Leviticus 4:2

Hebrew Bible

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a person sins by straying unintentionally from any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated, and violates any one of them— 3 “‘If the high priest sins so that the people are guilty on account of the sin he has committed, he must present a flawless young bull to the Lord for a sin offering.

Onkelos Leviticus 4:2

Targum

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a person sins unintentionally against any of the Lord's commandments by doing something that should not be done: 3 If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. 4 He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, lay his hand on the bull's head, and slaughter it before the Lord.

 Notes and References

"... Scripture's nefesh is translated 'soul' in modern Hebrew, but meant 'person' or 'life' or 'life force' in biblical times, and is so translated by our targumist and Saadiah. Sifra suggests that the Hebrew includes non-Jews and even servants, who are also people. Nevertheless, Nachmanides reads the modern meaning into the biblical word and argues that the Bible purposely restricted itself to nefesh to indicate that sin emanates from thoughts in the soul and blemishes it ..."

Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text (p. 19) Gefen, 2006

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