Leviticus 5:8

Lev 5:8 And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer [that] which [is] for the sin offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide [it] asunder:

Ver. 8. For the sin offering first.] For till sin be expiated, no sacrifice or service can be accepted. Therefore "Wash you, cleanse you," and then, "Come, and let us reason." {Isa 1:16-18}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 8. But shall not divide it] See Clarke on Le 1:16.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(8) And wring off his head.—For the manner in which this was performed see Lev_1:15. It will be seen that it is here distinctly ordered that in this operation the head of the bird is not to be severed from its body. Herein it differed from the burnt offering in Lev_1:15. At the time of the second Temple, the priest went to the south-west horn of the altar, held the two feet of the bird between two fingers, and the two wings between two fingers, stretched out the neck of the victim to the breadth of his two fingers, and cut it with the nail of his thumb, breaking open the great blood-vessel at the neck.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. and wring off] as in Lev_1:15. It has been thought that the last clause of the v. refers still to the neck, indicating that in this case the head of the bird was not to be wholly separated from the body. But it seems better to take that clause to have the same reference as in Lev_1:17, and to mean that the body was not to be divided.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he shall bring them unto the priest,.... Either two turtledoves, or two young pigeons:

who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first; that which is chosen for it, as the Targum of Jonathan; and this choice was made, not by the priest, but by the man that brought the offering, who separated it, and said, lo, this is a sin offering, and after that said, lo, this is a burnt offering (a); the sin offering was offered first, which was to make atonement for sin, and then the burnt offering, to denote the divine acceptance of it; and so Ben Gersom observes, it was proper to offer the sin offering first, to atone for his sin, that after he (God) was appeased this way, he might receive his gift; for the burnt offering was as a gift. Jarchi compares it to an advocate, who first goes in to appease, and when he has appeased, the gift goes in after him:

and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder: be it a turtledove or a young pigeon, so it was to be served; the head was not to be separated from the body, but was nipped by the nail of the priest "in" the neck, as it might be rendered (b); over against the neck, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render it; the hinder part, or what is behind the throat, as Jarchi and Ben Molech interpret it; so that the part which was nipped was the neck; and this nip was made so large, as that the blood was let out by it, as appears from the following verse Lev 5:9, and yet the head was not divided from the body; the head hung by a piece of skin on the back part; of the manner of performing this, and the mystery of it; see Gill on Lev 1:15.

(a) Ib. (Maimon & Bratenora) in Misn. Zebachim, c. 10. sect. 4. (b) Vid. Noldium, p. 611. No. 1637.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8. The sin offering first — This direction is important, as it determines the order of the sacrifices. See Introduction, (5.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

והקריב את אשר לחטאת ראשונה AND HE SHALL OFFER THAT WHICH IS FOR A SIN-OFFERING FIRST — This verse establishes the general rule that the sin-offering is always sacrificed before the burnt-offering. — To what may this be compared? To the case of an advocate (in our case the חטאת) who went in to the king to obtain pardon for his client. When the advocate has gained that pardon, then the present (עולה) is brought in after him (Zevachim 7b).

ולא יבדיל [AND HE SHALL NIP ITS HEAD …] BUT SHALL NOT SEPARATE IT — i.e. he nips only one organ (either the gullet or the windpipe) (Chullin 21a).

עורף is the surface of the head which slopes down towards the neck);

‎‏מול עורף is the part bordering on it which sees the עורף (the part next to the עורף and within sight of it) — that is, the length of the whole back of the throat (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Chovah, Chapter 18 7: Chullin 19b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.