21 And Aaron H175 shall lay H5564 both H8147 his hands H3027 upon the head H7218 of the live H2416 goat, H8163 and confess H3034 over him all the iniquities H5771 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and all their transgressions H6588 in all their sins, H2403 putting H5414 them upon the head H7218 of the goat, H8163 and shall send him away H7971 by the hand H3027 of a fit H6261 man H376 into the wilderness: H4057
Let thine ear H241 now be attentive, H7183 and thine eyes H5869 open, H6605 that thou mayest hear H8085 the prayer H8605 of thy servant, H5650 which I pray H6419 before H6440 thee now, H3117 day H3119 and night, H3915 for the children H1121 of Israel H3478 thy servants, H5650 and confess H3034 the sins H2403 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 which we have sinned H2398 against thee: both I and my father's H1 house H1004 have sinned. H2398 We have dealt very H2254 corruptly H2254 against thee, and have not kept H8104 the commandments, H4687 nor the statutes, H2706 nor the judgments, H4941 which thou commandedst H6680 thy servant H5650 Moses. H4872
And they stood up H6965 in their place, H5977 and read H7121 in the book H5612 of the law H8451 of the LORD H3068 their God H430 one fourth part H7243 of the day; H3117 and another fourth part H7243 they confessed, H3034 and worshipped H7812 the LORD H3068 their God. H430 Then stood up H6965 upon the stairs, H4608 of the Levites, H3881 Jeshua, H3442 and Bani, H1137 Kadmiel, H6934 Shebaniah, H7645 Bunni, H1138 Sherebiah, H8274 Bani, H1137 and Chenani, H3662 and cried H2199 with a loud H1419 voice H6963 unto the LORD H3068 their God. H430 Then the Levites, H3881 Jeshua, H3442 and Kadmiel, H6934 Bani, H1137 Hashabniah, H2813 Sherebiah, H8274 Hodijah, H1941 Shebaniah, H7645 and Pethahiah, H6611 said, H559 Stand up H6965 and bless H1288 the LORD H3068 your God H430 for ever H5769 and ever: H5769 and blessed H1288 be thy glorious H3519 name, H8034 which is exalted H7311 above all blessing H1293 and praise. H8416
And I set H5414 my face H6440 unto the Lord H136 God, H430 to seek H1245 by prayer H8605 and supplications, H8469 with fasting, H6685 and sackcloth, H8242 and ashes: H665 And I prayed H6419 unto the LORD H3068 my God, H430 and made my confession, H3034 and said, H559 O H577 Lord, H136 the great H1419 and dreadful H3372 God, H410 keeping H8104 the covenant H1285 and mercy H2617 to them that love H157 him, and to them that keep H8104 his commandments; H4687 We have sinned, H2398 and have committed iniquity, H5753 and have done wickedly, H7561 and have rebelled, H4775 even by departing H5493 from thy precepts H4687 and from thy judgments: H4941 Neither have we hearkened H8085 unto thy servants H5650 the prophets, H5030 which spake H1696 in thy name H8034 to our kings, H4428 our princes, H8269 and our fathers, H1 and to all the people H5971 of the land. H776 O Lord, H136 righteousness H6666 belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion H1322 of faces, H6440 as at this day; H3117 to the men H376 of Judah, H3063 and to the inhabitants H3427 of Jerusalem, H3389 and unto all Israel, H3478 that are near, H7138 and that are far off, H7350 through all the countries H776 whither thou hast driven H5080 them, because of their trespass H4604 that they have trespassed H4603 against thee. O Lord, H136 to us belongeth confusion H1322 of face, H6440 to our kings, H4428 to our princes, H8269 and to our fathers, H1 because we have sinned H2398 against thee. To the Lord H136 our God H430 belong mercies H7356 and forgivenesses, H5547 though we have rebelled H4775 against him; Neither have we obeyed H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 our God, H430 to walk H3212 in his laws, H8451 which he set H5414 before H6440 us by H3027 his servants H5650 the prophets. H5030 Yea, all Israel H3478 have transgressed H5674 thy law, H8451 even by departing, H5493 that they might not obey H8085 thy voice; H6963 therefore the curse H423 is poured H5413 upon us, and the oath H7621 that is written H3789 in the law H8451 of Moses H4872 the servant H5650 of God, H430 because we have sinned H2398 against him. And he hath confirmed H6965 his words, H1697 which he spake H1696 against us, and against our judges H8199 that judged H8199 us, by bringing H935 upon us a great H1419 evil: H7451 for under the whole heaven H8064 hath not been done H6213 as hath been done H6213 upon Jerusalem. H3389 As it is written H3789 in the law H8451 of Moses, H4872 all this evil H7451 is come H935 upon us: yet made we not our prayer H2470 before H6440 the LORD H3068 our God, H430 that we might turn H7725 from our iniquities, H5771 and understand H7919 thy truth. H571 Therefore hath the LORD H3068 watched H8245 upon the evil, H7451 and brought H935 it upon us: for the LORD H3068 our God H430 is righteous H6662 in all his works H4639 which he doeth: H6213 for we obeyed H8085 not his voice. H6963 And now, O Lord H136 our God, H430 that hast brought H3318 thy people H5971 forth H3318 out of the land H776 of Egypt H4714 with a mighty H2389 hand, H3027 and hast gotten H6213 thee renown, H8034 as at this day; H3117 we have sinned, H2398 we have done wickedly. H7561 O Lord, H136 according to all thy righteousness, H6666 I beseech thee, let thine anger H639 and thy fury H2534 be turned away H7725 from thy city H5892 Jerusalem, H3389 thy holy H6944 mountain: H2022 because for our sins, H2399 and for the iniquities H5771 of our fathers, H1 Jerusalem H3389 and thy people H5971 are become a reproach H2781 to all that are about H5439 us. Now therefore, O our God, H430 hear H8085 the prayer H8605 of thy servant, H5650 and his supplications, H8469 and cause thy face H6440 to shine H215 upon thy sanctuary H4720 that is desolate, H8076 for the Lord's H136 sake. O my God, H430 incline H5186 thine ear, H241 and hear; H8085 open H6491 thine eyes, H5869 and behold H7200 our desolations, H8074 and the city H5892 which is called H7121 by thy name: H8034 for we do not present H5307 our supplications H8469 before H6440 thee for our righteousnesses, H6666 but for thy great H7227 mercies. H7356 O Lord, H136 hear; H8085 O Lord, H136 forgive; H5545 O Lord, H136 hearken H7181 and do; H6213 defer H309 not, H408 for thine own sake, O my God: H430 for thy city H5892 and thy people H5971 are called H7121 by thy name. H8034 And whiles I was speaking, H1696 and praying, H6419 and confessing H3034 my sin H2403 and the sin H2403 of my people H5971 Israel, H3478 and presenting H5307 my supplication H8467 before H6440 the LORD H3068 my God H430 for the holy H6944 mountain H2022 of my God; H430
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 16
Commentary on Leviticus 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
Le 16:1-34. How the High Priest Must Enter into the Holy Place.
1. after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died—It is thought by some that this chapter has been transposed out of its right place in the sacred record, which was immediately after the narrative of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu [Le 10:1-20]. That appalling catastrophe must have filled Aaron with painful apprehensions lest the guilt of these two sons might be entailed on his house, or that other members of his family might share the same fate by some irregularities or defects in the discharge of their sacred functions. And, therefore, this law was established, by the due observance of whose requirements the Aaronic order would be securely maintained and accepted in the priesthood.
2. Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, &c.—Common priests went every day into the part of the sanctuary without the veil to burn incense on the golden altar. But none except the high priest was allowed to enter within the veil, and that only once a year with the greatest care and solemnity. This arrangement was evidently designed to inspire a reverence for the most holy place, and the precaution was necessary at a time when the presence of God was indicated by sensible symbols, the impression of which might have been diminished or lost by daily and familiar observation.
I will appear in the cloud—that is, the smoke of the incense which the high priest burnt on his yearly entrance into the most holy place: and this was the cloud which at that time covered the mercy seat.
3, 4. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place—As the duties of the great day of atonement led to the nearest and most solemn approach to God, the directions as to the proper course to be followed were minute and special.
with a young bullock … and a ram—These victims he brought alive, but they were not offered in sacrifice till he had gone through the ceremonies described between Le 16:3-11. He was not to attire himself on that occasion in the splendid robes that were proper to his sacred office, but in a plain dress of linen, like the common Levites, for, as he was then to make atonement for his own sins, as well as for those of the people, he was to appear in the humble character of a suppliant. That plain dress was more in harmony with a season of humiliation (as well as lighter and more convenient for the duties which on that occasion he had singly to perform) than the gorgeous robes of the pontificate. It showed that when all appeared as sinners, the highest and lowest were then on a level, and that there is no distinction of persons with God [Ac 10:34].
5-10. shall take of the congregation … two kids of the goats … and one ram—The sacrifices were to be offered by the high priest, respectively for himself and the other priests, as well as for the people. The bullock (Le 16:3) and the goats were for sin offerings and the rams for burnt offerings. The goats, though used in different ways, constituted only one offering. They were both presented before the Lord, and the disposal of them determined by lot, which Jewish writers have thus described: The priest, placing one of the goats on his right hand and the other on his left, took his station by the altar, and cast into an urn two pieces of gold exactly similar, inscribed, the one with the words "for the Lord," and the other for "Azazel" (the scapegoat). After having well shaken them together, he put both his hands into the box and took up a lot in each: that in his right hand he put on the head of the goat which stood on his right, and that in his left he dropped on the other. In this manner the fate of each was decided.
11-19. Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself, &c.—The first part of the service was designed to solemnize his own mind, as well as the minds of the people, by offering the sacrifices for their sins. The sin offerings being slain had the sins of the offerer judicially transferred to them by the imputation of his hands on their head (Le 4:4, 15, 24, 29, 33); and thus the young bullock, which was to make atonement for himself and the other priests (called "his house," Ps 135:19), was killed by the hands of the high priest. While the blood of the victim was being received into a vessel, taking a censer of live coals in his right hand and a platter of sweet incense in his left, he, amid the solemn attention and the anxious prayers of the assembled multitude, crossed the porch and the holy place, opened the outer veil which led into the holy of holies and then the inner veil. Standing before the ark, he deposited the censer of coals on the floor, emptied the plate of incense into his hand, poured it on the burning coals; and the apartment was filled with fragrant smoke, intended, according to Jewish writers, to prevent any presumptuous gazer prying too curiously into the form of the mercy seat, which was the Lord's throne. The high priest having done this, perfumed the sanctuary, returned to the door, took the blood of the slain bullock, and, carrying it into the holy of holies, sprinkled it with his finger once upon the mercy seat "eastward"—that is, on the side next to himself; and seven times "before the mercy seat"—that is, on the front of the ark. Leaving the coals and the incense burning, he went out a second time, to sacrifice at the altar of burnt offering the goat which had been assigned as a sin offering for the people; and carrying its blood into the holy of holies, he made similar sprinklings as he had done before with the blood of the bullock. While the high priest was thus engaged in the most holy place, none of the ordinary priests were allowed to remain within the precincts of the tabernacle. The sanctuary or holy place and the altar of burnt offering were in like manner sprinkled seven times with the blood of the bullock and the goat. The object of this solemn ceremonial was to impress the minds of the Israelites with the conviction that the whole tabernacle was stained by the sins of a guilty people, that by their sins they had forfeited the privileges of the divine presence and worship, and that an atonement had to be made as the condition of God's remaining with them. The sins and shortcomings of the past year having polluted the sacred edifice, the expiation required to be annually renewed. The exclusion of the priests indicated their unworthiness and the impurities of their service. The mingled blood of the two victims being sprinkled on the horns of the altar indicated that the priests and the people equally needed an atonement for their sins. But the sanctuary being thus ceremonially purified, and the people of Israel reconciled by the blood of the consecrated victim, the Lord continued to dwell in the midst of them, and to honor them with His gracious presence.
20-22. he shall bring the live goat—Having already been presented before the Lord (Le 16:10), it was now brought forward to the high priest, who, placing his hands upon its head, and "having confessed over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins," transferred them by this act to the goat as their substitute. It was then delivered into the hands of a person, who was appointed to lead him away into a distant, solitary, and desert place, where in early times he was let go, to escape for his life; but in the time of Christ, he was carried to a high rock twelve miles from Jerusalem, and there, being thrust over the precipice, he was killed. Commentators have differed widely in their opinions about the character and purpose of this part of the ceremonial; some considering the word "Azazel," with the Septuagint and our translators, to mean, "the scapegoat"; others, "a lofty, precipitous rock" [Bochart]; others, "a thing separated to God" [Ewald, Tholuck]; while others think it designates Satan [Gesenius, Hengstenberg]. This last view is grounded on the idea of both goats forming one and the same sacrifice of atonement, and it is supported by Zec 3:1-10, which presents a striking commentary on this passage. Whether there was in this peculiar ceremony any reference to an Egyptian superstition about Typhon, the spirit of evil, inhabiting the wilderness, and the design was to ridicule it by sending a cursed animal into his gloomy dominions, it is impossible to say. The subject is involved in much obscurity. But in any view there seems to be a typical reference to Christ who bore away our sins [Heb 10:4; 1Jo 3:5].
23-28. Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments—On the dismissal of the scapegoat, the high priest prepared for the important parts of the service which still remained; and for the performance of these he laid aside his plain linen clothes, and, having bathed himself in water, he assumed his pontifical dress. Thus gorgeously attired, he went to present the burnt offerings which were prescribed for himself and the people, consisting of the two rams which had been brought with the sin offerings, but reserved till now. The fat was ordered to be burnt upon the altar; the rest of the carcasses to be cut down and given to some priestly attendants to burn without the camp, in conformity with the general law for the sin offerings (Le 4:8-12; 8:14-17). The persons employed in burning them, as well as the conductor of the scapegoat, were obliged to wash their clothes and bathe their flesh in water before they were allowed to return into the camp.
29-34. this shall be a statute for ever unto you, that in the seventh month ye shall afflict your souls—This day of annual expiation for all the sins, irreverences, and impurities of all classes in Israel during the previous year, was to be observed as a solemn fast, in which "they were to afflict their souls"; it was reckoned a sabbath, kept as a season of "holy convocation," or, assembling for religious purposes. All persons who performed any labor were subject to the penalty of death [Ex 31:14, 15; 35:2]. It took place on the tenth day of the seventh month, corresponding to our third of October; and this chapter, together with Le 23:27-32, as containing special allusion to the observances of the day, was publicly read. The rehearsal of these passages appointing the solemn ceremonial was very appropriate, and the details of the successive parts of it (above all the spectacle of the public departure of the scapegoat under the care of its leader) must have produced salutary impressions both of sin and of duty that would not be soon effaced.