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LEVITICUS 9

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV  NJB
(MT versing)
Aaron Offers Sacrifices The Priestly Ministry Begins The commencement of Aaron's High Priesthood Aaron Offers Sacrifices The Priests Assume Their Functions
9:1-7 9:1-7 9:1-7 9:1-4 9:1-4
9:5-7 9:5-7
9:8-11 9:8-11 9:8-11 9:8-11 9:8-11
9:12-14 9:12-14 9:12-14 9:12-14 9:12-14
9:15-17 9:15-17 9:15-17 9:15-21 9:15-17
9:18-21 9:18-21 9:18-21 9:18-21
9:22-24 9:22-24 9:22-24 9:22-24 9:22-24

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. Notice that there are two sacrificial procedures.
    1. for the priests, Lev. 9:8 (v. 2)
    2. for the people, Lev. 9:15,18 (vv. 3-4)

  2. Notice the different types of sacrifices.
    1. a bull calf, for a sin offering, Lev. 9:2
    2. a ram, for a burnt offering, Lev. 9:2
    3. a male goat, for a sin offering, Lev. 9:3
    4. a calf and a lamb (both one year old), for a burnt offering, Lev. 9:3
    5. an ox and a ram, for a peace offering, Lev. 9:4
    6. a grain offering, Lev. 9:4

    Usually sacrifices were offered in a series. Each of them representing a different purpose. See SACRIFICES IN MESOPOTAMIA AND ISRAEL AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE.

  3. Both Leviticus 9 and 10 occur on the eighth day, the day when the Aaronic priesthood begins their service at the inner shrine.

  4. There is a similar ritual between
    1. these first sacrifices for the priests and the people
    2. the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:1-7
  1Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; 2and he said to Aaron, "Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the Lord. 3Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, for a burnt offering, 4and an ox 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.'" 5So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before the Lord. 6Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you." 7Moses then said to Aaron, "Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded."

9:1 "on the eighth day" This would be the culmination of the "seven days" of ordination mentioned in Leviticus 8 (i.e., Lev. 8:33,35).

▣ "Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel" Many assume that this is the group that is referred to in Lev. 8:1-3, but this is not certain (cf. Num. 7:2). See SPECIAL TOPIC: AARON AND HIS SONS and SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDER.

9:2 "Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the Lord" This is the only place in all of the sacrificial regulations that a calf (BDB 722) is mentioned. The rabbis assume that this refers to a special sacrifice that Aaron needed to perform because of his sin of the golden calf in Exodus 32 (another use of BDB 722).

▣ "without defect" There are several Hebrew words which are used to describe an animal "blameless" or "without defect." The symbolism is that the animal was not physically marred, and, therefore, it stood as a representative of a sinless, innocent life. This symbolism is fulfilled as the sinless Jesus Christ bore our sins on Calvary (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). See SPECIAL TOPIC: WITHOUT BLEMISH and SPECIAL TOPIC: BLAMELESS, INNOCENT, GUILTLESS, WITHOUT REPROACH.

▣ "before the Lord" This phrase means "at the Tabernacle." For "Lord" see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

9:3 "Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying" There is both a sacrifice for Aaron and his sons (Lev. 9:8) and a sacrifice for the people (Lev. 9:15-18).

9:4 "an ox and a ram for peace offerings. . .for today the Lord shall appear to you" The peace offering was a symbolic way of depicting having fellowship with YHWH. On this occasion YHWH would physically manifest Himself, probably through the Shekinah cloud, as He had done at the final erection of the Tabernacle in Exod. 40:34-38; Num. 9:15-23. The people and the priests each had to be prepared before He would appear to them. This was a sign of YHWH's acceptance.

9:5 "stood before the Lord" In light of Lev. 9:24, what does this VERB (BDB 763, KB 840, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) imply? The Qal stem (#1, d) is used to present oneself before

  1. human leaders
    1. Joseph ‒ Gen. 43:15
    2. Pharaoh ‒ Exod. 9:10
    3. Moses ‒ Num. 27:2
    4. Eleazar ‒ Num. 27:21
  2. YHWH
    1. Gen. 18:22; 19:27
    2. Lev. 9:5
    3. Deut. 4:10; 10:8,10; 19:17

It, therefore (depending on the context), can reflect

  1. respect
  2. worship
  3. service

9:6 "that the glory of the Lord may appear to you" The Shekinah cloud symbolized the presence God had over the Tabernacle in Exod. 30:34-38 (cf. Exod. 29:43,45; Lev. 9:22-23; Num. 9:15-23), SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (kabod, OT).

9:7 "Moses then said to Aaron" This verse has five IMPERATIVES.

  1. come near ‒ BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal (special usage for the priests who approach YHWH by service in the Tabernacle)
  2. offer ‒ lit. "do"/"make" ‒ BDB793, KB 889, Qal (only priests could do this)
  3. Same as 2.
  4. make atonement ‒ lit. "cover" ‒ BDB 497, KB 493, Piel, see SPECIAL TOPIC: ATONEMENT
  5. Same as 4.

Notice these are not Moses' words, but YHWH's (i.e., the last phrase).

▣
NASB, NKJV, NRSV, TEV, JPSOA, NET, Peshitta  "for the people"
NJB  "your family"
REB  "your household"
LXX  "your house"
The UBS Text Project, p. 172, gives "and for the people" a "B" rating (some doubt). There are several places where "for his household" does appear in Leviticus (cf. Lev. 16:6,11,17,24).
When all of Lev. 9:7 is read, the NASB option is best.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:8-11
  8So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. 9Aaron's sons presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 10The fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the sin offering, he then offered up in smoke on the altar just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 11The flesh and the skin, however, he burned with fire outside the camp.

9:8 "sin offering. . .burnt offering. . .peace offering" We learn from Leviticus 1-7 that these particular types of sacrifices were often offered in a series. Here, we have the series of the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. This seems to symbolize the order:

  1. the sin offering to restore relationship with God
  2. the burnt offering to commit oneself to God
  3. the peace offering, where God symbolically ate and fellowshipped with the offerer

This first series was for the priesthood.

9:9 "and poured the rest of the blood at the base of the altar" From Lev. 4:5-7, we understand that this blood should have been taken into the Holy Place and sprinkled before the veil but, as of this point, the priests, including Aaron, had not entered the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and, therefore, all of these procedures were performed at the altar of sacrifice at the door of the Tabernacle.

9:10 As the blood (see SPECIAL TOPIC: BLOOD) represented "life," the fat represented health and prosperity. Both were uniquely given to YHWH alone.

▣ "on the altar" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ALTAR OF SACRIFICE.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:12-14
  12Then he slaughtered the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 13They handed the burnt offering to him in pieces, with the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 14He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar.

9:12 "sprinkled" See note at Lev. 1:5.

9:13 See notes at Leviticus 1:12-14.

9:14 "wash" This VERB (BDB 934, KB 1220) is used of several types of ceremonial purification.

  1. Aaron's sons
    1. priests ‒ Exod. 29:4; lev. 8:6; 16:4,24,26,28; Num. 19:7-8
    2. Levites ‒ Num. 8:7,21
  2. clothes
    1. priests ‒ Lev. 6:27
    2. Israelites
      (1) touch an unclean thing ‒ Leviticus 11; 14; 17; Numbers 19
      (2) involved in leprosy of some kind ‒ Leviticus 13-14
  3. sacrifices ‒ Lev. 1:9,13,14

Cleansing could involve

  1. sacrifice
  2. fire
  3. water
  4. temporal (?) separation

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:15-17
  15Then he presented the people's offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first. 16He also presented the burnt offering, and offered it according to the ordinance. 17Next he presented the grain offering, and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

9:17 "filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar" Only a small portion of the grain offering was offered on the altar and the rest became food for the priests. The rabbis say that it was three fingers tall, or one handful. Here is another example of a small part representing the whole. This is true of

  1. the Sabbath representing all of life
  2. the tithe representing all of our resources
  3. the firstfruits representing all of our produce
  4. the firstborn representing all of our children

▣ "besides the burnt offering of the morning" This could refer to

  1. the regular morning and evening sacrifices, called "the continual" (cf. Exod. 29:38-42; see NET, p. 231, #21)
  2. more probably from this context, the offerings for Aaron and his sons, mentioned in Lev. 9:8-14

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:18-21
  18Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron's sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 19As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail, and the fat covering, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, 20they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 21But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded.

9:20 "they" This seems to refer to the sons of Aaron, and not Aaron himself. NJB, following the LXX, has "he."

9:21 The priests received back some meat from the sin offerings for their food (cf. Lev. 7:30-34). The LXX and Targum of Jonathan specify that the initial command was from YHWH (Lev. 9:7).

▣ "wave offering" See note at Lev. 8:27,29.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 9:22-24
  22Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

9:22 The act of lifting the hands can have several connotations.

  1. oath taking ‒ Gen. 14:22; Exod. 6:8; Num. 14:30; Ps. 106:26; Ezek. 20:5-6
  2. blessing ‒ Lev. 9:22; Ps. 28:2; 63:4; 134:2; 1 Tim. 2:8
  3. rebellion ‒ 2 Sam. 20:21 ("hand" as ANE symbol of power; see SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND)
  4. prayer ‒ Lam. 2:19; for YHWH to act ‒ Ps. 10:12; 17:7
  5. praise ‒ Ps. 119:148

▣ "Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them" The lifting of the hands and eyes toward heaven is the posture of Jewish prayer in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The exact content of Aaron's blessing is uncertain. Many of us assume that the Aaronic blessing, found in Num. 6:22-27, may have been the core of the kind of blessing given here (note, "May His face shine upon you," i.e., the appearance of the Shekinah cloud).

9:23 "Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting" This is the first time that they had entered the inner shrine. Notice that at this point, the glory of the Lord appeared to all of the people (cf. Exod. 14:19; 19:18).

9:24 "Then the fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering" It is obvious that the Shekinah cloud, which first appears in Exodus, was a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. The fire (the symbol of the presence of YHWH) came out from the cloud (or holy of holies) and totally consumed the offerings on the altar. It was God's way of saying that He affirmed what they had done. We find this action several times in the Old Testament (cf. Num. 11:3; 16:35; Jdgs. 6:21; 1 Kgs. 18:38; 2 Chr. 7:1). This will be a foreshadowing of the tragedy that will occur in Leviticus 10.

▣ "and fell on their faces" This was a physical symbol of worship and subservience in the presence of Deity (i.e., a theophany, like Exodus 19).
The AB, p. 591, makes the point that "fell on their faces" may denote a kneeling, while "prostrate oneself" may refer to being flat on the ground (cf. Jos. 5:14; 1 Sam. 20:41; 2 Sam. 9:2; 14:22; Job 1:20; Ruth 2:10, where the two terms occur in a sequence.

▣ "they shouted" This VERB (BDB 943, KB 1247) is used of

  1. joy ‒ Job 38:7; Ps. 35:27; Isa. 12:6; 24:14; 35:6; 42:11; 44:23; 49:13; 54:1; Jer. 31:7; Zeph. 3:14
  2. distress ‒ Isa. 65:14; Lam. 2:19
  3. here, of awe

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. What is "the glory of the Lord"?
  2. Why was its appearance so theologically significant?
  3. What does the "horns of the altar" (Lev. 9:9) signify?
  4. Why is the Aaronic blessing of Num. 6:24-27 possibly part of the blessing here?
  5. How does Lev. 9:24 introduce chapter 10?

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