Leviticus 4:12

12 all the rest of the bull--he shall carry 1outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall 2burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.

Leviticus 4:12 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 4:12

Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the
camp
The Jewish writers interpret it without the three camps {b}, the camp of the tabernacle, the camp of the Levites, and the camp of the Israelites; when the temple was built, such sacrifices were carried and burnt without the city of Jerusalem; there were three places for burning; one was in the midst of the court, where they burnt such sacrifices as were unfit and rejected; the other was in the mountain of the house called Birah, where they burnt such as any accident befell them, after the carrying of them out of the court; and the third place was without Jerusalem, called the place of ashes F3: this was typical of Christ being had out of the city of Jerusalem, and suffering without the gates of it, ( Hebrews 13:11 Hebrews 13:12 ) :

unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out;
the ashes of the burnt offerings. This, according to Ainsworth, answered to the place where Christ was crucified, being a place of skulls, or dead men's ashes, ( John 19:17 ) :

and burn him on the wood with fire;
any wood might be used for the burning of it, even straw or stubble, which in the Hebrew language are called wood, as Gersom on the place observes, and so Maimonides F4; and it is added, "with fire", as the last writer says F5, to exclude lime and cinder coals:

where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt;
openly without; and seeing it is not said, that the priest shall carry forth the bullock, and shall burn it, it is concluded by Gersom on the place, that both may be done lawfully by a stranger, and so Maimonides F6.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 68. 1. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 42. 2. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Zebachim, c. 12. sect. 5. Jarchi in loc.
F3 Maimon. Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 7. sect. 3, 4.
F4 Maimon. Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 7. sect. 5.
F5 Ib. Vid. T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 75. 1.
F6 Maimon. ib.

Leviticus 4:12 In-Context

10 (just as these are taken from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace offerings); and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
11 But the skin of the bull and all its flesh, with its head, its legs, its entrails, and its dung--
12 all the rest of the bull--he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, to the ash heap, and shall burn it up on a fire of wood. On the ash heap it shall be burned up.
13 "If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt,
14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall offer a bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it in front of the tent of meeting.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Leviticus 6:11; Leviticus 10:4, 5; Leviticus 14:3; Leviticus 16:27; Leviticus 24:14, 23; Exodus 29:14; Exodus 33:7
  • 2. Hebrews 13:11
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