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Leviticus 4

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Introduction to the Sin Offering 1–2

1
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any one shall sin unwittingly, in any of the things which Jehovah hath commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of them: ​

Offering for the Anointed Priest 3–12

3
if the anointed priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto Jehovah for a sin-offering. ​
4
And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah; and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the bullock, and kill the bullock before Jehovah. ​
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And the anointed priest shall take of the blood of the bullock, and bring it to the tent of meeting:
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and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah, before the veil of the sanctuary. ​
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And the priest shall put of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before Jehovah, which is in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bullock shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting. ​
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And all the fat of the bullock of the sin-offering he shall take off from it; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
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and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the loins, and the caul upon the liver, with the kidneys, shall he take away,
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as it is taken off from the ox of the sacrifice of peace-offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of burnt-offering.
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And the skin of the bullock, and all its flesh, with its head, and with its legs, and its inwards, and its dung,
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even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt. ​

Offering for the Whole Congregation 13–21

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And if the whole congregation of Israel err, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done any of the things which Jehovah hath commanded not to be done, and are guilty; ​
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when the sin wherein they have sinned is known, then the assembly shall offer a young bullock for a sin-offering, and bring it before the tent of meeting.
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And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before Jehovah; and the bullock shall be killed before Jehovah. ​
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And the anointed priest shall bring of the blood of the bullock to the tent of meeting:
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and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Jehovah, before the veil.
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And he shall put of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before Jehovah, that is in the tent of meeting; and all the blood shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting.
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And all the fat thereof shall he take off from it, and burn it upon the altar.
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Thus shall he do with the bullock; as he did with the bullock of the sin-offering, so shall he do with this; and the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. ​
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And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bullock: it is the sin-offering for the assembly.

Offering for a Leader or Ruler 22–26

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When a ruler sinneth, and doeth unwittingly any one of all the things which Jehovah his God hath commanded not to be done, and is guilty; ​
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if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, be made known to him, he shall bring for his oblation a goat, a male without blemish. ​
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And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt-offering before Jehovah: it is a sin-offering.
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And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering; and the blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering.
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And all the fat thereof shall he burn upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offerings; and the priest shall make atonement for him as concerning his sin, and he shall be forgiven. ​

Offering for the Common Person 27–35

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And if any one of the common people sin unwittingly, in doing any of the things which Jehovah hath commanded not to be done, and be guilty; ​
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if his sin, which he hath sinned, be made known to him, then he shall bring for his oblation a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
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And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and kill the sin-offering in the place of burnt-offering.
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And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering; and all the blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar.
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And all the fat thereof shall he take away, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace-offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor unto Jehovah; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. ​
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And if he bring a lamb as his oblation for a sin-offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. ​
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And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and kill it for a sin-offering in the place where they kill the burnt-offering.
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And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering; and all the blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar.
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And all the fat thereof shall he take away, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace-offerings; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, upon the offerings of Jehovah made by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned, and he shall be forgiven.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 4

Verse 2

through ignorance — Shegagah, an unwitting error, governs this law (vv.2, 22, 27; Num 15:24–29). Set against it is the soul that 'doeth ought presumptuously', of whom the law says 'that soul shall be cut off from among his people' (Num 15:30). Heb 9:7 calls the people's sins 'errors'.

Verse 3

the priest that is anointed — Mashiach, 'anointed', is used of the priest only in Leviticus (4:3, 5, 16; 6:22). His sin is 'according to the sin of the people', and his offering equals the whole congregation's, a young bullock (v.14). Christ 'needeth not… first for his own sins' (Heb 7:27).

Verse 4

lay his hand upon the bullock's head — Samak, to lean on. The same act is made for the burnt offering, 'and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him' (Lev 1:4), and for the goat in v.24. The offerer himself kills the bullock 'before the LORD', at the door of the tabernacle.

Verse 6

seven times before the LORD, before the vail — Pareket is the veil of the sanctuary. The priest dips his finger in the blood and sprinkles it toward the veil seven times, the number he uses on the day of atonement, when 'before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times' (Lev 16:14).

Verse 7

the altar of sweet incense — This is the golden altar of the holy place (Ex 30:1). Its horns receive blood for the priest's and the congregation's sin (vv.7, 18), but not for a ruler's or a common person's, whose blood goes to the horns of the altar of burnt offering (vv.25, 30). Aaron atoned on them yearly (Ex 30:10).

Verse 12

without the camp — The bullock is carried 'unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out' and burned. The day of atonement offerings go the same way (Lev 16:27), and Hebrews draws the line: 'whose blood is brought into the sanctuary… are burned without the camp… Jesus also… suffered without the gate' (Heb 13:11–12).

Verse 13

hid from the eyes of the assembly — The whole congregation (edah) may sin without knowing it: the thing is 'hid' (alam, concealed), yet they are 'guilty' (asham). Lev 5:17 states the principle, 'though he wist it not, yet is he guilty'. Num 15:24 gives a parallel case for the congregation.

Verse 15

the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands — The elders (zaqen) act for the whole assembly, doing at the bullock's head what the single offerer does in v.4. Moses calls the elders of Israel with Aaron and his sons on the day the priesthood begins its service (Lev 9:1).

Verse 20

it shall be forgiven them — Kaphar, to cover (atonement), then salach, to forgive, which first appears in Leviticus here, and closes the congregation, ruler and common cases (vv.20, 26, 31, 35). The priest's case (vv.3–12) lacks it. Hebrews sets the repeated offerings, which 'can never take away sins', against one sacrifice (Heb 10:11–12).

Verse 22

a ruler — Nasi, one lifted up, a prince of a tribe; this is the only place in Leviticus the word is used. Of the four cases this alone names the commandment as that of the LORD 'his God' (Elohim), reminding the one who commands that he is himself under command.

Verse 23

a kid of the goats, a male — The ruler's offering is a male sa'ir, a goat, lower than the bullock of vv.3 and 14 and above the female of v.28. The trigger is knowledge: his sin 'come to his knowledge' (yada), and the offering is brought after that discovery.

Verse 26

the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings — The fat (cheleb) is burned as in Lev 3:3–5, 'an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD'. The flesh is not burned outside the camp as in vv.11–12: 'The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place' (Lev 6:26).

Verse 27

the common people — Literally 'the people of the land' (am with erets), the ordinary Israelite, as distinct from the anointed priest, the congregation and the ruler. This is the fourth case. Num 15:27 gives it briefly: 'if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year'.

Verse 31

a sweet savour unto the LORD — Reyach nichoach, a savour of rest, first used of Noah's offering (Gen 8:21) and of the burnt offering (Lev 1:9). Even in a sin offering the fat rises as that savour. Paul speaks of Christ's gift in the same words: 'an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour' (Eph 5:2).

Verse 32

a female without blemish — Neqebah, a female, and tamim, whole, without defect. A lamb (kebes) is allowed in place of a goat (v.28). Peter takes the phrase for Christ: 'the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot' (1 Pet 1:19).