Keraia
Leviticus 4

Leviticus 4:12

Laws for Sin Offerings · Leviticus 4:1–35
Read Leviticus 4

Translations

Modern
…all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he must burn it on a wood fire on the ash heap.
Traditional
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.
Literal
…and he shall carry all of the bull outside of the camp to a clean place, to the place of the pouring out of the ashes, and he shall burn it on wood with the fire. It shall be burned on the place of the pouring out of the ashes.
Latin
…et reliquo corpore, efferet extra castra in locum mundum, ubi cineres effundi solent: incendetque ea super lignorum struem, quæ in loco effusorum cinerum cremabuntur.

Original

Hebrew
English
…all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place where the ashes are poured out, and there he must burn it on a wood fire on the ash heap.

Notes

Leviticus 4:11–12

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).

Leviticus 4:3–21

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).

Leviticus 4:1–5:13

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).

Parallels

Leviticus 5:1–13 Leviticus 6:24–30

Glossary

Ashes Biblical Concept of Law Deuteronomy, Book of History of Israel Horn Law of Moses Leviticus, Book of Moses Offerings and Sacrifices Worship

Topics

Gates: Carcase of Sin-Offering Burned Without Ignorance: Sins of Offerings: Different Kinds of Sin Priest: Duties of To offer Sacrifices Priest: To offer for his own Sins of Ignorance Sacrifices: Different Kinds of Sin offering for Sins of Ignorance Sanitation: Filth, Disposition of Sin-Offering: when for a Priest or the Congregation, the Skin, Carcass, Types of Christ: Sin offering Types of the Saviour: The Sacrifices