HarperCollins Study Bible
Page 55
8Aaron drew near to the altar, and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 10But the fat, the kidneys, and the appendage of the liver from the sin offering he turned into smoke on the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses; 11and the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp.
12Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he dashed it against all sides of the altar. 13And they brought him the burnt offering piece by piece, and the head, which he turned into smoke on the altar. 14He washed the entrails and the legs and, with the burnt offering, turned them into smoke on the altar.
15Next he presented the people’s offering. He took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people, and slaughtered it, and presented it as a sin offering like the first one. 16He presented the burnt offering, and sacrificed it according to regulation. 17He presented the grain offering, and, taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.
18He slaughtered the ox and the ram as a sacrifice of well-being for the people. Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, which he dashed against all sides of the altar, 19and the fat of the ox and of the ram—the broad tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat on them,a and the appendage of the liver. 20They first laid the fat on the breasts, and the fat was turned into smoke on the altar; 21and the breasts and the right thigh Aaron raised as an elevation offering before the LORD, as Moses had commanded.
22Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being. 23Moses and Aaron entered the tent of meeting, and then came out and blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
next chapter
* * *
a Gk: Heb the broad tail, and that which covers, and the kidneys
9.1–24 On the eighth day following the week of consecration, the priests begin their official duties. They offer up special sacrifices for the people that the glory of the LORD may appear (9.6; also 9.4, 9.23). Indeed, the whole purpose of the sacrificial system is revelation, the assurance that God is with his people. However, God’s presence is never assumed to be a coefficient of the ritual performed; it is always viewed as an act of his grace.
9.2 Sin offering, more accurately “purification offering” see note on 4.1–35.
9.6 The glory (kavod), in the encased fire-cloud, presumably brightens as a signal to Moses whenever God desires an audience with him (Num 16.42–44) or when Moses (with Aaron) seeks divine counsel (Num 20.6–7) before it condenses between the outspread wings of the cherubim in the adytum (the innermost part of the tabernacle). Otherwise the kavod, encased in cloud, remains suspended above the tabernacle so that it is visible to all of Israel at night (Ex 40.38; Num 9.15). Here, uniquely at the inauguration of the public cult in the tabernacle, the kavod separates itself from its nebulous encasement in order to consume the sacrifices in the sight of all of Israel (see also vv. 23–24).
9.9 Horns. See note on 4.7.
9.10 Turned into smoke. See note on 1.9.
9.12 Burnt offering. See note on 1.1–17.
9.17 Grain offering. See note on 2.1–16. Burnt offering of the morning. See Ex 29.38–42.
9.18 Sacrifice of well-being. See note on 3.1–17.
9.21 Elevation offering. See 7.30.
9.22 Blessed them, probably with the priestly blessing of Num 6.24–26. He came down. Presumably the blessing was recited from the top of the altar.
9.23 The glory … appeared, in the form of fire. Israel will be guided in the wilderness not by God’s voiced commands but by his visible presence, a cloud-encased fire (Ex 40.38) identified with God’s “glory” (Ex 24.17; Ezek 1.27–28; 2 Chr 7.3).
9.24 Fire…LORD, presumably from the adytum, where God’s “glory” rested between the outspread wings of the cherubim flanking the ark (Ex 25.22). The theophany functioned to legitimize the Aaronite priesthood.
LEVITICUS 10
Nadab and Abihu
1Now Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the LORD, such as he had not commanded them. 2And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when he said,
‘Through those who are near me
I will show myself holy,
and before all the people
I will be glorified.’”
And Aaron was silent.
4Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come forward, and carry your kinsmen away from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” 5They came forward and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had ordered. 6And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not dishevel your hair, and do not tear your vestments, or you will die and wrath will strike all the congregation; but your kindred, the whole house of Israel, may mourn the burning that the LORD has sent. 7You shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the anointing oil of the LORD is on you.” And they did as Moses had ordered.
8And the LORD spoke to Aaron: 9Drink no wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you may not die; it is a statute forever throughout your generations. 10You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; 11and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.
12Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: Take the grain offering that is left from the LORD’s offerings by fire, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy; 13you shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due, from the offerings by fire to the LORD; for so I am commanded. 14But the breast that is elevated and the thigh that is raised, you and your sons and daughters as well may eat in any clean place; for they have been assigned to you and your children from the sacrifices of the offerings of well-being of the people of Israel. 15The thigh that is raised and the breast that is elevated they shall bring, together with the offerings by fire of the fat, to raise for an elevation offering before the LORD; they are to be your due and that of your children forever, as the LORD has commanded.
16Then Moses made inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and—it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and said, 17“Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sacred area? For it is most holy, and Goda has given it to you that you may remove the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement on their behalf before the LORD. 18Its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.” 19And Aaron spoke to Moses, “See, today they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and yet such things as these have befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been agreeable to the LORD?” 20And when Moses heard that, he agreed.
next chapter
* * *
a Heb he
10.1–20 Ch. 10 continues the material from ch. 9. Grain and well-being offerings are eaten by the priests in accordance with the injunctions of 6.16; 7.28–34. But the procedure for the purification offering is switched from the individual to the communal form: the disposal of blood (9.9; 10.18) has been carried out in accordance with 4.30, but not the disposal of the flesh (10.18), which follows 4.12 rather than 6.26. The death of Nadab and Abihu h
as intervened. Aaron follows the more stringent procedure of destroying rather than eating the sacrificial meat because it has been doubly polluted by the sin and death of his sons.
10.1 Unholy fire, “unauthorized coals” (cf. Num 16.37, 40).
10.2 And fire…the LORD, a measure-for-measure principle: those who sinned by fire are punished by fire.
10.3 What the LORD meant when he said, more accurately “what the LORD has decreed, saying” (see Gen 24.51). Those who are near me, i.e., the priests (Ezek 42.13, translated “who approach”). The greater responsibility of the priests is evidenced in the rules dealing with the crime of encroaching upon the sacred spaces and objects (Num 18.1, 3, 7). The penalty is that of Nadab and Abihu—death by divine agency. The Lord becomes sanctified and glorified through punishment (see Ezek 28.22). And Aaron was silent, contrasting starkly with the people’s shouting moments earlier (9.24).
10.4 Mishael and Elzaphan are Levites, not priests, hence permitted to come in contact with the dead.
10.6 Dishevel…vestments, signs of mourning (e.g., Gen 37.29, 34; Lev 13.45). Although Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, were permitted to mourn their brothers (21.1–3), they were on duty, assisting their father in the performance of the sacrifices (9.9, 12, 18) and had yet to eat the sacred meat (10.17). Moreover, they were anointed, in contrast to their priestly successors (Ex 40.15). Hence they were forbidden to mourn as their father was (21.10–11), because the anointing oil of the LORD was on them (v. 7).
10.9 Strong drink, probably “ale.” The existence of a beer industry in Israel is attested by the prevalence of beer jugs in archaeological excavations. Enter the tent of meeting, also forbidden to a priest if he was improperly washed (Ex 30.20), physically blemished (Lev 21.23), or improperly dressed (Ex 28.43).
10.10 Teaching these distinctions is essential to the priestly function (see Ezek 44.21–23).
10.11 To them, to Israel, not to the priests. The priests carry no new instruction; they transmit the old, the teaching imparted to Israel through the mediation of Moses. This may be a telltale sign of H (see Introduction).
10.12 Grain offering. See note on 2.1–16. Most holy. See 2.3.
10.13 Holy place. See 6.16.
10.14 Offerings of well-being. See note on 3.1–12.
10.15 Elevation offering. See 7.30.
10.16 Sin offering, better “purification offering.” See note on 4.1–35. He, Moses. The purification offering, whose blood is daubed on the horns of the outer altar (4.25, 30, 34) but not brought inside the tent of meeting (6.30), must be eaten by the officiating priest (6.26), namely, Aaron, and what he cannot finish must be eaten by the rest of the priestly cadre (6.29), namely, his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar. Moses may have become angry because the reluctance of the priests to eat this sacrifice would engender the suspicion that they were afraid of the harm that might befall them if they ate the impurity-laden meat, a belief that was current in Israel’s contemporary world but that the Priestly source (P) assiduously attempted to eradicate.
10.17 Remove the guilt, remove the iniquity by ingesting the purificatory offering. This sacrifice is the analogic counterpart to the high priest’s golden plate (8.9). Just as the latter symbolically draws to itself all the impurities of Israel’s sacred offerings (Ex 28.38), so the former, by the blood manipulation, draws out the pollution of the sanctuary caused by Israel’s impurities and iniquities (see notes on 4.1–35; 16.1–34).
10.18 In accordance with 6.26, 30.
10.19 Aaron’s excuse; see note on 10.1–20.
10.20 That the ministrations of Aaron and his sons require the approval not only of God but also of Moses strikingly proves that the Priestly source (P) acknowledges the superiority of the prophet (Moses) over the priest (Aaron).
LEVITICUS 11
Clean and Unclean Foods
1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: 2Speak to the people of Israel, saying:
From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat. 3Any animal that has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed and chews the cud—such you may eat. 4But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall not eat the following: the camel, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 5The rock badger, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 6The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. 7The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you.
9These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat. 10But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you 11and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable. 12Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
13These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 14the buzzard, the kite of any kind; 15every raven of any kind; 16the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the water hen, the desert owl,a the carrion vulture, 19the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.b
20All winged insects that walk upon all fours are detestable to you. 21But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. 22Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grass-hopper according to its kind. 23But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
Unclean Animals
24By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, 25and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. 27All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, 28and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.
29These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according to its kind, 30the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. 32And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or skin or sacking, any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean. 33And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel. 34Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. 35Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you. 36But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. 37If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; 38but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39If an animal of which you may e
at dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.
41All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten. 42Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever moves on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. 43You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them, and so become unclean. 44For I am the LORD your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth. 45For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.
46This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, 47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
next chapter
* * *
a Or pelican
b Identification of several of the birds in verses 13-19 is uncertain
11.1–16.34 Laws dealing with four sources of impurity: carcasses (ch. 11), childbirth (ch. 12), scale disease (chs. 13–14), and genital discharges (ch. 15). (A fifth source, the corpse, is dealt with in Num 19.) The common denominator of these impurity sources is that they stand for death. Blood and semen represent the forces of life and their loss, death. The wasting of the body characteristic of scale disease symbolizes the death process (cf. Num 12.12) as much as the loss of blood and semen. Carcasses and corpses obviously are the epitome of death and therefore of impurity. Since impurity and holiness are semantic opposites, it is incumbent upon Israel to prevent impurity or at least to control its occurrence, lest it impinge upon the sanctuary, the realm of the holy God.