4:1–2 The sin offering law is stated quite generally, with only a few specific offenses listed at the end of the legislation (5:1–4). The lack of specificity may be intentional to cover the broadest possible range of transgression for which the offering could atone.

The offering is stipulated for “unintentional” sin, that is, an inadvertent or unpremeditated offense. Its basic meaning is to stray—as wandering sheep go astray (Ezek. 34:6)—aptly illustrating how anyone may veer off course into error.49 “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (Ps. 119:10). In contrast sin at the other end of the spectrum is said to be perpetrated with a “high hand” (Num. 15:30). A high-handed sin is intentional, brazen, and in open rebellion against the Lord’s authority. There is no sacrifice for the one who has sinned defiantly because he “has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him” (Num. 15:31; cf. Heb. 10:26–27). The contrast between the two postures is at the heart of defining unintentional sin, that is, straying into error as opposed to rebelling against God.50

Even if committed in error, sin endangers relationship with the Lord. It brings guilt on the offender and causes pollution to accumulate in the sanctuary. The Lord himself provides the solution for those defiled by sin to find cleansing and forgiveness through accepting an offering for sin. “Sacrificial [atonement] is a privilege granted by YHWH, not an inalienable right.”51

4:3–4 The first case deals with the spiritual head of the nation, who is called here the “anointed priest,” an uncommon title highlighting his consecration (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16).52 The wording recalls his installation to office via anointing with holy oil that consecrates him, the sanctuary, and the altar over a period of seven days (Ex. 29:35–37; Lev. 8:10–12).

When the anointed priest sins, it has consequences for the entire nation. The passage refers to the priest’s acting in his official capacity and not as an individual.53 Since he represents the worshiping community before the Lord, his inadvertent sin results in the community’s straying into error. Whether he has failed to guard the holiness of the sanctuary, perform worship according to the divine commands, or teach the people the Lord’s requirements, he has brought guilt upon those on whose behalf he ministers when in fact his charge is to “bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate” (Ex. 28:38). As guilt has been incurred by priest and congregation alike, it must be redressed by both fully (cf. Lev. 4:13–21).

The high priest is to bring a bull, an offering to the scale of his status within the community. The value of his offering is equivalent to that of the congregation, since he represents them (v. 14; cf. table 3.1).

TABLE 3.1: Offenders and Offerings

Israel’s lived experience is reflected in the animals required for sacrifice. God’s people are given a land suited ideally for pasturing flocks. Cattle are less common since they require an amount of water and grass that is scarce. Israelites keep flocks that are two-thirds sheep and one-third goats, with a few head of cattle for labor in cultivating the land.54 The representative symbolism of the sin offering is based on an analogy: as with Israel’s flocks, so with the Lord’s flock (Pss. 95:7; 100:1–5). Thus the structure of Israelite society is reflected in the animals that cleanse their sin. The high priest who represents the congregation must bring a bull (head of the herd). A tribal leader must bring a male goat (head of the flock), whereas an ordinary citizen brings of the more plentiful females that constitute the greater part of the flock. The offering represents the offerer and underscores that the animal is a substitute for the offerer.55

4:5–6 Unlike with other sacrifices, the blood of the sin offering is brought inside the sanctuary. The high priest carries the sacrificial blood into the ritual space where he ministers and sprinkles it seven times in front of the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The veil marks the closest he is permitted to approach as he burns incense daily on the golden altar. The blood is sprinkled “before the Lord,” locating the ritual action both directionally and theologically. The Lord is the one toward whom the ritual is directed and the one who is approached for forgiveness. Performing the sprinkling seven times emphasizes the completeness of the cleansing.56

4:7 The high priest then applies blood to the horns of the incense altar “before the Lord” in the Holy Place. The remaining blood is poured out in the courtyard at the base of the altar of burnt offering, so called because of the burnt offering made on it twice daily. These two altars serve as focal points in the performance of the sin offering: the incense altar for the high priest and congregation and the altar of sacrifice for the leader and ordinary citizen.

The blood is applied not to the altar in general (as with other sacrifices, 1:5; 3:2; 7:2) but to its horns. Applying blood to the altar’s extremities cleanses the impurity and sin that has obstructed fellowship and reconsecrates the altar for continued intercession (cf. 8:15). Sacrifice is not an end in itself but the means to reconciliation with God for ongoing worship.

4:8–10 The priest separates out the Lord’s portions—the fat and kidneys and lobe of the liver—and offers them on the altar, as is ritual procedure (cf. 3:3–5). The Lord is honored and acknowledged as covenant Sovereign with the animal’s richest portions.

4:11–12 Rather than being offered on the altar the bull’s carcass is carried to the ash heap outside Israel’s camp, where it is burned along with its hide and entrails. Its incineration on a wood fire is expressed in a different way (Hb. saraf) than is an offering that smolders on the altar (qatar), making it clear that this is not a sacrificial act but a ritual disposal. The “clean place” is also where the ashes and unusable parts of the burnt offering are discarded (1:16; 6:11).57 Since the offering is payment for transgression (4:20–21), to eat of it would be to rescind payment in some way. The offering has been made holy by its presentation to the Lord, so it must be treated as holy by not allowing its use for any other purpose; therefore, it is eliminated by burning. When a sin offering is made for a leader or ordinary citizen, the meaty portions go to the officiating priest as compensation for his service, but an offering for the high priest or congregation is never to be consumed (6:30).

4:13–14 The second case involves the inadvertent sin of the congregation. Although its sin is initially hidden from its eyes, the congregation later realizes its guilt, or, as Sklar clarifies, it “suffers guilt’s consequences,”58 meaning the people experience the Lord’s disfavor in some way, alerting them to possible sin. The sin itself is vague and without specifics. The same language of hiddenness and realization is used in 5:2–4 to refer to a person who has come in contact with impurity but has not handled it properly. Perhaps this is also the situation envisioned here.

4:15 The offering for the congregation—a bull—is the same as that for the high priest, which is no surprise given that the high priest represents the congregation in worship. The elders who represent the people legally are the ones to bring and dedicate the animal by placing their hands on its head. Again the ritual of presentation and slaughter take place “before the Lord.”

The elders represent the congregation at Sinai, ratifying the covenant and feasting in God’s presence on behalf of the nation (Ex. 19:7–8; 24:9–11). Their leadership as heads of the families of tribes is exercised in civic (Num. 11:16–25; Deut. 21:18–21) as well as ritual matters (Ex. 12:21; Ps. 107:32; Joel 1:14). Significantly, they have authority to stand on the people’s behalf in rituals that cleanse guilt, as in this passage and in the case of bloodguilt from an unsolved murder (Deut. 21:6–7).59

4:16–18 As with the high priest’s offering, the blood is brought inside the Holy Place and sprinkled before the veil seven times, symbolizing completeness. The high priest then dips his finger and applies the blood to the altar of incense in front of the veil. The rest he carries outside to the courtyard and pours out at the base of the bronze altar of sacrifice.

The blood that achieves cleansing for the congregation is brought all the way into the Holy Place even though no Israelite may ever enter the tent. The blood rite suggests that the congregation is in fact regarded as having entered this space by virtue of its need for cleansing. How so? As the high priest dons his ceremonial garments daily, he representatively brings all Israel before the Lord’s presence: “Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord” (Ex. 28:29). It is as though all the people have appeared before the Lord when their names are carried into the sanctuary by their priestly mediator.

4:19 In the same sacrificial procedure as for the high priest’s offering, the fat portions are placed on the altar. Although the instructions do not mention them explicitly, these portions would include the kidneys and long lobe of the liver, which are considered part of the fat (cf. 4:8–9).

4:20 The priest makes atonement for the congregation, and as a result they are forgiven. Atonement is a richly textured term with a dual value in the sin offering. In the context of sin it ransoms the sinner by providing a substitute in exchange. The animal reflective of the offerer’s status in the community “pays” for the sinner. In the context of the Lord’s holy dwelling the blood of sacrifice cleanses the impurity and contamination that has spoiled relationship with God and by extension the guilt from the offender.

Transgression incurs guilt even if unintentional. Yet the persistent refrain throughout the sin and guilt offerings is that “they shall be forgiven” (vv. 20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13). The Lord who provides the substitute also provides assurance of his forgiveness through the word of his mediator. The priest is given authority to declare what only the Lord can do: forgive. (It is for this reason that the high priest’s rite lacks the statement that he will be forgiven. Since he is officiating on his own behalf, he cannot pronounce forgiveness on himself, though he would certainly know the Lord has forgiven him because of the atoning sacrifice.)

4:21 As with the offering for the high priest, the bull’s carcass is carried to the clean ash heap outside Israel’s camp and burned in its entirety.

4:22–23 Tribal leaders are addressed next: “Chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel” (Num. 1:16). A tribal chief is a secular leader who represents the tribe (cf. Num. 7:1–88). His required offering is an unblemished male goat. Goats constitute a third of Israel’s flocks, with males being less common than females, therefore making this offering consonant with the leader’s position in tribal society.

4:24 The goat is slaughtered north of the altar, where the smaller animals are ritually slain (Lev. 1:11). The bull, as a larger animal, is slain in the more spacious area in front of the altar, by the entrance to the tent of meeting (4:4, 14–15; cf. 1:3). The statement “It is a sin offering” could reflect what the offerer says as he presents his animal to distinguish it from the burnt offering.

4:25–26 This time the blood is not brought into the Holy Place but applied to the horns of the altar in the outer court, where lay Israelites appear before the Lord. The sacrificial altar is “most holy,” sanctified by holy oil and divine glory, and the place where the Lord meets with his people to receive their worship (Ex. 29:37, 42–43). It symbolizes the promise of enduring relationship, like the blood rite that sealed the covenant between Israel and their God (Ex. 24:6–8). A worshiper may swear an oath before the altar (1 Kings 8:31) or plead asylum (1 Kings 1:50) as though standing before the Lord himself. The application of blood cleanses the altar from sin’s impurity, achieves forgiveness for the sinner, and reestablishes communion between the Lord and the worshiper.

Unlike with the offering for the high priest or for the congregation, there is no mention that the carcass is burned. Instead, later the Lord allocates the meat portions for the officiating priest and the male priests of his household (Lev. 6:26, 29). As a most holy portion, it must be eaten within the area of the sanctuary’s courtyard. The person on whose behalf the offering has been made, however, cannot partake of it.

4:27–28 While the tribal leader who sins is required to bring a male goat, an individual brings a female. Females were more prevalent among the flocks, as they were needed for reproduction and for their milk. It is a fitting analogy for a member of the community.

4:29–31 Standing north of the altar, the offerer lays his hand on the head of the goat that is his substitute and slaughters it. The officiating priest applies its blood to the horns of the altar in the outer court. The individual’s offering remains in the area where the individual Israelite is granted access to the Lord—its blood on the altar’s horns and its flesh consumed by priests in the altar’s vicinity (6:26).

4:32–35 Alternately, an Israelite citizen who has strayed into error may bring a lamb. In the graded scale of offerings from rarest to most common, female lambs are most plentiful among Israel’s flocks. The procedure is the same as that of offering a female goat, with care given to removing the fat portion that belongs to the Lord.