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Leviticus 6

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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If any one sin, and commit a trespass against Jehovah, and deal falsely with his neighbor in a matter of deposit, or of bargain, or of robbery, or have oppressed his neighbor, ​
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or have found that which was lost, and deal falsely therein, and swear to a lie; in any of all these things that a man doeth, sinning therein;
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then it shall be, if he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he hath gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,
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or any thing about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in full, and shall add the fifth part more thereto: unto him to whom it appertaineth shall he give it, in the day of his being found guilty. ​
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And he shall bring his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the flock, according to thy estimation, for a trespass-offering, unto the priest:
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and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah; and he shall be forgiven concerning whatsoever he doeth so as to be guilty thereby. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Burnt Offering 8–13

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, ​
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Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt-offering: the burnt-offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night unto the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning thereon. ​
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And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh; and he shall take up the ashes whereto the fire hath consumed the burnt-offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ​
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And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
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And the fire upon the altar shall be kept burning thereon, it shall not go out; and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning: and he shall lay the burnt-offering in order upon it, and shall burn thereon the fat of the peace-offerings. ​
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Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Grain Offering 14–18

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And this is the law of the meal-offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before Jehovah, before the altar.
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And he shall take up therefrom his handful, of the fine flour of the meal-offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meal-offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, as the memorial thereof, unto Jehovah.
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And that which is left thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. ​
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It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as the sin-offering, and as the trespass-offering. ​
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Every male among the children of Aaron shall eat of it, as his portion for ever throughout your generations, from the offerings of Jehovah made by fire: whosoever toucheth them shall be holy.

The Offering of the Anointed Priest 19–23

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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This is the oblation of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto Jehovah in the day when he is anointed: the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meal-offering perpetually, half of it in the morning, and half thereof in the evening. ​
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On a baking-pan it shall be made with oil; when it is soaked, thou shalt bring it in: in baken pieces shalt thou offer the meal-offering for a sweet savor unto Jehovah.
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And the anointed priest that shall be in his stead from among his sons shall offer it: by a statute for ever it shall be wholly burnt unto Jehovah.
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And every meal-offering of the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. ​

Laws for the Offerings: The Sin Offering 24–30

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin-offering: in the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before Jehovah: it is most holy. ​
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The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.
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Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy; and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in a holy place. ​
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But the earthen vessel wherein it is boiled shall be broken; and if it be boiled in a brazen vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.
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Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.
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And no sin-offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt with fire. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 6

Verse 2

lie unto his neighbour — The wrong done to a neighbour is called a trespass 'against the LORD' (maal, the unfaithfulness of 5:15). Four cases follow: a deposit (piqqadon), 'fellowship' (tesumeth yad, a pledge put in the hand), 'a thing taken away by violence' (gazel), and deceit (ashaq, to press upon). Lev 19:11: 'neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.'

Verse 5

restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part — 'Principal' is rosh, literally the 'head', the main sum; the fifth part (chamishi) is added and paid 'in the day of his trespass offering'. The same rule governs harm done in the holy things (5:16) and the confessed wrong of Num 5:7. Zacchaeus goes further: 'I restore him fourfold' (Luke 19:8).

Verse 7

it shall be forgiven him for any thing — The priest makes atonement (kaphar) 'before the LORD' once the wrong is restored (v.5) and the ram brought (v.6), and the pardon covers 'any thing of all that he hath done'. Christ gives the same order for the altar: 'first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift' (Matt 5:24).

Verse 8

And the LORD spake unto Moses — A new speech begins. Lev 1:2 was addressed to 'the children of Israel' who bring the offerings; this section gives the priests their law for each: the burnt offering (v.9), the meat offering (v.14), the sin offering (v.25), then the trespass and peace offerings (7:1, 11). Lev 7:37 sums them up.

Verse 9

the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning — Olah, the burnt offering, is 'that which goes up'. 'Burning' is moqedah, a hearth or fuel, a word found only here: the offering lies on the hearth through the night. It continues the daily lambs, 'two lambs of the first year… day by day, for a continual burnt offering' (Num 28:3).

Verse 10

his linen garment, and his linen breeches — Mad is the garment and miknas the breeches, made 'to cover their nakedness' (Ex 28:42–43); the Day of Atonement has the same miknas, breeches (16:4). The priest lifts the ashes 'which the fire hath consumed' and sets them beside the altar; in v.11 he changes his garments to carry them 'without the camp unto a clean place'.

Verse 12

the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it — The fire was first kindled by the LORD: 'there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat' (9:24). The priest feeds it with wood every morning so that it is not put out (kabah, quenched), and lays the burnt offering 'in order' (arak), burning the fat of the peace offerings on it (3:5).

Verse 13

shall ever be burning — 'Ever' is tamid, continually, which is the word of the 'continual burnt offering' (Ex 29:42), of the lamp kept burning (27:20) and of the showbread (25:30). The command of v.12 is repeated in its plainest form: 'it shall never go out'.

Verse 16

in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle — The priests' share of the grain offering (2:3) is eaten 'with unleavened bread' (matstsah) in the court, as Moses repeated after Nadab and Abihu (10:12–13). Paul says of this ministry that 'they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar' (1 Cor 9:13).

Verse 17

it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering — The portion is not 'baken with leaven' (chamets). 'Portion' is cheleq, a share which the LORD gives from 'my offerings made by fire', and the grain offering is 'most holy' like the sin offering (v.25) and the trespass offering (7:1). Num 18:9–10 gives it to the priests, to be eaten 'in the most holy place'.

Verse 20

the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour — A tenth of an ephah is an omer (Ex 16:36). It is offered 'perpetual' (tamid), half in the morning and half at night, 'in the day when he is anointed'. Verse 22 names the priest 'of his sons that is anointed in his stead' who is to offer it, and it is 'wholly burnt' (v.23).

Verse 23

wholly burnt — Kalil, complete or whole, the word of 'whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar' (Deut 33:10) and of the lamb that Samuel 'offered… wholly unto the LORD' (1 Sam 7:9). The priests eat the grain offerings of the people (v.16), but not their own.

Verse 25

In the place where the burnt offering is killed — That place is 'the side of the altar northward' (1:11), and the sin offering (chattat) is killed there too (4:24, 29). 'It is most holy' (qodesh). The priest who offers it eats it in the court (v.26), unless its blood has been brought into the tent (v.30).

Verse 27

Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy — Naga, to touch. The same is said of the altar in Ex 29:37. Blood spattered (nazah) on a garment is to be washed (kabas) 'in the holy place'. Haggai asks the priests whether holy flesh borne in a garment's skirt makes bread holy, and they answer 'No' (Hag 2:12).

Verse 30

no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle — Where the blood is carried in (4:5–7), the flesh is burned 'without the camp' (4:12, 21), not eaten; where it is not, the priests eat it (v.26; 10:18). Hebrews applies it: such beasts are 'burned without the camp', and 'Jesus also… suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:11–12).