Leviticus 4:1-12
When priestly sin defiles the covenant community, God provides a sin offering that restores purity through sacrificial mediation.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone sins unintentionally, in any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and does any one of them,
3 if the anointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without defect to Yahweh for a sin offering.
4 He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the bull before Yahweh.
5 The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull, and bring it to the Tent of Meeting.
6 The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before Yahweh, before the veil of the sanctuary.
7 The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before Yahweh, which is in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out the rest of the blood of the bull at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
8 He shall take all the fat of the bull of the sin offering from it: the fat that covers the innards, and all the fat that is on the innards,
9 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the cover on the liver, with the kidneys, he shall remove,
10 as it is removed from the bull of the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
11 He shall carry the bull’s skin, all its meat, with its head, and with its legs, its innards, and its dung
12 —all the rest of the bull—outside of the camp to a clean place where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire. It shall be burned where the ashes are poured out.
When priestly sin defiles the covenant community, God provides a sin offering that restores purity through sacrificial mediation.
This passage introduces the sin offering and addresses the situation in which the anointed priest sins unintentionally, bringing guilt upon the people. It prescribes a specific sacrificial procedure that removes the guilt associated with priestly failure and restores covenant order before the LORD.
Leviticus 4 marks a major shift from the first three offering categories. Leviticus 1 addressed the burnt offering, Leviticus 2 the grain offering, and Leviticus 3 the fellowship offering. Leviticus 4 begins the sin offering or purification offering, focusing on unintentional violations of the LORD's commands and the need for cleansing from sin's defiling effects. The first case concerns the anointed priest, whose sin has corporate consequences because of his representative role.
Leviticus 4:1-12 belongs to Israel's tabernacle worship in the wilderness and begins the instructions for the purification offering. It addresses how unintentional sin is dealt with before the holy LORD who dwells among Israel. Israel is the redeemed covenant people of the LORD. The sacrificial system now addresses how sin within the covenant community, including sin by its anointed priest, is purified so that the holy God may continue dwelling among his people. The offering is brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting. The bull is slaughtered before the LORD, blood is taken into the tent, sprinkled before the curtain, applied to the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, poured at the base of the bronze altar, fat is burned on the altar, and the rest of the bull is burned outside the camp in a clean place. The instructions are given to Moses for Israel and especially concern the anointed priest, whose sin affects the people because of his representative role. The anointed priest has privileged access and responsibility within the sanctuary. Because his role is bound to mediation and worship, his unintentional sin requires a purification rite that reaches into the sanctuary space. This passage follows offerings that established approach, tribute, and fellowship. It now addresses the disruptive reality of sin and impurity within the worshiping community.
The Sin Offering: Purification for Unintentional Sin
No one in the covenant community is beyond the reach of sin or beyond the mercy of God's appointed atonement.