Leviticus 9

On the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron, for Aaron's sons, and for the elders of Israel.

1And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

NoteThe eighth day follows the seven days of the ordination ceremony described in chapter 8, during which Aaron and his sons stayed at the entrance of the tent. This is the first day they act as priests. The "elders" were the senior heads of families and clans, who represented the people as a whole.

2He said to Aaron, "Take a young calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Both must have nothing wrong with them. Present them before the LORD.

2And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.

NoteA "sin offering" (Hebrew *chatta't*) was not about feeling sorry; it was the offering that cleansed the sanctuary and its objects of the defilement caused by wrongdoing and impurity. A "burnt offering" (*olah*, literally "the thing that goes up") was burned whole on the altar, with nothing kept back to be eaten. "Without blemish" meant physically unflawed, no injury, disease, or deformity. Where the King James prints LORD in capitals it stands for the personal name of Israel's God, four Hebrew letters usually written YHWH, which Jewish readers did not pronounce aloud.

3And speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and with nothing wrong with them, for a burnt offering.

3And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;

4Also take a bull and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the LORD will appear to you.'"

4Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you.

Note"Peace offerings" (*shelamim*) were the one kind of sacrifice that produced a meal: fat portions were burned, certain cuts went to the priests, and the rest was eaten by the worshipers themselves. "Meat offering" in the King James does not mean flesh, in 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind, and the offering was of flour and oil, a grain offering.

5They brought what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole community came near and stood before the LORD.

5And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.

NoteThe "tabernacle of the congregation," more exactly the tent of meeting, was the portable sanctuary at the center of the camp, so called because it was the place where God met with Israel. "Congregation" here means the whole assembled community, not a religious group in the modern sense.

6Moses said, "This is what the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you."

6And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you.

NoteThe "glory of the LORD" translates a Hebrew word whose root sense is weight or heaviness; it is used for the visible blaze or cloud that signaled God's presence, not for honor or reputation.

7Moses said to Aaron, "Go to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Then offer the people's offering and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded."

7And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.

Note"Make an atonement" translates a verb (*kipper*) whose sense is to wipe clean, purge, or ransom. The picture is of a stain being removed rather than of a punishment being paid.

8So Aaron went to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

8Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

9Aaron's sons brought him the blood. He dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, and he poured out the blood at the base of the altar.

9And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:

NoteThe altar had four upward projections at its corners, called horns; smearing blood on them was the way the offering was applied to the altar itself. The remaining blood was poured out at the base, since blood was never consumed or wasted casually.

10But the fat, the kidneys, and the covering above the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

10But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.

NoteThe "caul above the liver" is the lobe or fatty flap attached to the liver. These interior fat parts (the fat, the kidneys, and this lobe) were regarded as the richest portions of the animal, and were the share burned for God rather than eaten.

11The flesh and the hide he burned with fire outside the camp.

11And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

NoteThe camp was the ordered Israelite encampment arranged around the tent of meeting. Whatever could not remain within it (refuse, and the remains of certain offerings) was taken outside and destroyed there.

12Then he killed the burnt offering. Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar.

12And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.

NoteThe verb translated "sprinkled" is stronger in Hebrew: the blood was thrown or dashed from a basin against the sides of the altar, not flicked in drops.

13They handed him the burnt offering, piece by piece, along with the head, and he burned them on the altar.

13And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.

14He washed the inner parts and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

14And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

15Then he brought the people's offering. He took the goat that was the sin offering for the people, killed it, and offered it for sin, just as he had done with the first one.

15And he brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.

16He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the way that was laid down.

16And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.

Note"According to the manner" means according to the fixed procedure already set out for burnt offerings in chapter 1, the regulation, not a personal custom.

17He brought the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, in addition to the burnt offering of the morning.

17And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

NoteA handful of the grain offering was burned as the token portion representing the whole, and the rest went to the priests. The "burnt sacrifice of the morning" was the standing daily offering made every morning and evening, which continued alongside any special sacrifices.

18He also killed the bull and the ram as the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people. Aaron's sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it on all sides of the altar.

18He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron’s sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,

19The fat parts of the bull and of the ram were these: the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner parts, the kidneys, and the covering above the liver.

19And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:

NoteThe King James "rump" means the fat tail. The sheep of the region were broad-tailed sheep, whose tails stored a large mass of fat that was prized as food and counted among the portions burned for God.

20They laid the fat on the breasts of the animals, and Aaron burned the fat on the altar.

20And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:

21Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the LORD as a wave offering, as Moses had commanded.

21And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded.

NoteA "wave offering" involved a ritual gesture, the Hebrew suggests either a waving or a lifting up, by which a portion was formally presented to God before being handed over to the priests to eat. The "right shoulder" is more precisely the right thigh, the choice hind leg.

22Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people and blessed them. Then he came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings.

22And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

NoteRaising the hands toward the people was the standard posture for pronouncing a blessing. "Came down" reflects the fact that the altar was raised, approached by a ramp or ledge.

23Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

23And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people.

24Fire came out from before the LORD and burned up the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown.

24And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

NoteFalling face down on the ground was the ordinary gesture of homage before a king or a god in the ancient Near East; the shout was a loud collective cry, the customary public response to such a sight.