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"The Elementary Teachings" Series

Laying On of Hands

Transference in the Bible

Published: April 2021

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Messiah and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in Elohim, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And Elohim permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

Table of Contents

Laying Hands On the Head of an Animal

Messiah Yahusha Laid Hands on People to Heal Them

Laying on of Hands for Ordination

Summary

The laying on of hands is one of those teachings in the Bible which are simple, basic actions done by priests and apostles, and therefore Hebrews calls it one of the elementary teachings about Messiah.  The purpose of it can sometimes be elusive.  So we will dig into the Word and learn to understand what this is all about.

Laying Hands On the Head of an Animal

This first instance of laying hands on something is found in the Torah in Exodus 29:10-20.  This is being done in the context of ordaining the priests for their ministry.

"Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting, and Aharon and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. You shall slaughter the bull before Yahuwah at the doorway of the tent of meeting. You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put [it] on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and offer them up in smoke on the altar. But the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

You shall also take the one ram, and Aharon and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; and you shall slaughter the ram and shall take its blood and sprinkle it around on the altar. Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put [them] with its pieces and its head. You shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to Yahuwah: it is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahuwah. Then you shall take the other ram, and Aharon and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram. You shall slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put [it] on the lobe of Aharon's right ear and on the lobes of his sons' right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the [rest of the] blood around on the altar.

The laying on of hands is a symbolic representation of the transference of the sins of Aharon and his sons to this bull.  It is then slaughtered and its blood offered on the alter. And hereby, atonement is made for the sinner, allowing him access to the presence of Elohim.

This transference is described more clearly in the Day of the Atonements ritual as recorded in Vayiqra/Leviticus 16.  After making atonement for himself by the offering of the bull, Aharon brings the two goats before Yahuwah.  One is selected for sacrifice to make atonement for the people and to cleanse the alter.  Then the goat selected "for Azazel" is taken.

When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aharon shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send [it] away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who [stands] in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.  Vayiqra/Leviticus 16:20-22

When Aharon lays both hands on this goat, he confesses all the sins of the people and transfers those sins to the goat.  And, as it is written, the goat bears on itself all their iniquities.

This, then, would be the purpose and symbolism of laying hands on the goat.  It's about transference.  Transference is such a fundamental concept in the theology of atonement that not to understand it would completely wreck our understanding of what Elohim has been doing for his people all throughout history.

It is by this principle of transference that we can understand why Messiah had to die for us on the tree, and how we receive forgiveness of sin by Messiah's death.  He was that Lamb of God upon whom the sins of the people were transferred so that he could bear them on himself as he hung on the tree.

Messiah Yahusha Laid Hands on People to Heal Them

When Yahusha laid his hands on people, it was not to transfer sin to them.  Quite the opposite, it was to transfer his own healing power onto them.

One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; [please] come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live."  Matthew 19:22-23

Here, it was known that this was a method Messiah used to heal people.  He laid his hands upon them and declared their healing.

Mark's gospel account concludes with a quote from Yahusha who told his disciples,

"These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly [poison], it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  Mark 16:17-18

So, this is exactly what the apostles did.  They laid hands on people and those ones got well because of the transference of healing to their bodies.

Ananias was told to lay his hands on Sha'ul (Paul) to heal him of his blindness:

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord [said] to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight."  Acts 9:10-12

The disciples regularly used this method to heal the sick.

Laying on of Hands for Ordination

Another reason for laying on of hands was for ordination. We saw in Aharon's ordination that he washed, among other things, to qualify as clean to serve as High Priest.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of Elohim and of Messiah Yahusha and of [His] chosen angels, to maintain these [principles] without bias, doing nothing in a [spirit of] partiality. Do not lay hands upon anyone [too] hastily and thereby share [responsibility for] the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.  1 Timothy 5:21-22

As part of the act of recognizing an individual's called into a particular ministry, the apostles would lay their hands on that person as a formal declaration of "ordination." So Paul warns Timothy not to do this too quickly, but to be sure that the person being placed into that ministry role is truly ready and qualified to do the task.

Summary

Laying on of Hands is one of the fundamental and elementary teachings of Scripture.  It was a method for transference of sins, for healing of the sick, and for ordination into the ministry.  As such, we should understand when and how and why we lay hands on people.

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