Leviticus 5:15

15 “If one of you commits a sin by unintentionally defiling the LORD ’s sacred property, you must bring a guilt offering to the LORD . The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.

Leviticus 5:15 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 5:15

If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance in
the holy things of the Lord
In the payment of tithes, or offering first fruits as he ought, by withholding them, or any part of them, or through eating of sacred things he ought not:

then shall he bring for his trespass unto the Lord;
for it being a trespass in holy things, it might be properly called a trespass to or against the Lord; unless this is rather to be understood of the offering brought to the Lord for his trespass as follows:

a ram without blemish out of the flocks;
out of the sheep and not the goats, as Ben Gersom observes; and this being for sacrifice, or for a trespass in holy things though ignorantly done, an offering of more value is required than for sins of ignorance in other cases, ( Leviticus 5:6 ) a type of Christ, who for his strength may be compared to a ram, and to one without blemish, for his purity and holiness, and to a choice one, selected out of the flock, for his being chosen out from among the people:

with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the
sanctuary, for a trespass offering;
that is, either an estimation was to be taken of the damage done in the holy things, an account of which was to be brought along with the ram, and the cost paid; or else the ram brought was to be of the value of, or worth shekels of silver; and the least of many being two, as Aben Ezra and Ben Gersom observe, the sense is, that the ram brought for the trespass offering should be at least worth two shekels of silver; so Jarchi and Ben Gersom.

Leviticus 5:15 In-Context

13 Through this process, the priest will purify those who are guilty of any of these sins, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the flour will belong to the priest, just as with the grain offering.”
14 Then the LORD said to Moses,
15 “If one of you commits a sin by unintentionally defiling the LORD ’s sacred property, you must bring a guilt offering to the LORD . The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.
16 You must make restitution for the sacred property you have harmed by paying for the loss, plus an additional 20 percent. When you give the payment to the priest, he will purify you with the ram sacrificed as a guilt offering, making you right with the LORD, and you will be forgiven.
17 “Suppose you sin by violating one of the LORD ’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Each shekel was about 0.4 ounces or 11 grams in weight.
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