UTN uW Translation Notes:

Leviticus 5 General Notes

Structure and formatting

As discussed in the General Introduction to Leviticus 4, because of the narrative framings in 4:1 and 5:14, Leviticus 4:1–5:12 should be taken as a discrete unit that is nonetheless connected to Leviticus 1–3 within the unit of Leviticus 1–7.The word "And" in the first verse of Chapter 5 indicates that the following material should be read in continuity from Chapter 4. That being said, the phrase "And a person, when she sins" (5:1) is used to start a new series of hypothetical scenarios (as in 2:1) in which a person becomes guilty and is in need of a sacrifice to atone for their sin. In 5:1–13, the individual’s guilt requires him to offer a purification offering, as was the case in Chapter 4.However, because of the reintroduction of the narrative framing where Yahweh speaks to Moses (see 5:14), the scenarios covered in 5:14–19 (and continuing into 6:1–7) cover cases where the individual’s guilt requires him to offer a guilt offering. Whereas the purification offering was explained in the General Introduction to the previous chapter, the guilt offering is described below. The basic structure of this chapter is outlined as follows: 1) The Sin Offering (4:1–5:13) I. scenario #1: guilt due to the failure to testify in court (5:1) II. scenario #2: guilt due to unwitting contact with an unclean animal (5:2) or unwitting contact with human uncleanness (5:3) III. scenario #3: guilt due to the failure to fulfill a rashly spoken vow (5:4) IV. the procedure for offering a Purification Offering (5:5–13) i. Option for the poor #1: two turtledoves and two pigeons (5:7–10) ii. Offering for the poor #2: wheat flour (5:11–13) 2) The Guilt Offering (5:14–6:7) I. scenario #1: a person breaks Yahweh’s commandments regarding holy objects II. scenario #2: a person unwittingly breaks one of Yahweh’s commandments (5:17–19)

Special Concepts in This Chapter

Several special concepts are crucial for understanding this chapter. They include 1) several instances of technical sacrificial terminology, especially the concept of “unclean,” the two-fold use of “guilt,” the guilt offering itself, and the concept of atonement, 2) the special provision of sacrifices accessible for the poor, and 3) instances of symbolic action, especially the sprinkling and application of blood.

Technical sacrificial terminology

First, several words or phrases in this chapter have a specialized meaning in the context of sacrifice. They include 1) the concept of “unclean” (the opposite of “clean” explained in the General Introduction to the previous chapter), 2) the two-fold use of the word “guilt,” and 3) the guilt offering itself, which occupies the instructions of the second half of this chapter. 1) UncleanThe second scenario covered in this chapter by which someone incurs guilt and is therefore required to offer a purification offering (see 5:2­–3) involves a situation in which someone touches something unclean (whether intentionally or unintentionally). For an object or body to be unclean means that it is unfit to enter into holy space or touch a holy object because of its proximity to death. In ancient Israel, this impurity was seen to pollute the holy space where Yahweh lived among the Israelites and could desecrate the sacred items that were consecrated to him. Consequently, anything impure or unclean was not allowed to enter sacred space or touch anything unclean. Furthermore, contact with anything considered unclean or anything that had become unclean would result in the individual becoming unclean himself. (See also 11:24–25.) In Leviticus 5:2–3, unclean bodies that would make an individual unclean upon contact include the unclean dead body of a wild animal or a domesticated animal (5:2), the dead body of an unclean “swarming” or “creeping” animal (5:2), or the “uncleanness of a man” (5:3), that is, uncleanness that comes from a human source. A list of unclean animals is provided in 11:1–8, 11:19–23, and 11:26–31. Situations in which a person can become unclean through other means (perhaps the “uncleanness of a man” mentioned in 5:3) are listed in 11:32–38. The command not to eat or touch an unclean animal or the carcass of any animal (which has become unclean because it is dead) is reiterated in 11:39–47. Other ways in which a person could become unclean include birthing a child (see 12:1–8: a woman is unclean for seven days if she births a male and for fourteen days if she births a female), having a certain infection of the skin (see 13:1–3, 13: 7–8, 13:9–17, 13:18–23, and 13:24–46), touching a dead body (see 22:4), having a bodily secretion or discharge (15:1–3), include seminal emissions (15:16–18) and menstruation (15:19–27), contact with which makes furniture and beds unclean (see 15:4–12). Garments with traces of skin diseases (see 13:47–59) or houses that have traces of skin diseases in the walls (see 14:33–53) are likewise unclean. The danger of being unclean in holy space is reiterated in 15:31–33, in which Yahweh warns that they must be careful to remain clean, lest they pollute the sanctuary with their uncleanness and die. By distinguishing between clean and unclean animals in this manner, Yahweh promises the people that they will remain the holy people of God, people who are dedicated and set apart for him (see 20:22–26). 2) The two-fold use of the word "guilt"In this chapter, the word translated as "guilt" is used is two separate senses. In one sense, it refers to both the internal feeling of having committed wrongdoing and the legal state of being required to provide restitution for that wrongdoing, as explained in the General Introduction to the previous chapter. This sense uses both the verb "to become guilty" and the abstract noun "guilt." The second sense uses the abstract noun "guilt" to refer to the payment or restitution that a person offers to atone for their sins when they realize they have committed wrongdoing. Examples of this are seen in 5:6–7, 5:15, and 5:25, in which an individual or community is instruction to “bring their guilt” to Yahweh (that is, to the tent of meeting where Yahweh lived among the Israelites). This expression does not mean to bring their feelings of guilt to Yahweh but to bring the penalty for their guilt, that is, the animal required by the sacrifice to atone for their sin. This second sense is once used in full in 5:6 (“And he will bring his guilt to Yahweh for his sin that he sinned”) and twice in an elided, shortened form (see 5:7, “then he will bring his guilt that he sinned.” See also 5:11, “then he will bring his offering that he sinned”). 3) The guilt offeringClosely related to the sin offering, in which a person offered a sacrifice to cleanse or purify sacred space from the defiling impurity generated by unintentional sin, the guilt offering is a special sacrifice designed to restore and make restitution for sacred items that had become desecrated due to the defiling presence of an individual’s sin. In one possibe scenario, an individual trespasses a trespass, that is, he breaks one of Yahweh’s commandments, by unintentionally sinning with regard to any holy object that has been dedicated for exclusive use in service to Yahweh (see 5:15–16). The second scenario addressed by this chapter covers any way by which a person unintentionally sins (and, presumably, defiles a sacred object, see 5:17–19). These scenarios required that the individual atone for their guilt in the form of an animal sacrifice (specifically, a male goat). He must provide restitution for the item that their sin desecrated, paying in the form of a carefully calculated amount of silver that had been weighed according to the measurements for silver that were used by the priests who handled the finances of the tent of meeting. In this way, the sacrifice both restored the individual to a right relationship with Yahweh through atoning for his sins and forgiving his guilt, and it also provided the means by which the sacred items in the tent of meeting could be reconsecrated, restored, or replaced.

Sacrifices for the poor

This chapter explains that Yahweh made special provisions for individuals who could not afford costly purification offerings (see 5:7–13). The author of Leviticus uses the expression "if his hand does not touch enough flock animals" (5:7) to describe an individual who cannot afford to offer their own bovine or flock animal or purchase others (as Chapter 4 prescribes). Likewise, the author of Leviticus uses a related expression ("if his hand does not reach" (5:11) to describe an individual who cannot afford the four birds that could replace the expensive domesticated animals. Yahweh allows such individuals who cannot afford the bovine of flock animals prescribed for the purification offering in Chapter 4 to offer two turtledoves and two pigeons, bringing two of the birds for a purification offering and the other two for a burnt offering (see 5:7–10). However, if the individual cannot afford the four birds, they are allowed to bring a set amount of raw wheat flour as an acceptable substitute for the animal sacrifice (see 5:11–13). These provisions demonstrate the grace of God, who makes the forgiveness and restoration of relationship with God that was provided through the sacrifices available to everyone, without excluding those who do not have the means to offer expensive sacrifices.

Restoring the cost of a sacred item with money

Because guilt offerings were designed to reconsecrate and restore sacred space and sacred items that were dedicated exclusively to Yahweh, the guilt offering required not only an animal sacrifice but also the restitution of the monetary value of whatever sacred item became defiled and unclean through the impurity brought about by the sin of the individual, whether intentional or unintentional. This monetary value was calculated in two ways. First, the value of the animal sacrifice (usually a male goat, see 5:15 and 5:18) would be calculated according to the measurements for silver used by the priests who operated the finances of the sanctuary. This is expressed by the phrase "in your valuation, silver shekels, in the shekel of the holy place" (5:15, see also the expression "in your valuation" in 5:18). Second, the individual is required to calculate the monetary value of whatever sacred item had been desecrated or defiled by their sin and bring that amount, plus one-fifth of that value, to the priests in the form of silver, again (presumably) calculated according to the measurements for silver used by the priests who operated the finances of the sanctuary. (See 5:16.) This process results in the restitution of 120% of the monetary value of whatever had been defiled, along with the monetary value of the male goat that was sacrificed for the guilt offering. In this way, the individual provided for the replacement of the object that their sin desecrated.

Ritual action

This chapter, much like Leviticus 1, includes the ritual action of splashing or sprinkling the blood of the animal on the the altar. Neither the laws regarding the purification offering (which continue in the present chapter from the previous chapter) nor the laws regarding the guilt offering (5:14-19) are unique in the lack of mentions of blood. This, however, does not mean that blood was unimportance in the sacrificial process. Whereas in Leviticus 1 and 3, the blood is “splashed” or “splattered” against the side of the altar. (See 1:5, 1:11, and 3:2, 3:8), and 3:13.) Leviticus 4 makes clear that the purification offering required that the blood would be “sprinkled” towards the curtain that divided the courtyard of the tent of meeting from the Holy of Holies (see 4:6 and 4:17), “put” on the horns of either the incense altar or the altar of the burnt offerings (see 4:7, 4:18, 4:25, 4:30, and 4:34), or “poured out” at the base of the altar of burnt offerings (see 4:7, 4:18, 4:25, 4:30, and 4:34). In the case of birds, the blood is “drained out” or “squeezed out” on either the side of the altar (see 1:15) or on the base of the altar (see 5:9). This was likely the case in the animal sacrifices described in Leviticus 5. As explained in previous chapters, the blood, being the life of the animal (see 17:11), was given by God to ritually purify, cleanse, and remove the defiling impurity brought about by the presence of sin, even unintentional sin. In this chapter, the blood acts as a ritual detergent or soap with the special ability to cleanse sacred objects and sacred spaces from the impurity of sin.

Important Figures of Speech in This Chapter

This chapter includes several figures of speech that may prove difficult to translate but are important to understanding the chapter.

“If his hand does not touch” or “If his hand does not reach”

As previously discussed, the author of Leviticus uses the expression "if his hand does not touch enough flock animals" (5:7) to describe an individual who cannot afford to offer their own bovine or flock animal or purchase others (as Leviticus 4 prescribes). Likewise, the author of Leviticus uses a related expression ("if his hand does not reach," 5:11) to describe an individual who cannot afford the four birds that could replace the expensive domesticated animals. If such an expression would not be clear in your language, use whatever expression would be clearest to your readers. Alternate translations will be provided in the following notes where the expressions appear.

Other Possible Translation Difficulties in This Chapter

In addition to these important figures of speech, this chapter features several translation difficulties, including 1) the unclear referent of masculine pronouns, 2) the switching between second and third-person address, 3) the use of a verb and a related noun (cognate-accusatives), 4) the use of a future form to indicate a request or command, and 5) the use of specific, technical sacrificial language.

The referent of the masculine pronouns

Throughout this chapter, the author of Leviticus uses a third-person pronoun to refer to both the individual who offers the sacrifices and to "the priest" who performs the sacrifice. As such, it is often difficult (but not impossible) to infer which party performs which actions. In general, the sacrifice is presented to the priest, but the individual who presents the sacrifice is responsible for killing, properly butchering, and presenting the portions of the sacrificial animal to the priest, who will then arrange them on the altar’s fire. The UST will indicate which party is the apparent referent of the pronoun.

Second and third-person address

All of Leviticus 1 through 7 is written as direct address to the people of God through Moses. Because in this chapter the words "his" and "he" refer to the person bringing an offering to Yahweh, those terms can be translated in the second person as it is in 1:2 and as the UST models or they can be translated in the third person, as the ULT models. In the present chapter, the author of Leviticus consistently uses third-person forms to refer to the individual who offers the sacrifices described. Despite this, we recommend that you continue to use whichever forms and pronouns you have been using in the previous two chapters, even if that means continuing to use second-person forms.

The use of a verb with a related noun (cognate-accusatives)

For emphasis, the author of Leviticus often uses a verb with a related noun. In this chapter, several expressions follow this pattern, including the expression "the sin that he sinned" (see 5:6, 5:10, and 5:13), the expression "the uncleanness that a person becomes unclean with it" (5:3), the expression "to grab…the fullness of a handful" (5:12), the expression "to trespass a trespass" (5:18), and the expression "the mistake that he mistook" (5:18). If your language can repeat words for emphasis, it would be appropriate in this context to repeat the appropriate words in these expressions in a similar manner whenever the relevant expressions occur.