Leviticus 5:9

9 And the priest shall sprinkle the wall of the altar, of the blood thereof; soothly whatever is residue, he shall make to drop down at the foundament of the altar, for it is for sin. (And the priest shall sprinkle the side of the altar with some of its blood; and whatever is left, he shall pour out at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar, for it is a sin offering.)

Leviticus 5:9 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:9

And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin [offering]
upon the side of the altar
Or "wall" ^F3 it is asked ^F4,

``what is the wall at which the rest of the blood is wrung out? this is the lower wall, namely, the half of the height of the altar below, under the thread (of scarlet that goes round the middle of the altar) that the rest of the blood may be squeezed at the bottom of the altar, and because of this the sin offering of the fowl is below,''

that is, the sprinkling of its blood. And so Ben Gersom observes; from hence we learn, says he, that the sprinkling of the sin offering of the fowl was in the lower part of the altar; and I think this sprinkling, adds he, was not in the length, but in the breadth:

and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the
altar;
the blood sprinkled was that which dropped from it when nipped by the priest; this here was squeezed out by him, and was shed at the foot of the altar; so that the altar had all the blood, and nothing but the blood of the fowl, all the rest belonged to the priest {e}: this might be an emblem both of the drops of blood which fell from Christ in the garden, and of the shedding of his blood upon the cross, whereby remission of sin was obtained, and atonement made:

it [is] a sin [offering];
an offering whereby sin was typically expiated and stoned.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F3 (ryq le) (epi ton toicon) , Sept. "super parietem", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; "ad parietem", Tigurine version.
F4 Maimon. in Misn. Zebachim, c. 6. sect. 4.
F5 Misn. ib.

Leviticus 5:9 In-Context

7 But if he may not offer a beast, offer he two turtles, either two birds of culvers to the Lord, one for [the] sin, and the tother into burnt sacrifice. (And if he cannot offer such a beast, offer he two turtledoves, or two young pigeons to the Lord, one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt sacrifice.)

8 And he shall give those to the priest, which shall offer the first for [the] sin, and shall fold again the head thereof to the wings, so that it cleave to the neck, and be not broken utterly. (And he shall give them to the priest, who shall offer the first for a sin offering; and he shall fold back its head to its wings, but it shall still cleave to the neck, and not be broken completely off.)

9 And the priest shall sprinkle the wall of the altar, of the blood thereof; soothly whatever is residue, he shall make to drop down at the foundament of the altar, for it is for sin. (And the priest shall sprinkle the side of the altar with some of its blood; and whatever is left, he shall pour out at the foundation, or at the base, of the altar, for it is a sin offering.)

10 Soothly he shall burn the tother bird into burnt sacrifice, as it is wont to be done; and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven to him. (And he shall burn the other bird for a burnt sacrifice, as it is wont to be done; and the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.)

11 That if his hand for poverty may not offer two turtles, either two birds of culvers, he shall offer for his sin the tenth part of ephah of tried wheat flour; he shall not put oil into it, neither he shall put anything of incense, for it is for sin. (But if for poverty, his hand cannot find two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, to offer, he shall offer the tenth part of an ephah of fine wheat flour for a sin offering; he shall not put any oil on it, nor shall he put any frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.)