Leviticus 1 · Verse 4

Leviticus 1:4

And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

Leviticus 1:4, King James Version

Leviticus 1:4 in other translations

BSB	He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
WEB	He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
ASV	And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
YLT	and he hath laid his hand on the head of the burnt-offering, and it hath been accepted for him to make atonement for him;
DARBY	And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
BBE	And he is to put his hand on the head of the burned offering and it will be taken for him, to take away his sin.
Webster	And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

What does Leviticus 1:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. shall put his hand upon the head--This was a significant act which implied not only that the offerer devoted the animal to God, but that he confessed his consciousness of sin and prayed that his guilt and its punishment might be transferred to the victim. and it shall be--rather, "that it may be an acceptable atonement."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 4 He shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering - By the imposition of hands the person bringing the victim acknowledged, 1. The sacrifice as his own. 2. That he offered it as an atonement for his sins. 3. That he was worthy of death because he had sinned, having forfeited his life by breaking the law. 4. That he entreated God to accept the life of the innocent animal in place of his own. 5. And all this, to be done profitably, must have respect to Him whose life, in the fullness of time, should be made a sacrifice for sin. 6. The blood was to be sprinkled round about upon the altar, Lev 1:5, as by the sprinkling of blood the atonement was made; for the blood was the life of the beast, and it was always supposed that life went to redeem life. See Clarke on Exo 29:10 (note). On the required perfection of the sacrifice see Clarke on Exo 12:5 (note). It has been sufficiently remarked by learned men that almost all the people of the earth had their burnt-offerings, on which also they placed the greatest dependence. It was a general maxim through the heathen world, that there was no other way to appease the incensed gods; and they sometimes even offered human sacrifices, from the supposition, as Caesar expresses it, that life was necessary to redeem life, and that the gods would be satisfied with nothing less. "Quod pro vita hominis nisi vita hominis redditur, non posse aliter deorum immortalium numen placari arbitrantur." - Com. de Bell. Gal., lib. vi. But this was not the case only with the Gauls, for we see, by Ovid, Fast., lib. vi., that it was a commonly received maxim among more polished people: - " - Pro parvo victima parva cadit. Cor pro corde, precor, pro fibris sumite fibras. Hanc animam vobis pro meliore damus." See the whole of this passage in the above work, from ver. 135 to 163.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Leviticus 1:3-9

In the due performance of the Levitical ordinances, the mysteries of the spiritual world are represented by corresponding natural objects; and future events are exhibited in these rites. Without this, the whole will seem unmeaning ceremonies. There is in these things a type of the sufferings of the Son of God, who was to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world? The burning body of an animal was but a faint…

Read the full comment on Leviticus 1:3-9 →

Leviticus 1:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְסָמַ֣ךְve.sa.Makhand he will leanH5564

יָד֔וֹya.Dohand hisH3027

עַ֖ל'alonH5921

רֹ֣אשׁrosh[the] head ofH7218

הָעֹלָ֑הha.'o.Lahthe burnt offeringH5930

וְנִרְצָ֥הve.nir.Tzahand it will be acceptedH7521

ל֖וֹlofor <the> him

לְכַפֵּ֥רle.kha.Perto make atonementH3722

עָלָֽיו\׃'a.Lavon himH5921

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Leviticus 1:4

Leviticus 3:8
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
2 Chronicles 29:23-24
And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them: And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
Leviticus 3:2
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Leviticus 4:26
And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
Exodus 29:15
Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Exodus 29:10
And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
Leviticus 4:20
And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Exodus 29:19
And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Philippians 4:18
But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
1 John 2:2
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Leviticus 4:15
And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

put.
3:2,8,13; 4:4,15,24,29; 8:14,22; 16:21; Ex 29:10,15,19; Nu 8:12
Isa 53:4-6; 2Co 5:20,21
be accepted.
22:21,27; Isa 56:7; Ro 12:1; Php 4:18
atonement.
4:20,26,31,35; 5:6; 6:7; 9:7; 16:24; Nu 15:25,28; 25:13
2Ch 29:23,24; Da 9:24; Ro 3:25; 5:11; Heb 10:4; 1Jo 2:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Leviticus 1:3
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.
Leviticus 1:4
And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Leviticus 1:5
And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Read all of Leviticus 1

Leviticus 1:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y pondrá su mano sobre la cabeza del holocausto; y él lo aceptará para expiarle.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il posera sa main sur la tête de l’holocauste, et il sera agréé pour lui, pour faire propitiation pour lui.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er soll seine Hand auf den Kopf des Brandopfers legen, und es wird wohlgefällig für ihn sein, um Sühnung für ihn zu tun.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	ponetque manum super caput hostiæ, et acceptabilis erit, atque in expiationem ejus proficiens.