Leviticus 14:16

16 He will dip his right finger into the oil in his palm and sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the LORD .

Leviticus 14:16 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 14:16

And the priest shall dip his right finger
The finger of his right hand, the forefinger of it: in the oil that [is] in his left hand;
either that is in his own left hand, or in the left hand of a fellow priest:

and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the
Lord;
that is, over against the house of the holy of holies, as Jarchi, where Jehovah dwelt; but standing at the same time at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, which was eastward, and so he looked westward to the holy of holies; so says the Misnah F23, on which one of the commentators F24 observes, that he did not bring the oil into the temple to sprinkle it before the vail: but he stood in the court, and turned his face to the holy of holies, and so sprinkled upon the floor of the court: and the Jewish doctors are very express for it, according to the Misnah F25, that for every sprinkling there was a dipping; that as often as he sprinkled, so often he must dip his finger in the oil, and not that he might dip his finger once, and of that sprinkle two or three times; for the finger must be dipped seven times: this may denote the thanksgiving of the leper for his cleansing, proceeding from the grace of God, and the Lord's gracious acceptance of it.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 lbid.
F24 Bartenora in ib.
F25 Ibid.

Leviticus 14:16 In-Context

14 The priest will then take some of the blood of the guilt offering and apply it to the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified.
15 “Then the priest will pour some of the olive oil into the palm of his own left hand.
16 He will dip his right finger into the oil in his palm and sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the LORD .
17 The priest will then apply some of the oil in his palm over the blood from the guilt offering that is on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of the person being purified.
18 The priest will apply the oil remaining in his hand to the head of the person being purified. Through this process, the priest will purify the person before the LORD .
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