Bilangan 15:22

Rules for Unintentional Offenses

15:22 ¹ “‘If you ²  sin unintentionally and do not observe all these commandments that the Lord has spoken to Moses –

Bilangan 15:24

15:24 then if anything is done unintentionally ³  without the knowledge of ⁴  the community, the whole community must prepare one young bull for a burnt offering – for a pleasing aroma to the Lord – along with its grain offering and its customary drink offering, and one male goat for a purification offering.

Bilangan 15:26

15:26 And the whole community ⁵  of the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them will be forgiven, since all the people were involved in the unintentional offense.

Bilangan 15:29

15:29 You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.

[15:22]  ¹ sn These regulations supplement what was already ruled on in the Levitical code for the purification and reparation offerings. See those rulings in Lev 4-7 for all the details. Some biblical scholars view the rules in Leviticus as more elaborate and therefore later. However, this probably represents a misunderstanding of the purpose of each collection.

[15:22]  ² tn The verb is the plural imperfect; the sin discussed here is a sin committed by the community, or the larger part of the community.

[15:24]  ³ tn The idea of לִשְׁגָגָה (lishgagah) seems to be that of “inadvertence” or “without intent.” The text gives no indication of how this offense might be committed, or what it might include. It probably describes any transgressions done in ignorance of the Law that involved a violation of tabernacle procedure or priestly protocol or social misdemeanor. Even though it was done unintentionally, it was still a violation and called for ritual purification.

[15:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “[away] from the eyes of the community.”

[15:26]  ⁵ tn Again, rather than translate literally “and it shall be forgiven [to] them” (all the community), one could say, “they (all the community) will be forgiven.” The meaning is the same.