Leviticus 1:4

4 And he shall set his hands on the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into the cleansing of him. (And he shall put his hands upon the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into his cleansing.)

Leviticus 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:4

And he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt
offering
According to the Targum of Jonathan, it was his right hand; but it is generally thought by the Jewish writers that both hands were laid on; so Ben Gersom and Aben Ezra, with whom Maimonides

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 agrees, who says, he that lays on hands ought to lay on with all his strength, with both his hands upon the head of the beast, as it is said, "upon the head of the burnt offering": not upon the neck, nor upon the sides; and there should be nothing between his hands and the beast: and as the same writer says ^F6, it must be his own hand, and not the hand of his wife, nor the hand of his servant, nor his messenger; and who also observes ^F7, that at the same time he made confession over the burnt offering both of his sins committed against affirmative and negative precepts: and indeed by this action he owned that he had sinned, and deserved to die as that creature he brought was about to do, and that he expected pardon of his sin through the death of the great sacrifice that was a type of. Moreover, this action signified the transferring of his sins from himself to this sacrifice, which was to be offered up to make atonement for them; so Gersom observes; see ( Leviticus 16:21 Leviticus 16:22 ) . This denotes the translation of our sins from us, and the imputation of them to Christ, who was offered up in our room and stead, to make atonement for them, as follows:

and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him:
that is, the burnt offering should be accepted in his room and stead, and hereby an atonement of his sins should be made for him, typical of that true, real, and full atonement made by the sacrifice of Christ, which this led his faith unto.

F5 Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 3. sect. 13.
F6 Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 3. sect. 8. Vid. T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 93. 2.
F7 Ib. sect. 14.

Leviticus 1:4 In-Context

2 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, that offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen and of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices, (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, A man of you, who offereth to the Lord a sacrifice of beasts, that is, of oxen or of sheep, and offereth slain sacrifices,)

3 if his offering is burnt sacrifice, and of the drove of oxen, he shall offer a male beast without wem at the door of the tabernacle of witnessing, to make the Lord pleased to him. (if his offering is a burnt sacrifice, from the herd of oxen, he shall offer a male beast without blemish, or without fault, at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, to gain the Lord's acceptance.)

4 And he shall set his hands on the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into the cleansing of him. (And he shall put his hands upon the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be acceptable, and profiting into his cleansing.)

5 And he shall offer a calf before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, [the] priests, shall offer the blood thereof, and they shall shed it by compass of the altar, that is before the door of the tabernacle. (And he shall offer a calf before the Lord, and the priests, the sons of Aaron, shall offer its blood, and they shall throw it against all the sides of the altar, that is in front of the entrance to the Tabernacle.)

6 And when the skin of the sacrifice is drawn away, they shall cut the members into gobbets, (or into pieces);