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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Special Cases of Sin-offerings.
v. 1. And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. This is the first of several special cases in which a sin-offering was commanded. In the Jewish forms of trial the judge adjured those present, those summoned for that purpose, to tell the whole truth concerning the case, as they knew it, whether their knowledge was that of eye-witnesses or had been derived from other reliable sources. To feign ignorance at such a time and not to perform one's duty as required of witnesses made a person guilty before God, and unless this guilt was removed, the person in question had to suffer the consequences. Among these are mentioned sickness, childlessness, and even total extirpation of the family.
v. 2. Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcass of an unclean beast, of some wild animal, or a carcass of unclean cattle, of domestic animals, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, of reptiles, and if it be hidden from him, if he is not aware of it at the time, he also shall be unclean and guilty.
v. 3. Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, anything which caused a man to be ceremonially unclean, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, that is, when he finds out about the defilement and yet omits the simple forms of purification which were provided in such cases, Lev_11:24-40; Lev_15:5-8; Num_19:22, then he shall be guilty, atonement should be made for the sin which he committed, for the guilt which he heaped upon himself.
v. 4. Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; this is said of oaths as they are often made in trivial, foolish, unimportant matters, in heedlessness, recklessness, or passion, the person afterward forgetting or neglecting to keep the solemn promises and lightly disregarding the fact that such playing with sacred matters is sinful; when he knoweth of it, when it is brought to his attention and he does nothing to remove the sin, then he shall be guilty in one of these, in one of the three cases here enumerated.
v. 5. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing, acknowledge the particular fault concerned before presenting the sacrificial animal.
v. 6. And he shall bring his trespass-offering (or guilt-offering)unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, for the expiation of the guilt which he has loaded upon himself, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin, cause his sin to be covered over before the face of the just and righteous God by virtue of the sacrifice which pointed forward to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
v. 7. And if he be not able to bring a lamb, if, on account of poverty, he cannot afford the more expensive animal, then he shall bring for his trespass which he hath committed two turtle-doves or two young pigeons unto the Lord, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt offering, the two together forming a full sin-offering, and being given different names only on account of the different treatment which they received.
v. 8. And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin-offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, kill the bird by pinching off his neck immediately behind his head, but shall not divide it asunder, not sever it entirely;
v. 9. and he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering upon the side of the altar, none of it, in this case, being smeared on the horns, probably because the amount was so small; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar; it is a sin-offering.
v. 10. And he shall offer the second for a burnt offering, according to the manner, as the ordinance of the Lord prescribed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. The ritual in this case was the same as when birds were offered for a burnt offering, Lev_1:15-17. Through the symbolic rite of the atonement by blood the forgiveness of sins was secured for the believer.
v. 11. But if he be not able to bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, if the condition of poverty be very extreme, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour (about two and one half quarts) for a sin-offering. He shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon, as in the case of the meat-offerings; for it is a sin-offering and, although offered without blood, was permitted in exceptional instances, since it was supplemented by the annual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement.
v. 12. Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, the intention being to bring the worshiper into remembrance before God, according to the offerings made by fire unto the Lord; it is a sin-offering, and such an offering must not be mingled with the symbols of the Spirit and of the praise of God.
v. 13. And the priest shall make an atonement for him as touching his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, in the instances named above, and it shall be forgiven him; and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat-offering. This part was consecrated or set apart to be food for the priests in the holy place of the Sanctuary.