Leviticus 4.1-6.7

Sin Offerings / Offerings With Restitution / Instructions Concerning Sacrifices

Leviticus 1-5 characterizes two types of sacrifices: spontaneous sacrifice (1-3), sacrifice of expiation (4-5). Chapters 6-7 restate these in order of sanctity.

Yesterday's post covered spontaneous sacrifice. Today's covers sacrifice of expiation. Guess what tomorrow's covers?

The Lord tells Moses to speak to the Israelites regarding unintentional sins "in any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done" (Lev. 4.2). Sin offerings are made when a person realizes his or her mistake, which should seem obvious, but this emphasis causes the motivation for sin to be the sense of guilt at sinning, not the sinful act itself. Sins seem to be sins once they are known, not when they occur. Any philosophers out there care to comment?

Sins require sacrifice, and the biblical author lists these sacrifices not in order of egregiousness of the sin (after all, these are unintentional and apparently liable to be forgotten for a time), but rather in order of importance within the social hierarchy. The hierarchy goes like this:

Priest > Congregation of Israel > Tribal Chieftain > Ordinary Person

Priests make the greatest sacrifice (an unblemished bull), common people the least (a sheep or goat). The order makes perfect sense. Those in positions of leadership should know better so that they may better lead their people. The commoners make a lesser sacrifice of a sheep and if they are poor, a bird, and if they are poorer still, grain. 

This is a wonderful artifact of social hierarchy of ancient Israel. The system is merit-based, and each pays according to his social/religious standing. The entire congregation of Israel as a whole is more important than the leader, and one bull's body atones for the entire body Israel. Does this mean a priest is worth more than the entire population in God's eyes? Probably not. But it does nicely demonstrate the importance of priests in this culture. After all, when a priest sins, he brings into guilt the entire nation of Israel. And it is only priests that can make atonement for any given member of society. But enough about politics. Let's slaughter some animals.

Sin Offerings: Leviticus 4.1-5.13

Priest
An anointed priest who sins brings guilt on the people, and should offer a bull without blemish as a sin offering. He should bring the bull before the entrance of the tent of meeting, lay his hand on its head, and slaughter the bull. He should take some of the blood and bring it into the tent of meeting. He should dip a finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain. Blood should also be put on the incense altar and the rest should be poured at the base of the altar of burnt offering. All the fat, the kidneys, the appendage of the liver should be removed and burnt on the altar. Everything else is to be brought to the ash heap outside the camp where it is to be burned on a wood fire.

Congregation of Israel
If the whole congregation sins unintentionally, they should make a sin offering when the sin is realized. The offering is a bull, though unlike the priest's offering, this bull (a lesser sacrifice) does not need to be unblemished. The elders of the congregation should lay their hands on the head of the bull and it should be slaughtered. From there a priest takes over to make atonement for the people. He is to proceed in the same manner with the blood, fat, and disposal of the body as he would for a sin offering for a priest.

Ruler (Tribal Chieftain)
A ruler who unintentionally sins should sacrifice a goat without blemish once his sin is realized. He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, which will be slaughtered as a sin offering. A priest takes over, putting blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pouring the rest on the base of the altar. The fat is to be burned on the altar.

Note that the priest here does not have to go into the tent of meeting before God with an offering of blood. Nor is there any mention as to what is done with the body. Therefore perhaps the rest may be eaten.

Ordinary Person
An ordinary person who sins unintentionally should bring a female goat or sheep without blemish to be sacrificed once the sin is realized. The person is to lay his hand on the animal, which is then slaughtered. A priest then dabs some blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pours the rest out at the base. He is to remove all the fat and burn it.

As with the leader's offering, the priest does not enter the tent of meeting and there is no mention of the disposal of the body. But interestingly, an ordinary person offers a female animal. While female humans may be subjugated in society, female animals are more important to breeding than are males. Thus the sacrificer loses more with this sacrifice, even if the societal norms apply.

Specialty Sin Offerings
These offerings are made to atone for four conditions of sin:

1. A person refuses to testify upon being adjured in public
2. A person unintentionally touches an unclean thing (carcasses of unclean animals)
3. A person unintentionally touches human uncleanliness
4. A person unintentionally utters a rash oath for a good or bad purpose

There are three ways to make sacrifice, depending on your wealth.

1. If you are wealthy enough, you make a sin offering of a female sheep or goat. This goat does not have to be unblemished.

2. If you cannot afford the livestock, you may bring two turtledoves or two pigeons. One of these will act as a sin offering (see above) and the other a burnt offering (see yesterday's entry). A priest will take the first one, wring its head without severing it, sprinkle some of the blood on the side of the altar and drain the rest at the base. The second he will burn according to the regulations (see Lev. 1.15-17).

3. If you cannot afford the birds, you may bring one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour without oil or frankincense. The priest will scoop a handful as the token portion and turn it to smoke on the altar. The priest will keep the rest, just like a grain offering.

Offerings With Restitution: Leviticus 5.14-6.7

The Lord gives Moses instructions concerning sin as a result of trespass (seemingly literally or figuratively) on the Lord's holy things. The penalty for this is an unblemished ram plus the price of the desecrated object plus one-fifth the price of the desecrated object. The lamb is sacrificed by a priest as a guilt offering - therefore the sinner makes reparations to the physical sacred space and God. However, the ram is convertible to silver, meaning that the priest may purchase another unblemished lamb in its place.

If you think you have sinned (that is, if you feel guilty) you have incurred guilt and should bring an unblemished ram to be sacrificed as a guilt offering. Alternatively, you may bring the equivalent value in silver.

If you deceive a neighbor in monetary matters, or rob him, or find something lost an lie about it, or swear falsely, you must atone for your sin when you realize your guilt. First, restore what you took, adding one-fifth its value. Next, bring to a priest for sacrifice an unblemished lamb or its equivalent as a guilt offering.