The Great and Last Sacrifice

John Gee

John Gee, “The Great and Last Sacrifice,” in Behold the Lamb of God: An Easter Celebration, ed. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Frank F. Judd Jr., and Thomas A. Wayment (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008), 139–54.

John Gee was William (Bill) Gay Associate Research Professor at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship when this was published.

Addressing the Zoramites, Amulek testified, “I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God has spoken it . . . for it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice” (Alma 34:8, 10). Amulek further contends that “this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God” (Alma 34:14). As authority for his claim, Amulek says that “the Lord God has spoken it” (Alma 34:8) and thus refers to scriptural sources. Amulek parallels the “great and last sacrifice” (Alma 34:10) with “the atonement which it is expedient should be made” (Alma 34:9).

Yet those same scriptural sources were also subject to other interpretations among the Nephites. Hundreds of years earlier, Sherem argued that by “preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ, . . . ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses which is the right way” (Jacob 7:6–7). By the time of Amulek, there were other competing interpretations of the law of Moses. Nehor and his followers also taught a form of the law of Moses where “the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men” (Alma 1:4), although “there was no possible chance that [men] should live forever” (Alma 12:21), and saw the preaching of Christ as “foolish traditions” (Alma 21:8) that would “condemn our law” (Alma 14:20).

The priests of Noah and their descendants, “the children of Amulon” (Mosiah 25:12; Alma 25:7), also claimed to “teach the law of Moses” (Mosiah 12:28) but understood it to mean that “the Lord . . . hath redeemed Jerusalem” (Mosiah 12:23) without “God himself [coming] down among the children of men” (Mosiah 17:8) or any necessity of “calling upon God” (Mosiah 24:11).

The Zoramites whom Amulek taught, on the other hand, did believe in calling on God in synagogues (see Alma 31:12–22) but otherwise “did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld” (Alma 31:12), even among those “of the profession of Nehor” (Alma 14:18), so their understanding of Moses (see Alma 33:19–21) and his law was considerably different. Adherents were confused about “whether they should believe in one God” (Alma 33:1) but thought that “a belief of Christ” was one of “the foolish traditions of our brethren” that they were convinced “doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God” (Alma 31:17). Amulek even notes that “there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another” (Alma 34:11), a notion not found in the law of Moses but present in Mesoamerica.[1]

Amulek’s teachings on the Atonement take place in a complex intellectual milieu particularly with regard to the sacrifices of the law of Moses. To understand the teachings of the Book of Mormon about the Atonement, or great and last sacrifice, in their context, it is necessary to understand the law of Moses and its system of sacrifices.

Book of Mormon references to the law of Moses are frequent, explicitly mentioning it forty-two times.[2] Institutions of the law of Moses are also frequently mentioned, such as sacrifice—both as a noun (sixteen times),[3] and a verb (four times)[4]—offer (fifteen times),[5] offerings (eight times),[6] and burnt offerings (five times),[7] as well as performances (eight times),[8] and ordinances (eleven times).[9] The law of Moses is a recurring theme in the Book of Mormon, which has much to say about how the law was understood and practiced, but it does not record the law itself. Instead it refers the reader to the plates of brass, which “did contain the five books of Moses” (1 Nephi 5:11). Thus, to understand the place of the sacrifices of the law in the Book of Mormon, we need to turn to the Pentateuch.

The Sacrifices of the Law of Moses

The sacrificial system in the law of Moses is laid out in beginning of the book of Leviticus, one of the most neglected books of scripture,[10] even though it is a basic foundation for much that we do and hope to do in the Church. There are five basic sacrifices in the law, one covered in each of the first five chapters of Leviticus.

In this discussion, many of the points hinge on translation issues. In some places the standard translations aid in understanding, and in others they hinder it, obscuring what the text says. Where the translation is not at issue, the familiar and eloquent King James Bible will be used as it is no worse a translation than any other. Where the translation is at issue, I will provide my own translations, taking seriously the fact that the reader “believe[s] the Bible . . . as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8) by providing the appropriate words or phrases in the original languages so that the reader may check the translations.[11]

Ola: The Burnt Offering. The first chapter of Leviticus covers the ῾olâ, or burnt offering, where the entire animal was offered on the altar and burnt. In bringing a burnt offering, the individual brought the animal to the opening of the tabernacle[12] ([Leviticus 1:3], Hebrew דעומ הלא חתפ־לא, Greek πρὸς τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου, Aramaic אנמז ןכשמ ערתל “at the gate of the shrine at the appointed time”),[13] placed his hand on its head (Hebrew הלעה שאר לע ודי ךמסו, Greek καὶ ἐπιθήσει τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ καρπώματος, Aramaic אתלע שיר לע הידי ךומסיו) and the offering was accepted as an atonement for him (Hebrew וילע רפכל ול הצרנו, Greek δεκτὸν αὐτῷ ἐξιλάσασθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ, Aramaic יהולע ארפכל היל יערתייו) and it was slaughtered (Leviticus 1:4–5). The Aramaic translation of this passage, though cognate, is significant for while the Hebrew has הצרנ (nirsâ) meaning “to be accepted, treated as favored,”[14] the Aramaic of Targum Onkelos, the Aramaic version in use in Jesus’s day, has יערתיי (yîtir‛ê) which has three meanings: (1) “to be pleasing, acceptable; to delight in, choose” (2) “to be reconciled” and (3) “to offer one’s self willingly, volunteer.”[15] Although a similar term is used in the Peshitta, or Syriac translation, (netra‛e’) it seems to have lost the nuance of a willing offering and has added the nuance of a covenant being made.[16] Laying one’s hand on the offering carried the connotation of consecrating it,[17] as well as indicating ownership.[18] The burnt offering was thus viewed as being consecrated by the one offering it and as volunteering itself to atone for the one offering it. The blood was sprinkled (Hebrew וקרז, Greek προσχεοῦσιν “they pour,” Aramaic ןוקרזי ) around the altar (Leviticus 1:5).[19] The skin went to those slaughtering the animal.[20]

Minha: The Meat Offering. The second chapter of Leviticus discusses the qārban minhâ, or so-called “meat offering.” This offering, though aptly so called in the days of the King James translators, is now somewhat ironic as the “meat offering” is completely vegetarian, being of flour (see Leviticus 2:1–2), oil (see Leviticus 2:1–2, 4, 6), or bread (see Leviticus 2:4, 7). Part was burned on the altar (Leviticus 2:2, 8–9, 16) and the remainder given to the priests (see Leviticus 2:3, 10). The meat-offering also included the offering of firstfruits (see Leviticus 2:12, 14).

Zebah Shelamim: The Peace Offering. The subject of the third chapter of Leviticus is the zebah šĕlāmîm, or peace offering, called in Greek the θυσία σωτηρίου “sacrifice of salvation,” (Aramaic אישדוק תסכנ “sacrifice of holiness”) and said to be something of profit to God or the Lord (κάρπωμα τῷ θεῷ Leviticus 3:9; κάπωμα κυρίῳ Leviticus 3:11; Hebrew הוהיל השא “sacrifice to the Lord”; Aramaic אנברוק יוי םדק). The blood was sprinkled around the top of the altar (see Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13).

Hattat: The Sin Offering. After this point we move into what Josephus terms the sacrifices for sins.[21] The first of these is the hattā’t, or sin offering, which is discussed in the fourth chapter of Leviticus. This offering was for inadvertent sins, that is “if a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord” (see Leviticus 4:2). One only made a sin offering after learning that a sin was committed (Leviticus 4:14, 23, 28). This sacrifice is performed by “the priest that is anointed” (Leviticus 4:5, 16), which is חישמה ןהכה (hammāšîah) in Hebrew and ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ χριστος ὁ τετελειωμένος τὰς χεῖρας (Christos) in Greek. The Samaritan likewise adds “who is consecrated” to the term Messiah (ודי־תא אלמ רשא הישמח ןהכה),[22] while the Targum Onqelos oddly omits mention of the Messiah and instead has the high priest (אנהכ אבר) performing the sacrifice. The blood is sprinkled before the veil of the sanctuary (see Leviticus 4:6, 17). With this sacrifice, “the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them” (Leviticus 4:20; see also Leviticcus 4:26, 31, 35). Only part of the animal is burnt; the rest is eaten in the sanctuary.[23]

Asham: The Trespass Offering. The second type of sacrifice for sins is the ‘ašām, or trespass offering. This offering was made for intentional sins.[24] The first step in this process is the individual “shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing” (Leviticus 5:5). Then “he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done . . . and shall add the fifth part thereto” (Leviticus 5:16). The sacrifice is then brought forward, and then “the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him” (Leviticus 5:10; see also Leviticus 6, 13, 16, 18). The meat that was not burned on the altar was saved to be eaten in the temple precincts (see Leviticus 5:13). The blood was sprinkled on the side of the altar and the remainder poured at the bottom of the altar (see Leviticus 5:9).

Procedures

From these sacrifices we can describe the basic process of repentance under the law of Moses:

• Sin

• Come to knowledge of sin

• Guilty of sin

• Repay

• Confess sin

• Bring offering

• Priest who is anointed offers atonement by the shedding of blood

• Partake of offering

For burnt offerings, the blood is poured around the altar. For peace offerings, the blood is placed on the altar. For sin offerings, the blood is poured at the base of the altar. For trespass offerings, the blood is poured on the sides of the altar.

The Old Testament Role of the Messiah in Sacrifices

The sacrifices in the law of Moses are also mentioned in other places in the Old Testament. One of these is in the prophet Isaiah. Although Isaiah tells the Israelites that the Lord is not as interested in the various sacrifices (עלות ,םיחבז) that they offer (see Isaiah 1:11) as in ceasing to do evil (see Isaiah 1:16–17), he later mentions them favorably. In the famous fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, he says of a servant of the Lord, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10). The Hebrew term for “offering” used here is םשא (‘ašām), so it is specifically the trespass offering which is made for intentional sins that is mentioned. His soul is made as an atonement for deliberate sins consciously committed. The Hebrew phrase ושפנ םשא םישת־םא “if you lay down a trespass offering of his soul” is echoed in Jesus’s parable of the good shepherd who “lays down his soul for the sheep” (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τίθησιν John 10:11; cf. 10:15: τὴν ψυχήν μου τίθημι) and again in His instructions to His disciples: “Greater love hath no man than this, that one lay down his soul (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ θῇ; author’s translation) on behalf of his friends, for[25] ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever[26] I command you” (John 15:13–14). After laying down His soul, the individual mentioned in Isaiah sees His seed (see Isaiah 53:10), and likewise those who receive or accept Jesus (ἔλαβον, the same term used for receiving the sacrament in Matthew 26:26–27; Mark 14:22–23; Luke 22:17) are called “the offspring of God” (τέκνα θεοῦ John 1:12; see also John 11:52; 1 John 3:1–2, 10; 5:2; Romans 8:16–17, 21; 9:8; Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 2:15).

This entire section of Isaiah is quoted and commented on by Abinadi (Mosiah 12–16), who begins the section back in Isaiah 52. Abinadi connects the scripture with the Atonement saying that “God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people” (Mosiah 15:1). Abinadi’s understanding of these sections of Isaiah is in line with the understanding of Isaiah in Jesus’s day.

We can see this understanding in the Targum Jonathan, the Jerusalem translation of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. This begins with the statement: “How beautiful upon the mountains of the land of Israel are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth redemption; that saith unto the gathering of Zion, The kingdom of our God has appeared!” (ילגר לארשיד אערא ירוט לע ןיאי אמ ךיהלאד אתוכלמ תאילגתא ןויצד אתשנכל רמא ןקרופ עמשמ בט רסבמ םלש עמשמ רסבמ Isaiah 52:7). This scripture lies behind the repeated preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus that “the kingdom of God has arrived.”[27] “The Lord has revealed the arm of his holiness in the eyes of all people, and all the ends of the earth shall see the redemption of our God” (הישדוק ערד תי יוי אלג אנהלאד אנקרופ תי אערא יפיסבד לכ ןוזחיו איממע לכ יניעל Isaiah 52:10). How will this happen? “Behold my servant, the Messiah shall prosper, and be lifted up, and thrive, and shall become exceedingly powerful. How many of the house of Israel believed in him during the many days that were dark. The sons of the people saw them and their glory was from the sons of man.” (יניב ךושח ווהד ןיאיגס ןימוי לארשי תיב היל וירבסד אמכ אדחל ףקתיו יגסיו םארי אחישמ ידבע חלצי אה אשנא ינבמ ןוהויזו ןוהיוזח עממיא Isaiah 52:13–14). “From the beginning, the Lord desired to refine and to purify the remnant of his people in order to clear the guilt of their souls, they might see their children thriving in the kingdom of their Messiah” (תי האכדלו ףרצמל אוער תוה יוי םדק ןמו ןוהחישמ תוכלמב ןוזחי ןוהשפנ ןיבוחמ האקנל לידב הימעד אראש Isaiah 53:10). The Christians did not invent the messianic interpretation of Isaiah 52–53;[28] the Jews of Jesus’s day viewed it as such, and an atonement to clear the guilt of their consciously committed sins was part of that interpretation.

Herod’s temple, like Solomon’s before it, faced east. If one looked out from the Holy of Holies, one could see across the altar of sacrifices, to the gate of the temple, and then out across the Kidron Valley to a spot called Gethsemane, the olive garden. There out the gate of the temple, began the fulfillment of the law of Moses, wherein Jesus of Nazareth took upon Him the sins of the world. It was out the gate of the temple, and He shed His blood. Later, like those who slaughtered a burnt offering would take the skin of the animal, His slaughterers would take His clothing. Thus, Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses.

Reflections of the Law of Moses in the Book of Mormon

Such interpretation is common throughout the Book of Mormon in discussions about the law of Moses. The prophet Nephi declared:

We keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. (2 Nephi 25:24–27)

The Book of Mormon also references the details of the law of Moses such as when the prophet Alma provides a hithertounidentified reference to the law of Moses, when he says of the sons of Mosiah: “And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth; yea, by the power of their words many were brought before the altar of God, to call on his name and confess their sins before him” (Alma 17:4). We often quote this scripture in regard to missionary work but ignore the obvious tie-in to the law of Moses. Being brought before the altar of God and confessing their sins are part of the repentance process under the law of Moses.

One important time when the law of Moses is mentioned in the Book of Mormon is after the death of Christ. Jesus, in speaking to the Nephites, says: “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19–20). This represents the distinctive change in the law of Moses. Although many of the procedures would stay the same, the significance of the ending sacrifice was a significant change and clearly puzzled the Nephites when it came (see 3 Nephi 15:2–10).

The Old Testament Roots of Latter-day Saint Practice

There are two related institutions of the modern Church that have direct Old Testament antecedents. The first of these is repentance, which, after the modifications listed in 3 Nephi 9 is as follows:

• Sin

• Come to knowledge of sin

• Guilty of sin

• Repay

• Confess sin

• Bring offering (= broken heart and contrite spirit, 3 Nephi 9:19–20)

• Christ offers Himself as atonement

• Partake of sacrament (= offering)

With Christ comes the change in the law of Moses, where the Atonement of Christ is the offering, and we put up a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Afterward, we also partake of the offering by partaking of the sacrament, which is the second of the institutions to have a direct Old Testament antecedent.

Conclusion

If we do not understand the Old Testament, we will not be able to fully understand the New Testament or the Book of Mormon. The atonement of Jesus Christ fulfills the sacrifices under the law of Moses. The fulfillment of the law does not do away with it completely. We still have the same procedures of repentance that they did under the law of Moses, and our weekly partaking of the sacrament has its roots in the sacrifices of the law of Moses. These practices have been fulfilled and renewed through Jesus Christ, the great and last sacrifice.

Notes

[1] Popul Vuh lines 5116–5360, in Allen J. Christenson, Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2003), 201–8, see especially 203n502; see also Karl A. Taube, “The Birth Vase: Natal Imagery in Ancient Maya Myth and Ritual,” in Justin Kerr, The Maya Vase Book (New York: Kerr Associates, 1994), 4:668–74.

[2] 1 Nephi 4:15; 17:22; 2 Nephi 5:10; 11:4; 25:24; Jacob 4:5; 7:7 (twice); Jarom 1:5, 11; Mosiah 2:3; 3:14; 12:28, 29, 31 (three times), 32; 13:27 (three times), 28; 16:14; 24:5; Alma 25:15 (four times), 16; 30:3l (twice); 31:9; 34:13; Helaman 13:1; 15:5; 3 Nephi 1:24; 9:17; 15:2, 8; 25:4; 4 Nephi 1:12; Ether 12:11.

[3] 1 Nephi 5:9; 7:22; 2 Nephi 2:7; Mosiah 2:3; Alma 34:10 (four times), 13, 14 (twice), 15; 3 Nephi 9:129 (twice) 20; Mormon 4:14.

[4] Alma 26:33; 34:11; Mormon 4:15, 21.

[5] 1 Nephi 2:7; 5:9; 7:22; Omni 1:26; Mosiah 2:3; Alma 31:20, 22, 23 (2x); 3 Nephi 9:19, 20; 24:3; Mormon 4:14; Ether 9:11; Moroni 7:6.

[6] 1 Nephi 2:7; Jacob 4:5; Omni 1:26; Mosiah 14:10; 15:10; 3 Nephi 24:3, 4, 8.

[7] 1 Nephi 5:9; 7:22; Mosiah 2:3; 3 Nephi 9:19.

[8] 2 Nephi 25:30; 32:9 (2x); Mosiah 13:30; Alma 25:15; 30:23; 31:10; 4 Nephi 1:12. As a verb: 1 Nephi 17:41; 2 Nephi 19:7; 20:12; 32:9; Alma 8:1; 29:6; 30:33; 34:32, 33; 57:21; 3 Nephi 12:33; Ether 2:18; Moroni 9:6. Only the verbal form appears in two quotations of the Old Testament: 2 Nephi 19:7 = Isaiah 9:7, where it renders the Hebrew verb השעת “to do,” and 2 Nephi 20:12 = Isaiah 10:12, where it renders the Hebrew verb עצבי “to finish, cut off.” Of the nominal forms of these verbs, עצב means “profit, gain” and has negative connotations (e.g. Habakkuk 2:9), and so “performance” probably renders Hebrew השעמ “deed, work” which is used extensively throughout the Old Testament and especially the law of Moses.

[9] 2 Nephi 25:30; Mosiah 13:30; Alma 13:8 (2x), 16; 30:3, 23; 50:39; 3 Nephi 24:7, 14; 4 Nephi 1:12. Of these passages, two (3 Nephi 24:7, 14) are quotations of passages from the Old Testament (= Malachi 3:7, 14) where it renders in the first case קח “rule, law,” which is used numerous times throughout the Pentateuch, and in the second case משמרת “observance, tradition,” which is used many times in Exodus and Numbers.

[10] The early chapters have been cited three times in the last sixty years of general conference: Carlos E. Asay, “Salt of the Earth: Savor of Men and Saviors of Men,” Ensign, May 1980, 42ff. (Leviticus 2:13); Neal A. Maxwell, “Repentance,” Ensign, November 1991, 31ff.; (Leviticus 6:4); Russell M. Nelson, “The Atonement,” Ensign November 1996, 36ff. (Leviticus 5:18). The book of Leviticus has not been covered in Gospel Doctrine classes in Sunday School for years. In fact, the only mention of Leviticus in the Church’s Sunday curriculum is in a casual reference in Lesson 2 of Duties and Blessings of the Priesthood: Basic Manual for Priesthood Holders, Part A (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2000), 9–15 and a mention in the Primary song “The Books in the Old Testament,” Children’s Songbook (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989), 114–15.

[11] For the Hebrew Bible, I have used K. Elliger and W. Rudolph, eds., Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 5th ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997). For the Greek New Testament, I have used Kurt Aland, ed., Novum Testamentum Graecae, 26th ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983). For the Septuagint, I have used Alfred Rahlfs, ed., Septuaginta (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1979). For Targum Onqelos and Targum Jonathan, I have used Alexander Sperber, ed., The Bible in Aramaic (Leiden: Brill, 2004). For the Peshitta, I have used (London: United Bible Societies, 1979). For Josephus, I have used Benedictus Niese, ed., Flavii Iosephi Opera (Berlin: Weidmann, 1887–92), but the numbering is the same as the Loeb edition and the Greek text is essentially the same.

[12] The exact location is “rather vague and undefined” Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978), 184.

[13] It is tempting to connect this to Jesus’s ὥρα in John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1.

[14] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958), 906; cf. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London: Oxford University Press, 1907), 953.

[15] Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (New York: Judaica Press, 1971), 1486.

[16] William Jennings, Lexicon to the Syriac New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927), 210; J. Payne Smith, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press), 545.

[17] . Koehler and Baungartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti, 661; Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 702; Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, 1000–1001.

[18] Jastrow, Dictionary of the Targumim, 1000.

[19] According to Josephus (Antiquities III 226–227) the blood was drenched in a circle around the altar: σϕαγέντων δὲ τούτων τὸν κύκλον τῷ αἵματι δεύουσι τοῦ βωμοῦ οἱ ἱερεῖς.

[20] Josephus, Antiquities III.227: τὰς δορὰς τῶν ἱερέων λαμβανόντων.

[21] Josephus, Antiquities III.230: θύουσι δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτάδων.

[22] Textual variant found in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1977), 161.

[23] Josephus, Antiquities III.231.

[24] Josephus, Antiquities III.232 describes it as ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτὼν μὲν αὑτῷ δὲ συνειδὼς καὶ μηδένα ἔχων τὸν ἐξελέγχοντα.

[25] There is clearly a connection between the thoughts of these two clauses, so I have adopted the reading γὰρ attested in א (fourth century), D (fifth century), even though it is not the preferred reading.

[26] The reading of ὅσα of manuscripts A (fifth century), 065 (sixth century), 0250 (eighth century), Ψ (eighth to ninth century), Θ (ninth century), and M (the majority of the manuscripts) is to be preferred to that of ἃ of p66 (third century), א (fourth century) D (fifth century), L (eighth century), 565 (ninth century), 1 (twelfth century), and f13 (thirteenth century).

[27] Matthew 3:12; 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9; compare Matthew 5:3, 10, 19–20; 7:21; 8:11, 11:11–12; 12:28; 13:11, 24, 31, 33, 44, 45, 47, 52; 16:19; 18:1, 3, 23; 19:12, 14, 23–24; 20:1; 21:31, 43; 22:2; 23:13; 25:1; Mark 1:15; 4:11, 26, 30; 9:1, 47; 10:14–15, 23–25; 12:34; 14:25; 15:43; Luke 4:43; 6:20; 7:28; 8:1, 10; 9:2, 11, 27, 60, 62; 10:9; 11:20; 13:18, 20, 28–29; 14:15; 16:16; 17:20–21; 18:16–17, 24–25, 29; 19:11; 21:31; 22:16; 25:51; John 3:3, 5.

[28] Although it is clearly quoted messianically in Matthew 8:17; Luke 22:37; John 12:38; Acts 8:32–33; Romans 10:16; 1 Peter 2:22, 24–25; Revelation 14:5. It is also alluded to in Matthew 12:29; 20:28; 26:28; 27:12, 38; Mark 9:12; 10:45; 14:24, 49, 61; 15:27; Luke 11:22; 23:34; John 1:29; 10:11, 15; 15:13–14; Acts 3:13; Romans 4:24–25; 5:1, 15, 19; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:5; Revelation 5:6, 9.