Lev_9:1-24; Lev_10:1-20; Lev_11:1-47

SECTION XXVI.

SHEMINI.

IX.And on the eighth day Mosheh called Aharon and his sons and the elders ofIsrael. And he said unto Aharon, Take to thee a calf, a young bullock from theherd, for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering unblemished, and offerbefore the Lord. And with the sons of Israel he spake, saying, Take a kid ofthe goats for a sin offering, and a calf, and a lamb of the year, unblemished,for a burnt offering, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a mincha of floursprinkled with oil: for this day will the glory of the Lord be revealed to you. Andwhat Mosheh had commanded they brought before the tabernacle of ordinance, andall the congregation approached and stood before the Lord. And Mosheh said,This is the thing that the Lord hath commanded to be done, and the glory of theLord shall be revealed to you. AndMosheh said to Aharon, Approach the altar, and make thy sin offering and thyburnt sacrifice, and make atonement for thyself and for the people, and performthe oblation of the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded.And Aharon drew near to the altar, and slew the calf for the sin offering forhimself. And the sons of Aharon brought the blood to him, and he dipped hisfinger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out theblood at the base of the altar. But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul ofthe liver of the sin offering he burned at the altar, as the Lord commandedMosheh. And the flesh and the skin he burned in the fire without the camp. Andhe killed the whole burnt offering; and the sons of Aharon brought the blood tohim, and he sprinkled it upon the altar round about. And they brought to himthe whole burnt offering by its members with the head, and he burned upon thealtar. And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burned with the offering atthe altar. And he brought the oblation of the people, and took the kid for the sin offeringof the people, and killed it, and made atonement with its blood, as before. Andhe brought the whole burnt offering, and performed in the manner proper. And hetook the mincha, and filled his hand with it, and burned it upon the altarbeside the morning sacrifice. And he slew the bullock and the ram for thehallowed oblations of the people; and the sons of Aharon brought the blood tohim, and he sprinkled the blood round about. Also the fats of the bullock andof the ram, the tail, and the covering of the inwards, with the kidneys, andthe caul of the liver; and they placed the fats upon the breast, and burned thefats at the altar. And the breast with the right shoulder Aharon uplifted, anelevation before the Lord, as the Lord commanded Mosheh.

AndAharon lifted up his hands over (to) the people and blessed them, and cane downfrom performing the sin offering, and the burnt sacrifice, and the hallowedoblations. And Mosheh and Aharon entered the tabernacle of ordinance, and cameforth and blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord was revealed unto allthe people: and fire came forth from before the Lord, and consumed upon thealtar the burnt sacrifice and the fats: and all the people saw, and gavepraise, and fell upon their faces. X.But the sons of Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, took each man his censer and put firein them, and put sweet incense upon it, and offered (or brought) before theLord strange fire which He had not commanded them. And fire came out frombefore the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. AndMosheh said unto Aharon, This is that which the Lord spake, saying, In them whoapproacheth Me I will be sanctified, and in the face of all the people will Ibe glorified. And Aharon was silent. AndMosheh called to Mishael and to Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle ofAharon, and said to them, Come nigh, and carry your brethren from before thesanctuary without the camp. And they came nigh, and carried them in theirvestments out of the camp, as Mosheh had spoken. AndMosheh said to Aharon and to Elazar and to Ithamar his sons, Make not bare yourheads, nor rend your garments, lest you die, and wrath be upon all thecongregation; but let your brethren and all the house of Israel bewail theburning which the Lord hath kindled; and go not forth from the door of thetabernacle of ordinance, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the Lord^{[1] <l >}is upon you. And they did according to the word of Mosheh. Andthe Lord spake unto Aharon, saying: Drink not wine nor strong drink, neitherthou nor thy sons with thee, when you enter into the tabernacle of ordinance,that you die not. It is an everlasting statute unto your generations, for thedistinguishment between the holy and the common, and between the unclean andthe clean; and that you may teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which theLord hath spoken to them through Mosheh. AndMosheh spake with Aharon and with Elazar and with Ithamar his sons who wereleft: Take the mincha which remaineth of the oblations of the Lord, and eat itunleavened at the side of the altar, because it is most holy. It shall be eatenin the holy place; for it is thy portion, and the portion of thy sons of theoblations of the Lord; for so have I been commanded. But the breast of theuplifting and the shoulder of the separation you may eat on (any) clean place,and thy sons and thy daughters with thee; for it is thy portion, and theportion of thy sons, which hath been given of the hallowed sacrifices of thechildren of Israel. The shoulder of the separation and the breast of theuplifting they will bring with the oblation of the fat things to uplift, anelevation before the Lord: and they shall be thine and thy sonsÕ with thee byan everlasting statute, as the Lord hath commanded. ButMosheh made inquiry^{[2] <l >} for the goat of the sin offering;and, behold, it had been burned; and he was angry with Elazar and Ithamar thesons of Aharon who were left, saying: Why have you not eaten of the sinoffering in the holy place, because it is most holy; and He hath delivered itunto you for pardoning mercy upon the sin of the congregation to make atonementfor them before the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within thesanctuary: eating you should have eaten it within the holy (precinct), as I hadcommanded. And Aharon said to Mosheh, Behold, this day they have brought theirsin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; but such griefs as thesehaving come upon me, if I had eaten of the sin offering to-day, would it havebeen right before the Lord? And Mosheh heard, and it was pleasing in his eyes.^{[3] <l >} XI.And the Lord spake with Mosheh and to Aharon, saying to them: Speak with thechildren of Israel, saying: These are the animals which you may eat of all thebeasts which are upon the earth. Every one that parteth the sole and divideththe paw (or hoof) and that bringeth up the cud among the cattle, that you mayeat. But these you shall not eat, - of them that bring up the cud or of themthat divide the hoof Ð the camel, because he bringeth up the cud, but dividethnot his hoof, he is unclean to you. And the coney, because he bringeth up thecud, but doth not divide the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because hebringeth up the cud, but the hoof divideth not, shall be unclean to you. Andthe swine, because he parteth the sole, and divideth the hoof, but cheweth notthe cud, he shall be unclean to you. You shall neither eat their flesh nortouch their carcases; they are unclean to you. Andthese you may eat of all that are in the waters; every one that hath fins andscales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, of them you may eat. Butany one that hath not (both) fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers;every (such) reptile of the waters, and every living animal in the waters,shall they be to you; of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcases youshall abhor; whatsoever hat not (both) fins and scales in the waters is to bean abomination to you. And these shall you hold inabomination among the birds; you shall not eat them, they are an abomination:the eagle, and the sea eagle, and the osprey, and the kite, and the vulture,after his kind; and every raven after his kind; and the ostrich, and the nightbird, and the gull, and the hawk, after his kind; and the owl, and the diverfor fish, and the ibis, and the swan, and the green bird, and the stork, andthe pica, after his kind, and the moorcock, and the bat. Every winged thingthat creepeth, (or) walketh upon four,^{[4] <l >} is an abomination to you. Yet theseyou may eat, of every creeping thing that flieth, that walketh upon four whichhath joints above its feet wherewith to leap upon the ground. Of such as theseyou may eat, the locust after his kind, and the bald locust, and theserpent-killer after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind;^{[5] <l >}but every other creeping thing that flieth having four feet is to be anabomination to you. And by these you will be unclean; every one who toucheththeir carcases shall be unclean until the evening. And whosoever carrieth acarcase of them, shall was his clothes and be unclean until the evening; everybeast that divideth the hoof, but is not cloven-footed, and that bringeth notup the cud, is to be unclean to you; whosoever toucheth them shall be unclean.And every (animal) that goeth upon its paws, of all beast that go upon four,shall be unclean to you; whoever toucheth their carcases shall be unclean untilthe evening. And whoever carrieth their carcase shall wash his clothes and beunclean until the evening; to you they are unclean.

Andthese shall be to you unclean among the reptiles which creep upon the ground; -the weasel, and the mouse, and the crocodile after his kind, and the fieldmouse (or ferret,) and the chameleon, and the newt, and the lizards, and themole. These are unclean to you of all that creep; every one who toucheth themin their dead state shall be unclean until evening. And upon whatever any ofthem may fall in their dead state it shall be unclean; whether a vessel ofwood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, everything whatever in which work is doen,must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and must bepurified. And whatever earthen vessel into which any of them may fall, all thatis within (it) is polluted, and you shall break it. Any food for eating, uponwhich water (from such a vessel) is poured, shall be unclean, and all liquorwhich was for drinking in any (such)vessel shall be unclean. And anything upon which a part of their dead bodiesmay have fallen shall be unclean; oven or cooking pan, they shall be broken,they are unclean and shall be unclean to you. Nevertheless, a fountain or apit, the place of a collection of waters, (into which they may have fallen,)shall be clean; but he who toucheth their dead bodies shall be unclean. And ifa part of their carcase fall upon any seeding seed which is to be sown, it isclean; but if water be put upon the seed, and a part of their carcase falltheir fall thereupon, it is unclean to you.

Andif any one of the cattle of which you eat die, whosoever toucheth its carcaseshall be unclean until the evening. And he who eateth of its carcase shall washhis clothes, and be unclean until the evening. And he who may carry its carcaseshall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. And every reptilethat creepeth upon the ground is abominable, it shall not be eaten. Whatsoevergoeth upon its belly, and whatever goeth upon four, anything that hath manyfeet, and every reptile that creepeth, you shall not eat, for they are anabomination.^{[6] <l >} Ye shall not make yourselvesabominable with your animals by any reptile that creepeth, nor make yourselvesunclean, nor be polluted by them, lest by them you be made unclean. For I amthe Lord your God; sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am Holy; that you maynot contaminate your souls with any reptile which creepeth upon the ground; forI am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Mizraim to be unto you a God;and you shall be holy, for I am Holy. Thisis the law of the cattle, and of the fowl, and of every living animal thatmoveth in the waters, and of every living thing that moveth on the ground, formaking a distinction between the unclean and the clean, between the animal thatmay be eaten, and the animal that may not be eaten.

^{[1] <l >} Sam. Vers., Òthe oil of excellency.Ó

^{[2] <l >} ÒRequiring, required.Ó

^{[3] <l >} Compare the Palestinian Targum onthe place.

^{[4] <l >} Animals with wings, having more thantwo feet, as insects. Ð MENDELSSOHN.

^{[5] <l >} The names in the Hebrew test are arbeh,saleam, chargol, and chagab. Onkelos renders them by goba, rashona,chargola, and chagaba. They refer probably to four of the ten species oflocusts, though it seems impossible to identify them specifically. The Mishnagives four marks by which a clean locust may be known: ÒOf locusts, all thekinds are clean which have four feet, four wings, and four leaping legs, and whosewings cover the greatest part of the body.Ó Ð Cholin, c.3.

^{[6] <l >} This, the forty-second, is the middleverse of the Pentateuch. The Masorites affirm the exact middle to be the vauholem in the word gahvon, Òbelly.Ó