Leviticus 4:15

“And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord, etc.] These must be two at least, some say three, and some say five f103; the more generally received notion is, that they were three of the sanhedrim f104; though the Targum of Jonathan makes them to be the twelve rulers of the twelve tribes: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord; in the court near the altar of burnt offering, either by a priest, or Levite, or by a butcher, as the above Targum expresses it. Ver. 16-21. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood, etc.] That is, the chief priest, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan explain it: to the…”

“In this case the imposition of hands is performed by the elders in behalf of the nation. But in other respects the rites were performed by the high priest in the same manner as in the sin-offering for himself. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The elders - Who here acted in the name of all the people, who could not possibly perform this act in their own persons. Leviticus 4:17”

“4:15 The Hebrew term for elders is related to the word for beard. It implies mature but not necessarily elderly individuals. They were leaders of the community—typically, heads of families and tribes (cp. Exod 18:21-26; Deut 22:15-19). For this offering, the elders represented the entire people, as they would later in anointing David as king (2 Sam 5:3).”

“the elders: Exo 24:1, Exo 24:9; Num 11:16, Num 11:25; Deu 21:3-9 lay: Lev 4:4, Lev 1:4, Lev 16:21 Leviticus 4:16”