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 15:31

15:31 Because he has despised ³  the word of the Lord and has broken ⁴  his commandment, that person ⁵  must be completely cut off. ⁶  His iniquity will be on him.’” ⁷ 

Bilangan 36:13

36:13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority ⁸  of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River ⁹  opposite Jericho. ¹⁰ 

[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.

[15:31]  ³ tn The verb בָּזָה (bazah, “to despise”) means to treat something as worthless, to treat it with contempt, to look down the nose at something as it were.

[15:31]  ⁴ tn The verb פָּרַר (parar, “to break”) can mean to nullify, break, or violate a covenant.

[15:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “soul.”

[15:31]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the Niphal imperfect with the modifying Niphal infinitive absolute. The infinitive makes the sentence more emphatic. If the imperfect tense is taken as an instruction imperfect, then the infinitive makes the instruction more binding. If it is a simple future, then the future is certain. In either case, there is no exclusion from being cut off.

[15:31]  ⁷ sn The point is that the person’s iniquity remains with him – he must pay for his sin. The judgment of God in such a case is both appropriate and unavoidable.

[36:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “by the hand.”

[36:13]  ⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[36:13]  ¹⁰ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.