Leviticus 4

The sin offering is called khatta’t in Hebrew, from the root khata’. It means "to lack, fall short, miss, fail." The people made this offering when they unintentionally violated specific commands of God (see also Numbers 15:22–29). The purpose of this offering was to repair a loss or fix a failure (for example, Leviticus 5:1–4).

Although all Christians sin, God will forgive us if we confess them (Galatians 6:1; 1 John 1:8–9). Yet, the Scripture warns against sinning "defiantly" or "deliberately" (Numbers 15:30–31; Hebrews 10:26–29; 6:4–6).

• God chose the high priest for a special role and they anointed him. The Hebrew word for "anoint" is mashiakh. It means "set apart by the ritual of anointing." In 1 Samuel 1:1—2 Kings 25:30, anointing usually refers to Israel's king (see 1 Samuel 24:6; 2 Samuel 1:14; 19:21).

  They would anoint all priests (Exodus 40:13–15). Yet, here the term probably refers to the high priest because they specially anointed him for service in the tabernacle (Leviticus 6:20; 8:12). The high priest acted as a mediator or intercessor for all of Israel, including other priests. His sin would bring guilt on the entire community (see “Community Identity” Theme Note).

• Guilt in this sense comes from disobeying God’s will. It is not only a feeling in the mind but a real offense against God (see study note on Leviticus 5:17–19).

These verses describe two types of sin offerings:

1. The offering for the sin of the high priest (Leviticus 4:3, 20) and the entire Israelite community (4:13).

2. The offering for one of Israel’s leaders (4:22) and any common person (4:27).

The first type required a bull, a large and expensive animal. It was not eaten (6:30) but completely burned (4:12, 21). The priests presented some of its blood in the Holy Place (4:6–7, 17–18).

The second type required a smaller animal. This was a male goat for a leader or a female sheep or goat for a common person. The priest ate part of the common person’s offering (6:24–29). The priest would present the blood at the bronze altar in the courtyard (4:25, 30).

This distinction highlights the responsibilities of leaders. The offering was the same for the priest and the entire community. But the leader’s offering was more than that of a common person.

The New Testament also emphasizes the responsibility of religious leaders. God will judge those who teach and those who serve as religious leaders more strictly than their followers (James 3:1; Matthew 23:1–33; Luke 20:47).

The tabernacle area had a tent (sometimes called the “Tent of Meeting”; (see study note on 1:1). The tent was at the west end of the courtyard. Inside the tent, an inner curtain separated the first room, the Holy Place, from the second, the Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place contained the ark of the Covenant (or Testimony) and represented God's throne room (Exodus 26:31–33; see study note on Leviticus 1:1).

The priests would sprinkle the animal's blood in front of the curtain (Leviticus 4:6, 17). They would also apply it to the horns of the incense altar (4:7, 18). This would atone for the anointed priest or the entire congregation. This action showed the seriousness of the offenses that needed atonement (compare 4:25, 30–35).

the altar for fragrant incense: This was in front of the inner curtain, just outside the Most Holy Place (Leviticus 4:6). It had four projections that looked like horns, similar to the altar for burnt offerings (see study note on Exodus 27:2). The priests burned incense on this altar to the Lord each morning and evening (Exodus 30:1–10).

They would only burn the offerings for the priest or the entire community outside the camp. God might have commanded this because the offering had symbolically taken on the impurity (uncleanness) of the high priest or the community. So, they had to remove it outside the camp. The guilty people could not participate in or gain any benefit from their own sin offerings. This was true even for priests (Leviticus 6:19–23).

The Hebrew word for elders is related to the word for "beard." It suggests maturity but not necessarily old age. Elders were community leaders, usually leaders of families and tribes (see Exodus 18:21–26; Deuteronomy 22:15–19). For this offering, the elders represented all the people, as they did later when anointing David as king (2 Samuel 5:3).

The phrase they will be forgiven often appears in passages about atonement (Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 15:25, 26, 28). God is willing to forgive a repentant person's sin and allow him or her to return to the community of faith.

Israel's leaders included the elders (see Leviticus 4:15), chiefs of tribes and families (see Numbers 1:16, 44; 1 Kings 8:1).

The sin offerings in this passage atoned for the common people, including leaders and other Israelites. These offerings could be eaten, unlike those in Leviticus 4:3–21, and involved smaller animals. They disposed of the blood in the tabernacle courtyard, not the Holy Place.

Like the peace offering in chapter 3, they burned the fat and certain internal organs on the altar. The priest and his male family members ate the rest of the meat in a holy place (6:29; 6:26; compare 10:16–20). A lay leader offered a male goat (4:23), while a common person could offer a female goat or lamb.

The smaller size and cost of the animal reflected that the common person had less influence. It probably related to their financial situation as well. Those who were poor could bring a pair of doves or young pigeons (5:7–8; 12:6, 8; compare Luke 2:24). The very poor could offer two quarts of flour (Leviticus 5:11).

The male goat offered by a leader from the common people was less than the priest's required offering. A priest must offer a bull. But the leader must offer more than a common person's requirement (see Leviticus 4:28, 32). Yet, like all offerings for atonement, the animal could not have any defects (see 1:3).

at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered: See Leviticus 1:3–5.

blood … horns of the altar: They did not take the blood of a leader's offering (Leviticus 4:25) or a common Israelite's offering (4:30, 34) into the Holy Place. The blood of the priest's bull offering entered the Holy Place. The priest who offered would eat a portion of the meat (6:24–29).

The common people, with fewer responsibilities than priests or leaders, could offer a female sheep or goat. More important social positions required more responsibility (see Amos 3:2; Matthew 25:14–30; James 3:1).