Translation & sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 3 Apr 2016
· Two weeks ago, I introduced chapter 4 of Leviticus which outlines the Hottot – Sin offerings.
o These offerings were for sins committed בִשְׁגָגָה from the Hebrew root meaning “stray, stagger, sin,” (So it’s translated NIV=unintentionally, KJV=through ignorance, ASV=unwittingly, K&D=by mistake or accident, or through ignorance or carelessness)
· This is a crucial concept being introduced here for the first time in Leviticus: not only is sin in EVERY PERSON culpable, but EVERY SIN is culpable, whether it was done intentionally or not. Even if you thought you were doing right or if the sin was accidental, your sin still needs atonement.
o God does not have a “good-old-boy” approach to sin, like most people think. He doesn’t say, “Well, so-and-so has been pretty good; he hasn’t done too many bad things, I’ll let him go this time.”
o He doesn’t say, “Well, she didn’t realize it was a sin, so it’s o.k.” NO! One minor infraction of God’s law is enough to damn a soul forever. Just one, that’s all it takes.
o You took a swipe of icing off the cake after Mom said to leave it alone? That’s it; you’re guilty as sin before God.
o We can’t take sin lightly. It must not be winked at and laughed about. It must not be flirted with. It must not be passed off as “boys will be boys.” NO! Every sin must be abhorred and atoned for by the blood of the lamb. The only other alternative is an eternity burning in hell.
· In my earlier sermon, I focused on the overall process repeated several times in Leviticus 4 for dealing with inadvertent sin, namely to confess the sin, to seek God’s forgiveness of the sin, and then to trust that God has taken away the guilt of your sin and will not punish you for it.
· We also saw how Jesus is the fulfillment of this kind of sacrifice (e.g. 2 Cor. 5:21).
· This week I want to wrap up Leviticus 4 by paying attention to the four different situations addressed in Leviticus 4 which occasion the sin offering. They are laid out in order of rank in the Israelite social structure. The first rank to be addressed is the priest, the congregation is next, then the prince and the individual person.
4:3 “If the anointed priest shall sin to the guilt of the people, he shall then offer upon his sin which he sinned a perfect young bull – a son of the herd – to Yahweh as a sin-offering.” (NAW)
· “The anointed priest” הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ is generally considered to be the high priest.
· יֶחֱטָא לְאַשְׁמַת הָעָם “shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people” KJV= “shall sin according to the sin of the people.” The word “guilt” in the Hebrew text is a noun, not a verb, so that’s why I rendered it “to the guilt of the people.” But despite the differences in translation, the link between the priest and the people is evident.
o To sin is to miss the mark of absolute perfection held out in the law of God. The priest’s sin spoken of here would be one done in his official position as a high priest, such as giving a wrong decision in a court case. (K&D)
o “The sin of the high priest is more serious because he is supposed to know the Torah thoroughly. As such he had to bring a bull, not a lamb or a goat, because it was the most valuable.” (Ibn Ezra)
o However, if the high priest sinned in any way, he rendered all the people guilty because he was no longer qualified to atone for them. (Rashi)
o That is why we need Jesus. No high priest was ever able to be sinless, as the author of Hebrews points out (7:27); they all had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. Not so with Jesus; He lived a perfect life and laid His own body down as the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of the people.
· וְהִקְרִיב עַל חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא lit. “he shall offer upon his sin which he sinned” The preposition “upon” is generally rendered “for” in English translations, but I think that the original word paints the picture more vividly that this offering is to cover over sin. And the sin is not some vague concept, it is underscored by repetition that this sin is his own sin – “his sin which he sinned.” I think the NIV is remiss in overlooking this repetition. When we sin, we need to clearly acknowledge our fault before God, not gloss over it or try to blame it on somebody else.
· Later on in Leviticus 10, Aaron and his two younger sons goofed up the sin offering, apparently because God had just struck Aaron’s two older sons dead and Aaron and his two younger sons were pretty shaken up by that. They ended up burning the sin offering outside the camp instead of serving it as a feast in the temple as God had commanded. Moses calls Aaron on the carpet, and Aaron had to acknowledge that he had done something irregular.
· When the priest sinned he didn’t get to eat the meat of his own sacrificial animal, but when other individuals sinned, the priest was able to eat the meat of their sin offerings.
· I suppose an inadvertent sin for me in my official capacity as a pastor would be when I realized last Sunday afternoon that I had forgotten to pray for the ministry featured in the PowerPoint slide or for the persecuted church featured in the bulletin when I led the pastoral prayer during the worship service that morning. I didn’t purposefully leave them out, I just forgot; nevertheless that resulted in less prayer and attention drawn to worthy causes. I’m sorry for being negligent in that.
· I suspect, however that this is speaking of more serious sins where a leader actually leads other people astray spiritually, like when Aaron made a golden idol shaped like a calf back at Mount Sinai and encouraged the people of Israel to worship it. The Bible does not record any animal sacrifice offered for that sin, but it does describe the wrath of God coming against the people and killing thousands of them.
· שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים “seven times” The root meaning of the Hebrew word for “seven” means to be satiated or filled. The seven sprinklings indicate a fullness or completion of something. This may be interpreted as symbolizing the restoration of the covenant relationship after it had been broken by the sin of the anointed priest (K&D). Only after this restoration of the relationship is the blood of the sacrifice applied to the altar.
· פָּרֹכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ It was this dividing curtain that ripped in half when Jesus died, forever opening access between man and God and forever annulling any further sacrifices!
· The sprinkling was done facing the ark of the covenant itself, although it could not be seen through the curtain. This was a special and sacred ceremony, but it is not as removed from modern-day Christian experience as you might think. We do much the same thing when we pray. We are always in God’s presence, but when we pray, we come before God as a priest (1 Peter 2:9) before the mercy seat – the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:15-16, 10:19), seeking restoration of the covenant relationship that we have broken ourselves through our sin. When we confess our sin to God and ask Him to forgive us on account of the blood of Jesus, our relationship with God is perfectly restored and we are able to fully minister to the needs of others in turn.
4:13-14 “Now, if the whole assembly of Israel shall stray... and then the sin which they sinned against themselves is made known, then the congregation shall offer a young bull, a son of the herd for a sin-offering...” (NAW)
· Now there is some debate as to the meaning of the two words in verse 13: ‘adah (which I translated “assembly”) and qohel (which I translated “congregation”).
o Some take the latter to describe the plurality of individuals who are in the government[1],
o and others, such as the NIV see it as two synonyms for the same thing (the community),
o but I don’t think it is necessary to get dragged into that debate. Either way this is talking about a shared sense of guilt that is broadly distributed over many individuals – even over a whole nation.
· On Nov 16, 2011, the following statement was issued to a council of American Indian chiefs along with a live bison given as a gift, “...I, Sam Brownback, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF KANSAS... apologize... on behalf of the people of Kansas to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, deception and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples, and resolve... to move forward with the recognized tribes in a positive and constructive relationship that will help us fairly and effectively resolve differences to achieve our mutual goals and harmoniously steward and protect this land we call Kansas.”
o Did Governor Brownback run those people off their lands and break promises to them? No. Did “we the people,” whose taxes bought that bison, deceive and maltreat those people? No. Then why apologize and give a gift? Whether or not you agree with what Governor Brownback did, here is an example of a corporate confession. At least in the eyes of many tribes, white Americans have become guilty in the past as a people for breaking treaties, taking advantage of them, and not apologizing or making restitution. To confess this to them and offer a step of restitution is a way of beginning to deal with the offenses that are attached to us corporately.
o Are there any other offenses which attach to us as a nation or us as a state – or to us as a church – or to you as a family – that likely loom in someone else’s mind every time they see you? Maybe, for instance, it is an international student from a certain part of the world affected by an American foreign policy that makes them struggle.
· Individualism is as American as apple pie, so it’s hard for us to grasp the corporate way of thinking that is being described here. But is a Biblical concept:
o “Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – you and hour house.” (Acts 16:31) Wait, if I believe, then I can understand why I’d be saved, but my house too? Here is another application of corporate identification. Not only does your faith impact your immediate family members, it also affects everyone who steps into your home: baby sitters, music teachers, contract laborers, maids, guests – everybody.
o Paul also said that a believing parent makes their unbelieving spouse and children holy if the believing spouse will remain part of the household (1 Cor. 7:14). Now, I don’t think this should be interpreted as automatic ticket to heaven for everybody that darkens your door; having people in your household saved is going to depend on the Holy Spirit regenerating them and you being faithful to share the Gospel with them,
o but my point is that we Americans can grow in our awareness of how God associates us together with the people in our homes, with the people in our church and the people in our social circles, with our business partners, and with our larger communities, with our nation, and even with all Christians all over the world.
o Remember that God’s word also tells us that we are mystically joined together as fellow-Christians to one another. In Hebrews 13:3, we are told to “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (KJV). And 1 Corinthians 12:20 reminds us that “…there are many parts, yet one body.… If one member suffers, all suffer together” (ESV)
· Now, how do we apply that corporate mindset to dealing with sin that is attached to one of our social circles?
· The prophet Daniel gives us a good example – outside of the sacrifical system – of how to confess corporate sin. While a political leader of the Jews in exile in Babylon, Daniel prayed, “O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee...” (Daniel 9:4-13, KJV)
o There is an example of an individual taking unilateral action to seek forgiveness in prayer for a whole nation of people.
o You may be able to think of sins which you personally are not guilty of, but that you know are practiced and even protected by law in our country (like abortion) or our city (like the promotion of unbiblical gender identities and sexual orientations), and pray like Daniel prayed.
o Now, I don’t think you need to spend every waking minute introspectively soul-searching for every sin your great great grand-cousin twice removed might have done, but certainly you can ask God to prompt you, “Lord, is there something that you would like me to intercede for on behalf of my people that needs to be made right?” And He will probably give you an idea or two, and you can focus on those.
· So you can ask God in private prayer to have mercy and bring repentance and spare our community or our nation as a whole from the consequences of these sins. But check this out:
o In 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV), God promises, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” The word for “people” there is עַמ, which is not the plural of “person” (as in “one person, many people”), but rather the singular for an “ethnic group” or “race.” In other words, God isn’t saying, “If each individual Christian prays and gets right with me,” but rather, “If my group of people prays... I will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
o Furthermore, Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6 – “Forgive us our debts.” This is not an individual prayer (“Forgive me”); this is a corporate prayer (“Forgive us”).
o In order to see corporate prayer and corporate confession take place, we can seek to draw fellow believers to pray together, whether it be as a household or in home prayer meetings, or even in larger gatherings. There is, in fact, another city-wide prayer movement in the planning stages, and I will try to keep you informed as the details develop. But meanwhile, think about drawing your own believing friends and family together to pray.
· Now, we’ve looked at when the priest sins, and when the community sins, now what about when a leader sins?
4:22-23 When a “higher-up” sins in error...and when his sin which he sinned in this regard is made known to him, he shall bring a perfect male kid from the goats as his offering,[2] (NAW)
· I called him a “higher-up” because the Hebrew word nasi literally means “to be high,” but most English versions render it “ruler” or “leader,” and commentaries explain it as a tribal chief, a prince, or sheik[3].
· The phrase, “against Yahweh his God” is not used regarding the anointed priest, or the congregation, or the common people; only of the prince, to show that, though the leader is above other men, God is above him, and he is accountable to God. Yahweh is his God, and it is by God’s permission that the leader is in authority (Rom. 13), and if he breaks any of God’s commandments, even in ignorance, he is accountable.
· Suppose that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton really didn’t think there was anything wrong with routing classified emails out of the federal server system into her own private server. Maybe the convenience of a private system just appealed to her. If it is proved that she acted illegally, what does Leviticus say she should do?
o Wipe the hard drive and deny that she did anything wrong? No.
o The political leader should confess their sin and seek God’s forgiveness, just like everybody else.
o Now, there is an additional factor not brought up here in Leviticus 4, but mentioned in other parts of the law (like Exodus 22), and that is the principle of restitution. Not only does the sin need to be made right with God (which is the focus of Leviticus here), it also needs to be made right with the people who were hurt by your sin.
· Now, notice that the animal offered in sacrifice by the political ruler is not as expensive as the one offered for corporate or priestly sin, yet it is more expensive than the female goat or lamb required to atone for the sin of a common person who is not in a public office.
o Because many people look up to leaders and follow their examples, the sin of a leader is a bigger deal than the sin of someone who is not a leader.
o My oldest son, who studied political science, bought cowboy boots for himself and his brother who is into Kansas politics. Why did he do that? Cowboy boots are something that as adults, neither my grandfather nor my father nor I have ever worn, and yet, Josh and Beni showed up at the dance two Sundays ago in cowboy boots. Why? At least in part it’s because Governor Sam Brownback wears cowboy boots. It’s a Kansan thing to do! That is, of course, neither here nor there morally, but
o there are other behaviors of our political leaders which have serious moral implications. When President Bill Clinton said what the astro-turf in the back of his station wagon was for, it taught my generation to consider fornication as fun rather than as the destructive sin that it is.
· Leaders must be very careful what they promote because people will follow your example, whether it is good or bad.
o The Apostle James wrote: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1, KJV)
o Are you a leader? Perhaps a father or a mother or a teacher in the church or school whose example children follow? Perhaps you have an even larger sphere of authority as a civil officer.
o We must take extra care to live exemplary lives and to shun sin because God holds us responsible for our influence over the lives of others.
· But apart from the fact that the sin of a leader is more serious and more costly, it is not treated differently from the sin offering of a common person, outlined in the last section of this chapter.
o The blood was not carried into the sanctuary, but applied only to the altar of burnt offering,
o and the carcass was not burned up but rather was cooked and eaten by the priests-in-waiting. (The priests were not complicit in this sin, so they could use this animal offered to the LORD as food for themselves.)
· Now, after looking at these categories of corporate and public sin and forgiveness, we reach the fourth and final category of Individual guilt and forgiveness.
4:28-29 “Now, if one soul from among the people of the land sins in error... and when the sin which he sinned is made known to him, then he shall bring a perfect female kid from the goats as his offering for his sin which he sinned... 32 And, if it is a lamb that he brings as his offering for sin, let him bring a perfect female...” (NAW)
· We have already covered the case of the individual sinner in the introductory sermon to this chapter, so I won’t belabor the details. Forgiveness is offered to the one who confesses his or her sin, seeks forgiveness from God through Jesus’ death, and trusts in His forgiveness.
· The case of the hardened, unrepentant sinner is something different altogether. Hebrews 10 tells us that “if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment...” (Hebrews 10:26-27, NASB) There is no forgiveness for the one who will not acknowledge or confess his sin and repent from it.
· One consideration that I did not bring up in my previous sermon on this chapter has to do with the difference in handling sins which are relatively private vs. sins which become more publicly known. Should private sin be handled differently from public sin?
o I once attended a church where the unmarried daughter of one of the church officers turned up pregnant. Feeling that she ought to make some kind of apology, she met with the elders of the church and confessed to the sin of fornication with a young man outside of the church. As the baby inside her grew to the point that everyone could see that she was pregnant, one of the elders took the position that this was a public sin and therefore that the young lady needed to make a confession before the whole church.
§ Now, in a small church, she might be able to speak with enough of the people individually that a spotlight in the middle of a worship service might not be necessary,
§ but then again there is nothing wrong with being public about confession of sin. In Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector in the temple, the tax collector was mighty public in confessing sin that probably most people already knew he had committed.
o When everybody knows you have committed a certain sin, it’s good for them to hear you confess it as such, and it helps them join in seeking your restoration.
§ I will never forget when the members of my college church were called to a special meeting. After I got there, I discovered that one of my friends in the choir had arranged the meeting to confess before all the members that he had committed adultery. I might have never known it if he hadn’t arranged that meeting, but the scene of him on his knees before his offended wife begging her not to divorce him branded an important lesson in my memory.
· On the other hand, private sins that may never be widely known can, I believe, be dealt with just between you and God and the other parties affected.
o Do I need to confess the sin of hatred or lust to the person I have hated or lusted after, if they don’t already know that I have been struggling with that sin secretly toward them? That might not be wise.
o However, if that sin keeps coming back up in your heart, then, even if you don’t think it affects anybody (and here you must realize that your private sin affects far more people than you think it does), it is probably time to open your confession of the sin to a wider circle of confidants and get them praying for you and helping you fight and win the battle against that sin. James 5:16 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed...” (NKJV) Do you want to be healed or not?
· “No man is free from sin; all sorts of persons, of all ranks and degrees, high and low, rich and poor, men in office, civil or ecclesiastical, or in whatsoever state of life, are liable to sin, and do sin continually, either ignorantly or willingly; yet Christ is a sacrifice for all sins and for all sorts of sinners.” (John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)
1וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
2 דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר נֶפֶשׁ כִּי-תֶחֱטָא בִשְׁגָגָה מִכֹּל מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵעָשֶׂינָה וְעָשָׂה מֵאַחַת מֵהֵנָּה:
4:1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses to say,
4:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel to say, ‘When anyone shall sin in error from any of the prohibitions of Yahweh that should not be done, and he does one of them:
4:1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses to say:
This is a truncated repetition of 1:1. This introduction indicates a new section (chapters two and three did not start thus). The section being started here is on the Sin Offerings and is laid out in order of rank in the Israelite social structure. The first rank to be addressed is the priest, the congregation is next, then the prince and the individual person.
4:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel to say, ‘When anyone shall sin in error from any of the commands of Yahweh that it should not be done, and he does one of them:
נֶפֶשׁ literally “a soul.” Generally translated “anyone.” The Jewish commentator Ibn Ezra notes that this “anyone” applies to Gentiles, too. It is all-inclusive; sin in any person must be atoned for! God does not allow sin to go unpunished no matter who you are!
תֶחֱטָא “shall sin,” from the Hebrew root meaning “to miss.” The LXX adds “before the Lord” in relation to sin, perhaps to parallel v.4. Although this is theologically true (and quite significant if you think about it!), it is probably an addition to the original text here in v.2.
בִשְׁגָגָה “in error,” (LXX=akousiws, NIV=unintentionally, KJV=through ignorance, ASV=unwittingly, K&D=by mistake or accident, or through ignorance or carelessness) from the Hebrew root meaning “stray, stagger, sin.” This is a crucial concept being introduced here for the first time in Leviticus: not only is sin in EVERY PERSON culpable, but EVERY SIN is culpable, whether it was done intentionally or not. Even if you thought you were doing right or if the sin was accidental, your sin still needs atonement.
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (HAW) shows several instances where this plays out:
We must realize that unintentional sin is a reality in our lives. God wants us to deal not only with the sins we’re obviously aware of but also of the hidden sins. When you confess your sins to God, take extra time in silence to ask God to reveal to you anything else that you might not have thought of. When I do this, I often find that the Spirit brings to mind sins that need to be confessed, but that I never would have thought of otherwise. “Forgive my hidden faults,” David prayed in Psalm 19:12.
HAW also noted that wine/strong drink (Isa. 28:7), strange women (Prov. 5), and bad counsel (I Sam. 26:1, 21) are causes of this kind of sin.
o Now, wine, women, and song are not necessarily bad in themselves – there is a proper time and procedure for every good thing (Eccl. 2:8, 5:18, 8:6, 9:9), but we must set firm boundaries and beware the path that leads down to sin.
o For me, the boundary is one glass of wine – I don’t know if more would make me drunk or not, but that’s a good stopping place for me. Others might stop at two – or not imbibe at all, but setting this kind of boundary to keep from sin is wise.
o Regarding women, I have boundaries like not being alone with a woman (my wife excepted, of course!), taking along my kids when I travel, avoiding magazines and movies that have defraudingly-dressed women in them, and not even touching another woman unless it is for a quick, side-to-side hug in greeting.
o None of this should be construed as God’s word on how to deal with these things, and it would be wrong for me to call it sin when I see other people cross the boundaries I have set for myself, but it is the path of wisdom not to flirt with sin, but to “remove your way far from [the strange woman] and come not night the door of her house” (Prov. 5:8).
o Bad counsel can be difficult to avoid in our media-inundated age, so we must set boundaries here too. I’ve seen how indiscriminate listening to secular music has messed up the thinking of Christian friends, so I generally don’t listen to the radio or watch TV or read newspapers or surf the web, and when I do it is for a limited time for a specific purpose. I try to find Christian sources of news in magazines and email so as to keep my thinking clear and godly.
o Each person needs to decide how to apply this principle of setting boundaries to curb unintentional sins beforehand – it doesn’t work to wait until you are in a compromising situation to think through how to deal with it.
o Have you set boundaries on these things? If you have, are you unjustly judging Christians around you who have not?
מִכֹּל מִצְוֹת lit. “from all commands” KJV uses “against any,” and more modern versions translate it “in [regard to]” but these are not generally what the preposition -m means. Rashi comments that “it is a sin to even disobey one little part ‘from a command’ – such as misspelling a name.” While I’d have trouble with calling spelling a sin, it is true that no less than full obedience to every part of every command of God is demanded by God’s righteousness.
לֹא תֵעָשֶׂינָה lit. “not she should be done” The feminine relates back to the word for “command” and carries through in the feminine “one of them” in the next phrase. ASV and KJV turn this passive verb into an infinitive “not to be done” and the NIV makes a new word “forbidden.” Rashburn comments that this emphasizes the prohibitive commands (i.e. “do not steal” as distinguished from the positive commands like “honor your father and your mother”). Even if we didn’t know that it was prohibited in God’s law, it was a sin. Ignorance is no excuse. If we sin unintentionally and then realize that it was a sin, we must deal immediately with it as a sin. As Adam Clarke says, “He who, when his iniquity comes to his knowledge, refuses to offer such a sacrifice, sins obstinately and willfully…” Take the time to specifically confess any sin in the past that you have not yet dealt with, and receive God’s forgiveness!
מֵאַחַת מֵהֵנָּה lit. “from one from them” (paragogic h- on the pronoun) K&D “and do any one of them.” God does not have a “good-old-boy” approach to sin, like most people think.
That’s what is so wonderful about what Jesus did. God pays attention to sin at a level of detail we cannot even imagine, and so we are all in trouble because we have broken His law, many times without even knowing it. We are all doomed to God’s eternal punishment. Only a totally perfect person could ever satisfy God’s standard of righteousness, and the only totally perfect person was Jesus. Jesus triumphed over sin in His life by totally keeping every aspect of the law of God in the Bible and then offered Himself to receive God’s punishment for sin as a substitute for all of us who have lived lives tainted – or rather totally corrupted – by sin. If we believe in this Jesus, the guilt of our sins is transferred to Jesus, and the perfection of His life is transferred to us, and we no longer have to face God’s punishment for sin! In fact we enter into the fantastic privilege of being God’s children!
Matthew 5:23-24 “If therefore, you are lifting your gift upon the altar, and there you happen to remember that your brother has something against you, let go of your gift right there in front of the altar and start climbing down; first be reconciled to your brother, and then, when you come [back], start offering your gift. (NAW?)
Psalm 19:12-14 Who perceives errors? Aquit me [even] from the hidden ones ! Moreover, restrain your servant from the presumptuous ones; don’t let them rule over me. Then I will have integrity and I will be acquitted from a lot of transgression! May [the] words of my mouth and meditation of my heart exist for the purpose of favor before Your face, Yahweh, my landmark-rock and my redeemer. (NAW)
3אִם הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ יֶחֱטָא לְאַשְׁמַת הָעָם וְהִקְרִיב עַל חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא פַּר בֶּן-בָּקָר תָּמִים לַיהוָה לְחַטָּאת:
4 וְהֵבִיא אֶת-הַפָּר אֶל-פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְסָמַךְ אֶת-יָדוֹ עַל-רֹאשׁ הַפָּר וְשָׁחַט אֶת-הַפָּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה:
5 וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ מִדַּם הַפָּר וְהֵבִיא אֹתוֹ אֶל-אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
6 וְטָבַל הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-אֶצְבָּעוֹ בַּדָּם וְהִזָּה מִן-הַדָּם שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֶת-פְּנֵי פָּרֹכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ:
7 וְנָתַן הַכֹּהֵן מִן-הַדָּם עַל-קַרְנוֹת מִזְבַּח קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְאֵת כָּל-דַּם הַפָּר יִשְׁפֹּךְ אֶל-יְסוֹד מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה אֲשֶׁר-פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
8 וְאֶת-כָּל-חֵלֶב פַּר הַחַטָּאת יָרִים מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת-הַחֵלֶב הַמְכַסֶּה עַל-הַקֶּרֶב וְאֵת כָּל-הַחֵלֶב אֲשֶׁר עַל-הַקֶּרֶב:
9 וְאֵת שְׁתֵּי הַכְּלָיֹת וְאֶת-הַחֵלֶב אֲשֶׁר עֲלֵיהֶן אֲשֶׁר עַל-הַכְּסָלִים וְאֶת-הַיֹּתֶרֶת עַל-הַכָּבֵד עַל-הַכְּלָיוֹת יְסִירֶנָּה:
10 כַּאֲשֶׁר יוּרַם מִשּׁוֹר זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים וְהִקְטִירָם הַכֹּהֵן עַל מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה:
11 וְאֶת-עוֹר הַפָּר וְאֶת-כָּל-בְּשָׂרוֹ עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ וְעַל-כְּרָעָיו וְקִרְבּוֹ וּפִרְשׁוֹ:
12 וְהוֹצִיא אֶת-כָּל-הַפָּר אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה אֶל-מָקוֹם טָהוֹר אֶל-שֶׁפֶךְ הַדֶּשֶׁן וְשָׂרַף אֹתוֹ עַל-עֵצִים בָּאֵשׁ עַל-שֶׁפֶךְ הַדֶּשֶׁן יִשָּׂרֵף: פ
4:3 If the anointed priest shall sin to the guilt of the people, he shall then offer upon his sin which he sinned a perfect young bull – a son of the herd – to Yahweh as a sin-offering.
4:4 He shall bring the young bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting – to the face of Yahweh, and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the young bull, and he shall slaughter the young bull before the face of Yahweh.
4:5 Then the anointed priest shall take from the blood of the young bull, and he shall bring it to the Tent of Meeting.
4:6 Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and he shall sprinkle from the blood seven times before the face of Yahweh – the face of the veil of the holy place.
4:7 Then the priest shall deposit some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense, which is in the Tent of Meeting, before the face of Yahweh. And all the blood of the young bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the whole-burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
4:8 Now, all the fat of the young bull of the sin-offering he shall lift out from it – the fat covering upon the innards with all the fat which is upon the innards,
4:9 and both of the kidneys and the fat which is upon them (which is upon the flanks), and the lobe above the liver with the kidneys, he shall put this aside,
4:10 like that which shall be lifted out from the steer of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the whole-burnt-offering.
4:11 But the hide of the young bull with all its flesh, together with its head and with its legs, also its innards and its dung –
4:12 the entirety of the young bull – he shall bring out to the outside of the camp, to a clean place – to the ash dump, and he shall burn it upon the wood in the fire. Upon the ash dump it shall be burned.
The instructions for sin offerings are first covered in the case of the high priest:
· Ted Haggart was President of the National Association of Evangelicals and I even helped with great mission projects at the mega-church he pastored in the 1990’s, then I heard he had been hiring male prostitutes and using meth. He was whisked out of the pulpit, although he initially denied the allegations. Over time he confessed his sin, and it got picked up quickly in mainstream news because of how hypocritical it made Christians look. He said he never really intended to commit these sins but he just kinda got sucked into them. Four years later he started another church as senior pastor. Now, I don’t know if he was unjustly treated or not, but it raises the issue brought up here in Leviticus; “What if a spiritual leader sins?”
4:3 If the anointed priest shall sin7 to the guilt of the people, he shall then offer8 upon his sin which he sinned9 a perfect young bull - a son of the herd - to Yahweh as a sin-offering.
הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ “The anointed priest” - cf. Lev. 8:12 – the high priest
יֶחֱטָא לְאַשְׁמַת הָעָם lit. “shall sin to guilt the people” ASV, SON, NIV= “shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people” LXX= “shall sin so as to cause the people to sin” KJV= “shall sin according to the sin of the people” The word “guilt” in the Hebrew text is a noun, not a verb, so that’s why I rendered it “to the guilt of the people.” But despite the differences in translation, the link between the priest and the people is evident. To sin is to miss the mark of absolute perfection held out in the law of God. K&D offer that the priest’s sin spoken of here would be one done in his official position as a high priest, such as giving a wrong decision in a court case. The Medieval Jewish commentator Rashi, however notes that if the high priest sins in any way, he renders all the people guilty because he is no longer qualified to atone for them. That is why we need Jesus. No high priest was ever able to be sinless, as the author of Hebrews points out; they all had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. Not so with Jesus; He lived a perfect life and laid His own body down as the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of the people.
וְהִקְרִיב עַל חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא lit. “he shall offer upon his sin which he sinned” The preposition “upon” is generally rendered “for” in English translations (peri in the Septuagint), but I think that the original word paints the picture more vividly that this offering is to cover over sin. And the sin is not some vague concept, it is underscored by repetition that this sin is his own sin – “his sin which he sinned.” I think the NIV is remiss in overlooking this repetition. When we sin, we need to clearly acknowledge our fault before God, not gloss over it or try to blame it on somebody else.
פַּר בֶּן-בָּקָר תָּמִים lit. “a young bull, a son of the herd, perfect” This word פַּר occurs for the first time in Leviticus here, describing a young bull. Jewish commentators Rashi and Maimonides note that this “young bull” was to be about 3 years old, and was to be distinguished from a “calf” which is one year old, and an “ox” which is three years old. This was a highly valuable animal – the most valuable of all the animals required in the sacrificial system. Ibn Ezra comments that “the sin of the high priest is more serious because he is supposed to know the Torah thoroughly. As such he had to bring a bull, not a lamb or a goat, because it was the most valuable.” Are you a leader? Perhaps a father or a mother or a teacher in the church or school whose example children follow? Perhaps you have an even larger sphere of authority as a civil officer. James 3:1 tells us that “teachers … will incur a stricter judgment.” We must take extra care to live exemplary lives and to shun sin because God holds us responsible for our influence over the lives of others. Dear God, I am not equal to this task. Please magnify Your Spirit in me so that such sin may be mitigated in me!
לְחַטָּאת lit. “to a sin” The Syriac and Greek texts render it “for his sins,” but English translations generally render it “for/as a sin offering.” This is the first time in Leviticus the word “sin” is used to describe a class of offerings. The death of this valuable animal was required to cover or atone for the sins of the priest. Adam Clarke further comments:
“It is obviously in reference to these innocent creatures being brought as sin-offerings to God for the guilty that St. Paul alludes in 2 Cor 5:21, where he says, ‘He (God) made him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God’ – holy and pure by the power and grace of God, in or through him. And it is worthy of remark, that the Greek word used by the apostle is the same by which the Septuagint, in more than fourscore places in the Pentateuch, translate the Hebrew word hattaah, sin, which in all those places our translation renders ‘sin-offering.’”
4:4 He shall bring the young bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting - to the face of Yahweh, and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the young bull and he shall slaughter the young bull before the face of Yahweh.
This verse does not introduce any new concepts. This sin offering for the priest was to be prepared in much the same way as the burnt offering of chapter one, except that this was specifically for a young bull.
The Hebrew word for “young bull” is stated three times in this verse. The place of presentation and slaughter, “before the face of Yahweh” is also repeated – stated twice in Hebrew and three times in the Greek Septuagint. Three things are therefore emphasized by repetition:
This was an awesome moment when the eyes of the whole nation were riveted on this simple ceremony performed by their high priest. Nothing else mattered but what he did, what he offered, and the presence of God. Reminds me of the way the world also seems to come to a standstill in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus. Like the high priest of old, He brought His own sacrifice to the altar – not a young bull, but His own body. Jesus brought the sacrifice of His own body as though He had sinned like any other high priest because, although He has no personal guilt before God, He had voluntarily and legally taken upon Himself the guilt of the whole human race. The crucifixion was a grand climax of history where nothing else mattered but Jesus, His death, and the acceptance of His death in the presence of Yahweh.
4:5 Then the anointed priest shall take from the blood of the young bull and he shall bring it to the Tent of Meeting.
Here is where the sin offering departs from the regular burnt offering. Instead of the blood being put upon the altar at this point, the blood is carried into the tabernacle.
4:6 Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and he shall sprinkle from the blood seven times before the face of Yahweh – the face of the veil of the holy place.
וְהִזָּה מִן-הַדָּם “and he shall sprinkle from the blood” This word for “sprinkle” is the first occurrence in Leviticus. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, the previously-used word for “sprinkle” זרק found in 1:5, 1:11, 3:2 and 3:8 seems to indicate a heavier sprinkling done with the whole hand (sometimes translated “pour”) whereas this word נזה is a lighter sprinkling done with a finger. This word generally refers to cleansing from sin to obtain ritual purity (Isa. 52:15, Heb. 9:13, I Pet. 1:2), and is also used in the ordination ceremonies (Lev.8, Ex. 29:21, Num 8:7).
שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים “seven times” The root meaning of the Hebrew word for “seven” means to be satiated or filled. The seven sprinklings indicate a fullness or completion of something. Keil & Delitzsch interpret the action to symbolize the restoration of the covenant relationship after it had been broken by the sin of the anointed priest. Only after this restoration of the relationship could the blood of the sacrifice be applied to the altar.
לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֶת-פְּנֵי “to the face of … to the face of” or “before … before” Notice the repetition of this phrase. This was to be done in the presence of God. The sprinkling took place not only in the presence of God but also within the sanctuary – the holy place of the tabernacle where only the priests could go, between the entrance and the veiled-off ark of the covenant. The sprinkling was done facing the ark of the covenant itself, although it could not be seen through the curtain. This was a special and sacred ceremony, but it is not as removed from modern-day Christian experience as you might think. We do much the same thing when we pray. We are always in God’s presence, but when we pray, we come before God as a priest (1 Peter 2:9) before the mercy seat – the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:15-16, 10:19), seeking restoration of the covenant relationship that we have broken ourselves through our sin. When we confess our sin to God and ask Him to forgive us on account of the blood of Jesus, our relationship with God is perfectly restored and we are able to fully minister to the needs of others in turn.
פָּרֹכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ “the separating curtain of the holy” The word for the veil or curtain is only used of this particular curtain which separated the holy place from the holy of holies where the ark of the covenant stood. The word has a root meaning “to break/separate,” so I have sought to preserve that root meaning in my translation “separating curtain.”
Over the centuries, the heavy curtain inside the temple was stained with the blood of this sprinkling ceremony from hundreds of high priests who had sinned and had to be restored before the gracious face of God before they could offer a sacrifice for the people. However, Jesus did not have to take this step when He offered Himself for our sin. There is no mention of Jesus entering the sanctuary in His lifetime. In fact, the dividing curtain ripped in half when He died, forever bringing man to God and forever annulling any further sacrifices! He now sits in the true heavenly temple as our glorious high priest (Heb. 9)!
4:7 Then the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense, which is in the Tent of Meeting, before the face of Yahweh. And all the blood of the young bull he shall pour out to the base of the altar of the sacrifice for burning up, which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
עַל-קַרְנוֹת מִזְבַּח “upon the horns of the altar” Keil & Delitzsch comment: “The significance of the altar as the scene of the manifestation of the divine grace and salvation culminated in the horns (Ex. 30), as the symbols of power and might.”
קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים lit. “smoke of sweet spices” KJV= “sweet incense,” NAS & NIV= “fragrant incense,” BDB= “incense of spices” The word for “incense” is derived from the hiqtir verb earlier used for burning up a sacrifice in smoke. Exodus 30 describes how the incense was to be made. The blood in this case is smeared onto the horns of the altar of incense in the holy place.
וְאֵת כָּל-דַּם הַפָּר lit. “and all blood of the young bull” The construction of this sentence indicates that this is the start of a new sentence, and it emphasizes “blood” as the subject of this new sentence. It is the first of three verses emphasizing the three parts of this animal that are to be offered upon the altars. The majority of the blood had not been used up in the sprinkling in the holy place or in the smearing on the horns of the altar of incense, so this verse instructs what to do with all the rest of the blood: lit. “he shall pour out to the base of” KJV=the bottom of, Holliday=the foundation wall. This makes it clear that it is speaking of a different altar than that upon which the blood was smeared on the horns. The priest was to take the rest of the blood back out of the holy place to the big altar out front to pour it out and burn the fat and kidneys.
The level of detail which God provides in this verse shows how eminently-involved He is in the details of life on earth. God is not just out there in the heavens disconnected from life on earth; He cares about every little detail of His world, down to which altar should receive the leftover blood. If He pays attention to such little details, will He not pay attention to every detail of your life? On the one hand, it means He will not overlook even the smallest sin in your life, but on the other hand it means God will not overlook the smallest need in your life, either.
4:8 Now, all the fat of the young bull of the sin-offering he shall lift out from it - the fat covering upon the innards with all the fat which is upon the innards,
חֵלֶב “fat” See 3:3. This starts the instructions on the second element to be offered upon the altar.
4:9 and both of the kidneys and the fat which is upon them (which is upon the flanks), and the lobe above the liver with the kidneys, he shall put this aside,
Finally the third of the three items to be offered on the altar is the kidneys and liver. This is an exact repeat of 3:4 (which describes the peace offering).
Why is it that only these three inner parts (blood, fat, and kidneys) are offered on the altar in the case of a sin-offering, and all the rest of the body is burned outside the camp? In commenting upon these Levitical passages, it becomes difficult to know how much symbolism to find in seemingly-mundane actions of preparing and offering sacrifices. Keil and Delitzsch, in keeping with their thesis that the sacrifices are a symbol of offering oneself to God, find the kidneys and inner parts to be a symbol of the “better part or inmost kernel of man. By burning the fat portions upon the altar, the better part of human nature was given up in symbol to the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit of God that it might be purified from the dross of sin and ascend in its glorified essence to heaven for a sweet savor unto the Lord.” Perhaps other parallels could be drawn between Jesus’ life and death – His body was certainly taken outside the camp to be crucified and buried. Did He offer anything of His “inner parts” in the temple before being crucified? I can think of nothing but His teaching in the temple.
4:10 like that which shall be lifted out from the steer of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the sacrifice for burning up.
מִשּׁוֹר “from the steer” KJV=bullock, (N)ASV=NIV=ox. This is a full-grown bull, as opposed to the calf mentioned earlier in this chapter. It is a more specific word than the word “cattle” used in the stipulations for a peace offering in Chapter 3, but the NIV notes that this word could be used for male or female cattle, matching the instructions of 3:1. The Septuagint mistakenly carries over the word “calf” instead.
וְהִקְטִירָם “and he shall burn them” The masculine plural suffix refers to the two masculine items of he fat and the kidneys of v. 9.
עַל מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה “upon the altar of sacrifice for burning up” This is in construct form, so should not be translated “upon the altar as a burnt offering.” It continues the link from 4:7 that after the blood was smeared on the incense altar in the tent, the three inner elements of blood, fat, and kidneys are to be offered at a different altar – the big altar for burnt offerings outside the tent.
“For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult…” says John in his first epistle (5:3, ISV). Here is one instance of how God purposefully makes his commands easier to obey - the repetition and the specificity with which He gives these instructions concerning the sacrifices make it easy to understand exactly what God wanted. God is not trying to trip us up with hard rules, rather He has given very simple rules for living and He is rooting for us all the way, wanting us to obey them and helping His people to be faithful!
4:11 But the hide of the young bull with all his flesh, together with his head and with his legs, also his innards and his dung -
Lev 4:11 - the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh--In ordinary circumstances, these were perquisites of the priests. But in the expiation necessary for a sin of the high priest, after the fat of the sacrifice was offered on the altar, the carcass was carried without the camp [Lev. 4:12], in order that the total combustion of it in the place of ashes might the more strikingly indicate the enormity of the transgression, and the horror with which he regarded it (compare Heb. 13:12-13) JFB.
4:12 the entirety of the young bull - he shall bring out to the outside of the camp, to a clean place - to the ash dump, and he shall burn it upon the sticks in the fire. Upon the ash dump it shall be burned.
This was typical of Christ being had out of the city of Jerusalem, and suffering without the gates of it, Heb. 13:11… This, according to Ainsworth, answered to the place where Christ was crucified, being a place of skulls, or dead men's ashes, John 19:17,
(Heb. 13:11-13) “For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”
13וְאִם כָּל-עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל יִשְׁגּוּ וְנֶעְלַם דָּבָר מֵעֵינֵי הַקָּהָל וְעָשׂוּ אַחַת מִכָּל-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תֵעָשֶׂינָה וְאָשֵׁמוּ:
14 וְנוֹדְעָה הַחַטָּאת אֲשֶׁר חָטְאוּ עָלֶיהָ וְהִקְרִיבוּ הַקָּהָל פַּר בֶּן-בָּקָר לְחַטָּאת וְהֵבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ לִפְנֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
15 וְסָמְכוּ זִקְנֵי הָעֵדָה אֶת-יְדֵיהֶם עַל-רֹאשׁ הַפָּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְשָׁחַט אֶת-הַפָּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה:
16 וְהֵבִיא הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ מִדַּם הַפָּר אֶל-אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
17 וְטָבַל הַכֹּהֵן אֶצְבָּעוֹ מִן-הַדָּם וְהִזָּה שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֵת פְּנֵי הַפָּרֹכֶת:
18 וּמִן-הַדָּם יִתֵּן עַל-קַרְנֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְאֵת כָּל-הַדָּם יִשְׁפֹּךְ אֶל-יְסוֹד מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה אֲשֶׁר-פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד:
19 וְאֵת כָּל-חֶלְבּוֹ יָרִים מִמֶּנּוּ וְהִקְטִיר הַמִּזְבֵּחָה:
20 וְעָשָׂה לַפָּר כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְפַר הַחַטָּאת כֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה-לּוֹ וְכִפֶּר עֲלֵהֶם הַכֹּהֵן וְנִסְלַח לָהֶם:
21 וְהוֹצִיא אֶת-הַפָּר אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְשָׂרַף אֹתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף אֵת הַפָּר הָרִאשׁוֹן חַטַּאת הַקָּהָל הוּא: פ
4:13 Now, if the whole assembly of Israel shall stray and the matter be concealed from the eyes of the congregation and they commit one of any of Yahweh’s prohibitions which should not be done and thus become guilty,
4:14 and then the sin which they sinned against themselves is made known, then the congregation shall offer a young bull, a son of the herd[6] for a sin-offering. They shall bring it to the front[7] of the Tent of Meeting,
4:15 and the elders of the assembly shall lay their hands upon the head of the young bull before the face of Yahweh and shall slaughter the young bull before the face of Yahweh.
4:16 Then the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the young bull to the tent of meeting,
4:17 and the priest shall dip his finger and shall sprinkle the front of the veil[8] from the blood seven times before the face of Yahweh.
4:18 Then he[9] shall deposit some of the blood upon the horns of the altar[10] which is before the face of Yahweh in the tent of meeting, then all the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the whole-burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
4:19 Then he shall lift out all its fat from it and burn [it] at the altar.
4:20 And he shall do to the young bull just as he did to the young bull of the sin offering. Thus he shall do to it, and the priest shall make atonement for them, and it will be pardoned for them.
4:21 Then he shall bring the young bull out to the outside of the camp, and he shall burn it, just as the first young bull was burned. It is the sin offering of the congregation.
GILL: Gersom interprets it, through the ignorant teaching of the judges, who by their instruction cause the people to err, and commit sins of ignorance, as Baal Hatturim on the place observes, and Maimonides elsewhere (g); wherefore Jarchi, and some others, by the congregation of Israel understand the sanhedrim, or the bench of judges, consisting of seventy one.
Gill: “Elders”: According to Maimon & Bartenora they were three of the sanhedrim; though the Targum of Jonathan makes them to be the twelve rulers of the twelve tribes:
22אֲשֶׁר נָשִׂיא יֶחֱטָא וְעָשָׂה אַחַת מִכָּל-מִצְוֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תֵעָשֶׂינָה בִּשְׁגָגָה וְאָשֵׁם:
23 אוֹ-הוֹדַע אֵלָיו חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא בָּהּ וְהֵבִיא אֶת-קָרְבָּנוֹ שְׂעִיר עִזִּים זָכָר תָּמִים:
24 וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל-רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר וְשָׁחַט אֹתוֹ בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר-יִשְׁחַט אֶת-הָעֹלָה לִפְנֵי יְהוָה חַטָּאת הוּא:
25 וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן מִדַּם הַחַטָּאת בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ וְנָתַן עַל-קַרְנֹת מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה וְאֶת-דָּמוֹ יִשְׁפֹּךְ אֶל-יְסוֹד מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה:
26 וְאֶת-כָּל-חֶלְבּוֹ יַקְטִיר הַמִּזְבֵּחָה כְּחֵלֶב זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן מֵחַטָּאתוֹ וְנִסְלַח לוֹ: פ
27 וְאִם-נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת תֶּחֱטָא בִשְׁגָגָה מֵעַם הָאָרֶץ בַּעֲשֹׂתָהּ אַחַת מִמִּצְוֹת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תֵעָשֶׂינָה וְאָשֵׁם:
28 אוֹ הוֹדַע אֵלָיו חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא וְהֵבִיא קָרְבָּנוֹ שְׂעִירַת עִזִּים תְּמִימָה נְקֵבָה עַל-חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא:
29 וְסָמַךְ אֶת-יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הַחַטָּאת וְשָׁחַט אֶת-הַחַטָּאת בִּמְקוֹם הָעֹלָה:
30 וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן מִדָּמָהּ בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ וְנָתַן עַל-קַרְנֹת מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה וְאֶת-כָּל-דָּמָהּ יִשְׁפֹּךְ אֶל-יְסוֹד הַמִּזְבֵּחַ[11]:
31 וְאֶת-כָּל-חֶלְבָּהּ יָסִיר כַּאֲשֶׁר הוּסַר חֵלֶב מֵעַל זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים וְהִקְטִיר הַכֹּהֵן הַמִּזְבֵּחָה לְרֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַיהוָה וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן וְנִסְלַח לוֹ: פ
32 וְאִם-כֶּבֶשׂ יָבִיא קָרְבָּנוֹ לְחַטָּאת נְקֵבָה תְמִימָה יְבִיאֶנָּה:
33 וְסָמַךְ אֶת-יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הַחַטָּאת וְשָׁחַט אֹתָהּ לְחַטָּאת בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁחַט אֶת-הָעֹלָה:
34 וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן מִדַּם הַחַטָּאת בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ וְנָתַן עַל-קַרְנֹת מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה וְאֶת-כָּל-דָּמָהּ יִשְׁפֹּךְ אֶל-יְסוֹד הַמִּזְבֵּחַ:
35 וְאֶת-כָּל-חֶלְבָּה יָסִיר כַּאֲשֶׁר יוּסַר חֵלֶב-הַכֶּשֶׂב מִזֶּבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים וְהִקְטִיר הַכֹּהֵן אֹתָם הַמִּזְבֵּחָה עַל אִשֵּׁי יְהוָה וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן עַל-חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר-חָטָא וְנִסְלַח לוֹ: פ
4:22 When a higher-up[12] sins in error and does one of any of the prohibitions of Yahweh his God which should not be done, and thus becomes guilty,
4:23 and when his sin which he sinned in this regard is made known to him, he shall bring a perfect male kid from the goats as his offering,[13]
4:24 and he shall lean his hand upon the head of the kid and slaughter it in the place where he slaughters the whole-burnt-offering before the face of Yahweh. This is a sin-offering.
4:25 Then the priest shall take up some of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and make a deposit upon the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offering and then pour out its blood at the base of the altar of whole-burnt-offering.
4:26 Then he shall offer-up-in-smoke all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings.
4:27 Thus the priest shall make atonement for him from his sin, and it will be forgiven for him.
4:28 Now, if one soul from among the people of the land sins in error by doing [any[14]] one of Yahweh’s prohibitions which should not be done, and thus becomes guilty,
4:29 and when the sin which he sinned is made known to him, then he shall bring a perfect female kid from the goats as his offering for his sin which he sinned.
4:30 The priest shall take up some of its blood with his finger and make an application upon the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offering, then he shall pour out all its blood at the base of the altar.
4:31 Then he shall lift out all its fat like the fat which is removed from upon the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall offer-it-up-in-smoke at the altar for a soothing aroma to Yahweh. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and it will be pardoned for him.
4:32 Now, if it is a lamb[15] that he brings as his offering for sin, let him bring a perfect female,
4:33 then he shall lean his hand upon the head of the sin-offering and slaughter it for a sin-offering in the place where he slaughters the whole burnt-offering.
4:34 Then the priest shall take up some of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and make a deposit upon the horns of the altar of whole-burnt-offering, and then he shall pour out all its blood at the base of the altar.
4:35 And he shall lift out all its fat like the lamb-fat which was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke at the altar on top of the burnt-offerings of Yahweh. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin which he sinned, and it will be pardoned for him.
[1] GILL: Gersom interprets it, through the ignorant teaching of the judges, who by their instruction cause the people to err, and commit sins of ignorance, as Baal Hatturim on the place observes, and Maimonides elsewhere (g); wherefore Jarchi, and some others, by the congregation of Israel understand the sanhedrim, or the bench of judges, consisting of seventy one. “Elders”: According to Maimon & Bartenora they were three of the sanhedrim; though the Targum of Jonathan makes them to be the twelve rulers of the twelve tribes:
[2] cf. 2Chron. 29:23 for an example. The Hebrew has two words here sa’iyr (lit. “hairy”) + ‘izziym (lit. “strong ones”). Most English translations render the two Hebrew words as one English word “goat,” but the LXX & KJV “kid of the goats” makes more precise sense to me (or perhaps a species name such as “long-haired goat”). The second Hebrew word disappears in v. 24, but still the English translators all translate it as “goat” (the Vulgate just renders “it” in v.24). The two Hebrew words appear together 28 times, and the first word appears without the second one 29 more times in the Hebrew Bible, and the second word appears without the first word 46 more times. It seems that often when the animal is introduced it is introduced with both words, but then when the animal is referred to again later in the passage, it is abbreviated to just the first word. The feminine form that shows up in v.28 only appears in one other place in the Hebrew Bible, and that is Lev. 5:6.
[3] 4:22 GILL: Or "prince", the "nasi", one that is lifted up above others in honour, power, and authority, or that bears the weight of government: the word comes from one which signifies to lift up, or to bear; it may be understood of a governor of a family, or of a tribe, as Aben Ezra observes; and so in the Talmud (k) it is said, it means the prince of a tribe, such as Nachson the son of Amminadab, prince of the tribe of Judah. Maimonides (l) says a king is designed, over whom none has power; and so Gersom on the place, who observes, that David the king is called a prince, Ezek. 34:24…
[4] Job 6:24 NASB "Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred.”
[5] Genesis 20:14-18 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, "Behold, my land is before you; settle wherever you please." 16 To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared." 17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. 18 For the LORD had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. (NASB)
[6] Septuagint & Samaritan Pentateuch include the word “perfect” here.
[7] Septuagint & Vulgate include the word “door of” here.
[8] Septuagint & Samaritan Pentateuch include the word “of the sanctuary” here.
[9] Septuagint & Samaritan Pentateuch give an explicit subject here “the priest.”
[10] Septuagint & Samaritan Pentateuch include the words “of smoking incense.”
[11] Samaritan Pentateuch includes the phrase “of whole-burnt-offering” here.
[12] I used the literal root “to be high,” but most English versions render it “ruler/leader,” and commentaries explain it as a tribal chief, prince, or sheik.
[13] cf. 2Chron. 29:23 for an example. The Hebrew has two words here sa’iyr (lit. “hairy”) + ‘izziym (lit. “strong ones”). Most English translations render the two Hebrew words as one English word “goat,” but the LXX & KJV “kid of the goats” makes more precise sense to me (or perhaps a species name such as “long-haired goat”). The second Hebrew word disappears in v. 24, but still the English translators all translate it as “goat” (the Vulgate just renders “it” in v.24). The two Hebrew words appear together 28 times, and the first word appears without the second one 29 more times in the Hebrew Bible, and the second word appears without the first word 46 more times. It seems that often when the animal is introduced it is introduced with both words, but then when the animal is referred to again later in the passage, it is abbreviated to just the first word. The feminine form that shows up in v.28 only appears in one other place in the Hebrew Bible, and that is Lev. 5:6.
[14] Septuagint & Samaritan Pentateuch include the word “all” here.
[15] This is the first occurrence of this switched spelling in Leviticus (kvs instead of the more common ksv, which is the spelling 88% of the time in the Hebrew O.T.) It is particularly featured in Lev. 14 and 23, but the more common spelling shows up interchangeably in v.35 as it also does in 1:10, 3:7, 5:6 & 7:23.