WG: Laying On of Hands (Sacrificial Identification and Transfer)
Overview
The laying-on-of-hands concept in Hebrew Scripture involves a fixed vocabulary cluster appearing together in sacrificial and commissioning contexts. The core gesture (samak) connects with the body parts involved (yad, rosh), the subsequent ritual actions (shachat), and the offering types it applies to (chattaah, olah). A near-synonym (tamak) covers the sustaining sense that overlaps with samak's secondary meaning.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occurrences |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| H5564 |
סָמַךְ |
samak |
verb |
47 |
The action — to lay (hands), support |
H5564-camak.md |
| H3027 |
יָד |
yad |
noun |
1437 |
The instrument — the hand that is laid |
H3027-yad.md |
| H7218 |
רֹאשׁ |
rosh |
noun |
547 |
The target — the head receiving the hand |
TODO(need H7218 study) |
| H7819 |
שָׁחַט |
shachat |
verb |
70 |
The next step — slaughter following hand-laying |
H7819-shachat.md |
| H2403 |
חַטָּאָה |
chattaah |
noun |
270 |
The offering — sin offering |
H2403-chattaah.md |
| H5930 |
עֹלָה |
olah |
noun |
262 |
The offering — burnt offering |
H5930-olah.md |
| H8551 |
תָּמַךְ |
tamak |
verb |
20 |
Near-synonym — grasp, sustain, hold firm |
TODO(need H8551 study) |
Relationships
Co-occurrence (appear in same verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| samak (H5564) |
yad (H3027) |
25 |
"lay his hand" — the fixed formula |
| samak (H5564) |
rosh (H7218) |
18 |
"upon the head" — target of the gesture |
| samak (H5564) |
shachat (H7819) |
8 |
"lay hand... and kill" — the sacrificial sequence |
| samak (H5564) |
chattaah (H2403) |
7 |
"sin offering" — offering type receiving the hand |
| samak (H5564) |
olah (H5930) |
6 |
"burnt offering" — offering type receiving the hand |
| yad (H3027) |
rosh (H7218) |
51 |
"hand upon the head" — the full gesture |
| chattaah (H2403) |
olah (H5930) |
47 |
paired offering types in sacrificial law |
| shachat (H7819) |
olah (H5930) |
13 |
"kill... burnt offering" — slaughter follows |
| shachat (H7819) |
chattaah (H2403) |
12 |
"kill... sin offering" — slaughter follows |
LXX Overlaps
| Hebrew Words |
Shared Greek |
Notes |
| samak + shachat |
ἐπιτίθημι (G2007) |
Both appear in LXX samak verses; epitithemi handles the "lay" action |
| samak + yad |
χείρ (G5495) |
Greek cheir (hand) co-translates with epitithemi as the NT hand-laying formula |
| olah + chattaah |
ὁλοκαύτωμα (G3646) |
Both offering terms co-occur with holokautoma in LXX sacrificial passages |
Roles in the Concept
- Action: samak (סָמַךְ) — the deliberate pressing/laying of hands
- Instrument: yad (יָד) — the hand(s) performing the act
- Target: rosh (רֹאשׁ) — the head of the animal/person receiving the gesture
- Sequel: shachat (שָׁחַט) — the slaughter that immediately follows hand-laying
- Context (sin): chattaah (חַטָּאָה) — the sin offering requiring hand-laying
- Context (whole): olah (עֹלָה) — the burnt offering requiring hand-laying
- Near-synonym: tamak (תָּמַךְ) — grasping/sustaining; overlaps with samak's secondary "uphold" sense but lacks the ritual hand-laying usage
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- Lev 4:24 — [samak + yad + rosh + shachat + chattaah + olah] — "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering"
- Lev 4:29 — [samak + yad + rosh + shachat + chattaah + olah] — "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering"
- Lev 4:33 — [samak + yad + rosh + shachat + chattaah + olah] — "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering"
- Lev 1:4 — [samak + yad + rosh + olah] — "And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement"
- Lev 8:14 — [samak + yad + rosh + chattaah] — "And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering"
- Lev 16:21 — [samak + yad + rosh + chattaah] — "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities"
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py, search_strongs.py, co-occurrence queries
Last updated: 2026-05-05