LEVITICUS 5:1-19

Chapter 5 Outline – Part 1- Sin Offering Cont’d

Examples of Specific Unintentional Sins:
V. 1 – Concealing Knowledge of a Crime
V. 2 – Touching an unclean thing
V. 3 – Touching an unclean person
V. 4 – Failing to fulfill an oath
Compensation:
V. 5-6 - Female lamb or goat
V. 7-10 - Birds
V. 11-13 - Fine Flour

SCRIPTURE

v. 1- “If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the
matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.”
“The first instance […] is that of failing to come forward as witness after the [oath] has been uttered. It was
the duty of every member of the community to aid the authorities in maintaining the integrity of the Divine
law. [Therefore], when an offence was committed which [leaders were unable to prove due to a lack of
evidence], a solemn [urging] was [given] by the judge to individual members, to a district, or to the whole
community. If after such an [urging], anyone who [knew about] the offense failed to come forward to testify
what he knew, he was considered in the sight of God as participating in the transgression which he had thus
concealed.” ~ Ellicott

v. 2-3- “Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of
unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean
and guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is
unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.”
• Unclean: Hebrew ṭāmē’ (taw-may) – defiled, polluted, impure, religiously unclean.
• List of unclean animals in chapter 11.
• List of reasons a human may be unclean in chapter 13.

v. 4 “Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man
may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of
these matters.”
• Swears: Hebrew šāḇa (shaw-bah) – to make an oath.
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 • Do evil or good:
• Do evil: rashly threaten someone in a moment of passion.
• Do good: to promise something and then forget to follow through on that promise.
• Example given in Ps. 106:33 – David refers to a time Moses gets angry with the people and speaks rashly
to them.

V. 5-6 “And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in
that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from
the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his
sin.”
• Trespass Offering: Hebrew 'āšām (aw-shawm) – here better translated as compensation, price, penalty – to
not confuse it with the different offering discussed later in the chapter.
• “The term ‘trespass-offering’ is out of place here, since it has become the current designation for a distinct
kind of sin-offering mentioned in the next section.” ~ Barnes
• Sin offering – same animals as offered for sins in 4:28.

V. 7-10 “If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his [sin] which he has committed,
two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. And he shall bring
them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin offering first, and wring off its head from its neck, but
shall not divide it completely. Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar,
and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. And he shall offer the
second as a burnt offering according to the prescribed manner. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for
his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.”
• Two birds are brought – one is for the sin offering (forgiveness) and one is for the burnt offering
(atonement).

V. 11-13 “But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his
offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put
frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of
it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD. It is a sin
offering. The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it
shall be forgiven him. The rest shall be the priest’s as a grain offering.”
• No oil – this is not a voluntary “grain offering” to show thankfulness, this is a sin offering for people who
could only afford flour. Therefore, no oil (anointing) was allowed.
• No frankincense – no sweet aroma, a sin offering should have a pungent aroma. A reminder that sin is
offensive to the Lord.
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Chapter 5 Outline – Part 2- Trespass Offering
• Vertical Sins:
• V. 14-19
• Horizontal Sins:
• 6: 1-7
• “The trespass offering was needed for two kinds of sins: sins against ‘the holy things of the Lord’ and sins
against one’s neighbors. The first category included offenses that involved sacrifices to God, vows, celebration
of the special days”, while the second included lying, extortion stealing, or swearing falsely against a neighbor.
~ Wiersbe

V. 14-16 “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “If a person commits a trespass, 1 and sins 2 unintentionally in
regard to the holy things of the LORD, then he shall bring to the LORD as his trespass offering 3 a ram without
blemish from the flocks, with your valuation in shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, as a
trespass offering. And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall
add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass
offering, and it shall be forgiven him.”
1. Trespass: Hebrew maʿal (mah-al) =noun, unfaithful or treacherous act, against man or against God.
2. Sins: Hebrew châtâ’ (khaw-taw) = verb- to miss.
3. Trespass Offering: Hebrew 'āšām (aw-shawm) = guilt offering
• Barnes – “The trespass offering differed from the sin offering in two ways:
(1) They were offered on account of offences which involved an injury to some person (it might be the
Lord Himself) in respect to property.
(2) They were always accompanied by a fine equal to the value of the injury done, with the addition of
one-fifth (20%).”
Numbers 5:5-8
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any
sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess the sin
which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the
one he has wronged. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the
restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which
atonement is made for him.”

V. 17-19 “If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of
the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring to the priest a
ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement
for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass
offering; he has certainly trespassed against the LORD.” 3
 • Jesus is both our sin offering and our trespass offering. He bore our sins on His body and paid the full price
for our sins.
• 1 Peter 2:24 – “…Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins,
might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 “...Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold,
from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”

CONCLUSION
To be continued: Chapter 6 verses 1-7 continue the trespass offering.

OPTIONAL DEVOTIONAL TIME

Throughout the week, read Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-10; 6:19-20; 7:1-28; 8:1-6; 9:11-15, 23-28; and 10:1-14. Make a
list below of all the ways Jesus as our High Priest is superior to that of the Levitical priests: