Jewish Bible) A sin offering also occurs in 2 Chronicles 29:21 where seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats were sacrificed on the command of King Hezekiah for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah.
The end of the 37th weekly Torah portion
Shlach Lecha
''Shlach, Shelach, Sh'lah, Shlach Lecha'', or ''Sh'lah L'kha'' ( or —Hebrew language, Hebrew for "send", "send to you", or "send for yourself") is the 37th weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Judaism, Jewish cycle of Torah readin ...
(Num. 15.22-31) again, deals with sacrifices for inadvertent violations: they are applicable for all laws, apply to both Israelites and alien residents, but exclude expiation of defiant, willful violations of ritual law (cf. ''
Kareth'').
In the Greek Old Testament
In the
Greek Old Testament
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, the Hebrew term for "sin" (''ḥatat'') is sometimes directly translated as "sin" - either by the Greek feminine noun ''hamartia'' ("sin" ἁμαρτία), or less commonly by the neuter noun ''hamartemata'' ("result of sin," "sinful thing" ἁμάρτημα) thereby duplicating the metonymy in the Hebrew text. More often the Greek paraphrases the Hebrew with expressions such as "that which is for sin" (''peri hamartias'' περὶ ἁμαρτίας) or "for sins" (''hyper hamartion'' ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν) - since the Greek noun ''hamartia'' does not have the double meaning of the noun ''ḥatat'' in Hebrew.
Chapter 4 of the Book of
Leviticus in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
of
Christian biblical canons provides
Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
' instructions from God regarding the purification offering and chapter 15 of the
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers (from Biblical Greek, Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi'', , ''Bəmīḏbar'', ; ) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final f ...
partially repeats them.
Choice of sacrifice
The sacrificial animal required for a ''sin offering'' depended on the status of the sinner offering the sacrifice;
*for a
high priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...
or for the entire community, a young bullock;
*for a king or
nasi, a young male
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
;
*for other individuals, a female kid or lamb;
*for poor individuals unable to afford these, two
turtle doves or young pigeons could be substituted, one as a sin offering and the other as a
burnt offering;
*for the very poorest individuals, a tenth of an
ephah of unscented fine flour could be offered instead of an animal.
Like all types of sacrifices offered on the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
, the animal had to be completely unblemished.
Apart from such general offerings for an unintended sin, these offerings were made:
*on
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
, a bull as the high priest's offering, and a young male goat on behalf of the community;
*on the appointment of a priest, a
calf as the priest's offering, and a small young goat on behalf of the community;
*on the termination of a
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( ''Nāzīr'') is an Israelite (i.e. Jewish) man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . This vow required the nazirite to:
* Abstain from wine and strong drink as well as all oth ...
's vow, a yearling
ewe as the Nazirite's offering;
*after recovery from
tzaraat (skin disease), a ewe as the former sufferer's offering;
*shortly after
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...
, a dove as the woman's offering;
*after
niddah
A niddah (alternative forms: nidda, nida, or nidah; ''nidá''), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the ...
(temporary marital separation due to menstruation) or recovery from
zavah
In Jewish ritual law, a ''zavah'' (Hebrew זבה, lit. "one who e bodyflows") is a woman who has had vaginal blood discharges not during the usually anticipated menstrual cycle, and thus entered a state of tumah and taharah, ritual impurity. Th ...
(abnormal bodily discharges), a dove or young pigeon.
Ritual
The ritual of the purification offering began with the offerer confessing his/her unintentional transgression while placing his/her hands and pushing his/her full weight over the head of the animal. In the case of community offerings the elders performed this function, in the case of Yom Kippur, the high priest performed this task. The animal would then be
slaughtered by a
Shochet ("ritual butcher"), the blood carefully collected by the
Kohen
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...
("priest") in an earthen vessel and sprayed/thrown on the two outer corners of the
Mizbeach ("altar"), while the
fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specif ...
,
liver
The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
,
kidney
In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
s, and
caul
A caul is a piece of membrane that can cover a newborn's head and face. Birth with a caul is rare, occurring in less than 1 in 80,000 births. The caul is harmless and is immediately removed by the attending parent, physician, or midwife upon birt ...
, were burnt on the roof of the altar.
On
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...
—the Day of Atonement—some of the blood would be sprinkled in front of the veil covering the entrance to the
Holy of Holies
The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...
when the blood would be sprinkled in front of the
mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim at the ends to cover and create the space in which Yahweh appeared and dwelled. This was connecte ...
; this was done seven times. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar, and the earthen vessel that had contained it would be smashed.
The remaining flesh of the animal (in later rabbinical interpretation as one of the
twenty-four kohanic gifts) was later consumed by the
Kohen
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...
and his family, except when the priest himself was the offerer (such as in community offerings, and in the case of the Day of Atonement), when it would be burnt at a
ritually clean location outside the Temple sanctuary. Leviticus 6:26 stipulates that "the priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting",
[New King James Version] a point repeated at Leviticus 7:7, whereas Leviticus 6:29 allows that "all the males among the priests may eat it", suggesting that the proceeds of sin offerings could be shared within the kohanic community. The sharing of
grain offerings within the kohanic community was more clearly endorsed by Leviticus 7:10 - "Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other".
When the sacrificial animal was a bird, the ritual was quite different. The bird was slaughtered by a thumb being pushed into its neck, and the head being wrung off. A second bird would then be burnt on the altar as a ''
whole sacrifice'', completely immolated by fire.
Textual criticism
According to 19th century
textual scholars, these rules originate from two different layers in the
priestly source
The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...
, thought by scholars to be one of the source texts of the Torah; the
priestly code within the priestly source is believed to be a series of additions to the text, from Aaronid editors, over a long period.
[''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Priestly Code''] The earlier source is thought to be the one referring to the flesh being consumed by the priests, the latter part of Leviticus 6 falls into this source, while the later source, which Leviticus 4 falls within, reflects a development where the flesh from sin offerings was seen as insufficiently holy and thus needing to be disposed of elsewhere.
[''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''sin offering''] In the
Book of Hosea
The Book of Hosea () is collected as one of the Twelve Minor Prophets, twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Tanakh, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament where it has fourteen chapters. According to the ...
, a reference to the earlier form (Hosea 4:7-8) suggests a possible reason for the change - the priests were accused of rejoicing in the people's wickedness as they were living off the ''sin offerings''. Although known as ''sin offerings'', it is more likely that such offerings began as offerings made for unintentionally breaking a
taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
(here meaning something which is seen as sacred but simultaneously prohibited).
# The offerings for recovery from discharges and childbirth being for the breaking of a taboo about contact with blood - pus potentially containing blood, menstruation obviously containing it, and in the case of childbirth blood comes with the
placenta
The placenta (: placentas or placentae) is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between ...
. Textual scholars believe that the biblical regulation specifying the offering for childbirth in Leviticus 12 originally fell among those concerning bodily discharges in Leviticus 15 (due to various textual features), and hence that childbirth was treated as a form of abnormal ''discharge'', for which a period of recovery was required.
# The Nazarite's offering being due to the breaking of the Nazarite's own taboo nature, due to consecration to the deity, when the Nazarite vow was terminated.
#
Tzaraas was seen as a disease inflicted by God, as punishment for transgression of
mitzvot
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments ...
, specifically
slander
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making wikt:asserti ...
[''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''leprosy''] and hence people becoming inflicted with Tzaraas themselves being seen as taboo (thus being temporarily expelled from society as a result); the ''sin offering'' for recovery from Tzaaras, for which the same sacrificial animal as the Nazarite's ''sin offering'' is proscribed, being due to the breaking of this taboo state by the act of recovering.
#The Yom Kippur sin offering is considered to have developed slightly later; the biblical text seems to explain this offering as being for the purpose of protecting the high priest from death (''...so that he does not die'') when he approached the
mercy seat
According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim at the ends to cover and create the space in which Yahweh appeared and dwelled. This was connecte ...
,
an action which was taboo (as the mercy seat was seen as sacred, but approach to it was prohibited). The passage in which this is explained as being about atonement for real sin, Leviticus 16:16 rather than just breach of this taboo, being considered by textual scholars to be a later gloss added to the text.
The ''sin offering'' required when a priest had sinned, for which there is a similar sacrificial animal as the Yom Kippur offering, is considered by scholars to be a much later development, and only added to the text of Leviticus in the latest stages of its compilation, after ''sin offerings'' had begun to be seen as being about atonement for actual sin rather than relatively immediate breaches of taboos.
The other sin offerings are considered by scholars to be gradual developments; from being offered after contact with unclean animals, which is more of a taboo, to being offered for ritual uncleanliness in general, and finally to being offered for arbitrary sins.
The gradations, according to which the type of sacrificial animal depends on the social status of the sinner, are considered by textual scholars to also be a later development.
[''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Leviticus'']
See also
*
Votive offering
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sin-Offering
Hebrew Bible words and phrases
Twenty-four kohanic gifts
Jewish animal sacrifice
Jewish sacrificial law
Positive Mitzvoth