Leviticus 16:19
in Leviticus 16He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.
KJV
And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times,.... This was done with his right finger, or forefinger, as the Targum of Jonathan, and seven times, to denote the perfect cleansing of the altar with it.
This site's exposition
go out to the altar that is before the LORD
on Leviticus 16:18-19
The altar itself is cleansed and hallowed with the blood of both animals. The instrument of atonement needs atonement, and the chapter states that without explaining it. Seven sprinklings again, as on the mercy seat.
This site's exposition
seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it
Matthew Henry notes that Exodus 30:10 orders this blood for the altar of incense. Some read the altar before the LORD here as the altar of burnt offering. John Wesley and John Gill both take the seven as a sign of complete cleansing.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is certain that the altar of incense had this blood put upon it, for so it is expressly ordered ( Exod. xxx. 10 ); but some think that this directs the high priest to the altar of burnt-offerings, for that also is here called the altar before the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Seven times - To signify its perfect cleansing, (seven being a number of perfection) and our perfect reconciliation by the blood of Christ.
How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִזָּ֨ה | vehizah | and he will spatter | H5137 → | 24 times |
| עָלָ֧יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִן־ | min- | some of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַדָּ֛ם | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| בְּאֶצְבָּע֖וֹ | beetzbao | with finger his | H676 → | 31 times |
| שֶׁ֣בַע | sheva' | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| פְּעָמִ֑ים | peamim | times | H6471 → | 118 times |
| וְטִהֲר֣וֹ | vetiharo | and he will purify it | H2891 → | 94 times |
| וְקִדְּשׁ֔וֹ | vekidesho | and he will set apart as holy it | H6942 → | 171 times |
| מִטֻּמְאֹ֖ת | mitumot | from [the] uncleanness<es> of | H2932 → | 36 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְהִזָּ֨הand he will spatter
vehizahH5137 →24 times
עָלָ֧יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
מִן־some of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַדָּ֛םthe blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
בְּאֶצְבָּע֖וֹwith finger his
beetzbaoH676 →31 times
שֶׁ֣בַעseven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
פְּעָמִ֑יםtimes
peamimH6471 →118 times
וְטִהֲר֣וֹand he will purify it
vetiharoH2891 →94 times
וְקִדְּשׁ֔וֹand he will set apart as holy it
vekideshoH6942 →171 times
מִטֻּמְאֹ֖תfrom [the] uncleanness<es> of
mitumotH2932 →36 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 13:1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- Psalms 51:2
Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- Ezekiel 36:25
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Hebrews 9:13–14
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- 1 Corinthians 6:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies18
About Leviticus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.