Leviticus 5:15-19

5:15 “When a person commits a trespass ¹  and sins by straying unintentionally ²  from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, ³  then he must bring his penalty for guilt ⁴  to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, ⁵  for a guilt offering. ⁶  5:16 And whatever holy thing he violated ⁷  he must restore and must add one fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ⁸  on his behalf with the guilt offering ram and he will be forgiven.” ⁹ 

Unknown trespass

5:17 “If a person sins and violates any of the Lord’s commandments which must not be violated ¹⁰  (although he did not know it at the time, ¹¹  but later realizes he is guilty), then he will bear his punishment for iniquity ¹²  5:18 and must bring a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels, ¹³  for a guilt offering to the priest. So the priest will make atonement ¹⁴  on his behalf for his error which he committed ¹⁵  (although he himself had not known it) and he will be forgiven. ¹⁶  5:19 It is a guilt offering; he was surely guilty before the Lord.”

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¹ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, ma’al); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see further below). See the note on Lev 10:10.

² tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”

³ sn Heb “from the holy things of the Lord.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the Lord.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:320-27).

⁴ tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (’asham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).

⁵ tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81).

sn The sanctuary shekel was about 10 grams (= ca. two fifths of an ounce; J. E. Shepherd, NIDOTTE 4:237-38).

⁶ tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.

sn The primary purpose of the guilt offering was to “atone” (see the note on Lev 1:4 above) for “trespassing” on the Lord’s “holy things” (see later in this verse) or the property of others in the community (Lev 6:1-7 [5:20-26 HT]; 19:20-22; Num 5:5-10). It was closely associated with reconsecration of the Lord’s sacred things or his sacred people (see, e.g., Lev 14:12-18; Num 6:11b-12). Moreover, there was usually an associated reparation made for the trespass, including restitution of that which was violated plus one fifth of its value as a fine (Lev 5:16; 6:5 [5:24 HT]). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:557-66.

⁷ tn Heb “and which he sinned from the holy thing.”

⁸ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

⁹ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV similar).

¹⁰ tn Heb “and does one from all of the commandments of the Lord which must not be done.”

¹¹ tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

¹² tn Heb “and he did not know, and he shall be guilty and he shall bear his iniquity” (for the rendering “bear his punishment [for iniquity]”) see the note on Lev 5:1.) This portion of v. 17 is especially difficult. The translation offered here suggests (as in many other English versions) that the offender did not originally know that he had violated the Lord’s commandments, but then came to know it and dealt with it accordingly (cf. the corresponding sin offering section in Lev 5:1-4). Another possibility is that it refers to a situation where a person suspects that he violated something although he does not recollect it. Thus, he brings a guilt offering for his suspected violation (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:331-34, 361-63). See also R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:561-62.

¹³ tn The statement here is condensed. See the full expression in 5:15 and the note there.

¹⁴ sn Regarding “make atonement” see the note on Lev 1:4.

¹⁵ tn Heb “on his straying which he strayed.” See the note on Lev 4:2.

¹⁶ tn Heb “there shall be forgiveness to him” or “it shall be forgiven to him” (KJV and NASB both similar).