Intertextuality Pair

Psalm 51:16-17 → Leviticus 1:4

Allusion

Later text

Psalm 51:16-17BSB

For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Earlier text

Leviticus 1:4BSB

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.

Significance

Leviticus 1:4 prescribes hand-laying (סָמַךְ, samakh) on the burnt offering's head to effect כַּפָּרָה (kapparah, "atonement"), establishing the sacrificial mechanism for restoring the sinner's standing before God. Psalm 51:16-17, written from David's post-adultery crisis, declares that God does not delight in זֶבַח (zevach, "sacrifice") or עוֹלָה (olah, "burnt offering"), but instead accepts a "broken and contrite heart" (לֵב נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה). David does not reject the Levitical system but recognizes that no prescribed offering covers his sin of deliberate murder and adultery — the system has limits that only divine mercy can transcend. The contrast exposes a tension between ritual mechanism and heart condition that the Levitical code itself cannot resolve.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Contrast + Longitudinal Theme

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