Vayikra 14:16

16 And the kohen shall dip his right forefinger in the shemen that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the shemen with his forefinger seven times before Hashem;

Vayikra 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.

Vayikra 14:16 In-Context

14 And the kohen shall take some of the dahm of the asham (trespass offering), and the kohen shall put it upon the lobe of the right ear of him that is to be made tahor, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the bohen of his right foot;
15 And the kohen shall take some of the log of shemen, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand;
16 And the kohen shall dip his right forefinger in the shemen that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the shemen with his forefinger seven times before Hashem;
17 And of the rest of the shemen that is in his hand shall the kohen put upon the lobe of the right ear of him that is to be made tahor, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the bohen of his right foot, upon the dahm of the asham (trespass offering);
18 And the remnant of the shemen that is in the kohen’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be made tahor; and the kohen shall make kapporah for him before Hashem.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.