Leviticus 5:3

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity. ²Or if a person touches anything unclean-whether the carcass of any unclean wild animal or livestock or crawling creature-even if he is unaware of it, he is unclean and guilty. ³Or if he touches human uncleanness-anything by which one becomes unclean-even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty.⁴Or if someone swears thoughtlessly with his lips to do anything good or evil-in whatever matter a man may rashly pronounce an oath-even if he is unaware of it, when he later realizes it, he will be guilty. ⁵If someone incurs guilt in one of these ways, he must confess the sin he has committed, ⁶and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the uncleanness: Leviticus 12:1 - Leviticus 13:59, Leviticus 15:1-33, Leviticus 22:4-6, Numbers 19:11-16

Reciprocal: Leviticus 6:4 - because Leviticus 7:21 - the uncleanness Leviticus 14:12 - trespass Numbers 19:13 - purifieth Isaiah 52:11 - touch

Cross-References

Genesis 4:25
And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."

Genesis 5:2
Male and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them "man."

Genesis 5:3
When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.

Genesis 5:14
So Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:16
And after he had become the father of Jared, Mahalaleel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

Job 14:4
Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!

Job 25:4
How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

Psalms 51:5
Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Luke 1:35
The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

John 3:6
Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Or if he touch the uncleanness of man,.... The dead body of a man, or the bone of a dead body, or a grave, or any profluvious or menstruous person:

whatsoever uncleanness [it be] that a man shall be defiled withal: not morally, but ceremonially:

and it be hid from him; he is not sensible that he has touched any thing ceremonially unclean:

when he knoweth [of it], then he shall be guilty: acknowledge his guilt, and offer a sacrifice for it, as after directed.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Special occasions are mentioned on which sin-offerings are to be made with a particular confession of the offence for which atonement is sought Leviticus 5:5.

Leviticus 5:1

Swearing - Adjuration. The case appears to be that of one who has been put upon his oath as a witness by a magistrate, and fails to utter all he has seen and heard (compare the marginal references. and Proverbs 29:24; Numbers 5:21).

Leviticus 5:2-3

Hid from him - Either through forgetfulness or indifference, so that purification had been neglected. In such a case there had been a guilty negligence, and a sin-offering was required. On the essential connection between impurity and the sin-offering, see Leviticus 12:1.

Leviticus 5:4

Pronouncing - Idly speaking Psalms 106:33. The reference is to an oath to do something uttered in recklessness or passion and forgotten as soon as uttered.

Leviticus 5:6

His trespass offering - Rather, as his forfeit, that is, whatever is due for his offence. The term “trespass-offering” is out of place here, since it has become the current designation for a distinct kind of sin-offering mentioned in the next section (see Leviticus 5:14 note).

A lamb or a kid of the goats - A sheep Leviticus 4:32 or a shaggy she-goat Leviticus 4:23.

Leviticus 5:7-10

See Leviticus 1:14-16; Leviticus 12:8. In the larger offerings of the ox and the sheep, the fat which was burned upon the altar represented, like the burnt-offering, the dedication of the worshipper; in this case, the same meaning was conveyed by one of the birds being treated as a distinct burnt-offering.

Leviticus 5:7

A lamb - One of the flock, either a sheep or a goat.

For his trespass, which he hath committed - As his forfeit for the sin he hath committed.

Leviticus 5:11

tenth part of an ephah i. e. - “the tenth deal;” probably less than half a gallon. See Leviticus 19:36 note. This sin-offering of meal was distinguished from the ordinary מנחה mı̂nchāh Leviticus 2:1 by the absence of oil and frankincense.