Chapter Five
Rules Regarding Sin Offerings for Specific Offenses
5:1 “If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity;
God then gives Moses instructions regarding four specific offenses, often referred to as sins of omission, each having the same protocol required for forgiveness. While these offerings are very different than the sin offerings outlined in the previous chapter, they are also in response to unintentional sins and are therefore considered sin offerings.
The first offense mentioned involves someone who witnessed something and then essentially refuses to testify. The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘adjuration’, is ā·lā(h)’,[1] meaning an oath or sworn covenant, usually translated as an oath.[2] The sin that was committed would be the refusal to take an oath (similar to an oath in a court of law today). Today someone might call that withholding evidence. The phrase, “he shall bear his iniquity” would refer to the person being punished by God. So how can that offense be classified as an unintentional sin? The person made a mistake in deciding not to testify. Perhaps based on fear, wishing to remain uninvolved, or lack of self-confidence, the reason does not matter, an error in judgment was made. Once the person recognized that they made an error, this procedure would be required for forgiveness from God.
5:2 or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; 3 or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and realizes his guilt;
The second and third scenarios are similar, both regarding coming in contact with something or someone unclean. The regulations pertaining to cleanliness and what defines something as being unclean will be given in detail later in chapters 11-15. Since it is possible that someone can touch something unclean (not visibly noticed, that is why tombs, etc. were later white washed, see Numbers 19:16; Matthew 23:27), one may have inadvertently touched something that would cause them to be ceremonially unclean (unfit to participate in any of the holy days or feasts).
5:4 or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these;
The fourth and final situation in this section is about thoughtless speech, especially in taking or uttering an oath, regardless if stated to do good or to do evil. When the person became aware of their careless declaration (possibly once they cooled down after an emotional response), they needed to seek forgiveness.
5:5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
The process for forgiveness began with the confession of their sins, the recognition that they did something wrong. Then depending on what the offending person could afford, there were three types of sin offerings permitted for the pursuit of forgiveness for any of these four sins. The first involved using a female lamb (sheep) or goat for their sin offering. The priest was to make atonement for the sin, undoubtedly following the same basic procedure outlined in the previous chapter (see verses 22-35).
5:7 “But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering. He shall wring its head from its neck but shall not sever it completely, 9 and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering. 10 Then he shall offer the second for a burnt offering according to the rule. And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
If they could not afford a lamb from the flock, they could offer either two turtledoves or two pigeons, one bird served as a sin offering and the other bird was to be used as a burnt offering.
5:11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, on the LORD’s food offerings; it is a sin offering. 13 Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven. And the remainder shall be for the priest, as in the grain offering.”
Since all sin requires atonement for forgiveness, another level for those who could not afford either two turtledoves or two pigeons, was necessary. An ephah of flour was to be offered without any oil or frankincense added (like a grain offering, see Leviticus chapter two).[3] Once received by a priest, he is to take a handful of the flour and use it as a memorial portion[4] and burn it on the bronze altar. The remainder was to be for the priests to consume, just like the flour in a grain offering (see Leviticus chapter two).
Remember, the forgiveness offered freely by God today comes only after Jesus paid the price for all of mankind’s sins with His blood. Paul would further remind all Christians, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NLT)
Considerations
The sin offering was often required prior to any other sacrifice, as the person who committed the sin must be atoned for first. This allowed fellowship with God to be restored before any additional offering, such as a burnt offering, could be accepted. The burnt offering was often the first act of worship after forgiveness was obtained through the sin offering. While not necessarily required by God, a related practice of seeking God’s forgiveness first, before worshiping or praying, through the confession of sins, is still common today by many Christians. Why? The apostle John probably said it best, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10) If you extend your hands to God, wouldn’t you want to clean them first?
Rules Regarding Guilt Offerings
5:14 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.
The subject changes once again at the transition in the text, “YHWH spoke to Moses,” introducing the Guilt Offering. The discussion of the sin offering, and the guilt offering are grouped separately from the burnt, grain, and peace offerings as they both deal with specific sins. There has been a significant amount of debate as to the differences between the sin and guilt offerings, however, it seems clear in the text that the major difference is the need for compensation.
This compensation applied both to indebtedness incurred by mistreatment of one’s fellow man and for the improper treatment of one of God’s “holy things.”[5]
The Hebrew word translated here in verse 15 as ‘compensation’, is ‘ǎšām’,[6] an expression of guilt or offense, the word is most often translated as ‘guilt’ as it is later translated in the same verse.
When someone is unfaithful to God by unintentionally defiling something that is holy to Him (essentially an act against God), they shall bring a ram without blemish from the flock, one that has sufficient value based on the shekel of the sanctuary.[7] The New Living Translation renders the last half of verse 15, “The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.” (Leviticus 5:15b, NLT)
In addition to the ram, the person seeking forgiveness was also to add a fifth of its value in silver as restitution and give the silver and the ram to the priest, who will make atonement for the person.
5:17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the LORD.”
This segment concerns sins that were unintentionally committed out of ignorance or by accident, often regarding protocols that were either inadvertently omitted or forgotten. The primary difference is the lack of the additional twenty percent restitution.
Considerations
Chapter and verse divisions were not part of any original writing of Scripture. Through the years there have been several methods suggested, most were minimally embraced. The Geneva Bible published in 1560 was the first English Bible to include division by both chapter and verse. Shortly afterwards, the scheme used by the Geneva Bible publishers was considered the standard method of chapter and verse breakdown. However, not all numbering schemes are the same, even today.
This was especially significant for the Old Testament, which had a much longer history consisting of many Jewish traditions. One of those traditions was to include the text found in most English Bibles in Leviticus 6:1-7, to be appended to the end of chapter five (creating verses 20-26, allowing the subject of guilt offerings to be the only subject in chapter five), thus making Leviticus 6:8-30 in Christian Bibles to be identified in most Jewish publications as Leviticus 6:1-23 (verse 23 being the end of the chapter, allowing chapter seven to remain unchanged).
There are several variations of the Bible today, not just in chapter and verse locations, but also in which books should be included (known as the Canon, a term which refers to a standard),[8] the names and order of the books, as well as many variations in translations.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 423.
[2] This word sounds similar to the word meaning to ascend or go up, see commentary under Genesis 35:9-15, this word is spelled differently and is not related to that word.
[3] See also Considerations under Genesis 18:16-21 regarding an ephah.
[4] See commentary under Leviticus 2:1-3.
[5] Rooker, M. F. (2000). Leviticus (Vol. 3A, p. 122). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 817.
[7] See commentary under Exodus 30:13.
[8] See Considerations under Genesis 1:1 regarding the Septuagint and Genesis 5:28-32 regarding Enoch the Prophet for more information about the Canon.