translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LEV

label: NET study note

text: Regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” ( אֱלִילִים , ’ elilim ), see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 126; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 304; N. H. Snaith, Leviticus and Numbers (NBC), 89; and Judith M. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:411. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (’ el , “god; God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless; weak; powerless; nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”


text: Regarding “profaned,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.


text: On the “cut off” penalty see the note on Lev 7:20 .


text: Some scholars make a distinction between the verb אָהַב (’ ahav , “to love”) with the direct object and the more unusual construction with the preposition לְ ( lamed ) as it is here and in Lev 19:34 and 2 Chr 19:2 only. If there is a distinction, the construction here probably calls for direct and helpful action toward one’s neighbor (see the discussion in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305, and esp. 317-18). Such love stands in contrast to taking vengeance or bearing a grudge against someone and, in NT terms, amounts to fulfilling the so-called “golden rule” ( Matt 7:12 ).


text: Cf. Deut 22:11 where the Hebrew term translated “two different kinds” ( כִּלְאַיִם , kil ’ ayim ) refers to a mixture of linen and wool woven together in a garment.


text: That is, the woman had previously been assigned for marriage to another man but the marriage deal had not yet been consummated. In the meantime, the woman has lost her virginity and has, therefore, lost part of her value to the master in the sale to the man for whom she had been designated. Compensation was, therefore, required (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 130-31).


text: On the guilt offering see the note on Lev 5:15 above.


text: The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.


text: An ephah is a dry measure which measures about four gallons, or perhaps one third of a bushel, while a hin is a liquid measure of about 3.6 liters (= approximately 1 quart).