Discovery BoxLeviticus 5:10-19
Context5:10 The second bird 1 he must make a burnt offering according to the standard regulation. 2 So the priest will make atonement 3 on behalf of this person for 4 his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven. 5
5:11 “‘If he cannot afford 6 two turtledoves or two young pigeons, 7 he must bring as his offering for his sin which he has committed 8 a tenth of an ephah 9 of choice wheat flour 10 for a sin offering. He must not place olive oil on it and he must not put frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. 5:12 He must bring it to the priest and the priest must scoop out from it a handful as its memorial portion 11 and offer it up in smoke on the altar on top of the other gifts of the Lord – it is a sin offering. 5:13 So the priest will make atonement 12 on his behalf for his sin which he has committed by doing one of these things, 13 and he will be forgiven. 14 The remainder of the offering 15 will belong to the priest like the grain offering.’” 16
5:14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 17 5:15 “When a person commits a trespass 18 and sins by straying unintentionally 19 from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, 20 then he must bring his penalty for guilt 21 to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, 22 for a guilt offering. 23 5:16 And whatever holy thing he violated 24 he must restore and must add one fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement 25 on his behalf with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven.” 26
5:17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated 27 (although he did not know it at the time, 28 but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity 29 5:18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, 30 for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement 31 on his behalf for his error which he committed 32 (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven. 33 5:19 It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty before the Lord.”
[5:10] 1 tn The word “bird” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:10] 2 sn The term “[standard] regulation” (מִשְׁפָּט, mishppat) here refers to the set of regulations for burnt offering birds in Lev 1:14-17.
[5:10] 3 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[5:10] 4 tn See the note on 4:26 with regard to מִן, min.
[5:10] 5 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[5:11] 6 tn Heb “and if his hand does not reach [or is not sufficient] to”; cf. NASB “if his means are insufficient for.” The expression is the same as that in Lev 5:7 above except for the verb: נָשַׂג (nasag, “to collect, to reach, to be sufficient”) is used here, but נָגַע (nagah, “to touch, to reach”) is used in v. 7. Smr has the former in both v. 7 and 11.
[5:11] 7 tn See the note on Lev 1:14 above (cf. also 5:7).
[5:11] 8 tn Heb “and he shall bring his offering which he sinned.” Like the similar expression in v. 7 above (see the note there), this is an abbreviated form of Lev 5:6, “and he shall bring his [penalty for] guilt to the
[5:11] 9 sn A tenth of an ephah would be about 2.3 liters, one day’s ration for a single person (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:306). English versions handle the amount somewhat differently, cf. NCV “about two quarts”; TEV “one kilogramme”; CEV “two pounds.”
[5:11] 10 tn See the note on Lev 2:1 above.
[5:12] 11 sn The “memorial portion” (אַזְכָּרָה, ’azkkarah) was the part of the grain offering that was burnt on the altar (Lev 2:2), as opposed to the remainder, which was normally consumed by the priests (Lev 2:3; see the full regulations in Lev 6:14-23 [6:7-16 HT]). It was probably intended to call to mind (i.e., memorialize) before the
[5:13] 12 sn The focus of sin offering “atonement” was purging impurities from the tabernacle (see the note on Lev 1:4).
[5:13] 13 tn Heb “from one from these,” referring to the four kinds of violations of the law delineated in Lev 5:1-4 (see the note on Lev 5:5 above and cf. Lev 4:27).
[5:13] 14 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[5:13] 15 tn Heb “and it”; the referent (the remaining portion of the offering) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:13] 16 tn Heb “and it shall be to the priest like the grain offering,” referring to the rest of the grain that was not offered on the altar (cf. the regulations in Lev 2:3, 10).
[5:14] 17 sn The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 5:14 through 5:19, encompassing the first main section of guilt offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 1:1; 4:1; and 6:1 [5:20 HT].
[5:15] 18 tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, ma’al); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the
[5:15] 19 tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”
[5:15] 20 sn Heb “from the holy things of the
[5:15] 21 tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (’asham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).
[5:15] 22 tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81).
[5:15] 23 tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.
[5:16] 24 tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”
[5:16] 25 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
[5:16] 26 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).
[5:17] 27 tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the
[5:17] 28 tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
[5:17] 29 tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the
[5:18] 30 tn The statement here is condensed. See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.
[5:18] 31 sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.
[5:18] 32 tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.
[5:18] 33 tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV and NASB both similar).
