Leviticus 16:6

6 "Aaron shall 1offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall 2make atonement for himself and for his house.

Leviticus 16:6 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 16:6

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which
[is] for himself
That is, bring it into the court, and present it before the Lord in order to its being slain and sacrificed; for as yet it was not killed, and so could not be offered on the altar, see ( Leviticus 16:11 ) ; the place where the bullock was set was between the porch and the altar, his head in the south, and his face to the west, and the priest stood in the east, and his face to the west, and laid both his hands upon him, and confessed his sins, and his family's F24: and this is said to be "for himself"; not to atone for him, which is afterwards expressed, but which should come of him or from him, and not from the congregation, as Jarchi explains it; or as the Targum of Jonathan more clearly, which is of his own money, wholly at his own expense, and not the people's: and make atonement for himself, and for his house;
for himself, for his own personal sins and for his family's sins, those of his wife and children; and it may be extended to all the priests of the house of Aaron; and some say to the Levites also, as Aben Ezra notes, though he disapproves of it: by this it appears, that Christ, the antitype of Aaron, is a more perfect and excellent priest than he, who needed not to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for his people's, for this he did once, when he offered up himself, ( Hebrews 7:27 ) ; and which was for his whole family, and them only, the elect of God, consisting of Jews and Gentiles; part of which is in heaven, and part on earth, and both were reconciled, or atonement made for them, by the blood of Christ; whose house and family men appear to be, when they believe and hope in him, and hold fast their faith and hope; and who are made by him priests as well as kings to God; see ( Ephesians 3:15 ) ( Hebrews 3:6 ) ( Revelation 1:6 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Misn. Yoma, c. 3. sect. 8.

Leviticus 16:6 In-Context

4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.
5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 "Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.
7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Ezekiel 45:22
  • 2. ver. 17, 24; Hebrews 9:7">ch. Hebrews 9:7; Hebrews 7:27, 28; Hebrews 9:7
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.