From a Reader
I appreciated [the article of last issue] concerning Leviticus 9 and 16, especially the mention of the Elders in Lev. 9:1 as I had found no other reference to that. Could you please expound on that. All I can ascertain as to their purpose, aside from being witness to those events, is from verse 5: “So they brought that which Moses had commanded” (Rotherham), of 16:5: “And from the assembly of the sons of Israel shall he receive two he-goats.” Although not stated, I am assuming that “they” in 9:5 refers to the Elders. Antitypically, if the Elders refer to the Ancient Worthies, it is reasonable to suppose that they bring the antitypical animals forth through their deeds, actions and faith. As we know, Jesus studied the scriptures and quoted the deeds and faith of the ancient worthies. What is your thought on this?
Another question. In Tabernacle Shadows page 92 and in Tabernacle Shadows Helping Hand page 157 Q44 #3 it states, “And again whenever an Israelite offered a sin-offering unto the priests … the priests all ate it in the Most Holy.” (Refer to Numbers 18:10 in KJ, Amplified, Masoretic, and other translations.)
Our Pastor’s explanation of this is very reasonable. However, I wonder if the passage is perhaps translated incorrectly. In Rotherham and New English Bible, MOST HOLY refers to the sacrifice rather than the location. This seems most reasonable; see verse 9 especially. Compare also Exodus 29:32, “And Aaron and his sons shall eat … at the opening of the tent of meeting” (Roth), and Leviticus 6:26, “The Priest … shall eat it, in a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting” (Though Compare Numbers 18:11). What is your thought on this matter?
– D.C., Colorado
AUTHOR’S REPLY
In Lev. 9:1, I do agree with your assumption that the elders were the “they” of vs. 5. So they not only were witnesses, they represented the nation. This seems to be supported by the Septuagint rendering:
“On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the senate of Israel… [vs. 3] and speak to the senate of Israel saying, Take ye a kid of the goats … [vs. 5] And when they had brought them.”
I have no better explanation of how antitypically they provided these animals than what you suggested.
About Num. 18:10:
“In the most holy place shalt thou eat it [meat offering, sin offering, trespass offering]; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.”
… I have a difficult time believing that the high priest and his sons gathered in the Most Holy of the Tabernacle and there ate anything. Going into the Most Holy itself was a very solemn, serious, and rare event. We know about the once-a-year entrance on the Atonement day, and when something was serious enough to ask the Lord to answer with Urim and Thummim. I don’t know of any other time. The fact that Lev. 6:16 [meat offering], 6:26 [sin offering], and 7:6 [trespass offering] all describe the same thing and in 6:16 and 6:26 define “holy place” as “court of the tabernacle” (implied in 7:6) makes far better sense. Where the animal was killed was where I would expect it to be eaten. It had, after all, to be cooked since they were absolutely prohibited from eating blood-raw meat.
Rotherham’s translation making “most holy” refer to the sacrifices themselves is, I think, correct. As you noted, the preceding verse (Num. 18:9) uses “most holy” as referring to the sacrifices even in the King James Bible.