Leviticus 24
24
The Tending of the Lamp
(Exodus 27.20,21)
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. 3Without the veil of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. 4He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually.
The Showbread
5 #
Exod 25.30. And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. 7And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 8Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9#Matt 12.4; Mark 2.26; Luke 6.4. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.
The Punishment for Blasphemy
10And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; 11and the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelo´mith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) 12and they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be showed them.
13And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 14Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death. 17#Exod 21.12. And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. 18And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. 19And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20#Exod 21.23-25; Deut 19.21; Matt 5.38. breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. 21And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. 22#Num 15.16. Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God. 23And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones: and the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.
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Leviticus 24: KJVAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Leviticus 24
24
Regulations for the Lampstand and Table of Bread
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Command the Israelites to bring#tn Heb “and let them take.” The simple vav (ו) on the imperfect/jussive form of the verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) following the imperative (“Command”) indicates a purpose clause (“to bring…”). to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.#tn Heb “to cause to ascend a lamp continually.” 3 Outside the veil-canopy#tn The Hebrew term פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet) is usually translated “veil” or “curtain,” but it seems to have stretched not only in front of but also over the top of the ark of the covenant which stood behind and under it inside the most holy place (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:687-89). of the congregation in the Meeting Tent Aaron#tc Several medieval Hebrew mss, Smr, and the LXX add “and his sons.” must arrange it from evening until morning before the Lord continually. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations.#tn Heb “for your generations.” 4 On the ceremonially pure lampstand#tn Alternatively, “pure [gold] lampstand,” based on Exod 25:31, etc., where the term for “gold” actually appears (see NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and the remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395, etc.). However, in Lev 24:4 the adjective “pure” is feminine, corresponding to “lampstand,” not an assumed noun “gold” (contrast Exod 25:31), and the “table” in v. 6 was overlaid with gold, but was not made of pure gold. Therefore, it is probably better to translate “[ceremonially] pure lampstand” (v. 4) and “[ceremonially] pure table” (v. 6); see NEB; cf. KJV, ASV; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 164-65; and G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 307. he must arrange the lamps before the Lord continually.
5 “You must take choice wheat flour#sn See the note on Lev 2:1. and bake twelve loaves;#tn Heb “and bake it twelve loaves”; KJV, NAB, NASB “cakes.” there must be two tenths of an ephah of flour in#tn The words “of flour” are supplied in the translation for clarity.sn See the note on Lev 5:11. each loaf, 6 and you must set them in two rows, six in a row,#tn Heb “six of the row.” on the ceremonially pure table before the Lord. 7 You must put pure frankincense#tn This is not just any “incense” (קְטֹרֶת, qÿtoret; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 3:913-16), but specifically “frankincense” (לְבֹנָה, lÿvonah; R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:756-57). on each row,#tn Heb “on [עַל, ’al] the row,” probably used distributively, “on each row” (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 395-96). Perhaps the frankincense was placed “with” or “along side of” each row, not actually on the bread itself, and was actually burned as incense to the Lord (cf. NIV “Along [Alongside CEV] each row”; NRSV “with each row”; NLT “near each row”; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 165). This particular preposition can have such a meaning. and it will become a memorial portion#sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָרָה, ’azkharah) was normally the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (see Lev 2:2 and the notes there), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]). for the bread, a gift#sn See the note on Lev 1:9 regarding the term “gift.” to the Lord. 8 Each Sabbath day#tn Heb “In the day of the Sabbath, in the day of the Sabbath.” The repetition is distributive. A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac delete the second occurrence of the expression. Aaron#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity. must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion#tn The word “portion” is supplied in the translation here for clarity, to specify what “this” refers to. is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant. 9 It will belong to Aaron and his sons, and they must eat it in a holy place because it is most holy to him, a perpetual allotted portion#tn Or “a perpetual regulation”; NRSV “a perpetual due.” from the gifts of the Lord.”
A Case of Blaspheming the Name
10 Now#tn Heb “And.” an Israelite woman’s son whose father was an Egyptian went out among the Israelites, and the Israelite woman’s son and an Israelite man#tn Heb “the Israelite man,” but Smr has no article, and the point is that there was a conflict between the man of mixed background and a man of full Israelite descent. had a fight in the camp. 11 The Israelite woman’s son misused the Name and cursed,#tn The verb rendered “misused” means literally “to bore through, to pierce” (HALOT 719 s.v. נקב qal); it is from נָקַב (naqav), not קָבַב (qavav; see the participial form in v. 16a). Its exact meaning here is uncertain. The two verbs together may form a hendiadys, “he pronounced by cursing blasphemously” (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 166), the idea being one of the following: (1) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” in a way or with words that amounted to “some sort of verbal aggression against Yahweh himself” (E. S. Gerstenberger, Leviticus [OTL], 362), (2) he pronounced a curse against the man using the name “Yahweh” (N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers [NCBC], 110; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 311), or (3) he pronounced the name “Yahweh” and thereby blasphemed, since the “Name” was never to be pronounced (a standard Jewish explanation). In one way or another, the offense surely violated Exod 20:7, one of the ten commandments, and the same verb for cursing is used explicitly in Exod 22:28 (27 HT) prohibition against “cursing” God. For a full discussion of these and related options for interpreting this verse see P. J. Budd, Leviticus (NCBC), 335-36; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 408-9; and Levine, 166. so they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 So they placed him in custody until they were able#tn The words “until they were able” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord.#tn The Hebrew here is awkward. A literal reading would be something like the following: “And they placed him in custody to give a clear decision [HALOT 976 s.v. פרשׁ qal] for themselves on the mouth of the Lord.” In any case, they were apparently waiting for a direct word from the Lord regarding this matter (see vv. 13ff).
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 14 “Bring the one who cursed outside the camp, and all who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.#tn The words “to death” are supplied in the translation as a clarification; they are clearly implied from v. 16. 15 Moreover,#tn Heb “And.” you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any man curses his God#sn See the note on v. 11 above and esp. Exod 22:28 [27 HT]. he will bear responsibility for his sin, 16 and one who misuses#sn See the note on v. 11 above. the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death.
17 “‘If a man beats any person to death,#tn Heb “And if a man strikes any soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] of mankind.” The idiom seems to derive from the idea of striking a fatal blow to the very “life” (literally, “soul”) of a human being, not just landing a blow on their body (HALOT 698 s.v. נכה hif.2). On the difficult of the meaning and significance of the term נֶפֶשׁ see the notes on Lev 17:10-11. he must be put to death. 18 One who beats an animal to death#tn Heb “And one who strikes a soul of an animal.” must make restitution for it, life for life.#tn Heb “soul under soul.” Cf. KJV “beast for beast”; NCV “must give…another animal to take its place.” 19 If a man inflicts an injury on#tn Heb “gives a flaw in”; KJV, ASV “cause a blemish in.” his fellow citizen,#tn Or “neighbor” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); TEV, NLT “another person.” just as he has done it must be done to him – 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth – just as he inflicts an injury on another person#tn Heb “in the man [אָדָם, ’adam].” that same injury#tn Heb “just as he inflicts an injury…it must be inflicted on him.” The referent (“that same injury”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. must be inflicted on him. 21 One who beats an animal to death#sn See the note on v. 18 above. must make restitution for it, but#tn Heb “and,” but here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) is adversative, contrasting the consequences of beating an animal to death with those of beating a person to death. one who beats a person to death must be put to death. 22 There will be one regulation#tn Heb “a regulation of one”; KJV, ASV “one manner of law”; NASB “one standard.” for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”
23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites and they brought the one who cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. So the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
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