Leviticus 5:16

16 `And that which he hath sinned against the holy thing he repayeth, and its fifth is adding to it, and hath given it to the priest, and the priest maketh atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering, and it hath been forgiven him.

Leviticus 5:16 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:16

And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in
the holy thing
This seems to favour the sense of the word "estimation", in the preceding verse, as understood of the estimate of the damage done in the holy things, which belonged to the priests, for which recompense was to be made according as the damage was valued:

and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest;
besides paying the whole damage, he was to give a fifth part of the whole to the priest; which was ordered to show the evil nature of the sin of sacrilege, though done ignorantly, and to make men careful and cautious of committing it: the fifth part, according to the Jewish writers ^F6, is the fourth part of that of which a man eats, ("viz." of the holy things,) which is the fifth of the whole; thus, if he eats the value of a penny, he pays the penny and the fourth part of one, and so it is in all the fifths mentioned in the law; or, as Ben Gersom on the place expresses it, if he has had profit by the holy things to the value of four shekels, he pays five shekels; for the fifth of the shekels they add the fifth part to the four shekels; in this he observes, all are alike, the priest, the anointed, the prince, and a private person, for the law makes no difference between them in this:

and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the
trespass offering;
by offering it up for him:

and it shall be forgiven him;
after he has paid the whole damage, and a fifth part besides, and offered the trespass offering for atonement; (See Gill on Leviticus 5:10).

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Trumot, c. 6. 1.

Leviticus 5:16 In-Context

14 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

15 `When a person committeth a trespass, and hath sinned through ignorance against the holy things of Jehovah, then he hath brought in his guilt-offering to Jehovah, a ram, a perfect one, out of the flock, at thy valuation [in] silver -- shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary -- for a guilt-offering.

16 `And that which he hath sinned against the holy thing he repayeth, and its fifth is adding to it, and hath given it to the priest, and the priest maketh atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering, and it hath been forgiven him.

17 `And when any person sinneth, and hath done [something against] one of all the commands of Jehovah [regarding things] which are not to be done, and hath not known, and he hath been guilty, and hath borne his iniquity,

18 `Then he hath brought in a ram, a perfect one, out of the flock, at thy valuation, for a guilt-offering, unto the priest; and the priest hath made atonement for him, for his ignorance in which he hath erred and he hath not known, and it hath been forgiven him;