Leviticus 14:10

And on the eighth day,.... From the leper's first appearance before the priest, and the day after the above things were done, in Leviticus 14:9: he shall take two he lambs without blemish; the one

And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

Oil is added here as a fit sign of God’ s grace and mercy, and of the leper’ s healing. Log, a measure for liquid things containing six eggshells-full.

Leviticus 14:10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour [for] a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.Ver. 10. He shall take two he lambs.] That by these sacrifices he might be taught to seek for the cleansing of his soul, together with the healing of his body; that there might be mens sana in corpore sano, a cure done on both inside and outside too.

(10) And on the eighth day.—Though restored to social intercourse with his fellow brethren, the recovered leper could not at once be admitted to the privileges of the sanctuary, but had to bring on the eighth day three kinds of sacrifices: viz., a trespass offering, a sin offering, and a burnt offering. The lamb for the sin offering had not only to be without blemish (see Leviticus 1:3), but of the first year (see Leviticus 12:6). And three tenth deals of fine flour.—Each of these three sacrifices is to be accompanied by a meat offering, consisting of a tenth part of an ephah (which is an omer) of flour. The omer, which is the same as “the tenth deal” (see Exodus 16:36), as it is here called, is equal to 43⅕ ? eggs, or about four pints. Ordinarily a meat offering did not accompany the trespass offering or the sin offering, and only one omer was brought with a lamb (see Numbers 15:4); but according to the administrators of the law during the second Temple, three omers are here prescribed as a substitute for the drink offering which should have accompanied the two expiatory sacrifices. For the manner in which the meat offering was prepared, see Leviticus 11:1-4. And one log of oil.—This oil, as we see afterwards (see Leviticus 14:15, &c.), was used to sprinkle seven times before the Lord, to sanctify the ear, the hand, the foot, and the head of the restored leper. The measure log, which occurs four times in this section (Leviticus 14:10; Leviticus 14:12; Leviticus 14:15; Leviticus 14:21), is not to be found in any other part of the Hebrew Scriptures. According to the authorities at the time of Christ, a “log” is equal to six hen’s eggs.

Verse 10. Two he-lambs] One for a trespass-offering, Leviticus 14:12, the other for a burnt-offering, Leviticus 14:19-20. One ewe-lamb] This was for a sin-offering, Leviticus 14:19. Three tenth deals] Three parts of an ephah, or three omers; See all these measures explained, Clarke "Exodus 16:16". The three tenth deals of flour were for a minchah, meat or gratitude-offering, Leviticus 14:20. The sin-offering was for his impurity; the trespass-offering for his transgression; and the gratitude-offering for his gracious cleansing. These constituted the offering which each was ordered to bring to the priest; see Matthew 8:4.

10. On the following (the eighth) day he brings his sacrifice to the usual place, the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. In the Temple the leper, after bathing in a chamber at the N.W. corner of the Court of the Women, was brought to the gate of Nicanor, between the Court of the Women and the Court of Israel, where he presented his offerings. tenth parts of an ephah] See on Leviticus 23:17. For ‘parts’ A.V. has ‘deals,’ a substantive of the same meaning, but now surviving as such only in the common phrase, ‘a great deal,’ although the verb is still in ordinary use. Cp. dole, and the German Teil, portion. log] a liquid measure approximately equal to an English pint. The ritual here enjoined is peculiar: (1) The first offering is a Guilt-Offering—a he-lamb. (2) The whole lamb is waved with the log of oil before the Lord. (3) The blood of the sacrifice and the oil are applied to the leper with a ceremonial similar to that used at the consecration of the priests (Leviticus 8:12; Leviticus 8:23 f., Leviticus 8:30). The he-lamb was of the first year, and younger than the ram usually brought for a Guilt-Offering; the waving of the whole animal was unusual; certain parts only of a sacrifice were waved, and the ceremony of waving was not practised with the Guilt-Offering and Sin-Offering. So that in respect of the animal employed, the act of waving, and the matter waved, this sacrifice was different from the ordinary Guilt-Offering. The Nazirite who had been defiled by a dead body brought a Sin-Offering, a Burnt-Offering, and a Guilt-Offering; they were offered in this order, and no special regulations about the Guilt-Offering are given (Numbers 6:10-12). But in the case of the leper, the fact that the Guilt-Offering is brought first, with an accompanying ritual of marked significance, invests this sacrifice with a special importance and distinguishes it from the Guilt-Offering brought by the Nazirite. The Guilt-Offering with its accompanying ritual is the prominent feature in the leper’s sanctuary service. It seems to imply that the disease of leprosy had removed him who had been smitten from the ‘kingdom of priests’ (Exodus 19:6); that a re-consecration was necessary, before he could again take his place among his brethren. But it may also mean that leprosy was thought to imply some sin for which atonement must be made by fine or compensation. The reason why this sacrifice should be a Guilt-Offering is not apparent. The distinctive character of the Guilt-Offering was that it involved restitution for wrong done, whether in respect of ‘the holy things of the Lord’ (Leviticus 5:15), or against a neighbour (Leviticus 6:2 f.). As the Nazirite had vowed a period of separation, it might be considered that the defilement of that separation (Numbers 6:12), though involuntary, was a wrong done in respect of ‘the holy things of the Lord’; but it seems doubtful whether the leper’s enforced absence from the sanctuary during the period of his uncleanness can be so regarded.

Two young rams from one to three years old (not lambs), a ewe lamb in her first year (see Leviticus 12:6), three-tenth parts of an ephah (something over ten pints and a half) of fine flour mingled

10. Eighth day — See Leviticus 9:1, note. Two lambs — The Hebrew term applies to young sheep till three years old. If it be of the first year the fact is expressly stated. Without blemish — See Leviticus 1:3, note.