Numbers 15 Footnotes

15:22-31 Inadvertent sins included matters in which the individual or community: (1) acted unknowingly in breaking commandments, (2) was unaware of the penalty involved, or (3) failed to perform certain ritual requirements. The priest sacrificed a male goat for a sin offering and a bull for a burnt offering on behalf of the full congregation—Israelite and foreign residents—for unintentional breaking of the covenant. An individual brought a year-old female goat for such offenses. However, blatant defiance of the law was punishable by permanent banishment from the community, in which the individual bears his guilt away from the community.

15:32-36 The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel. Violation of its sanctity was an especially heinous offense, punishable by execution at the hand of members of the community of faith. The penalty may seem inordinately severe by modern standards, especially in light of Jesus’s teaching about the Sabbath in relationship to human well-being (Mk 2:27). But this is a pivotal occasion in Israel’s history, during which the Lord is laying a foundation for Israel’s understanding of itself as his faithful people. He could permit no doubt about the seriousness of his purpose.