The elders of the congregation are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the LORD, and it shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before Yahweh; and the bull shall be killed before Yahweh.
- 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.
- 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.
- NASB Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord.
- NLT The elders of the community must then lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it before the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The elders lay their hands on the bull's head as representatives, and it is killed. The community identifies with the substitute through its leaders.
Overview
The elders act on behalf of the whole congregation, laying hands on the bull to identify the people with the substitute that bears their guilt. Representation is central: the many are covered through the one offering. This representative atonement foreshadows Christ, the one who stands in the place of His people and bears their sin as their representative head (Romans 5:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Lev 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
- Lev 16:21Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task.
- Lev 8:14Moses then brought the bull near for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
- Exod 24:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
- Lev 4:4He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD.
- Exod 24:9Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
- Num 11:16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.
- Lev 8:22After that, Moses presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
- Num 8:10You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.
- Deut 21:3–9Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,
- Num 11:25Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 4:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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