A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 7

Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent (Leviticus 1:1-4 NET):

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When someone among you presents an offering to the Lord, you must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock.

“‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance before the Lord.  He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.

The Hebrew word translated flawless above was תָּמִ֖ים (tāmîm).   But since לִרְצֹנ֖וֹ (rāṣôn) was translated of his own voluntary will in the KJV rather than for its acceptance, I want to consider verses 3 and 4 in a bit more detail.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Leviticus 1:3, 4 (Tanakh) Leviticus 1:3, 4 (NET) Leviticus 1:3, 4 (NETS)

Leviticus 1:3, 4 (English Elpenor)

If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd, he shall offer it a male without blemish (תָּמִ֖ים); he shall bring it to the door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted (לִרְצֹנ֖וֹ) before HaShem. “‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must present it as a flawless (tāmîm, תמים) male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance (rāṣôn,  לרצנו) before the Lord. If this gift is a whole burnt offering from the cattle, he shall present a male without blemish (ἄμωμον); he shall bring it to the door of the tent of witness, acceptable (δεκτὸν) before the Lord. If his gift be a whole-burnt-offering, he shall bring an unblemished (ἄμωμον) male of the herd to the door of the tabernacle of witness, he shall bring it as acceptable (δεκτὸν) before the Lord.
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted (וְנִרְצָ֥ה) for him to make atonement for him. He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted (rāṣâ, ונרצה) for him to make atonement on his behalf. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the offering, a thing acceptable (δεκτὸν) to him to atone for him. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering as a thing acceptable (δεκτὸν) for him, to make atonement for him.

The rabbis who translated the Septuagint chose δεκτὸν (a form of δεκτός) for both לִרְצֹנ֖וֹ (rāṣôn) and וְנִרְצָ֥ה (rāṣâ).  It encourages me to believe that לִרְצֹנ֖וֹ (rāṣôn) in verse 3 had more to do with adjudicating the flawless quality of the offering before it was offered to the Lord than the free will of the one presenting that offering.  The translation of the Tanakh on chabad.org, however, is more agreeable to the KJV: He shall bring it willingly to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord.[1]

This concept of a flawless (NET) sacrifice without blemish (Tanakh), translated ἄμωμον (a form of ἄμωμος) in the Septuagint, carried over into the New Testament (Hebrews 9:13, 14 NET):

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish (ἄμωμον, a form of ἄμωμος) to God, purify our[2] consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

The power here was never some magical property of blood.  Atonement from the offenses listed in Leviticus 5:1-4, for instance, required first that one must confess how he has sinned.[3]  Then he must bringa female sheep or a female goat, for a sin offering.  So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.[4]  If that was beyond the sinner’s means, however, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, would suffice, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering.[5]  When the sinner was too poor to buy two birds or too infirm to capture them alive, the Lord was willing to accept a tenth of an ephah of choice wheat flour for a sin offering.[6]

So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed by doing one of these things, and he will be forgiven.[7]

The power has always been God’s willingness to impute righteousness to those who believe Him (Romans 4:1-5, 23-25 NET).

What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter?  For if Abraham was declared righteous by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God [Table].  For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” [See table below].  Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation [Table].  But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.

But the statement it was credited to him was not written only for Abraham’s sake, but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was given over because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of our justification.

[H]ow much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.[8]  Once my attention is diverted here from the “magical properties of blood” to the willingness of God to impute righteousness to those who believe Him, my focus shifts to the second clause.  Jesus offered himself without blemish to God through the eternal Spirit.  He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross![9]

I always need to pause here to consider the word translated obedient (ὑπήκοος).  One of its meanings is “attentive listening.”  [Y]our word is truth,[10] Jesus prayed to his Father.  The boy Jesus listened attentively to what I call the Old Testament and became the man I know in the New Testament.  The man Jesus acknowledged that the Father who dwells in me does his works.[11]  So I have the written word of God and the indwelling Spirit of God effecting Jesus’ becoming obedient to the point of death.  It should be sufficient to overcome my tendency to hear obedient (ὑπήκοος) and obedience as works of my flesh, obeying rules in my own strength.

The writer of Hebrews continued to describe Jesus who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God (Hebrews 9:15-17 NET):

And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.  For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven.  For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive.

So the death of Jesus, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God attentively listening to the word of God written in the Old Testament, inaugurated a new covenant of which He is mediator (μεσίτης).  Here I can begin to wrap my mind around how the blood of Christ can purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.  But the book of Hebrews was written primarily to Jews who had turned to faith in Jesus.  What were those dead works (νεκρῶν ἔργων)?

Surely the writer of Hebrews didn’t mean Leviticus, this wonderful book I am more and more recognizing as the gospel of the Old Testament.  One word, ἄμωμον (a form of ἄμωμος), from the first four verses led me directly to Jesus.  A few words from the fifth chapter helped illuminate the phrase the blood of Christ (τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ) and guided my mind away from magical thinking toward the power of God.  The Greek word ἀμώμου (another form of ἄμωμος) led me to Peter and some more insight into dead works (1 Peter 1:17-21 NET).

And if you address as Father the one who impartially[12] judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence.  You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed—not by perishable things like silver or gold, but by precious blood like that of an unblemished (ἀμώμου, another form of ἄμωμος) and spotless lamb, namely Christ.  He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last[13] times for your sake.  Through him you now trust[14] in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Here the dead works Jesus’ purifies from our consciences was desribed as an empty way of life inherited from [our] ancestors (τῆς ματαίας ὑμῶν ἀναστροφῆς πατροπαραδότου) that we were ransomed from by his death on a cross.  Peter wrote primarily to Jewish believers in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:1, 2 NET):

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those temporarily residing (παρεπιδήμοις, a form of παρεπίδημος) abroad (διασπορᾶς, a form of διασπορά)[15] (in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, the province of Asia, and Bithynia) who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by being set apart by the Spirit for obedience (ὑπακοὴν, a form of ὑπακοή) and for sprinkling with Jesus Christ’s blood.  May grace and peace be yours in full measure!

Peter made it fairly clear that dead works did not reference the law, but the religious minds’ reactions to God’s law handed down from their ancestors’ religious practice.  That is something I can grasp.

Pain and humiliation are a boy’s constant companions on a ball field, any ball field.  Is there anything more humiliating than chasing into the outfield after a ball that got by you in the infield?  At the crack of a bat, the sight of a hardball careening anywhere near would cause a sane person to hurry off in any direction out of its path.

A boy trained by the humiliation of chasing it into the outfield races to intercept that ball.  He positions his body in front of it in such a way that an unanticipated bounce will strike his ankle, his shin, his knee, his belly, his chest, his arms, even his face if it misses his glove.  A fleshy bruise heals in days; a bone bruise heals in weeks.  The humiliation of chasing a ball that got passed him on an important play in a big game could last a lifetime.  The glory—“good catch,” “nice stop,” “way to hustle”—is as fleeting as the next crack of the bat.  And the boy calls it all fun!

How do you punish such a creature?  Pain and humiliation are his faithful companions.  Punishments that rely on them are likely to be perceived simply as a cost of doing business.  As I wrote in another essay, “Punishment is the currency of childhood.  It’s how one pays for what he wants.”

I think something similar to this had happened in Israel, that the worship described in Leviticus had become little more than a series of commercial transactions.  Jesus found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables (John 2:14-16 NET).

So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen.  He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here!  Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!”

But Paul, writing primarily to Gentiles, explained how Jesus’ death imparts his own blamelessness to those who believe Him (Colossians 1:21-23a NET):

And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, but now [Jesus] has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish (ἀμώμους, another form of ἄμωμος), and blameless before him—if indeed[16] you remain in the faith (τῇ πίστει), established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard (ἠκούσατε, a form of ἀκούω).

Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, the writer of Hebrews continued (Hebrews 9:22-28 NET).

So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation of the true sanctuary—but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.  And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.  But now he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away (ἀθέτησιν, a form of ἀθέτησις) sin by his sacrifice.  And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, so also,[17] after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation [Table].

According to a note (5) in the NET Romans 4:3b was a quotation from Genesis 15:6.  A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to the Septuagint follows.

Romans 4:3b (NET Parallel Greek) Genesis 15:6 (Septuagint BLB) Table Genesis 15:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Αβραμ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἐπίστευσεν ῞Αβραμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην
Romans 4:3b (NET) Genesis 15:6 (NETS) Genesis 15:6 (English Elpenor)
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. And Abram believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Tables comparing Leviticus 1:1; 1:2; 1:3 and 1:4 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Leviticus 1:1; 1:2 (1:1b, 2); 1:3 and 1:4 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:17; 1:20, 21 and Colossians 1:21-23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Leviticus 1:1 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 1:1 (KJV)

Leviticus 1:1 (NET)

THE HaShem called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the tent of meeting, saying: And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent:

Leviticus 1:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 1:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἀνεκάλεσεν Μωυσῆν καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος αὐτῷ ἐκ τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου λέγων ΚΑΙ ἀνεκάλεσε Μωυσῆν, καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος αὐτῷ ἐκ τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου λέγων

Leviticus 1:1 (NETS)

Leviticus 1:1 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord summoned Moyses and spoke to him from the tent of witness, saying: And the Lord called Moses again and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of witness, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them,

Leviticus 1:2 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 1:2 (KJV)

Leviticus 1:2 (NET)

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man of you bringeth an offering unto HaShem, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or of the flock. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When someone among you presents an offering to the Lord, you must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock.

Leviticus 1:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

λάλησον τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ καὶ ἐρεῗς πρὸς αὐτούς ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα τῷ κυρίῳ ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν ἀπὸ τῶν βοῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων προσοίσετε τὰ δῶρα ὑμῶν λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν βοῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων προσοίσετε τὰ δῶρα ὑμῶν

Leviticus 1:2 (NETS)

Leviticus 1:1b, 2 (English Elpenor)

Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When a person of you brings gifts of livestock to the Lord, you shall bring your gifts from the cattle and from the sheep. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, (2) If [any] man of you shall bring gifts to the Lord, ye shall bring your gifts of the cattle and of the oxen and of the sheep.

Leviticus 1:3 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 1:3 (KJV)

Leviticus 1:3 (NET)

If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd, he shall offer it a male without blemish; he shall bring it to the door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before HaShem. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. “‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance before the Lord.

Leviticus 1:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐὰν ὁλοκαύτωμα τὸ δῶρον αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν βοῶν ἄρσεν ἄμωμον προσάξει πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου προσοίσει αὐτὸ δεκτὸν ἐναντίον κυρίου ἐὰν ὁλοκαύτωμα τὸ δῶρον αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν βοῶν, ἄρσεν ἄμωμον προσάξει· πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου προσοίσει αὐτὸ δεκτὸν ἐναντίον Κυρίου

Leviticus 1:3 (NETS)

Leviticus 1:3 (English Elpenor)

If this gift is a whole burnt offering from the cattle, he shall present a male without blemish; he shall bring it to the door of the tent of witness, acceptable before the Lord. If his gift be a whole-burnt-offering, he shall bring an unblemished male of the herd to the door of the tabernacle of witness, he shall bring it as acceptable before the Lord.

Leviticus 1:4 (Tanakh)

Leviticus 1:4 (KJV)

Leviticus 1:4 (NET)

And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. He 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 1:4 (Septuagint BLB)

Leviticus 1:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐπιθήσει τὴν χεῗρα ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ καρπώματος δεκτὸν αὐτῷ ἐξιλάσασθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπιθήσει τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ καρπώματος, δεκτὸν αὐτῷ ἐξιλάσασθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ

Leviticus 1:4 (NETS)

Leviticus 1:4 (English Elpenor)

And he shall lay his hand on the head of the offering, a thing acceptable to him to atone for him. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering as a thing acceptable for him, to make atonement for him.

Hebrews 9:14 (NET)

Hebrews 9:14 (KJV)

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὸ αἷμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃς διὰ πνεύματος αἰωνίου ἑαυτὸν προσήνεγκεν ἄμωμον τῷ θεῷ, καθαριεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων εἰς τὸ λατρεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι ποσω μαλλον το αιμα του χριστου ος δια πνευματος αιωνιου εαυτον προσηνεγκεν αμωμον τω θεω καθαριει την συνειδησιν υμων απο νεκρων εργων εις το λατρευειν θεω ζωντι ποσω μαλλον το αιμα του χριστου ος δια πνευματος αιωνιου εαυτον προσηνεγκεν αμωμον τω θεω καθαριει την συνειδησιν υμων απο νεκρων εργων εις το λατρευειν θεω ζωντι

1 Peter 1:17 (NET)

1 Peter 1:17 (KJV)

And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

καὶ εἰ πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθε τὸν ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρίνοντα κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, ἐν φόβῳ τὸν τῆς παροικίας ὑμῶν χρόνον ἀναστράφητε και ει πατερα επικαλεισθε τον απροσωποληπτως κρινοντα κατα το εκαστου εργον εν φοβω τον της παροικιας υμων χρονον αναστραφητε και ει πατερα επικαλεισθε τον απροσωπολημπτως κρινοντα κατα το εκαστου εργον εν φοβω τον της παροικιας υμων χρονον αναστραφητε
1 Peter 1:20, 21 (NET) 1 Peter 1:20, 21 (KJV)
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifested in these last times for your sake. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων δι᾿ ὑμᾶς προεγνωσμενου μεν προ καταβολης κοσμου φανερωθεντος δε επ εσχατων των χρονων δι υμας προεγνωσμενου μεν προ καταβολης κοσμου φανερωθεντος δε επ εσχατων των χρονων δι υμας
Through him you now trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

τοὺς δι᾿ αὐτοῦ πιστοὺς εἰς θεὸν τὸν ἐγείραντα αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα, ὥστε τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν καὶ ἐλπίδα εἶναι εἰς θεόν τους δι αυτου πιστευοντας εις θεον τον εγειραντα αυτον εκ νεκρων και δοξαν αυτω δοντα ωστε την πιστιν υμων και ελπιδα ειναι εις θεον τους δι αυτου πιστευοντας εις θεον τον εγειραντα αυτον εκ νεκρων και δοξαν αυτω δοντα ωστε την πιστιν υμων και ελπιδα ειναι εις θεον

Colossians 1:21-23 (NET)

Colossians 1:21-23 (KJV)

And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Καὶ ὑμᾶς ποτε ὄντας ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς και υμας ποτε οντας απηλλοτριωμενους και εχθρους τη διανοια εν τοις εργοις τοις πονηροις νυνι δε αποκατηλλαξεν και υμας ποτε οντας απηλλοτριωμενους και εχθρους τη διανοια εν τοις εργοις τοις πονηροις νυνι δε αποκατηλλαξεν
but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατήλλαξεν ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ εν τω σωματι της σαρκος αυτου δια του θανατου παραστησαι υμας αγιους και αμωμους και ανεγκλητους κατενωπιον αυτου εν τω σωματι της σαρκος αυτου δια του θανατου παραστησαι υμας αγιους και αμωμους και ανεγκλητους κατενωπιον αυτου
if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.  This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

εἴ γε ἐπιμένετε τῇ πίστει τεθεμελιωμένοι καὶ ἑδραῖοι καὶ μὴ μετακινούμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ εὐαγγελίου οὗ ἠκούσατε, τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, οὗ ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ Παῦλος διάκονος ειγε επιμενετε τη πιστει τεθεμελιωμενοι και εδραιοι και μη μετακινουμενοι απο της ελπιδος του ευαγγελιου ου ηκουσατε του κηρυχθεντος εν παση τη κτισει τη υπο τον ουρανον ου εγενομην εγω παυλος διακονος ειγε επιμενετε τη πιστει τεθεμελιωμενοι και εδραιοι και μη μετακινουμενοι απο της ελπιδος του ευαγγελιου ου ηκουσατε του κηρυχθεντος εν παση τη κτισει τη υπο τον ουρανον ου εγενομην εγω παυλος διακονος

[1] Leviticus 1:3b (Tanakh chabad.org)

[2] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἡμῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υμων (KJV: your).

[3] Leviticus 5:5b (NET) Table

[4] Leviticus 5:6 (NET) Table

[5] Leviticus 5:7b (NET) Table

[6] Leviticus 5:11b (NET) Table

[7] Leviticus 5:13a (NET) Table

[8] Hebrews 9:14 (NET)

[9] Philippians 2:8 (NET)

[10] John 17:17b (NET) Table

[11] John 14:10b (ESV) Table

[12] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀπροσωπολήμπτως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had απροσωποληπτως (KJV: without respect of persons).

[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐσχάτου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εσχατων.

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had πιστοὺς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πιστευοντας (KJV: do believe).

[15] From “1 Peter and the Diaspora” by Phillip J. Long on readingacts.com

1 Peter 1:1 addresses “the elect” who are “scatted” [sic] (1:1, NIV).  Both words are significant in that they point to a Jewish audience.  The “Elect” is a common self-designation in Judaism.  They are the nation which God chose (via Abraham, or in the prophets, when he rescued the nation out of Egypt).   “Scattered” is the Greek diaspora, the Diaspora.  This was a word used frequently to describe Jews loving [sic] outside of the Land, including those regions addressed in 1 Peter 1:1.

[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἴ γε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειγε (KJV: If).

[17] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had καὶ here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 5

If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord (ʼădônây, אדני), Moses said, let my Lord (ʼădônây, אדני) go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.[1]

Before I continue to study nâśâʼ[2] and ʽâbar in Exodus 20:7 – Deuteronomy 4:26, I must add another word to the mix.  The Hebrew word sâlach (וסלחת), translated pardon, was unprecedented.  It didn’t occur in Genesis or anywhere else in Exodus.  That the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent[3] is fairly explicit in the opening verse of Leviticus.  But I still speculate that at least some of the subject matter recorded there was broached on the mountain before yehôvâh and Moses were so rudely interrupted by Israel’s worship of a golden calf.

The idea that Moses coined a word and then discovered a universe to revolve around it seems to work out all right in particle physics, but it makes me uncomfortable in Bible study.  If yehôvâh had already begun to reveal the elaborate, sometimes tedious, detail of atonement (kâphar, כפר) and forgiveness (sâlach, סלח) it would help to account for Moses’ brass: He called yehôvâh’s intention to destroy Israel in accordance with the forty day covenant evil (Exodus 32:9-14) because he was taken by surprise at the abrupt change in yehôvâh’s tone and the content of his words.

Be that as it may, scribing kâphar and sâlach convinced me that I have mischaracterized Leviticus, and that I was wrong when I wrote that a primary verb to forgive was absent from “holy Hebrew.”  A table showing the translations of sâlach in the KJV, NET and Septuagint follows:

Form of sâlach

Reference KJV NET

Septuagint

סלח Numbers 14:19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people… Please forgive the iniquity of this people… ἄφες, a form of ἀφίημι
יסלח Numbers 30:5 …and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father… And the Lord will release her from it, because her father overruled… καθαριεῖ, a form of καθαρίζω
Numbers 30:8 …and the LORD shall forgive her. And the Lord will release her from it.
Numbers 30:12 …and the LORD shall forgive her. …and the Lord will release her from them. καθαρίσει, another form of καθαρίζω
סלחתי Numbers 14:20 I have pardoned according to thy word: I have forgiven them as you asked. ἵλεως[4]
וסלחת Exodus 34:9 and pardon our iniquity and our sin… pardon our iniquity and our sin… ἀφελεῖς, a form of ἀφαιρέω
ונסלח Leviticus 4:20 …make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. …make atonement on their behalf and they will be forgiven. ἀφεθήσεται, another form of ἀφίημι
Leviticus 4:26 …make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. …make atonement on his behalf for his sin and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:31 …make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. …make atonement on his behalf and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:35 …his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him. …his sin which he has committed and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 5:10 …his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. …his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 5:13 …in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: …by doing one of these things, and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 5:16 …with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. …with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 5:18 …and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. …(although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven.
Leviticus 6:7 …for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him… …on his behalf before the Lord and he will be forgiven
Leviticus 19:22 and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. …his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven
Numbers 15:25 …the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them… …for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven
Numbers 15:26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel… and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven
Numbers 15:28 …to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. …to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. Not Translated

I thought Leviticus was law: crime, especially capital crime, and punishment.  But Leviticus has much to say about atonement and forgiveness.  It is the good news (εὐαγγέλιον) of the five books of Moses:

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 (yehôvâh, יהוה) commandments, which must not be violated, so they become guilty, the assembly must present a young bull for a sin offering when the sin they have committed becomes known.[5]  Some priestcraft was spelled out (Leviticus 4:14b-20a) with the result that the priest will make atonement on their behalf and they will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[6]  For this reason I tell you, Jesus said, people will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι) for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[7]

Whenever a leader, by straying unintentionally, sins and violates one of the commandments of the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) his God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהיו) which must not be violated, and he pleads guilty, or his sin that he committed is made known to him, he must bring a flawless male goat as his offering.[8]  Again, after some priestcraft (Leviticus 4:24-26a) the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[9]  Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, Jesus continued, will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).  But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι), either in this age or in the age to come.[10]

If an ordinary individual sins by straying unintentionally when he violates one of the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) commandments which must not be violated, and he pleads guilty or his sin that he committed is made known to him, he must bring a flawless female goat as his offering for the sin that he committed.[11]  There was some priestcraft (Leviticus 4:29-31a) and the priest will make atonement on his behalf and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[12]  I tell you the truth, Jesus said, people will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι) for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter.  But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven (ἄφεσιν, a form of ἄφεσις), but is guilty of an eternal sin” (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).[13]

This same ordinary individual may bring a sheep instead: But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female.[14]  After the priestcraft (Leviticus 4:33-35a) the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[15]  And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, Jesus said, will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι), but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[16]

If a person fails to testify and he is a witness,[17] touches anything ceremonially unclean,[18] touches human uncleanness,[19] or swears an oath, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips,[20] when an individual becomes guilty with regard to one of these things he must confess how he has sinned [Table], and he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה) for his sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, whether a female sheep or a female goat, for a sin offering [Table].[21]  If he cannot afford an animal from the flock, he must bring his penalty for guilt for his sin that he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה), one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering.[22]  After the priestcraft (Leviticus 5:8-10a) the priest will make atonement on behalf of this person for his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[23]

If he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, yehôvâh continued, he must bring as his offering for his sin which he has committed a tenth of an ephah of choice wheat flour for a sin offering. He must not place olive oil on it and he must not put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering.[24]  So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed by doing one of these things, and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[25]  Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, Peter said to a believing magician who had attempted to buy the Holy Spirit, and pray to the Lord that he may perhaps forgive (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι) you for the intent of your heart.[26]

The Lord’s holy things (Leviticus 5:14-16 NET):

Then the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) spoke to Moses: “When a person commits a trespass and sins by straying unintentionally from the regulations about the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) holy things (qôdesh, מקדשי; Septuagint: ἁγίων, a form of ἅγιος), then he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה), a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, for a guilt offering.  And whatever holy thing he violated he must restore and must add one fifth to it and give it to the priest.  So the priest will make atonement on his behalf with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).”

If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) commandments which must not be violated (although he did not know it at the time, but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, for a guilt offering to the priest.  So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his error which he committed (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).[27]

Then the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) spoke to Moses (Leviticus 6:1-7 NET):

“When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord (yehôvâh, ביהוה) by deceiving his fellow citizen in regard to something held in trust, or a pledge, or something stolen, or by extorting something from his fellow citizen, or has found something lost and denies it and swears falsely concerning any one of the things that someone might do to sin – when it happens that he sins and he is found guilty, then he must return whatever he had stolen, or whatever he had extorted, or the thing that he had held in trust, or the lost thing that he had found, or anything about which he swears falsely.  He must restore it in full and add one fifth to it; he must give it to its owner when he is found guilty.  Then he must bring his guilt offering to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה), a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, for a guilt offering to the priest.  So the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι) for whatever he has done to become guilty.”

When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman, although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation.  They must not be put to death, because she was not free.  He must bring his guilt offering to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה) at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram, and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven (sâlach, ונסלח; Septuagint: ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι) of his sin that he has committed.[28]

James wrote (James 5:14-16a NET):

Is anyone among you ill?  He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven (ἀφεθήσεται, a form of ἀφίημι).  So confess (ἐξομολογεῖσθε, a form of ἐξομολογέω) your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

I saved this quotation[29] for last to highlight that all of this priestly machinery of atonement and forgiveness ground to a halt if sinners didn’t acknowledge and confess their sin, whether directly or by bringing the appropriate offering.  This is extremely difficult for the religious mind to do, those who are trying to be declared righteous by the law[30] or attempting to have [their] own righteousness derived from the law.[31]  As I began these studies I wrote that “the religious mind may be nothing more than a subspecies of the carnal mind (KJV) or the outlook of the flesh (NET).”  Now I would simply say that what I call the religious mind is the carnal mind or the outlook of the flesh: because the religious mind is hostile to God, for it does not submit (ὑποτάσσεται, a form of ὑποτάσσω) to the law of God, nor is it able (δύναται, a form of δύναμαι) to do so.[32]

Jephthah sacrificed[33] his daughter to make his own word true rather than confess his reckless oath to keep yehôvâh’s commandments.  But first submission to the law of God is never a pretty sight.  Paul left a vivid description from his own experience of what it is like to die to the law, to have a new self, a new I, a place from which to gain one’s first glimpse of the old self, the carnal mind, the outlook of the flesh or as I have been calling it—the religious mind (Romans 7:15-24 NET):

For I don’t understand what I am doing.  For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate.  But if I do what I don’t want, I agree (σύμφημι) that the law is good.  But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me.  For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it (NET note 24: Grk “For to wish [want] is present in/with me, but not to do it.”).  For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.  So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me.  For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.  But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?

[1] Exodus 34:9 (NET)

[2] I used the second spelling (nâsâh) offered in Strong’s Concordance in the tables and a previous essay, which confused me when I linked to the Hebrew dictionary.

[3] Leviticus 1:1 (NET)

[4] “I am merciful to them according to your word” (Numbers 14:20b NETS).

[5] Leviticus 4:13, 14a (NET)

[6] Leviticus 4:20b (NET)

[7] Matthew 12:31 (NET) Table

[8] Leviticus 4:22, 23 (NET) Table1 Table2

[9] Leviticus 4:26b (NET)

[10] Matthew 12:32 (NET)

[11] Leviticus 4:27, 28 (NET)

[12] Leviticus 4:31b (NET)

[13] Mark 3:28-30 (NET)

[14] Leviticus 4:32 (NET)

[15] Leviticus 4:35b (NET)

[16] Luke 12:10 (NET)

[17] Leviticus 5:1 (NET)

[18] Leviticus 5:2 (NET)

[19] Leviticus 5:3 (NET)

[20] Leviticus 5:4 (NET) Table

[21] Leviticus 5:5, 6a (NET)

[22] Leviticus 5:7 (NET) Table

[23] Leviticus 5:10b (NET) Table

[24] Leviticus 5:11 (NET) Table

[25] Leviticus 5:13a (NET) Table

[26] Acts 8:22 (NET)

[27] Leviticus 5:17, 18 (NET)

[28] Leviticus 19:20-22 (NET)

[29] There are three more occurrences of ἀφεθήσεται in Luke 17:34-36 (KJV) translated left, contrasted to παραλημφθήσεται (a form of παραλαμβάνω) translated taken.  Verse 36 was not in the Textus Receptus of 1550 or the Byzantine Majority Text I consult most often.  It was however in the Textus Receptus of 1598 and thereafter and also in the Essex Gospels of 1175.

[30] Galatians 5:4 (NET) Table

[31] Philippians 3:9 (NET)

[32] Romans 8:7 (NET)

[33] In an article titled, “Did Jephthah Actually Kill his Daughter?,” on thetorah.com  Professor Jonathan Magonet argued: “The flexibility of the vav conjunctive linking the two statements would allow it to be read here as ‘and’, so that ‘belonging to the Lord’ meant the burnt offering mentioned immediately after.  But the ‘vav’ could also be read as ‘or’, so that whatever or whoever came out would be dedicated to God, and, only should it prove appropriate, would be sacrificed.”  Whether Jephthah “sacrificed” his daughter as a burnt offering or as a lifelong virgin matters very little to my argument here.  It would have mattered a great deal to the hold Jephthah’s “sacrifice” had on my attention, how often I returned to consider this story.  It’s hard to say if that alone would have left my religious mind skulking in the shadows.