powers by the priestly legists. No longer a personality but just a name, he designates the place to which Israel’s impurities and sins are banished.
16.10 To make atonement over it, by the confession of Israel’s sins (v. 21).
16.11 The high priest must purge the sanctuary of the impurities he and his fellow priests have caused before he is eligible to do the same for the people.
16.12–13 If the purpose of the incense is to raise a cloud of smoke that screens the high priest’s view of the ark, how could it be that he lights the incense only after he enters the adytum? The clue to the solution is supplied by the fact that the lit incense by itself does not produce a cloud of smoke. Thus another smoke-raising ingredient has to be added to the incense and it, not the incense, was ignited by the high priest before he entered the adytum and ignited the incense. The incense, then, would have functioned to placate God for the high priest’s presumption in entering before his presence. The covenant, short for “the ark of the covenant.”
16.14 On the front of, lit. “on the surface of…the east side.” Since the high priest could not see the ark cover, he merely threw the drop of blood toward it but made sure it landed on its east side, namely, before it. Thus symbolically the ark was purged, as was the entire adytum, by the sevenfold blood sprinkling on the adytum floor.
16.16 Make…sanctuary, purge the adytum. Transgressions. In the Priestly theology it is the transgressions, the willful, brazen impurities committed by the people, that have penetrated into the adytum, requiring its purgation by the high priest on the annual Day of Atonement. So he…meeting. The purgation rite of 4.6–7, 17–18 is presumed. The tent of meeting here refers to the outer room, the shrine.
16.18 On its behalf, better “upon it.” Purification-offering blood is put directly on the sacrificial altar (see Ex 29.36).
16.18–19 The daubing of the blood on the altar purifies it (see 4.7, 25; 8.15); the sprinkling rite sanctifies it (see 8.11).
16.21 Lay, lit. “lean” (see note on 1.4). Both his hands, an act of transference (as in 24.14), in contrast with sacrificial, one-handed hand leaning, an act of ownership (1.4). Iniquities. Whereas the blood rites in the sanctuary purge it of Israel’s impurities (uncleannesses, v. 16), the hand leaning of the confession over the live goat purges the people of their sins by transferring them to the head of the goat and dispatching it into the wilderness. Confess. Confession is required only for brazen, presumptuous sins (5.5; 26.40; Num 5.7).
16.22 And. Translate “when” and connect with v. 23 to avoid a redundancy with v. 21b.
16.23 Leave them there, because they contracted the extreme sanctity of the adytum.
16.24 His vestments, i.e., the ornate ones he always wore while officiating at the altar (8.6–9).
16.26–28 The handlers of the slain and live purification offerings are contaminated, but not the high priest, who is immune to impurity while officiating.
16.29 Deny yourselves. “Afflict yourselves, from food, drink, and from enjoying bathing, and from anointing, and from sexual intercourse” (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan).
16.29–31 See also 23.26–32.
16.32 Priest in his father’s place. In contrast to vv. 2–28, which speak solely of Aaron, this verse focuses on his successors.
16.33 The sanctuary, rather “the holiest part of the sanctuary,” i.e., the adytum.
LEVITICUS 17
The Slaughtering of Animals
1The LORD spoke to Moses: 2 Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them: This is what the LORD has commanded. 3If anyone of the house of Israel slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or slaughters it outside the camp, 4and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, he shall be held guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood, and he shall be cut off from the people. 5This is in order that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and offer them as sacrifices of well-being to the LORD. 6The priest shall dash the blood against the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing odor to the LORD, 7so that they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.
8And say to them further: Anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, 9and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to sacrifice it to the LORD, shall be cut off from the people.
Eating Blood Prohibited
10If anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut that person off from the people. 11For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement. 12Therefore I have said to the people of Israel: No person among you shall eat blood, nor shall any alien who resides among you eat blood. 13And anyone of the people of Israel, or of the aliens who reside among them, who hunts down an animal or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.
14For the life of every creature—its blood is its life; therefore I have said to the people of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15All persons, citizens or aliens, who eat what dies of itself or what has been torn by wild animals, shall wash their clothes, and bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening; then they shall be clean. 16But if they do not wash themselves or bathe their body, they shall bear their guilt.
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17.1–26.46 The Holiness source (H). The remainder of the book of Leviticus (excluding ch. 27), it is often held, consists largely of an independent code in which moral and ritual laws alternate, motivated by holiness. This, however, is questionable. Ch. 17, the alleged beginning of the code, is connected thematically and verbally with the preceding chapters. Chs. 25–26, which are often alleged to be the conclusion, form an independent scroll, to judge from the unique vocabulary (e.g., 25.18–19; 26.5), theme (25.8–13; 26.34–35, 43), and redaction (25.1; 26.46). Nonetheless, much of the language and some ideas in chs. 17–26 differ from the first part of Leviticus. For a fuller discussion of H and of the relationship between P and H, see the Introduction.
17.1–16 Whoever kills a sacrificial animal outside the sanctuary is guilty of murder (17.3–4). Sacrifice to goat-demons or “satyrs” is thus abolished (17.5–9), and expiation for killing the animal is assured through a ritual by which its lifeblood is returned to its creator, either upon the altar (17.10–12) or by being drained and covered by earth in the case of game animals (17.13–14; cf. Deut 12.16). V. 11 has nothing to do with the expiation of sin in general.
17.3–7 No common slaughter.
17.3 Outside the camp, but within easy access of the sanctuary.
17.4 Guilty of bloodshed, a capital crime. Cut off from the people, i.e., extinction of his line by divine agency, a capital punishment (see 7.20).
17.5 In the open field, for chthonic worship (see v. 7). Sacrifices…LORD. Henceforth, common slaughter is strictly forbidden. Meat for the table must initially be a sacrifice.
17.7 Goat-demons. It is possible that the demon Azazel (the first element of which means “goat” see 16.8) was also a satyr. Prostitute themselves, a metaphor for idolatry (Ex 34.15–16; Lev 20.5, 6; Deut 31.16).
17.8–9 No sacrifices to other gods.
17.8 If aliens wish to have meat, they need not bring their animals to the sanctuary (a performative commandment), but they are forbidden to worship other gods (a prohibitive commandment). Burnt offering or sacrifice. The latter refers to the well-being (including the thanksgiving) offering. Thus, the purification and reparation offerings are excluded, possibly a reflex of the popular religion, which knew only the burnt offering as the exclusive expiatory sacrifice (see also 22.17–21).
17.10–12 Blood of animals may not be ingested. Both animals and people have a nefesh (Hebrew), “soul.” Nefesh refers to the life essence of both human and beast as distinct from the body. It is the part of the person or animal that does not disintegrate into dust, but departs the body (see “as her nefesh was departing,” Gen 35.18). It is presumed that the nefesh is contained in the blood. Vv. 11–12 are an aside to Moses; only the law is given to Israel, not its rationale.
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