THE THIRD BOOK OF

MOSES,
called
L E V I T I C U S

Leviticus 16

1How the high priest must enter into the holy place. 11The sin offering for himself. 15The sin offering for the people. 20The scapegoat. 29The yearly feast of the expiations.


1AND the LORD spake unto Moses aftera the death of the 1two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died;

a Lev. 10:1, 2.

1 Namely, Nadab and Abihu, whom the Lord had put to death for having appeared before Him with strange fire. See Lev. 10:1, 2.

2And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, thatb he come not at all times into the 2holy place within the 3vail before the 4mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I 5will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

b Exod. 30:10; Heb. 9:7.

2 Hebr. holiness, that which is holy, holy place. Understand here, and verses 3, 17, 27, the Holy of Holies, or the most holy place, the innermost part of the tabernacle, distinguished from the foremost part, commonly called Holy. See Exod. 26:33, 34; Heb. 9:2, 3.

3 See Lev. 4 on verse 6.

4 See Exod. 25:17, 18, etc.

5 Namely, ordinarily, and in a visible manner; which ought to stir up an holy fear and reverence in you. Compare Exod. 3:5; 1 Kings 8:11, 12 and the annotation.

3Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with 6a young 7bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 That is, with the blood of a slain bullock, as appears from verse 14.

7 Hebr. the son of a bull.

4He shall put on the 8holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are 9holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

8 Hebr. the linen coat of holiness; and so in the sequel of this verse garments of holiness; that is, holy garments, so called as being ordained for an holy use; so likewise Exod. 28:2. In which sense other things also are called holy, Exod. 29:31; 30:25; Lev. 22:4; 2 Chron. 5:5.

9 Understand by these here mentioned, the rest also, as they stand related at length, Exod. 28:4, etc.; and compare Exod. 28:43.

5And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement forc himself, and for his 10house.

c Heb. 7:27, 28.

10 That is, family. See Gen. 7 on verse 1.

7And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8And Aaron shall 11cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for 12the scapegoat.

11 Hebr. give the lots. Namely, to know which of them the Lord would have slain for a sin offering, and which was to be let go free into the wilderness, or open field.

12 Hebr. azazel. This word, (as most perceive), being compounded of two, whereof the one signifies a she-goat and the other to go, seems to imply either the living he-goat, which was let loose to go away, or the place to which he was turned loose. See this word likewise in verses 10, 26.

9And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

10But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement 13with him, and to let him go 14for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

13 Or, through him, or, upon him.

14 Or, to Azazel, that is, to the place so called.

11And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

12And he shall take a censer 15full of 16burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his 17hands full of 18sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the 19vail:

15 Hebr. the fullness of the censer. So also in the sequel the fullness of the hands, that is, the hands full, and the fullness of the house, for, the house full, Num. 22:18. Likewise, the fullness of a plate, or, bowl, for, a bowl full, Judges 6:38.

16 Or, fiery coals, that is, such as were well kindled, fiery and red hot; so 2 Sam. 22:13; Ezek. 1:13; Rom. 12:20.

17 Hebr. fists.

18 See the description of this incense Exod. 30:34, 35, 38.

19 See on verse 2.

13And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the 20cloud of the incense may 21cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

20 Or, mist. Hebr. cloud.

21 Namely, that thereby the priest is hindered to see the token of the Divine presence.

14Andd he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger 22upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

d Lev. 4:6; Heb. 9:25; 10:4.

22 Hebr. upon the face of the mercy seat; and so in the sequel here in this verse. This sprinkling was made but once. Yet the other, made on the place before the mercy seat, was done seven times. See Lev. 4:6.

15¶Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

16And he shall make an atonement for the 23holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that 24remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

23 What it is to make atonement for a place, this is shown here and in verse 19; namely, to purify and to cleanse by sacrifices from the ceremonial and moral impurities or defilements, which may be on, or have been committed in them. Compare Lev. 8:15; 14:49, 52, 53 and in this chapter verses 19, 20.

24 That is, is and remains among them who have many impurities upon them.

17And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when 25he goeth in to make an atonement in 26the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

25 Namely, the high priest.

26 Understand here the Holy of Holies, as verse 2.

18And he shall 27go out unto the 28altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and 29put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

27 Namely, out of the first or foremost part of the tabernacle, as the same is to be gathered out of the previous verse where the priests coming forth out of the innermost part of the tabernacle is spoken of.

28 Understand the altar of the burnt offering, which is said to be before the face of the LORD for the reasons mentioned in Lev. 1 on verse 3.

29 Hebr. shall give.

19And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse 30it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

30 See on verse 16 and verse 20.

20¶And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall 31bring the live goat:

31 Other, shall offer.

21And Aaron shall 32lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a 33fit man into the wilderness:

32 Hebr. to lean upon. See Lev. 1 on verse 4.

33 Hebr. a timely (one), that is, by a certain fit man at hand, or having time and leisure, or used to attend at such a time for such a purpose and service.

22And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a 34land not inhabited: and 35he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

34 Hebr. land of separation, that is, uninhabited, and cut off from the society and association of men.

35 Namely, that man who was at hand.

23And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:

24And he shall wash his flesh with 36water in the 37holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

36 See Lev. 6 on verse 28.

37 See Lev. 6:16, 26; Lev. 10 on verse 13.

25And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the 38altar.

38 Namely, the altar of burnt offerings; for, upon the altar of incense it was forbidden to offer such sacrifices, Exod. 30:9.

26And he that let go the goat 39for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

39 See on verse 8.

27And thee bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement 40in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

e Lev. 6:30; Heb. 13:11.

40 See on verse 2.

28And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

29¶And this shall be a statute 41for ever unto you: that in the 42seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, yef shall 43afflict 44your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

41 Hebr. institution of eternity, also verses 31, 34. See Gen. 13 on verse 15.

42 Called 1 Kings 8:2 Ethanim, and now by the Jews Tisri, agreeing for the most part with our month September.

f Lev. 23:27.

43 Or, afflict, trouble, grieve them, that is, earnestly and seriously humble yourselves before the Lord by confessing of your sins, by fasting, by prayer, by abstaining from all bodily comforts and delights. See this phrase likewise also in verse 31; Psalm 35:13; Isa. 58:3, 5; Dan. 10:12.

44 By the word souls here is especially understood, the bodies, as Psalm 16:10; or, your persons, that is, both souls and bodies together, as Gen. 12:5.

30For on that day shall 45the priest make an 46atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

45 Namely, the high priest.

46 See Lev. 1 on verse 4.

31It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute 47for ever.

47 See on verse 29.

32And the 48priest, 49whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the 50holy garments:

48 That is, the high priest. See Lev. 4 on verse 3.

49 See Lev. 7 on verse 37.

50 Or, garments of holiness, as verse 4.

33And he shall make an atonement for the 51holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

51 Hebr. the sanctuary of holiness.

34And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins onceg a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

g Exod. 30:10; Heb. 9:7.