Numbers 15:24-25

15:24 then if anything is done unintentionally ¹  without the knowledge of ²  the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering – for a pleasing aroma to the Lord – along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering. 15:25 And the priest is to make atonement ³  for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, ⁴  because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.

Numbers 16:3

16:3 And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, ⁵  seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?”

Numbers 25:6

25:6 Just then ⁶  one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers ⁷  a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of ⁸  the whole community of the Israelites, while they ⁹  were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Numbers 27:21

27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who ¹⁰  will seek counsel ¹¹  for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. ¹²  At his command ¹³  they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”

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¹ tn The idea of לִשְׁגָגָה (lishgagah) seems to be that of “inadvertence” or “without intent.” The text gives no indication of how this offense might be committed, or what it might include. It probably describes any transgressions done in ignorance of the Law that involved a violation of tabernacle procedure or priestly protocol or social misdemeanor. Even though it was done unintentionally, it was still a violation and called for ritual purification.

² tn Heb “[away] from the eyes of the community.”

³ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive (וְכִפֶּר, vÿkhipper) to continue the instruction of the passage: “the priest shall make atonement,” meaning the priest is to make atonement for the sin (thus the present translation). This verb means “to expiate,” “to atone for,” “to pacify.” It describes the ritual events by which someone who was separated from the holy Lord God could find acceptance into his presence through the sacrificial blood of the substitutionary animal. See Lev 1 and Num 17:6-15.

⁴ tn Or “they will be forgiven.”

⁵ tn The meaning of רַב־לָכֶם (rab-lakhem) is something like “you have assumed far too much authority.” It simply means “much to you,” perhaps “you have gone to far,” or “you are overreaching yourselves” (M. Noth, Numbers [OTL], 123). He is objecting to the exclusiveness of the system that Moses has been introducing.

⁶ tn The verse begins with the deictic particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh), pointing out the action that was taking place. It stresses the immediacy of the action to the reader.

⁷ tn Or “to his family”; or “to his clan.”

⁸ tn Heb “before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of.”

⁹ tn The vav (ו) at the beginning of the clause is a disjunctive because it is prefixed to the nonverbal form. In this context it is best interpreted as a circumstantial clause, stressing that this happened “while” people were weeping over the sin.

¹⁰ tn The passage simply has “and he will ask,” but Eleazar is clearly the subject now.

¹¹ tn Heb “ask.”

¹² sn The new leader would not have the privilege that Moses had in speaking to God face to face. Rather, he would have to inquire of the Lord through the priest, and the priest would seek a decision by means of the Urim. The Urim and the Thummim were the sacred lots that the priest had in his pouch, the “breastplate” as it has traditionally been called. Since the Law had now been fully established, there would be fewer cases that the leader would need further rulings. Now it would simply be seeking the Lord’s word for matters such as whether to advance or not. The size, shape or substance of these objects is uncertain. See further C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim.

¹³ tn Heb “mouth,” meaning what he will say.