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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The elders of the community must then lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it before the Lord.

Context of Leviticus 4:15

13“ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt 14and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting. 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. 16Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. 17He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the Lord seven times in front of the curtain.

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 24:1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,
• Numbers 11:16The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
• Deuteronomy 21:3Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke
• Leviticus 4:4He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the Lord.
• Leviticus 1:4You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.
• Leviticus 16:21He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.

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