This chapter is concerning the sin-offering, which was properly
intended to make atonement for a sin committed through ignorance,
I. By the priest himself, ver. 1-12 .
Or,
II. By the whole congregation, ver. 13-21 .
Or,
III. By a ruler, ver. 22-26 .
Or,
IV. By a private person, ver. 27 , &c.
1 And the L ORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall
sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the L ORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do
against any of them:
3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of
the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned,
a young bullock without blemish unto the L ORD for a sin offering.
4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the L ORD ; and shall lay his
hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the
L ORD .
5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's
blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and
sprinkle of the blood seven times before the L ORD , before the
vail of the sanctuary.
7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns
of the altar of sweet incense before the L ORD , which is in the
tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of
the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering,
which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for
the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the
fat that is upon the inwards,
9 And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the
kidneys, it shall he take away,
10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of
peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of
the burnt offering.
11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his
head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp
unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him
on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be
burnt.
The laws contained in the first three chapters seem to have been
delivered to Moses at one time. Here begin the statutes of another
session, another day. From the throne of glory between the cherubim God
delivered these orders. And he enters now upon a subject more strictly
new than those before. Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and
peace-offerings, it should seem, had been offered before the giving of
the law upon mount Sinai; those sacrifices the patriarchs had not been
altogether unacquainted with
( Gen. viii. 20; Exod. xx. 24 ),
and in them they had respect to sin, to make atonement for it, Job i. 5 .
But the law being now added because of transgressions ( Gal. iii. 19 ),
and having entered, that eventually the offence might abound ( Rom. v. 20 ),
they were put into a way of making atonement for sin more particularly
by sacrifice, which was (more than any of the ceremonial institutions) a shadow of good things to come, but the substance is Christ,
and that one offering of himself by which he put away sin and perfected for ever those who are sanctified.
I. The general case supposed we have, v. 2 .
Here observe,
1. Concerning sin in general, that it is described to be against any
of the commandments of the Lord; for sin is the transgression of
the law, the divine law. The wits or wills of men, their inventions
or their injunctions, cannot make that to be sin which the law of God
has not made to be so. It is said likewise, if a soul sin, for
it is not sin if it be not some way or other the soul's act; hence it
is called the sin of the soul ( Mic. vi. 7 ),
and it is the soul that is injured by it, Prov. viii. 36 .
2. Concerning the sins for which those offerings were appointed.
(1.) They are supposed to be overt acts; for, had they been required to
bring a sacrifice for every sinful thought or word, the task had been
endless. Atonement was made for those in the gross, on the day of
expiation, once a year; but these are said to be done against the
commandments.
(2.) They are supposed to be sins of commission, things which ought not
to be done. Omissions are sins, and must come into judgment; but what
had been omitted at one time might be done at another, and so to obey
was better than sacrifice: but a commission was past recall.
(3.) They are supposed to be sins committed through ignorance. If they
were done presumptuously, and with an avowed contempt of the law and
the Law-maker, the offender was to be cut off, and there remained no
sacrifice for the sin, Heb. x. 26, 27; Num. xv. 30 .
But if the offender were either ignorant of the law, as in divers
instances we may suppose many were (so numerous and various were the
prohibitions), or were surprised into the sin unawares, the
circumstances being such as made it evident that his resolution against
the sin was sincere, but that he was overtaken in it, as the expression
is
( Gal. vi. 1 ),
in this case relief was provided by the remedial law of the
sin-offering. And the Jews say, "Those crimes only were to be expiated
by sacrifice, if committed ignorantly, for which the criminal was to
have been cut off if they had been committed presumptuously."
II. The law begins with the case of the anointed priest, that is, the
high priest, provided he should sin through ignorance; for the law
made men priests who had infirmity. Though his ignorance was of all
others least excusable, yet he was allowed to bring his offering. His
office did not so far excuse his offence as that it should be forgiven
him without a sacrifice; yet it did not so far aggravate it but that it
should be forgiven him when he did bring his sacrifice. If he sin according to the sin of the people (so the case is put, v. 3 ),
which supposes him in this matter to stand upon the level with other
Israelites, and to have no benefit of his clergy at all. Now the law
concerning the sin-offering for the high priest is,
1. That he must bring a bullock without blemish for a sin-offering
( v. 3 ),
as valuable an offering as that for the whole congregation
( v. 14 );
whereas for any other ruler, or a common person, a kid of the
goats should serve, v. 23, 28 .
This intimated the greatness of the guilt connected with the sin of a
high priest. The eminency of his station, and his relation both to God
and to the people, greatly aggravated his offences; see Rom. ii. 21 .
2. The hand of the offerer must be laid upon the head of the offering
( v. 4 ),
with a solemn penitent confession of the sin he had committed, putting
it upon the head of the sin-offering, ch. xvi. 21 .
No remission without confession, Ps. xxxii. 5; Prov. xxviii. 13 .
It signified also a confidence in this instituted way of expiating
guilt, as a figure of something better yet to come, which they could
not stedfastly discern. He that laid his hand on the head of the beast
thereby owned that he deserved to die himself, and that it was God's
great mercy that he would please to accept the offering of this beast
to die for him. The Jewish writers themselves say that neither the
sin-offering nor the trespass-offering made atonement, except for those
that repented and believed in their atonement.
3. The bullock must be killed, and a great deal of solemnity there must
be in disposing of the blood; for it was the blood that made
atonement, and without shedding of blood there was no
remission, v. 5-7 .
Some of the blood of the high-priest's sin-offering was to be sprinkled seven times before the veil, with an eye towards the
mercy-seat, though it was veiled: some of it was to be put upon the
horns of the golden altar, because at that altar the priest himself
ministered; and thus was signified the putting away of that pollution
which from his sins did cleave to his services. It likewise serves to
illustrate the influence which Christ's satisfaction has upon the
prevalency of his intercession. The blood of his sacrifice is put upon
the altar of his incense and sprinkled before the Lord. When this was
done the remainder of the blood was poured at the foot of the brazen
altar. By this rite, the sinner acknowledged that he deserved to have
his blood thus poured out like water. It likewise signified the pouring
out of the soul before God in true repentance, and typified our
Saviour's pouring out his soul unto death. 4. The fat of the inwards was to be burnt upon the altar of
burnt-offering, v. 8-10 .
By this the intention of the offering and of the atonement made by it
was directed to the glory of God, who, having been dishonoured by the
sin, was thus honoured by the sacrifice. It signified the sharp
sufferings of our Lord Jesus, when he was made sin (that is, a
sin-offering) for us, especially the sorrows of his soul and his inward
agonies. It likewise teaches us, in conformity to the death of Christ,
to crucify the flesh.
5. The head and body of the beast, skin and all, were to be carried without the camp, to a certain place appointed for that purpose,
and there burnt to ashes, v. 11, 12 .
This was very significant,
(1.) Of the duty of repentance, which is the putting away of sin as a
detestable thing, which our soul hates. True penitents say to their
idols, "Get you hence; what have we to do any more with idols?" The
sin-offering is called sin. What they did to that we must do to
our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed, Rom. vi. 6 .
(2.) Of the privilege of remission. When God pardons sin he quite
abolishes it, casts it behind his back. The iniquity of Judah shall
be sought for and not found. The apostle takes particular notice of
this ceremony, and applies it to Christ
( Heb. xiii. 11-13 ),
who suffered without the gate, in the place of a skull, where the ashes
of dead men, as those of the altar, were poured out.
13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through
ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly,
and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of
the L ORD concerning things which should not be done, and are
guilty;
14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known,
then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin,
and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.
15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands
upon the head of the bullock before the L ORD : and the bullock
shall be killed before the L ORD .
16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's
blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood,
and sprinkle it seven times before the L ORD , even before the
vail.
18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the
altar which is before the L ORD , that is in the tabernacle of
the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom
of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation.
19 And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon
the altar.
20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock
for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest
shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and
burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering
for the congregation.
This is the law for expiating the guilt of a national sin, by a sin
offering. If the leaders of the people, through mistake concerning the
law, caused them to err, when the mistake was discovered an offering
must be brought, that wrath might not come upon the whole congregation.
Observe,
1. It is possible that the church may err, and that her guides may
mislead her. It is here supposed that the whole congregation may sin,
and sin through ignorance. God will always have a church on earth; but
he never said it should be infallible, or perfectly pure from
corruption on this side heaven.
2. When a sacrifice was to be offered for the whole congregation, the
elders were to lay their hands upon the head of it (three of them at
least), as representatives of the people and agents for them. The sin
we suppose to have been some common custom, taken up and used by the
generality of the people, upon presumption of its being lawful, which
afterwards, upon search, appeared to be otherwise. In this case the
commonness of the usage received perhaps by tradition from their
fathers, and the vulgar opinion of its being lawful, would not so far
excuse them from sin but that they must bring a sacrifice to make
atonement for it. There are many bad customs and forms of speech which
are thought to have no harm in them, and yet may bring guilt and wrath
upon a land, which therefore it concerns the elders both to reform and
to intercede with God for the pardon of, Joel ii. 16 .
3. The blood of this sin-offering, as of the former, was to be sprinkled seven times before the Lord, v. 17 .
It was not to be poured out there, but sprinkled only; for the
cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ was then and still is
sufficiently signified and represented by sprinkling, Isa. lii. 15 .
It was to be sprinkled seven times. Seven is a number of perfection,
because when God had made the world in six days he rested the seventh;
so this signified the perfect satisfaction Christ made, and the
complete cleansing of the souls of the faithful by it; see Heb. x. 14 .
The blood was likewise to be put upon the horns of the incense-altar,
to which there seems to be an allusion in Jer. xvii. 1 ,
where the sin of Judah is said to be graven upon the horns of their
altars. If they did not forsake their sins, the putting of the
blood of their sin-offerings upon the horns of their altars, instead of
taking away their guilt, did but bind it on the faster, perpetuated the
remembrance of it, and remained a witness against them. It is likewise
alluded to in Rev. ix. 13 ,
where a voice is heard from the four horns of the golden altar; that is, an answer of peace is given to the prayers of the saints,
which are acceptable and prevalent only by virtue of the blood of the
sin-offering put upon the horns of that altar; compare Rev. viii. 3 .
4. When the offering is completed, it is said, atonement is made,
and the sin shall be forgiven, v. 20 .
The promise of remission is founded upon the atonement. It is spoken
here of the forgiveness of the sin of the whole congregation, that is,
the turning away of those national judgments which the sin deserved.
Note, The saving of churches and kingdoms from ruin is owing to the
satisfaction and mediation of Christ.
22 When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through
ignorance against any of the commandments of the L ORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;
23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his
knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a
male without blemish:
24 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and
kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before
the L ORD : it is a sin offering.
25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering
with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of
burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the
altar of burnt offering.
26 And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of
the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an
atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven
him.
Observe here,
1. That God takes notice of and is displeased with the sins of rulers.
Those who have power to call others to account are themselves
accountable to the ruler of rulers; for, as high as they are, there is
a higher than they. This is intimated in that the commandment
transgressed is here said to be the commandment of the Lord his
God, v. 22 .
He is a prince to others, but let him know the Lord is a God to him.
2. The sin of the ruler which he committed through ignorance is
supposed afterwards to come to his knowledge
( v. 23 ),
which must be either by the check of his own conscience or by the
reproof of his friends, both which we should all, even the best and
greatest, not only submit to, but be thankful for. What we have done
amiss we should be very desirous to come to the knowledge of. That
which I see not, teach thou me, and show me wherein I have erred, are prayers we should put up to God every day, that though through
ignorance we fall into sin we may not through ignorance lie still in
it.
3. The sin-offering for a ruler was to be a kid of the goats, not a bullock, as for the priest and the whole congregation; nor was
the blood of his sin-offering to be brought into the tabernacle, as of
the other two, but it was all bestowed upon the brazen altar
( v. 25 );
nor was the flesh of it to be burnt, as that of the other two, without
the camp, which intimated that the sin of a ruler, though worse than
that of a common person, yet was not so heinous, nor of such pernicious
consequence, as the sin of the high priest, or of the whole
congregation. A kid of the goats was sufficient to be offered for a
ruler, but a bullock for a tribe, to intimate that the ruler, though major singulis--greater than each, was minor universis--less
than the whole. It is bad when great men give bad examples, but
worse when all men follow them.
4. It is promised that the atonement shall be accepted and the sin
forgiven
( v. 26 ),
that is, if he repent and reform; for otherwise God swore concerning
Eli, a judge in Israel, that the iniquity of his house should not be
purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever, 1 Sam. iii. 14 .
27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance,
while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the
L ORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be
guilty;
28 Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge:
then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female
without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.
29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering,
and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.
30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his
finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt
offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom
of the altar.
31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is
taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the
priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour unto the
L ORD ; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it
shall be forgiven him.
32 And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it
a female without blemish.
33 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering,
and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the
burnt offering.
34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering
with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of
burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the
bottom of the altar:
35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of
the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings;
and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the
offerings made by fire unto the L ORD : and the priest shall make
an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be
forgiven him.
I. Here is the law of the sin-offering for a common person, which
differs from that for a ruler only in this, that a private person might
bring either a kid or a lamb, a ruler only a kid; and that for a ruler
must be a male, for the other a female: in all the circumstances of the
management of the offering they agreed. Observe,
1. The case supposed: If any one of the common people sin through
ignorance, v. 27 .
The prophet supposes that they were not so likely as the great men to know the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God ( Jer. v. 4 ),
and yet, if they sin through ignorance, they must bring a sin-offering.
Note, Even sins of ignorance need to be atoned for by sacrifice. To be
able to plead, when we are charged with sin, that we did it ignorantly,
and through the surprise of temptation, will not bring us off if we be
not interested in that great plea, Christ hath died, and
entitled to the benefit of that. We have all need to pray with David
(and he was a ruler) to be cleansed from secret faults, the
errors which we ourselves do not understand or are not aware of, Ps. xix. 12 .
2. That the sins of ignorance committed by a single person, a common
obscure person, did require a sacrifice; for, as the greatest are not
above the censure, so the meanest are not below the cognizance of the
divine justice. None of the common people, if offenders, were
overlooked in a crowd.
3. That a sin-offering was not only admitted, but accepted, even from
one of the common people, and an atonement made by it, v. 31, 35 .
Here rich and poor, prince and peasant, meet together; they are both
alike welcome to Christ, and to an interest in his sacrifice, upon the
same terms. See Job xxxiv. 19 .
II. From all these laws concerning the sin-offerings we may learn,
1. To hate sin, and to watch against it. That is certainly a very bad
thing to make atonement for which so many innocent and useful creatures
must be slain and mangled thus.
2. To value Christ, the great and true sin-offering, whose blood
cleanses from all sin, which it was not possible that the blood of
bulls and of goats should take away. Now, if any man sin, Christ is the propitiation ( 1 John ii. 1, 2 ),
not for Jews only, but for Gentiles. And perhaps there was some
allusion to this law concerning sacrifices for sins of ignorance in
that prayer of Christ's, just when he was offering up himself a
sacrifice, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do.
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 4
This chapter contains the law of the sin offering, which was offered for sins committed through ignorance, error, and mistake, Le 4:1 and gives an account of the matter of them, and the rites belonging thereunto, which were different according to the persons for whom it was made, as for the anointed priest, Le 4:3 for the whole congregation, Le 4:13 and for the ruler, Le 4:22 and for any of the common people, Le 4:27.
Ver. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Continued to speak to him, or, after some pause made, proceeded to speak to him, and give things in commandment concerning the sin offering, what it should be, and for whom, as follows.
Leviticus 4:2
Ver. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, [saying],.... For this law concerning the sin offering, as the rest, only belonged to them, and such as were proselyted to them:
if a soul should sin through ignorance; sin is from the soul, though committed by the body; it is the soul that sins, Eze 18:4 it includes, as Aben Ezra observes, both Israelites and proselytes; who sinned through ignorance either of the law, that such things were forbidden, or of having committed them, they being done unobserved, and through inadvertency; or were forgotten that they were done, or were done through error and mistake; these sins are what the apostle calls the errors of the people, their strayings out of the way through ignorance and inadvertency, Heb 5:2 such sins as a man is overtaken with unawares, and is drawn into at once through temptation and the prevalence of corruption; these are the errors and secret faults which David distinguishes from presumptuous sins,
Ps 19:12:
against any of the commandments of the Lord ([concerning things] which ought not to be done.) The Jewish writers {m} distinguish the commandments of the Lord into affirmative and negative, and make their number to be six hundred and thirteen; two hundred and forty eight are affirmative, according to the number of bones in a man's body, and three hundred sixty five are negative ones, according to the number of the days of the year; and they observe {n}, it is only the transgression of negative precepts that is here meant, and for which a sin offering was to be brought:
and shall do against any of them; it must be something done, and not merely said: hence the Jews {o} say, that as the neglect of circumcision, and of the passover, does not come under this law, because they are affirmative precepts; so neither blasphemy, because there is nothing done, only something said: of these sins of ignorance, they give instances as follows; if any man eats the fat that is about the kidneys, thinking it is the fat that is about the heart; or that lies with a woman forbidden by the law, thinking her to be his wife; or that commits idolatry, by bowing to the idol, thinking that the law forbids sacrifice, incense, and libation, but not bowing; or that profanes the sabbath, thinking it is a common day {p}.
{m} T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 23. 2. {n} Maimon. in Misn. Horayot, c. 2. sect. 3. Bartenora in Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 1. Gersom in loc. {o} Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 2. & Bartenora in ib. Maimon. Hilchot Shegagot, c. 1. sect. 2. {p} Maimon & Bartenora in Misn. Ceritot, ib.
Leviticus 4:3
Ver. 3. If the priest that is anointed do sin,.... That is, the high priest, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septuagint version, render it; who in after times was only anointed, though at first Aaron's sons were anointed with him; so an high priest is described in Le 21:10 and such an one was liable to sin, and often did; which shows not only that the greatest and best of men are not without sin, but proves what the apostle observes, that the law made men high priests which had infirmity, even sinful infirmities, who needed to offer for themselves as well as for the people; by which it appeared that perfection could not be had by the Levitical priesthood, and that it was proper it should cease, and another priesthood take place, Heb 7:11:
according to the sin of the people; committing the like sins of error and ignorance as the common people, to which he was liable as they; or "to make the people guilty"; as the margin reads; to which agrees the Septuagint version, "so that the people sin"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "making the people to sin"; either by his doctrine or example, and both through ignorance, heedlessness, and inadvertency: the Targum of Jonathan is,
"when he offers the offering of sin for the people, not according to its manner''
or rite; as if his sin lay in erring while he was offering; but be it in which way it may, whether by any unadvised inadvertent action of his own, or ignorant instruction of the people, so causing them to err, or any ignorance or mistake in offering the sacrifices of the people:
then let him bring for the sin which he has sinned; in either way:
a young bullock; not an ox which was three years old, nor a calf which was but of one year, but a bullock which was of two years; so Maimonides {q} observes, that wherever it is said a calf, that is a young one of the first year, but a bullock it is a young one of the second year: as are men's characters, so are the aggravations of their sins, and sacrifices were proportioned thereunto; the high priest was obliged to bring the same offering as the whole congregation did in a like case; see Le 4:13
without blemish; a type of the sacrifice of Christ offered up without spot to God, as it follows;
unto the Lord; against whom sin is committed, and therefore sacrifice both in the type and antitype must be brought and offered up to him, by whom it is accepted, and to whom it is of a sweetsmelling savour, namely, the unblemished sacrifice of Christ:
for a sin offering; or "for sin": the sin offering is called sin itself, and so is Christ the antitype of it, 2Co 5:21 Christ is most holy in himself, had no sin in him, nor knew any, nor were any committed by him; yet he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, took the place of sinners, and was their substitute, had all their sins laid upon him, and was by imputation made sin itself, and became an offering for it, and so fully answered the type of the sin offering.
{q} Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 1. sect. 14.
Leviticus 4:4
Ver. 4. And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord,.... As the bullock of the burnt offering; See Gill on "Le 1:3":
and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head; the Targum of Jonathan says his right hand; See Gill on "Le 1:4":
and kill the bullock before the Lord; at the door of the tabernacle, that is, in the court, as Gersom observes; according to the above Targum, the butcher killed it, and not the priest:
See Gill on "Le 1:5" all this is typical of the imputation of sin to Christ, and of his death.
Leviticus 4:5
Ver. 5. And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood,.... Let out and received into a basin; this he did himself, and not another, for he offered for himself, and the blood was to make atonement for him:
and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation; out of the court where the bullock was slain, into the holy place, where were the vail that divided between the holy of holies, and the altar of sweet incense, after mentioned.
Leviticus 4:6
Ver. 6. And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood,.... The finger of his right hand, as Gersom observes, and so Maimonides {r}; for blood was always taken and sprinkled with the right hand, if done with the left it was wrong, according to the Jewish canons {s} and though it is only said the priest, and not that is anointed, as before, yet it seems to mean him and not another; though if a private priest did this, Gersom says, it would be right, and so Maimonides {t}:
and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord; a figure of the blood of Christ, called, in allusion to this rite, the blood of sprinkling; which being presented before the Lord, calls for pardon from him, and sprinkled on the conscience, speaks peace there, and perfectly cleanses from all sin, which the seven times sprinkling is a symbol of:
before the vail of the sanctuary: the words may be literally rendered, "the face of the vail of the sanctuary": as if the blood was sprinkled on the outside of the vail. Jarchi's note is,
"over against the place of its holiness, he directed (it) over against between the staves; the blood shall not touch the vail, but if it touches, it touches it;''
that is, it is no matter. And according to Maimonides {u} the blood of bullocks and goats burnt was sprinkled seven times upon the vail, which divided between the and the holy of holies. This typified the vail of flesh, whose blood gives boldness to enter into the holiest of all,
Heb 10:19.
{r} Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 5. sect. 7. Bartenora in Misn. Menachot, c. 3. sect. 4. {s} Misn. Zebachim, c. 2. sect. 1. & Bartenora in ib. {t} Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 5. sect. 15. {u} Ib. sect. 13.
Leviticus 4:7
Ver. 7. And the priest shall put [some] of the blood,.... With his finger, which he dipped into it:
upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; this was the golden altar on which incense was offered: it was placed before the vail, on the outside of it, in the holy place, see Ex 30:1 and the priest, when he put the blood on the horns of it, began at the northeast horn, so to the northwest, then to the southwest, and last to the southeast {w}; and the priest dipped his finger at every horn, and when he had finished at one horn, he wiped his finger at the edge of the basin, and after that dipped a second time; for what remained of the blood on his finger was not fit to put upon another horn {x}. This rite shows, that the intercession of Christ, signified by the altar of sweet incense, proceeds upon the foot of his blood and sacrifice, Re 8:3 1Jo 2:1:
and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; this altar stood without the holy place, and the altar of incense within; and after the priest had sprinkled of the blood of the bullock, upon the horns of the altar of incense, what remained he poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering; for though it is said "all" the blood, it can mean no more than what was left; wherefore the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "all the remaining blood": and Jarchi's explanatory note is, the rest of the blood. The place where this was poured, according to Maimonides {y}, was the west bottom of the altar; and Gersom on the place observes the same. This denotes the efficacy of Christ's blood to make atonement for sin, and the reverent esteem it ought to be had in, being precious blood.
{w} Misn. Yoma, c. 5. sect. 5. Maimon. ib. (Maasch Hakorbanot c. 5.) sect. 10. 14. {x} Maimon. ib. sect. 8. {y} Ib. sect. 11.
Leviticus 4:8
Ver. 8. And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering,.... When the priest had killed the bullock, and sprinkled and poured the blood, as before commanded; he then cut up the bullock, and took out its inwards, and put them in a vessel, and salted them, and strowed them on the fires {z}, and burnt them, and the fat of them, as he did with the sacrifice of the peace offerings; so that what is here said, and in the two next verses Le 4:9, is the same with what is ordered concerning them in Le 3:3
See Gill on "Le 3:3" see Gill on "Le 3:4" see Gill on "Le 3:5". Jarchi and Gersom both observe that they agree, that as one brings peace into the world, so does the other.
{z} Maimon. ib. (Maasch Hakorbanot) c. 7. sect. 2.
Leviticus 4:9
Ver. 9. See Gill on "Le 4:8".
Leviticus 4:10
Ver. 10. See Gill on "Le 4:8".
Leviticus 4:11
Ver. 11. And the skin of the bullock,.... Not taken off; for the sin offerings that were burnt were not flayed at all, but were cut in pieces with their skins on them {a}; in other burnt offerings the skin was taken off, and was a perquisite of the priest, Le 7:8 but this being an offering for the priest, the skin was burnt with the rest:
and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung; the burning of these denoted the sufferings of Christ, and these several parts the extent of them, they reaching to all parts of his body as stretched upon the cross; and the dung particularly the reproach of them, he dying the death of the cross, and was made sin and a curse for his people.
{a} Ib. (Maasch Hakoranot) c. 5. sect. 18. & 7. 2.
Leviticus 4:12
Ver. 12. Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp,.... The Jewish writers interpret it without the three camps {b}, the camp of the tabernacle, the camp of the Levites, and the camp of the Israelites; when the temple was built, such sacrifices were carried and burnt without the city of Jerusalem; there were three places for burning; one was in the midst of the court, where they burnt such sacrifices as were unfit and rejected; the other was in the mountain of the house called Birah, where they burnt such as any accident befell them, after the carrying of them out of the court; and the third place was without Jerusalem, called the place of ashes {c}: this was typical of Christ being had out of the city of Jerusalem, and suffering without the gates of it, Heb 13:11:
unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out; the ashes of the burnt offerings. This, according to Ainsworth, answered to the place where Christ was crucified, being a place of skulls, or dead men's ashes, Joh 19:17:
and burn him on the wood with fire; any wood might be used for the burning of it, even straw or stubble, which in the Hebrew language are called wood, as Gersom on the place observes, and so Maimonides {d}; and it is added, "with fire", as the last writer says {e}, to exclude lime and cinder coals:
where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt; openly without; and seeing it is not said, that the priest shall carry forth the bullock, and shall burn it, it is concluded by Gersom on the place, that both may be done lawfully by a stranger, and so Maimonides {f}.
{b} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 68. 1. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol. 42. 2. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Zebachim, c. 12. sect. 5. Jarchi in loc. {c} Maimon. Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 7. sect. 3, 4. {d} Maimon. Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 7. sect. 5. {e} Ib. Vid. T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 75. 1. {f} Maimon. ib.
Leviticus 4:13
Ver. 13. And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance,.... That is, all Israel, or the greatest part of them, as Gersom interprets it, through the ignorant teaching of the judges, who by their instruction cause the people to err, and commit sins of ignorance, as Baal Hatturim on the place observes, and Maimonides elsewhere {g}; wherefore Jarchi, and some others, by the congregation of Israel understand the sanhedrim, or the bench of judges, consisting of seventy one. Ainsworth remarks on the words, that the church may err:
and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly; congregation or church, so that they do not know that it is a sin which they have committed:
and they have done [somewhat against] any of the commandments of the Lord, [concerning things] which should not be done; transgressed negative precepts:
and are guilty; of sin, though as yet they know it not.
{g} Hilchot Shegagot, c. 12. sect. 1.
Leviticus 4:14
Ver. 14. When the sin which they have sinned against it,.... Any of the commandments of the Lord forbidding such a thing to be done:
is known; is made known to them by the priest, or any other, so that they are convinced that what has been done is wrong, though done through ignorance:
then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation; the same offering with that of the anointed priest, he being, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, equal to all Israel.
Leviticus 4:15
Ver. 15. And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord,.... These must be two at least, some say three, and some say five {h}; the more generally received notion is, that they were three of the sanhedrim {i}; though the Targum of Jonathan makes them to be the twelve rulers of the twelve tribes:
and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord; in the court near the altar of burnt offering, either by a priest, or Levite, or by a butcher, as the above Targum expresses it.
{h} Misn. Sotah, c. 9. sect. 1. {i} Maimon & Bartenora in Misn. Menachot, c. 9. sect. 7. Maimon. Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 3. sect. 10.
Leviticus 4:16
Ver. 16-21. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood,.... That is, the chief priest, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan explain it:
to the tabernacle of the congregation; as he brought the blood of his own bullock, Le 4:5 from hence to the Le 4:16 an account is given of the same rites to be observed in the sin offering, for the congregation, as for the anointed priest;
See Gill on "Le 4:6" see Gill on "Le 4:7" see Gill on "Le 4:12".
Leviticus 4:17
Ver. 17. See Gill on "Le 4:16".
Leviticus 4:18
Ver. 18. See Gill on "Le 4:16".
Leviticus 4:19
Ver. 19. See Gill on "Le 4:16".
Leviticus 4:20
Ver. 20. See Gill on "Le 4:16".
Leviticus 4:21
Ver. 21. See Gill on "Le 4:16".
Leviticus 4:22
Ver. 22. When a ruler hath sinned,.... Or "prince", the "nasi", one that is lifted up above others in honour, power, and authority, or that bears the weight of government: the word comes from one which signifies to lift up, or to bear; it may be understood of a governor of a family, or of a tribe, as Aben Ezra observes; and so in the Talmud {k} it is said, it means the prince of a tribe, such as Nachson the son of Amminadab, prince of the tribe of Judah. Maimonides {l} says a king is designed, over whom none has power; and so Gersom on the place, who observes, that David the king is called a prince, Eze 34:24
and done [somewhat] through ignorance [against] any of the commandments of the Lord his God; the phrase, "his God", is here added, and is not used neither of the anointed priest, nor of the congregation, nor of one of the common people; only of the prince, to show, that though he is above others, God is above him, and he is accountable to him; he is his God, of whom he is, and by whom he rules; wherefore if he breaks any of his commandments, though ignorantly, he must bring a sacrifice for it:
[concerning things] which should not be done, and is guilty; of transgressing negative precepts, which are as binding on him as others.
{k} T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 11. 1. {l} Hilchot Shegagot, c. 15. sect. 6.
Leviticus 4:23
Ver. 23. Or if his sin wherein he hath sinned come to his knowledge,.... Or rather, "and if his sin", &c. {m} either by means of others informing him of it, or of himself calling to mind what he has done, and considering it to be a transgression of the law:
he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish; his offering was to be a "kid of the goats", a fat and a large one; because, as Baal Hatturim observes, he ate fat things every day; and to distinguish it from the offering of one of the common people; and "without blemish"; as all sacrifices were, that they might be typical of the offering of Christ without spot.
{m} wa kai Sept. "et postea", V. L. & Noldius, p. 3. No. 23.
Leviticus 4:24
Ver. 24. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat,.... His right hand, as the Targum of Jonathan; See Gill on "Le 1:4"
and kill it; not the prince, but the priest after mentioned, or the butcher, as the same Targum:
in the place where they hill the burnt offering before the Lord; in the court on the north side of the altar, see Le 1:11:
it is a sin offering: an offering for his sin of ignorance, or "sin"; so Christ our offering is said to be, 2Co 5:21.
Leviticus 4:25
Ver. 25. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger,.... With the finger of his right hand, as the Talmudists {n} observe, and Gersom on the place; the priest first received the blood into a basin or ministering vessel, and then dipped the finger of his right hand into it, that next the thumb:
and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering; the four horns of it; in this there was a difference between the sacrifice of the anointed priest and of the congregation, and this of the ruler; the blood of the former was put upon the horns of the altar of incense, this upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering:
and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering; the South bottom of it; the order of the priest's proceeding in putting the blood was different from that used in putting it on the horns of the altar of incense; here he first put the blood upon the southeast horn, then upon the northeast, next upon the northwest, and then upon the southwest; and upon the bottom of that horn where he finished, he poured the remainder of the blood, which was the southern bottom {o}.
{n} T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 24. 1. {o} Maimon. Hilchot Maaseh Hakorbanot, c. 5. sect. 10.
Leviticus 4:26
Ver. 26. And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, &e.] Of burnt offering, that is, the priest shall do it:
as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings; see Le 3:3
and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin; in a typical way, directing to the great sacrifice of Christ, which is the only real atonement and propitiation for sin: the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render, "the priest shall pray for him": for the pardon of his sin:
and it shall be forgiven him; not for the prayers of the priest, nor for the sacrifice offered up, but for the sake of Christ, the antitype of such sacrifices, and when faith was exercised on him; or the meaning is, he shall not be punished for it.
Leviticus 4:27
Ver. 27. And if anyone of the common people sin through ignorance,.... Or, "if one soul of the people of the earth": that is, a single person, and so is distinguished from the congregation, one of the common sort of people; however is neither an high priest, nor a prince, or king, but either a common priest, or Levite, or Israelite; no man is free from sin; all sorts of persons, of all ranks and degrees, high and low, rich and poor, men in office, civil or ecclesiastical, or in whatsoever state of life, are liable to sin, and do sin continually, either ignorantly or willingly; and Christ is a sacrifice for all sins and for all sorts of sinners:
whilst he doeth somewhat; &c. See Gill on "Le 4:2" see Gill on "Le 4:13" see Gill on "Le 4:22".
Leviticus 4:28
Ver. 28. Or if his sin which he hath sinned come to his knowledge,.... So that he is convinced that he has sinned:
then he shall bring his offering; to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest there:
a kid of the goats: a young goat:
a female without blemish; and so inferior to the offering of the ruler or prince; for the characters of men are aggravations of their sins, and sacrifices were to be in some measure answerable to them, and suitable to their circumstances:
for the sin which he hath sinned; to atone for it in a typical way.
Leviticus 4:29
Ver. 29. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering,.... His right hand, as the Targum of Jonathan; not the priest that shall offer it, but the man that has sinned, that brings it, thereby confessing his sin, and transferring it to the sacrifice:
and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering; that is, on the north side of the altar.
Leviticus 4:30
Ver. 30-31. And the priest shall take of the blood,.... So that all the preceding actions, the bringing the offering, the putting the hand upon the head of it, and slaying it, were done by the man that sinned; of this and what follows here and in the next verse Le 4:31,
See Gill on "Le 4:25" see Gill on "Le 4:26".
Leviticus 4:31
Ver. 31. See Gill on "Le 4:30".
Leviticus 4:32
Ver. 32. And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering,.... As he might if he would; the Jews observe, that in all places a lamb is put before a goat, as being more excellent in its kind; but here it is mentioned after, which shows, they say, that they are equally alike {p}:
he shall bring it a female without blemish; typical of Christ the Lamb of God, without spot and without blemish, 1Pe 1:19.
{p} T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 57. 2. & Ceritot, fol. 28. 2.
Leviticus 4:33
Ver. 33. He shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering,.... On the head of the lamb, as on the head of the goat, even his right hand, as the above Targum, as before:
and slay it for a sin offering, in the place where they kill the burnt offering: for if it was not slain for a sin offering, but for something else, or on any other account, as for a burnt offering, it was not right {q}.
{q} T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 7. 1. & Menachot, fol. 4. 1.
Leviticus 4:34
Ver. 34-35. And the priest shall take of the blood,....
See Gill on "Le 4:25" See Gill on "Le 4:26".
Leviticus 4:35
Ver. 35. See Gill on "Le 4:34".
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and peace-
offerings, had been offered before the giving of the law upon mount
Sinai; and in these the patriarchs had respect to sin, to make
atonement for it. But the Jews were now put into a way of making
atonement for sin, more particularly by sacrifice, as a shadow of
good things to come; yet the substance is Christ, and that one
offering of himself, by which he put away sin. The sins for which the
sin-offerings were appointed are supposed to be open acts. They
are supposed to be sins of commission, things which ought not to
have been done. Omissions are sins, and must come into
judgment: yet what had been omitted at one time, might be done at
another; but a sin committed was past recall. They are supposed to
be sins committed through ignorance. The law begins with the case
of the anointed priest. It is evident that God never had any infallible
priest in his church upon earth, when even the high priest was liable
to fall into sins of ignorance. All pretensions to act without error are
sure marks of Antichrist. The beast was to be carried without the
camp, and there burned to ashes. This was a sign of the duty of
repentance, which is the putting away sin as a detestable thing,
which our soul hates. The sin-offering is called sin. What they did to
that, we must do to our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed,
Romans 6:6. The apostle applies the carrying this sacrifice without
the camp to Christ, Hebrews 13:11-13.
Burnt-offerings, meat-offerings, and peace-
offerings, had been offered before the giving of the law upon mount
Sinai; and in these the patriarchs had respect to sin, to make
atonement for it. But the Jews were now put into a way of making
atonement for sin, more particularly by sacrifice, as a shadow of
good things to come; yet the substance is Christ, and that one
offering of himself, by which he put away sin.
What they did to
that, we must do to our sins; the body of sin must be destroyed,
Romans 6:6. The apostle applies the carrying this sacrifice without
the camp to Christ, Hebrews 13:11-13.
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary