Leviticus16
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died;
2and Jehovah said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.
3Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.
4He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.
5And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.
6And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.
7And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting.
8And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel.
9And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer him for a sin-offering.
10But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.
11And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself.
12And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:
13and he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat on the east; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat:
16and he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins: and so shall he do for the tent of meeting, that dwelleth with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
17And there shall be no man in the tent of meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
18And he shall go out unto the altar that is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
19And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.
20And when he hath made an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat:
21and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:
22and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
23And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
24and he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
25And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar.
26And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
27And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
28And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
29And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you:
30for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before Jehovah.
31It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for ever.
32And the priest, who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments:
33and he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
34And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year. And he did as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Leviticus 16.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The great day of atonement. (1–14). The sacrifices on it, The scape-goat. (15–34).
vv1-14
Without entering into particulars of the sacrifices on the great day of atonement, we may notice that it was to be a statute for ever, till that dispensation be at an end. As long as we are continually sinning, we continually need the atonement. The law of afflicting our souls for sin, is a statue which will continue in force till we arrive where all tears, even those of repentance, will be wiped from our eyes. The apostle observes it as a proof that the sacrifices could not take away sin, and cleanse the conscience from it, that in them there was a remembrance made of sin every year, upon the day of atonement, Heb 10:1, 3. The repeating the sacrifices, showed there was in them but a feeble effort toward making atonement; this could be done only by offering up the body of Christ once for all; and that sacrifice needed not to be repeated. (Le 16:15-34)
vv15-34
Here are typified the two great gospel privileges, of the remission of sin, and access to God, both of which we owe to our Lord Jesus. See the expiation of guilt. Christ is both the Maker and the Matter of the atonement; for he is the Priest, the High Priest, that makes reconciliation for the sins of the people. And as Christ is the High Priest, so he is the Sacrifice with which atonement is made; for he is all in all in our reconciliation to God. Thus he was figured by the two goats. The slain goat was a type of Christ dying for our sins; the scape-goat a type of Christ rising again for our justification. The atonement is said to be completed by putting the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat, which was sent away into a wilderness, a land not inhabited; and the sending away of the goat represented the free and full remission of their sins. He shall bear upon him all their iniquities. Thus Christ, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world, by taking it upon himself, Joh 1:29. The entrance into heaven, which Christ made for us, was typified by the high priest's entrance into the most holy place. See Heb 9:7. The high priest was to come out again; but our Lord Jesus ever lives, making intercession, and always appears in the presence of God for us. Here are typified the two great gospel duties of faith and repentance. By faith we put our hands upon the head of the offering; relying on Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, pleading his satisfaction, as that which alone is able to atone for our sins, and procure us a pardon. By repentance we afflict our souls; not only fasting for a time from the delights of the body, but inwardly sorrowing for sin, and living a life of self-denial, assuring ourselves, that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. By the atonement we obtain rest for our souls, and all the glorious liberties of the children of God. Sinner, get the blood of Christ effectually applied to thy soul, or else thou canst never look God in the face with any comfort or acceptance. Take this blood of Christ, apply it by faith, and see how it atones with God.
Key Words
דָבַר: perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
מָוֶת: death (natural or violent); concretely, the dead, their place or state (hades); figuratively, pestilence, ruin
שְׁנַיִם: two; also (as ordinal) twofold
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
מוּת: to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
Cross References
Leviticus 16The High Priest enters the inner room alone once a year, typifying Christ's unique mediatorial entry.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
The scapegoat bearing away Israel's iniquities typifies Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away worldly sin.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The sin offering burned outside the camp directly prefigures Jesus suffering outside the gate of Jerusalem.
The high priest entering the most holy place once a year prefigures Christ's entrance into heaven.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Refers to the immediate historical catalyst: the deaths of Nadab and Abihu for unauthorized incense offering.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the Levitical high priest's need to offer for his own sins with Christ's sinless offering.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The annual repetition of the Day of Atone-ment served as a yearly remembrance of sins.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Laying hands on the goat to transfer guilt parallel's Yahweh laying on Christ the iniquity of all.
The goat bearing the people's iniquities typifies Christ Himself bearing our sins in His own body.
The annual command to make atonement on the horns of the altar on the Day of Atonement.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast between priests needing daily/annual sacrifices for themselves and Christ offering Himself once.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Expands on the specific details of making an atonement with the live scapegoat.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Christ entered the Holy Place by His own blood, not the blood of goats and calves.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Sending the goat into a remote land illustrates God removing our transgressions as far as east from west.
The goat bearing away iniquities typifies Christ, who was offered once to bear the sins of many.
The goat lost in the wilderness represents God casting all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Parallel instruction establishing the tenth day of the seventh month as the Day of Atonement.
The detailed execution of the High Priest's bullock offering introduced generally in verse 6.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
These repeated sacrifices serve as an annual reminder of sins, demonstrating their ultimate insufficiency.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Christ entering into heaven itself, the true holy place, appearing before the presence of God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Parallel instruction on applying blood to the altar of incense to cleanse it from uncleanness.
Supported by JFB
Explains the physical and spiritual practice of 'afflicting one's soul' through fasting and self-humiliation.
Mandates that Aaron make atonement upon the horns of the altar once in a year forever.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the location of the mercy seat within the second veil of the tabernacle.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The multitude praying outside the sanctuary while the priest offers incense inside.
Supported by JFB
The NT reference to 'the Fast' denotes the Day of Atonement described in this passage.
Reiterates the command to have a holy convocation and afflict your souls on this day.
Indicates the yearly repetition of these sacrifices proves they could never make the comers perfect.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Reinforces the mandate that the priest must first offer for himself before offering for the people.
Supported by JFB
Verbal echo and parallel action of casting lots to decide a matter under divine providence.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Instructions for burning sweet incense, which forms the protective cloud over the mercy seat.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the specific ritual action of sprinkling sacrificial blood seven times before the sanctuary.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Summarizes the Day of Atonement cleansing for the sanctuary, altar, priests, and people.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Prescribes the specific linen breeches required to cover the priest's nakedness during service.
Supported by Matthew Poole
New Testament parallel of casting lots to discover the divine will and selection.
Supported by Matthew Poole