22:21 If a man presents a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord for a special votive offering42 or for a freewill offering from the herd or the flock, it must be flawless to be acceptable;43 it must have no flaw.44
tn The meaning of the expression לְפַלֵּא־נֶדֶר (léfalle’-neder) rendered here “for a special votive offering” is much debated. Some take it as an expression for fulfilling a vow, “to fulfill a vow” (e.g., HALOT927–28s.v.פלא piel and NASB; cf. NAB, NRSV “in fulfillment of a vow”) or, alternatively, “to make a vow” or “for making a vow” (HALOT928s.v.פלא piel [II פלא]). Perhaps it refers to the making a special vow, from the verb פָלַא (pala’, “to be wonderful, to be remarkable”); cf. J. Milgrom, Numbers (JPSTC), 44. B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 151 and 193, suggests that this is a special term for “setting aside a votive offering” (related to פָלָה [palah, “to set aside”]). In general, the point of the expression seems to be that this sacrifice arises as a special gift to God out of special circumstances in the life of the worshiper.
43
tnHeb “for acceptance”; NAB “if it is to find acceptance.”