Leviticus 4:15

Leviticus 4:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be killed before the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord. Then the bull shall be killed before the Lord.

Context of Leviticus 4:15

13“‘If the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter is not noticed by the assembly, and they violate one of the Lord’s commandments, which must not be violated, so they become guilty, 14the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed becomes known. They must bring it before the Meeting Tent, the elders of the congregation must lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and someone must slaughter the bull before the Lord. 16Then the high priest must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent, 17and that priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord toward the front of the veil-canopy.

Leviticus 4:15 word by word

וְ֠סָמְכוּ זִקְנֵ֨י הָעֵדָ֧ה אֶת־יְדֵיהֶ֛ם עַל־רֹ֥אשׁ הַפָּ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְשָׁחַ֥ט אֶת־הַפָּ֖ר לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• of the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
• shall layסָמַךְsâmak · to supportH5564
• their handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• upon the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• of the bullockפַּרpar pâr · bullockH6499
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• shall be killedשָׁחַטshâchaţ · to slaughterH7819

Cross-references for Leviticus 4:15

• Exodus 24:1But to Moses the Lord said, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.
• Numbers 11:16The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.
• Deuteronomy 21:3Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked – that has never pulled with the yoke –
• Leviticus 4:4He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord.
• Leviticus 1:4He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.
• Leviticus 16:21Aaron is to lay his two hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the Israelites and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins, and thus he is to put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready.

Commentaries on Leviticus 4:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15In this case the imposition of hands is performed by the elders in behalf of the nation. But in other respects the rites were performed by the high priest in the same manner as in the sin-offering for himself.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-21Verses 13-21 If the leaders of the people, through mistake, caused them to err, an offering must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation. When sacrifices were offered, the persons, on whose behalf they were devoted, were to lay their hands on the heads of the victims, and to confess their sins. The elders were to do so, when the sacrifices were offered for the whole congregation. The load of sin was supposed then to be borne by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15The Hebrew word for elders is related to the word for "beard." It suggests maturity but not necessarily old age. Elders were community leaders, usually leaders of families and tribes (see Exodus 18:21–26; Deuteronomy 22:15–19). For this offering, the elders represented all the people, as they did later when anointing David as king (2 Samuel 5:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2113-21. if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance--In consequence of some culpable neglect or misapprehension of the law, the people might contract national guilt, and then national expiation was necessary. The same sacrifice was to be offered as in the former case, but with this difference in the ceremonial, that the elders or heads of the tribes, as representing the people and being the principal aggressors in misleading the congregation…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 4:15

• Church
• Government
• Hand
• Ignorance

In the dictionaries

• Dip
• Horn
• Sanctuary
• Sinoffering
• Congregation
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Ezekiel
• Genesis
• Law in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Leviticus 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings