3 or if he touch the uncleanness of man, any uncleanness of him by which he is defiled, and it be hid from him, when he knoweth [it], then he is guilty.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman conceive seed, and bear a male, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of the separation of her infirmity shall she be unclean. And on the eighth day shall the flesh of his foreskin be circumcised. And she shall continue thirty-three days in the blood of her cleansing; no holy thing shall she touch, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her cleansing are fulfilled. And if she bear a female, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation; and she shall continue sixty-six days in the blood of her cleansing. And when the days of her cleansing are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a yearling lamb for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin-offering, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, unto the priest. And he shall present it before Jehovah, and make atonement for her; and she shall be clean from the flux of her blood. This is the law for her that hath borne a male or a female. And if her hand cannot find what is sufficient for a sheep, she shall bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons; one for a burnt-offering, and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her; and she shall be clean.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man have a flux from his flesh, because of his flux he is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his flux: whether his flesh run with his flux, or his flesh be closed from his flux, it is his uncleanness. Every bed whereon he lieth that hath the flux shall be unclean; and every object on which he sitteth shall be unclean. And whoever toucheth his bed shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that sitteth on any object whereon he sat that hath the flux shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the flux shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And if he that hath the flux spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And what carriage soever he rideth upon that hath the flux shall be unclean. And whoever toucheth anything that was under him shall be unclean until the even; and he that carrieth them shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And whomsoever he toucheth who hath the flux and hath not rinsed his hands in water -- he shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And the vessel of earth that he toucheth who hath the flux shall be broken; and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. And when he that hath a flux is clean of his flux, then he shall count seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and he shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before Jehovah unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, and give them unto the priest. And the priest shall offer them, one as a sin-offering, and one as a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before Jehovah for his flux. And if any man's seed of copulation pass from him, then he shall bathe his whole flesh in water, and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin, whereon the seed of copulation shall be, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even. And a woman with whom a man lieth with seed of copulation -- they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And if a woman have a flux, and her flux in her flesh be blood, she shall be seven days in her separation, and whoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And everything that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean; and everything that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whoever toucheth her bed shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And whoever toucheth any object that she sat upon shall wash his garments, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on the bed, or on anything whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if a man lie with her at all, and the uncleanness of her separation come upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. And if a woman have her flux of blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if she have the flux beyond the time of her separation, all the days of the flux of her uncleanness shall she be as [in] the days of her separation: she is unclean. Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her flux shall be unto her as the bed of her separation; and every object on which she sitteth shall be unclean, according to the uncleanness of her separation. And whoever toucheth them shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the even. And if she be cleansed of her flux then she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall offer the one as a sin-offering, and the other as a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her before Jehovah for the flux of her uncleanness. And ye shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is in their midst. This is the law for him that hath a flux, and for the one whose seed of copulation goeth from him, and who is defiled therewith: and for a woman who is sick in her separation, and for him that hath his flux; for the man and for the woman, and for him that lieth with her that is unclean.
He that toucheth a dead person, any dead body of a man, shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whoever toucheth a dead person, the dead body of a man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel; for the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him: he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, shall be unclean. And every one that toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead person, or the bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Whatsoever man of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a flux, he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. And he that toucheth any one that is unclean by a dead person, or a man whose seed of copulation hath passed from him; or a man that toucheth any crawling thing whereby he becometh unclean, or a man by whom he may become unclean, whatever may be his uncleanness, -- a person that toucheth any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things; but he shall bathe his flesh with water,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 5
Commentary on Leviticus 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Le 5:1. Trespass Offerings for Concealing Knowledge.
1. if a soul … hear the voice of swearing—or, according to some, "the words of adjuration." A proclamation was issued calling any one who could give information, to come before the court and bear testimony to the guilt of a criminal; and the manner in which witnesses were interrogated in the Jewish courts of justice was not by swearing them directly, but adjuring them by reading the words of an oath: "the voice of swearing." The offense, then, for the expiation of which this law provides, was that of a person who neglected or avoided the opportunity of lodging the information which it was in his power to communicate.
Le 5:2, 3. Touching Any Thing Unclean.
2. if a soul touch any unclean thing—A person who, unknown to himself at the time, came in contact with any thing unclean, and either neglected the requisite ceremonies of purification or engaged in the services of religion while under the taint of ceremonial defilement, might be afterwards convinced that he had committed an offense.
Le 5:4-19. For Swearing.
4. if a soul swear—a rash oath, without duly considering the nature and consequences of the oath, perhaps inconsiderately binding himself to do anything wrong, or neglecting to perform a vow to do something good. In all such cases a person might have transgressed one of the divine commandments unwittingly, and have been afterwards brought to a sense of his delinquency.
5. it shall be, when he shall be guilty … that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing—make a voluntary acknowledgment of his sin from the impulse of his own conscience, and before it come to the knowledge of the world. A previous discovery might have subjected him to some degree of punishment from which his spontaneous confession released him, but still he was considered guilty of trespass, to expiate which he was obliged by the ceremonial law to go through certain observances.
6-14. he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sins which he hath sinned—A trespass offering differed from a sin offering in the following respects: that it was appointed for persons who had either done evil unwittingly, or were in doubt as to their own criminality; or felt themselves in such a special situation as required sacrifices of that kind [Brown]. The trespass offering appointed in such cases was a female lamb or kid; if unable to make such an offering, he might bring a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons—the one to be offered for a sin offering, the other for a burnt offering; or if even that was beyond his ability, the law would be satisfied with the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour without oil or frankincense.
15, 16. sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord, &c.—This is a case of sacrilege committed ignorantly, either in not paying the full due of tithes, first-fruits, and similar tribute in eating of meats, which belonged to the priests alone—or he was required, along with the restitution in money, the amount of which was to be determined by the priest, to offer a ram for a trespass offering, as soon as he came to the knowledge of his involuntary fraud.
17-19. if a soul sin … though he wist it not, yet is he guilty—This also refers to holy things, and it differs from the preceding in being one of the doubtful cases,—that is, where conscience suspects, though the understanding be in doubt whether criminality or sin has been committed. The Jewish rabbis give, as an example, the case of a person who, knowing that "the fat of the inwards" is not to be eaten, religiously abstained from the use of it; but should a dish happen to have been at table in which he had reason to suspect some portion of that meat was intermingled, and he had, inadvertently, partaken of that unlawful viand, he was bound to bring a ram as a trespass offering [Le 5:16]. These provisions were all designed to impress the conscience with the sense of responsibility to God and keep alive on the hearts of the people a salutary fear of doing any secret wrong.